Remodeling - Plumbing

~Oh yea, we got pipes.~

Today, May 13th, we had our plumber over. We have the best plumber in the WORLD and, even better, he came with the house!! (You can also read that as "this is the plumber Mom has used for years and so he knows the house better than anyone else"). Who is this Mr. Fantastico Plumber?? J.D. Williams!

J.D. came over to take out all the old plumbing for the "back bathroom" and put plumbing in for the washer.
The back bathroom is truly one of the dumbest rooms I've ever seen (no offense Mom). To get to it you had to walk into the back hall, which normally meant passing by several large & often muddy-pawed dogs. Since we've moved in, the door from the back hall to outside has often been left open, making the back hallway more of an open-aired porch than anything else. Making it all the more like going outside to go to the bathroom. And this town just ain't so fond of out-houses. No matter how much it might help the value of the house. So .. it is becoming a laundry room.

The pipes went in without problems, indeed we found out it was rather well insulated, though J.D. went ahead and insulated the pipes just in case. One really cool thing we did that was slightly out-of-the-norm?? We had J.D. make sure the pipes, and more importantly, valves for the water would sit above the washer. We had him put in ball-valves on the pipes, making it VERY easy to switch the water on & off. But WHY??

Several years ago my Uncle and Aunt came home to find that a hose on their washing machine had burst. The laundry room was on the main floor, behind the kitchen. By the time they got home the water had flooded out to the living room. That water ruined floors & rugs and many other things. The wall boards began absorbing the water. 3' up the wall!! Yea, THREE FRIGGIN' FEET UP!!! All gone, had to be replaced. But, the damage didn't stop there. There were exterior walls where this damage happened, meaning there was insulation, and by the time they were able to fix it, mold & mildew had taken hold. They never really, fully fixed the house back to how it had been.
Ever since then my mother has always turned off the washer between uses. My grandfather does this as well. When I told J.D. about this he regaled me with more horror stories of flooded dwellings and insane damages.
SO -- I figure if I can see the pipes, if I have to look at the handles on top of the pipes everyday, then MAYBE I might get off my lazy butt and take the two damn seconds it takes to turn off the water. Two seconds. Could save us thousands of dollars. Um .. yea .. I'm sold.

Now we're just waiting for tomorrow when the new walls are supposed to go up. When Harmon "muds the walls", making them ready to be pretty again. Then, this weekend, we'll paint the room ourselves. Since my washer is now completely unusable, I will be VERY happy when it is hooked back up!!

While J.D. was here I asked him to look at the 1/2 bathroom floor. Some weird brown liquid has seemingly been coming up through the floor lately. We're going to tile that room, but wtf??? Well, apparently, that old toilet and it's old gaskets (or whatever) are .. well, old. It is cheaper and more efficient to get a new toilet ... though we have to cough up the $$ for the toilet, but it should only cost us about $40 more than fixing the old one. So .. apparently we're getting a new toilet now too. Luckily the leak on the old one is new, new enough that it hasn't been able to cause damage to the flooring.

I am grateful that J.D. was here today. It was nice to have him. I've really liked Harmon and his guys, but it was nice to have someone here today that I know without a shadow of a doubt I can trust. It was reassuring and comforting.
Remodeling and renovations are amazingly stressful. It was nice to have someone familiar here to let us know we're doing good.

Today, I am thankful for J.D. Williams.

Remodeling - the work begins!!

After a couple delays, the work on the house finally started on May 6th. May 5th they brought stuff over & May 6th they got to work. That day they took the chimney down off the roof. Friday he started working on taking down the chimney inside the house.


~Before the chimney came down. You can see sheets covering surfaces from the soon-to-come, massive invasion of dust.~




~ I got the first swing with the sledgehammer. This was always something I've wanted to do and given Jomo's death & an asshole comparing us to Micheal Vick because we put Jomo down, the sledgehammer proved VERY therapeutic!~


~The chimney is 1/2 way down now. David Harmon has a guy named Josh working for him. I absolutely adore Josh and think he is a fantastic worker!! Watching him take the bricks apart was interesting. He didn't need anything other than his hands, as the mortar was that old and crumbly.~


~Here Josh is showing me how clogged the chimney was. The chimney has been used to vent gasses from the boiler heater. We had thought there was a metal flue inside, there wasn't. Where Josh is showing with his hands is where it is clogged up from him taking it down. Everything below his hands is STILL clogged up (and the chimney goes all the way down to the basement) and WAS clogged up before he got started. It is scary to think the gasses have had to try and go around all that crap. I will be very happy when they install a new metal flue~

~The chimney is down! This is before Josh cleaned up, which he did a FANTASTIC job of!! Major points there!~

~Sorry for the cellphone photo. Here the chimney is down, the old wall is down, and the bottom 1/2 has new drywall up. This photo was taken May 10th. We've been delayed on finishing the drywall due to rain.~

Along with the work in the kitchen they've also started on the old back bathroom that we were using as a pantry. Everything bathroom related has come out, including the flooring we had put in. We're waiting for our fabulous plumber to come by this evening so that the washer & dryer can be moved into the new "laundry room." Yesterday Josh cut the doorway to a much larger size so that all would fit through there. Photos will come soon, I promise.

