You know you have procrastinated on something too long when the original issue gets so lost you don't even remember there being one. Here I am thinking they just couldn't find the light switch when in actuality our safety-conscious uncles were trying to keep our house from burning down. (Electrician! Come back to Iowa!) I see another ten month stretch...I hope I can talk dad into another visit before then!And I hate to be the one that says this, but I "think" Uncle Bob left the
lightbulb out because he wanted Phil to look at the frayed wiring, which he felt
was unsafe. For your Mama's peace of mind, Phil, give him a call please. The
smoke needs to continue coming out of the fireplace chimney, not the back room.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Effects of Procrastination
Comment from mother-in-law on previous post regarding sinkroom light:
More room
Just issued:
Marshall County
Freeze Warning:
Issued at: 10:48 AM CDT 10/11/06, expires at: 7:00 PM CDT 10/11/06
Freeze warning remains in effect from midnight tonight to 8 am cdt Thursday. Temperatures will drop into the 20s across all of central Iowa tonight, bringing an end to the growing season. A freeze warning means sub-freezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely. These conditions will kill the remaining sensitive vegetation. NOTE: Also will prevent any chance of exterior painting. (Very strategic, I didn't see that one coming in October!).
The good part about this (tiny bit) of frustrating weather is that I have had time to tackle indoor projects. One thing I love about having a house in constant remodel is that it is always getting bigger. You need storage? Paint a closet and, Voila!
Three weeks ago we finished Ryan's room and moved him upstairs (he had been sleeping in the downstairs den). With that complete, it left this wonderful, empty room that has now become my office! Slowly but surely our house is growing bigger and we are able to unpack boxes. It feels so nice to settle in. Plus, I have an office!
I don't think Ryan really gets it yet, as he immediately took over the scheduling of appointments and web surfing. I had to remind him, this was "adult space". He just looked at me and grabbed some of the paperwork on the desk to "re-organize". He is really excited about the new place to store "his pens" and "his stapler."
Marshall County
Freeze Warning:
Issued at: 10:48 AM CDT 10/11/06, expires at: 7:00 PM CDT 10/11/06
Freeze warning remains in effect from midnight tonight to 8 am cdt Thursday. Temperatures will drop into the 20s across all of central Iowa tonight, bringing an end to the growing season. A freeze warning means sub-freezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely. These conditions will kill the remaining sensitive vegetation. NOTE: Also will prevent any chance of exterior painting. (Very strategic, I didn't see that one coming in October!).
The good part about this (tiny bit) of frustrating weather is that I have had time to tackle indoor projects. One thing I love about having a house in constant remodel is that it is always getting bigger. You need storage? Paint a closet and, Voila!
Three weeks ago we finished Ryan's room and moved him upstairs (he had been sleeping in the downstairs den). With that complete, it left this wonderful, empty room that has now become my office! Slowly but surely our house is growing bigger and we are able to unpack boxes. It feels so nice to settle in. Plus, I have an office!I don't think Ryan really gets it yet, as he immediately took over the scheduling of appointments and web surfing. I had to remind him, this was "adult space". He just looked at me and grabbed some of the paperwork on the desk to "re-organize". He is really excited about the new place to store "his pens" and "his stapler."
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The battle continues...
Wind: I cannot go on any longer. I have worked so hard at sabotaging this "painting" process, but as soon as I rest, she will joyfully come and finish painting- effectively winning the battle. I can't let this happen!
Rain: I might be able to help you out, old friend. I know this woman from Washington. Though she is one who does not carry an umbrella (mocking my great efforts), she is not so foolish as to put paint on during a rainstorm. Perhaps we should talk business.
And so it was that as I headed out this morning, steps light and paintbrush in hand, I was greeted by yet another contender.
Rain: I might be able to help you out, old friend. I know this woman from Washington. Though she is one who does not carry an umbrella (mocking my great efforts), she is not so foolish as to put paint on during a rainstorm. Perhaps we should talk business.
