The Answer is YES

Over the past month, I have personally lived out one of the secret realities of blogging. I'm going to tell you what it is. Ready for it? Ok, here goes. There is an inverse relationship between blogable content and actual blog posting. In other words, the more you have going on the less you blog.

To prove it, I've included a transcript of what I've been doing to prepare to move, leave our lovely 970 in the hands of strangers (I mean renters, obviously), and show up at my brother's wedding (tomorrow!) looking like I knew I was going to a wedding that day.

Sep 7 cleaned out kids' craft cupboard & my paper collection. Useful stuff slated for donation to an underfunded preschool. Useless stuff, recycled/junked.

Sep 8 cleaned bedroom, delivered fabric & 2 bikes to International Institute, 2
bags clothes to Goodwill

Sep 9 cleaned out dress up stuff, sorted for donation. I've been patching the broken plaster in the dining room and bedroom, and today I applied the final coat. I also moved the marble fountain downstairs into the basement coal room.

Sep 10 sorted toy box and prepped most of it for donation. I also went through all the kids' clothes--the out of season stuff and their stuff from when they were little. Prepped most of that for donation too.

Sep 11 changed the locks on the house so that we now only need two keys instead of four. I recycled a drawer full of plastic bags that had built up despite my efforts by taking them to the bins at Walmart.

Sep 12 Continued to assemble things to donate to the underfunded preschool--including rolling up a the huge vinyl play mat. We had a final dinner with Katherine & Paul.

Sep 13 sorted all my books into categories of 'keep', 'store indefinitely', and 'donate', with donation books separated by subject area. Also sorted the kids books. Joe and Katy came over and we loaded all of the kid donations into
katys car and filled it up. I sanded the plaster patches, and they are beautiful and ready for paint.

Sep 14 bought screwdriver, since all my phillips-heads are stripped. Weeks ago I bought a bunch of fancy clothes at Dillard's for my mom to try out for the wedding. Today I returned most of that stuff, and then I folded origami roses. Later that night I sorted out all of my kids' art, prepared it for transport or storage.

Sep 15 installed a different light in the dining room light. The old one had shorted out. I also finally fixed one of our porch lights, which needed an extra length of wire. I also started wiring up the girls closet light. They've survived without one, but the closet will be much more functional lit. I also called our insurance company to try and pin down our prescription drug benefits.

Sep 16 finished electrical work for girls closet. I spent some time in the basement and sorted out all my hardware and construction junk on the work bench. Matthew posted our old Lebanese propane powered space heater and oven on Craigslist, and today I managed the sale of both. He also listed our black office chairs and they sold too.

Sep 17 Today I listed our red chairs, shoe storage and kids cubbies for sale on Craigslist. I sifted through my collection of cook books, prepped more stuff for garbage day. The almonds arrived (a week ago I ordered 10 lbs of them for the wedding favors) and I assembled 80 roses w/ candy inside.

Sep 18 got garbage out to the curb, picked up all the medicine I will take with me to Lebanon, sold cubbies & shoe storage. I sorted through our entire collection of DVDs and kitchen plastic items. Thankfully kitchen ware and DVD cases can be recycled. Terra took a stack of donation books to the local library. I Assembled 40 more roses w/ candy.

Sep 19 delivered couches to mom, some canned goods, bunk bed, porch chairs. Went to Joe's where I cut & routed drawer fronts for my closet project. I got a final headcount from Katy and finished the origami roses. I also bought additional plastic tubs for storage.

Sep 20 finally got rid of large wardrobe. I sold it on craigslist ages ago (as in August) and the lady finally sent for it TODAY. I took down all our art/photos, brought first wave of long-term storage items up out of basement, crated books, carpets, decor. Later that day I installed drawer fronts. They look great.

Sep 21 managed the recycling, kids pediatrician visit for updated immunizations, donated all of our language books (German, French, Arabic, Chinese) to the local High School library. I took a huge stack of shoe boxes to my daughter's preschool where they will be used for crafts. Brought all remaining storage out of basement,
and began patching dining room woodwork in preparation to paint.

Sep 22 more filler work in dining room, helped mom w/rehearsal dinner plans. Packed up all less-than-totally necessary kitchen items for storage. looked in too many stores for shoes to wear to the wedding. No luck.

Sep 23 processed huge amounts of laundry in advance of not doing laundry in this house anymore. Found more DVDs and sorted them accordingly. Went shopping for shoes again, still nothing. I'm going to wear the boringest shoes in the world to my brother's wedding and there's nothing to be done about it.

