the latest...

We've been hard at work on our house projects. So hard at work in fact that we haven't had time to blog them. But I've just discovered the "Blog This!" feature on Picasa. And hopefully it will help us get back on track. This is my first time trying it so we'll see. The picture above is of Dimitry's handiwork over the sink... I helped a bit. We successfully installed two new halogen lights and and he and Robin Cavanaugh installed the track lighting. Since then we've also installed a beautiful pendant light over the new peninsula. All that's left in the kitchen is:

1. Patch the holes
2. Paint the walls
3. Hook up copper piping to the new refrigerator so we can use the built-in water dispenser
4. Frame in the mirrors in the dining room so they don't look so 70s
5. Reorganize the new cabinets and drawers and the pantry so we can efficiently use all of our new storage space...

Then we'll be done! RIIIIIIIGHT...

Ti-imbb-berrrrrrrr...

The big maple by our driveway is coming down today. The tree guys just arrived and incredibly, within about 20 minutes, they made mincemeat out of the straggly holly tree next to the oak. They cut the trunk at the ground and pretty much just put the whole tree in the chipper. Noisy? Dusty? Yes. Impressive? That too.

They're climbing the tree now... more later.

Melba Toast... What a Cat!

I'll tell you something... what more could you ask for in a cat. She's the Handy Man's assistant. She even help me a little bit tonight...







We weren't really sure what had her so fascinated... but I think I figured it out. She's just waiting for us to pull out the laser level. Click here to see.

OK! Now It's Done... Really.

The Elfa went up tonight. Our brand spankin' new platinum colored shelves are cantalevering themselves up on the freshly painted wall with nothing but a jug of All and some hangers on them. I guess we'll start moving stuff back into the laundry room tomorrow.


Dima using the awesome drill we got from my parents for Christmas.


After the top track was attached we added the hanging standards...


...then we started putting on the shelves. This one I put on rightsideup.


Finished!

There were some frustrating moments... like when we realized that the "long" shelves were supposed to be on the left side rather than the right... like when I tried to put the shelf on upsidedown... like, well it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the shelves are up and we can move on to the next project and soon all the crap that we pulled out of the laundry room in order to do this project will be going back in. Well, hopefully not all the crap. Hopefully we'll be inspired to organize ourselves a bit.

The WALL Awaits Elfa...

It's done. The wall has been primed and painted and the only thing left to do is hang the Elfa. (Man I love Elfa.)



Did I mention what a great job Robin and Dima did? And Dima has been busy as a 6'8" bee since Robin left Saturday night. Spackling, sanding, spackling, sanding, sweeping, vacuuming, spackling, sanding, and finally painting... I can't wait to get the shelves up. We designed them so there will be a place to hang damp laundry and plenty of shelves to store all kinds of junk. Dima says that this is the realization of his very own homeownership dream. And it's true. Ever since we started talking about buying a house he's been talking about wanting a basement with shelves where he can stack containers that are labeled by their contents: snowboarding, camping, disco balls, etc. By this time next week not only will he have the shelves but I'm sure he'll have at least one labeled container. In fact I guarantee it.

Laying it on Thick!

Dima has been furiously spackling and sanding for the last two nights.



The wall is now begging for it's first coats of primer and paint. I bought some today on the way home from the office but we don't have a paint tray liner so it will have to wait until tomorrow. We were hoping to get the Elfa up tomorrow but it looks like it might be Friday.

Another proud participant in all of this has been Melba Toast. She supervised the entire process on Saturday and has been there to lend Dima a hand as he spackled and sanded.



We just don't know what we would have done without her!

Raising of The WALL: Fini!

It is done! The Great Wall of the Basement is finished! It looks excellent and I can't believe they did it all in one day!



Tomorrow we will spackle and paint. If we're lucky we will be able to put the Elfa up too! Unbelievable! I wish every day of homeownership was this fun (not easy for sure... well easy for me since all I did was blog and watch). I have to get updated on all of the other projects we've done in the last couple of months. I'll squeeze that list in when I can.

Raising of The WALL: Part Deux

Dima's mom (Dusia) and his sister (Natalia) stopped by to see the progress. The going was pretty slow this morning because the guys had a hard time drilling into the cement floor to secure the sole plate. (This is where Lesson #4 was learned.) After a trip to Home Depot they were able to get all the holes drilled and now the anchors are in.