And so it was that as I headed out this morning, steps light and paintbrush in hand, I was greeted by yet another contender.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The wind and I
Do I ever mention how much I adore you, you (sometimes anonymous) blog readers? Normally, I would have allowed myself to be inside on a day like today- a day that is warm but extremely windy. Instead, I climbed up to the second story on a ladder and hung on for dear life as I painted the trim of my house a chocolaty brown.
The day started just fine- the wind and I were getting along quite well –me with my procrastination on finishing the house painting and the wind practicing for its winter performance.
But then, I changed the game. I decided that if I were going to post a blog about how my mom and dad in law helped me to paint my house and make it very beautiful, I should have some pictures to go along with it. And, in order to have pictures, the painting should be complete. So I decided to defy my procrastinating nature and brave the wind. As I climbed up the ladder, the wind decided it was unhappy with my decision and tried with all of its might to take me (by force, if necessary) from my painting goals. I stood firm, clinging to the shivering ladder and holding fast to my paintbrush.
Not to be outdone, the wind rolled over the fields, delighted to gain speed unabated. With no houses or trees or skyscrapers to slow it down, it rushed along at a respectable 340 miles per hour (give or take).
Two hours in I decided I needed a break from the battle. As I sat down we heard a thud out the window. Upon peeking out I discovered that the wind had won the battle against the ladder. A really big, heavy ladder.
Fine, I said resignedly to the wind, have your fun. You win. I wasn’t really trying anyway. But rest assured, when you need a break from the battle…I will scamper out there and finish that painting. I have a blog to write!
The day started just fine- the wind and I were getting along quite well –me with my procrastination on finishing the house painting and the wind practicing for its winter performance.
But then, I changed the game. I decided that if I were going to post a blog about how my mom and dad in law helped me to paint my house and make it very beautiful, I should have some pictures to go along with it. And, in order to have pictures, the painting should be complete. So I decided to defy my procrastinating nature and brave the wind. As I climbed up the ladder, the wind decided it was unhappy with my decision and tried with all of its might to take me (by force, if necessary) from my painting goals. I stood firm, clinging to the shivering ladder and holding fast to my paintbrush.
Not to be outdone, the wind rolled over the fields, delighted to gain speed unabated. With no houses or trees or skyscrapers to slow it down, it rushed along at a respectable 340 miles per hour (give or take).
Two hours in I decided I needed a break from the battle. As I sat down we heard a thud out the window. Upon peeking out I discovered that the wind had won the battle against the ladder. A really big, heavy ladder.
Fine, I said resignedly to the wind, have your fun. You win. I wasn’t really trying anyway. But rest assured, when you need a break from the battle…I will scamper out there and finish that painting. I have a blog to write!
Oh for a light
The following events might be humerous to some of you - to others, they might be aptly deemed tragic.
It's difficult to explain the impact of this event without some background, so here we go. I've mentioned before that when we first moved in, we had a lot of help. We had uncles and aunts and grandparents and parents painting and taking up carpet. They helped with many facets of repair to prep our house so it was livable. A few uncles took on the main floor bath, which is a room off of the kitchen. Now, I am unclear as to the actual events, but from memory, I recall that one uncle took down the light fixture so it could be cleaned. Some mishap occurred, and when he went to put in the new lightbulb, he flipped on the switch and it no longer worked. He tried it a few more times, and so did others involved. Since they could not figure out why it was not turning on, he removed the lightbulb and mentioned it to Phil and I.
For 10 months this fixture has sat, lightbulbless, for the day when it took high enough priority to be addressed. Now, in the interim, we have changed things around a bit. We took out the "bathroom stuff" and removed the carpet. When we needed the entire kitchen cleared out for its floor to be removed, we moved the sink cabinet into that back room - and it is now called the "sink room".
During the day, this was not a big deal. I was thankful to have running water and a connected drain (both of which had been absent prior to the cabinet move) and a little thing like a light just didn't bother me that much. But the newness of the connected drain and endless supply of running water wore off, and soon I found myself longing for the ability to do dishes in the evening hours without straining to see food particles in the faint light provided by the adjacent room. The dark hole that was my washroom started to grate on me. Slowly and surely, it was moving up the priority list.
But we were apprehensive. Phil knows how to do some wiring, but he didn't know how much work this little project would entail. With all of the other things on his own list, he pushed this item to the sideburner (ie. very rarely was he the one doing the dishes by candlelight).
