A Cute Skirt

You may have seen my 2012 manifesto that I posted, which is as close to New Year's resolutions as I am likely to come.  I have it posted on the wall right next to my computer monitor at work, so it effectively stares me in the face whenever my gaze strays from my computer.  It's effective... here are some of the current focus points...

"Finish off the backyard with granite."  I haven't done this, but mentally it's moving up the list and it's one of those projects that requires planning.  I've observed that grass is trying to come back in a few areas, and this week's torrential rains will only strengthen the little blades.  I've emailed a friend/neighbor about their granite guy who did work earlier this year.  I've also envisioned having granite delivered, borrowing extra shovels from neighbors, and hiring day labor.  I've made a mental note to find the pricing sheet at home that I have from my granite place.  ("My" granite place.  You know.  Doesn't everyone have one??)

"Be frugal."   "Eat out less."  "Eat foods in their natural state."  As it turns out, these three go hand in hand (in hand.)  I've also made a really concerted effort to brew my own coffee in the morning instead of stopping at the neighborhood Starbuck's which is literally about 20 feet out of my way on the way to work in the morning.  If you knew how much I loathe washing out the coffee pot (although my compost loves the grounds) you would realize that this is great progress.  I am also getting a ton of great recipes from Pinterest, and I'm actually making them -- so there's the eating out less part.  And, I'm trying to use up all those odds and ends that have been in my pantry for far too long.    I call that multi-tasking (because I don't like to speak of killing birds with stones...)

"Do yoga daily."  I haven't been doing it every day, but I am doing it much more often.  I downloaded a yoga interval timer from the Apple app store, and I have it set to chime every 60 seconds.  I have a pictorial of poses on the floor by my mat, and every time it chimes I change poses.  It's really good for me because I struggle with time, and I never know how long I've held a pose.  The harder ones feel like it's been 3 minutes, when in reality it was probably 20 seconds...

"Appreciate your dog."  My dog has been uber snugly lately.  And I am so letting her snuggle.  And I am trying really hard to give her more attention and longer walks.  She does wait for me at home every day.  All day.  It's the least I can do.  But I will say -- even before the manifesto, she had a pretty sweet life going.

"Get under the house and finally figure out why the kitchen is cold."  This past weekend I zipped up my Tyvek zoot suit, got a huge light on a long extension cord, and took a field trip under my house.  The cord was long enough for me to reach everywhere except under the guest room.  I did indeed determine at least part of the problem with the kitchen -- the sub floor is plywood.  Everywhere else in the house it is old planking.  It's due in part to a remodel that was done on the back of the house at some point.  To attempt to remedy, Red and I are donning our matching zoot suits this weekend and installing some insulation in that part of the house.  I also hope to make it to the public library today to get a copy of the original construction plans for the house -- that's been on my list for quite some time -- to help us decipher what in the heck happened back there.  I'm pretty sure there is a whole other blog post here...

"Start playing tennis and get a cute skirt."  I got the cute skirt.  It's black.  It's still sort of cold for me to contemplate actually playing...

"Don't let the laundry pile up."  So far I can declare a total victory here.  I've even washed my shower curtain.  So there.

"Take more time to hang out with friends."  I've spent a full day each of the last two weekends and spent the day with friends -- no projecting!  (And hence no blogging!)  And for the most part, was glad and consider it time well spent.  There is a small Sunday evening ache when you review your weekend and your project list, but ... it pays back in other, better ways.

"Really listen when the people you love speak."  I've made a conscious effort to sit down, and have my hands idle when I am on the phone with people, rather than racing around the house and multi-tasking during the conversation.  It doesn't come easy to me, but it does make me a better listener.

"Pursue the little house dream."  I did a lot of reading about work shops, and have started to ferret out more details on the logistics of it all.   I've started a conversation with Red about what a tiny house life could look like.   I think I've determined going to a workshop is on hold at least until Fall, so that when I attend I'm in a better position to come home and actually start executing.  I read about them weekly...

"Give yourself more avocado facials."  Check - did one this week... such great hydration...

"Get to know your neighbors."  I ran a blurb in our quarterly neighborhood newsletter in January, offering to organize a vegetarian pot luck dinner at my house.  I had a great response, and it's scheduled for February.  I'll meet at least a dozen new like-minded people in my neighborhood!  That's fun.

