Falling for New Projects

Wednesday, July 24th. And I quote, "Now for a much deserved break from the house..." 
And for once, we pretty much made good on that promise.

Summer Report
As you may recall, we had been feverishly completing exterior siding and stair railing updates in preparation for a lucrative refi in the early summer months. I'm happy to report that we completed that refi and are now saving about $300 per month. Woo-to-da-hoo

As to how we've been spending our summer vacation - let me just say that it's been a whirlwind of kids' activities, weddings, get-togethers, mechanical side-jobs, Fridays off, and so much more. I can't say it was boring - Oh no. It was never boring.

So, where does that leave things today, at the start of the fall season?!

Fall Fall FALL
Hey, we're installing SOLAR!

What?! You just drop that bomb here on the blog after nothing all summer long? Pretty much. The solar ball started rolling some time ago and continued to gain speed through the entire summer. At this point, we're flying like you wouldn't believe.

It all went down like this...

I saw a lawn sign (of all things) advertising SolarizeMass.com. Curious, since two of our neighbors already have solar, I visited the site and contacted someone for more information. Some time later I received a response and an initial proposal based on Google Earth photos of our house. Looked promising... very promising. We went ahead and scheduled a site evaluation.

The site evaluators looked at the main house as well as the garage, took some measurements, and some time after that, I had another more official proposal that was even more promising. Panels on the garage and house would cover all of our usage and pay for themselves in under 4 years. Federal and state rebates would save us around 40-50% off the total cost of the project... then, there's the electricity you sell back to the grid... and the fact that the electric bill would be pretty much gone. (Nevermind, my extreme hatred of NStar. Besides having the #1 worst customer service on the planet, did you know they've decided to blanket Cape Cod with toxic herbicides, the effects of which could poison people and animals as well as damage our fragile aquifer?! All of which could be avoided by the simple and safe method employed for years to control excess vegetation: MOWING.)

Anyway - Solar! It's a no-brainer. To finance the project, we're in the process of getting a home improvement loan product specially designed for Eco-Improvement Initiatives. It requires no home equity and all the interest is tax deductible. Rates are fairly good, and although we're getting a longer term then we might like, we need the flexibility of a lower payment right now. When we can pay more, we will - that's the plan. Plus, once the rebates come in, we have the opportunity to re-amortize the loan for an even lower payment.

Double no-brainer. And did I mention that the entire system is warrantied for 25 years? At which point, I'm just the technology will be such that we'll be ready to upgrade anyway. And the roof, which is relatively new now, will be ready for a re-do too. Very little maintenance... snow is supposed to slide right off. And they can install the whole thing in a day. A day!

The only wrench in the works is trees. Or, I should say, the only wrench in the works was trees. Everyone agreed that with it's expansive roof space and easily accessible attic, the garage was an idea place for solar panels. Problemo - it was shaded. Solutiono - remove trees.

That area on the hill next to the garage was a problemo for us anyway. Dense trees, vines, poison ivy, prickers, and other invasive plant species were abundant, making the area completely un-useable. The shade was nice, with large overhanging maples, but it contributed to the growth of all these ground covering fringe plants. Mike had been talking about clearing out the area for ages, but being a tree lover, shade lover, I was skeptical.

But this project was just too good to pass up. A couple weekends ago, Mike cut and chipped trees. So many trees, I was nervous that it was too many in fact. The hill is looking much different now. And with trees and vegetation cut down on the hill, we now can get a better view of our side yard structure. It's lumpy at best, with a weird up-slope. This looks like a job for... du du duhhh - Super Skid Steer!

But what you also have to know is that the skid steer is another project that Mike began over the summer, in preparation for another hard winter, if we happen to have one. A work-horse for us for nearly 8 years now, the little John Deere skid steer has been on its way out for quite a while now. Motor - done. Toast. Mike found himself a new one, a diesel, and has been working on the change-over whenever he has time.

So - no grading and smoothing until that's completed.

The solar folks came back to the house and visited us again to check on our tree-removal progress. They use a nifty meter to measure sun exposure on the garage roof, a meter which also shows which trees are shading us. Turns out, there were a few more that needed to come down to get the most out of our proposed system. These were marked just last night and Mike will get to them.... when he gets to them.

Once we have our funding, which should be sometime next week, we will continue to move forward and hopefully set an installation date for sometime in December.

Early Grout and Sunday Miscellaneous

Feast your eyes on the glory that is finished tile! Duh duh duhhhhhhh! Friday night, Mike and I sat down at the computer and picked out the grout color - Mist 939, a medium grey. My dad picked it up Saturday morning and arrived early Saturday afternoon to begin work. By late Saturday afternoon, the job was done - and beautiful.

Dr's orders, stay off the tile for a couple of days, then hit the grout with a wet - dry cloth. Good to go. Couple days = Tuesday. And I told Mike Saturday night, this battle station must be operational ASAP. Just Five Easy Steps! 1. Baseboard Trim. 2. Vanity and Toilet. 3. Plumb from pump to septic pipe 4. Lighting and fan fixtures. 5. Doors. I don't think we've ever had so much "in stock" and ready to go like we do in this room. Quite a satisfying feeling, knowing we're not going to be running out to the deepHo for anything major.

So with the bano tiled a day early, we had Sunday to tackle some other tasks and even managed to have friends over! (ooooooo!) The previous Thursday or Friday, I finally had an opportunity to purchase winter moth repelling tree spray, and Mike applied it to all our new trees Sunday morning... those bugs love the cherry blossoms and the two trees in the front yard have suffered hard for the past couple years. Next on the agenda, Mike trimmed the garage door and installed the weatherstripping. (Only been a year that this job has been sitting idle.) The garage finally looks finished now! Then, he cleaned up wood and logs from the tree we felled after Hurricane Irene and chopped up another tree that we'd lost in the backyard over the winter.