Upon my parent's arrival for their latest visit, my mom asked if I wanted dad to try and fix the light in the sink room. Being that he is an electical engineer and has a bit of background with such things, I was confident he could figure out what was going wrong. I enthusiastically agreed and two days into his visit, he began to tackle the problem.
He first asked me for a lightbulb. I had one of those. He screwed it into the socket and asked which switch was supposed to operate that light. The one in the sink room, we discovered, was actually the light to the back porch. The switch that operated the sink room fixture was actually right outside the door, next to another kitchen light. Who, we wondered, would wire the room this way? It was awkward, strange. But, it was reality.
So, he tried the switch. And the light turned on. Yes, it simply turned on - and as bright light flooded the room, ten months of struggling to see in the darkness danced through my memory. I recalled all of those evenings when my "dish dryer" would pass back insufficiently washed dishes - a taunting "missed a spot" that could have been avoided with one simple action. A three minute trial and error session conducted by yours truly. But did I experiment? Tragic, I tell you.
In hindsight, though, we probably would have had a hole in the ceiling and the wiring strung throughout the room and power turned off to most of the house before we tried screwing that lightbulb in again. So, really, it was good that we had an experienced electrician address the issue.
It's difficult to explain the impact of this event without some background, so here we go. I've mentioned before that when we first moved in, we had a lot of help. We had uncles and aunts and grandparents and parents painting and taking up carpet. They helped with many facets of repair to prep our house so it was livable. A few uncles took on the main floor bath, which is a room off of the kitchen. Now, I am unclear as to the actual events, but from memory, I recall that one uncle took down the light fixture so it could be cleaned. Some mishap occurred, and when he went to put in the new lightbulb, he flipped on the switch and it no longer worked. He tried it a few more times, and so did others involved. Since they could not figure out why it was not turning on, he removed the lightbulb and mentioned it to Phil and I.
For 10 months this fixture has sat, lightbulbless, for the day when it took high enough priority to be addressed. Now, in the interim, we have changed things around a bit. We took out the "bathroom stuff" and removed the carpet. When we needed the entire kitchen cleared out for its floor to be removed, we moved the sink cabinet into that back room - and it is now called the "sink room".
During the day, this was not a big deal. I was thankful to have running water and a connected drain (both of which had been absent prior to the cabinet move) and a little thing like a light just didn't bother me that much. But the newness of the connected drain and endless supply of running water wore off, and soon I found myself longing for the ability to do dishes in the evening hours without straining to see food particles in the faint light provided by the adjacent room. The dark hole that was my washroom started to grate on me. Slowly and surely, it was moving up the priority list.
But we were apprehensive. Phil knows how to do some wiring, but he didn't know how much work this little project would entail. With all of the other things on his own list, he pushed this item to the sideburner (ie. very rarely was he the one doing the dishes by candlelight).
Upon my parent's arrival for their latest visit, my mom asked if I wanted dad to try and fix the light in the sink room. Being that he is an electical engineer and has a bit of background with such things, I was confident he could figure out what was going wrong. I enthusiastically agreed and two days into his visit, he began to tackle the problem.
He first asked me for a lightbulb. I had one of those. He screwed it into the socket and asked which switch was supposed to operate that light. The one in the sink room, we discovered, was actually the light to the back porch. The switch that operated the sink room fixture was actually right outside the door, next to another kitchen light. Who, we wondered, would wire the room this way? It was awkward, strange. But, it was reality.
So, he tried the switch. And the light turned on. Yes, it simply turned on - and as bright light flooded the room, ten months of struggling to see in the darkness danced through my memory. I recalled all of those evenings when my "dish dryer" would pass back insufficiently washed dishes - a taunting "missed a spot" that could have been avoided with one simple action. A three minute trial and error session conducted by yours truly. But did I experiment? Tragic, I tell you.
In hindsight, though, we probably would have had a hole in the ceiling and the wiring strung throughout the room and power turned off to most of the house before we tried screwing that lightbulb in again. So, really, it was good that we had an experienced electrician address the issue.
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