mosker

That'll just take a couple of hours

A friend of mine is selling her house and moving to a rented property where she won't be responsible for yard maintenance--well, any maintenance--so she asked me to come over and get a few things that she won't be using any more. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I left with a helpful and wide-ranging assortment of garden tools and supplies.

Unfortunately, that was the straw the broke the camel's back with respect to my garage organization, if you dared to call it organized. I figured a couple hours work would take care of it, but I woefully underestimated the scope of the job. These things are always a case of one-thing-leads-to-another, and eight hours later I'm almost satisfied. I pulled up the ghastly outdoor carpeting from the stairs to the basement, swept the floor several times, did a bit of patching on the walls, and finally the hand tools I use most frequently are in a convenient place. After the trash pickup on Tuesday I will have open floor space.

Mushrooms

I have mushrooms growing in my yard. We've had just a bit of rain recently...which probably explains the standing water in the backyard, too.

And before you suggest it, I doubt they're edible, and even if they are: ewww. Oops. I mean, I don't care for mushrooms, thank you.

Oh, about this far

I received an email this week this week asking how that paver patio is going. Well, I suppose that depends on if you're a glass half-empty or glass half-full kind of person. If you are the latter, it's going swimmingly as I have seven whole pavers laid. And if you're the former, it's going swimmingly, because this latest round of storms have created a mucky pit in the back yard, stalling the project stalled with only seven pavers laid.

Rooftop garden

I cleaned the gutters this weekend which, given my fear sheer terror disdain of heights, was a real breakthrough. In the past I've either hired someone to do it for me or I've used one of those extension things that allows you to stand on the ground and blast away the debris. That does an adequate job I suppose--it's not like I climbed up to inspect--but you are guaranteed to be covered in stinky grime before you're through. This time I decided to suck it up and try to do a proper job of it myself. I was doing fairly well considering I wasn't crying or whining or trying to reach the gutters from the bottom step, but I think I made my neighbor a little nervous. After a few minutes he came over to chat and offer the use of his slightly taller step ladder, and then provided a few helpful hints for the ladder novice.

I'm glad I did it because I got to see that it won't kill me to be a few feet off the ground and it gave me the change to inspect and identify some maintenance I need to get to before long. And, for a few months at least, I won't have trees sprouting from the gutter.

Never put off until today what you could have done yesterday. Or Sunday.

Okay, okay, I should have mowed the lawn on Sunday when I'd planned, but one thing led to another and after I finished hacking at the fence line for a while, mowing didn't seem that appealing any more. Not that mowing is ever appealing. And it wasn't quite tall enough to justify another mow yet.

Of course it rained on Sunday night into Monday, and then again last night, so now the ground is too wet. I like that it rains during the summer in the Midwest, but it makes lawn care tougher to schedule.

Next project

This is my next project: Cleaning up the carport to use as a covered patio. It seems pretty obvious now, but when Suzanne first suggested it, I basically rejected the idea without giving it much thought. She was right, of course--I just had to work my way around to seeing that.

Initially all that's really required is a thorough cleaning before I move the table and chairs, but I'd also like to repaint the trim white, so it's consistent with the rest of the windows (and repair that back gate). Eventually I can replace the two overhead fluorescents with outdoor fans to keep the air moving, but that'll wait. It's not like this space offers much in the way of privacy, but considering I don't have a privacy fence in the back yard, it's not like it's any more exposed than anywhere else on the property.

I shot this image around 5 pm--if I plan on using the space right after work I'll have to hang something from the beams for a little shade.

You blink, and it's 5 years later

It doesn't seem possible, but this weekend marks five years since I got the keys to my house. I spent that first day (also a Friday) ripping out the ugly, disgusting carpet with the help of some incredibly generous friends. They spent all day prying up tack strips and staples amid the grime that had been hiding under the carpet padding. I knew I didn't want wall-to-wall carpet in whatever house I bought, but after pulling it up and seeing what it's really like, well, I will never voluntarily have carpeting again. I'm sure I have pictures of the gross carpeting somewhere, but since I can't find them right now you'll just have to take my word for it.

I was able to sleep in my new house by the next night, thanks to even more work by incredibly generous friends who not only helped move furniture, they scrubbed floors and even the bathroom. Scrubbing the bathroom in your friend's new house is above and beyond the call of duty, because like the carpet, the bathroom was disgusting. I was really happy to be able to take a shower that night without wondering what was on the floor.

Sometimes I get so focused on the list of projects that still need to be done, I lose sight of the fact that I really have made a lot of changes and improvements in the past five years. I suppose it would help if I could find those before pictures...I'll have to add that to my to-do list.

I think I'd rather mow the lawn

I spent two hours this evening digging through the overflowing pile of mail. I seriously despise that chore.

Is this going to be a long story?

The short version:

1. Big flash, loud bang (a.k.a fire hazard).
2. Electricity disconnected.
3. Find electrician.
4. Find electrician who has time to help.
5. Wait for permit inspection.
6. Wait for electric company to reconnect.
7. Pay electrician.

Once again, with more detail:

The technician from the electric company showed up on Tuesday as promised, and after a brief inspection, he discovered that the wires that run from the meter to the fuse box in the basement were compromised. Which is why I had sparks.

Good to know: if you report seeing sparks and they tell you they'll get someone out in a few days, you should insist on having them come right away. That really is an emergency and they always have someone available for emergencies. I had to find someone to replace the wiring, and no, he didn't know who to recommend. In the meanwhile, he disconnected the electricity. Literally...he reached up with wire cutters and cut the wires from the pole to my house, I suppose just in case I decided to pop the meter back in.

It proved to be incredibly difficult finding an electrician who could do the job. I needed help, but I really didn't want to crack open the yellow pages and just hope for the best. I got a number for a guy who referred me to another guy, who suggested I contact the local electrical supply business, who suggested a couple of local electricians. Neither of whom were available. After 7 or 8 more calls I started calling back the electricians who'd said they could do the job, but not that day, and in a stroke of incredibly good fortune, one of them took pity and said he could postpone his other work to help me. It turns out he couldn't just replace the faulty wiring because it all had to be upgraded to meet the current NEC standards, including having the mast 10 feet 4 inches above the ground.

It appears I hit the jackpot, because although he was a bit brusque at first, the guy I hired was incredibly thorough (and even personable after he warmed up a bit) and he had connections with the guy who had to inspect the work and issue the permit. The inspector could have put it off until the next day, but as he and the electrician had a good working relationship, he came by after hours and then used his back channel connections to get the electric company out to reconnect right away.

As for the part about paying the electrician for his work, well let's just say the stimulus money that was deposited in my account last week came in handy. It was money well spent, because who wants a fire hazard right outside the back door?

Okay, so maybe I'm not really feeling that zen about the whole thing, but I'm working on it.

Man at work

It's been a long day, so the details of my visit from the power company will have to wait, but it was definitely not the best case scenario I had envisioned yesterday. However considering my house didn't burn down, which was apparently a very real possibility, it wasn't the worst case either. I am now safer and poorer.

This is an image I took of the shadow cast by the electrician as he pounded in a new grounding rod.