After a little bit of building material cleanup on the porch picnic table and cleaning of the kids' water table, we still had plenty of time for friends. (Awe, muffin.)

Hello New World

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I have a valid excuse this time. My entire world has been just turned upside down. And while you think that may be an exaggeration, consider this: my beautiful ’88 Toyota 4Runner has problems so epic that an engine, wiring, and computer change didn’t fix them and have been ordered to give up on the ‘ol girl as a daily driver. I don’t want any other vehicle, nor can I afford a decently new and reliable one. Uncertainty nags at my sanity.  My professional editing software, Final Cut Pro, has been consumerized. Though I can still edit on it for now, I will soon need to convert to something else – and I am unsatisfied with prosumer choices and stodgy old-fart industry standards. My professional tool of choice is gone. My Tuesday night Zum-Belly dance class has as of last night, disbanded. The fitness club where it was held is going out of business. My weekly dose of fun, stress relief is gone. Work has been chaotic in a way that I can’t even describe. I continue to bust my butt. Meanwhile, life with one or one and one borrowed vehicle is no fun. Mike is sick of the breakdowns and the diagnosis. He’s sick of working late nights weeks on end, months on end, now close to a year on the complex MG project. He bought a new motorcycle and I can’t deny he deserves it for all the hard work. His old one has yet to be officially sold, though promises are asserted weekly. I stress about money while at the same time continue to move forward. We took a trip to Chicago and forgot about the world for a weekend – spent a boatload – came back to the same problems and minus money. It was infamously worth it. I feel like we hadn’t spent more then a half hour together watching the weather channel. I barely see my friends. I barely have time for things like Halloween party invites and piano practice. I barely have time for sleep. I’ve probably gained some weight, what with my hand in the candy dish three times a day. This all started with Hurricane Irene. That devil knocked out more then our power, I think. It’s all been a swift downhill since then.

We had a second hurricane scare not a week after Irene. Mike was so petrified of losing the garage that he took down the giant tree on the hill above it. It was more then a little scary. He tied it off with a tree and a rope and chain hooked into the truck, then began cutting in. The wind was against him. One wrong gust and the massive trunk would obliterate the garage and its contents. Mike frantically signalled to our neighbor, who was in the truck’s driver’s seat, and he hit the gas. A lucky break with a gust of wind in the right direction – the tree fell to the back, safely. We lost one beam on the playset, which Mike replaced within the same week. In the same time, he brought home a chipper and ate through all the branches. We still have the trunk laying down there today and Mike hopes to fashion a bench from it. (I have my doubts, he’s no woodworker. No hurt to try though.) The rest of the wood, (from the other tree that came down in the storm) was packed up and delivered to a friend of ours with a fireplace. He was very appreciative.

Tree Chain

Truck hooked up, Tree ready to fall

Tree Falling

Tree Down

Top of Tree in Playset

Truck of Tree

Log Mess

Branch Mess

Truck o Logs

Hill looking weird without the tree there

The weekend after that we lost ourselves in more yard work. I had a 50% off a tree coupon at Morrisons, so this time we picked out a Fuji apple tree for the backyard and a flowering shrub. (25% off the shrub.) The tree, the shrub, and soil for both totalled up under $100 and we were both extremely satisfied. We planted both that afternoon. After that, I went crazy pulling out vines and weeds both dead and alive in the area where we took down the tree the previous week. (We’ll need to do something about the stump, maybe a chair or something?) That area is looking so much better, but will still need more help with additional plantings and… dare I say it, grass?

While I was weeding away, Mike used up the rest of our porch stain on Mikey’s playset. It will need another coat, but for now, looking great. We ordered the canopy and new swing brackets, which should be in soon.

New Apple Tree, Shrub behind to left

Newly Fixed and now Red Playset

 And speaking of ordering, we finally ordered a new shed for our trash cans. You may recall that we’ve been having nightly run-ins with a giant racoon, who freqents our busted trash hut and chows down on our delicious garbage. This thing is huge. At my first encounter, I thought it was a sweatshirt. The door to our current, homemade trash hut has long since fallen off its hinges, and this big boy (or girl) has been eating like a king (or queen) ever since. The new shed is a simple, modest Rubbermaid model big enough to hold a couple of trash cans. I’ll miss all the extra cardboard box storage of the old trash hut, but it’s a small price to pay to keep out the coons. I can’t wait until it arrives so we can take the old one to the dump – along with a bunch of other items that have been awaiting a big dump run.

So, with another week coming to an end I have to reflect on everything as a whole. On the one hand, things are just terrible. The 4Runner, the FCP, the Zum-belly, the work, the money, the MG, the late nights, the sleeplessness and timelessness… And on the other hand, new plantings, new stain, new trash hut.... weekends ignoring and procrastinating the inevitable…. Yeah, things still kinda suck.

Electrical Aftermath

Hurricane Irene. You may remember my last post - dated the day after the hurricane. Well, little did I know what fun and exciting horrors were yet to come. Bottom line - we were powerless for over 6 days with a 2 year old with the stomach flu. If that's not bad enough, we were powerless over three days longer then any of our neighbors... and we're the only ones in the area with a small child.

A branch knocked off our power line from the pole to our house.

 

This pic, taken during the hurricane shows the branch there behind the lilac bush... and the line, right below it on the ground in the right of the photo.

Here's what it did to our electrical box - ripped it nearly off the house.

