Neither Snow Nor Rain

   The weather couldn't decide what to do. We had a little snow, a little rain, something in between, and a glimmer of sunshine. Welcome to Washington.
   On the rainy days, Ed worked on the Man Cave, "cave" being the operative word. I painted the switch and socket covers to blend in with the walls. One coat of burnt ochre, one coat of ragged dark brown glaze, and two coats of varathane.







   Ed and I hung the screen on the wall in the theater room. If  bigger is better, this is really good.
   Johann from Charisma Productions came out and installed the projector. Then the DirectTV guy came out to put in the TV box. Johann will be out next week to make adjustments and finish hooking everything up. Then I can watch cooking shows up close and personal. All I need is popcorn...gourmet popcorn.

  Ed then put the lights up in the Videan's Bluff Saloon. Over a year ago, in anticipation of the Saloon, I scoured the internet for an old wagon wheel light fixture that wouldn't break the bank. I finally found one on EBay. I told Ed that if it didn't look right we could always resell it on Craigslist.  I think it's perfect.

 This little room also has two cabinets that were made to the wrong size for an upstairs room. We bought them at a discount from the cabinet maker and will use them here for a buffet table. After they are set in their proper place, Ed will make a counter top out of lumber he has in the barn.

 On the better weather days, Ed has been trying to get the new set of stairs done to the apartment. It's a good thing he has that scientist/engineer brain because I have no idea how he figures out the rise and run to make the stringers. And miracle of miracles, the steps come down perfectly to the deck!

  We made a run to town for the Trex decking for the stair treads, screws and railing parts. Ed got the treads down and began working on the railing.
   Most of the railing we have for the house is Clear View railing, and a very nice product. The railing we got off the shelf at the big box store....not so much. It'll do, but sometimes you don't save money by buying cheap. It's difficult to work with, and not as well made.

   He got about half the apartment railing installed yesterday. The good news is that the landing right outside the door is quite a bit bigger than the original. The bad news...it's supposed to rain tomorrow, and the rest of the week is iffy.

Gargoyle On Duty

   Two and a half years ago Ed built the stairs up to the apartment over the garage. We needed a place to live during the construction of the house, and we needed it right then. He knew that once the house was done, the stairs would come down and be rebuilt to integrate with the new porch. The first of the week the weather was good, and since it was part of the process for putting up rails for the house porch, the old stairs came down.

   Mittens, our six toed cat, likes to help. Her usual routine is to climb up the maple tree and onto the roof of the apartment. She then cries piteously until one of us gives in, goes out onto the apartment balcony and brings her down.  She could go back down the maple tree but she wants to reinforce who is in charge. This time she goofed. The stairs were gone and she was on her own. So after standing at the edge like a little gargoyle for a while, she d got bored and came down on her own.

On rainy days, Ed works in the basement, finishing the paint in the Man Cave. He wants it to look like an old mine shaft.  After some trial and error, he perfected his painting technique and put on the final coat. He literally wore out three paintbrushes on this project.

   After letting the paint dry, he went down yesterday and started hanging light fixtures.  Except for that little thing about not having enough light bulbs on hand, it all went smoothly. The lantern sconces are up in the theater room.
   This room still needs a ton of work. Ed still has to build beams for the walls and ceilings, install baseboards and trim out the doors. Since the weather report calls for rain all week, he'll have plenty of cave-time.

Porch Rails and Pruning

   Once the stainless steel counter tops were installed in the craft room, Ed put in the sink, faucet, and (my favorite) the vintage Boraxo dispenser. I took it all apart and cleaned out remnants of petrified Boraxo.  Ed mounted it on the wall and we filled it up. It's nice to know that some things don't change with time. Boraxo still has that wonderful grainy soapiness that I remember.





   One of the things we need to get done before the final inspection is porch rails. We ordered Clear View rails.  We have a similar product on the back balcony of the apartment. The front porch will have pickets and the back will have glass panels.
   Our neighbor Rick came over to give Ed a hand with the installation. Some things are just easier with two people working on them.

   As with everything else, each step makes a difference how it all looks. We still need the stair rail. The columns still need column caps and the upper portion wrapped.
   The two last big items will be a large cement pour for front, side and back walkways, and stairs off the back porch.
   The back porch rail and the upstairs balcony will have tempered glass panels instead of pickets. Ed is going to build very wide stairs in the center of the back porch. The stairs will require a hand rail only, which will leave a large portion of the back porch open to the view.

   In the last month, we've had rain, sleet, snow and yes, a week of glorious sunshine. The temperatures hit above 50* for several days in a row. Crabgrass knows what to do with sunshine, and so do I.  I dug out my gloves and clippers and went to work.
   The Wisteria-Vine-That-Ate-Chicago had to be hacked back to a manageable size. It had completely overgrown a huge rhododendron and half of a lilac bush. Blackberry vines were on a mission to outdo the wisteria.