Things are moving along nicely now though. After the sole plate went down they put the top plate in. And now... they've moved on to the studs. Robin has all sorts of technical words for the anatomy of the wall, as well as his tools. We're having fun with it. Their putting in a "cripple" to span between two studs that are on either side of the HVAC duct. Dima just called it a "crutch." Thesaurus versions he says.



We also all "tagged" the wall, as a sort of graffiti time capsule. I doubt the wall will ever come down but if it does someone will wonder what they're looking at for sure. Natalia's is the most professional looking tag but her mother comes in an elegant and close second.

Lesson #4

Don't buy cheap drill bits. You only end up having to go back to Home Depot more often.

The Raising of The WALL: Part 1

Today Robin came over to help Dima frame a wall in the laundry room. They've been at Home Depot since 9:30 and have just returned with all the fixin's. The basement smells like saw dust... a wonderful smell that brings back sensory memories of my grandfather's workshop. Wood cologne.

The plan is to build the wall and then put up the Elfa shelves we bought last weekend at the end of The Container Store's 30% Off Elfa Sale. What a great product! We've now successfully installed Elfa in the office and basement guest room closets and as an entertainment unit in the TV room. All around it's been a great introduction to lessons in basic handiness.

Lesson #1: Always read the directions. Even if you've done something before, everyone can be helped by a little refresher.

Lesson #2: Stop and walk yourself through what you're going to do before you do it.

Lesson #3: With every mistake comes a lesson that you would have had to learn eventually. Roll with it. Sometimes it pays to get the lesson out of the way. Case and Point: Dima learned basic drywalling skills after he punched a hole through the wall in the office closet installing the Elfa. I'm sure that he and Robin will benefit from that lesson today.

I Call 'Em as I See 'Em

I saw Rich tonight after work and thanked him again for his help with taking away the tree carcass. He let us know that he had gotten our note and the Blockbuster card and insisted that it was completely unnecessary, but very nice of us. Then (wait for it) he said, "Besides, I like going to the dump. It's the great thing about having a truck." I had a feeling... although, could it be that the only reason that Rich has a truck is so he can go to the dump?

Well, this led to a discussion with Dima about the whole concept of the dump. What's the big deal, really? Apparently the Montgomery County Dump is a huge maze of organized chaos. When you get there they ask you the nature of what you have to dump and then direct you to the appropriate dumping ground. Couches vs. tires. Yard waste vs. metal. He also believes that it all somehow goes back to being a little kid and liking big trucks. He could not explain this in more detail. He then suggested that we go to the dump so I can see for myself. I'm looking forward to it...

On a final note, related to my own childhood experience with the dump, I do remember going to the Prince William County Dump with my dad in his old Jeep. (What a great car!) I can't remember exactly how old I was but I know I was still young enough to be playing with Barbie. The landscape—one of huge mountains of sour trash—was seasoned with first-rate cast-offs that, as far as I could tell, were still good to someone. Weber grills, bikes and other toys. I just couldn't understand what most of this stuff was doing at the dump. I was fascinated and had a vague sense that we'd hit the jackpot. The real crown jewel was a Barbie Camper that someone had just "dumped." I was appalled and elated. It was just what I wanted, and in fact had been asking for, and it was free! I immediately asked my dad if I could have it and he promptly said, "No. It's trash." What a blow and a defining moment. All at once the treasure chest of cast-offs became what it was, a pile of junk. Not even junk, but Trash with a capital 'T'. Even at that age, the whole experience was one of waste. A waste that people would throw away what looked to me like perfectly good stuff and a waste that I couldn't have it. Who knows, maybe the Weber grill only had two legs, maybe the bike wouldn't peddle, and yes, maybe even Barbie’s camper was missing a wheel and smelled of beer and wet garbage but man was I depressed as we drove out the gates of the dump.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words... but Only if You've Got One

We got a brand new digital camera yesterday to better document our adventures as homeowners. Ironically I have no pictures to share yet. That should change in the coming days.

