... my two dogs showed to me:
The worst Christmas Carol ever sung.
(Back story here.)
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Disclaimer: yes, yes I do know that the 12 days of Christmas actually start on December 25 and end on Epiphany. Deal with it :)
Water, water everywhere...
I hate fixing other peoples' mistakes.
Hate it, to the tune of $6200.00
That's the cost to get the roof fixed and re-shingled, as well as a "torch-on" roof for the addition (as opposed to the nailed-down stips of tar paper that currently sheath the flat roof of the addition.)
Why a new roof? In addition to the fact that the current roof has no vents...
...wait, have I told this story before? If not, quick re-cap. When you look at the roof from outside, you see vents. Two of them. New. Perfect. On the fantastic, less-than-10-years-old roof.
But when you look in the attic, you see... nothing. No vents. No holes under the vents.
Yes, the last roofers actually went to the trouble of putting in roof vents, without actually, you know, making them vent. Grrrrrr.....
In addition, there are two old stove pipes in the roof that go nowhere. One would think it'd be easier to take them out, rather than shingle around them, but what do I know? One, in fact, was completely open at the top, and "sealed" at the bottom, (which was inside one of the upstairs walls) only by a piece of metal sheeting. How long do you think it would take that to start leaking??
Ironically enough, *that* stove pipe is mere inches away from the non-vent. They could have actually taken out the stove pipe, and placed the vent on the hole, making a real vent. Instead, I have a useless pipe to nowhere and a pseudo-vent.
But the current issue is the second stove pipe. It starts in the dining room (I assume there was a stove of some sort, possibly a cook stove, since the original wood floor is missing in that corner as well), and goes through what was the original back wall of the house (currently the bathroom wall in the addition), and up through the roof.
It was always boxed in (with a bunch of shelves added on) - at least until water started dripping from it, and we pulled it apart. It was, at first, a slow leak, and I thought I'd be able to make it until spring.
Of course, it got worse and worse, until today, Dad rigged up the high-tech water capture system you see above :)
Basically, it's an old chunk of ducting, opened up "flat", nailed to the wall, with a used piece of string duct-taped to the pipe, leading into a bucket. I love innovation, especially when its free!!
Dad's also been working on the plumbing, with surprisingly few problems (knock onKip's head wood). Today, he had to change something (see Dad? I didn't tell them about that massive mistake you made), and afterwards, wanting to make sure there were no leaks, turned on the water for the new pipes, and had me run upstairs to make sure nothing was leaking.
Nothing was leaking. Really.
Which was why I was surprised, ~10 minutes after the water had been turned back off, the see water dripping from the ceiling into the living room.
Ooops. Sorry Kip.
Actually, the plumbing was fine too - the value that controls the shower (I think that's what is it) was open a smidge, and the air trapped in the lines took a while to squeeze out, followed by water. Lots and lots of water. Quick fix though, fortunately!!
And since Dad has been working on the plumbing, he decided it was time to put one of these in:
It's an outside tap!! Woohoo!! You have no idea how useful these little things are - until you don't have one. I had a hose snaking out a window all summer long, so I could water the garden with a sprinkler. Good times.
Other new things:
At least it's WARM!
Again, you don't realize how nice it is to have one - until you don't. And holywow, you can spend some serious cash on doorbells!
And some old things - old kitchen wallpaper, peeking through here and there:
I assume these were used at two different times!
I should be posting more often, I hope, as things have calmed down a bit here, and there are more interesting things going on soon (like floor tile! And sinks! And lights!!).
Until then, stay dry.
Hate it, to the tune of $6200.00
That's the cost to get the roof fixed and re-shingled, as well as a "torch-on" roof for the addition (as opposed to the nailed-down stips of tar paper that currently sheath the flat roof of the addition.)
Why a new roof? In addition to the fact that the current roof has no vents...
...wait, have I told this story before? If not, quick re-cap. When you look at the roof from outside, you see vents. Two of them. New. Perfect. On the fantastic, less-than-10-years-old roof.