So -- what are my thoughts about all this renovation?? How are we liking it so far?? In no particular order, here are my thoughts:

1) "Contractor Time." It has been difficult for me to get used to this. I am usually a very big stickler for times and schedules. Contractors are known for running on time schedules of their own, so I can't really take points off of Harmon for doing so as well, any contractor would likely be the same. But it is still something I'm having a little trouble with just because that's me.
Also, some days work begins around 9am and then they're done for the day by 2pm-ish. This is something that is odd to me, just because we're used to typical work day hours. Again, perhaps that is just the way things are, I don't know. I'm trying to just focus on being happy about work being done.

2) Cleaning up & stuff like that has really gained them points. They've been wonderful about that. They're really great about trying to stay out of our way - not that we had an issue about that, it's more something their trying to be really conscientious of & we appreciate that.

3) The Workers. Harmon has had a couple different guys in here so far and we've liked them all. Josh is who has been here the most and we've been REALLY pleased by him.

4) The Work. Well, so far, everything is been in a taking down & taking out stage. That makes it kinda hard to rave (or complain) about the work. They've done a great job taking things out, haven't caused more damage or anything like that, so I would say that so far, we're happy with it all.

All in all, it's a positive experience so far. I wasn't happy about the delays, but there was nothing I could do about it either & we're trying to be understanding that things happen. We aren't the only people out there in this world. The weird work hours are something else we're trying to get used to. But it could be a lot worse, and we know that, so we're happy with everything so far.

A follow-up thought: I forgot to mention that a lot of the woodwork is being done off site. The wooden tongue & groove ceiling has been stained at his shop, saving us the hassle of the fumes and probably working better for them as well. Same with the wooden cabinets. This might (and likely does - at least hopefully does) account for "afternoons off." It is hard to remember that they could be working very hard on our stuff but that we just might not be seeing it. Since everything else so far has been positive, I'm going to go with this on this one too.

Heartbreak

Today is full of sadness, tears, and heartache. We had to put Jomo down this morning. It was unexpected and there is a gaping hole in our lives that simply can not be replaced.

You may know Jomo from previous posts such as 'Bark, Growl, Runaway' or 'The Fridge of Death' (which was the previous blog).
He was our 2 year old American Bulldog/Bandogge Mastiff mix. He was beautiful. He was the baby. He was scared of EVERYTHING. And that was his undoing.

We got Jomo when he was 8 weeks old, and have always treated him right. Still, he was always scared of everything. We did everything we could to try to assuage his fears, but to no avail. He would get used to people if they made enough visits to the house, but still he was scared of everything. Hence the two other blogs.

Jomo was close to 80 pounds, was slightly on the skinny side, and was pure muscle. He followed me around, wrapping himself under whatever chair I might be sitting in, farting, snoring, and just wanting to be loved.
But lately, something was off. We don't know what. The last two weeks he just wasn't himself. He wasn't as playful, he was more inclined to just lay around. He was more aggressive with Whiskey, snapping at her if he thought she was near food.
Last night, Shannon was in front of him and was trying to love on him. I told Shannon to get out of his face and apparently just in time. Jomo snapped at him, without warning, without a growl or anything. It was a nip of a snap, it didn't touch Shannon at all, but if it had it would've gotten him between the eyes, on his nose, and his mouth. Dead center on his face.
He had nipped at Shannon once before, just barely scratching his face. That week Shannon had been nipped at by both dogs. Boys ages 5-9 are several times more likely than any other age group to get bitten, and so we worked hard to try and teach Shannon better behavior around dogs. But there aren't many second chances given, we can't risk the welfare of our children and we won't keep a dog that bites.

So, our initial reaction after last night's nip attempt was that he had to go. We talked to people who could help us, but we worried about Jomo still. He was scared of everyone, so anyone who took him he would be terrified of. To bounce him around would be to undo him. We looked into what could we do to rehabilitate him. This morning I called the vet and made and appointment for the first appointment they had.

