Not totally, I didn’t move or gut the old house for a total remodel but it sure looks a lot different than the house used to look.
Once the floors were in, I had a painter I knew, who has a real gift for seeing color and palettes, suggested some colors and things to do. I called him knowing I wanted to hear what he would have to say about the color so we discussed his ideas and I went with them in the end. It‘s really lovely! I like it very much. I’d have pics but I ‘m, not sure where all of my camera stuff is at the moment. I have the digital camera but not the little things that will upload the pics to the computer! They’re around here somewhere.
I‘ve got a couple of earthy looking tones on the walls with an accent wall in each bedroom. Door and trim are all white and the overall effect really brings out the colors in the floor and feels very adobe-ish inside. Instead of looking darker and smaller, like I always think darker colors will do, it feels like being inside an earth house but not small.
And my whitewash finished cabinets in the kitchen, which are 15 or more year old, have been given a new life with a whitewash stain he brought. They look really good against the earthy colored kitchen walls. It is a real face lift for the kitchen with this painting!
I’ll give him a little free publicity. Anyone in the Phoenix metro area, Google Polaris Painting, or Mike Wells and you’ll get his number! Yes, reasonable prices.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing most of the past month, moving stuff out, waiting out a week of repairing and painting , soothing cats who got their furs all ruffled by too much action and now moving all that stuff back into the house.
I have bread and a rice dish in the solar ovens today. My patio is cleaned up now from a stream of workmen using the patio as a staging area so I can cook back there again.
Sign of the times: On a local TV station cooking segment, a chef was showing how to make cheesecake and he demonstrated how to mix ingredients by hand rather than by food processor. He said chefs/cooks are always demonstrating mixing on fancy food processors and it can be done by hand just as easily for most cooks. He showed how to layer the ingredients into the batter. The host of the show was interested because she said that those chefs’ food processessers always cost something like $12,000! She did exaggerate a bit …
Cheers for now,
Shamba
Showing posts with label house repairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house repairs. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Just the same old thing ...
So, for the past 8 weeks what have i been doing? :)
Not completely the same old thing but almost.
The floor installers found a package of damanged tiles and couldn't quite finish the floors the week they were installing. so, they ordered a new supply and it took about 3 weeks for the material to come in but it came in the dates they said it would. Meanwhile, the rest of the floor looked great and they set up my bedroom so I could use it even without the one side of the room finished. It was a 2-3 feet wide strip against the outside bedroom wall.
I called them the week the materials was due in and they called right back and set up a time for finishing the installation the next week. It took about 3 hours and they were done. so, the floors were finally done on April 20.
Meanwhile, I had talked to a painter and got an estimate, talked about colors, etc.
I was going to call him when the floors were done. Well, I called about a week later and have not received any replies at all. So, after almost a month of leaving message twice a week, I'm going to have to decide what to do about this: Look for another painter, leave things in storage until the inside is finished or bring it all back in the house and don't bother with painting until the heat is gone next fall. I really hate that idea so I'll just keep on with looking starting next week.
The cats are all pretty good except for Nubs. He's gotten thinner and a little less active. After a visit to the vet, and a bill to match!, he's got the very beginnings of renal failure which you can't do much about. Old kitties' kidney's wear out and that's what gets many cats in old age. :( I'll do what I can for him as long as I can. He's still playful with his mouse and has a good appetite and drinks a lot. We can try the recommended special foods although most cats never seem to like the stuff at all.
A few days around 100 but not much real heat yet.
peace, shamba
peace, Shamba
Not completely the same old thing but almost.
The floor installers found a package of damanged tiles and couldn't quite finish the floors the week they were installing. so, they ordered a new supply and it took about 3 weeks for the material to come in but it came in the dates they said it would. Meanwhile, the rest of the floor looked great and they set up my bedroom so I could use it even without the one side of the room finished. It was a 2-3 feet wide strip against the outside bedroom wall.
I called them the week the materials was due in and they called right back and set up a time for finishing the installation the next week. It took about 3 hours and they were done. so, the floors were finally done on April 20.
Meanwhile, I had talked to a painter and got an estimate, talked about colors, etc.
