What I do when I am bored

My husband does not care for the times when boredom clutches me in its nasty grasp.  Usually, when I can find nothing else to do, I go hunting for power tools.  If you have read any of my previous posts about me, power tools and ladders.  Those two, plus me, is not always the best combination.  It seems that men have a natural instinct and ability ingrained in them that allows them to operate power tools with virtually little effort.  Me, on the other hand, I pick up, plug it in and expect to work magic.  I do have to say, that after four years of house remodeling, I have learned that, for different applications, you have to have your tools on the correct settings.  Coming this understanding has made my life a whole lot easier!  I might write Power Tools for Blondes some day.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.  Yesterday, I dropped Steven off at a friend’s house at 4:50 a.m. because the ‘boys’ were going white water rafting.  I was home by 5:15, absolutely awake and decided to take advantage of the somewhat cool morning.  Out came the belt sander, rotary sander, drill, chain, boards, brackets and columns.  I wanted to make a shelf to go behind my sofa so I could store magazines, decorating books, Bibles, scrapbooks all within easy reach, but out of sight.  I looked high and low for one already made, but most of them were particle board and very expensive.  Besides, I could not find a short shelf that was five feet wide.  So, I made a plan in my head, got the materials and yesterday put it all together.  It was fun picking stuff out at Home Depot.  My husband was following me around while I puttered.  He could not see the design I had in my head, so he just followed and did the heavy lifting.  A clerk in Home Depot asked him if he could use some help, from the other end of the aisle I heard him mumbling something about his wife and her projects…lol.

Steven had already cut the boards in half for me before he left.  I sanded the boards down, sanded the edges and rounded the ends of the boards.  I then beat them up with a chain (to make the boards look older) and stained them.  Once they were dry and wiped them down, I used brackets to hold two boards together.  I could not find a board wide enough, so Steven suggested I buy a smaller board and strap the two together…GENIUS!  I kinda like the rustic mixed with industrial look.  So, I may leave the brackets up and showing.  I found columns at Hobby Lobby for $5.99 each.  I put the first finished board down, put non slip grip dots on the two columns, then placed the columns on each end, stacked the next board and repeated.  Hobby Lobby has their displays set up the same way, except they use glass shelves.  It is very sturdy and I like that it is stackable.  That means I can break it down and move it around easily in my house.  I am always rearranging and moving things.  I may make a couple more for other places in my house.  I was very proud of it.  I did it all by myself and no one got hurt!  🙂

The boards

Brackets and non-slip grip dots

First set of boards down

Ta-da! The shelf

Looks like a lot of work for nothing, huh?

I think I like this picture on the shelf better

The total cost:

Boards  $16.97

Brackets and non slip dots  $8.00

Columns  $47.92

___________________________

Total:  $72.89

Not bad considering the least expensive shelf I found that I like cost $250.00.

Hope everyone is having a happy Saturday!

Andrea

Gearing up for a bathroom remodel

So, it is finally here!  We are putting our ducks in a row to gut and remodel our only, yes, I said ONLY bathroom in the entire house.  Since this house was built in 1907, the bathroom was an afterthought.  We have the original bathroom that you can access through a door on the porch (believe it or not, we do not use this one 🙂 ) 

original bathroom door on the back porch

and then you have a very small one on the inside built from the same room as the one on the porch.  We are going to take down the wall in between the porch bathroom and the inside bathroom and make it one large room.  At least, that is what we plan.  It seems that every time we get the sledge hammer out, we find something we were not expecting and then, we are delayed, or the project comes to a complete halt.  Hopefully, this is not the case with the bathroom.  I am tired of walking on plywood floors in there.

bathroom now

bathroom now 2

bathroom now 3

The plywood?  Let me tell you how that came about…  Shortly after we moved in, I was curious to see if the original wood floor was underneath the very ugly peel and stick tiles that lined the floor at that time.  So, I bought a crowbar and pulled them all up.  I found more peel and stick tiles, so, I pulled them up too!  By about that time, my husband came home and found me over my head in peel and stick tiles.   I guess he decided, if you can’t beat them, join ’em….  He grabbed the crowbar and helped me pull up the plywood.  What we found?  MORE peel and stick tiles.  Sheesh!  Under those peel and stick tiles was another subfloor of plywood and then the original floor.  The condition of the original floor was not bad, except around the tub.  Whoever the genius was who installed these multi layers of tiles and plywood, did not caulk around the tub.  So, all of the flooring around the tub was rotted.  I was wondering how in the world it was holding up my very heavy cast iron tub.  I imagined myself one day enjoying a nice bubble bath when all of a sudden CRASH and I am peering up through a five foot hole, visiting with the cats who live under my house.