Sep 24 Craigslisted basement cabinets, kitchenaid, super glam retro punch bowl, a utility table that we had in the basement, black desk accessories, Christmas tree, storage shelves, wrapping paper storage box, plastic patio chairs, vanity w/mirror, tons of household stuff, got rid of dryer and all the basement cabinets possible. Made a huge batch of macaroni and cheese, helped set up for the rehearsal dinner. Dashed to pick up my kids, dashed again to attended rehearsal and dinner.

Sep 25 put a ton of garbage out at the curb for pickup, cleaned out garage, sold my kichenaid and plastic chairs. Disassembled our hammock and packed that up, removed all storage items from garage. Took the girls for haircuts.


And with that, are we current? Yes, we are.

Leaving 970 & Local Charity Advise Please!

We are leaving #970, it's official. It’ll take about another month and a half for us to wrap up the state-side side of our lives and then we’ll be off. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to #970, not to mention all the junk we’ve stuffed into it’s nooks and crannies. But luckily, I have found two very good charities, ones that will get most of what we are not taking with us. Since I have so much stuff please, please, if you know of a good, reputable charity in St. Louis that accepts donations of household items tell me about them (other than the Salvation army, Good will, Am Vets, etc. Not that they're not reputable, just that I already know about those guys). Thanks!

While we wind down our US lives, Matthew is getting things going for us in Beirut, Lebanon—our destination. No, I’m not involved in this on anything other than a conceptual level. He’s managing all of it—the car situation, apartment, everything (until I show up, that is). I’m really looking forward to going back. There’s so much to do and see and this time I get to do and see it without two children in diapers.

It isn't clear how long we will stay, and Matthew and I have decided that we're fine with an undefined period of residence over there.

Beirut is where Dandelion was born, where Star learned to talk (in French and Arabic before English, actually) so it isn't like we don't know what to expect or what we're getting into. We do, or at least we know a whole lot more than the first time we arrived back in 2004. And guess what? We did not fail out of Lebanon 101.

What You Need

Except for the fact that the drill isn't in the picture, this is a pretty good collection of the stuff you will need to install two new 220 volt receptacles at my house. That's what I did today. The stuff slowly assembled on top of my washing machine while I worked.

My washing machine and dryer and refrigerator all run on 220 power--they were purchased overseas several years ago. The 220 thing; not that big a deal, actually. Electric dryers in the US are usually 220, so we already had two breakers set to 220 and a receptacle for the dryer in the basement. With the help of an extension cord/power strip, it has delivered power to the washer and dryer and a whole host of smaller appliances since we first moved in.

So, Friday Craigslist helped us get rid of the rather ancient and energy sucking refrigerator that was in our house when we bought it. With it out of the way, I knew I was going to have to install a 220 receptacle in the kitchen to power the (much newer, nicer, more efficient) 220 refrigerator-from-abroad. Since I was going to be messing with the 220 line anyway, I figured I should relocate the basement receptacle so that it is nearer the washing machine's drain line. That way, we won't have to keep on using extension cords downstairs.

The whole project went off without a hitch. This morning I bought new receptacles at Lowes, and the nice man there helped me find the right kind of cable. This afternoon, I was able to start and complete the project exactly as I had imagined it. All of it went according to plan. This is unusual for me in the area of home improvement.

Given that there weren't any major hiccups in the installation of the new receptacles, I was really shocked how long it took and how hard it was. What I thought would only be a little bit of work took me four hours. How can that be? We're only talking about two receptacles. Plus, that 10 gauge wire did a number on my delicate fingers. No lie.

God Bless Craigslist

Over the past week, I have gotten rid of the horrible old refrigerator that came with our house when we bought it, two enormous wardrobes, and a bag full of ink cartridges that date back to two printers ago. The refrigerator was gargantuan and wasteful and ugly. We've replaced it with our trusty LG, the one that we brought from Lebanon, and it is superior in every respect. The wardrobes had outlived their usefulness and are off to be useful to other people. The printer ink I parted with for free. After all, it might have gone bad after so many years on the shelf. I wouldn't sleep well wondering if I had just traded garbage for money.

All of this was made possible by Craigslist. I've declared my love of Craigslist on this site before. We have an enduring relationship.

There's more to come of course. I'll be Craigslisting like a maniac. There's just so much here that I don't need to keep. There's something very wonderful and liberating about having fewer things. Honestly, I think it helps me sleep better at night.

Happily Ever After

Once upon a time there was a miserable old driveway. All the other driveways on the block were better off than the miserable old driveway. They all belonged to people who loved them more and took better care of them. The miserable old driveway was ashamed and sometimes cried when no one else was looking, which was all the time. No one ever notices a miserable old driveway.