And this is what caused all the problems. We first reported the down line as soon as it happend. When we lost power several hours later, we called again and reported that. No big shake - the entire area was out of power. Then, the days went by. On day one, the milk went bad, Mikey was throwing up, and we were out of hot water. Mike went down to Brewster where they had power (Brewster had power? They never have power! But they did this time!) and he borrowed a generator. (We own a generator of course, a super huge one... it was broken at the time.)

It was all downhill from there. Day two, I took some pukey clothes and laundry into work so my co-worker could wash them for me. Mikey was still sick. We ate a strange mix of things prepared on the grill. But in the evening of day two, around 11pm, Nstar rolled up. We were both in bed, but upon hearing the truck, Mike jumped up and began putting on his clothes to go and talk to them. By the time he was halfway down the stairs, they were pulling away - gone. We wondered what that had been all about. The power was still out and the line was still down.

On day three, Mike took a turn taking laundry down to Brewster. Mikey was starting to improve. Mike took him to the Dr. just in case. And sometime that day, the rest of the neighborhood got power back. Mike called Nstar and was informed that the truck that had visited us previously had cut our line so they could safely turn on power to everyone else. We were completely cut off.

Day four and still no power. I called Nstar and after describing what was going on with the torn out electrical box, the associate told me I'd probably have to have an electrician come out and fix it before they could turn the power back on. Mike said, "screw that!" and went out and re-attached the box to the house himself.

Day five, I called Nstar again in the morning and they said they'd have the power on the next day by noon. Mikey was well enough to go to school. Things were looking up. But when we got home that evening, our neighbor warned us that they still might not hook up the power with the box as it was. Mike called our electrician. He said he'd try to come out the next day to check things out. That evening, in desperation, we brought up an old TV/VCR from the basement, hooked it up to the generator, and watched the muppet show on VHS.

Day 6 was Saturday. Mikey and I waited at home for the electrician. It was getting close to noon and we hadn't seen Nstar either. I texted Mike and asked him to call again. We were both very angry and frustrated at this point. Mike called me back almost immediately, "hey, I've got Nstar on the other line and they say the job is completed...."

I was livid. "No, I was just outside and the wires are still on the ground."

Yup, it had somehow been marked completed in the computer system. Mike threw a fit and they promised to have it on by 7pm that evening. We would not wait until after labor day - another three days. No way. The electrician called sometime after, he had gotten jammed up and couldn't come. We sent him a photo of the box hookup and he said we should be ok - they would turn us on.

But 7pm rolled around fast and still no Nstar. As soon as the clock hit 7, Mike hit the phone again. This time, he was even less polite, especially when he found out that the job had been marked completed - again. This time, the supervisor promised to have it on by sometime that night. Additionally, Mike demanded they send someone out to take down the tree. They promised they would send an arborist sometime soon.

Around 9pm, they finally came. And they sent two trucks!

We were ecstatic. Mike ran out with his flashlight to give them a hand. The minute the guys saw the old wires, they flipped out. "These are so old, they must be the first wires used to connect this house to the pole whenever it was first wired for electricity," they said. Remember, this house was built in 1910. Woe. Seriously overdue for an upgrade, don't you think?

The electric dudes hooked us up with all new wires and turned us back on. Mike offered them a tip, but they refused to take it. They did hook him up with some killer electrical tape, which he was geeking out over for the rest of the night.

And finally, all returned to somewhat normal. Our electrician will come visit as soon as he can to make sure everything is electrically normal too. I'm going to keep on Nstar about that arborist. Expect another call in a few more weeks!

Hurricane Irene

Whenever ill weather strikes, New Englanders glue themselves to the tube 24/7. Then, we all delight in discussing how useless and pointless the coverage was after the fact. New Englanders also love to complain that a storm wasn't "bad," as if they truly wanted complete and total annihilation. "Now that's a storm," they say. Worthy enough for a t-shirt, like the "I Survived Hurricane Bob" craze. We start trying to one-up each other, "in the blizzard of '78 I went days with my food in the snow" or "a tree fell over the driveway and I was stuck for ages" or "we bailed out the basement with a coffee can..."

Ridiculous.

But I'm a New Englander and a born Cape Codder. As in, born at Cape Cod Hospital and lived in the area all my life Cape Codder. And we're the worst offenders. Sure enough, I had my eyes stuck to the weather channel morning, noon, and night - even before the storm.

Sure enough, we were well prepared. I went grocery shopping on Tuesday. Thursday, we stayed up late cleaning the yard. Yup, up until midnight putting lumber in the basement, securing the garages, taking down the swings, and trashing the trash. We gassed up the chainsaws and the trucks.

Sunday, the storm was upon us. First thing in the morning, we lost a huge maple in the backyard. Thank god the boat was safe at Mike's work... it fell right on its normal parking space - just barely missing the playground, a tractor, and the skid steere. Mike was able to cut up some of it right then. But he was nervous about another old tree, perched precariously atop the hill next to the garage. It was primed to take out the garage and really taking a beating from the winds. Some of its higher limbs cracked and hung by some miracle of something.

Meanwhile, out front, a huge limb came off the locust, taking out the power lines to the house and ripping the box right off the outside wall. (This is a tree that Nstar cut off half of a few years ago. Now it's all lopsided and it still took out the power lines. Thanks, Nstar.) Luckily, we still had power for quite some time after that. And then our luck ran out - off by 3pm.

And it's still off. Now I'm regretting that huge food shopping trip. According to the National Food Inspection folks, food in an unopened fridge with no power is good only for 4 hours. Here we are at over 24 with a possibly 8 day wait ahead of us. Thank god for phones, or I would have never been able to check the weather. 

