Saturday - Up. Coffee. Internet. Ok... Gotta get that soffit built today but how much noise can I make while M is still sleeping? Let's find out, shall we?! Exciting!
Decided against building soffit. We'll leave a space over the cabs. Got some wiring done. Sheila discovered 'under the house' when she followed me into the crawl space. I think she likes it down there! To Tad and Akemi's for sushi. Sorry guys for falling asleep on your couch.
Sunday - Up. Coffee, same as yesterday's. News, same as yesterday's which sucks because now there's no reason to put off kitchen work. I see that Sheila went under the house again during the night as evidenced by the cobwebs stuck to her face. Good girl! Decided to build soffit after all. Finished wiring the second wall just in time to flip the breaker back on and catch the Oscars. People magazine must be smoking crack because cleeeeearly I, not Hugh Jackman, am the sexiest man alive. I mean, really... Hugh Jackman? Pfffff... Can he even wire an outlet? Frozen chimichangas again... Really miss M's cooking. Discovered while watching the Oscars that making 'kissing' sounds at the sight of Angelina Jolie is an activity that is underappreciated by members of the female gender who are married to you. And it matters not that one is the sexiest man alive while doing so. The more you know...! New window should arrive tomorrow.
Monday - Decision: No soffit and taller upper cabs. Let's ask how much the taller uppers cost.
Hugh Jackman?... Can he install cabinets?
Tuesday - Woke up at 3AM then... Insomnia. Ok, forced myself to stay awake after work long enough to wire a new outlet in the living room. No window yet, hopefully tomorrow. Ten bucks Hugh Junderwear can't wire an outlet.
Wednesday - Finished the Liv. rm. plug. First finished item, yay. The girl at Lowe's so digs me. I'm used to it. Goes with the whole 'sexiest man' thang. M wants to see a judge on American Idol say, "You're a great singer, your problem is that you're ugly." Window came in, so I'll be installing that this weekend. Let's see Hugh Jeego install a window.
Thursday - Worked late. Not feeling sexy so... night off. Hey, it happens. The taller upper cabs are an extra grand. Indecision... it's such a wonderful time waster!
Friday - Decided over sushi to go with small soffit and 36" uppers. Money saved will pay for the windows and then some. Maybe I can squeeze a shiatsu out of it. Ahh, can't wait, I want it now! M won the lottery when she married the sexiest man alive so she's not so bummed that she wasted five bucks today on that other lottery run by the state.
Eat your heart out, Hugh Jorifice.
... to be continued...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Episode 5 - The Insulation Strikes Back
Saturday - Got the electrical to the three lights ripped out. Squeezing through the 12" hole in the ceiling left behind by the soffit that used to be there is... uh... cozy. I am impressed at the sense of revenge in our inanimate world. How else can it be explained when that little chunk of blown insulation, angry at being dislodged after so many years in it's resting place, breaks free from it's perch and falls just exactly at the right time, drifts precisely into the exact location in order to enter the opening that is momentarily created at the neck of my tee-shirt as I step off the ladder's lowest rung? Not to be outdone, the insulation's inanimate friend, the plaster chunk, apparently inspired by his buddy's jihad against me, cliff dives at juuuust the right moment into juuuust the right place to meet up with his friend in time to enter the dark pit of the tee-shirt neck holding hands. Bingo! A beautifully coordinated two-pronged attack against the infidel invader. Allah akbar! So You Think You Can Dance? Me thinks me can. Since my tee-shirt was tucked in, I think I invented a new move trying to keep the two little terrorists out of my pants. They finally fell on the floor and I crushed 'em both with my shoe. Allah akbar yourself, m--er f--ers!
No loot yet. Just an old pan seemingly placed there to catch an old roof leak.
Tomorrow more attic adventures to be sure...
Sunday - Slept in. Late breakfast. Now, the barometer of doom warns of an approaching high pressure system, the bellweather of gloom is indicating 'foul', and there is an ominous foreboding that, come noon-ish, M is going to be sorry she fed me that leftover burrito! Oh, good woman, what rot hast thou wrought?
Purchased a bunch of electrical stuff and laid out the recessed lighting. Got one can light installed and wired. First mistake: got the light too far away from the wall, countertop will be in shadow, oops! I'll move it tomorrow and reconfigure the layout. Gonna be patching holes in ceiling. Oh well! Off to Little Tokyo again for spicy ramen. Man that stuff is good!
