Lazy Friday with Niagara Tree Service

Remember way back when, I was talking about the trees in the back yard?  Well, guess what?

We had some visitors today - with a BIG truck.

"Does this truck make my house look small?"

They came early in the morning, and went right to work

"Timmm..."

"..ber..."

"Er?"

Let's try this again... "Tim...."

"berrrr..."

And done.  Lather, rinse, and repeat a few dozen more times.

We went inside at this point, much to the relief of the crew, I'm sure, who must love customers who stand around watching.  And drinking coffee.  And taking pictures.

A few hours later, the living room looked like this...

... and the backyard like this.

And this. 

Fewer trees, more firewood.  Win-win :)

And just in case the front yard was feeling neglected...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I cut down the wee tree too.  It was also an ash.  Planted WAY too close to the house.  Think of the size of the trees in the back, and put that in the front where the wee tree was - notice that the house is in the way?  Seriously people, when you are planting trees, think ahead - YEARS ahead - and choose your site well.  Your house's future owners will thanks you :)

So, that was my not-so-lazy Friday.  And I can't say enough about my tree cutters, Niagara Tree Service.  Great people, reasonable prices, showed up on time, worked like dogs...

...hrmmm, worked very hard, cleaned up the yard.. GREAT service.  If anyone in the Niagara area needs trees removed, I highly recommend them - and no, I didn't receive anything in compensation for this plug - just incredibly happy with Brian and his crew.  And I like rewarding good service with word-of-mouth!

Dead bodies and other odd things found in the attic

Dog bed

Shoe laces...

...which actually come in handy!

Remnants of shiny silver flexible metal-y stuff, held in place by upholstery tacks (and yes, I am completely trying not to come up with uses for shiny silver "metal" and shoe laces in an attic.  Maybe a dog house and leash for the attic canine??)

Dead bodies*

Doc Ock's winter coat

*Okay, okay, it wasn't really a dead body, just my brother, who we stuck in the attic with the fantastic job of getting rid of all the blown-in insulation.  After two days of that (and the job only 1/2 done), he only wishes he were dead.  Thanks, D!

I think we have a winner...

After lots of measuring, talking, drawing, then measuring, talking and drawing, followed by some measuring, talking and drawing, I think we've come up with a plan for the bedrooms.

It came down to two things - the need for a cross wall towards the front of the house for some additional structual support*, and the fact I refuse to sleep in a single bed :)

My queen-sized bed really was causing some issues, mainly because I don't like beds under windows, or right up against walls.  And try as we might, we could NOT figure out a way to get a 3-piece bath into the area by the window, and also have enough room for the bed near the front window.  But by placing the bathroom in the front part of them smallest room, I get a decent sized bathroom (even if it doesn't have a window), and a walk-in closet!!  In addition to two decent sized bedrooms.  

Storage.  LOTS of storage.  Something many old houses lack.  I'm giddy with the thought of a walk-in closet.  And bookcases.  

So yeah, we have a solution.

I think.. :)

* the ceilings in the two front rooms were sagging a bit, due to some interesting attic shenanigans, mostly the result of some unsupported beams.  A cross wall, even though it doesn't go all the way across, will help support those beams.

Ch-ch-ch-changes... Part 2: The Bad News

The trim defeated me.

I REALLY wanted to save the trim in this house - it's the original, never-been-painted (mostly), solid wood trim.

I tried, I really did.

I ignored the fact that it would be in pieces in my house (or more likely my parent's garage) for months (if not years), waiting for me to refinish it.

I ignored the fact that trying to get it to match (or at least go with) the new wood floor colour would be, um, interesting.

I ignored the fact that I'd have to find a source for matching trim, to fix areas where the trim was missing or damaged - and the $$$ associated with that.

I ignored the fact that, in adding closets and rooms, I'd need to find matching doors - and trying to find solid wood, 5-panel doors would be either impossible or expensive, if not both (and let's not even talk about the hardware).

I ignored the fact that every designer paints wood trim white, and that there is probably a very good reason for that.  I also ignored the numerous 3-am wake-ups, with me lying in bed trying to convince myself that, yes I could have a kitchen with white cabinets and stained wood trim.