But when you look in the attic, you see... nothing. No vents. No holes under the vents.
Yes, the last roofers actually went to the trouble of putting in roof vents, without actually, you know, making them vent. Grrrrrr.....
In addition, there are two old stove pipes in the roof that go nowhere. One would think it'd be easier to take them out, rather than shingle around them, but what do I know? One, in fact, was completely open at the top, and "sealed" at the bottom, (which was inside one of the upstairs walls) only by a piece of metal sheeting. How long do you think it would take that to start leaking??
Ironically enough, *that* stove pipe is mere inches away from the non-vent. They could have actually taken out the stove pipe, and placed the vent on the hole, making a real vent. Instead, I have a useless pipe to nowhere and a pseudo-vent.
But the current issue is the second stove pipe. It starts in the dining room (I assume there was a stove of some sort, possibly a cook stove, since the original wood floor is missing in that corner as well), and goes through what was the original back wall of the house (currently the bathroom wall in the addition), and up through the roof.
The stove pipe in the bathroom, along with the original(?) clapboard of the exterior wall. (Please note: a lot of the bottles you see are dog grooming products. Really. The dogs have more grooming products than I do.)
It was always boxed in (with a bunch of shelves added on) - at least until water started dripping from it, and we pulled it apart. It was, at first, a slow leak, and I thought I'd be able to make it until spring.
Of course, it got worse and worse, until today, Dad rigged up the high-tech water capture system you see above :)
Hi-tech drainage system part two.
Basically, it's an old chunk of ducting, opened up "flat", nailed to the wall, with a used piece of string duct-taped to the pipe, leading into a bucket. I love innovation, especially when its free!!
Dad's also been working on the plumbing, with surprisingly few problems (knock on
Nothing was leaking. Really.
Which was why I was surprised, ~10 minutes after the water had been turned back off, the see water dripping from the ceiling into the living room.
The guilty party.
(HEY!! Wasn't me!! - Kip)
Ooops. Sorry Kip.
The guilty party.
Actually, the plumbing was fine too - the value that controls the shower (I think that's what is it) was open a smidge, and the air trapped in the lines took a while to squeeze out, followed by water. Lots and lots of water. Quick fix though, fortunately!!
And since Dad has been working on the plumbing, he decided it was time to put one of these in:
My favourite (for now) thing.
It's an outside tap!! Woohoo!! You have no idea how useful these little things are - until you don't have one. I had a hose snaking out a window all summer long, so I could water the garden with a sprinkler. Good times.
Other new things:
My reno-chic pink living room, with red accents.
At least it's WARM!
New doorbell.
Again, you don't realize how nice it is to have one - until you don't. And holywow, you can spend some serious cash on doorbells!
And some old things - old kitchen wallpaper, peeking through here and there:
I assume these were used at two different times!
I should be posting more often, I hope, as things have calmed down a bit here, and there are more interesting things going on soon (like floor tile! And sinks! And lights!!).
Until then, stay dry.
This is the life
Still here.
Still alive.
Still renovating.
What's new? A diagnosis of asthma, complete with a monthly prescription that costs the same as my mortgage payment. Thankfully, I have a drug plan that will pay 80% of it. While I could (just) afford it without the drug plan, it would make things VERY tight. Very very tight. It makes me realize more and more what people go though who don't have health plans. What's more important - heat or medicine? Food or medicine? And while I've spent almost $250 on medications in the last few weeks (80% of which will eventually come back to me), the trips to the ER, the visits to the walk-in clinic, the X-rays, the visit to my new family doctor, the second set of X-rays - all "free". (Yes, yes yes, I know they are paid by my tax dollars. So are the roads I drive down, the fire and police stations I drive by, the utility infrastructure I depend on for water, heat and electricity, etc.)
