Fuzzy On My Door

Yesterday morning I awoke early to unlock the studio door in preparation for the workers finishing off my studio floor this week. I also needed to take the waste down to the curb so I slipped on my shoes. As I opened the studio door a small fuzzy body fell to my floor.

“What are you doing here?” concern in my voice as I bent over and slipped a car key under her legs. Most likely she was one of our bees and now she clung to the key as I pulled her closer to my eye. Her tired little body was covered in dew. For whatever reason she had spent the night clung to my door. Maybe she had been trying to get a hold of me and spent the night knocking our my door, only it’s virtually impossible to hear a bee when they’re knocking on one’s door I reckon. So there she sat, perched upon my key, near death. Bees need to be in their hive at night, not on my door.

I almost wanted to pet her, to provide some degree of comfort. The right thing to do would have been to put her out of her misery right there and then, but I didn’t have it in me.  So my bee, upon my key, and I took a stroll in the early morning sunlight. Through the garden gate, past the sunflowers, to the hive we went. I placed her worn out body at the hive entrance, transparent yellow rays of sun drying her wings and warming her body. I doubt she made it, and I probably put the greater hive at risk if there really was something wrong with her, but what am I to do. Anymore, I just don’t have it in me to always think with my brain. I let her be. One small part of a greater organism. A system where the individual gives their life for the survival of the hive. Something in me just thinks maybe she’d rather see her home, or at least a bee home, one last time.

Back inside our hive of a home we’ve had workers finishing the cement floor in my art studio. The stared yesterday morning by putting up plastic to keep dust out of the rest of the house, and they used a grinder to take off all the paint, drywall and stains in the floor; essentially removing the top layer of concrete. They then applied a semi-transparent stain from H&C Concrete Products. We selected Espresso color to match the cabinets and the bronze tile elsewhere in the house.

Today they applied a clear coat and tomorrow they will caulk all the expansion joints in the floor. In the end we’ll have a floor that can be cleaned more readily and look great.

Because they’re working in my studio I moved out of my office and relocated to the loft.  I really like it up here.  The view is incredible and the leather chairs are somewhat comfy (though the card table is an ergonomic disaster for my neck).  Much more inspiring up here than down in my hallway office, but that of course translates to more thinking and dreaming instead of working.  No one pays me to think or dream.  It’s pretty awesome up here though. You should be up here when it rains. Talk about not getting any work done; instead just stare out the window.

Only thing I wish we’d done was 1) had the time / money / patience to finish it off with a ceiling fan and bookcases (it was hot yesterday ’cause the windows were open to air out the house from my studio finishing…all the air in the house is meant to escape out the loft, that’s why it exists in the first place). Eventually the space will be a library thus the need for shelves. 2) A spiral staircase would be nice to have. The ship’s ladder worries me with our boys going up and down. My oldest joined me in the temporary “office”. He set up his own desk and the whole nine yards.  So cute. Anyway a spiral staircase would be nice and I think it would fill in the corner of the hallway below better. Not a big deal though.

Well I should get back to work, though it just started raining for the first time in weeks.

Maybe it’s time for a break….

A bee at the entrance to the hive. I found him on my studio door. Right or wrong I took him back home.

The hive in the early morning sunshine.

The new finish on my studio floor. Espresso to match the cabinets and tile throughout the house.

Early morning sunrise casts its rays upon a sunflower in our garden.

The view out of my temporary office. Sure beats a parking lot view or no window at all like most well off folks got.

Honey Bee Queen 2.0

“How are your bees?” is the most popular question we get from people (i.e. family) who read the blog.

Well today we checked them again. And…..

…..wait for it….

…..wait…..

WE HAVE A NEW QUEEN!!!

Last week when we checked we had a lot of hatched queen cells but no queen. This week, in the upper box about the 5th frame I spotted our new queen.  The wife was franticly searching but I calmly pointed her out as soon as I saw her large body with tiny wings.  I’m kind of proud that on at least two occasions now I’ve spotted the queen, which is as close as you get to competitive bee keeping sports.  With out further ado, my I be the first to introduce you to our new queen:

Our new queen!

If we didn’t find a new queen today we would have had to buy one. But for now we don’t have to. The next step is to see if she’s laying eggs. We think we saw one frame of eggs but we’re not sure. We’ll have to wait and see. We did notice that there was more activity in the third box up top so maybe they are preparing that for honey or egg laying. It was amazing to think that our little hive knows what to do and replaced our previous queen all on their own. Let’s just hope she does her job. Regardless, re-queening sets us back a few weeks but it’ll be fine all in all.

