Happy New Year! ; House 1 rehab is done! ; end of the re-hab season for us
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1 – 12 January, 2011)
---------------------------
Wednesday, 12 January-
Yesterday's snow was light but overnight we had about four inches of the stuff. I was awakened by a snow plow around 0530 and couldn't get back to sleep. Once daylight came up I went out and shoveled snow and cleaned off the cars for a couple of hours. The temperature was only about 25 degrees but I was very comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed the sunny early morning.
I then spent most of the day researching digital SLR cameras. I'm thinking of working on my photography skills on my Florida trip this year.
--------------------------
Tuesday, 11 January-
Cburg. This morning I installed transition strips between the hardwood flooring and the sheet vinyl flooring of the kitchen and bath. Labashi re-mounted all the newly-painted registers. I then fixed a water leak at the turnoff valve for house 1 (the one I fixed earlier in the week was in house 2). We then began cleaning up and packing up to end our re-hab season for now. We have house 1 ready for sale and need to take an extended break. We left for home at lunch time, hoping to beat the snow predicted for the afternoon.
Back home we spent an hour 'arriving' (unloading and stowing, etc) and then settled in just as the snow started. That evening we watched a good National Geographic special on Death Valley.
-------------------------
Monday, 10 January -
Cburg. Today we finished cleaning floors (living room and dining room floors we couldn't work on until the stains and poly were dry). Late in the day we put down Orange Glo Hardwood Refinisher.
More 'Weeds- 5' that evening after our supper at Pizza Hut.
--------------------------
Sunday, 9 January-
Cburg. I cleaned up the bedroom floors in detail. I used Goof-Off to remove paint spots, Scotch tape residue, gum, lipstick, and magic-marker ink and plain old scraping to remove some unidentified stuff that didn't respond to Goof-Off. I then used Minwax Hardwood Floor Cleaner on all the bedroom floors. In the meantime Labashi was working on her color-matching skills with stains on the hardwood floor repairs Maypo recently completed in the living room and dining room.
That evening we watched several Weeds-Season Five episodes after supper at Quiznos.
-------------------------
Saturday, 8 January-
Cburg. After our meeting with the real-estate agent yesterday we decided we would not have the hardwood floors refinished. This means we spent a laborious day and a half taking up toe and removing nails. Now we have to put it back down and fill all the holes.
Labashi did a great job of cleaning up the hardwood toe with Goof-Off and I used Maypo's air-driven brad nailer to put it back in place. I then filled the holes with a Minwax color-putty which virtually disappeared.
---------------------------
Friday, 7 January-
Cburg today. We left early to meet with a real-estate agent at the house. We met with him for a good two hours and had a good session. That afternoon Labashi joined me in the basement of house 2, chipping away at loose concrete and washing down walls in preparation for paint.
That evening we finished 'Damages- Season Two' in the van.
--------------------------
Thursday, 6 January-
Home today. It took me most of the day to find the 'right' motorcycle insurance and buy it. I'm still amazed it's such a haphazard process. After finding the insurance I wanted I told the agent I'm ready to sign up and he asked if I had a fax machine. I don't so he said we'd either have to wait for a mail exchange so I could receive, sign, and return a state-required notification form before we could proceed or I could sign up online and electronically sign the notification form there. That's fine but the online form had problems of its own and I ended up having to fill out the forms multiple times and even then still had to call in for help. Online signup still has a long way to go.
But in the end, I'm happy with the change. For the same price as last year I now have the same coverage plus I get roadside assistance dispatch service.
---------------------------
Wednesday, 5 January-
Home today. I reviewed and then sent in our renewal for auto insurance. I then spent the rest of the day shopping for motorcycle insurance. I've become unhappy with my old insurance provider and am trying to find a good match. My first try was an utter failure, though. I thought I had found a good company but the quote was almost 50 per cent higher.
-----------------------------
Tuesday, 4 January -
Cburg today. I worked in the basement of house 1, cleaning out all the cobwebs and doing a thorough dusting of the cross-braces and horizontal surfaces. I then moved over to house 2 to continue my dusty work and I repaired a leak in the boiler-valve serving as the main water supply cutoff. Labashi is still working away upstairs with rehab of the interior door surfaces.
Late in the day we drove back home.
-----------------------------
Monday, 3 January -
Today I spent the day finishing up the paint prep of-- and then painting--- the fuel oil tank. I also put a second coat on the water-well pressure tank.
Again, we watched 'Damages' that evening after supper at Tito's Tacos.
-----------------------------
Sunday, 2 January-
This morning we drove back to Chambersburg to get back to work. I replaced another broken window in the basement, then scaled, wire-brushed, and painted the water well's pressure tank with a coat of heavy-rust primer and began the paint-prep process for the fuel-oil tank. Labashi, in the meantime, began work on the interior doors upstairs.
That evening we continued 'Damages-Season Two' via Neflix Instant Movies in Mocha Joe.
-----------------------------
Saturday, 1 January -
Happy New Year! Labashi and I spent the day relaxing at home. We had a very busy year, at times stressful but also very rewarding. This time last year we were planning the move of Labashi's parents from Detroit to Mechanicsburg and that turned out well. After they settled in we then took a much-needed break with (of all things) 8000 miles of driving --- our so-called 'Desert Flowers trip'. We made a beeline for Big Bend National Park in west Texas, then meandered along the Mexican border to San Diego for the next few weeks, then moved a hundred miles north and meandered back across the US.
In July we began the house-rehab project we just finished up this week (and now we have another to go). In mid-August we took another little drive, this one a tour of Newfoundland and Labrador. The highlight-- and our excuse for going-- was a traverse of Labrador via the Trans-Labrador Highway.
And upon our return home, it was back to work on House 1 for the rest of the year.