I had a doctor's appointment of my own so I had to meet Justin, the boys, and Jomo at the vet. Even getting him into the car was an awful experience for both Justin and Jomo because the contractor was in the driveway.
When I walked into the vet room Jomo was in a muzzle. The vet had tried without one and not felt comfortable around Jomo, not sure he wouldn't bite. Our vet is one of, if not the best vet in Salem. I knew what he was going to say as soon as I stepped into the room saw Jomo, and saw the vet's face.

He said that Jomo had a mild fever. That he could run tests but with a dog that young he doubted he would find anything. That some dogs are just anxious dogs and while some grow out of it, some just get worse as they get older. That anything else we could try would be like pouring gasoline on a fire.

So, Justin and the boys said there goodbyes to sweet Jomo. We told the boys he was sick and wasn't capable of getting any better. Justin took them home and I stayed with Jomo.
The vet came in and gave him a tranquilizer to put him under. He said after he gave it to him that Jomo wouldn't know anything that went on. As he got sleepy I petted him and loved on him, removing the muzzle and telling him what a good dog he was. Every time I told him I loved him and that he was "the baby" he would lick his nose. I petted him till he was asleep and then as they shaved a small patch on his leg and gave him the final shot. I kept telling him what a good dog he had been, how sorry I was, and how much we all loved him as he drifted off.
I stayed in there with him for a bit, then went back up front to pay. I paid but still couldn't bring myself to leave and had to go back in and talk to him some more. It was with great difficulty that I pulled myself away, knowing he was gone.

They are taking care of his body. Simple logistics of his size made it unrealistic to bring him home. I brought home his collar and leash though. His beloved shirt is still here. I haven't brought myself to look at it just yet, but I have decided to bury it along with his collar.

Goodbye sweet Jomo. You were the baby. We loved you so much and we are so grateful to have had you in our lives these past two years. You will be forever missed.

The Fridge of Death - Unexpected Side Effects of Remodeling

The new fridge is in & working. We had planned on waiting until remodeling was underway and they were ready to put the fridge in the new spot, but that was also with the thinking that the remodeling would start by April 20th. Life has happened and the new start date is May 5th. If we miss that start date believe me there will be a rant. Anyway, Lowe's was having a 10% off all Energy Star appliance sale that was good thru 4/26. The amount we got off through the sale was greater than the $60 we could've been eligible for via VA's Cash for Appliances rebate. So, we went ahead and got the fridge.

Getting the old fridge out and the new one in was another blog all together. I'll post about that soon, I promise. This blog is about the unexpected side effects. This fridge, apparently, is the fridge of death.
No, it hasn't eaten the kids yet. It hasn't let food go bad. But it is still apparently very evil and to be feared. At least that is what Jomo thinks.

Jomo is scared of EVERYTHING. New lamp? He'll scoot around it, tail tucked, and growl & bark at it from a safe distance. Satellite dish? Worthy of being barked & growled at ... from a safe distance of course. More trash than normal at the curb?? You guessed it. Bark, growl, runaway. Sound familiar? You've read about it before - http://thebluenymph.blogspot.com/2010/03/jomo-bark-growl-run-away.html

It comes as no surprise then that Jomo is scared of the fridge. But, he normally realizes within a couple hours (or a day) that whatever he thought was so scary really isn't. Not so with the fridge.

Normally he would be under my feet as I type this, today he is curled up in the doorway to the hall. Whiskey is curled up next to the fridge -- I think she's figured out Jomo won't come bother her if she's near it.

Jomo's food is near the fridge, so he is refusing to eat. The door to outside (you can see it in the photo above) is right beside the fridge. If he has to go out he stands way back, waits for your verbal encouragement, and then with tail-tucked & ears folded back, quickly scoots outside. To get back in requires even more encouragement and usually a tug on his collar.
To make matters worse, the ice maker in this fridge actually works!! WONDERS OF WONDERS!! We haven't had a fridge with a working ice maker since we bought the house! Jomo has NEVER heard a fridge that makes ice.
I'll admit, the sound of the ice suddenly being dumped into the bucket (which is on the door by the way, too cool!) is a little startling. It just isn't something we're used to. But Jomo, poor, poor Jomo. Every time the ice gets dumped into the bucket he jumps a country mile and runs out of the room. Whiskey has done this a couple times as well, especially if she's been asleep right next to the fridge when said "attack" has occurred.