   Himalayan blackberries are a non-native invasive species. For those that think that a wild blackberry pie is a good idea, well just walk over here so I can slap you. They take over and choke out everything they can. They have evil, vicious thorns. They are next to impossible to eradicate. That scene in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty where the thorns grow over the castle?  Blackberries...I'm almost positive. My arms got torn up something fierce...and this was a good year.
  The garden had no measurable attention last year. I raked leaves off the strawberry patch, pruned down the raspberries and pulled a pick-up truck full of grass.
   Then I did the unthinkable. I ordered seeds.

Repaint, Rebuild, Relax

   Ed wants the man-cave to look..well, like a cave...or a mine shaft. He's been working for three weeks on faux painting the walls...all of them... to look like rock. Apparently few people have done this, because it's next to impossible to find any pictures on the 'net. So he's been winging it. He used a tan base coat and began sponging on progressively darker colors mixed with glaze. It's a huge job and includes the ceiling.
   The bad news is, after the terra cotta coat, the brown coat, and the black coat, it wasn't the look he was after. So, back to square one and try a different method. He put a coat of tan and glaze over everything to mute the other colors a bit, and we'll try ragging instead  of sponging.

   After having an unusually dry winter, the week after Christmas we had 14" of rain. This was not a good thing for our creek restoration project. Slow and steady wins the race. This was not slow or steady. The deluge (or weather event as the project manager calls it) overwhelmed one of the structures and tore a new hole in the creek bank. It In three days, it washed away a section about 40'x60'  including all the burlap and planted willow sticks. It collapsed part of the support for one structure. Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and she holds very strong opinions.
   Darin Houpt, Wahkiakum Water Conservation District, was quick to come out and evaluate the problem. He created a damage-control plan, and will coordinate further work in the spring.

  Just before Christmas we ordered stainess steel counter tops for the craft room. This was one of the last big projects to be done inside the house. Thursday, Mark from  S&R Sheet Metal came out and installed them. There was a little bit of trimming to do where the backsplash lip fit under the window sill.
 

 After a dry fit of all the pieces, he put down liquid nails and troweled down. The sheet metal pieces were put into place and weighted down for the night.

   Ed knew that the space between the door to the hallway and the edge of the cabinet was going to be close. But this is beyond close. I think I might be able to slide a piece of paper between  the edge of the cabinet and the door, but I haven't had the courage to try it yet.

   After the glue was dry we moved the weights off the countertops and began polishing. Now I know that the tops will get scratched and dinged. That's why I had stainless steel put in here. I can use it and abuse it with abandon. But somehow...when it's new...you just want it to be perfectly beautiful. Even just for a day. Ed and I spent several hours going over small (and some not so small) scratches in the surface. First we used an orbital sander with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then we spritzed the surface and used the sand paper by hand on some deeper scratches. After that Ed went over the whole thing with a Scotch Brite pad. Our hands and shirts were black with what looked like graphite powder.  I'll probably have to bleach my fingernails to get the black color out of the nail beds.

    Later that day he installed the laundry sink and faucet. Oops..no ABS glue, so the drain will have to wait until next week.
   Next to the sink I'll put in my Boraxo dispenser. Remember these? Every gas station bathroom along Route 66 had one. I found it in a junk shop and brought it home. There is nothing like Boraxo to clean hands covered in dirt, mud, grease or whatever trouble you can get into.

   Last night it began snowing. Each year we get enough snow to enjoy, and not so much that it becomes a major chore. It usually lasts about a week.  I have a pantry full of supplies and time on my hands. I think I'll make some oatmeal-chocolate chip-craisin cookies...or maybe molasses-cinnamon cookies.  It's a good day to curl up by the fireplace and relax.

Work It!

   Now that the basement floor is waxed and burnished, we can start putting the gym together. We've had the mat flooring on site for some time, sitting in shipping boxes. I ordered gray and red. When I opened the boxes, I saw that the red was much more orange than the red paint on the wall. Oh well.
   We ordered the floor mats on-line from American Floor Mats. They were shipped very promptly. The mats are 2'x2'x5/8". They are textured on the upside, smooth on the floor side, and they are a dream to install. 

   In 45 minutes we had the floor together. Each square has removable edge pieces on two sides, so after it was all together I went around and alternated color strips for the edge. We also decided to make it just a bit bigger, so I ordered a few more squares. It will just be a matter of pulling off the edge strips and putting down the new squares.

   Ed had the gym equipment down in the barn, which was not a fun place to work out. Freezing cold in the winter (literally) and hot in the summer, it was also a hike in the rain, which around her is most of the year.
He had to disassemble it, load the pieces into the Gator, haul it up to the basement, and put it back together. This meant not losing any parts or pulleys and not forgetting where anything went. It's old and creaky, but then, so are we. For $60.00 at a garage sale, it will do until Ed decides to upgrade.