The hive looks really healthy and active in my un-knowledgeable  opinion. The bees were really buzzing when while we were inspecting the hive this afternoon.  One other note, the heat wave finally broke and storms just passed through so the hive was extra full today.  I did see one bee fully laden with pollen though so that was a good sign.

Our queen during her coronation. We didn’t see many eggs so we think she just got started. Fingers crossed she does a good job and they keep her.

Two bees “talking” to each other. Look at how perfect the honeycomb is. Not made by man-made machine rather the ingenuity and perfection of bees.

Bees on top of the frames.

A frame full of capped honey.

It’s amazing just to look at the frames. If you never have, do yourself a favor, find a bee keeper and ask to help out next time they check their hive.

Also today we celebrated Python Day in town. There’s an old legend that a large snake roamed the area so townsfolk have used it as an excuse to have a fun low-key festival day. There were a lot of activities for the boys including making various crafty snakes. For lunch we had ‘python dogs’ which are really just foot long hot dogs. I even took a stab at learning how to juggle. I wasn’t too bad actually.  After lunch the police shut down the main road and we witnessed the world’s smallest annual parade…or at least I’d bet it’s the smallest. Finally we got to pet live pythons at the old high school.  One neat thing about the school is you can see how worn the stairs are from a century of teachers and students walking up and down them. Was really neat. I love old buildings. It was a great way to spend the day, and get away from work.

The back of the Python Day parade.

The front of the Python Day parade

Worn stairs at the old school.

Back at home, we checked the bees like I said. Afterwards I took a quick jaunt around our land. The wild black berry bushes are going like crazy this year. I noticed a lot of the berries on the neighbors’ driveway bushes were starting to ripen so I went back and checked ours.  I discovered a whole new little grove of bushes, but nothing is really blackening up yet….I picked one berry. But soon we’ll be up to our eyeballs in blackberries. Even my bushes are showing some berries and recovering from the deer eating the plants.

House-wise my brother-in-law installed a ceiling fan on the screen porch and moved an outlet so now Christine has a place to plug in her fridge in her studio. I also met with my carpenter to make plans for the studio storage units.  So a lot of good things going on around the house.

Well we’re really happy about our bees and everything is looking good. Now some time to relax and have a beer.

Cheers!

Long live the queen!

My Art Studio Organization Project

Today was a little break in the action, we ran some errands including ordering our cabinets for the laundry room. The simple white thermo-foil cabinets we selected will keep cost down but still look nice organizing laundry room necessities, like cleaning supplies and household life debris, out of sight.

Under the guise of organization I’ve been flipping out about the state of my art studio. It’s hardly a place to do inspired things like design work or art. Now it’s to the point where I can’t even move around. It’s fine if the rest of the family lives that way but I can no longer. So I took advantage of today’s self-imposed down time to work up a design for shelves in my studio. I want something that looks nice but they don’t have to be stained cabinetry quality. Rather I’m fine with tone on tone painted cabinets to match the walls and compliment the cement floor.  My brother is a master carpenter and cabinet-maker so I’ve got the inside track on getting them made to my specifications. His insight and design sense will be indispensable as well; I can already see a few minor challenges in my design.

I’ve got two full walls that I want to construct floor to ceiling built-in shelves. Right now all our art supplies are in a huge pile by the litter box. It’s a disaster trying to haul things in and out for art shows. Keeping “her” art separated from “his” art is random at best. And we’re not taking full advantage of our ten foot high vertical space that we have in the studio.

Here’s what it looks like now:

It’s just awful really. Makes me not want to be in there – this is where I work every day.