So, I'm off to a good start... Did you make resolutions?  How are you doing?

Absent. I know.

Yeah, I am still around.  But I've been... busy?  I guess just busy with life, and it's been so cold (for me, for Dallas) and it turns me into some kind of hermit.  I've done a little better with coping with the cold (I can hear Red laughing from here) with continuing to take dog walks even though it's below 40 and windy and I've even come home from work and left again!  after dark!  a few times so say what you want, but for me that is progress.  I really do hate. being. cold.

I worked some more on my bedroom wall, and door frame, but nothing really photo worthy.  I retrieved my nice lumber from the inside-the-house-pile for staining.  I found 1x8s and 1x6s (I'm pretty sure I meant to buy 1x6s and 1x3s, but honestly, it's been so long since I bought those that I may have had some great plan that I have forgotten.)  I wood conditioned and stained the 1x6s and they are beautiful.  I decided that I would poly them indoors, after installation.  I cut the piece for the horizontal part of the door frame, prefit it and it fit satisfactorally.  And then remememberd that my small nail gun is in the shop.  Hmmm.  I was on a roll and really wanted to install.  I scrounged around for the proper finish nails to nail in by hand, but only found 4 -- well, a start, right?  And then basically just had a "fail" with nailing the first piece in -- not enough hands, even with clamps, and too much hammering in a hard to reach area -- in the end post-poned in favor of waiting for my nail gun.  And in the meantime, maybe I'll get to Home Depot and buy and stain my 1x3s and I'll be able to install all of it at once and won't that be satisfying?

I've picked away at some of the linen threads around nails -- I have maybe 1/3 of the wall done -- but I haven't addressed the base boards or the corners.  The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so maybe I'll get a move on again.  But still, the nail gun hold up (see what I did there?  Gun?  Hold up?) I need to call and check on repair status...

I've glued two more rolls of pennies on my bowling ball -- if you haven't been following I'm sure that is a confusing sentence -- and it's still a fun project that I like.  If you are one of the confused folks, you can read about it here: 

http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/12/alternative-gazing-ball.html

I've also fallen back into the tiny house dream vortex...  it's so deep and dangerous... some inspiring reading here: (Go Ella go!)

http://littleyellowdoor.wordpress.com/ 

Meanwhile, I'm just juggling a lot of peripheral life things (like everyone else) that are not blog appropriate.  And my work is getting very busy, scheduled to reach a fevered pitch late March through early April.  And I am spending far and away too much time on Pinterest.* But Spring is coming (do not point out to me that we are only in the second week of January, I do not want to hear it) and at least one friend has already ordered her garden seeds and plotted out her garden boxes.  See?  Spring.  Coming. 

And, I'm working hard on implementing phrases from my 2012 manifesto into life and am pretty darn pleased with that.  Specifically I'm doing more yoga, I'm cooking more/eating out less, my laundry basket has not yet this year taken on life threatening proportions, I am taking the time to hang out with friends and I am being a better listener.   My kitchen floor is still cold, but I am indeed drinking good coffee. 

* But it is fostering several things on my manifesto!  (Queen of Rationalization crown firmly affixed to head.)

Happy New Year

If you can't read it all -- here's the plain text:

2012

Embrace change; merely accepting it probably won’t be enough. The change you don’t ask for is often the best kind. Declutter the house. Be ruthless in what you throw away & keep only the things that serve a purpose or that you truly love. Finish off the backyard with granite. Listen to the voice in your head (it may not be yours). Be frugal. Dig in the dirt. Live in the moment, but focus on long term goals. Do yoga daily, even if it’s only 10 minutes. Really listen when the people you love are speaking. Make a plan, and start executing all those ideas in your head. They will be fabulous. Wear more hats. Appreciate your dog and her loyalty. Do your best to wake up happy and stay that way. Be content with what you have. Plant a tree in the yard. Allow other people’s actions to roll off of you; you are not responsible for how they behave. Read more books. Be content with what you have. Be kind to strangers. Get to know your neighbors; you all have something in common. Grow flowers and give them away. Drink more water. Get balance into your life. Start playing tennis; (get a cute skirt.) Be sure you have a Plan B. Get under the house and finally figure out why the kitchen is always cold. Be honest with the people you love. Ask for what you need; be specific. Recognize the progress you’ve made and give yourself credit where credit is due. Strive to live smaller. Find new ways to recycle and reuse. Try new things even if you think you won’t like them. Explore the City. Buy an old bicycle at a pawn shop & put a basket on it. Don’t let the laundry pile up. Manage your expectations. Cook more, eat out less. Give yourself more avocado facials. Pursue the little house dream. Absorb the grace in silence and stillness. Finish projects. S k i p  t h e  d r a m a. Eat foods in their natural state. Appreciate that you have choices and accept the consequences. Continue lifting weights, in fact, do it more often. Take more time to hang out with friends. Have courage. Let yourself buy the good coffee beans. Ask why. Make the effort to buy local.