But that's all a post for another time :)
In renovation news - all the "old" section of the house is now insulated! Except the kitchen, which was previously "updated", and presumably has updated insulation. Of course, the kitchen walls still have to come down, since they consist of two layers of drywall. Of course, it's SO much easier just to slap on another layer, rather than taking the first layer down... grrrrrr.....
And I have no hopes of there being a vapour barrier behind the walls, since there is none in the rest of the house (including in the ceiling of the addition - nothing is holding the batt insulation up. Which is probably why the batt insulation is falling out of the ceiling, into the space between the studs and the suspended ceiling). Fun times.
More posts, more pictures. I promise - once again :)
Still alive.
Still renovating.
What's new? A diagnosis of asthma, complete with a monthly prescription that costs the same as my mortgage payment. Thankfully, I have a drug plan that will pay 80% of it. While I could (just) afford it without the drug plan, it would make things VERY tight. Very very tight. It makes me realize more and more what people go though who don't have health plans. What's more important - heat or medicine? Food or medicine? And while I've spent almost $250 on medications in the last few weeks (80% of which will eventually come back to me), the trips to the ER, the visits to the walk-in clinic, the X-rays, the visit to my new family doctor, the second set of X-rays - all "free". (Yes, yes yes, I know they are paid by my tax dollars. So are the roads I drive down, the fire and police stations I drive by, the utility infrastructure I depend on for water, heat and electricity, etc.)
But that's all a post for another time :)
In renovation news - all the "old" section of the house is now insulated! Except the kitchen, which was previously "updated", and presumably has updated insulation. Of course, the kitchen walls still have to come down, since they consist of two layers of drywall. Of course, it's SO much easier just to slap on another layer, rather than taking the first layer down... grrrrrr.....
And I have no hopes of there being a vapour barrier behind the walls, since there is none in the rest of the house (including in the ceiling of the addition - nothing is holding the batt insulation up. Which is probably why the batt insulation is falling out of the ceiling, into the space between the studs and the suspended ceiling). Fun times.
More posts, more pictures. I promise - once again :)
Hello? Is this thing on??
Two funerals of close family members within two weeks.
A rampaging garden.
90 pounds of plum tomatoes.
$600 worth of surgery for poor Kip (it was minor, and everything is well, thankfully!)
A busy work schedule, and full-on construction at home.
And today? A diagnoses of "not yet pneumonia".
I really will get back to blogging more regularly, promise. Once everything calms down a bit :)
Until then....
A rampaging garden.
90 pounds of plum tomatoes.
$600 worth of surgery for poor Kip (it was minor, and everything is well, thankfully!)
A busy work schedule, and full-on construction at home.
And today? A diagnoses of "not yet pneumonia".
I really will get back to blogging more regularly, promise. Once everything calms down a bit :)
Until then....
Two hot dogs on the beach.
Two reluctantly cool dogs in the lake.
Kipper rocking the vet-supplied t-shirt (whilst smelling Katy-feet).
Some of the harvest.
Possible fabric selections for my bedroom.
And cake. Because there should always be cake!
You know you've been working too hard when...
...the sawhorses start staring at you.
But at least they aren't talking to me.
Yet.
I promise to post an update on the house soon. Really. :)
Sufferin' Squash Attack!
The squash is taking over the
Mostly, it's spaghetti squash. Like this:
20+ spaghetti squash. Not too much, right? Right?
And then there's the buttercup squash - cutest thing in the garden:
Except for this:
Baby watermelon! All together now - awwwwww!
And this:
Baby pattypans!
Okay, I'll stop with the squash.
Right after this:
Yellow zucchini! (Thank you, spellcheck inventor, because I never spell
I've been eating green
Even though the plant looks like this:
The tomatoes are coming right along, along with the peppers, finally:
I've been eating radishes, spinach and some lettuce for a while now, and just harvested 3 heads of this:
And two napa cabbages - stir fry tonight!
Other things have been going on while I've been busy elsewhere:
Beans!!
I'm surprised I have any peas, after the Great Rabbit Attack of 2010.
