Front of house work list updated

Renovation / Work List (updated)

As a homeowner I'm always thinking of things that we need or want to do around the house.  I thought it would be a good idea to make a list here that we could look back on when we need to figure out our next step or see what we've accomplished.  This includes long term dreams for us so I don't think this list will be completed for MANY years.  I'll try to remember to come back and cross off projects as we finish them.
 
Garage 

• Repair roof and siding issue along doorway and address roof runoff issues
• Insulate walls, doors, ceiling.
• Repair/finish of interior walls of garage
• Ceiling lighting? 
• Install some kind of ceiling with attic storage or leave open/create storage loft?
• Insulate garage door
• Install weatherstripping around doors.
• Replace non-functional exterior garage light (motion sensor?)
• Install stairs to exterior garage door
• Seal off floor 
• Install grate over floor drain
• New garage door opener with keypad for exterior access.
• Patch/prime/paint walls
• Rearrange storage shelves -move some to basement
• Modify work bench / pegboard for our needs
• Create trash/recycle area
• Create mudroom area- coat hooks, shoe/boot storage 
• Pet zone

Front Entrance/Deck/Parking Area

• Replace AC units with 1 unit and move it around back of house (The house came with 2 units that are over 30 years old.  They're just next to the front door and still working but who knows how long they have and I'm sure they're not energy efficient at all.  If we can't move the unit then we'll have to build up a cover to hide them from sight.) Replaced with single unit in same location.  Need to build cover.
• Remove half dead evergreen trees along front of house.
• Strip old paint from deck Repaired rotten wall under front door.  Replaced deck entirely.
• Repair deck and railings.
• Buy new porch light.
• Replace broken entrance lighting
• Remove one of old broken porch lights and rewire it to create exterior outlet source. 
• Replace front door and storm doors
• Replace doorbell.
• Build raised planter box 
• Create seating area on porch
• Mulch/plant garden bed along front and side of house.

 Guest Room

• repair trim
• caulk / prime windows and trim
• prime doors
• remove and spray old brass hardware (doorknobs/hinges)
• paint windows and doors
• paint ceiling
• paint walls
• reinstall doors
• prime and paint closet doors
• repaint closet
• build closet system
• rip up old carpet
• replace carpet.
• install window coverings
• furnish room and decorate!

Jack & Jill Bathroom

• remove giant frame-less bathroom mirror
• prime trim and doors
• remove old vanity (it's very short and way too narrow for the space)
• demo weird wall between vanity and toilet area
• patch wall
• paint walls
• remove shower tub enclosure
• install tub
• tile shower surround
• install glass tub door/wall
• demo floor tiles (damaged beyond repair)
• install new floor 
• renovate vanity- we'd like to either build it up taller and customize it to fit the space or replace it with something bigger
• Install double sinks? or large trough sink with two faucets?
• build linen / storage area next to toilet on guest room wall
• Install sliding barn door between vanity and toilet area

Office

• prime trim
• prime windows and doors
• paint windows
• paint doors
• paint closet doors
• paint ceiling
• paint walls
• remove old carpet
• replace flooring
• closet system
• window coverings
• built in bookcases?

Loft Area

• paint ceiling and walls in linen closet
• install shelves in linen closet
• prime and paint closet door
• paint ceiling and attic door WHITE 
• prime and paint trim 
• prime and paint windows
• finish ripping up blue carpets!
• new flooring
• strip/sand/refinish stairs
• demo loft railing (good bye fish scales!)
• install new cable railing
• replace ceiling fan
• replace eyeball track lights
• install industrial shelving unit on loft wall

Foyer

• New Front door
• prime and paint windows 
• prime and paint trim
• complete stairs (strip/sand/re-stain)
• paint walls
• replace foyer chandelier
• evaluate entry tile
• foyer seating area
• replace coat closet doors

Adventures of a Nurse

If you've ever met a nurse before you'll know that we come equipped with the best (ie. grossest) stories.  Around the nurses station TMI runs rampant and you'll oft hear people trying to best each other with "remember that time...?" stories. 

