New Project -- Fireplace Phase

March 17

 This week we had the fireplace installed. 

It was so heavy that it was a struggle to get into the house.  Jim helped the three guys that came with it. 

Here it is ready to go in.

I left during the process so I didn't see all the hoses and ducts put in.  We had a duct put in to push hot air into the basement.  Jim installed the fans for that and for the main fireplace the next day. 

This morning we started a fire.  It promptly blackened the door so we couldn't see the fire, but a little fire goes a long way since the brick lining really holds the heat.  It is going to be a learning process to manage this fireplace so different than the one we had. 

I'm relaxing in front of it, knitting. 

As of today, March 29th --

The fireplace is enclosed in particle board. That was done a couple of weeks ago and last weekend, Jim put down the hearth stones and last night, he got the lights up. He had the wires ready several weeks ago, but after some trouble with breaking sheet rock with the 4" lights he wanted to use, we ordered the 

6" ones and had to wait a long time for them to come. They slid in their holes easily where the other ones didn't. Lorene was there on that day and sawed the holes, relieving Jim's aching arms. It's hard work  working with your arms over your head. 

Now that I think about it, the sawing part was Monday and the hooking up the electricity part was yesterday, because Lorene and the boys were here for a bit. 

Now, what will be next, carpet or stone?

New Project -- Phase 2

Where we are as of February 18th.

The problem with starting any new project is the other things that come up that have to be done. The "one thing leads to another" that happens.  Jim has wanted to redo the floors in this house for a couple of years. As of now the kitchen, dining room and hall are all finished with the new flooring except that the transition strips from the vinyl flooring to the bedrooms off the hall are taking an inordinately long amount of time to come in. 

Jim decided we needed to redo the fireplace this year as well.  Our house is 55+ years old and we've lived here 33 1/2 years and used this fire place heavily for 5-6 months out of the year.  We can keep the front of the house warm while turning the furnace down because it has a fan that pushes warm air out. 

The metal in the chimney is starting to warp and Jim felt it was time for a replacement. After much thinking and talking and looking at the fireplace store, we ordered the fireplace with a 6 week wait time. Then we spent additional time talking and thinking and looking and getting advice from some friends that have interior decorating experience we decided on the stone (in stock) and as of February 18th the jury is still out on the hearth stone. 

The fire place itself is gone. Jim dismantled as much of the outside until the fireplace guys came to take out the fireplace part itself and shore up the chimney until Jim gets the framing done around where it goes and then it will be installed. And since "one thing leads to another", the painted paneling is coming off, a thin layer of sheet rock going on over the stuff under the paneling.

The inner blue tape line is where the front of the fireplace will be and the hearth will be somewhere between the other two tape lines. 

The last fire in this fireplace.

Tear down.

Trim coming off the book shelves and china closet.

Jim replaced the bottom sheetrock entirely so he could move outlets and a light switch. The original was 1/2" under the paneling.

After installing the 1/2", he put on 1/4" sheetrock to take the place of the paneling.

The frame is built for the new fireplace to be installed. 

Now it's March.

Ready for mudding.

Jim found that a sander that attaches to the shop vac is a bit awkward, 

but amazing for keeping the dust at bay.

The next stage is installing the fireplace.

 

The Quote Collection

 I collect quotes and then I don't know what to do with them.  

Today is Friday and since it is still cold weather Jim is not working in the formal way that is the usual 10 hour days on Monday through Thursday.  However, since everyone else concerned with utilities 

work 5 days a week and sometimes 6 or 7, he has a few things pertaining to work today. 

He has to meet a couple of people that mean more work in the coming days and months.

We've had more snow this winter than we had the last two years with some rain as well.  We have been on a see-saw with the weather as well, having a week of zero-hugging days, then another week above freezing.  While not all the cold weeks were that cold, the fluctuation made for some soggy days that made our subdivision roads, the end of our driveway, and the road to our home shop a mess of sloppy, rutted mess.  Then after a freeze again, we would bounce over ruts and into potholes. Jim got a couple of truck loads of concrete millings to use on our property and then a little leftover for some of the potholes. I haven't been out to see how it is working, but the end of the driveway looks like we won't be sinking when we drive out anymore.

And what does that have to do with quotations? Nothing actually.  I'm spending the morning tidying up some little tasks that are written on slips of paper piled by my daily to-do list and I found some quotes I saved and since I don't want to lose them, I'm going to add them here. 

As for the rest of all the writing. Since it is morning (or not very much past) and I still have most of my brains intact, I just like to write things. 

Do not judge someone's journey by the chapter you walked in on.

We are all part of a family, so by helping the family we are helping ourselves.

Maybe that's a gift of  a long marriage, that you give up a part of your individuality to be a part of another person and he gives his up to be a part of you.

-- Laura Kalpakian 

GH 2006 "The Key of Love"

Even the closest people to you don't need to hear your every thought on a subject.  These people are allowed to have opinions of their own. They can make decisions on their own. If they desire an outside opinion, you can give it, carefully.

Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat.

What can you do to make someone's life easier today?

Hope in the Thing with Feathers

That perches in the soul

And since the tune without the words

And never stops at all.

--Emily Dickenson

Too Wordy for Me

I love words. 

 I said this before in the other three posts of idioms and sayings.  I found a list on the internet and they are called idioms. Most of them I would call sayings. Sayings that make our language more colorful and more confusing to someone learning it. I love the twists and turns that words can make. I added to that list of things that I know and use.