Not only did the *&@* thing eat the peas, it SLEPT on them. Morning after morning, in spite of the fence, I'd look out the window to see the rabbit snoozing away.
So then I killed it, gave the carcass to the dogs, and spread it's fur to warn all the other rabbits. Bwahahahahahhaaa!!
Okay, not really. But I did spread fur around the garden and it seems to be working! I have an excess of fur for some reason...
"I'm cute!"
You're fat!
"I don't like you anymore. You hurt my feelings"
That's okay. You're still fat.*
The garden is growing, and doing quite well, especially for my first one ever - at least in my opinion.
"But the garden is not us, so it is unimportant. Now get us food"
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*Katy has actually lost ~3 pounds so far. So while she has a
To do, or not to do.
What I've done since last I blogged:
Had out-of-town company for the weekend.
Started the insulation.
Fenced in the garden. Damn rabbits.
Bought some pretty* plants, even though I said I wouldn't this year.
Mowed the lawn in between rain storms. Yes it's still raining. I think I might need to plant gopher wood next.
What I haven't done:
Groomed the two scruffy beasts who were once schnauzers.
Planted more lettuce, radish, etc. Between working later, rain and company, I didn't get this week's planting done. No lettuce for you!
Planted the pretty plants. In the flower beds that don't exist yet.
Figured out where I want flower beds so I can plant the pretty plants.
Called for quotes for fencing. Need to get this done ASAP. Damn rabbits.
Called for roofing quotes. Have I mentioned the roof now leaks? Damn rain.
Planned out the one wall of the main bedroom, so Dad know where to put outlets. Decisions, decisions.
Finalized the shower, toilet and sink models for the new bathroom, so Dad know where to put outlets and plumbing. Decisions, decisions.
Figured out who's sleeping where once we get the drywall up in the new main bedroom, closet and bathroom. Decisions, decisions (yeah, I know there is only the two of us, but still).
A million and one other things, like laundry, and dishes, and cooking, and grocery shopping, and cleaning, and and and and and and and and.....
It all gets done, eventually. But it seems like days are flying by, and there are so many things to do!
__________________________________
* Pretty = non-food plants
Had out-of-town company for the weekend.
Started the insulation.
Fenced in the garden. Damn rabbits.
Bought some pretty* plants, even though I said I wouldn't this year.
Mowed the lawn in between rain storms. Yes it's still raining. I think I might need to plant gopher wood next.
What I haven't done:
Groomed the two scruffy beasts who were once schnauzers.
Planted more lettuce, radish, etc. Between working later, rain and company, I didn't get this week's planting done. No lettuce for you!
Planted the pretty plants. In the flower beds that don't exist yet.
Figured out where I want flower beds so I can plant the pretty plants.
Called for quotes for fencing. Need to get this done ASAP. Damn rabbits.
Called for roofing quotes. Have I mentioned the roof now leaks? Damn rain.
Planned out the one wall of the main bedroom, so Dad know where to put outlets. Decisions, decisions.
Finalized the shower, toilet and sink models for the new bathroom, so Dad know where to put outlets and plumbing. Decisions, decisions.
Figured out who's sleeping where once we get the drywall up in the new main bedroom, closet and bathroom. Decisions, decisions (yeah, I know there is only the two of us, but still).
Posted real posts, about what I saw last weekend (hint: it involved red coats and gun fire), about the renos, about the garden.
Posted about why I will never, never, never shop at Home Depot again. Ever.
A million and one other things, like laundry, and dishes, and cooking, and grocery shopping, and cleaning, and and and and and and and and.....
It all gets done, eventually. But it seems like days are flying by, and there are so many things to do!
__________________________________
* Pretty = non-food plants
I should have planted rice.
In other news...
We have walls!!
Now, if we could only get some sun...
I go back to shelter now?
The indignity.
I go back to shelter now?
You refuse my request. I have no choice...
...but to kill you with the green laser Eyes of Death.
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