The storage I’ve designed will provide these functions:

• store our artwork / and art show supplies – for every show I have to load up the truck. Having everything organized and easy to access is the primary reason we built the house and the studio with double doors in the first place. Waiting years to get organized defeats the purpose.
• provide bookcases for magazines, supplies, books, knick knacks and momentos – I have a lot of garbage that has been sitting in boxes since we got married or at least since we moved last year, some of it will finally see the light of day again, including my car magazine collection (interesting note, the north wall of my studio will actually be further insulated by the thermal mass we’ll build against the wall by way of the bookcases and books.  Something to think about in your house. Essentially the wall will go from 10″ thick to 22″ thick in places, buffering the north wind and snow.
• a small area for taking off shoes, coats and hanging up bee keeping suits – We use the studio entrance if we’re snowy or muddy, or if we’re checking the bees. We need a place to put on and take off clothes and hang up bee gear.
• an integrated drafting board – I do hand sketches and drawings for my design business. You saw the impromptu stand I made for our drafting board.  I’ve got an idea that someday down the road I’d like to have my brother make me a heirloom quality, contemporary built in, one of a kind drafting board…maybe crafted from wood boards planed from cherry trees found on site. For now the old board will fit between the bookcases.
• shallow drawers for storing misc. studio tools and items.
• At 91″ from the floor a 3″ tall hardwood horizontal band to accept a future 8′ library ladder if deemed necessary.

Here’s what I came up with tonight:

Here’s a rendering I created of my proposed studio design.

You can see some of the key elements of the design.

This would go a long way to getting my studio organized and working efficiently.

The bench flips down because the double doors are only 10″ off that wall immediately to the right. So we’ll have to flip-up the bench to be able to open the doors all the way. The book-case on the right is 10″ deep, the one on the left is 12″ deep.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

-Chris

Washer and Dryer

We’ve finally gotten some badly needed rain around here the last few days. Everything is growing nicely for the most part. Unfortunately the weeds are taking over and the grass desperately needs cutting. The veggies are growing well, but it’s the same story back there….lots of weeds. The service berry bushes do not look well so add to my “to do” list, look up what might be wrong with those. The rose-bush I sprayed looks horrible as well. And don’t even get me started on the apple trees. Long story short, not working in the yard for several days means everything goes to hell in a hand basket out there. Well there’s nothing I can do about that.

This weekend was consumed with an art show, which was probably Christine’s best ever. But that just means she’s out of commission, in terms of helping with anything other than her boys and art, as she needs to restock her inventory. Meanwhile I’ve been busy with regular work, and I need to get in the studio as well to prepare for an upcoming show too. The yard is just going to have to fend for itself until the weekend, other than maybe cutting the grass one evening if the rain ever stops.

One thing that did happen last week was our new washer and dryer were delivered. We replaced our 14-year-old top load washer, and dryer with a Whirlpool set featuring a high-efficiency front load washing machine and dryer. The old units were showing signs of age, but more importantly the new units are more congruent with the new house’s mechanical systems. The new washer for example uses around 15-18 gallons a load vs. 40 gallons a load in the old unit. The average family does 300 loads a year, so this saves us 6,600-7,500 gallons of water annually. This is great because we’re on a finite water source in between rain storms. Also less water for laundry means less water going in the septic system. Top loading washers can easily overpower a septic system. It’s recommended we only do 1-2 loads a day max with the top loader, which means we’d do laundry every day with our family. Another plus is the front loader, or horizontal axis, washer uses less soap. This is another plus for the septic. On a recent inspection of our septic tank we were reprimanded for the amount of phosphorus that was in our septic tank, much of which was probably coming from laundry detergent. The new high-efficiency (HE) detergent, used in lower quantities should provide some relief to our septic system.

Electricity wise, both of the new units should lower our electric bill every month as well. I have to look but there may even be a rebate from our electric company for buying more energy-efficient models. Other pluses include the fact that the washer squeezes more water out of the clothes which reduces drying times, which in turn saves energy and money. The units are also gentler on clothes so they’ll last longer. The Energy Star website states “It’s estimated that there are 76 million top-loading washers with agitators, 25 million of which are at least 10 years old, still in use across the country. Washers manufactured before 1998 are significantly less efficient than newer models. Together, these inefficient washers cost consumers $2.8 billion each year in energy and water.” One last comment, dryers are all generally the same efficiency and haven’t improved much, where you save energy is through the reduced drying times. We also air dry a lot of our clothes as well.

The guys at Lowes delivered and installed the our shiny new white units, and even hauled our old ones away to the garage. I’m holding on to the old ones and going to try to donate them to charity as they still have some life in them, and something is better than nothing. I had them hook up all the water lines, electrical and the dryer vent. It’s interesting that dryers do not come with electrical cords. We had to buy one and have it installed. Granted installation was free, but if you’re doing it yourself you may want to keep it in mind. Also our dryer required a water line for the steam function, so keep in mind you need to “Y” that off of the cold water line going to the washing machine.