After a week of slacking off to watch the Olympics Dima and I are back on the ball with house chores. Our last major endeavor (well Dima's) was to attack the remaining tree in the side yard between our neighbor and us. The branches and vines from this weed tree had entangled themselves with all the wires coming into our house from the street. With Hurricane Charley coming I was worried that the tree might thrash the wires and leave us without electricity, phone, and heaven forbid, cable. So, I asked Dima to cut the tree back. He did. Man did he ever. The tree now looks like a twiggy Tootsie Pop with a huge bite taken out of it. And until Sunday, because we were slacking and because we don't have either a wood chipper or a huge truck to haul junk to the dump in, the dead hunk of tree was just sitting in the yard. Dima and I went to Home Depot to get yard waste bags (because Montgomery County recycles yard waste) and when we returned, lo and behold, the hunk of tree was gone. Rich strikes again! But this time he did it on his own, and we can only speculate that Svetlana helped him. Well Dima and I were dumbfounded. Well we bought them a Blockbuster certificate and wrote them a nice thank you note, though neither of us are sure that quite covers how much they've helped us out with our refuse removal.

To make another big dent in the process that will eventually become the final demolition of the retaining wall between our property's and Rich's we have Mark coming over on Wednesday to take a chainsaw to the remains of the weed tree. This time we have the yard waste bags on hand so we can deal with the tree carcass immediately. We may even put the cut up trunk aside to save for our first fire in the fireplace. This way it won't seem that we are taking advantage of our neighbor's generosity... although I'm starting to wonder if Rich doesn't just like going to the dump.

Congratulations! It's a yard!

Well, I don't know when it happened but my identity as potential purchasing power in the marketplace transformed. No longer am I thinking... Hmmmm, I'd like to go to Loemann's and get myself a new skirt. I'm thinking, "We need to buy our own pair of loppers.""What's a lopper," you say? Loppers are an awesome yard tool that until last weekend I had no appreciation for. Way better than pruners, the blades on loppers come directly together when closed (not like scissors). As a result you can "lop" branches up to 2 inches in diameter. This came in very handy last weekend when Dima and I attacked the overgrown mess between our yard and our neighbors driveway. Gone are the days that I cruised jcrew.com in search of the perfect merino wool sweater. Now I'm scanning the pages of homedepot.com (HoDe as Dima calls it.) looking whistfully at loppers, flat hoses and garden bow rakes.Now, back to this overgrown mess... the retaining wall between our yard and and our neighbors driveway is slowly falling apart. Two plants, of unknown origin, had broken the brick apart and grown to be full sized trees. I say "had" because last weekend Dima and I pulled out a can of whoop-#@! and tore the larger of the two out. Man! Who knew I could get into yard work? This is where my appreciation for the wonder that is a lopper came into being. We made short work of this weed tree, as our neighbor Rich called it. We cut it out of the branches and from around the trunk of its neighbor. We pulled it's vines out of the ground and off of the fence. We kicked butt! Then we loaded up most of it's remains into Rich's pick-up and he drove it all to the dump, which was right neighborly of him.Rich and his wife Svetlana have been very neighborly. He likes the effort we're putting into our house, because, as he says, "The better your house looks the better it is for my property value." So, Rich has been using his truck to haul away our yard waste, the remains of the vestibule that we tore off the front of the house the day of closing, and the nasty water soaked matress and desks that the seller left in our driveway. What a guy! Svetlana has give us tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden. And early this week some fresh catnip for Melba. (Being the anti-cat that she is she's not quite sure what to make of it.)The long and short of it is that we like our neighbors. We'll see how that holds up as we deal with this retaining wall that the weed trees have busted up.

there's a first time for everything

With a first house, there automatically comes a first time for everything:

Today was the first time we set off the smoke detector for example. Dima made breakfast burritos this morning and the next thing we knew a piercing beep was screaming through the house.

Today was also the first time I or Dima have ever used a power washer. We borrowed this wonderous contraption from our friends Marina and Robin and went to town on the back retaining wall, which is covered in mildew. What a blast! Literally...

Finally, last night was the first time that Dima hit his head on the low ceiling in the basement. I was out with friends after work and he stayed home to watch his favorite TV shows. Standing too close to the drop in the ceiling where the air conditioning runs through the basement he turned quickly and WHAM!!! He knocked himself silly literaly falling to the floor. Today he's left with a knot and an extreme desire to get the safety bumper we're planning up ASAP. With Dima at 6'8" and most of his friends not much shorter we'll need something to ensure that no one else nearly knocks themselves out.