Saucer Magoilia

I got out if the car today and I smelled a beautiful aroma. I looked
around to see what was in bloom. I noticed our magnolia.

Garden Bench

Lydia and Jen sit on the new toddler size garden (park) bench.

done.

The garage is done. The stuff that has been in the backyard for the last month is now back in there. We are exhausted. I will do a final wrap-up post when I am less filthy and more energized.

Whew.

the bathroom that was and the bathroom that is

I realized I should show you how big of an improvement we've made in the bathroom.

This photo is from just after we bought the house and before we moved in. Granted it looks "nice" with that crisp sunlight filtering in through the window but the grey/maroon color scheme was getting O-L-D. Not to mention the medecine cabinet and that $20 light fixture from Home Depot. Ugh. But all that has changed. All we need to do now is get the sink and the toilet back in there and install the marble threshold... oh, and of course, I still need to decide on a cool shower curtain. I think I'm going to just have to make it myself.

where have all the good looking shower curtains gone?

I ask this question because in my search over the last few weeks for a cool, non-generic candidate I have found .... nothing. Not a single shower curtain that didn't feel like a supreme concession in the battle that is my search. Ugly, mediocre, humdrum options abound. Anything cool? Anything worth the effort that Dima and I have put into remodeling the bathroom. No.

Another question. Does every, and I'll be generous here, does every, say, 25th bathroom in the United states look exactly the same? I'm mean you could probably vary it based on fixtures, lights, etc. But the one dominant element in every bathroom is the shower curtain and there's a 25 option pool that the entire country is purchasing from. Nothing interesting out there, people. Nada.

Of course I guess I could be missing out on some shower curtain shopping Mecca, though I doubt it. (Maybe, I'll try that: www.showercurtainmecca.com. Nope.) I mean look at the canvas we have to work with. Our new bathroom looks great! (Minus the fact that we haven't reinstalled the sink and toilet, or rehung the door.) Do I want to saddle it with a pedestrian-looking shower curtain. Certainly not. Can you help me out people? Where do you buy a good looking shower curtain?

garage art

Dima is hard at work mudding the drywall in the garage. I don't know if it's the long hours or the fumes but something enduced an inspired state during the process and he started seeing figures in the small spackle patches over the screws. (I guess not unlike Joni Mitchell's "Clouds.") He started sketching and these odd little characters were the result.

home depot run

Don't ask me why Dima, who is a foot taller than me, insisted on riding in the back with the wood.

the finally wall

It's up.

another wall goes up

One more to go. Adam the electrician comes tomorrow to pull three new circuits out to the garage. Two 120s and a 240 for my (eventual) glass kiln. Exciting!! Now I must retrieve the kid from Dima's parent's house.

attic done and storin' stuff

Dima made major progress in the attic area tonight. He put down flooring and we were able to move some of the stuff back in from the backyard just as it was starting to rain. Whew! Nice job!

one wall of insullation done

Dima and Natalia show off our handiwork.

at it again

I just dropped Lydia off at Dima's parent's and we're going to try to make some more headway tonight. Natalia is on her way.

callin' it quits for the night

We've studded one full wall and started insulating. It's been a long day! There's a lot more to go but we feel good about what we've done. A big shout out to the Krug, especially Robin. We couldn't have done it without you!

the walls go up

Robin is back and helping us. We've nearly studded one entire wall. It would be going faster if I could measure my cuts right. *Sigh* Dima's dad, Vladimir, is making a Home Depot run.

The Wrap Up

First, I apologize for the quality of this post as I'm am exhausted and not really firing on all cylinders. Here's how the first Krug Molotok project day ended up:

Overall, it really looks excellent and both of us are excited about getting the space done and ready to use. It was a huge step today and we can't thank the Krug enough for all their help. The ceiling is up and the can lights are installed. And when our new energy efficient light bulbs are on and warmed up Dima says it looks like a baseball stadium in there. Plenty of light to paint by, even at night.

Work was started on the walls but we ran into some technical difficulties. (And I say we because I was providing support in the pits—in the form of Duncan Donuts, Home Depot and Quizno's runs—to the Krug, not because I actually ran into the difficulties myself.) For some reason the concrete anchors did not work with the block walls in the garage and they didn't hold the firring strips steady. I'm not exactly sure why they didn't work and frankly I'm not sure that the guys know why either. They just didn't. So on one of my Home Depot runs the guys sent me in search of some plastic anchor sleeves. The result... an excellent story about why I hate Home Depot. Here's what happened:

I go the hardware aisle. First there's no one there to help. Shock. And when I finally find someone I seem to know more about what I'm looking for than he does. Let's be clear. I am no hardware expert. Then when we find what seems like a solution—plastic alligator anchors—he inspects the box briefly and declares the solution found. I ask him to confirm that they will in fact work with the size screw that we are using and he again assures me they will. Then he just walks off. When I actually read the box I find that, no, these anchors will not work because they are for the wrong size screw, which is clearly stated on the box. Then the icing on the cake... they do not sell the size screw that these plastic anchors are made for. Of course they don't! So even if I wanted to I can not use them. Useless Home Depot! (What's even more irritating is, just by mentioning them here on the blog, they'll probably get an ad in the Google ads to the right. Argh!)

So, the Krug has reassessed the situation and they have a new plan for the walls. I'm not really sure what it is yet. Robin will return tomorrow to help Dima.

Now... must sleep.

Krug Conference

Ceiling is done. Now the crew is making final decisions before starting the walls.

more ceiling

under construction

The ceiling goes up.

the Krug arrives

Robin, Serge, Dima & Andrew. (Not pictured, John.)

There Really Could Be T-shirts

Of course there could. Because in true Dima fashion... he's created a logo.