And yes, M paid... oh, so dearly for that burrito... sweet lord in heaven, won't somebody please, open a window!
Monday - Wasn't feeling well so skipped out of work a tad early. Guess I just needed more sleep. No work tonight. Slept through 4 episodes of Family Guy. Not a bad show to sleep through. M asked me to cut my nose hairs so I wouldn't breathe so loud and then she could sleep at night, too, which, naturally, causes me to ponder, 'Could we fix the economy if we legalized pot?' Might at least save the snack food industry.. Makes one thnk!
Tuesday - Can light moved to better location, another installed. Received completely useless dimensions on the crown moulding from the cabinet seller. What's wrong with people? Maybe pot is already legal in their world... and over-used.
Wednesday - Two more can lights installed. And then dinner: salmon, french bread with olive oil and balsamic, salad and clam chowder. Thumbs up to the table-top butane burner inventor. Who the heck needs a kitchen anyways? Honey, how's about a man-cave instead? (... if looks could incinerate...)
Thursday - Patched some holes and wired the dining light switch... then dropped the dining light off the ladder, first casualty. Now gonna do can lights in the dining room. Crap... job is growing. Finally got the dims of the crown moulding. Now I can build the soffit. To the neighbors for hamburgers. Back from neighbors... tequila shots on Thursday? what were we thinking?
Friday - nuthin' 'complished. Gonna attack the soffit tomorrow. Not laid off from work yet, but it's not looking real great! Most likely will postpone moving and stay here a little longer. That means getting the better cabinets! Ok, then...
... to be continued...
No loot yet. Just an old pan seemingly placed there to catch an old roof leak.
Tomorrow more attic adventures to be sure...
Sunday - Slept in. Late breakfast. Now, the barometer of doom warns of an approaching high pressure system, the bellweather of gloom is indicating 'foul', and there is an ominous foreboding that, come noon-ish, M is going to be sorry she fed me that leftover burrito! Oh, good woman, what rot hast thou wrought?
Purchased a bunch of electrical stuff and laid out the recessed lighting. Got one can light installed and wired. First mistake: got the light too far away from the wall, countertop will be in shadow, oops! I'll move it tomorrow and reconfigure the layout. Gonna be patching holes in ceiling. Oh well! Off to Little Tokyo again for spicy ramen. Man that stuff is good!
And yes, M paid... oh, so dearly for that burrito... sweet lord in heaven, won't somebody please, open a window!
Monday - Wasn't feeling well so skipped out of work a tad early. Guess I just needed more sleep. No work tonight. Slept through 4 episodes of Family Guy. Not a bad show to sleep through. M asked me to cut my nose hairs so I wouldn't breathe so loud and then she could sleep at night, too, which, naturally, causes me to ponder, 'Could we fix the economy if we legalized pot?' Might at least save the snack food industry.. Makes one thnk!
Tuesday - Can light moved to better location, another installed. Received completely useless dimensions on the crown moulding from the cabinet seller. What's wrong with people? Maybe pot is already legal in their world... and over-used.
Wednesday - Two more can lights installed. And then dinner: salmon, french bread with olive oil and balsamic, salad and clam chowder. Thumbs up to the table-top butane burner inventor. Who the heck needs a kitchen anyways? Honey, how's about a man-cave instead? (... if looks could incinerate...)
Thursday - Patched some holes and wired the dining light switch... then dropped the dining light off the ladder, first casualty. Now gonna do can lights in the dining room. Crap... job is growing. Finally got the dims of the crown moulding. Now I can build the soffit. To the neighbors for hamburgers. Back from neighbors... tequila shots on Thursday? what were we thinking?
Friday - nuthin' 'complished. Gonna attack the soffit tomorrow. Not laid off from work yet, but it's not looking real great! Most likely will postpone moving and stay here a little longer. That means getting the better cabinets! Ok, then...
... to be continued...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Episode 4 - A New Entry
Saturday - Got done what we intended, that is, we opened up the entry and we went back to the cabinet place and finalized the cabs. Just a little bit displeased with 3M who claims that 'Blue Tape' won't peel the paint from your walls. Oh well, we're going to have to paint anyways. Maybe I should get some new stuff. This one's been in the garage for about three years. Hmmm.
Sunday - Got the new entry framed out and the new back window ordered. Might have changed our minds on moving the back door. Then to Little Tokyo for some spicy Ramen. I love L.A.! It's raining again. (That's two song titles in a row, rather fitting, sitting here watching the Grammy's.) Will I get that 220 ripped out tomorrow or will there be another lake under the house? Won't know until after work tomorrow.