For the dryer I was going to convert it to side vent, myself, but now that the unit is installed, it is actually 33″ from the wall to the front of the unit, which is what my design had planned for. So I could side vent it and try to squish the washer and dryer back 2″-4″ more but I’m not sure it’s worth it. I think I’ll return the Whirlpool 4-way vent conversion kit and leave the vent coming out of the back of the dryer.  This will save me $50 for the vent kit and save the hassle of converting it (either by myself or paying the appliance guy $100). The finished  location of the washer and dryer should suffice for our design, as is.

The wife’s been reading the manuals to figure out how to work her new toys. It’s Monday and we’ve yet to do a load in the new units but that should change tomorrow. Regardless, the yard and cluttered house…and even the laundry will have to wait as best they can as we’re up to our eyeballs in stuff to do.  Never a dull moment.

Yet another deer picture, this time a buck bedded down in our front yard like he owns the place.

This is the big buck that lives by the VW I think. His antlers are getting big.

So many buttons, so little time. Trying to figure out how to work the new washing machine.

The new Duets patiently waiting to clean all the ticks off our clothes.

Honeycomb

I painted the craft room this weekend.  Off of our palette we chose Sherwin Williams SW6375 Honeycomb. Neither of us liked it when I was painting it on, but in the end it turned out to be a nice color.  It’s kind of a mustard color but with hints of tan and not too garish.

SW6375 Honeycomb

Cutting in. I left the air vent in place, definitely the way to go. Hint, on the last coat – hit it with the roller.

Finished Paint

Finished paint.

Hall closet.

The hall closet will double as an art gallery. We’re going to paint it a dark color from our palette – SW 6083 Sable

We talked a lot about the plans for the small craft room.  I sat on the ugly chair and let the room talk to me.  Incidentally the ugly chair is surprisingly comfortable.  I also had a flash to call myself the ‘room whisperer’ but alas some guy already calls himself that and owns the website.  Regardless, I sat in the room and mentally cycled through about a half dozen configurations.  Grabbing a tape measure we took some measurements; I’ll model up the room and work out a few options.  Finishing the room is low on the list but making plans is free so why not.  The wife uses it for her sewing, and needs a few different work stations.  Once we’re done it should be a cute little cozy room.  My feeling is that I want it to look like a quaint converted attic space.  Possibly include build ins complimented with some antique or antique looking pieces.

Outside in the hall I was going to get around to finally hanging some of her famous hand cut paper artwork on the gallery wall.  But the wall is kind of odd…lots of doors which is fine, we designed it that way.  Problem is the bronze hinges stand out in contrast to the light colored walls.  So our thought is to paint just that gallery wall a dark color.  This will conceal the cut lines and hinges.  The wall needs a freshening up as there are several cracks and the trim needs to be painted.  There are several dark colors on our palette to choose from, and we decided upon SW6083 Sable. It’s a dark brown so it should go nicely with the light tan walls, green carpet and the brown floor in the adjacent studio and craft room.  Artwork hung against this dark wall should really pop.  It’s a bold move but it’s the right move.

Compass Rose

Quiet week on the home front.  Tomorrow is painting day so expect to hopefully see some photos tomorrow and find out how that went.  The only thing I really did house wise this week was mounting the compass rose art work on the downstairs landing.  One unique note, it actually is oriented properly so if you ever get lost in the house you’ll know which way West is for instance.  Elsewhere I also mudded and sanded the studio wall a little more.  We have two bonus gallons of paint since we changed our minds on one of the colors so we’ll use those in my office and studio.  And I sold the Nest thermostat on eBay for $185, recouping most of what I paid for it.

We are super busy working on the art front as well….applying to shows, working on art and whatnot. I don’t really relax anymore.  I think that ability was a casualty of building the house, regular work and trying to do the art thing.  But during the 3 minutes of rest I sneaked in after work (and before dinner)…as I lay there trying not to lose my mind with the boys pushed trucks, yelling up and down the hallway, I realized turning this place into a home instead of a house is a multi-pronged approach.  The paint and some nice arty touches are going to definitely help, but the laughs and yells of playing little boys are absorbed by these walls around me. And while you can’t see them, or hear them (unless thing one and two are here when you’re here) they are there adding warmth, history and a sense of place to what was virtually lifeless, even just a year ago.  Long after we’re gone, and they’re gone I honestly believe that if you were to walk these halls, with their faded walls and dusty corners….close your eyes…open your mind…this house will let you hear them again.

