Yea. This must go too

The ground on the east side of the house had settled so much it was slanted quite impossibly toward the house. This is a shot of after I took half the sidewalk out and replaced it with a bunch of topsoil.

#homeimprovement

#homeimprovement

I decided to change this outlet because my little electric heater's safety shutoff always trips when it's plugged into it. Since it works fine in the rest of the house, I thought the outlet might be burned out.

Adorned mostly with Fillmore concert posters from SF.

Some of the brackets I bought going to good use.

Here is how our floor looked Saturday night. We didn't get to bed until after midnight and had another fun-filled HI day to look forward to.

That title is Bobbie's comment on how Occupational Education (one of the 11 subjects required of Washignton homeschoolers that we meet by doing various field trips, home projects, etc.) is, in fact, his favorite subject.

Also, note how he holds his hammer. I love that. I keep changing it, and showing him how much better it works further down, but he always goes back to this.

We're almost there now. The patio is leveled and the joints filled with stone dust.

January 5, 2006

At least I could provide some passable tools for Dad to use.

Image source: www.qualityhomerenovators.com/gallery-windows.cfm

I bought the molding at Home Depot. When I asked about getting it cut and mitered, the guy grunted, "There's a saw over there." Apparently Home Depot prefers to let you cut and miter your own molding. "Save Time! Buy Only What You Need!" read the sign above the table. Right, assholes. I'd much rather spend 30 minutes hand-cutting and -mitering my molding than have an employee with a powered chop-saw do it for me. Ever notice that NO element of self-service is more convenient than, um, service?

Before

Before

June 2007: The kitchen we re-did in 2006 is now virtually complete. The floor and counter tops have been re-done, curtains are hung and so on. There's just the issue of that back door...

Tip: A messy lawn creates a bad first impression.

Overgrown or patchy lawns and outsized bushes will cause your home to stand out — in a bad way. The good news is that taming your jungle is an easy fix. For a few hundred dollars, hire a lawn service company to trim your lawn and shape your hedges. Your curb appeal will go from messy to maintained without blowing your budget.

Before

Borrowed this from a coworker. It has two blades on a rotating drum that will plane the shit out of whatever you want. It wasn't totally necessary, but it took off some high spots a lot quicker than sanding and was pretty cool to use. A bit intimidating at first, but you just have to keep fleshy bits from touching the metal base and it's pretty hard to harm yourself.

#homeimprovement

#homeimprovement

www.theghostinyou.net

A close-up of the bathroom tile so you can see the color/ pattern.

Again... Ugly 70's "globe" (or 'ornament')style lighting- which, evidently no one in the past 30 years, found ugly enough to replace.

Before

#homeimprovement

#homeimprovement

This was a fantastic toy. I rented it for the day and accomplished a ton!