( Making a patio under the stairs.. )

Almost done. The sand has to set, then I spread it again, hose it down, then let it get all compacted.

( Dead rat we found mummified in the walls of the basement. (Disturbing image warning for the more fluttery of stomach.) I didn't take a picture until the third time the thing gave me heartflops while throwing out the trash—hence, the garbage and snow). )

I'm fixing a hole... in a wooden vent cover. Had to have a few of the horizontal and vertical pieces specially made at Wood World. Nice place if you need special sizes or mahogany or whatever. Anyway, behold:

Before:

Cross posted to mrdankelly

Mike's dad is helping retile the upstairs bathroom, so he had to pull out the old tile first. Lo and behold, a Chicago Daily Tribune (the Trib's old name) from May 31, 1958, was entombed beneath. I just spent a half hour on my hands and knees reading through the stories and ads. Wish I could scan these, but the paper is rather brittle. I plan to have the movie page laminated and framed so I can hang it on my wall. Cool beans, eh?

( They're big, so I shall provide ye with an LJ cut. )

Howard helps me fix* the trap on the bathroom sink.



*Honestly, while I did most of the sloppy and disgusting work, Mike had to take over when I my rage at my inability to attach the new trap rose to head-exploding heights. We still need the plumber (when he comes to remove the upstairs sink and toilet) to readjust the whole damn thing. It leaks slightly. Not a bad job overall though for a guy who's never done such a thing before though.

Bathtub drain fixed. Mike has lovely hair, but not when it's been sitting in a mildewy pipe for a few weeks. Yackkkkkk! Sadako!!! We still need to call in the plumber to uninstall the upstairs toilet and sink. We're replacing the pipes and Mike's dad is retiling the floor. Bathroom sink remains boned for unknown reasons. Probably the trap.

How industrious we are.

Odds and Ends

With hapkido out of the way for a month, I've been investing myself in the house.

* We're still scraping away at the molding, and the doors, using the heat gun to remove some deplorable painting decisions. It breaks my heart to see such beautiful old wood gasping for the air after I scrape it free of a dozen years of dull white paint. I should run a few more before and after pix here.

* Slow drainage problems with the bathroom tub and sink. Despite Drano liquid snake and repeated augering, I still can't figure out what's blocking the damn thing. I even went below, found a drain plug on the trap, and opened it up. A goodly amount of water spooged out, staining a perfectly good pair of pants, goddammit, and not doing very much to solve the problem. Further augering found nothing, though I did get to cover my hands with disgusting black splotches of pipe dirt. Time to call the plumber.

We've done a few things with the house but I've been lazy about updating. I need to show you the inner workings of a double-weighted Chicago window for one thing. I've been stripping a door with the heat gun. We're having the electrician come in next week so we can start work on rehabbing the upstairs bathroom (or the "Prison Bathroom," as I've taken to calling it, owing to its seedy looking, exposed pipe sink. And oh so much more. It just feels like the real rehabbing took place last year, and all y'all have already seen all the original, impressive shots of torn up carpet, unfinished floors, and so on. The house was in good shape to begin with, so the opportunities for grand and glorious rebuilding projects are growing fewer and far between.

So, maybe I should just kill this journal. Maybe not. Eh, I'll play it by ear.

Latest woodworking project. A 6 foot bookshelf. I am Dan: God of Wood.

Workbench making

First, buy yourself a bunch of lumber at The Crafty Beaver. Har har har! Crafty Beaver!

Hey! Kids! Let's attach a trellis to the back porch so the tiny wife can grow peas!

Assess the situation. Note trellises already in place, attached by father in law so we can eat on the porch in peace. Note: the knowledge of fathers and fathers in law is ideal to have at your disposal while fixing or building things, especially if you don't know your ass from your elbow where power tools are concerned. Plus, they do most of the work.

The apple tree is building apples!

Latest Updates

* We have a composter out behind the garage now. While tearing up turf to make room for all the gardening we're doing, we filled the sucker up about halfway with sod and grass. Then the fun part came. Coffee grounds are ideal for composters. I have tossed in coffee grounds with glee. Last night I got to chop up three bananas that went bad. INTO THE COMPOSTER WITH YOU, BAD BANANAS! I can't remember all the no-nos right now, but it seems meat, dairy, and animal poop are the only verboten things. Otherwise, toss it in! ROT! HA HA HA! ROT AND STINK, COMPOSTER! MAKE FERTILE GUNK FOR OUR GARDENS! HA HA!

* I spent six hours on Saturday working with Mr. Benavides, an electrician, installing a light on the back porch and the garage and adding a timer to the porch light. Well, "assisting" might be the better word, and by "assisting," I mean "holding things and staying out of the way." Actually, he was a nice fellow who explained what he was doing. Truthfully, I think I could have done most of it myself, but I considered it a learning experience. I am also more confident than ever that the house will not burn down.

* Finding all sorts of stuff as we tear up the grass for the vegetable garden. Mikes found a bunch of marbles, which our neighbor John told us we'd likely find since, as a lad, he used to play marbles with the kids (now adults) who used to live here. "Keep an eye out for tin soldiers too," said John. I also found a class ring, but unfortunately it was only 11 years old. Bits of crockery have turned up—plates, mostly— but nothing substantial. Ah, archaeology is a cruel mistress. Photos to come.

Getting things done with the onslaught of Spring.

What used to be a wild collection of garbage plants, weeds, and trees that decided to grow right against the fence...

Recent updates...

* My father in law has been staying with us, and through his fix-it expertise has replaced many of our pipes (we have actual water pressure now) and replaced the rotting wood on the front porch balcony, among other much-needed tasks. Hooray for Dan! Yes, that's his name too.

* We planted a magnolia and cherry tree out back, and they've both started to bloom, as has the apple tree. We also managed to clear out many of the brambles, weeds, and vines from the north side of the yard in preparation for the big old flower/food garden we plan to plant. Our arms are shredded from rose thorns. Pictures to come. Of the blooms, not the shredded arms.

* Cat pee smell is pervasive because one of the kitties (Travis, I'm guessing) has decided it's easier to pee in the dirt trapped in the large cracks along the basement wall. I've bought cement and plan to fill in the cracks next weekend, but the smell is making me nuts. I might just wake up and do it at midnight tonight.

It's been quiet because Mike and decided to retire for the season... partially. We wrapped up the front room last weekend by painting the ceiling. We need to do a little touch-up with tiny brushes, but largely the major painting is done. I'm using the remainder to paint that electric guitar I'm reconstructing.

We've had a few little breakdowns here and there. Looks like two people in their 30s put a house through its paces more so than a woman in her 90s. The tub drain plug assembly snapped, and we've decided to just use a rubber stopper until such time as we can afford a fancy-dan new tub and shower.

Not much else. But with spring come a dozen or so projects.

$225 to clean out the chimney and put a chimney cap on top of it. Yaggh.

Painting your dining room in a few simple steps...

Assess Roman ruin-like walls. Determine it is time to cover them with a nice maroon color that looks blood-red on digital film.

Another bit of strangeness. The name S. Lewis scratched deeply into the plaster.

And a little more work gets done. All the walls in the dining room and front room are patched and sanded. Christ, that was a clean-up and a half. Lots of joint compound dust filling our lungs right now, but we're getting there.