I’m pissing away a ton of hours and money, maybe fool heartily but it’ll be nice and a lot more relaxing.  Realistically I want to get this paint on the walls to warm the place up a bit. Then I MUST get my storage designed and built (by yours truly) in my studio.  On the art front the new website is up and running nicely (so I don’t have to worry ’bout that).  My office area is almost done (I can get organized). I may actually be able to enjoy February, working on art, start relaxing and get back to chasing these kids around.  Who knows maybe I’ll add my own laugh or two to these not so old walls. A lot of people will say I don’t have to do it all at once, but for me I kinda do.  Call my therapist if you need an explanation.  Meanwhile I’ll keep plugging away, getting “to do” list monkeys off my back.  We lived in limbo for ten years in the old house, not decorating or having a lot of projects waiting in the wings.  We loved that house but frankly I kinda want to get over these projects and start enjoying it.  And Spring will be here before we know it; with that will be outdoor projects (hint: she wants to raise bees, I want a fully functioning, self-sustaining, micro farm).

Life is brutally finite, I see no viable reason to wait, leave things unsaid or put off much of anything.  Each day is a treasure…a gem.  Every moment worth savoring.   Will I get burnt out? I doubt it. The last two years have built up my tolerance and strength, like a weight lifter in a gym.  And the wife has been a huge help, keeping everyone grounded as a mom and teammate. Will I go broke?  Most definitely but like a good friend of mine said, you’ll always be broke when you have a family but one way or another you find a way and things work out…even if it’s month to month at times.  Will it be worth it? I think so.  The process is therapeutic.  I’ve learned a lot.  Made mistakes.  Did one or two things right.  There are a couple of people who still talk to me so not all is lost.

Fundamentally we’re headed in some direction; we’re sailing at the very least.  Short term I definitely know (painting tomorrow for example).  Long term who the hell knows….do any of us really know.  Ultimately how much control do we really have.  Life happens. Getting lost makes it worth living.

Worst case scenario, I can always walk downstairs and I’ll know which way West is.

That’s a start.

Christmas Time

With about a week before Christmas we brought the tree in from outside and decorated it. This is the first time in all the years I can remember that I’ve had a real tree for the holiday.

I cut a couple of pieces of plastic, the thick stuff that was left over from doing the cement slabs last year.  I wrapped the ball of the live tree and bound it with some twine.  The other square of plastic we laid down on the rug in the living room.  I placed the wrapped ball of the 6′ live tree in a large outdoor flower-pot and placed the pot on the plastic covering the rug.  A red piece of fleece around the pot and voila! Christmas tree.  Some LED lights and our usual assortment of ornaments and we are all set for the holiday.

Live christmas tree.

After the presents are unwrapped, and all the holiday cheer has been…well, cheered. I’ll take the tree outside and plant it in the hole I dug a few weeks ago in the yard.  Then in theory our first Christmas tree ever at our new house will grow up with us and hopefully long after we’re gone (i.e. retire to Florida).  I explained to my oldest but I think he was less than impressed.  Rather he was focusing on the fact that said tree lacked any presents under it.

Elsewhere the stockings are hung and various other decorations are up.   Supposedly we’re getting snow tomorrow so we may even have a white Christmas.  Ok, that’s it for today.  I have a few more cabinets to install but that will wait….some last minute shopping and wrapping presents to do.

stockings hung with care means we have to take them off to use the fireplace.

walls are still white but it’s looking homey enough for this Christmas

L-Shaped Shower Curtain Rod Installation

Today I installed an L-shaped shower curtain rod in the boys bathroom.  Because we have a cap cod style second floor, the full bath in the boys bathroom has a slanted ceiling.  Thus I can’t install a straight shower curtain rod.

We purchased our Barclay L-Shaped Shower Curtain Rod on Amazon.com

Below is the step by step pics for our install.  It was fairly easy and the shower curtain rod is rock solid.  I wouldn’t do pull ups on it but it will be fine for a bathroom shower curtain.  Tool wise I used a drill, laser level, pencil, masking tape, and I got a cool package of wall anchors from Lowes.  The Cobra brand anchors included a 5/16″ drill bit that was designed to go through ceramic tiles.  I did check YouTube to make sure I knew how to drill though tile.  Some of my holes were close to the edge of the tiles but I can safely report that none of the tiles broke thank god.  Masking tape is the key to starting the drill holes…yay for YouTube.