We deliberated on several projects to move forward with this summer.  We decided on the bathroom in the hope that if we invest money there and, when that is complete, spruce up the kitchen, we may be able to get the bank to take a second look at our house.  As I said in previous posts, the appraiser told the bank that our house only has a 20 year life expectancy and that even after we complete the necessary repairs, our house would not appraise for enough to cover our loan.  Frustrating!  The main reason for this is, the bank made us tack on projects that we did not want.  But, they convinced us that it would make the appraisal value higher, thereby it pushed the contractor’s fee up to around $80k (in his pocket), plus the material costs.  What mainly frustrates me about this is, I don’t need a contractor to make the repairs to our house.  I need a roofing company, a plumber and a carpenter…the rest of the work we can do ourselves (we have pretty much done it already anyway).  This is our third house redo.  I guess the politics of the whole thing aggravate me.  To read more about it, visit some of my previous posts on the subject.

So, back to the subject at hand.  Here is a picture of my bathroom, and here are pictures of the fixtures, tub etc. that we will be adding to it.

Tile:

Bathroom Tile

 

 

Clawfoot tub from Lowes

Pedestal Sink

Inspiration:

Inspiration

Inspiration

Inspiration- love the mirror!

Chandelier, for over the tub

 Andrea

Connect Meeting July 11th

The Game

Hello! I am the new pup. When I want Vivian to play with me, I go and get one of her things. I know if I do that, she will chase me.

The bait!

Sneaking over to get the bait

Got it!!!!!

Hasta la vista!

Come and get me! Nah, nah, boo boo! You are too big to fit under this table!

"Give it back Taavi!"

Nah, nah, I still have it!

Gotcha!

Andrea

Iranian Protest

In support of democracy and the Iranian protest, I too changed my background to green.  I thank God that I live in America!  Can you imagine your government censoring the media, your emails and not allowing you to peacefully protest?  Unimaginable.

Andrea

TIME – 10 Ways Twitter Will Change American Business

I came across this TIME Magazine article on CNN.  I thought it was interesting, especially since I was a Twitter skeptic.  Here is an excerpt.  For the full article, click here:

As Twitter grows, it will increasingly become a place where companies build brands, do research, send information to customers, conduct e-commerce and create communities for their users. Some industries, like local retail, could be transformed by Twitter — both at one-store operations that cater to customers within a few blocks of their locations and at the individual stores of giant retail operations like Wal-Mart (WMT). In either case, having the opportunity to tell customers about attractive sales and new products can be done at remarkably low cost while providing for greater geographic accuracy.

Puzzles Anyone?

Recently, my brother came in town, from New Orleans, for a conference.  He was putting something in the microwave and jokingly asked me if I liked to play puzzles.  I had no idea what he was talking about until I looked over and saw him pushing around my floor tiles with his foot.  “Ha..ha..ha..” I said, rather dryly.  It seems that whomever it was that put these ugly .50 cents industrial tiles down, they did not glue them very well, or at all for that matter.  When we first moved in, we pulled up carpet in the kitchen to find these tiles.  I was glad that the tiles looked better than the carpet.  But these tiles are cracked, chipped and not glued down.  If you pull up any given tile on the floor, you will find a pile of dirt under it.  Gross!  I hate, Hate, HATE this floor!  Lol…  My husband hears about it all the time.  I have scrubbed it, scoured it, scraped it, stripped it, mop n glo’d it, all to no avail.  It still looks horriffic!  It would not take a whole lot of effort, or money, on our part to fix it.  But, the problem is, Steven wants to finish the attic and put in a staircase that you would access from the kitchen.  So, until we have that all worked out, we are stuck with the ugly floor.  Sigh…  I guess this is my grumble for the week.  If I get really bored this summer, I might line all the black tiles up one side and the white on the other.  I was always good at tanagrams.

On another note, our puppy is adjusting well.  Vivian is less jealous and actually playing with the dog now.  Thank goodness!  He is a sweet little thing.  I don’t remember if I mentioned it before, but we named the puppy Taavi.  He is an Australian Terrier and according to a listing of Australian based names, Taavi means “Beloved”.

Vivian and Taavi taking a nap on the sofa

Happy Saturday!

Andrea

PS: I don’t know what to be more horrified about — the ugly floor, my ugly feet or the fact that I showed you both!

Shooting at Holocaust Museum, Washington D.C.

I read this story this morning.  This is so sad.  An 88 year old white supremist full of conspiracy theories, gunned down a 39 year old security officer at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.  I have been a patron of this museum several times over the past ten years and I also send a yearly gift in support of the fine programs and exhibits the museum displays.  It is so sad that there are crazy people like this man out in the world and also that there are still people, in this day and age, full of hatred and intolerance of another race.  For the full story on CNN, click here.

Andrea

Warren Family Vacation 2009

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!  Whew, what a fast 7 days this past week has been!  I did not announce here on my blog that I was going on vacation due to security reasons.  You never know who is out there lurking….  All of my friends and family knew where I was though. 