Now I'm Luvin It

My painting from last weekend...

Mike sometimes just knows how to make it happen. And boy did great things happen between last Thursday and last Sunday.

Wednesday night, as you recall, Mike picked up all the lattice.
Thursday night, we had a small cocktail party for a friend's birthday - going out on a weeknight, I know! Livin on the edge over here.
Friday was our first big lattice day.

Mike first dug a trench in front of the porch, then stapled up the screening. The lattice came next. And so on and so forth for each section of lattice, each section of porch. He finished the entire front side that evening.

You may recall that I was going to purchase a tree on Friday. But I didn't. Turns out, Morrison's prices and selection were so good, I could afford a bigger and better tree then I ever imagined! (Plus I had my 25% off coupon.) Unfortunately, such a nice tree would not fit in my driver's seat. So I borrowed Mike's truck on Saturday to pick up the tree - a beautiful Japanese maple around 8' tall.

I must say I was also very satisfied with my tree-buying experience. A helpful dude got the tree for me, loaded it into the truck, suggested the type and amount of planting soil, rented me a free tarp to protect the tree from the perils of driving, gave me a How-To-Plant sheet, and he was kind and courteous about it. The tree was $189 - add in my coupon and a couple bags of soil - total of approx $169. I think that was a fabulous deal. I will shop there again, for sure!

Saturday night, Mike planted the tree for me - on the left side of the house (if looking from the street.) It's awesome! I can look at it from my chairs on the porch and I just love it. When it grows up a bit, the shade will really help the grass on that side. (It needs all the help it can get.)

Sunday Morning! It's the big day - the day of Mikey's 2nd Birthday Party, and boy do we have a lot to do. (I'll save you from all my food-prep and cleaning/decorating tasks and stick to the house blogg'dness of it all.) Mike begins the morning by latticing (is that a word?) Fail, try again. Mike begins the morning by applying the lattice to the right hand side of the porch - at least up to the soon-to-be-finished steps.

Then, off to the dump. He trashed all the old wood and gutters that we had previously been storing under the porch. (Yeah, they all got wrecked when we stained... should'a thought'a that.) He also trashed all our coon-munched trash and he even trashed our huge, impossible-to-dump-cause-it's-too-heavy-when-full trash can.

Upon the return home, Mike grabbed a chair from our mudroom to return to a friend of ours. (Yes, we had a chair on loan... best not to ask questions. Long story.) But we needed to return it ASAP to make room for the coming piano... I've been taking lessons. Another long story.

So he dropped the chair off, picked up all our party rentals, returned home just in time to get it all set up, and the party went off with very few hitches.

And now that the madness is over, we have a beautiful new tree... beautiful new lattice... no chair.... Things are good! This Sunday, weather permitting, we'll be picking up the piano. Oh, and I may have neglected to mention that our two porch railings that have been on back order? They were delivered on Wednesday.

Wouldn't it be great if Timmy could come by for a bit on Sunday to install?

Next on the List: (because Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner)
Finish the railings and the steps.
Trim over the lattice.
Loam and seed the back yard.
Finish the kitchen drywall and paint.
Paint out all porch trim and the porch ceiling.
Purchase and install a porch ceiling fan.
Rip all the siding off the left hand side of the house.
Install the octagonal window.
Install new siding.

Not in that order. I'm not sure about Timmy's schedule, but we plan to at least do the loam over Mem Day Weekend. The small things like paint and fixtures, I will keep pushing for myself to take care of. Beyond that - I can't forecast.

But I think we've caught up with ourselves from being sick, at least.

Not Lovin My Lattice Yet

Hyannis HD just sux. I don't know why I even told Mike to go there to get the lattice. Of course they were out of stock! He returned home with only the screening... and a couple of circle dirt things that go at the base of the trees. (Freebies from work.)

Luckily, HD spring hours are long enough to accommodate toddler bedtimes. 10pm EST. After I returned home from piano at 8:30, Mike went to our local HD and picked up everything we needed. We'll be ready to rock and roll on Friday, as long as Mike can cut the stuff. (His saw and some other tools are at the present time, conveniently located at his sister's house.)

Also on Friday, I'm going to purchase a tree. (Good thing Mike got a random 3 of those circle dirt things.) We'll be installing that as well Friday evening.

As for this weekend - rain. Next week - rain. Would have been lovely to have that loam down with some grass seed... we'd have a full fledged lawn by June. You just watch. As soon as we get da stuff... heat wave. Drought. All summer long.

50 Ways to Love Your Lattice

No screen last night. Mike had to measure first - which he did last night. Good news, he's going to get the screen and the lattice and do it all at once, tonight. (Can you tell I'm being just a little pushy?)

Meanwhile, I gave a call to Morse Lumber yesterday, since those last two railings have been on back order for more then a month now. The answer? They'd be delivered on Thursday. Awesome. Will they be up in time for the weekend? No. But at least they'll be here. I asked too for a price on 6" solar lit post end caps and did not receive a callback. That makes me wonder if they just slapped them on the order without giving me the price first... Mmmm, nerve racking.

Also, I received in the mail a coupon for 25% off any tree or shrub at Morrison's Home and Garden. (As if I needed any excuse to purchase a tree or shrub, right?) So I'm thinkin Friday I'll purchase a tree. A tree for the side of the house, since the back isn't ready yet. Not sure what type of tree yet, but I'm flexible. I'll see what they have in stock. I'd really love to have one those purple-leaf'd trees...

*As I said to some co-workers, "I'm not very botanical!"