Before I get to the pics and install notes, I did use stone sealer on the cement counter in the half bath.  Regular hand soap was leaving rings in the counter.  Turns out I couldn’t really wash out the rings, so after using the sealer the rings are a permanent fixture of the counter.  I wish I’d known about this before we started using the counters or our fabricator would have sealed the cement countertop.  I also used the sealer on the marble tops on our Kohlers bath cabinets in the master suite as well.

Ok, onto the shower curtain rod install.  Some other notes, I caulked the drill holes before installing the anchors, then caulked again after the anchors where in.  I also caulked the brackets as best I can.  All this caulking will help eliminate air and water penetration into the wall cavities behind the shower.  Also the shower rod comes with an 18″ support rod that you’d normally mount to the ceiling in the corner of the “L”.  In our case we have our 12/12 ceiling at the far end of the “L”.  I actually cut down that rod, well into the threads and essentially only had one inch of the 18″ rod left that I needed.  It worked out fine but was probably an extreme situation.

Overall the shower rod was rock solid and the install was fairly easy, though it did take me over an hour….I was taking my time.

Masking tape allows drill bit to “bite” a little so you can get started drilling into ceramic tile. I used a laser level across both walls to assure brackets are in right place.

I caulked before and after putting anchors in to keep air and water out from behind the shower wall.

I mounted the brackets using the screws included going into my purchased anchors, once again caulk everywhere. All my holes lined up but one force the screw to go in at an angle. I took my time and mounted the screws using a hand screwdriver. I did not over tighten, just worried bout the tile breaking.

This is the other bracket mounted normally. You’ll noticed the first one I mounted at a 45 degree angle.

The straight tube is easily cut by hand by a hack saw. I measured to the center of the bracket on the wall, then I screwed together the two tube pieces to create the “L” shower curtain rod. I then butted the assemply against the wall…measuring along the straight tube, wrapping it in tape and marking where I needed to cut it for length. The tube is one inch in diameter so I accounted for that as well by adding a half inch to my measurement. I ran both tubes well into each bracket length wise.

I sized up the support rod by assembling it and seeing where it hits the tube, represented by the projection on the bracket. In this case I’m cutting most of the 18″ rod off, leaving only about an inch left over. Once again, it was easy to cut this by hand with a hack saw.

Here I’m lining up where I want the support. It’s about 16″ from the side wall.

the three components that make up the support assemply. Rod in the middle is normaly upto 18″ long.

Fasten support using two screws and caulk to keep water out.

Support assembled and ready for shower rod.

I then inserted the “L” part of the shower rod, then the straight section of the rod. The two are then hand screwed together easily. Finally tighten all the set screws and hang the shower curtain.

Fin.

Dyson hand held vac rules for cleaning up after “honey do” chores around the house.

Soap stains on our cement counters. Oh well, I’m tired of fighting life. Life wins.

These wall anchors worked great plus the came with their own tile drilling drill bit

Media Console Inside, Cutting Grass Outside

It’s nice to have a Saturday with nothing to do.  We actually got our weekend chores pretty much done this morning.  All we have left to do is clean off the porches so the workers can start finishing them on Monday.

Today I cut the “grass” for the first time.  Exactly one year and nine days since we first broke ground.  We really don’t have much grass but the weeds were getting tall and looking scraggly.  Our deer are doing a good job of eating the lawn plants but even they can eat them all so I fixed my not so trusty lawn mower first thing this morning and it fired up right away.  The front wheels of our Troy-Bilt fell off at the old house.  I tried to fix them last year but the nut that holds them in place is made from plastic.  It really is a horrific design.  I’ll never buy another Troy-Bilt as long as I live.  I fixed it this morning with some sheet metal and screws, fastening the screws below the axle so it could no longer fall out of its mount.  Cutting the grass was good for a photo and lots of dust.  But it does look better I must say.

I planted some black-eyed susans that a friend gave us.  They are from a lineage that includes the ones from our old house and can be seen in many of the wife’s artwork.  Will be nice seeing them just outside my studio door.