Then one day, just when the miserable old driveway had given up all hope of ever being as well-cared for as the other driveways on the block, a miracle happened. The lady the miserable old driveway beloged to got out there and cleaned and weeded and cleaned and weeded some more. Then, two strangers came and poured black smelly goop all over the miserable old driveway. That goop stank like you wouldn't believe and the miserable old driveway and the people it belonged to wondered if the smell would ever go away.

But of course it did. The miserable old driveway is still miserable and old, but beneath all that goop, no one will notice. The driveway is used to not getting noticed, so that part worked out just fine.

Mary Ann, in the Basement, With the Drill

I started building these drawers a long, long time ago. But today is the day I finished. Feels pretty good to make progress. The next step is to install them.

Relax

It's been a long day, so why don't you take a seat? The porch is cool and I have lemonade inside. There's another chair for me. I'll sit with you and we can have a nice long chat.

The chairs are comfy too. You'll like them. I bought the set months ago at that little shop down the road--Recycled Rose. That's the one. But they had no cushions. I looked for some that fit right, but couldn't find any so I made these. It took me a while to finish them, but I'm so glad I did. I used the fabric from my bus stop friend and I'm really happy with them. So tell me, how have you been?

Vote!

I'm building drawers for my closet, and I need to find pulls for them. These two are in the running. The reason I'm considering this at all is that the handle is hinged, and when the handle is hinged it's called a "bail pull" for reasons unknown to me. I want a bail pull because it will be flat, a space-saving feature that will be useful in the location where these will be used.

The problem is, I'm not crazy about either one. Oh, there are pretty ones that are terribly expensive and even more ugly expensive ones. Since I'll probably need at least 13 of them, they can't cost $20 each. About a tenth of that would actually be more like it.

So, what do you think? Anyone have a better suggestion? Send me a link if you do . . .

Closet Update

Here's a before picture:



And here's a during picture:



And here's an after another during picture:

Back in March I hung the trim that surrounds the big closet opening. I thought I would just leave it that way with the 2x4s exposed, but Joe talked me out of it and even came over to help me install the intersecting trim. Joe is awesome.

There's lots left to do. I still need paint, a "floor" for the cubby spaces (which would be a roof for the closet space) above the closet rod/shelf, and of course, I'm going to build drawers to go along the bottom. We're getting there.

Did you notice that I moved some of the supports in the cubby spaces? I'm really pleased with how it looks especially now that I can see the closet's final form emerging.

In the Beginning

There were bookcases on the wall.




Then one day they were gone.




Mary Ann hung maps in their place.


Where did the bookcases go? For now, all I'll say is that they're in a better place. I'll post details some other time.

Call me Frugalein

Frugalein. Rhymes with Madeline, or Coraline.

Before we replaced them last year, most of our windows were broken, crazy drafty, or the equivalent of greenhouse glass. There were only three in the house that worked just fine, but even they ended up on the chopping block. They wouldn't have matched the new ones so that was pretty much that. As the installation date for the new windows neared, the prospect of sending the three good windows to the dump began to bother me more and more. And then I realized I could keep them. When install day rolled around, I asked the folks doing the work to save the three good ones for me and they did.

So, I bet you are dying (just dying!) to know why I wanted to keep those windows. This time it wasn't the packrat in me. I swear it wasn't. It was Frugalein. She's the queen of being frugal (duh). Frugalein had figured out how to squeeze a bit more use out of them.

She thought of our garage window:

It was like this when we bought the house even though broken glass is a code violation. Normally when you buy a house, an inspection can turn up stuff like this, sometimes lots of stuff like this. You (the buyer) take the results of the inspection back to the seller and either renegotiate the sale price or maybe the seller will agree to fix the problems for you.

I wouldn't know. When a bank is the seller (as it was in our case) they sometimes won't do either, and that's how the bank that held our house was. When our inspection turned up problems we knew they were our problems to deal with.

Call it luck. The three windows that were removed from my house are just the right size to replace the windows in the garage. The one in the picture was broken. Another was boarded up, and the third won't open (probably something to do with those ancient weights on the inside).

This is one of my favorite kinds of projects. I get to be outside on a gorgeous day working in the shade of our garage (I'm no good in direct sunlight), the work itself is a mental and physical diversion from my daily life, the project costs nothing so Frugalein loves it and I love making Frugalein happy, it recycles something that would have been difficult to dispose of, it upgrades my property (code compliance!), and doing it reminds me that I am capable of this and so much more.

I'll post another picture when I've actually gotten the window in. We're getting there . . .