So if all that wasn't enough, I got myself a good scare last night while taking out the trash. And if you didn't know, we have a cruddy little trash hut made out of plywood out in back of the house. This past winter, with all the rough weather, the hinges on the door of the thing finally gave way. And with all the other goings on, fixing it hasn't been even ON the list.

So there I am, fist fulla boxes in the dark of night. I pull off the plywood door, which is just leaning against the hut, and I stare. "When did I throw away a sweatshirt," I'm asking myself. Suddenly, the sweatshirt looked up. And I'm staring into the fuzzy face of one of the biggest raccoons I've ever seen. He's just chillin in the trash can, chowin down.

I screamed and ran. He was not phased. Perhaps a little surprised that I so rudely interrupted his dinner, that's all. He was big - I mean come on, I thought he was a sweatshirt laying on top of the trash can. Fat as a coon who's been munching on our trash since the door broke over the winter, undoubtedly.

I went right inside. "Did you hear me scream?"
"No."
Well, that was comforting. Good to know I could have been mauled by a fat coon without anyone to hear me and come to my aid. I related the story to Mike, who immediately went out to the garage looking for his pellet gun.

But by then our furry new friend was no longer in the hut. But he hadn't gone far. He was brazen enough to stick around close, hanging out under an adjacent tree. Mike got one good shot off, hitting him in the face before he scurried into the darkness. By the time Mike got a proper flashlight, he'd gone. Or maybe found a better hiding place.

Another great reason to love your lattice.

And another great reason to get a new freakin trash hut. A real live small shed would be fabulous. Something not made out of scraps... I shouldn't complain. It's lasted thus far.

Full Frontal Photoshop

I'm getting waaay too ambitious again. Either that or my vitamin D level has dropped to catastrophically low  proportions.  Whatever the reason - I hit the photoshop again. And despite the fact that I'm not totally finished with this pic, I have a need to share anyway.

 

Click to Enlarge

Check it out!!! The green grass, the lush trees, the fully-doored garage, the nicely paved driveway, the shutters, the front steps, the maple tree on the left hand side that you can barely see, the lattice, and of course the rock wall.

That's the unfinished part. I have to put some plantings in there. Listen to me, I talk like the photoshopping is the hardest part of this whole landscaping thing. If I think this is difficult... woo! I ain't seen nothin yet.

Here's the "Before" picture. (I quote it because in reality, we're still in the "Before" state.)

For Our Next Trick...

I was exhausted all weekend! And Mike never ended up bringing home the de-thatcher, which is fine with me, since he decided to take down some trees instead. Which I suppose should be fine with me, since I despise those locusts.

But we're going to need to replace them with something that's not just "grass" like he wants. Hey let's cut down all our trees and just grow grass... except that's really difficult with no shade. And it's really ugly and you can see all our junk and all our neighbors and all our neighbors junk! Yeah.

So the minute we can plant trees I'm going to be picking out probably two more trees and plunking them in the ground. I'm not sure what type yet, although I'm leaning towards those deep burgundy leaf'd trees.... I've always enjoyed those. Or something that grows big and fluffy with a nice shade canopy. Dunno yet, have to research.

With the end of March upon us, I also pulled the porch trigger. "Mike," I said, "It's time we get TJ back here to finish this thing." We have a footing to fix and then alllll the trim work. Railings, ceiling, stain, paint - the whole bit. I would venture a guess that the hard part is over... though the expensive part is just beginning. Although who knows.

Plus with most of our credit debt gone, big dollar signs in the savings account, and now the $200 per mo savings... I'm ready to pour some juice on the porch. Schedules may be an issue since TJ is also a new father.... and an expectant father... all the more reason to accomplish all this in spring... but there's also a chance he may not be able to at all. I would understand that, but at the same time, I want this done and might seek other options.

I'm getting ahead of myself as per usual. One thing at a time.

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Oh Christmas Tree

Believe it or not, I was down one truck again this holiday long weekend. The yello 4Runner (#2) mysteriously crapped out on the way to the ATM machine on Black Friday. (No, I wasn't about to do any shopping.... in fact, that trip to the ATM was the one and only thing I had to do outside of the house all day.)

I was pretty depressed about the whole situation when I got back home.

So Saturday I called my mom on a whim to get myself back into the holiday spirit. I asked her if she would pick up Mikey and I and bring us down to Kmart to pick up a Christmas tree. (Yeah, I fell victim to their weekend sale, as advertised on TV!) She was free and agreed, although as soon as she arrived at my house, we began to wonder how this would work.

I mean, the woman drives a Honda Civic. So here we are, two women, a baby, and soon to be the proud new owners of a 7 1/2 foot artificial pre-lit Christmas tree... in a Honda Civic?! Oh boy. We had no clue how we were going to make that happen, but luckily, when we got to Kmart, we both liked the 6 1/2 foot tree better then the 7 1/2 foot tree.

Let me stop there for a second for a little tangent/disclaimer:
I am a Christmas person. I love the lights and the trees and the cards and the music and the giving and getting of perfect gifts for everyone. Oh, and did I mention grandma's cookie recipe? Love it. But when you get down to the real vs artificial tree debate - no contest.

And I love real trees... the going to the tree place, the selection of that perfect tree, and of course that delicious deciduous smell. But let's face it - (and I've spoken to this point before regarding the purchase of trees for planting) TREES ARE EXPENSIVE. That's fact numero uno. You go into that tree place with a boatload of cash and you come out with nothing left and a tree you're going to burn in the annual beach-christmas-tree-burning party in under a month.

