The rest of the projects

Just another batch of projects from a few weeks ago that I never posted...

This is what every homeowner wants to see when she removes the cover plate of a light fixture that's been in place since 1959. How do I know it's been there since 1959? Because that's the date on the Chicago Daily Tribune in the above picture. This was in a very crispy wad, presumably insulating against drafts. Right up next to a bunch of wiring, on a fixture that got regular use. Apparently, Eisenhower was heckled at London Heathrow Airport, among other top stories. Stevens Budget Shops had a big sale, featuring some rather svelte-looking illustrated women.

This is the dining room window, with a sill and casing reinstalled. Samesies in the living room, though the paint is all touched up in there. Wall treatment till TBD.

A bit hard to see without a comparison (wait, check this, you'll have to zoom in on the picture to see the missing trim) but the dormer is now all trimmed out! Nice to get that checked off.

Admittedly we are still missing grass and the fence still isn't finished, but hey, we have lots of blackeyed susans!

Here is the pool shack, now with new and improved structural integrity! Not surprisingly, all kinds of issues were discovered during the shoring-up of our beloved lobstah shack, but it's all all ship-shape now. Er, mostly. Still needs a bit of paint. But it's not going to fall over if there's a strong breeze anymore.

Upstairs bathroom now has towel bars. Towel bars are expensive. Even my planned DIY-pipe solution was going to cost as much as a cheapish pair of bars, so I got the second-cheapest towel bars Lowe's carried. At $12 each, I have no regard for form here, but they do their job. Plus, I was even responsible and painted the door (but not the trim; let's not be rash) before installing them.

Here's me with Cara and Kristan (two of my former colleagues) at Kristan's beautiful wedding two weekends ago in Jackson, WY. Bride requests cowboy boots, I buy used boots on eBay. :D <3 br="">

Lastly, this is just too awesome not to share. Sunset over Edenvale Winery in Medford last week. Sometimes the sunsets here are just unbelievable. And you can't even see the sun sneaking through the hills in golden beams in this shot. It's really just too much.

The Pool, Sprinklers and Miscellaneous Updates

...probably heavier on the miscellaneous updates part. Anyway, let's go in order...

Here's what the pool looked like when we left last Saturday for a week. I'll spare you the algae soup shot of the bottom.

We returned last night to find this, which is the plaster bond coat before the Pebble Tec goes on. I know it's not terribly exciting, but it gives just the vaguest hint at how this whole area is going to be transformed from a ratty, stained, pink-rimmed, algae-ridden antique into a great modern space. I can't tell how fancy it might look, but at a minimum it'll be simple and clean, and I'd happily take that.   

Next, we have sprinkler liftoff!!!I realized this afternoon that this meant I could actually plant a ton of blackeyed susan seeds and they would grow, because they were watered on a timer and didn't depend on me to help them turn into little plantlets. I am not very reliable with watering.

And now, miscellaneous updates. Seriously, the iPhone panorama shot knocks my socks off (or would, if it wasn't 99 degrees outside, and I was wearing socks). This is from last Sunday at the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, where we visited my very oldest friend Laura, her husband Zack and their Yorkie Artie for a few days. They took us on a tour of the city and this was our first stop.

 Next picture stop, Sutro Baths. Hi :)

And a gorgeous, clear afternoon on Monday; this is the view from their super cute apartment. 

Tuesday morning, we packed up the Q and headed south. We took the 101 for a change of pace. Neither of us can count how many times we've done I-5, a route most noted for its incredible boringness, so the 101's more varied landscape was a welcome change of pace. Tuesday we landed in Glendora, half a second where we went to college, and caught up with some friends (one of whom we were there for meetings with, since this was actually a very productive business trip we were on). Cue quintessential California palm tree shot...

And a few housey things... I enjoyed an afternoon by myself poking through Old Town Pasadena and nearby stores and found some fun ideas to bring home. Like these lanterns, which I'm totally going to make myself. I found a tutorial on someone's blog a while back and decided it'd be a worthwhile project. Fun additions to the pool shack area.

I also found myself enchanted by this fountain. I want to make one, or buy one...HAVE one. I also wanted to sit in it, because it was a bit warm and it looks like an amazing natural bathtub. You can't quite tell in that picture, but the water spills down the sides and into the rock bed below; it's like a zero-edge swimming pool. UGH. Want.

I was also kind of taken by all the succulents everywhere. I think I'm going to do a bowl of them out by the pool, where I unceremoniously murdered a fern last year. Few plants can be so visually fascinating, with all the textural variation.

Then, we went home. By the time we'd been in the car for 8 hours, I was feeling a bit antsy and convinced Todd to stop at the Olive Pit in Corning, CA (olive country), which we'd driven past a zillion times. I enjoyed sampling a wide variety of offerings and wished they'd had a few varieties of Castelvetrano olives, which are my favorite. (BTW, how amazing is my pineappleologist hat? Amazing. Bday present from Todd.)

And lastly, no trip to California is complete without a stop at In N Out. This may have been my third stop at In N Out (I also had Chic-Fil-A twice ❤️ and it was spectacular.)

Oh, wait, one more thing. I bought a mug at Anthro to commemorate my trip, because I like having an assortment of mugs to pick from and tying them to specific memories.

Obviously, blue, white and yellow is kind of my jam, but I think what sold me is that bright coral color inside. I love that color, but I don't think I really wear it that well. Looking at it elsewhere is the next best thing.

So, LA, you weren't nearly as terrible as I remembered. Here's something I never thought I'd say: looking forward to the next trip back. (Gasp.)

That time we tried to turn our pool into an infinity pool

And other bedtime stories. Kind of. First, let's start with a picture from a couple of weekends ago of the Wood River, our favorite canoe trip. Gorgeous day, hot and sunny with perfectly clear water. Super fun time with Alyssa and Mike.

Next, I finally finished our master bedroom headboard that I started last summer. It was pretty much finished, but the screws and washers in the tuft holes (technical term) were still visible.

 

They don't really look very obvious until you compare to the "after"...

And now, the part where we address the title of this post. We kind of left the faucet running on the pool all afternoon. Until 8:30. 

When I went out and discovered this water totally overflowing out of this filter thing, into and under the pool shack and out into the garden. 

Next! We're having the roof done. This is not a very fun way to spend a very lot of money, but we had perhaps another year or so before it really needed it, and we figured it'd be better to get it done before things start leaking (like our garage did during an extended spring rainstorm).

Thought it was kind of funny the guys left all their stuff on the roof to come back tomorrow. Water, nail guns, etc.

They also left their truck in the front yard. Now that we don't look like total bumpkins all the time, it's more amusing to do it occasionally.

Oh, right...here's the reason the dang thing was so expensive. That's one of the layers of old shake roof. Under which there was no plywood. Do you hear that noise? That's the cash register, adding zeros. Ka-ching, ka-ching...