Category Archives: 1920’s house

You may ask yourself, what is that beautiful house?…*

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And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?

While enjoying some retro tunes (rocking the David Bowie & Talking Heads station on Pandora) with Jonas working in the background (making excellent headway on the family bath built-in unit), I started poking around in my photo archives. I was looking for inspirational spring images, you know, to get a burst of color, an inkling of growth, anything that could lift up the winter doldrums that have settled pretty heavily this year. Instead of flowers, or other springtime imagery, I found old pictures of the house, from right after we purchased it in the end of 2006. This house is rapidly becoming the place where I’ve lived the longest, and will probably be the place I think of as home for many years to come (whether or not we still live here).

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Hoped you’d see my face, and that you’d be reminded that for me it isn’t over…*

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It’s been too long since my last post, but so much has happened, and all in the span of just a few days. I completed my joint compound homework (as promised), preparing the walls and gaps around the ceiling lights as best I could. Team Tile (J.J. and mini-Caleb) arrived on Friday, as scheduled, and worked to get the room ready for Team Carpentry’s (Dave and Jonas) arrival on Monday (today). Not only did they finish the work that absolutely needed to get done before the built-ins could go in, they also made some good progress on one of the shower walls. Bonus!

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The quicker we go, the faster we fall behind…*

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With a sickly (feverish) wee one at home awaiting his arrival, Dave (& Jonas) arrived on Sunday to do the hour or so of work that needed to get done before J.J. could (can) finish the floor in the bathroom. A bit of mud, tape, sawdust and vacuuming, and suddenly the room felt like it was ready to move on. (I’ve been ready to move on for weeks, now. But I digress.) The seam between the durock and sheetrock was bound together – though multiple coats of compound still need to be applied – making the room instantly feel more finished. Nothing like plugging up holes to make a room settle a bit. And, after patching a few more spots where attic air could penetrate our cozy little room, and cleaning up the threshold so that a new non-beveled piece of marble could be installed, Dave and Jonas made a date to come back and finish up the carpentry portion of the project.

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I’m crazy but you like it, and you like that it ain’t easy…*

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We. Have. Floors! (Again!) Well, mostly. J.J. arrived on Friday, as promised (thanks, J.J.!) and worked his knees to the bone to get the floor in the family bath done. As done as he could get them, considering that we need a tiny bit of help from Team Carpentry to get the threshold in (need to trim back the wood flooring a bit), and to patch up the wall adjacent the pony wall (which J.J. needs to tile before the built-in gets installed). If you’re confused, you’re not alone. It’s one of those projects where everyone needs everyone else to get the job done correctly. And the fact that our Teams live far from us (a fact that was not a problem during the regular half-house renovation since they were here for days or weeks or months at a time) has become a bit problematic, especially since it’s winter. But we’re all managing as best we can. J.J. sacrificed by putting in two looonnng days to get the floors ready to be walked on, and for that we are eternally grateful. We have a few steps to take yet before this project will really feel like it’s in full swing. But for now, I’m just so happy that something tangible has been done! (No offense to our dear Brad, but I can’t exactly get as excited about electrical that’s operable, ready, and safe, but hidden in the walls and ceilings. Sometimes you just have to see it, you know?)

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They make it so hard on us baby, it’s so hard on us baby…*

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Over a week since my last post and not much more has happened in the family bath. Well, except for Brad getting our ceiling fan wired in, installing a light in our new closet (now I have to finish that paint job, too), finishing up the wiring of the floor mat and fixing a sensitive circuit breaker in the basement. I guess that’s a lot, but not very photogenic. We’re still waiting for J.J. to come back (hopefully by week’s end). So we wait some more.

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Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…*

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It’s Groundhog Day. The day we’re supposed to (superstitiously) find out how much longer winter is going to last. And the snow in our yard is at least 3′ deep. Groundhog or not, winter is here, and she’s not leaving anytime soon. Our Family Bath project looks like it might not end any time soon, either. Which is starting to really bring me over (you’ll have to watch Better Off Dead for that reference). Sigh.

But let me rewind a bit.

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And we wait for something beauuuuutiful…*

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Each year, in January, stores have their annual “white sales” where they discount sheets and bedding, towels and bath items to make room for… something. Anyway, amid the sea of white that we have been surrounded by in one of the snowiest Januarys we’ve had in a long, long time, I, too, participated in the deals of the white sale. Discounted shams and a duvet cover for the soon-to-be-redesigned guest room (the purple room), a lightweight blanket and towels (from The Company Store), and just yesterday, a new lightweight quilt-type blanket from Target at 50% off (locals take note: Holyoke store has bunches of clearance bedding, FYI). So, white was the order of the month, by me and by Mother Nature. But it didn’t end there.

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I love it all, so much I call, I want you back…*

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As winter tromps along, with seemingly no end in sight, so does our Family Bath Project. Brad’s been fitting in bits of the project between winter storms, while Dave and Jonas have been giving us time on the weekends to fit us in amid their busy (weather-altered) schedule. We knew that the wintertime project would be inevitably affected by the weather, other bigger jobs (this is, after all, just a tiny bathroom compared to the whole houses all these dudes are working on), and colds and flus. So far we’ve been incredibly lucky, and the scheduling has worked out very well for everyone. Until…

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You know you’re gold, you don’t gotta worry none…*

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Well, after the dust settled, a bit, we readied ourselves for the job that we fretted over the most: the plumbing. If you have ever hired a plumber, or ever needed one, you will understand that, on the whole, it can be frustrating to get them to call you back, to get them to show up on time, or to charge a fair price (seriously, $150 for 10 minutes of work?). But, in this case, we were lucky again. Thanks to Brad (our favorite electrician, and all around great guy) we were referred to a new plumber who squeezed us in and totally helped us out. And of course he’s called Dave. Why wouldn’t he be?

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Guess what, I am not a robot…*

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I may not be a robot, but Team Carpentry (with some help from friends) were like machines tearing out the worst parts of the family bath (namely: everything). It seems like forever ago that we started the process of designing, shopping for, and hiring for our family bathroom makeover. But it was more like a few weeks ago. Boy, things change, though, once you rip down some walls, and rip out some fixtures. In a good way.

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