The Bedroom Wall Revealed

I probably should space out my posts over the week -- this is my third post today -- but no, you get the Monday* blast of posts...

I finally took an afternoon and devoted it to my bedroom wall/trim project yesterday.  I made a ton of progress and I am just thrilled with the project over all. 

Here's what the wall looked like when I left off last time.  I had just started pulling down sheet rock to reveal the wood behind it:

In case you've lost track of how I got here, the posts leading up to this project are here:

http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/07/door-trim-master-bedroom.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/07/door-frame-dilemma.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/ive-stood-around-and-stared-at-my-door.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/stepping-up-to-edge.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/mildly-amusing.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/interior-door-trim-and-door-frames.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/pocket-door-out.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/08/header.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-if.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2011/10/chipping-away.html

And in assembling those links for you, I'm more than a little horrified that I started this project in JULY and it still isn't completed.  No wonder I'm weary of the lumber on the floor of my bedroom...

 

So yesterday afternoon I embarked on the project once again.  Fortified with motivation from having watched 2 episodes of This Old House (the Boston project) the day before, and having cleaned my house earlier in the day -- so that when I was "done" with the project I could be entirely done for the day and relax in a clean house -- work got underway.  This time not only did I cover my chandeliers with plastic tarps, but I also tarped my two mirrored nightstands, the bed, the one open rod of coats and jackets, and I put down a serious canvas drop cloth on the floor.  Oh -- and I tied a bandanna over my nose and mouth.  Sounds better prepared than last time, no?  What I didn't do?  Wear safety glasses, gloves or shoes.  Yes, I did this in my socks.  I know.  Sort of stupid.  But nothing bad happened. 

 

The sheet rock again came done frighteningly easily.  In many places it was bowed out from the wall and pieces 2 or 3 feet wide would peel back in one big piece.  After about an hour I had the top half of the wall completed (and I had confirmed that I really enjoy demolition just a little too much).

 

 

That flap hanging down is the linen fabric.  I read that often that was applied before wallpaper went up. There was indeed a layer of paper after the fabric, before the sheet rock, but I don't know if it was actually wallpaper or just a paper backing on the old sheet rock.  It was sort of a maroon/coral color with a matte finish.  I wish I had taken a photo of it, but I probably still can, from in the trash bag.  Note to self...

 

I made one error of letting my trash bag get too full.  It was so heavy that I nearly couldn't carry it out of the house!  Proof that I am trainable, however, I filled the next three bags less full...

 

Next I removed the row of glass hooks,  (which I love love love) and the switch plates, and pulled down the bottom half:

 

 
I stood here a long time, admiring it all. 
 

Then, excited about the progress, I emailed a couple of photos to Red, who was (probably glad to be) at work.

 

Then I started to examine what remained.  The most prevalent thing are all the threads that remain stuck behind nail heads.  They are from the linen "vapor barrier" that was the last layer to come off:

 

I suspect I have many hours of work with needle nosed pliers ahead of me... Not sure how else to get those off.  Pulling the nails out entirely would (a) surely mar the wood, which at this point is pretty pristine; and (b) probably make all the wood fall off the walls.  Yeah, not a goal.

When I took the first part of the sheet rock down in the area over the door, I found a huge crack, and open gaps between the boards. (Which in this photo doesn't look huge at all.  Weird.)

The crack I figure I will fill with something, but the gaps between the boards were really causing me to troubleshoot.  What would I fill them with?  I did some research on chinking... but never really came up with any great ideas.  But as I revealed the rest of the wall, I found that there were not gaps between the boards.  There is another layer of wood back there, so there aren't any gaps.

