Sigh...when it rains, it pours....

When I came home the other day the laundry room looked very dark.  I couldn't figure out why until I went in there looked into the bathroom and saw this.  What a lovely view.  Leave my husband home for awhile and he's building things again.

 Okay, I'll cut him some slack because he'd created a makeshift painting booth to protect the yard and be a windbreak so he could paint the furniture.

It takes quite a while because of the wind but so far he's painted the top, bottom, 3 back panels, two interior panels and the two side panels.  He has the doors to do.  He's a bit miffed with me because he wants to make new doors and I said no.  He thinks I can carefully remove the beautiful design elements and he'll glue them on the new doors.  I told him it was just too darn old and the designs would break no matter how gentile I was.  So, the doors are waiting patiently to be painted after he does some repair work on them.

 I know it doesn't look like much but I swear someday I'll be able to put my clothes back in it.

See the wall?  I've been desperately trying to find some wallpaper to replace that.  I thought if I could find something it would be a great idea to lay on the bed while healing and direct D while he did the work.  So far I haven't found a darn thing so I guess this will be another project for next summer.

Okay, this is a complete and total random picture.  Thursday, I was sitting at the front desk at work and this guy was waaaaay up on the window.  It's on the outside of the window but I thought it was the coolest looking creature I'd seen in a long time.  It was a good inch or so big too.  How neat is that?  LOL!

 I am so looking forward to the surgery Friday.  I come home each night and put a heating pad on my poor foot to soothe the pain.  It feels wonderful even if it is temporary.

 I've been working at getting things done because I know they'll drive me nuts while sitting and mending.  Yesterday I decided to clean and wax the kitchen floor.  For some reason where the dog's dish is the baseboard was loose.  I pulled it away and there were a bazillion tiny bugs walking around, along with a huge funny looking mushroom thing and the floor and sheetrock were soaked.

I scraped the mold away, dried the spot and then sprayed Raid to kill the pests as best I could.  Then I noticed the floor was starting to warp at the doorway.

When D got home he pulled out the refrigerator and the filter to the ice maker has been leaking for months.  So the floor behind the refrigerator is wet, along with the sheetrock.  Which means, the subfloor under the freezer in the laundry room is probably also bad and explains why the laundry room closet door has started to rub on the floor.  So that's messed up to.

This is one of the 'bite your tongue' moments in marriage.  The well has continued to turn itself off and on refilling the water tank when we aren't running water.  A few months back I found a faucet open in the yard.  D also replaced two important pieces to the well.  The pump continued to turn off and on so I said on at least 3 occasions, "If we don't have a leak outside, then it has to be in the house.  Go under the house and check for any leaks".  It fell on deaf ears.

Today, I don't have water because the handle to the faucet behind the refrigerator snapped off.  Luckily it's a split shift for D at HD so he'll get home at 12:30 and can replace the faucet so I can have water to the house.  After that he'll repair the leaking line to the refrigerator.

In the meantime, I'm just going to have him try and dry everything out and concentrate on this repair next summer since it's going to be a major project consisting of ripping up the floor and sub floor in two rooms (if we're lucky).

Pondering and Bunions....ewwwwww.....

I have two posts today.  This one and the one below it.  This morning I was painting pieces to the armoire (see post below) and came up with a few insights I'd like to share.

First is, no matter what happens to you in life, you can adjust.  Last month my big sis went on vacation for 3 months and I kept her three wiener dogs.  Yep, I had 5 of those little cuties for 3 weeks.  Hers were excellent but my little Nissie needed a few attitude adjustments from me on occasion. 

Anyway, this is little Rosie.  The newest pup to my sisters menagerie.  She's an absolute love.  She slipped a disk in her back and was up for adoption.  Of course in most people's eyes, she is considered damaged goods but not to my sister E.  She convinced the foster family she can handle a 'special needs' pup and was honored to take little Rosie home.

This picture just makes me laugh.  E's dogs aren't allowed on the furniture so this is the back half of Rosie still in her cart along with Vinnie's hind end.  I had a huge stash of blankets on the floor for them to rest on.  Apparently these two can't figure out how to put their entire bodies under the blankets.  What a hoot!