Monday - I hate L.A.! It's freeeezing. Poured almost all weekend and today, too. Last week it was in the 80's and today it hailed. Winter in L.A!
Got the gas moved to the new location. Tad helped, thanks Tad. Check out MadTadMagic.com. Let's see if there's water under the house. Looks good. Good thing I leaned the old pocket door against the house over the access to keep out the rain. Ok, feet first under the house. Spaghetti mess of cables just inside, no problemo. Turn around and 'smack', head hit joist... Ouch... O.K., like the Superbowl commercial said, 'Men can take anything!'... Ok, Oh... Dark. Need light... Ok. Turn around, shake spaghetti mess of cables off my foot, crawl out, twist around door leaning against house. Drop work light through hole in floor. Back to access. Feet first. Spaghetti mess of cables. Get off my foot! Turn around, avoid joist, ha!... army crawl through dirt, 'smack', different joist. Son of a fu@#!! O.k... men can take anything. Army crawl, find 220 and pull it through. No! I didn't remove the wire nuts. Turn around, crawl through dirt, avoid joists, Spaghetti mess of cables, get off my FOOT. Twist out around leaning door. Go inside, remove wire nuts. Back to access, feet first, spaghetti freakin' mess of @%&&$# cables, get off my #@$#$$ @$!% # FOOT!! Turn around, 'smack' head on #$$% joist, army crawl through dirt, find 220, rip it's ass through, leave it there, deal with it later. Turn around, army crawl through dirt, almost there, spaghetti mess, Get OFF MY... breathe... men can take it, Ok, twist around leaning door. Uh oh... Was that my back? Out slowly and... Ok, done... How the heck did my hat get spun around backwards?
Tomorrow I re-nail the subfloor to the joists and prep for plywood.
Tuesday - Got the subfloor nailed and picked up OSB for underlayment. Way cheaper than plywood. Then started to question if OSB makes good underlayment. Some say don't do it... others say they do it all the time. That's the problem with the internet. Sometimes too much information only confuses you.
Wednesday - Are you nuts? 'American Idol' AND 'Lost'? Yeah, right... no work tonight! Just kidding... got some blocking in under the subfloor. Found a couple small areas of rot so tomorrow I'll replace those.
Thursday - Well, Gil said OSB is fine for underlayment so no need to return to the store. Replaced the rotted boards and got the first two pieces of underlayment down. Visible progress... that's a good thing. Michiyo has now discovered Valencia, near Magic Mountain... Wow! You can get a lot of house for your money up there. When I locate the loot in our attic we should be able to buy a couple houses up there.
Friday - All Righty then...Got the rest of the OSB down and snapped off one pic when I received a note from my camera informing me that my batteries are now deceased. Someone's going to write and tell me I should have put the drywall on first, I just know it. But a reason I gots! Off to Souplantation for dinner with Noriko. Aaah, vegetables... they taste sooo good when you haven't had any for three weeks.
Saturday A.M. - Note to self regarding next Valentine's Day - Do not wake up singing, 'I kissed a girl, I liked it...' or, if you absolutely must, try not to put a special emphasis on the 'I liked it' part... with a smile on your face... 16 times... not on Valentine's Day. Heated up yesterday's coffee and a little milk. Getting kind of used to the sheet of plastic hanging from the ceiling. It's kind of like the secret passage I always wanted when I was a kid. Shoot, forgot to stir the coffee... I wonder if I can use this old teabag sitting here. It works!
It's supposed to rain all weekend but it's nice and sunny right now. Today I begin on the electrical and hopefully I'll get the information on the crown moulding from the cabinet seller so I can build the soffit.
... to be continued...
Sunday - Got the new entry framed out and the new back window ordered. Might have changed our minds on moving the back door. Then to Little Tokyo for some spicy Ramen. I love L.A.! It's raining again. (That's two song titles in a row, rather fitting, sitting here watching the Grammy's.) Will I get that 220 ripped out tomorrow or will there be another lake under the house? Won't know until after work tomorrow.
Monday - I hate L.A.! It's freeeezing. Poured almost all weekend and today, too. Last week it was in the 80's and today it hailed. Winter in L.A!