 
That was probably the most exciting find of the day. There is one length of a gap -- around 5 inches long:
 

But that is pretty minor.  And that vertical stripe on the left of the photo - I think it's an adhesive from the edge of the sheet rock, and the new door trim should cover that up.

Other minor trouble areas:

A big knot hole to the left of the switch plate;
it's likely that the door trim will cover most of it...

The vent opening is cut too large (or, it's cut the appropriate size for
the vent coming up from crawlspace, but the metal vent cover is too small...)

And then there is the baseboard issue.  If you've been on the blog from the beginning, you might recall that I replaced all the baseboards when I moved in.  And in that process, we discovered that the sheet rock didn't extend all the way to the floor, and that there wasn't anything to nail the baseboards too. 

You can read about that fun in these two previous posts:
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2009/08/baseboards-before.html
http://my1929tudor.blogspot.com/2009/08/baseboards-progress-completed.html

So sheet rock was added, and the baseboards installed.  Do you see where this is going?  That very same sheet rock we put in, now has to come back out, and I'll be back to the dilemma of how to attach the baseboards.  I purposely cut around the baseboards yesterday, leaving the sheet rock behind them, and the baseboards in place, because I presume that will be a whole day (weekend?) project in itself, and I really didn't want my bedroom essentially open to my crawlspace for a few days.  I've been fortunate so far with nothing skittering out as I open walls, but you know... I mean... no reason to temp any little critters right?  It is chilly outside now... La la la la la.

 

Here is a current front and top view of the baseboards:  

Front

Top

And then there is the issue of how to cleanly finish where this wall meets the ceiling sheet rock, and where it meets the two adjoining walls.  Perhaps crown moulding for the ceiling... and quarter round or wood trim for the sides like Red did for the cedar planks in the living room?  Or, maybe there is a way to get a clean edge on the sheet rock from the adjoining walls?  I don't know.

 

Another fun thing I found was on a few boards some sap had oozed out back in the day.  And today it looks glittery. I took a photo of it, but I don't think you can see it's glittery goodness:

 

 
My next steps will be clean up and finishing of the wood.  In some areas its just dusty, so I think a good brushing with a nylon bristled brush is in order.  And there are a handful of areas with this gray stuff on it that sort of feels like plaster or something:
 

I think it will sand off easily -- and hopefully I can do that in a fashion that won't drastically change the surrounding wood color.

The wood of course is tinder dry (I shall not think about house fires, no I will not) and I am thinking that maybe I should oil it?  I've read about linseed oil and tung oil -- but not enough about either one to know if they are good choices.  I am definitely not painting the wall, and I'm not enthusiastic about chemical laden varnish or a polyurethane... so I am sort of up in the air there.  If you have any ideas... please, share.

Also in the category of "if you know," is this type of wood paneling called anything?  From what I've read online, it's very common in 1920 houses.  I believe I have ruled out "ship lap" (it doesn't overlap itself) and I believe it's too wide and thick to be categorized as "lath."  And it isn't tongue and groove.  So far it just seems to be called "horizontal planks."  And some planks they are -- !  The entire length of the wall is one crazy long plank.  I've never seen boards that long in my life!  And they are really wide; it must have been one mammoth tree is all I can say...

And this weekend I will do final measuring for my new door trim and door frame!  And I'll get those stained, sealed, sanded, sealed, and hopefully installed.  Visually that is really going to to change the room (and I think we can all agree -- it's about time!)  I'll be saving for my barn door hardware now, for my sliding barn door.  Yeehaw.

At the end of the day I put the switch plates back on, and the row of hooks (partially) back up, and it looked like this:

I'm very happy.  And quite motivated for the next phase...  Stay tuned.

*  I know, today is Wednesday, not Monday.  But it's Monday to me, because I had Monday and Tuesday off.

Hardy Calendula

I have a little bit of happy in my front butterfly garden...my Calendula.  This Summer, first the seeds didn't come up at all and then when they did the little plants were so feeble and just struggled.  Now?  Positively thriving. 

I have two blossoms open, and one or two more buds getting ready to open.  Who'd a thunk?  It's a beautiful bit of fresh color in an otherwise brown time of year.  Happy.