I've only been working in healthcare for 6 years but I've come across my fair share of crazy stories. 

My husband's favorite is the patient I had whose spleen had ruptured and who had a slow bleed into the belly.  The docs had postponed surgery in the hopes the bleeding would stop on it's own but after a few weeks decided they had to go in an evacuate some of the old blood.  Think of the human body as a bunch of water balloons inside a bag... if you poke a hole in one of the water balloons it's going to leak water into the bag.. and that water is going to want to obey gravity and drift downwards.  Inside the human male this leads to swelling and impressive bruising in a certain dependent body part that most men do not want swollen and purple.... Now after several weeks of slowly leaking blood we were VERY swollen and purple.  Think cantaloupes.  Think sumo wrestler style walking.  We were putting slings on body parts that should never have to hang from suspenders...  It was horrible.  It was hysterical.  Even to the patient.

Surgery day comes and Doc Wonder decides the easiest way to get rid of this problem is by employing the Old Faithful technique.  They placed a single port site at the umbilicus, grabbed a-hold of the swollen anatomy and squeezed.  From what I heard of the OR staff that day, a few people needed new shoes after they finished up.  Belly button volcano's are never a good thing. 

Anyway, surgery wraps up after that, patient is wheeled back up the floor to recuperate.  No pain, much less swelling, but hasn't yet had the *cough*cahones*cough* to lift the sheets and take a peak...  The hovering mother of the patient and fiance are kindly but firmly escorted out of the room and together, patient and nurse.. we bite the bullet and go for a look. 

*Must.control.facial.expression.do.not.let.mouth.drop.open.and.gawk*

The cantaloupes are gone.  In there place are some very sad, very deflated, so dark purple they're almost black, very very VERY sad sacks... Patient looks up at me stunned and the first words out of my mouth are..

"Sorry mate, your Playgirl career is over."

His laughter was so loud his family burst back into the room thinking something was wrong.  He had a full recovery and was mostly back to normal (if still quite discolored) by the time we discharged him.  I've never forgotten him and I bet he hasn't forgotten me either... there are only so many people in your life that help you sling your balls to your belt and can still look you in the face afterwards. 

Ahh the life of a nurse.

:)

I can't get no....

I wonder if you ever reach a point in your life where you are simply contented being right where you are. 

Where you don't yearn for a different house, a different job, a fancy car, unlimited airline miles and vacation time, to have a bigger family, be closer with your friends, to make a difference in the world, to invent something and make it rich, to go off the grid or move into the city, to model or act or get elected president, blah blah blah.  All of those shallow things that make up that constant barrage of 'more, more, more!'

To be able to simply enjoy all that you have achieved without thinking of the next mountain to climb??

I wonder if wanting more makes you shallow or gives you purpose?  Is wanting more for your life selfish if it changes the lives of those around you?  What if it doesn't?  

Who knows?  Maybe that's just life.

Bathroom Renovation: edited and updated!

Once upon a time the hubs and I bought a house.  The guest bathroom / main floor bathroom was this charming coral and gold colored 80's dream.  Complete with seashell sink, leaking faucet and a cream colored toilet.  It was immediately put on the renovate list.  Feel my pain:

So we scoured the sale ads and slowly collected bits and bobs to fix the chaos.  The only thing we splurged on was the backsplash tile and we made that easier to tolerate by buying the tiles a couple at a time for a few months. 

Once we got our supplies in order we started the work.  We wanted to do most of the work ourselves so we started by removing the vanity.  As you'll probably remember, this didn't go well...

We did as much work ourselves as possible.  We did our own demo which included removing floor tile, the vanity and sink, the toilet and the trim.  I patched and painted but we did hire out the tile installation to a friend.  With such a small space we were looking at spending about the same amount of money renting a tile saw as we would spend having him install it.  I decided on laziness. 