An artificial tree pays for itself in two to three Christmas's depending on your artificial tree selection and of course whether or not you got it on sale like I did.

Then there are the environmental concerns... you know.... all those trees, wasted. And yes I know they're grown and harvested just for Christmas... but why not just grow them and then just leave them, I say. And though I love seeing those trees go up in a massive dry fireball of new year's joy, that annual beach-christmas-tree-burning party isn't the safest, most environmentally friendly thing either.

An artificial tree is forever... or at least a whole buncha Christmas's. And did I mention the pre-lit feature? So awesome. Think they look fake? Look again. Kmart had some excellent choices at a great value. (Too bad you guys missed the sale.)

Now returning us to me, my mom, my baby, and the Honda Civic... we had just picked out a lovely 6 1/2 foot tree along with a few other trinkets and were now headed back out to the car. Well, wouldn't you know, a 6 1/2 foot artificial Christmas tree box will not fit in a Honda Civic trunk. And just so you know, the back seats in said vehicle do not fold down individually for easy trunk expansion. They fold down as one. Not an option when you have a car seat smack dab in the middle of your back seat. And no, we didn't think to bring a bungee cord, strap, rope, or any other type of fastening device to allow us to hang the end of the box out of the trunk.

You should have seen me wrastling with this thing to get it in the front seat. I think my dad may have some choice words with me... I may have smudged the car in places trying to stuff the box in. But finally I was able to put the seat in the fully reclined position and lay in the box. I was even able to fasten the seat belt on it. And me? I sat in the back with the baby.

So the moral of this story is obvious - don't drive a Honda Civic. Cars are nice and all... but seriously people - how do you go to the dump? Or pickup free furniture on the side of the road on a whim? Or take off to IKEA and load up with flat packed items? And BJ's?! You'd never manage to cram a month's worth of bulk goods into a Honda Civic. It's just not possible. Plus how do you tow your boat, rv, or trailer? I could never do it, myself.

Despite the drama, arriving home and setting up/decorating that tree was the best therapy I could have bought for $107. We haven't had a Christmas tree in at least 2 years now - pathetic for a Christmas lover like myself - so setting up this new tree really felt like "the first Christmas" tree. Plus, Mikey seemed to enjoy it too....



And after all the excitement of Kmart, he napped long enough for me to unpack and put on all the ornaments and arrange the presents underneath. Take a look at the final result!

The only thing missing is a star or angel at the top. I have a beautiful harvest angel that I bought on one of those tree-less years, but it turned out to be too big for this cute little tree. Hopefully I'll find something good by the end of the season.

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Announcing Our Newest (And Best) Home Improvement

We finally have our new addition! That's right - baby Mike Jr is finally here! I was a total of 10 days late, giving birth on Saturday May 9th at 1:38am - just a couple days before I was scheduled to be induced. He was 7lbs 2oz and 20inches long - very healthy and beautiful. We got home this past Monday and have been adjusting ever since.

Mike Sr had the week off from work (thank god) to help me out, so we decided to commemorate the occasion by planting two new trees in the front yard. (As I've said before, have a baby, plant a tree - it just makes sense.) The trees I picked are both Kwanzan flowering cherry trees, which I've always loved and wanted for years.


We just barely made the flowering cherry selling season - the garden center only had two left and wouldn't be ordering any more, since they would soon be out of bloom. Lucky for us, that's all we needed.

The next order of business - taking down that disgusting old pine. Which proved to be no big business at all. Mike had the whole thing down and chopped in what seemed like just a few minutes, although I'm sure it had to have been at least an hour or two. And the next day he took the whole thing to the dump. Simple.

The trees didn't prove to be much trouble either. We picked out the locations and Mike dug the holes, digging in a cone shape, with the bottom of the hole about three times larger than the tree's planting container and the top only about the same size. This was advised by the garden center guy, so we could grow grass right up to the base of the tree.

The front yard and the driveway look so much bigger with the pine gone! And we placed the new trees equidistant from the road, house, and driveway, one across from the french doors and one across from the front door. So no more threat of trees getting in the way as they grow.

Two new trees, one old stump

Tree #1

Tree #2

Next order of business - get some siding on the front of the house. While Mike was home, he also took some measurements. Our carpenter TJ did the calculations for us - so now we know how much... but we don't know how much - money that is.

Mike stopped by the Home Depot yesterday on his way home from some errands and discovered the pre-primed cedar clap boards to be very expensive. Around $120 for a bundle of 10, if I remember right. We need over 100 16 footers just for the front of the house. So what does that come out to be.... (getting calculator widget)... $1200? I may have my numbers wrong. For some reason I thought it was more expensive. Ok - I'll check on that.

Not that we'll purchase from the stupid deepHo anyway. A big purchase like this definitely deserves a trip to Morse Lumber. They'll treat us right. Mike will probably go there on Monday to check out pricing. I doubt we'll be puchasing at the moment, but you never know. We've been selling off some of our extra junk to pay for these repairs - a chainsaw paid for the trees, for example. A welder may just pay for the siding.

Two Days of Baby

And yes, I feel fine. I'm almost sick of everyone asking. I want to say, "No I feel terrible! I'm dying! Ahhhhdslkgjldfasldkf....." and fall on the floor trailing off incoherently. Granted, I'd be a lot better if I was lounging out in the sun right now, but hey, you can't have everything right?

Oh, and another thing. Everyone thinks I'm nesting. But you all forget one thing - my average everyday no-prego self is psychotically organized and cleanly! So keep that in mind as I tell you about my weekend.

First off, if you weren't in New England over the weekend - shame on you because the weather was an event to behold. 80's and 90's in April - unheard of! And believe me, I'm not complaining. I was lovin it - belly and all. Such weather naturally leads to motivation, especially around the house.

Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning and running errands. (Which I usually do on Saturdays now that Mike works Saturdays - nothing weird there.) One of my big tasks involved tackling mildew in my costume box.

For years I've kept halloween costumes in an old steamer trunk. And for years, the box has spread its smell of mildew to everything I've put inside of it. And now, after my mom complained after borrowing a strawberry shortcake costume, I was finally doing something about it. (You may classify this as nesting - although I've been working on this project for weeks.)

I researched a lot about mildew online before attempting anything. The consensus for clothing was using a cup of vinegar in with the laundry detergent, washing in hot water, drying on high in the dryer, and then setting out in the sun - with repeat cycles as needed. Previous to this weekend, I sent the machine washable items through two wash and dry cycles and one sit out in the sun. The method worked well, although I needed a couple good hot days to really bake off any lingering odors.

Then there was the unwashable items, which brings me to Saturday. In the case of costumes, most of my unwashables included wigs, shoes, and hats. So first thing Saturday morning, I washed the wigs and hats in the sink with a half cup of vinegar. The shoes I sprayed with Tilex mold and mildew killer. Then I left everything outside in the sun to bake for the day.

On Sunday, we were able to put up an actual clothes line and I hung out the machine washed items and again set out the unwashables. By Sunday night I couldn't smell a thing on most items. Some of the unwashables may need another dip in vinegar - but all of the clothes passed my rigorous sniff test. (Oh boy what the neighbors must have thought.... a whole clothes line of halloween costumes - and then me coming by in the evening and sniffing everything as if I were in a Fbreeze commercial!)

And if you're wondering about the box - the one that started this whole mildew problem? Well, unfortunately it can't be saved. I tried washing that too. I tried the Tilex. I set it out in the sun for a week straight. And it still smells. The minute you think you've fixed it - you close the box and it just starts festering in there. Open it just a couple days later and it smells again. If anyone's interested in a smelly trunk, I'll probably have it free on the lawn next weekend.

Ok, returning to the weekend. Sunday morning, I enlisted Mike to help me with another big spring cleaning task I've been wanting to try for months. (See, I've had this on my mind for months, nothing weird here either.)

A while ago, I read a great blog about cleaning your large area rugs at the self serve car wash. And I thought, what a brilliant idea! You just spread the rug in the back of your truck. (Yes, you need one, unless you trust putting the rug on the ground at a car wash - ew no!) And then you wash and rinse it with the car wash pressure washers. Take it home, dry it in the sun, and it'll look as good as new.

Again, I needed to wait for a hot sunny couple of days to try it myself. Plus, we recently acquired a pressure washer - so we could cut out the car wash entirely! And here we were, with a random 80 degree Sunday. Perfect.

We grabbed our large 8.5 x 11 living room rug and draped it over the farmer's porch railing. We wet it first with just the hose to saturate. Then we prepared the soap. Luckily, our pressure washer had a soap mix option, so we just mixed some tide in a bucket with water, put the soap hose in the bucket, and let the machine do the rest. No scrub brush requried!

I had several set in stains that I knew in my heart wouldn't come out... but they did! Mike just got really close with the wand and let that rug have it! Especially the stains. And they all washed right out! I was impressed. Of course our pressure washer isn't your run of the mill Home Depot Joe Homeowner special. This is a high powered professional machine that could probably take off a finger if set to its highest. (For a rug, not quite that much power was needed, but I just have to disclaim myself in case your pressure washer isn't as cool.)

After the soap had been applied, we rinsed throughouly with the pressure washer, and then with the regular hose, and we left it to dry.

It's still out drying today. By the end of yesterday, it was mostly dry except for the bottom. But another day in the sun is always a good thing. I'm curious to see how it smells too. Hopefully like Tide or not at all.

So that was our clean weekend. Today, Mike plans to grab an overseeder machine from work and seed the lawn - which is super green, but patchy. His timing is impecable with rain on the way for Wednesday and then Friday. We've been seeding and re-seeding every year since we lifted the house. It's so hard to get a good lawn back if you've destroyed it completely. Takes time. Maybe this year we'll finally have it.

And I haven't forgotten about my trees for the front yard. Now is the time to plant those too. They'll be expensive, but I really have to do it. Just makes sense. Have a child, plant a tree. It just feels good, right?

Arbor Day Foundation!!

I'm just a post machine today, huh?

Not by design - I just had to post again about trees. Why? Well, after this morning's rant, I decided to go searching online for more information about trees. Why? I like trees, ok? You got a problem with that, punk?

Anyway, that's when the Arbor Day Foundation website popped up. I had never considered them a viable tree-resource before, but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. It's the one and only foundation for tree-lovers! (At least as far as I know.) What I did not know - they also sell trees. Not big trees, but little trees. Nevertheless, their tress are guaranteed to grow, and they even have a nifty tree finder that helps you select the right tree for your zip code, soil type, tree type, growth rate speed, sun exposure, and more.... pretty sweet, huh?

And here's the really cool part: become an Arbor Day Foundation member for one year for just $15 and receive 10 free trees! (type of your choosing) That's right - 10, 1' trees. Sure, they're not big, but they're free and guaranteed. After that, your membership gives you a discount on the purchase of other trees and shrubs - all available right on their website and varying in size up to about 3' - wow.

And get this - the member price for said trees & shrubs - like $6-8! So if I manage to kill them (and they are guaranteed, so the foundation would replace them if they died) I wouldn't be losing 10s of thousands of dollars.... or hundreds. You know, I tend to exaggerate.

