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!

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.

Happy Father's Day!

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

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!)

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.

OMG. Carrot Cake.

I made carrot cake on Wednesday, iced it on Thursday. It weighs over 20 lbs. This is Saturday and it's half gone.

The puppies have only had licks off plates and utensils but they agree, my carrot cake is the best!

Kitchen clean up

Clean up is a snap with double trouble waiting to lick the beaters!

Gray vs. Grey

With all the hoopla of the house being worked on, I had forgotten that I needed to get my ass in gear to redo the master bedroom. It's funny, the old chocolate and navy had stopped working for me about 6 months ago. I picked out new curtains downtown (but haven't bought them yet) and had been quietly contemplating the drama of changing paint color. Don't get me wrong, I was always planning on hiring someone. But just rearranging stuff can be so trying. Well, it's been rearranged. So now on to the redesign.

Nice size, good scale. But perhaps a tad large for the space I'm working with.

I'm digging this look. But I'm not really ready for a mural.

I know it's not brown. It's not a bedroom. But it's so well put together!

Also not brown. But it's just a yummy look. I'm definitely considering matching his/his chandeliers instead of side lamps. I've already got them. (some images stolen from Michael Guy, thanks!)

So far what I know for certain, is I love these curtains:

Where do I go from here?

First floor, hotel lobby

I may get into trouble here but I'm gonna say it anyway. My mom is a little crazy.

When I was growing up with my parents we had what most people would call a normal living room. It had a TV, a bookcase with knick-knacks, a recliner (for my dad), a few chairs and a couch. It wasn't a designer showroom. There was a lot of wear and tear on that house. We really lived there! But it was comfortable.

After all of the kids moved out, the living room started to drift... A desk was added so my dad could play computer games. One large bookcase got traded out for two smaller bookcases. The knick-knacks got switched out for a lot more family photos of grandkids and grandpets.

Then came the most jarring change of all. The couch left. Not really a huge deal, it had been there a long time and the colors of the room had evolved and the gold couch didn't really go with it anymore. The weird part is, a new couch didn't arrive in it's place. Two chairs arrived instead.

I came home to visit one weekend and there is was, a vast room ringed with chairs.

What happened to the couch?
I gave it away.
Why'd you give it away?
I didn't like it. It was old and ugly.
And someone else wanted it?
It wasn't a bad couch. I just didn't like it anymore.
When are you getting a new one?
I'm not.
Why not?
I don't like couches. I think they're hard to sit down in and get out of.
Then don't sit down on it.
Don't be a smart ass.
You don't even sit in that room. You only sit in your office or the dining room. You don't even watch TV.
I can still see it from the dining room.
And the mere thought of a couch in your living room makes you angry?
I don't care about the living room. The living room is your father's room.
Then why'd you take away his couch?
Just leave me alone!

It wasn't the prettiest couch, but three out of four children fit on it at Christmas.

So when I go home to visit my parents, there is no where to relax. One time I was so tired I just wanted to watch TV and lie down. I had to lay on the floor. My mom won't give in. I told here I was going to go buy her a couch and just have it delivered. She yelled at me and told me she would refuse it at the door. Apparently, I'm a pill.

No one wants to be told they are "just like their parents." we all want to be our own unique self. With all the upheaval in the back of our house, we've had to move things around. The chaise lounge from the guest room moved out to make way for our dresser. The chairs in the living room moved to the dining room to make room for furniture from the master bedroom.

A few days ago I took a look at my living room and realized, there are no chairs. But there are FIVE COUCHES. It looks like a hotel lobby.


In my own defense, once the bedroom is completed, the extra seating will return to it's proper place. We will once again, have one couch with a chaise lounge sectional attached, one loveseat and two chairs in the living room. On the other hand, my mother will still have just six chairs.

A little something I've been working on...

My tan!

The beast goes on...

So, what's new? Not much going on here. Same old, same old... House renovations? Naw, nothing of interest going on there because oh yeah, NOTHING IS GOING ON.

What I have come to learn is that the team we had here to try and dry out the moisture damage from the leaky roof, was only that: "The Team to Dry." As I got used to them, they finished their job... or rather, proved they could not finish their job. They have taken their toys and gone home. Drying did not work, so now we proceed to the tear it out and put in new phase.
Where the hardwood floor has been torn out is where the drying/sucking pads had previously been. Since they cut into part of the floor, now they can not match the old floor. So an entire new hardwood floor will have to be put into the master bedroom.