   I ordered an inversion table and roman chair (back extensions) on line, so he also had to assemble those. We  already had the recumbent bicycle.  We still need a good set of dumbbells, a bench press, and one or two other items, but for now, this is enough to keep us tired.

 And this is why we work out. I love to cook, and I love to eat. It would take no time at all for me to have to step sideways to get through the door. So, grumbling all the way, I manage to haul myself downstairs and climb onto the bike. There is plenty of room to do yoga, or heaven forbid, zumba. And in the basement, nobody can see.

Yuletide Is Upon Us

   Winter solstice will be this week, and while we've had a unusually dry and clear winter so far, the days are very short. We are in a valley, and even though we are surrounded by hills rather than mountains, it definitely cuts down on hours of sunlight. by the 21st, the sun won't clear the ridge until 9:20 in the morning. It will skirt the edge of the hills, and set by 4:15 in the afternoon. After that, the days just get longer.

   I managed to finish the eagle transom for the front door this week. Hopefully Ed can get it installed this afternoon. I made sketches for the sidelights, but I'll need to order glass before I start those. I don't think I have enough matching glass to do both sidelights to match the transom.  there isn't a supply store within a reasonable distance. Having glass shipped is always a risky proposition. Sometimes it gets here in one piece, other times...not so much.

   Ed has been putting coats of wax on the basement floor. One coat of Butcher's Ironstone and six coats of Butcher's Amplify, and he'll call it good. Then he will use a burnisher (basically a floor buffer) to complete the last step. The wax is a sacrificial surface that protects the stain on the concrete. Since the basement won't get daily use (except to the gym), it should last a long time.  It's been a long process to finish this floor but he's done a great job and it looks gorgeous.

   Last week we had the back area graded. We wanted to get some protection down over the dirt before the rains returned. I took several bales of hay and spread them over the fresh dirt. Hopefully it will slow down the debridement by heavy rain, will compost in, and may just leave enough seed to start some grass. As an added bonus, it keeps a lot of the mud off Abby's feet.
   It may actually rain next week.

Tis The Season

   We had two weeks of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, warm being a relative term. Ed has learned to schedule projects based on the weather-of-the-week.
   We can't get the house finaled until the porch rails are complete (among other things). In order to preserve the view off the back porch, Ed plans to have a large staircase, spanning several of the back columns, come down to grade. In order to do that, he has to actually have grade, hence the project.    Enter Sam Longtain, his equipment, and Digger, his dog.
   Digger was a busy little guy, chasing the tractor, birds, anything that moved, and generally investigating absolutely everything, all while staying out of the way of the equipment.

   The blocks are made by the local cement company. When trucks come back with a partial load, they pour these blocks that they sell for retaining walls. I have no idea how much they weigh but I'll bet if one landed on your foot, or in this case, hand, it would really really hurt. Ed's right hand is still swollen and sore from his injury two months ago. It really made me nervous to watch him position these blocks, which were swinging like a modern day mace.   Happily, neither dog nor man were maimed or crushed.

   The blocks are not what one would term "architecturally attractive", but after some creative landscaping, they will be acceptable. Not only does it create a landing for the stairs, but it makes the newly terraced lower area easier to mow with the rider mower.  
   After the blocks were installed, Ed hauled in many loads of fill dirt with the help of the Gator, to finish back-filling the blocks. Once the weather turned cold and drizzly again, he went back to shingling the back columns. He has one left to do on the back of the house. Of course, there are still the eight left on the garage, but that's another day.

   I've been working sporadically on the stained glass piece for the front door transom. I bought a pre-cut beveled eagle cluster two years ago in anticipation of this piece. Unfortunately I used the given dimensions for the transom, which were for the entire transom, not the glass portion. That meant I had to nose the eagle down a bit to fit. It still works, but isn't quite as dramatic as I would have liked. I have most of the glass cut, and will start foiling this week.

     I love Christmas. Finally, after two years, I have room to take out my Christmas stuff. I greeted each piece like a beloved friend as I gently unwrapped ornaments from their tissue blankets. I have one glass ornament that Mom gave me when I was first on my own. A hand-made ornament from a good friend, now passed on. A little red stocking ornament, knitted by Ed's Mom. Dressing up the tree is a bittersweet task, filled with warm and happy memories. Life, like winter, is fleeting. It should be lived with flushed cheeks, laughter, rewarding work and quiet rest.

   So they all went on the tree, 50 year-old glass ornaments and  new LED lights. It's the first Christmas tree in the new house, and that makes it special indeed. The cats, including the new one, haven't tried to climb it or knock it down....yet. This year I'll buy a few new ornaments. Someday, God willing, they'll be 50 years old and on someone else's tree.