Behind the baseboards

Before the demolition in the bedroom I carefully removed all the woodwork from the wall in question. Behind one closet baseboard I found these:


Money-wise, they're worthless, or at least I'm pretty sure they are. The baseball card was easy enough to look up and is worth about $5. I wouldn't know where to begin with the other pictures. But even without monetary value these cards are a great find. They are a little reminder of the physical legacy of this house. As I've said elsewhere, most of that remains (for me) an endlessly intriguing mystery.

Oh, and Dandelion just challenged Star to an Agni Kai.

Even better with Dandelion art

I took this picture today, a premeditated 'before' picture. When you blog, you tend to do things like this.


What you're looking at there is a fairly awkward space between two windows. There's just a little bit of wall. It's too small for most of the framed and unframed art that has accumulated around us over the last decade. And although the space is quiet and unobtrusive, it is clearly visible from the front door. Sometimes quiet and unobtrusive is fine, perfectly ok, but I wanted there to be more to this bit of wall. Quiet, yes, but hopefully not boring.

I gathered the things that I thought would look right in this space and then I made a template, because that is what Martha would do and you know she is right about this.


After arranging them on the paper I traced each one and marked where the hanging hardware would be. Then I took the picture.

Fun.

When I taped the template on the wall I decided that the really smart thing to do would be to get out my level to make sure that the guide holes were in a perfectly vertical line. Then I got out my drill and put perfect little holes into my perfect plaster walls.

Perfect.


Well, that depends on who you ask. Dandelion knew it wasn't quite finished. She loves to hang pictures on the wall. Just before going to bed, she taped (and taped and taped!) one more thing up there.


And now its perfect.

Demolition

Two and a half years ago, I watched from the window as half a dozen men demolished a building with sledge hammers. It hadn't occurred to me until then that such a thing could be done by hand.


By the time I took this picture they had already removed quite a lot of the structure. The white lines cascading down behind the man in the purple shirt are dust-coated rebar--they had already broken all the cement off that part. Over the next few days they took the rest of the house down. I expected that they'd build something in it's place right away, but they didn't. At least, not before we left. When we left they hadn't even hauled the rubble away, and there was a mountain of it. Funny how much rubble can come from such a small building.

Well, as with buildings so with walls, a lesson I learned when I did a little demolition of my own last month. Here's what one wall of my bedroom used to look like:


On the right, the closet door. On the left, the bedroom door. The wall you're looking at there is load bearing, and the 22" x 7' space behind it? Dead useless. quite likely the most pointless closet ever. So I took all the trim off the door, removed it and it's framing, pried the baseboards off, removed an electrical outlet, rerouted the wiring for the upstairs, and then . . . then! The demolition! (over the course of a few days). I hung a closet rod and *presto*


we have a (messy) closet. Hanging the wire shelf/closet-rod combo was absolutely the hardest part of it all.

It isn't done yet (obviously). I'll hang trim around it eventually, and I'll also be building drawers to go along the bottom and a shelf at the level of the old door's header to make all that space up their useful for more storage. Yeah. It's a work in progress.

Oh, and here's some of my rubble.


I've got four of these, and they're full. How did such a small amount of wall generate four huge (heavy) boxes of debris?

Stained Glass

One of the things I love most about #970:



The living room has two of these. They're roughly 18x24", positioned high on the wall, book-ending what was certainly a fireplace in ages gone by. A few posts ago when I said that we replaced almost all our windows, this was why. These had to stay. Though I love my stained glass, my interest in it didn't start here.

Stained glass knocked my socks off the first time I went to Germany in 1997. Most of what I saw there was painted stained glass illustrating bible stories in churches. Even the most unremarkable churches were adorned in this way, beautifying the church but also teaching the illiterate masses through pictures.

When I got back to the US 11 years ago, I enrolled in a class and learned how to cut glass and assemble the pieces. I never made anything that was any good, but I learned enough to recognized construction methods and materials.

Looking around my neighborhood you'll see a lot of windows like mine, but you'll also see a lot of homes that don't have them anymore. You can tell from the architecture and the position of the windows that there was probably art glass in there when the house was built. Over the years a lot of homeowners have replaced the old stained glass with regular windows or filled in the openings with glass blocks.

I'm fascinated by the ones that are still here and I can't wait to learn more.

Not just a number

Here's #970 as it looked in June 2008.



We bought this house almost exactly a year ago. Since then we've replaced (almost) all the windows, had a gigantic half-dead lighting-struck Tulip tree removed, improved every faucet in the house (repairing or replacing), wrestled with the landscaping, rerouted inefficient ducting, and so on.

I'm surprised by how much I enjoy this work. It feels good to know exactly how different systems in my house function. Anyway, a big part of living @ 970 has turned out to be maintaining it, and where necessary, changing it.