But I couldn't ignore the fact that, out of the 20+ pieces of trim we removed on day one (and yes, we were being oh-so-careful), 20+ pieces chipped, cracked, broke or fell apart.

The trim isn't un-salvageable, but it's un-salvageable by me.  I can ignore a lot, but I can't ignore the fact that fixing every *#&%* single piece of trim in the entire *#&%*house, before refinishing and re-installing every *#&%* single piece of trim in the entire *#&%*house, is a task that I am simply not up to doing.  Like many other things, it came down to time vs. money (and sanity), and in this case, time won out. 

And so the trim is taking a trip to the dump, which also saddens me, but it can't be burned (it does have a finish on it), I can't see anyone else wanting it in the dribs and drabs it's coming off in, and I can't see keeping it, waiting for inspiration to strike.  I HATE throwing things out, but I can't think of anything else to do with the damn stuff :(

Speaking of not wanting to throw out useful things... anyone know a good use for window sash weights??  They were never removed when the new windows were installed (oh, and that's a post unto itself), and there are apparently four per window.  There are 12 windows.  That's 48 HEAVY bits of metal, that must be somehow useful for something.

Have I ever told you that the Pack Rat Gene runs in my family?

Ch-ch-ch-changes... Part 1

I did know.  Really.  Honest.

I did know that a whole home reno was going to be a big mess, take lots of time and lots of money - and I also knew we'd be in for some surprises along the way.

I just wasn't expecting "along the way" to be Day 1 :)

There are 3 bedrooms upstairs - the "Office" (smallest room with no closet), the "Spare Room" (2nd smallest, with closet), and my bedroom (the largest room that stretches almost the entire width of the house, and has one closet).  Note that the closets are very small, as they are tucked in under the sloped part of the roof.  There is also a closet off the hallway, at the end on my bedroom.

The plan was to simply (hahahahhaha, "simply", ahahahhaha... anyhow...) tear down the walls and ceiling of the 2 smallest rooms, insulate, put up vapour barrier and drywall, keeping the footprint the same.  For the large bedroom though, we were going to steal a few feet off the end, add that to the hallway closet, and put in a 2 piece bathroom (since there is only one bathroom in the house).

Good plan, right?

Until we saw this:

That would be the ceiling of the spare room, going right on through to the office.

Unsurprisingly, the floor does the exact same thing:

So, the wall between the two rooms was put in after the floor and ceiling were put in. 

Le sigh.

So that wall has to come down.  So we can get the ceiling and floor out.  So we can put the wall back.  Which won't be the correct height anymore. 

But if we are taking that wall out...

Since we were going to tuck the second bathroom into an incredibly small space with a sloped ceiling, there would be no room for a shower (well, no room for a shower for anyone over 5' in height).  But now, we have the option of making it a two bedroom house, by combining the spare room and office into one large room, and taking a corner of that (with the side window) and making that the bathroom, with room for a shower.

Potential new bathroom space

Pros:  Larger, 3 piece bathroom with a window!

Cons: Making a three-bedroom house into a two-bedroom house.

Now, I cannot predict the future.  I bought this house with the plan to renovate it, and maybe, 5-10 years down the road, sell it and get another house.  But I really do like it here.  I like the property, I like the neighbours and the community.  And I didn't get this house just to flip it - I bought it to LIVE here.  I know that a three-bedroom house has a greater "selling potential" than a two-bedroom one; but a large, more functional bathroom is also a good selling point.  And while I do keep the housing market in mind while planning these renos, when it comes down to it, I need a house that fits ME.  

So yeah, it looks like plans have changed... maybe...

 Original layout (click to embiggen, all measurements are approximate!):

Original plans:

New plans:

And so it begins...

More tomorrow - too tired to think tonight...

I have a serious hate on...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know.  They save electricity.  They are green.  Any person who cares anything about the environment has them, right?

Whatever.

I hate that they take forever to warm up and get to full brightness.

I hate that the colour choices are jaundice-yellow or operating-room-glare-white.  (Yeah, I've also heard that the colour has gotten better.  Unfortunately, hearing isn't the same as seeing).

I hate that they have mercury.  That it's apparently okay because it's such a small amount - but "small amount" x millions = "not so small amount".  And that "small amount" in my household doesn't take account the amounts required in the manufacturing process.  I'm sure the people who make them are exposed to much larger amounts.  Because....