We had a great time!  We camped in South Carolina, canoed in North Carolina, enjoyed the scenic beauty of the Tennessee mountains by staying outside of Gatlinburg for a night and then stopped in Arkansas last night on our way to get Taavi, the newest addition to our family.  For anyone interested, here are some photos from our week and a snippet of information on where we were and what we were doing.  I missed everyone!  I am glad I am back home!

Sunday

We left on Sunday.  On our way to Alabama for the night, we stopped in Jackson, Mississippi to eat at Keifer’s.  Keifer’s is the best doggone Greek food I have ever eaten.  It is a small business located downtown and people drive in from multiple states to eat there.  It is THAT good!  If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend this family owned, on top of its game, restaurant.  I also stopped in Birmingham to visit with a college friend, Consuela.  I haven’t seen her in six years…..good times, good times!  When we arrived at the hotel, Vivian wanted to swim.  So, even though it was 10:00 p.m., we donned our bathing suits and made a lap or two in the pool.  It never occurred to me that Vivian has not stayed in a hotel before.  Upon entering our room, she had many questions and was amazed that someone set up a little bedroom just for us!  Here she is after a full day of travel and an hour swimming.

Tired after a day full of travel and swimming

Monday-Tuesday

“Is Mississippi a road?”  Vivian asked from the back seat (I guess that is better than “Are we there yet?”).  “No, it is a state, baby” I replied.  “What state do we live in?” I asked.  “Alexandria!” was her triumphant answer.  So, did ya’ll know that Alexandria was a state?

Oconee State Park, SC - Vivian feeding the geese

The main purpose of our trip was for Vivian to meet her great grandmother and great grandfather.  On our way to see them, we stopped in downtown Greenville and visited the park. 

On street parking, downtown Greenville, SC

The downtown area was thriving and very hip.  We passed many restaurants and specialty stores on our way to Reedy Falls park, which is in the middle of downtown.  We even happened upon a conversation of young businessmen (and women) who talked about living in their loft in the downtown area and how much they enjoyed living and working there.  I thought that was very cool (All of my preservationist friends understand what I mean).  The great thing about most of the streets in Greenville was that they had storefront parking.  They never did widen the road or remove the parking spots from in front of the shops.  I think this was one of the main reasons the downtown thrives.  The other reason is the highly attractive park that has a creek/falls that runs smack through the middle of downtown.

Reedy Falls Park, Downtown Greenville SC

Greenville spiffed up one of their best assets by putting a bridge over the creek falls for people to bike over, or walk out on and admire the view.  The bridge, from what I understand from the sign, was financed through private persons and non-proft groups.  Greenville has also retained a good bit of green space in the downtown area despite development.  I call that good planning by the city administration.  Greenville also has bicycle lanes and has good walkability and bikeability (if that is a word).  You would not have to talk me in to living there.  It was beautiful.

The bridge across the falls/creek

Vivian at the park

Vivian at Reedy Falls

Vivian and Andrea at Reedy Falls

Wednesday

We got a wild hair and drove up to Rosman, North Carolina and took a four hour canoe trip.  We had a good time paddling down the quiet French Broad.  We saw a hawk catch a fish.  At the end of the day, you could clearly see the spots I missed putting sunscreen on!

On the French Broad, Rosman, NC

A bridge over the French Broad, Rosman NC

Thursday

We visited with my grandmother again and then went on to Easley, SC and visited with my grandfather and my cousins.  It rained ALL day.

Grandma Petrone and Vivian

Grandpa Petrone, Me and Steven

Friday

Our plans were to stay at the park (Oconee) and boat, fish, make a fire…you know, all the things you are supposed to do when you go camping.  The only problem was that the weather was not cooperating.  It rained Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

Vivian, singing in the rain, Oconee State Park

Steven was determined to cook out, so he grabbed a poncho out of the car and flipped hamburgers in the rain.  Our geese friends decided to come up and check us out again. 

Resident Geese, Oconee State Park, SC

Vivian and Steven feeding the geese (wow, no mistaking paternity here)

Lazy rainy afternoon on the porch at our cabin

 

Friday night we decided to head to Tennessee.  We left the park early, we were supposed to stay until Sunday.  We went to Sevierville, TN which is right outside of Gatlinburg, and stayed the night at the Wilderness at the Smokies, a waterpark/resort.  Poor Vivian had been drug across four states and had not had any fun yet, so we decided to let her play in the water park for a day.  This place was brand new and pretty cool.  Included with your room you get free passes to their two waterparks and free tickets to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium (which was voted the #1 aquarium in the country).  We splashed for hours, rode down the slides, sat in the hot tub, went back to our room and then came back down and did it all over again! 

The bucket of water just dumped out on them...you better move when you hear the bell ring!

Vivian and Me

Eating dippin' dots at the park

Sunday-Monday

We packed up and drove to Little Rock and stayed the night Sunday and then today, we got up early and drove to Hot Springs to pick up Taavi.

Vivian and her new puppy, Taavi

We are now back home and I do believe that Taavi is adjusting well to living here in Alexandria.

Vivian and Taavi playing in the front yard

Andrea