Add insult to injury

All the tea/rice in China

At the eleventh hour

Avoid like the plague

Back to the drawing board

The ball is in your court

Barking up the wrong tree

Beat around the bush

Bell the cat

The best thing since sliced bread

Beside yourself with joy

Best of both worlds

Black sheep of the family

A blessing in disguise

Blow hot and cold

Between an rock and a hard place

Bite the bullet

Blind as a bat

Blow off steam

Your back against the wall

All in the same boat

The ball is in your court

Bit off more than you can chew

Bob's your uncle*

A bolt from the blue 

Born with a silver spoon in your mouth

Break a leg

Break new ground*

Brought everything but the kitchen sink

Burn your bridges/boats

By the skin of your teeth

Call a spade a spade

Call it a day

A cold day in July*

Come rain or shine

Couch potato*

Cross that bridge when you come to it

Cost a bomb*

Cry for the moon*

Crying wolf

Cut corners

Cut to the chase

Cut some slack

Don't cry over spilled milk

Don't give up your day job

Don't judge a book by it's cover

Don't run before you can walk

Down for the count

Draw first blood*

Eat like a horse

Egg on your face

The elephant in the room

Face the music

Fair and square

Not the only fish in the sea

For land's sake

For goodness sake

In full swing

Full as a tick

Full of beans

Get out of my hair

Get your act together

Get your wires crossed

Give it a whirl

Go cold turkey

Go down in flames

Wild goose chase

Green thumb

Your guess is as good as mine

Hold a grudge

Have a beef about

Have bigger fish to fry

Heard it on the grapevine

My heart is in my mouth

Hit the books

Hit the nail on the head

Hit the road

Hit the sack

Hold your horses

Ignorance is bliss

The last straw

Johnny on the spot

Jump on the bandwagon

Jump ship

Keep an ear to the ground

Leave no stone unturned

Left in the dark

Like a fish out of water

Looking to your laurels*

Look before you leap

Lose your marbles

Make a hash of

Miss the boat

My old stomping grounds

Not my cup of tea

Once in a blue moon

On cloud nine

A one trick pony

Over my dead body

A penny for your thoughts

Play devil's advocate

Play it by ear

Play your cards right

Pot calls the kettle black

Pull someone's leg

Raining cats and dogs

Rain on my parade

Right as rain

 That rings a bell

Run around in circles

A sandwich short of a picnic

Sat on the fence

Scrape the bottom of the barrel 

See eye to eye

Sell like hotcakes

Shed light on

Shoot from the hip

Sit tight

Sleep on it

Something the cat drug in

A stone's throw away

Smell a rat

Snowball effect

Snug as a bug in a rug

So far, so good

Spanner in the works (UK)*

Spill the beans

Speak of the devil

Steal someone's thunder

Step up your game

Straight from the horses mouth

Swan song

Taste of your own medicine

Like two peas in a pod

Take a back seat

Take it with a pinch of salt

Tickled pink

Third times a charm

Throw caution to the winds

It takes two to tango

Through thick and thin

Two shakes of a dead lambs tail (or maybe a live one)

Under the weather

Up in arms

When pigs fly

The whole nine yards

The whole shebang

Wouldn't be caught dead

You can say that again

*these are not part of me

If there are double between my posts...too bad.

New Year -- New Project

 We are replacing the flooring in our main living area this winter. Two winters ago, we replaced the upstairs windows and added insulation and new trim and very nice that has been to 

our gas bill and comfort.

This year, it's the floors. We decided to replace the carpet in the dining room, entry and hallway with vinyl planking, later to change the carpet in the living room, to more carpet. 

When we moved in we put new flooring in these areas so it is all 34 years old. I've learned a few things from those decisions. Thus, it's better to have flat vinyl in the kitchen, carpet in the dining rom is iffy and the pad even more so, and as beautiful as my high quality, smoky blue was don't buy 

carpet that is all one color. 

Actually, we started this project in December using the extra time off over the holidays to get work done. The first part was a vote for the color of choice.  Most people chose the darker color.

Jim started in the entry. Here as in all areas were spots that needed leveling. Jim had to plan for that because the concrete like stuff had to dry before laying the pieces.

After Jim finished the entry and the hallway, including trim. He started on the kitchen, doing the floor part under the fridge, then moved it back before finishing the dining room. 

Using the fan helped dry the leveling stuff.

Now for the rest of the kitchen.  Jim planned on doing the kitchen in sections so that the stove and the dishwasher weren't out of commission at the same time. 

That was all well and good, until he discovered that the floor in front of the sink was pretty "squishy".

So, he took up the floor there, put a new section of floor down, and then the underlayment. 

Jim had intended to replace the underlayment in the kitchen, because kitchens tend to have more water involved in spillage and leaks, but the subfloor was extra. Any project always has something more than you bargain for. Another extra we hadn't planned on was the underlayment for the kitchen and dining room were thicker than the hall and living room.  That didn't matter when we changed from vinyl to carpet. Jim planned on replacing the underlayment in the kitchen, but not in the dining room.

Finished kitchen and dining room. 

The trim around everything but the kitchen which is done with coving and no photo.

Jim put felt pads on the chairs so the legs wouldn't scratch the floor.

The pad system is rather neat. Jim drilled a hole to reduce the height of the pad.  This little ball is screwed in, and the piece with the felt rotates on the ball so the chair will stay level. 

October's Bright Blue Weather

October speaks to me in tones of blue and gold.  It's one of the prettiest times of the year.  One year I was driving west on I-80 and the cottonwood trees by the river were dressed up in yellow shiny leaves against the best blue sky that October can offer. Blue is my favorite color and October blue is the best blue there is. 

A lot of other good things happened in October this year and they all add up to family:

The sweetness of a new baby.

The bittersweet days of remembrance.

The joy of boys and cookies and leaves.

Baby cuteness...And...

The love that keeps our family together. 

 

We don't gather to play in the leaves every year.  It depends on weather, wind, and leaf fall and whether or not letting the leaves lie interfere with lawn mowing. It's a little fun time to make some memories and take some pictures.