But before that, they will fix the walls.

But before the walls, they will have to replace the ceiling.

But first... a contractor must be chosen! Imagine my shock to discover that there is no seamless transition team leader. One group is done, and no one knows who is supposed to come in next. Not only has no one told them to come, no one has interviewed them to hire them to come!

So Lyle took it upon himself to hire our previous plumber to rip out the bathroom fixtures last weekend while we were away. The toilet was already taken out for the floor removal. Now the vanity, sink and tub with enclosure have all been removed.
Then Lyle and I had a brilliant plan... what if instead of waiting for someone to come and get this kick started, we just kicked it ourselves?

Lyle has already started ripping out the walls of the bathroom.
Our landlady has selected a contractor to put it all back together. We have asked to be included in the planning because, and I will be very honest here, we have much better taste. And so it begins! Nothing! Extended periods of nothing! One good thing we did learn last week is that the insurance company will be refunding us a portion of our rent because we are no longer living in a portion of our house. For once, I am pleased to say, that seems fair.

I am a hostage in my own home

The house renovations are in FULL swing. And by renovations, I mean ripping everything out, disrupting my life, never listening to the person who actually lives in this house and making things far worse before they can get near better. And they call that "renovations".

This is forcing heat under the house and up inside the walls to dry out the studs and drywall. The drywall is "not so dry". It will be ripped out later.

On Friday at the end of the day, the electrician that came to install the "spider box" for extra power to warm and dehumidify the water damaged back bedroom. Lyle pointed out exactly which fuses were empty and available, so the electrician used one NOT pointed out and disconnected the garage, fish pond and dishwasher. For the entire weekend. He came back on Monday and fixed that.

A spider box in my house! This is in the bathroom.
The flooring tiles are all gone. So is the toilet.

These floor sucking dryers were taken away on Sunday (I think). The heater/dehumidifier has remained.

The large 2'x3' plastic mats are water suckers.
The big aluminum box is the dehumidifier.

The roofing people came on Saturday (four hours later than they said) tore off all the tar and paper and said instead of being three days to complete the job, they'd be back on Sunday and it would be finished. Of course that meant they didn't come back until Tuesday. And probably only because it was supposed to rain THAT NIGHT (It did but only a little).

The electrician came back on Monday and reconnected the fuse that works the dishwasher and garage and pond pump. On Tuesday, the roofers unplugged the pond pump to plug in their equipment.

While fixing the roof, they managed to shatter the skylight in the hallway.

Skylight on the ground.
Shouldn't that be up in the sky?

Glass went EVERYWHERE. Up and down the hallway more than 6 feet in each direction, and to the sides, into the office where the dogs and I were sitting and into the guest room where we are living during all the renovations. I did not ask them to come in and clean this up. I didn't want anyone dumb enough to break a skylight inside my house to clean it, so I cleaned all that up. The wooden box the glass hit hardest will need to be refinished. I shudder to think what would have happened to me or a dog if we'd been in the hallway.

They had to put a board over the broken skylight overnight. It was so dark in my hallway this morning! I can't believe they did not take out the glass remnants until today. Lyle placed carpets under the danger zone and no one was allowed to polka in the hallway over night. They are back today to fix all that.

Today's interior destruction: we have the workers tearing out the hardwood floor of the bedroom and closet.

Now, instead of working I am keeping the dogs calm and working on a massive headache each day, while the hammers pound all over the roof at the back of the house. The joyful sound of sawing and nail pulling ripping out the floor boards in the room next to me. I can't go into the hallway for fear of falling glass remnants. I worry that pictures may fall off the walls. I’m not sleeping well because there is a constant humming of dryers that can be heard (and felt) throughout the house. When I do start to fall asleep, in the back of my mind I wonder, who is paying this electricity bill?

I just want to shout, “I’M A RENTER! I AM NOT IN CHARGE OF THIS!!!” but then, we’d probably still not have a roof over the back of the house.

I am keeping my eyes on the prize: no more fountains of Versailles.