Saturday, June 26, 2010

Progress

In an effort to stop having to discuss EXACTLY how I wanted the future shower tiles lined up, and to be certain I actually liked what I had planned, I built a diorama of the future shower stall.

The tile has actually started being attarched to the wall!

The third photo is the bathroom floor. Down. Placed. Setting. Waiting for grout.

Oh my god, this may actually be completed one day! Do I have to take back all the bad things I've said previously?

I have the best friends!

Six years ago, Lyle and I went to Peru. We bought this giant leather hat box/drum for $32. Such an amazing bargain! Then we paid $20 to get it shrink wrapped to ride in the plane cargo area. Still, such a bargain! We brought it home and it sat on it's side in our living room. So, that's where you leave your bargain?

I had a vision. I wanted it to be an ottoman. I wanted it stuffed with foam, and I wanted to make a base for it. I had the vision, but lacked the skills. So it continued to sit on it's side in my living room.

One day Mikka came over with her fiancé, Tim. "Hey Tim, you're a carpenter/furniture maker. Can this even be done?". I explained my (now cloudy) vision to him and he said he would take it to his shop. He asked if I was in a hurry and I told him, "it's been sitting in that corner on it's side for almost five years. Do I look like I'm in a hurry?"

Tim had a vision for the ottoman. He needed different tools. He needed a wood steamer. He needed to do his real jobs and make real money. He asked if I had changed my mind about needing the ottoman in a hurry. To be quite honest, I'd forgotten I'd sent it away. Something else was already in that corner of the living room.

Then a week ago, this glorious stunning piece of furniture was presented to Lyle and I. It's better than anything I could have planned or asked for.

The drum has embossed details of the Nazca Lines. Tim made the legs a "spaceship rocket" shape as an homage to that. But the best part is literally the love that went into it. It's not just a piece of furniture, a work of art or souvenir from a fabulous trip. Now it holds a piece of my heart and it needs to be placed right below my signed Kylie Minogue poster. In case of fire, grab both of these first!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Ongoing in the back of the house

Each set of two pictures represents the progress made in one month. Please note results: nada mucho.

A month has gone by and you are probably wondering where the grand reveal is of our new refurbished master suite. So am I.

In the last month, the old single worker was let go and a new team of three was brought in. The single person was too slow and didn't have enough knowledger to complete the job. Now with three people, they can no longer come to do small portions of the project, there has to be enough work for three people for a whole day to make it worth their time. Or so I'm told.

The first thing the new team did was take three days to tear out what the last person had taken a week to put in.

We are no longer hanging back and letting our landlord take the lead. We are making decisions, paying for everything ourselves, saving the receipts for turning in later and getting this show on the road!

Paint color was chosen, but the task got handed off and thecwrong finish was purchased. Tiles were ordered and picked up, but now we need smaller tiles for the shower floor. Closet was started to put back together but instead of cedar for shelves someone got pine.

Frustration is high. Tonight Lyle and I cleaned up some of the mess the workers started over a month ago, but no one has made the effort to move anything. As Lyle keeps saying, you need to act as if you are guests in our home, and treat our yard and our belongings with the same respect and care that we would treat them.

It's time for this shit to get done.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day!

For the man who has to put up with me all my life...

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Gopher Prairie, here we come!

Ever wonder where I am? Sometimes I do too.

Don't look for me this weekend in Los Angeles or West Hollywood. Don't look in Las Vegas or Palm Springs. I'm passing by Seattle and all of the Northwest. Paris? Not this weekend. And I'm not out to sea on a cruise ship full of food. Nope, this weekend I will be chillin' like a villain in GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA.

That dot will be me. This is map of Canada (America's hat)

At the last possible minute, Lyle has decided he will be attending an event in the town that he was raised in. After his parents moved away we both believed we'd never be back there, but things changes and some people are very persuasive.

Off in the distance, that skyscraper is the heart of Grande Prairie, AB.

I am expecting a weekend of epic proportions. I know a few of the people on the welcoming committee, well, they're gonna' be welcoming me anyway.
I'm guessing the weather will be just slightly different from the last time we saw some of the gang...But I'm fairly certain there will be many, many, tumblers of refreshments. (I'm bring cheap liquor from America!)

Sunday, June 06, 2010

A three day tour of... Seattle

The sights: water on the ground and in the air.

The smells: COFFEE EVERYWHERE!

The experience: family, friends, funeral, French food, fulfilling.