Stupid Dryer

It is nice to have my own washer and dryer, to no longer hoard quarters like they are some precious gem pulled from the earth through great toil and sweat to be guarded and stashed away from lecherous fingers.  I laugh when I walk by the huddled masses in their laundromats and wonder wistfully that I, in my youth, carried clothes down a creaky flight of steps into the basement to fight spiders and mildew for the right to wash my garments. This was one of the small aspects of home ownership I most looked forward to.

Of course, there was a problem. The set up is in the kitchen, which is fine if not a bit odd. I would not have minded at all, but the dryer had this quirk. It buzzed. Most dryers do, when they are done. But most dryers allow you to turn the buzzer off. And my dryer buzzed at random intervals preceding the finish of the cycle. Something like, "Hey, here's your 15 minute warning!" and "Seven more minutes until hot, dry clothing!" Even that might have been tolerable, but it would be impossible for me to express how long and loud the sound was, like mini 747's taking off from from the kitchen with gremlins clinging to their wings, touting air horns and pulling the feathers from a goose.

One night, the dryer finished up a final cacophony of heart stopping nonsense and I grabbed my screwdriver.

This little guy was the culprit. How could so much noise come from something so small?

The dryer still runs, silently. Somehow, I manage to anticipate when the clothes are done.

I can safely say

The cat is now out of the bag. Here's a before shot:

Maybe she was hyperventilating?

Putting Panther in the Attic

If you recall Toad on the outside, the most distinguishing feature is the mansard roof. That means a second floor with high, level ceilings, but also an attic that is little more than a 4 foot high crawl space. The nails from the shingles come through like stalactites. Also, no floor to walk on. Yeah, I'm whining, but this was really the least fun experience of home ownership so far.

There was 6 inches of insulation in some places, but without a moisture barrier. Also, someone had tried to store boxes of blanket up there, which compacted the fiberglass into uselessness.

I also found this very large TV antenna bolted to a rafter. It had wires for UHF and VHF. Perhaps now I can get ESPN?

Safety first.

New Disaster

When I thought my new house was finally becoming a home, I decided to refill it with junk.

The attic had 6 inches of insulation, less in parts. Here is the guest bedroom before I added 18 inches of fresh pink stuff.

Carla's stuff in the living room. There was nowhere else to put it, not until I emptied the guest room.

The new floor sits in boxes in the dining room, mocking me. At least it will be well acclimated by the time I install it.

Yeah, this place will totally be ready to host the 34B New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving

First Turkey + No Salmonella = Success

Broccoli Soup, Martha's Big Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

And Banana Cream Pie.

Ivy League of Doom

One minor project was to seal up a couple of loose bricks on the back steps. While I was out there, I decided to take a look at the ivy growing up against the brick. Sure enough, the ivy was pushing its way into the mortar and coming out again a few inches or feet later.

I began ripping out the ivy and discovered a second set of steps 180 degrees from the first. They are now blocked by a railing and had been sodded (can you sod non-grass?) for the ivy to grow.



With the ivy gone, I was able to see the crawlspace beneath the steps and porch. I don't think these boards are meant to hang down.

Hmmm. The top of the steps are supported by a couple inches of this loose stone and the sodden toothpick you see that was once a solid 2x6.  The weather has been getting cold and I decided I did not have time to fix this right. I did spend half a day under the crawl space putting insulation back into place, removing piles of wood that would invite termites and eventually, rigging some support that I think will suffice until spring.

Poor Cav. The front wheels were practically coming off the ground. At least, it felt that way. No pics of my fix; I forgot to take any as darkness descended. Just as well, I suppose, since I'll want deniability when the whole thing comes crashing down this winter.

Open Says Me

The very first thing I did on my first full day in Toad was change the locks. This is a good idea anyway of course, but I decided I couldn't sleep another night in a house that requires a key to let you out. That's right, this picture is on the inside. All three doors leading out of the house needed a key to turn the deadbolt even from indoors. So if I woke to a fire, I'd be searching for my keys just to escape. Is this normal? Am I the strange one?