Got the gas moved to the new location. Tad helped, thanks Tad. Check out MadTadMagic.com. Let's see if there's water under the house. Looks good. Good thing I leaned the old pocket door against the house over the access to keep out the rain. Ok, feet first under the house. Spaghetti mess of cables just inside, no problemo. Turn around and 'smack', head hit joist... Ouch... O.K., like the Superbowl commercial said, 'Men can take anything!'... Ok, Oh... Dark. Need light... Ok. Turn around, shake spaghetti mess of cables off my foot, crawl out, twist around door leaning against house. Drop work light through hole in floor. Back to access. Feet first. Spaghetti mess of cables. Get off my foot! Turn around, avoid joist, ha!... army crawl through dirt, 'smack', different joist. Son of a fu@#!! O.k... men can take anything. Army crawl, find 220 and pull it through. No! I didn't remove the wire nuts. Turn around, crawl through dirt, avoid joists, Spaghetti mess of cables, get off my FOOT. Twist out around leaning door. Go inside, remove wire nuts. Back to access, feet first, spaghetti freakin' mess of @%&&$# cables, get off my #@$#$$ @$!% # FOOT!! Turn around, 'smack' head on #$$% joist, army crawl through dirt, find 220, rip it's ass through, leave it there, deal with it later. Turn around, army crawl through dirt, almost there, spaghetti mess, Get OFF MY... breathe... men can take it, Ok, twist around leaning door. Uh oh... Was that my back? Out slowly and... Ok, done... How the heck did my hat get spun around backwards?
Tomorrow I re-nail the subfloor to the joists and prep for plywood.
Tuesday - Got the subfloor nailed and picked up OSB for underlayment. Way cheaper than plywood. Then started to question if OSB makes good underlayment. Some say don't do it... others say they do it all the time. That's the problem with the internet. Sometimes too much information only confuses you.
Wednesday - Are you nuts? 'American Idol' AND 'Lost'? Yeah, right... no work tonight! Just kidding... got some blocking in under the subfloor. Found a couple small areas of rot so tomorrow I'll replace those.
Thursday - Well, Gil said OSB is fine for underlayment so no need to return to the store. Replaced the rotted boards and got the first two pieces of underlayment down. Visible progress... that's a good thing. Michiyo has now discovered Valencia, near Magic Mountain... Wow! You can get a lot of house for your money up there. When I locate the loot in our attic we should be able to buy a couple houses up there.
Friday - All Righty then...Got the rest of the OSB down and snapped off one pic when I received a note from my camera informing me that my batteries are now deceased. Someone's going to write and tell me I should have put the drywall on first, I just know it. But a reason I gots! Off to Souplantation for dinner with Noriko. Aaah, vegetables... they taste sooo good when you haven't had any for three weeks.
Saturday A.M. - Note to self regarding next Valentine's Day - Do not wake up singing, 'I kissed a girl, I liked it...' or, if you absolutely must, try not to put a special emphasis on the 'I liked it' part... with a smile on your face... 16 times... not on Valentine's Day. Heated up yesterday's coffee and a little milk. Getting kind of used to the sheet of plastic hanging from the ceiling. It's kind of like the secret passage I always wanted when I was a kid. Shoot, forgot to stir the coffee... I wonder if I can use this old teabag sitting here. It works!
It's supposed to rain all weekend but it's nice and sunny right now. Today I begin on the electrical and hopefully I'll get the information on the crown moulding from the cabinet seller so I can build the soffit.
... to be continued...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Episode 3 - Revenge Of The Sink
Sunday got us completely finished with the demo of the wall plaster. Think I got all the nails, but there's certain to be more. Still deciding if I want to rip out the ceiling. I'm positive that's where the loot is hidden. Sure would make doing the electrical and the insulation easier. Also got the pocket door ripped out, well at least the half on the kitchen side. First time we've even seen that door as it's been stuck inside the pocket since before we moved here! Been looking forward to taking out the sink drain, otherwise known as, 'The Slow Drain To Nowhere'... Finally got to do it today. I'll spare the details but, let me say these two things: 1) There's a really nasty reason why that kitchen drain was so slow, and 2) One should refrain from using a grinder when cutting through old iron drain pipe over one's head. That's all.
Hope I didn't overload the dumpster. Pushed it out to the street and it sure was heavy. Uh, oh.
Monday -- Too freakin' tired to do anything but heat and eat frozen lasagna. Glass of wine tonight and I'm going to sleep like a (choose a clever something; I'm too tired.)