All of this has gotten me thinking about what I hadn't considered: how much the overall renovation would scare Jomo. New floors, new layout, new other stuff. There really isn't much we can do other than reassure him as always. I know he will be terrified of the tile floors - he was scared of the wood floors when we first got him (and the majority of our house is wooden floors).
Ah ... the hidden costs of renovations. Jomo keeps looking up at me with large, brown baby eyes that beg "Hold Me" (see the link for photos -he really does want to be held!). Whiskey keeps happily moaning in her sleep, curled up next to the fridge, as close as she can about be, knowing Jomo will not be able to pounce on her (aka - try to play) now.

Tristan & Johnny Cash

My first video upload to You Tube. I was playing 'Ring of Fire' this morning as it was stuck in my head. I paused it to try and quote the lyrics and Tristan, who was sitting nearby, got mad at me & demanded it be turned back on. The way he kept saying "Johnny Cash" tickled me to no end, so I wanted to share it with y'all.
I apologize for him being hard to hear, but listen closly and you'll here it!

I'm going to be adding more videos. I apologize for any that are sideways, I'm new to this and will work on making them nicer. Anyway, you can check out little clips of life around here by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/user/MamaTaney

Food for Thought

First off, Happy Earth Day to you all. No matter where you are today, I hope you find a way to celebrate & do something good for ole' Mother Earth. Today we've been busy hanging clothes out to dry, enjoying our newly working pond pump, and planting the remainder of the potatoes (and hoping they'll grow better this year!). But there is something else on my mind.

Last night we watched 'Food, INC.', a fantastic movie that really should be a mandated thing to see. It has taken me until today to blog about it because I was that moved by it, and even now I'm having a hard time knowing what to write.

If you're reading this you're probably like me and already know a lot of the horrors that go on within our mass-produced food industry. You've probably seen the video of forklifts trying to maneuver downed cows (cows to sick to stand up) so that they can be slaughtered for food. Here's the link - if you haven't seen it, you ought to take the moment to watch it: http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2008/01/undercover_investigation_013008.html

You probably know about battery caged hens kept for eggs, and the mass-lots they're raised in. You probably already hate Monsanto. You likely have heard of Micheal Pollan or Joel Salatin (Polyface Farm in Staunton, VA) & the good that they're doing. So, if you know all this why should you watch the movie?

For starters, there is the story of 2 year old Kevin Kowalcyk who died from E. Coli. In 12 days. I listened to his mother tell what happened and the battle they've gone through trying to help make sure this doesn't happen to other families. http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/03/02/make-our-food-safe ~ Those of you who know me personally know I am a weeper, so it won't come as a shock to you to know that I weeped during this part of the movie. I am crying now as I type. This poor child ate the all-American hamburger, got E. Coli from it, and died 12 days later. --- Do you really know what you're feeding your children?

Then there was hearing the farmer's talk. Somehow I had begun, in my mind, to put some of the blame on the farmers. After all, they're the ones growing this stuff or raising the animals. I was completely unaware how tight a hold the bigger companies had on them. One lady agreed to talk on camera. She raised chickens in "old fashioned" chicken houses that had open, screened windows. She still had to walk through there with a mask on and described the conditions inside as disgusting. She talked about chickens being bred to hit a "mature" weight too early, causing them to be able to barely take a couple steps before collapsing from their own weight. Americans do love big breasts, but the cost is too great. She talked about how the companies farmers sell their goods to put pressure on them to keep "updating" how they do things. She ended up losing her contract because she wouldn't "update" to an all-dark, windowless tunnel chicken house. How the hell is that considered an update?? According to the film a farmer averages over $500,000 in debt yet makes only $18,000.
Or that farmer who was saving seed. Yea, saving seed! And encouraging others to do so as well. He had a machine (whose design dated back to the 1800's) that cleaned the seed for saving. His name wound up on Monsanto's list. Monsanto has genetically altered the DNA of seeds, and it is currently legal for them to sue you if they think you're infringing on their policies by saving seed. They sued him. And sued him. And ran him out of business. This wasn't the first farmer they attacked, it won't be the last. They currently have 75 men out patrolling the country & farms. Ex-military men, ex-cops, threatening and intimidating farmers who are just trying to make a living. And, before you think "well, they shouldn't use Monsanto's seeds" remember that seeds open-pollinate. They can, and do, blow in on the wind causing this meshing of varieties.

What really got me though was that you can be sued for talking about this. Barbara Kowalcyk can't even say what they eat nowadays for fear of being sued for 'veggie libel.' No joke.
Oprah was sued for talking about Mad Cow disease on her show and saying how she didn't want to eat another burger because of it. Several years and way more money than most of us have later she won .... but could we fight such a suit??
'Veggie Libel' laws are very real. In Colorado, for example, it is a felony. Talking bad about food, about food companies who DESPERATELY need to have whistles blown because they ARE that bad can land you in some seriously hot water. Showing photos of what goes on inside feed lots, slaughter houses, and meat processing plants gets you in equally hot water.
Let me get this straight then -- we're not supposed to be able to see where our food is grown or raised. We're not allowed to look inside how it is processed (unless the company gives us the tour it wants us to see). And we're not allowed to talk about the bad stuff going on? Where the fuck are we living that this is acceptable?!?!