This is little Ringo.  He's the father to my dog Nuttie's puppies.  The cart Rosie is now using used to belong to him.  E successfully brought him back from being in the cart due a slipped disk in his back so now Rosie can use it.  Ringo is cart free today.

Ringo is a very sweet and gentle dog...but funny.  He's lost all his teeth and can't keep his tongue in his mouth.  My sister E rescued him from some horrible neighbors of my mothers. He was abused mostly by neglect and his left eye suffered and can no longer create tears.  You have to clean this green goop out of his eye several times a day and put a gel in to keep it moist.  Can you tell my sister is a softy for a hard luck story?

Ahhh, next on my list is Brussel Sprouts.  I love these little things.  D and I cook them and put them in the refrigerator so they're nice and cold.  Then when we want a quick snack, we reach in grab a few and start munching.

The downside to them is, they should only be cooked outside because they really honestly and truly stink to high heaven.  They're probably the reason we now have cooking elements attached to BBQ's.  LOL!

Next on my list is....the kitchen.  Don't clean the kitchen and then before you leave open the refrigerator and decide it needs cleaning too.  Very bad move.  My refrigerator is beautiful because I gutted it and washed all the shelves and drawers but the kitchen needs attention a.g.a.i.n.

I also learned, putting the little rubber mat you kneel on when you garden works great in front of the kitchen sink while washing the shelving for the refer.

Now comes, why does she need to stand on a rubber mat?  Ahhhhhh BUNIONS!!!!!

I've been babying this little beast for years and have finally decided it was time to take care of it before I cripple myself.  Of course after visiting the surgeon and him messing with it, the pain has doubled and it's becoming harder and harder to try and walk normally at work so I don't look like a gimp.

Look at my foot above.  It doesn't look that bad.  I've definitely seen worse.  But once the surgeon showed me my x-ray, all the pain made sense.

This is what I've learned.  Yeah, yeah...I'm sure you all already knew this but I'm going to share for those who don't.  Bunions are not a growth on your foot/toe.  Also, they are not caused by your shoes.  Yeah high heals and tight shoes contribute but basically bunions are hereditary.  Which explains why my mom, sisters and Aunt Phyllis had them.

Also, I didn't know there are two little round bones that are supposed to be directly under your big toe.  Well, my little round bones are where they are supposed to be but my big toe decided to slide out to the side pushing my second toe into my middle toe.  This causes pain on the bottom of my foot which I thought was a bone spur.  It's not.  It's caused by the movement of one toe pushing into the other.  Ummmm...ouch.

This is a side view.  Ouch again.  Now the fix.

My bunion surgery will be pretty much rated a medium surgery.  It's not the easiest but not the hardest.  I'm not going to have to retrain my feet to fit my high heels (the surgeon promised me that) if I do all my PT correctly.

Apparently he can move my toe back about 10 degrees or so which should put it back over the little round bones where it supposed to be.  He'll have to shave the outer bone which we all believe is a growth and it isn't.  Then he'll saw my toe in two just above the big joint and screw it back together.  He doesn't believe he'll have to put screws in my second toe.  It should move back to the correct position (we hope).  He'll know better once he's in there.  I'm lucky that the upper part of my foot is in alignment so he doesn't have to cut that and put a steel plate in my arch.  That's the really hard surgery I'm dodging.

I told him I'm holding him to the promise I can wear my nice shoes again.  Once this surgery is done and I get the okay, I'm going to have him do the other one.  I'm tired of the pain and worst of all, D hasn't been able to give me great foot rubs in ages.  I really miss them and he says he misses doing them.  Now that's love!

I'll be off work 2 weeks and recuperating about 6 - 8 weeks.  I'd love to do the right foot immediately but he won't touch it for most likely 6 months.  Sigh....no matter how hard I whined he wouldn't agree to doing both feet at one time even though I told him I could use a wheelchair for awhile and tough out the PT.  He stuck to his guns.  Yeah, yeah...I know, doctor knows best.