********** END OF POST *********
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1 – 12 January, 2011)
---------------------------
Wednesday, 12 January-
Yesterday's snow was light but overnight we had about four inches of the stuff. I was awakened by a snow plow around 0530 and couldn't get back to sleep. Once daylight came up I went out and shoveled snow and cleaned off the cars for a couple of hours. The temperature was only about 25 degrees but I was very comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed the sunny early morning.
I then spent most of the day researching digital SLR cameras. I'm thinking of working on my photography skills on my Florida trip this year.
--------------------------
Tuesday, 11 January-
Cburg. This morning I installed transition strips between the hardwood flooring and the sheet vinyl flooring of the kitchen and bath. Labashi re-mounted all the newly-painted registers. I then fixed a water leak at the turnoff valve for house 1 (the one I fixed earlier in the week was in house 2). We then began cleaning up and packing up to end our re-hab season for now. We have house 1 ready for sale and need to take an extended break. We left for home at lunch time, hoping to beat the snow predicted for the afternoon.
Back home we spent an hour 'arriving' (unloading and stowing, etc) and then settled in just as the snow started. That evening we watched a good National Geographic special on Death Valley.
-------------------------
Monday, 10 January -
Cburg. Today we finished cleaning floors (living room and dining room floors we couldn't work on until the stains and poly were dry). Late in the day we put down Orange Glo Hardwood Refinisher.
More 'Weeds- 5' that evening after our supper at Pizza Hut.
--------------------------
Sunday, 9 January-
Cburg. I cleaned up the bedroom floors in detail. I used Goof-Off to remove paint spots, Scotch tape residue, gum, lipstick, and magic-marker ink and plain old scraping to remove some unidentified stuff that didn't respond to Goof-Off. I then used Minwax Hardwood Floor Cleaner on all the bedroom floors. In the meantime Labashi was working on her color-matching skills with stains on the hardwood floor repairs Maypo recently completed in the living room and dining room.
That evening we watched several Weeds-Season Five episodes after supper at Quiznos.
-------------------------
Saturday, 8 January-
Cburg. After our meeting with the real-estate agent yesterday we decided we would not have the hardwood floors refinished. This means we spent a laborious day and a half taking up toe and removing nails. Now we have to put it back down and fill all the holes.
Labashi did a great job of cleaning up the hardwood toe with Goof-Off and I used Maypo's air-driven brad nailer to put it back in place. I then filled the holes with a Minwax color-putty which virtually disappeared.
---------------------------
Friday, 7 January-
Cburg today. We left early to meet with a real-estate agent at the house. We met with him for a good two hours and had a good session. That afternoon Labashi joined me in the basement of house 2, chipping away at loose concrete and washing down walls in preparation for paint.
That evening we finished 'Damages- Season Two' in the van.
--------------------------
Thursday, 6 January-
Home today. It took me most of the day to find the 'right' motorcycle insurance and buy it. I'm still amazed it's such a haphazard process. After finding the insurance I wanted I told the agent I'm ready to sign up and he asked if I had a fax machine. I don't so he said we'd either have to wait for a mail exchange so I could receive, sign, and return a state-required notification form before we could proceed or I could sign up online and electronically sign the notification form there. That's fine but the online form had problems of its own and I ended up having to fill out the forms multiple times and even then still had to call in for help. Online signup still has a long way to go.
But in the end, I'm happy with the change. For the same price as last year I now have the same coverage plus I get roadside assistance dispatch service.
---------------------------
Wednesday, 5 January-
Home today. I reviewed and then sent in our renewal for auto insurance. I then spent the rest of the day shopping for motorcycle insurance. I've become unhappy with my old insurance provider and am trying to find a good match. My first try was an utter failure, though. I thought I had found a good company but the quote was almost 50 per cent higher.
-----------------------------
Tuesday, 4 January -
Cburg today. I worked in the basement of house 1, cleaning out all the cobwebs and doing a thorough dusting of the cross-braces and horizontal surfaces. I then moved over to house 2 to continue my dusty work and I repaired a leak in the boiler-valve serving as the main water supply cutoff. Labashi is still working away upstairs with rehab of the interior door surfaces.
Late in the day we drove back home.
-----------------------------
Monday, 3 January -
Today I spent the day finishing up the paint prep of-- and then painting--- the fuel oil tank. I also put a second coat on the water-well pressure tank.
Again, we watched 'Damages' that evening after supper at Tito's Tacos.
-----------------------------
Sunday, 2 January-
This morning we drove back to Chambersburg to get back to work. I replaced another broken window in the basement, then scaled, wire-brushed, and painted the water well's pressure tank with a coat of heavy-rust primer and began the paint-prep process for the fuel-oil tank. Labashi, in the meantime, began work on the interior doors upstairs.
That evening we continued 'Damages-Season Two' via Neflix Instant Movies in Mocha Joe.
-----------------------------
Saturday, 1 January -
Happy New Year! Labashi and I spent the day relaxing at home. We had a very busy year, at times stressful but also very rewarding. This time last year we were planning the move of Labashi's parents from Detroit to Mechanicsburg and that turned out well. After they settled in we then took a much-needed break with (of all things) 8000 miles of driving --- our so-called 'Desert Flowers trip'. We made a beeline for Big Bend National Park in west Texas, then meandered along the Mexican border to San Diego for the next few weeks, then moved a hundred miles north and meandered back across the US.
In July we began the house-rehab project we just finished up this week (and now we have another to go). In mid-August we took another little drive, this one a tour of Newfoundland and Labrador. The highlight-- and our excuse for going-- was a traverse of Labrador via the Trans-Labrador Highway.
And upon our return home, it was back to work on House 1 for the rest of the year.
********** END OF POST *********
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 20:22
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