There were many more things in this movie that are well-worth talking about. It is worth talking about how it is cheaper to buy bad food than it is to buy good food. That is wrong. It is wrong when you feel forced to make a choice that you know isn't as good of a one as you would like because of the way our current food system is.

And even though I am sad and angry, I want to try and end this on a positive note. What can you do?? You can do lots!!
~Plant a garden, even if it is a very small one.

~Shop at local Farmer's Markets. If there isn't one where you live, work to get one started, you'll be surprised how many people will want this.

~Ask questions about how food is grown. If you are getting your food from farmers, ask them how they're growing it/raising it. Do they use pesticides? Do they pasture-raise their meat? Most farmers will want to talk about this as they put so much energy into it.

~If you can, keep some chickens. Finding heritage breeds is even better. You'll get fresh eggs that are likely healthier for you, you'll get fertilizer for your garden (and if you don't want it, post it for free on Craigslist or FreeCycle, surely someone local will gladly take it!), and you'll know your chickens got to live a life like they were meant to -- on grass, in the sun, happy.

~Lastly, remember the power of the almighty dollar. Stores aren't starting to carry more organic & locally grown items because they care, they do it because they realize they can SELL it. Every time you buy something you are voting with your money. Don't be afraid to call the stores, speak to the managers, and so on either. Let them know what you want to see in their stores. Every time I've had to drive across town to go to a better grocery store I've called my local one to let them know about it. And I told them how I saw other local people there. They don't want to lose your business, so make damn sure you get your voice heard!!

Happy Earth Day everyone!

It gets worse before it gets better..

Whenever I've been on the verge of a thorough cleaning I make an absolute mess first. It isn't on purpose, it is part of the cleaning. Piles of stuff everywhere -- which are not to be associated with my normal piles of stuff everywhere, these piles are "cleaning out" piles .. there is a difference! Right now, I'm a mess, the house is a mess, and I'm debating with samples of tile, wood, and grout. I've gone mad, I'm just not as attractive and eccentrically cool as the Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp).

Wood - I think it was Shakespeare who first pondered "Is it better to maple or pine?" Obviously anyone who has read Shakespeare would know he would prefer pine (look at all those sappy romance plays!), but he's dead and I'm not sure. The wood in question will be for the cabinets in the back hallway. Lots of traffic, not much elbow room. And, of course, once we decide on WOOD, then we're back to stain, which is actually where we started at before leaping to wood. (yes, ha ha ha, I said "wood").

Grout - Harmon (what I am calling my contractor from here on out till I think of something better ~ aka David Harmon) dropped by grout samples along with above mentioned wood (yes, you can giggle again) this morning. I had an idea of what I wanted and then he presented me with approximately 50 friggin' samples. Doesn't he know how you just simply do NOT give people that many options?!?!?
So .. I've now pretty much narrowed it down to two grouts, one for the floor and a different shade for the counters. The floor would be "Speckled Red Black" & the counters would be "Speckled Buff Wine" (sounds like a breed of chicken!). But then there is "Hemp" and that is just hard to resist. Though I REALLY like the speckled ones. These grouts are all from http://www.starquartzgrout.com.

Tile - Well, those have already been decided upon. They only got thrown in the mess here today because I have samples of tile sitting on the floor (so that you know it is the floor) and on the counter (so that you know it's the counter) and on the wine barrel (because I can't figure out where else to put them). All grout samples have to be first viewed in between two samples of tile. Just like wood colors for the ceiling (which is decided upon) had to be viewed both up close to the tile and far away. The tile is now becoming like some 1/2 broken old video game: moving colored squares on the floor that I feel I need to quickly step on or jump over.

On top of all this (quite literally) are books and papers. Papers for this being done, estimates for that being done, mail. Books for ideas for this being done, new cookbooks, magazines. Rounding out the mess is an empty box to place cut potatoes in (the potatoes are currently still in a large bag on the floor ... the bag is, like the tile, starting to wander around the kitchen), grout samples, the new blender, beer growlers and bottles, and so on.

I had wanted to perhaps post a video of the Mad Hatter, but the good one I found wouldn't let me embed it. Bastards. So, here is a link for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBmLViALjhk
Now, back to my debating.