So pending pay check next week, I'll join the Arbor Day Foundation and my trees will be shipped during the fall season - around Nov. I thought at first that might be too late to plant, but the foundation says trees can be planted successfully right up until the ground freezes. And I think they know what they're talking about - they're tree people.

I'm so excited! I can't wait to get a buncha little trees! Maybe if I succeed with the little trees, I can graduate up to the purchase of a big tree next spring!

It's the Plague!

Does anyone out there have problems with locusts? Not the bugs - the trees. I have several in my yard and we've had several that we've cut down over the years. I hate them. They're ugly, sparse trees with sharp spines on the branches.

And even if you cut them down - they'll pop up new trees from the old stump and roots!

With this summer being as busy as it has been, we've hardly had time for yard work. But this Sunday morning, I just had to take the locust problem into my own hands. Over the entire summer, new locust plants had sprung up everywhere! There were 5 or 6 in the side yard, one by the porch, one in the front yard, two or three on the hill in the back - the whole yard was practically under attack by these ugly spiny plants! They're all springing up from old root systems and stumps of trees that we cut down a year ago or more.

What can I do to stop them?! On Sunday I grabbed the clippers and just snipped 'em all off. But I know that's not a permanent solution. They're all just going to keep coming back.

Why do disgusting plants thrive while nice plants die in my yard? It's so frustrating. And to make matters worse, as I've said before, I'm no gardener. I can barely keep my cacti alive. We barely can keep our grass alive!

I can't wait to get some nice trees in the yard, because I do love trees and the shade really helps the grass grow. Unfortunately, I want to purchase older, bigger trees, and those are the expensive ones. I spec'd out one particular kind of flowering tree I like about a year ago at a nursery. A large 6' or taller tree was $350. And I want at least three of those. Gulp! That's crazy money.... and then what if it dies?!

We'll end up with locusts only - ew!

Goodbye to Yet Another Eyesore

As promised, Mike and our neighbor Dana finished the drywall on Saturday and got it all primed.
Of course I was supposed to paint on Sunday... but unfortunately there were a couple cracks that Mike had filled in on Saturday that weren't completely cured yet. I am, however, planning on painting tonight - no ifs ands or butts. I'm hoping I have enough of the base blue leftover from the last time I painted this room to cover it. I really should just go down and get another gallon - but I honestly don't feel like spending the cash, so I'm going to try and stretch what I've got. At least I have plenty of glaze and light blue for the sponging.

If you look in the above pic out the french doors, you'll see a locust tree - I think that's what it is. Half of it is already down in this pic. Anyway - the tree is basically located on where the edge of the porch will be... so it had to come down.

I spent most of the day carrying logs back to the woodpile... in between the rain showers that is. Mike, after finishing the drywall, came out to take down the second tree.

So he tied one end of the rope to the tree and another to a telephone pole on the other side of the yard.

What you can't see in this pic is the electrical wires just over Mike's head. But he was confident that the tree wasn't tall enough to hit the wires. Me? I'm never entirely confident about these things - being a bad judge of distance and all. So Mike cut into the tree while I pulled on the rope. And sure enough, it just barely missed the wires.

I thought it was wicked close but Mike just replied, "It's only close if the wires are swinging." Oh my god.

So here's a cool pic of the tree down. Mike cut up the whole thing while I continued to bring logs to the wood pile. At the end of the day we loaded all the brush into his truck for a Sunday dump run and raked the yard. (Cause I had when you take a tree down and then there's stupid sticks all over the place.... Stupid Sticks - great band name. First album: "All Over the Place")

Walls, Windows, Trees, and Motivation

The madness continues on!

I've barely had time to breath this week - and let me tell you, it feels good.

Lets rewind the this week's tape back to last saturday morning...

8:30am - We're up and at 'em and out of the house, headed on cape.
9:30am - We arrive at Mike's parent's house, and the guys start taking down trees. I head over to the vet's to drop off cat poo.
11:30am - Five trees are down and cut. Poo is off to the lab. The truck is loaded up with logs. And we're out again, this time to mike's friend's house.
12:30pm - Another tree is down in Yarmouth and we're on our way to Hyannis.
1:30pm - We've filled the gas tank and our bellies and are now on our way to the dump.
2:15pm - Dump is done and we're home and start ripping down the old side door.
4:30pm - Side door is out and the new window is in! We take a break for a light snack.
6:00pm - We randomly decide to get drywall. So, off to the DeepHo we go, and purchase drywall, screws, and some other supplies.
10:00pm - Most of the drywall is hung. We finally eat dinner and go to bed.

Here are some pics from Sunday morning:


Now for Sunday.

9:00am - Once again were up and out of the house, this time with an old dresser loaded in the truck.
9:30am - We arrive at my friend Amanda's place and give her the dresser.
10:00am - We arrive at Mike's parent's house to help them move their new 700lb gun safe into the house.
11:30am - We're back on the road, this time to try and figure out bike week accommodations at our friends' house.
1:30pm - No luck on the accommodations, so we leave for home. Upon arriving home, we start again on the mudroom. First drilling holes for the new exterior light location and doorbell. Then, back to drywall.
5:30pm - All the drywall is hung and we're ready for mud when our drywaller neighbor comes down and chews us out for doing drywall without him. He tells us not to do anymore and offers to come on Monday to do the first mud coat. We grudgingly agree and clean up our tools.
6:00pm - We're headed up the hill to the same neighbor's house for some stuffers and clams casino with drinks.
8:30pm - At home at last, we chill out for about an hour or so and then hit the hay.

So how do you like that for motivation, eh?