Inside I wrapped up setting all the stuff on the media stand we got from Pottery Barn.  We’re really happy with our Winslow Media Stand.  Our family room / dining room area is a decorators nightmare the way it is set up with the fireplace.  On one side is a large hutch for the dining room.  On the other side is the media center.  The unit we bought looks really nice and I don’t think we could have done a better job.  It has spacious storage and wide glass sliding doors for ease of access.  We have a ton of wires but the quality cutouts worked well and I even mounted the power strip on the wall.  That last task was tough cause I tried to drill into an HVAC duct, but I slid my mounting point over and found success while still keeping the wires and outlets hidden behind the tv.

I’m still battling bees outside, though I think I killed the wasps once and for all.  My face is still swollen though from Tuesday’s wasp incident.  I ventured into the tall grass even so I could tie up a small tree that had been knocked down during excavation, in an effort to get it growing back upright.

Ok, I’m going back to enjoying my Saturday with nothing to do.  Hope you are enjoying yours.

Dimensions of the shelves on our Winslow Media Stand from Pottery Barn.

Media center is working out for us nicely.

power strip mounted on wall is convenient and easy to access

Mama and baby deer visit us after dinner.

Black eyed susans are planted. You can see, seems I have a leak in my rain barrel.

Blackberries are in season. I pick a few every day as I drive up our driveway after work.

 

Update: Here’s a photo of the console shelf dimensions, in case you’re looking to pick one of these up and aren’t sure what will fit inside. As you can see I stack the cable box up top and movies below.  Also you can tell  we abhor dusting in our household.

Dimensions of the shelves on our Winslow Media Stand from Pottery Barn.

Cabinets and Whatnot

Sorry I’m not posting as often.  We’re in the thick of a couple of art shows so I’m scrambling to get art done, get stuff done around the house, and work my regular job.  Oh and attempt to maintain my sanity while minimizing my dependence on alcohol.

I promise once this art show is done, I’ll post more often, work on my “honey do” list, pick up a golf club and maybe even go to church on Sundays.  Until then you’ll have to live vicariously via old posts, while the wife trips over empty cabinets, my clubs collect dust, and god solves crossword puzzles while, patiently, waiting for me to show up fashionably late.

When I’m not battling the 90 degree heat and the worst drought in recent memory I’ve been spending my free time working on art as I said, but also working on hanging the cabinets we got from Lowes.  There’s an office area in my studio that we can wait to get cabinets into.  This will go a long way to getting us organized.  I can’t stress enough, if you are building or remodeling a home, go for it and install all your storage up front.  We always make the mistake of saving stuff to finish off later in an effort to save money.  Even if you do it right after you move in or do it yourself to save a couple bucks, install storage and organization stuff as soon as you can.  We have mail, computers, bills, etc. strewn all over the freaking place.  Our ultra contemporary kitchen looks like a hoarders paradise.  Granted the dish drying rack from Wal-Mart isn’t helping the situation but we won’t talk about that…

I’m slowly making progress assembling the cabinets and hanging them.  The wife is a huge help in lifting the cabinets in place.  I’m not to worried about nicking the walls, eventually they’ll be painted.  I don’t have the pictures in front of me but I learned a lot about cabinet screws, especially which ones to use and which ones not to.  I’ll share with you soon I promise.  It also pays to have a table saw; ripping down filler boards is tough with a regular hand power saw.  I bought an inexpensive sonic tool to cut the baseboards so I can tell you bout that after I use that.

I’m excited to finish the first batch of cabinets but they’ll have to wait until after the art show.

Outside the drought is killing us figuratively but our water supply is holding and our plants are mostly surviving.  I’ve given up on the baby trees and grass.  Nature will have to bear that life and death scenario out herself.  Average temps are in the 90’s for about a week and a half now.  We’ve set the “air conditioning” to 72 degrees, now raised to 74 degrees.  I’m not sure how often it’s cycling on and off, but the house seems to hold temperature and repel heat.  Generally speaking no direct sun enters the house this time of year, even in the large south-facing windows.  I just paid an electric bill and we averaged 1,000 KW hours in June and July bills.  In the old house we maxed out around 600 KWh per month, so I’ll have to keep an eye on energy usage.  There are probably several culprits: the high temps, more light usage (esp. incandescent bulbs), and we’ve probably got the house set pretty low.  Also our water and sewer systems run on electric across the board so there’s probably more overall load than at the old place. The usage I was looking at at the old house was also just for two of us.  So the moral is we’ll have to wait and see.

Ok, back to working on art.  Catch ya later.

wall cabinets clamped and screwed together, ready for hanging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what an art show looks like.