Okay, I'm pooped.  Two big posts in one day and I still have to go clean my kitchen again.  Oye vey.

Armoire Restoration Phase 1.....

New projects have been started which means the house is a mess again.  Sigh......

I am now living out of boxes.  Which you'd think after 40 years, I'd be used to it.  LOL!

D wasn't able to repaint the armoire last summer because we just didn't have enough warm days in a row for the repairs and paint to dry.

The armoire needed two new legs for more support so it wouldn't sag since it's 9 feet wide.  Luckily, when D took the footboard apart so he could use parts off of it to widen the headboard (into a king size), he kept the old legs.  He's cutting and fitting dowels for the legs so it'll be a tight joint.  It's much stronger than screws and looks more professional.  Since the piece is so old, they didn't use screws on it, it makes sense to keep with that trend.

D, like his son, hates his picture taken so I was surprised to see him pose for me.

D's putting on the primer coat after I cleaned the surfaces.

He had to use filler and wood to create a strong base for the new corner leg to fit into.  Where the old leg used to be, there was a big gaping hole.

Once the filler dried, he sanded it smooth for a nice clean fit.

As you can tell, the dogs have become immune to our smelly, noisy projects.  They just take anything the humans do with a grain of salt.

This is only a fraction of the pieces that need painting but the more we bring out, the more that needs to be covered and protected from the night and morning dew.  So this is just the top, bottom and two of the back panels.  Later we'll tackle the two outside and two inside panels.

Believe it or not, the top of this piece is black.  I painted it today.  The way the sun shines on it makes it look white but trust me it's not.  It's an optical illusion.

This has become our paint of choice for furniture and picture frames.  It's automotive paint that can't be bought at a regular store.  It's usually for the black trim pieces on your car.  It's expensive but extremely durable.  The nightstands we did two years ago, look like we did them yesterday.  

D also painted the entertainment armoire in the family room years ago with the same paint and it still looks beautiful.

This is why I hate to paint.  I get impatient and make the paint run or do stupid stuff.  Although out of fairness, I think this checkered because the surface wasn't clean enough.  I didn't clean the legs but I think D believed I did.  Unfortunately, sometimes things like this happen.  I'm waiting for it to dry so I can sand and fix this booboo even though it won't be seen and will be facing the wall.

The Daughter Returns!!!!

 
H returned for a very short visit recently.  She brought her wonderful boyfriend Dax.  Yep, that's his name.  It not short for anything, just Dax.

It was a wonderful surprise.  We met for lunch and then again dinner.

This is H and S.  Yep, her brother and sister-in-law were able to make it.

D's brother and sister-in-law even dropped by for a visit.

Considering it was a quick fly in and out I was surprised to see Marge and Patrick there with their new baby Conner.  He's just a few weeks old.

It was my first time meeting him so I naturally latched onto him and did some grandmotherly cuddling.

Sean was sporting a black eye.  He ran smack dab into a wall full steam ahead.  He thought it was funny to tell strangers his daddy did it.  Patrick had to explain, if he kept saying that he wouldn't see daddy anymore because they'd take him away.

M was wonderful.  It was way past her bedtime and she was a little trooper.  S & I took her for a walk when she got fussy and it was great being able to kiss and hug her for awhile.

I love this picture of M watching Dax.  Is she asking, "Is this my new uncle or what?"  LOL!

Here's one of the few pictures with me and my two kids.  Okay, little Conner is in it too but he's like family for it's just fine with me.

As is typical with HD, they wouldn't let D off work for the evening so he missed it.  We were able to squeeze in a lunch with H and Dax so we could meet him on a more private setting.  It was great.  He's a really sweet guy.

We should have had the waiter in the picture so I could photoshop D's head on him.  LOL!

I hate the new blogger, I just can't figure out how to get my text by the pictures where I want it.  So, please forgive me until I figure the darn thing out.

The Deck is Done...Done....Done....

Well the deck is done.  It took a little over a year to complete it which isn't bad considering D was working two jobs and spending time on it in the evenings.

