Saturday, June 30, 2007
My friends smirk when I mention that I have an electric chainsaw. They wonder why I would even admit I have such a thing when a REAL MAN'S tool is available. Well, it is cheap, it usually does the job, it always starts instantly, and the noise level is a fraction of the volume of a gas powered saw. I had this two foot high stump in the yard from a box elder tree that was taken down about five years ago. Now only a small stub of it remains. I like my saw.
The cast concrete stairway going to the back door has begun to deteriorate (I didn't know that salt would do such a thing), so that it was dangerous to even step on the bottom step. Now that is fixed, and for less than $75, including the flowers.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The earlier mention of the need to finish the stink pipe for our plumbing project has now been completed. The inside part was dirty but not too bad, but climbing onto the roof (12-12 pitch--that's a 45 degree angle) is no easy chore. Going up is hard, but going down is impossible, unless safety is not a concern (but it is!) You can see this is a high roof, and steep. I rigged up a rope from my tool belt that was attached to a garden hose which I looped around the chimney. I could then use the hose as a hand-hold, and it was long enough to hold to all the way back to the ladder (since my only rope is too short to do the job). That way, with some confidence I could install the roof boot around the new pipe.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Raspberries! These are from the first picking of the season (the berries I didn't eat!) They will be producing for the next 3-4 weeks on our THORNLESS bushes. M-m-m-m-m-m!
Well, this is one project that is nearly done! The dresser is all stripped, refinished, altered to accept a sink and faucet and secured to the wall. I am pleased with the completion of a project that was in the conception process over ten years ago. Cheryl is pleased with the water flowing! To be honest, there are a couple of other projects to finish the job (repaint the room, finish the new stink pipe through the roof, and reinstall the baseboard moulding), but after all these years, it is very gratifying now. Since all the drawers are functional (except the small top left drawer), we now have more storage as well!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The "mad plumber" has been at work again. More pipes across the ceiling of the laundry room, a surprise entry into the book case in the living room, and finally emerging in the upstairs bedroom. Most of the plumbing will now be drywalled and the new dresser-vanity will be in operation. On FIRST TEST of the the water lines, there were NO LEAKS! now, that may be a first!
We went to pick strawberries and we have been enjoying them! They are a bit small, but OH! so Very Tasty!
This picture is of some of the strawberries found in our yard--about half the size of the nail on your little finger--and absolutely tasteless. Even the birds ignore them. However, they do bear fruit from June thru September! I wish the normal kind of berries could do the same!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
We went on a brief holiday to the Straits of Mackinac, spending time in Mackinaw City and on Mackinac Island. We very much enjoyed it and we felt like we had created a definite break between the school year and SUMMER. I was unseasonably hot there--lower 80's--but not so hot as to be unbearable. The trip was mostly financed by a generous gift from the faculty when Dan graduated from CMU. Thank You!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Update on the hall ceiling project--I had not initially planned to paint the walls--but the new, darker color looks much better. We got paint for the wall by the chimney (very close to the pale blue that was there before, and there is a new, metal covering for the hole that is stuffed with a rag in the picture. Moulding for the door on the left, and a new piece of wood above the other two doors, an this project will be pretty much done. Next week, the new vanity will get most of our attention.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
It is now official--the diploma has arrived! It is amazing how much work, prayer and money a single piece of paper can symbolize! A HUGE "Thank You" to the CBA school committee for approving the program and the funding to pay for that degree. Now I must work to make their investment in me worth it.
Friday, June 01, 2007
AHHH.....Summer vacation. Or at least summer change-of-daily-routine-and-focus. As you can see, Dan has chosen a couple of very dirty tasks to start off with. The stairway hall will be raised about three inches as the old drooping suspended ceiling has been removed, and the damaged plaster knocked down (Cheryl was not home when this began--but she helped clean up anyway). We will drywall it soon. That project began after a dresser we bought last summer has begun to be stripped for refinishing. We will probably keep the dark color. Next step (after doing the rest of the stripping and some good coats of polyurethane) will be to cut a hole in the top for a sink--this will be our new upstairs vanity.