I was going to call him when the floors were done. Well, I called about a week later and have not received any replies at all. So, after almost a month of leaving message twice a week, I'm going to have to decide what to do about this: Look for another painter, leave things in storage until the inside is finished or bring it all back in the house and don't bother with painting until the heat is gone next fall. I really hate that idea so I'll just keep on with looking starting next week.
The cats are all pretty good except for Nubs. He's gotten thinner and a little less active. After a visit to the vet, and a bill to match!, he's got the very beginnings of renal failure which you can't do much about. Old kitties' kidney's wear out and that's what gets many cats in old age. :( I'll do what I can for him as long as I can. He's still playful with his mouse and has a good appetite and drinks a lot. We can try the recommended special foods although most cats never seem to like the stuff at all.
A few days around 100 but not much real heat yet.
peace, shamba
peace, Shamba
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Adventures for the past 10 days ...
Mostly I was without my own house since it was 4 days worth of work to rip out old carpeting, clean it up for new flooring and putting in the new tile laminate. The results look really great and I’m very pleased with the way it all looks! Hooray!
I wasn’t able to stay in my own house for 4 nights but I was at a small hotel about 1.5 miles away.
I met the workmen every morning at the house because I had to check on and feed the cats anyway—cats were outside these 4 days. Also came back at night to do the same routine with the cats. They survived that few days of noise and uproar and are doing okay.
Everything was moved out of the house into a storage unit or put in the small storage shed I have. I put my pantry foods that wouldn’t fit in cabinets, into the storage shed shelves. It would make a great pantry for half the year if I didn’t have enough other things in there already. It just wouldn’t work very well in the hot weather though.
The upside of the hotel was a full breakfast was available every day with the room (it was a comfortable quiet room), I had access to 24 hours cable and there were high-speed computers available in the lobby for any guest to use. For the news junkie in me the cable and computers were a treat although the news the last couple of weeks seems to worsen exponentially every few hours.
The downside was I had no kitchen. I had a microwave and lots of decent restaurants around and fridge in the room (which I didn’t use) but after being used to doing my own cooking I felt really lost without my stove or pots or other sources for cooking. Solar ovens wouldn’t have worked at the hotel setup.
Goodness, you could go broke just buying meals or prepared food to microwave ! And I could buy fruit and keep it in my room but I didn’t get enough greens in the past week I know.
When I could get into the kitchen, I could get things out of the fridge and take them with me to eat later but it was really inconvenient not just having my kitchen and food things ready for use when I wanted.And another week of eating without my kitchen and I’d begin to feel like an overstuffed blimp.
I got the tv and the computer up and running Friday afternoon. I didn't expect it to go that smoothly but it did. Also, I packed my 2010 tax info in a box and couldn’t find it for 3 days—but I found it last night when I unpacked3 boxes at home. Eek!
Glad to be back at home and have my nice new floors!
Peace, shamba
I wasn’t able to stay in my own house for 4 nights but I was at a small hotel about 1.5 miles away.
I met the workmen every morning at the house because I had to check on and feed the cats anyway—cats were outside these 4 days. Also came back at night to do the same routine with the cats. They survived that few days of noise and uproar and are doing okay.
Everything was moved out of the house into a storage unit or put in the small storage shed I have. I put my pantry foods that wouldn’t fit in cabinets, into the storage shed shelves. It would make a great pantry for half the year if I didn’t have enough other things in there already. It just wouldn’t work very well in the hot weather though.
The upside of the hotel was a full breakfast was available every day with the room (it was a comfortable quiet room), I had access to 24 hours cable and there were high-speed computers available in the lobby for any guest to use. For the news junkie in me the cable and computers were a treat although the news the last couple of weeks seems to worsen exponentially every few hours.
The downside was I had no kitchen. I had a microwave and lots of decent restaurants around and fridge in the room (which I didn’t use) but after being used to doing my own cooking I felt really lost without my stove or pots or other sources for cooking. Solar ovens wouldn’t have worked at the hotel setup.
Goodness, you could go broke just buying meals or prepared food to microwave ! And I could buy fruit and keep it in my room but I didn’t get enough greens in the past week I know.
When I could get into the kitchen, I could get things out of the fridge and take them with me to eat later but it was really inconvenient not just having my kitchen and food things ready for use when I wanted.And another week of eating without my kitchen and I’d begin to feel like an overstuffed blimp.