Before.

After.

Landscape

The backyard is supposed to be covered in perennials. So I guess magical things will happen over here in the Spring.

Suppose I must learn to trim hedges.

Stupid Ivy. More on this later.

I do really like this red oak tree in the middle of the yard.

Something must be working. Just look at the wildlife my backyard attracts.

I wanted to make brownies for Carla's birthday. Since it was also Halloween (okay, I missed her birthday by a few days) I wanted to add some Autumn flair.

Unfortunately, the orange frosting came out looking more like Cheez Whiz than pumpkin. Luckily, the "Crazy" candles keep it from looking tacky.

Garage

Back to Toad: There is a good sized garage in the back.

There is a little bench with a big, scary vise. The mitre saw is courtesy of Kilgore. I'll return it someday, I swear.

Garage door openers are really great when they work. Very annoying when they don't.

This is the loft space above the garage. 500 sq ft of unfinished potential. Anyone wanna live above my car?

This hangs above the garage doors on the outside. Usually, the eagle carries arrows in one talon to symbolize power and the potential for war while other talon holds an olive branch to represent peace. But not my eagle. With this guy, it's either arrows or a patriotic shield. So the message seems to be: Yo, we can either come after you with our pointy sticks or you can break yourself running into our shield. Either way, your eagle food.

Happy Halloween

Carla's first Jack O' Lantern.

Is this creepy or what?

New Additions

Back on the family farm, the feline population has nearly surpassed the Bovine. I was able to ignore this problem as a renter, but within a month of losing this convenient excuse, I felt it necessary to do my part. You know, because I was totally given a choice in the matter upon my latest visit to the homestead.

Leon

Ada

They are about six months old and despite the eight hour drive, seem to enjoy it here. They certainly like my bean bag.

 

Milk bribery doesn't hurt either. After a couple hours exploring every nook and cranny in Toad, they both settled in nicely. 

Confused?

The upper section of the house here is technically the roof. They chose to side it.

What you are looking at here is the side of the garage covered in asphalt roofing shingles. So, the roof of the house is sided and the sides of the garage are roofed.

Next post, I'll begin showing off my attempts to improve Toad.

Odd Ends

I haven't posted pictures of some of the rooms yet, but I want to take a moment to tribute some of the odder little touches left in the house by the previous owners.

An albatross dangles from the ceiling fan in the master bedroom. I think that's an albatross anyway. What is that poem about the guy at sea who shoots an albatross and his ship sinks . . . Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner? . . . well, I haven't dared to take it down yet.

Doc of 7 Dwarves fame hangs from a rafter in the basement. 

From the back porch, one is presented with two possible entrances. The door on the right goes into the sun room; the one on the left opens to the kitchen. Remember, the sunroom was an addition to the house. While the kitchen entrance has an obvious transition from the outdoors complete with a closet to hang coats, the sun room door dumps you straight into a carpeted room. I don't know why they felt adding this door would be even a little useful, but seeing them one foot away from each other every time I come home annoys me (more than it should, probably).

The sun room entrance. I haven't even bothered to take the key out of the deadbolt (which you'll notice requires a key even on the inside - more on that later).

This floral knocker is nailed to the outside of the bathroom door. So you don't hurt your knuckles, I guess. It has become a running gag as I never think to take it down until I go to brush me teeth at night. Since I don't feel like going downstairs to get the hammer and don't want to just rip it off the door, I say "one more day, knocker, one more day" brush my teeth and retire. Every single night.

Bathroom

The third bedroom was turned into a bathroom so it's a decent size. 

When one globe is not enough, use three and dangle two from chains. You'll notice that the pink curtains continue to the upstairs.

At least the curtains match the tile. And the tub matches the sink. And the giant safety handles  . . . actually I like those. They make me feel secure.

Window seat. 

I'm pretty sure this is a kitchen sink.