We also had to have an electrician come in and do our light fixture.  The old fixture box was in the middle of the wall and hidden behind the old owners mirror, in order to have a traditional above the mirror fixture we had to raise the box up about 2 feet.  Neither of us are confident about wiring so we went the safe route.  But after all was said and done with the electric and tile we installed the new vanity and toilet and painted and reinstalled the old trim.  Eventually I'd like to replace the trim but it was Christmas time and I just wanted SOME trim up.

 

But we persevered and now are approximately 90% done.  It makes me so happy!  

The vanity and mirror we picked up from Home Depot during one of their Better Bath sales.  I'd been shopping for months, but it gave us everything we wanted.  Half open shelf storage and half concealed.  Deep sink.  Solid surface top.  Modern but with traditional feel.  Sorry about the iPhone photo... I know it's hard to see the actual vanity with the lighting.  Here's a shot of it before we did our install.  You can also see we changed our minds a few times about our tile choices.

 We found our tile and faucet at Home Depot as well.  We went with brushed nickle fixtures in here.  I've been digging the oil rubbed bronze look but didn't want anything to dark in here since there is no natural light and it's already a fairly dark space.  We also wanted something that would show against the darker wood vanity and floor tile.

We chose a vanity with a solid surface top to keep cleaning simple.  No nooks and crannies for icky things to grow in.  So far it's been good. 

Our light fixture came from Shades of Light.  Excuse the photos but it's brushed nickel as well.  What I liked best was that it gave me a hint of that industrial vibe that is all the rage right now while still maintaining a traditional shape.  We want things to be our flavor but still work for possible future resale.

I don't know why the paint color is showing up green tinted here.  It's definitely NOT greenish.  It's a warm creamy color called Hazelnut Cream.  It's almost greige but on the beige side.  The only art so far is this watercolor birch tree piece I found at Home Goods.  I instantly fell in love and Jim liked to too. 

 

This is probably TMI but we did get a slightly above basic toilet.  We wanted to remain environmentally conscious so we got one that helps to conserve water.  It comes with two flush features.  You can see the hint of green lever on the left side of the toilet.  There is a traditional handle for the 'normal' flush and then there is the green lever for 'light' use.  We'll see if it makes a difference in our water bills in the future.  

I'm still on the hunt for a floor register cover that is the right size.  You can see our current one on the bottom left.  It's a glaring eyesore but does serve it's purpose in keeping me from walking into the hole in the floor. 

 

We've been debating pulling it up and just spray painting it dark brown or an oil rubbed bronze.  Something that will help it blend into the floor a bit better.

Now as far as the floor goes, I love it!   The wood look tiles have been great.  They give that nice look of hardwoods but I can get in there and mop or bleach with no fears of damaging the floor.  If I had limitless funds I'd install these floors with subfloor heating all over our house.  The tiles can get chilly sometimes so in floor heating would be nice.

All that's left is finishing the trim and figuring out wall art for the long wall you face when you walk into the bathroom.  I'd originally intended on leaving it bare and letting the tile be the focus but the wall just seems too naked.  We'll see.  What do you think?

Finally a super easy broccoli cheddar soup I like!

1 bag frozen broccoli florets
2 large carrots- shredded
1 small onion- diced
Butter
Flour
Chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can broccoli cheddar soup
1/2 block velveeta sliced
Sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onions in some butter until soft and translucent.  Put in crockpot with shredded carrot.  Create roue with butter and flour.  Add to crock pot and whisk in chicken broth and canned soups.  Dump in broccoli and put crock pot on low for 5ish hours until broccoli is tender.  Use immersion blender to create texture you like.  Add cheese and cook until melted, mix before serving to disperse cheese.  Serve!

Fall into puppy love.

Autumn has long been my favorite season.

I love everything about it. The cool nip in the air, the changing leaves, harvest festivals, fairs, blustery days, and the beginning of the holiday season. 

My babies seem to like it too. 

 

This is Penelope.  She's our 8 year old great pyrenees rescue puppy.  Calm, quiet, docile and laaaazy.  But she does look very pretty in the leaves.

 

 And this happy boy is Coach.  He's ours as of a month or so ago.  He used to be my brother's dog but due to some... domestic issues... Coach had to relocate.  He's been doing great with us.  He's about 10 years old and is a golden retriever.  His favorite past times include playing with a tennis ball and humping his pillow.  He's my happy old man :)

A little less magic every year.