I got the tv and the computer up and running Friday afternoon. I didn't expect it to go that smoothly but it did. Also, I packed my 2010 tax info in a box and couldn’t find it for 3 days—but I found it last night when I unpacked3 boxes at home. Eek!
Glad to be back at home and have my nice new floors!
Peace, shamba
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Been out of touch
for a few due to staying elsewhere while my new floors are being put in. Everyday or many times a day, some new horrible thing is happening out in the world. Japan, radiation issues, Libya war front, Israel moved into Gaza, radiation levels in Tokyo drinking water, a unknown source of a large oil spill just south of Grand Isle, Lousiana!!!! Sweet heavens above .... then what?
My floors do look really nice, they've been installed in the living room but the rest needs to be finished in the next day or two. I'm hoping these floors will cut the dust and loose dirt in the house and I have to be more diligent about keeping the cleaning up better! A couple of new dust mops should do it and new floors should provide the inspiration.
peace for now, shamba
My floors do look really nice, they've been installed in the living room but the rest needs to be finished in the next day or two. I'm hoping these floors will cut the dust and loose dirt in the house and I have to be more diligent about keeping the cleaning up better! A couple of new dust mops should do it and new floors should provide the inspiration.
peace for now, shamba
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Decisions .... no, Decisions!
I've been thinking about these decisions for a year so this is no thoughtless process here.
First on the list: something has needed to be done to my 30 year old bathroom for well, a long time. Tiles are loosening, the soap dish fell out of the tiled wall long ago, the bathroom sink vanity/cabinet leaked for a while and so the floor of the cabinet is disintegrating and some wall board damage near the bathtub shower area. So, there is going to be a remodeling project to fix the WHOLE THING AT ONCE.
After a few weeks of weighing options, I signed a contract with a reputable company I know and we’ll schedule a date when the materials come in. They said it would be just about 2 weeks before they would call me. No debt is involved, just funds I thought I would use for this and some small home improvements. Once this is done, it’s DONE for another 20-30 years, unless I decide I don’t like it and want something else! I sincerely doubt I will tire of it and want another one though. This is also the biggest and most expensive project to be done.
Second, after that will come getting rid of old carpet. I’ve been boxing books--my endless supply of books, it seems-- in anticipation of that. I also have to move all the stuff out of the bathroom that isn’t attached to a wall!
third,there is a storage unit place about a block from me I’m going to visit to rent some space for a couple of months. They are offering a free month’s rent when you sign up for their month to month agreement. I’ve used this place before to store stuff.
Fourth, I’ve planted some lettuce (Romaine) and a bell pepper plant this week. The containers are all in the front of the house for the winter as that is where the sun is that they need. Some of the containers are moving in next to the other flowering plants in containers that flourish year round.
I get greens from the CSA but I really like having some lettuce around all the time.
Fifth, I have a list and things to keep me busy in the next few weeks while I ignore all the political stuff about the election next week. But I did vote and send in my ballot.
Actually there's a lot to want to ignore these day. Corn, oats, wheat and rice have
gone straight up in price since June. People want to invest in something that gives them a return and savings and equities aren't doing it these days so commodities are a big thing to give a return. People always need to eat.
Since I don't get to a grocery store every week these days, I don't track prices of some items like I used to week to week. I go like 2-3 weeks. It seems to me these price rises aren't showing up yet in stores but they'll have to eventually.
peace, shamba
First on the list: something has needed to be done to my 30 year old bathroom for well, a long time. Tiles are loosening, the soap dish fell out of the tiled wall long ago, the bathroom sink vanity/cabinet leaked for a while and so the floor of the cabinet is disintegrating and some wall board damage near the bathtub shower area. So, there is going to be a remodeling project to fix the WHOLE THING AT ONCE.
After a few weeks of weighing options, I signed a contract with a reputable company I know and we’ll schedule a date when the materials come in. They said it would be just about 2 weeks before they would call me. No debt is involved, just funds I thought I would use for this and some small home improvements. Once this is done, it’s DONE for another 20-30 years, unless I decide I don’t like it and want something else! I sincerely doubt I will tire of it and want another one though. This is also the biggest and most expensive project to be done.