I hate that they are made in China.  You know, that country that takes environmental and worker safety seriously.  The country that was so appalled at the whole melamine in wheat flour thing, which led to way too many pet deaths in North America, that it didn't go right out and put the same damn stuff in their own baby food.  Oh wait, it did just that.

I really do hate that most "green" choices, like all too many other choices, aren't simple.  I just, after over a year of living here, went out and bought 6 CFL bulbs, to replace some incandescent bulbs in hard-to-reach fixtures that had burnt out.  I know that LEDs are the next "in thing", but the cost alone at this point is prohibitive, and I'm sure there is some reason why they too aren't an "easy" green choice.

I swear, I'm going back to whale oil lamps :)

Introducing Katy

that's not a schnauzer!

 

there is a resemblance, though...

Okay, I'll stop being mean :)

Her name is now Katy, aka Katydid, aka Little Bug.  She's a good girl. 

They put the "terror" in "terrier"

 

 La la la, we're outside in the snow!!

Snow, glorious snow!!

 Do you know why Mom is grumbling at us from the window?

Oh yeah, they are the terrors of the neighbourhood wild life, those two!   They were outside for at least 20 minutes with that rabbit - and never noticed it.  I finally took pity on the rabbit, who was getting weak from laughing, and called them inside. 

Anyone want two useless schnauzers?  Anyone?

Pupdate

We went to the vets yesterday, just for a quick looksee.  Little no-name did fantastic - she really does have the sweetest temperament!  The vet said other than her weight, she's in perfect condition - good eyes, ears, heart, lungs and patellas.  And everyone at the vets was loving on her, and could not believe she was a stray that no one claimed.

I find that odd too.  She is very well behaved - house-trained, great with people and other dogs, sweetsweetsweet, playful.  Twice now, people have come to the door (mail and newspaper).  No barking at all.  In fact, I didn't realize the mailman delivered a package yesterday until I opened the door to go to the vets and tripped over it (ahem, canines in my life?  A *little* barking is not a bad thing, kthanx).  She apparently doesn't know any "obedience" commands, or at least the words for them, but has already learned to sit while getting her leash on.  She is a total sweetheart - I know I keep repeating this, but I can't convey how fantastic she is.

This morning though, she broke my heart.  Kip was outside, so she and I were playing inside.  I called her to me, and raised my arms (not thinking, since this is something I do with Kip all the time), and she stopped on a dime, dropped, and rolled over, showing me her belly. 

Sigh.

I keep trying to figure out what her story is.  Sweetest little dog, but somewhat afraid (abused?  Inappropriate discipline?  Just a soft temperament??).  Very well trained in some areas, not at all in others.  Over-fed, but found as a matted stray.

Owner death?  Family moved and lost her?  New living arrangements that made her expendable?  I try not to judge others, and if she was surrendered to TAS, I wouldn't be.  But to have come in as a stray - her, and hundreds of others like her - that I don't get.  Even here, in little Fort Erie, dogs are found as strays (most with collars on, but no tags), and no one claims them.

That I find unforgivable.

If you don't want/can't keep your dog anymore, don't just let it go.  It is still your responsibility to arrange for proper care, which means taking it to a shelter, rescue or pound.  Yeah, it might hurt your pride/cause you to feel ashamed/make you sad/whatever, but I don't give a fuck.  It's not about you - it's about the dog who has no choice in the matter.

To little no-name's previous owners, and others like them - while I thank you for the opportunity to have a fantastic little dog (spayed and microchipped, all for the grand total of $140 and change, thank you TAS!), a happy ending doesn't excuse your irresponsibility.  Not at all.

And since I can't help myself, here are some more pics - happy dogs!

  I kill the fox

 

Sharing schnauzer secrets

 

 

Tired happy dogs

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I forgot to give a hat tip to Fred's blog yesterday, which is the only reason I have such a great little dog now.  If you are looking for a dog, anywhere near Toronto, have a look at One Bark at a Time - and make sure you read "Stuck", but don't have any fluids in your mouth while you do.  Fred won't reimburse you for any ruined computer parts :)

Original "Dotty" pictures here and here.