This weekend was full of emotional lows.  Get low, get low, low, low.  I wont delve into the nitty gritty details.  Good news is I'm feeling slightly better after three days of ridiculousness.

Bad news is that the reason I'm feeling better is that I'm filled with anger.  Anger is easier to deal with than sadness any day.  Not surprisingly my anger is directed towards my lovely MIL.  

Close friends will remember the drama after my father died and the roller coaster of holiday related passive aggressive behavior the year after.  It seems that absolutely nothing has changed and the world must still seemingly orbit around her. 

I'll hit the bullet points if you don't know what I'm talking about.

• 2009 Dad has cancer.  Enters hospice.  MIL needs hysterectomy.  Her surgery same day as Dad's passing.  DH had to leave deathbed to sit in waiting room for hysterectomy to support MIL.  MIL still complains family wasn't supportive during HER tough time.  (No, I still haven't gotten over it.)
• 2009 Christmas.  Brother overseas for holidays.  First year without Dad.  Most of extended family in California, invite mother to CT for Christmas.  Plan to host Christmas at apartment so Mom and I will be kept busy.  Discuss with MIL in November.  She agrees and seems supportive.  
• 24 hours later MIL calls DH and claims we stole her favorite holiday, went behind her back and that we don't care that she had a rough year.  (MIL mind= hysterectomy > dead father)
• MIL completely unwilling to compromise.  States she will have Christmas alone if we do not agree to come to her house as same time as usual.  Still no reference to my mother's being in CT or her prior willingness to share.  Eventually 'compromise'  that we can have late dinner and she'll do early lunch Christmas day.
• Christmas Day: MIL 'lunch' happens at 3pm.  *rage*
• New years to date: Minimal contact with MIL.  DH visits alone for most for events and I work most holidays.  MIL laments that 'no one ever visits anymore.'  Truth in fact.

We spent last years Thanksgiving (I left early for work) and Christmas (was supposed to be at work but got the day off last minute) at her house crammed into her tiny kitchen doing all the work for her.  Of course no one is allowed to bring anything to holiday dinners, but SIL and I are expected to show up and do her bidding.  Especially ironic when SIL is expected to finish making food that she cannot eat (gluten allergy) and I'm expected to prepare food I wont eat (pepperoni.) Then we must thank MIL for having us and tell her how delicious everything is.  (Note: Dear MIL, turkey should NEVER come out of a microwave. I never knew something with the consistency of a pencil eraser could be so dry.)

Which brings us to this year.  The year after we bought a big new house, with a huge dining room table and a big kitchen.  Once again my brother will be overseas and once again I crave the distraction of hosting friends and family at my house.  October comes and DH discussed Christmas with MIL.  

It's like talking to a wall.

"Christmas is my favorite holiday."  Really?? You must be the only one with that feeling.  It's not like I gave up my family to move to a different state to be with your son or anything.  (I love my husband but yes, I do still get very bitter about this.)  I shouldn't expect to get to see them every year, that's just ridiculous. 

"It's the only time people visit anymore."  Did it ever occur to you that the reason no one visits anymore is because you act like a raging thunder@#nt so often that we just can't bear to be around you?!  Remember how before this all happened your we got dinner together every week or two?  That was because of ME not wanting to take your baby from you, not because he was dying to see you.


Christmas when I grew up was a time to be with family.  ALL family.  We rotated holidays among the grandparents and siblings to everyone got a turn and everyone compromised to make it so that we could SEE each other and spend time together.  Being around such a self centered individual makes me not even want to celebrate the holiday.  I'd rather volunteer to work than be embroiled in the MIL family circus.  It's the only way I feel that my DH doesn't feel forced to choose.  When it becomes our family Christmas vs MIL's Christmas he is stuck in the middle.  I can't force my husband to not see his mother.  So once again I'll take myself out of the picture.  Another holiday lost.  Seems like the magic is gone from this one anyway.