Second, after that will come getting rid of old carpet. I’ve been boxing books--my endless supply of books, it seems-- in anticipation of that. I also have to move all the stuff out of the bathroom that isn’t attached to a wall!
third,there is a storage unit place about a block from me I’m going to visit to rent some space for a couple of months. They are offering a free month’s rent when you sign up for their month to month agreement. I’ve used this place before to store stuff.
Fourth, I’ve planted some lettuce (Romaine) and a bell pepper plant this week. The containers are all in the front of the house for the winter as that is where the sun is that they need. Some of the containers are moving in next to the other flowering plants in containers that flourish year round.
I get greens from the CSA but I really like having some lettuce around all the time.
Fifth, I have a list and things to keep me busy in the next few weeks while I ignore all the political stuff about the election next week. But I did vote and send in my ballot.
Actually there's a lot to want to ignore these day. Corn, oats, wheat and rice have
gone straight up in price since June. People want to invest in something that gives them a return and savings and equities aren't doing it these days so commodities are a big thing to give a return. People always need to eat.
Since I don't get to a grocery store every week these days, I don't track prices of some items like I used to week to week. I go like 2-3 weeks. It seems to me these price rises aren't showing up yet in stores but they'll have to eventually.
peace, shamba
Monday, September 27, 2010
Medium sized victories ...
Okay, I finally tried cooking and eating spaghetti squash today. Solar oven cooked squash, salt, pepper and some spaghetti sauce I really like made a decent lunch. I like this dish and it's really easy to make.
I'm in the process of packing up my shelves and shelves of books, rocks, sea shells and various other small souvenirs from trips over the years. No they're not going away, just until I get new flooring. My carpet is a little over "mumble, mumble" years of age and needs to be long-before-this-replaced! Doing anything about the flooring seemed so intimidating with all the stuff that has to be packed and moved around.
I figure I'll pack books, etc. and then arrange for flooring: I don't want any more carpeting though. This is easier for me than trying to decide on what I want, arrange for installation and then have a date to pack everything in a hurry. We'll see how it works out buf so far I've got 2 bookcases packed out of 5 (floor to ceiling books cases in the computer room). All the really breakable things in that room are almost all packed, too. Some spiny seashells need some spacial packing.
Any way, these seemed better than small victories in life so I called them medium sized.
peace, Shamba
I'm in the process of packing up my shelves and shelves of books, rocks, sea shells and various other small souvenirs from trips over the years. No they're not going away, just until I get new flooring. My carpet is a little over "mumble, mumble" years of age and needs to be long-before-this-replaced! Doing anything about the flooring seemed so intimidating with all the stuff that has to be packed and moved around.
I figure I'll pack books, etc. and then arrange for flooring: I don't want any more carpeting though. This is easier for me than trying to decide on what I want, arrange for installation and then have a date to pack everything in a hurry. We'll see how it works out buf so far I've got 2 bookcases packed out of 5 (floor to ceiling books cases in the computer room). All the really breakable things in that room are almost all packed, too. Some spiny seashells need some spacial packing.
Any way, these seemed better than small victories in life so I called them medium sized.
peace, Shamba
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
June 18th Patio Improvements Finished!
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Okay, rice and greeen bean came out very well after one hour and 15 minutes in midday sun in June. it's gong to be 115 today but it's not quite that hot midday. anyway rice just needs less water and more time in oven than it got yesterday afternoon. I could smell the broccoli as I went outside to check on the oven! Picture of oven is above. A success!
New gate and new door to outside shed and painting on the wood on the backside of the house is done! Picture above of the two together.
There are more things to go but at least the list is halved from what it was almost a year ago.
There is one rather small thing that needs to be done but S. will come back next week and fix it and then paint it. It looks so nice, now I have to clean up the rest of it and see what I can do to make it a place you really want to go out and spend time in—of course that might wait until it’s cooler.
I’ve left the small wasps nest alone that’s in the dead pyrancantha next to the gate. It is a very small nest and they don’t bother me or the cats or anyone so I think I’ll leave it alone. I think wasps are pollinators—I’ll trim the dead bush back a little from the gate and leave the part next to the back wall where the nest is alone. The wasps have been there a couple of years and I’m not anxious to do away with them or their nest.
Cheers,
shambaWednesday, June 11, 2008
Gate and Door Coming
Gate man came to take measurement this morning. S. called about the price on a new shed door and some painting. Two things almost off the list as of today! yeah!
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