Tuesday - They emptied the dumpster! Yahoo! Thought for sure I'd come home and find a full dumpster and an 'idiot note' from the city telling me to take some out.
Got the old flooring ripped out and all the nails pulled. Some may call it their 'knee', but I like to refer to it as my 'protruding floor nail detector' as it performs so efficiently in that function. When it detects a protruding floor nail, it emits an audible signal ('Ow, f__k') and displays red letting the operator know that another nail has been detected. God must certainly have been a remodeling enthusiast in order to have installed such a useful device into our bodies. I do believe it located every last nail.
Thursday - Ripped out the header over the entry in order to move it so we can make more room for the fridge. Decided against the little bar at the kitchen entry and opted instead to remove that whole section of wall to make the entryway bigger. Started to crawl under the house to rip out the 220 but there's a lake down under there and I got my feet wet to the ankles. Doggone winter storms. Why do we say 'doggone' anyways? My dog's still here.
Friday - Had to work late. Took the night off from remodeling. Got the camera out and started goofing off, which brings us to the question, 'Why are women so adamantly opposed to being photographed in the shower?'... (some may call it their 'face' but I like to refer to it as a 'flying camera deflector'...)
Saturday A.M. - If all goes as planned we will have the entry enlarged and the cabinets finalized this weekend.
It's cold in here!
... to be continued...
Hope I didn't overload the dumpster. Pushed it out to the street and it sure was heavy. Uh, oh.
Monday -- Too freakin' tired to do anything but heat and eat frozen lasagna. Glass of wine tonight and I'm going to sleep like a (choose a clever something; I'm too tired.)
Tuesday - They emptied the dumpster! Yahoo! Thought for sure I'd come home and find a full dumpster and an 'idiot note' from the city telling me to take some out.
Got the old flooring ripped out and all the nails pulled. Some may call it their 'knee', but I like to refer to it as my 'protruding floor nail detector' as it performs so efficiently in that function. When it detects a protruding floor nail, it emits an audible signal ('Ow, f__k') and displays red letting the operator know that another nail has been detected. God must certainly have been a remodeling enthusiast in order to have installed such a useful device into our bodies. I do believe it located every last nail.
Thursday - Ripped out the header over the entry in order to move it so we can make more room for the fridge. Decided against the little bar at the kitchen entry and opted instead to remove that whole section of wall to make the entryway bigger. Started to crawl under the house to rip out the 220 but there's a lake down under there and I got my feet wet to the ankles. Doggone winter storms. Why do we say 'doggone' anyways? My dog's still here.
Friday - Had to work late. Took the night off from remodeling. Got the camera out and started goofing off, which brings us to the question, 'Why are women so adamantly opposed to being photographed in the shower?'... (some may call it their 'face' but I like to refer to it as a 'flying camera deflector'...)
Saturday A.M. - If all goes as planned we will have the entry enlarged and the cabinets finalized this weekend.
It's cold in here!
... to be continued...
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Episode 2 - Attack Of The Michiyo
Been able to put in one to two hours of some productive destruction time after work each day. Didn't get the dumpster until Wednesday. Filled it up Wednesday night and they emptied it Thursday. Saturday (yesterday) we got some good time in. M's first experience with construction work! She did great. Gave each other hand massages last night. Ooooh!
Got all the walls ripped out and part of the two layers of flooring. The dumpster is full again and I'm not sure how soon they can come to empty it. Hopefully they can come on-call and not make us wait until trash day, which isn't until Thursday.
Discovered the house originally had a second entrance from the driveway into the kitchen. Interesting. Doorbell wires still intact. Also found the old water pipes from when the water heater was in the corner. Those'll be coming out. Hoping to find the loot that I know somebody hid here somewhere. Decided to move the back door away from the corner and make room on the adjoining wall for a shallow 'pantry'.
Sheila doesn't like it. We're tearing her world apart.
... to be continued...
Got all the walls ripped out and part of the two layers of flooring. The dumpster is full again and I'm not sure how soon they can come to empty it. Hopefully they can come on-call and not make us wait until trash day, which isn't until Thursday.
Discovered the house originally had a second entrance from the driveway into the kitchen. Interesting. Doorbell wires still intact. Also found the old water pipes from when the water heater was in the corner. Those'll be coming out. Hoping to find the loot that I know somebody hid here somewhere. Decided to move the back door away from the corner and make room on the adjoining wall for a shallow 'pantry'.
Sheila doesn't like it. We're tearing her world apart.
... to be continued...
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