I thought it might be nice to see some before and after pictures.....so here they are.

This was the first section completed. 

This corner was one of the hardest things to get right.  D actually took it apart after he had the framing done because it wasn't quite right in his mind.

He made a good choice, it turned out beautiful.  See those pickets?  I cut almost every cotton pickin' one of them.  D cut the first few sections and then turned them over to me.  He had to rip the posts from  2x6's or 2x8's first.  Then he'd pile them in the pick up and I'd cut them to size.

This is where you can see the deck is on a hillside.  Those are the tops of the neighbors Oak trees.  

I hadn't a clue how D was going to navigate this odd angle but he did a beautiful job.

See?  Goregous!  I believe this was the side that cost D two fingers.  He no longer has beautiful soft Banker's hands.  Nothing like a circular saw to shorten your digits.  LOL!

This and the above side were dangerous to walk on they were so rotten.  I had to tread carefully just to get these pictures.

I love the way D curved the rail with his router on the two ends of the deck where you stand and look at the view.  The wider wood makes it comfortable to lean on.

If it were my house, I'd take those windows out and replace them with french doors leading to the new deck.

For me to access the deck,  I had to navigate these dangerous stairs.  I had to try and walk right up the center where the support beams where or my foot would go through the wood.  It was scary and I'm really glad to see these gone.

These are much more elegant and I love the caps D put on the pillars.

Honest to goodness.  I don't know what kept this deck in one piece.  Look at the lack of framing and movement over the years of the existing support beams.  Now that's a slipshod job.

I think this desk is going to last for many many years.  D's framing and supports are far superior to what the original deck had.

D added gravel for drainage once he pulled all this garbage off.

Which would you rather have?  This one or the one above it?  I love this view.  It puts  the scope of the job in context.

D did admit to me while working on this section, he lost his footing and rolled down this hill.  The tree I'm standing under stopped his spiral downhill.  Oh...by they way, I'm further down than it looks, I used the zoom on this shot.

D was able to sister joists to the original ones on the front.  He wanted to do that because they were actually attached to the framing of the house.  This is where D hoisted me up there to work then went to the back to saw some stuff and I was stuck sitting on the beam until he decided to come back.

When my husband builds, it'll take an act of God to take it down.  LOL!

Look at the lack of support.  How did that pass an inspection?

D's solution to the lack of support in the previous picture.  It looks like an erector set to me.

Okay, D did a beautiful job on this deck but I had to toot my horn too.  It was my suggestion to miter the tops of the pickets to give the deck personality.  I mentioned it in passing and the next thing I knew, he was putting them in the plan.

I love that you see the deck as you drive up to the front of the house.

Even though this is a job D did for the neighbor, we won't forget it because we can see the deck as we drive up our driveway.  So we can still enjoy it in the future.

This is the best gift I've ever bought for D.  Okay, one of the best.  This little JawHorse is a real workhorse.   It's easy to move and extremely stable.  We wished several times during this job that we had two and not just one.  I'm thinking, it would have saved both of D's fingers from the circular saw blade.  Santa will probably put another one under the tree this year.  (NOTE:  For those who don't know, that's a compound miter saw in the picture, not a circular saw.  I've lost count of how many different saws the man owns.  My favorite is the reciprocating saw.  It trims trees and bushes great.  Don't let your husband know that's what you used it for though.  LOL!)

If you have a man who does any kind of handyman stuff.  Be it working on a car, yard, house, etc.  I can't stress how great it would be to buy them one of these.  They fold up so they're easy to carry and store.  They come with different attachments...I believe I bought D two.

Don't get a lookalike.  Buy a JawHorse.  He'll laugh at you when he opens it and make fun of it.  (Have him call D if they're questioning your purchase.)   I guarantee it's the one gift after he uses it, he'll thank you over and over.  

It's like the Dremel I bought him years ago.  He didn't open the package for about 3 years and then one day opened it and used it.  Both D and S had to apologize to me about thinking it was a stupid gift.  We now have 3 Dremels around the house and a gazillion attachments.