Home Improvement

I got our tiller to work! Some new gas, and figuring out what does what... and we are off! I got half of the garden tilled, and now that I have half a clue what I am doing the rest shouldn't take long at all. We have lots of plans, maybe to ambitious, for the garden. We are going to have a variety of vegetables, including a small pumpkin patch for Eli. We are going to be able to use the seeds from his first pumpkin. Which I think will be cool, he wont care, just lots of pumpkins.
We are going to put in a few blueberry bushes, and a few raspberry vines... Eli loves both. Those combines with the existing pear and apple trees should be provide a nice selection.


I have done a few minor upgrades to a few things in the house, mainly a few plugs and switches so far.

I added a GFCI to the bathroom, it had none, and it seemed like a good idea. I also switched out the old plug on the opposite side of the sink, they all match now.


I also added a timed switch for the exhaust fan. It seems like one of those things that could be left on far longer then it needs to be, this seems to be an effective solution. (it also has really cool green LEDs) The fan itself is in need of some help. You can tell from anywhere in the house when the timer turns off. Loud would be a definite understatement. A project for another day.


More soon...

Pat

We wish everyone a safe and happy new year.

We really are not really resolution people, but there are always things you would like to do different. We moved into a house that could use, well, updating. This is nothing like the Barnes house, as I recall the ceiling was sitting on the floor before we ever started any kind of demo. We will me making lots of improvements to our new house over the next several months, we started with a few fairly manageable ones.

We installed a garbage disposal! I bought the whole under the sink plumbing kit, spent a fair amount of time trying to figure it out. I was trying to over complicate it, it just didn't have what I needed. I was able to leave all of the plumbing on the other side, including the "T". I just needed a straight piece of pipe, the only possible piece that was not included in this kit. It was Sunday, and I had resolved myself to driving all the way into Lansing to pick up the piece. I was delighted to find our home town hardware store was not only open, but had what I needed, and had good service. I had always dreaded the thought of life in a "ville" or "burg"... its not so bad, in fact I rather like it.

To go along with the disposal, maybe the main reason we got it, it our new dishwasher!


The stainless steel, inside and out, an adjustable upper shelf, nylon coated racks, and more loading flexibility then I know what to do with.... all this from Menard's... I hate their theme song, but they have remarkable service.
The overall project took me embarrassingly long, but its all done, works, and looks good.

Much more to come on the home improvement adventure.

Eli seems like he constantly battling some form of a cold, but recently so am I. Considering his constant running nose, he is a pretty happy kid. I recently bought him a ball cap on super clearance. He didn't really like it the first day, but has taken to it and wears it regularly. I think he looks super cute in it...


We are trying to get him on some sort of a nap schedule. He gets two a day, one mid to late morning, and one mid afternoon. The time and length feel pretty random, and we don't always get both. The other day Eli fell asleep while eating. I got up to get something and by the time I got back this is what I saw:

He grabbed his nuk, put his head down and was out. I got the camera, got this picture and picked him up so he could sleep on his pillow. He didn't wake up, I guess he was more tired then I thought.

Have a great day...

Pat

We painted what is going to be our room today. We chose a warm cream for our room, and a soft blue for the baby's room. its amazing how much a fresh coat of paint changes the feel of a room. It was really something to see the old paint next to the new, I had no idea the old was so grungy looking. This weekend we are hoping to get all moved into the new room and get the baby's room painted. It shouldn't take really long, it only took an hour and a half to complete the first one. I think we will spend more time moving over and rearranging.

I am putting the finish on the bed tomorrow. I fully expect it to be a day project, at least. This is all pulling together, and it seems to be speeding up, not long till school starts, and it all kicks into high gear.

More soon.

Pat

I am juggling multiple projects, attempting to get as much done as possible. I worked on tile last night till late. Today so far I stained the front door and cleaned up a bit. I used Minwax Poly Shades, it's a polyurethane and stain in one. It feels a bit like cheating, but it has such a nice result in a short amount of time. The door has been bare wood for over a year, and before that had been painted multiple times. We tried to get all of the paint off, the wood had some in the grain that we couldn't get out, and after being frustrated beyond belief, it was good enough. Then end result now is a pretty decent looking door, not the best, but its over 80 years old and seen better days.

More tile tonight, the goal is to have it all in by the end of the night, wish me luck.

Pat