girl at large

I like to write about life when you have a job, some kids, a fixer upper and a fatal disease.

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  • Appreciation Under Duress

    I thought it was bad when the daycare sent home a list of instructions for “child week” last month—wear this color on that day, dress up as your favorite character, and more. I have enough to do —work, baby, home. Do I really need assignments for my six month old? But I thought, it’s only one week, it can’t be that bad.

    And then another note arrived in my daycare “in box”. This time, it’s Teacher Appreciation week. Complete with instructions on writing the required note to the teachers and participating in the pot luck (with food or check—a blatant request for a check?!). I don’t like forced appreciation. I was all for bringing in some cookies for the ladies and writing a thank you note to the director who is leaving for another position soon, but that was before I was informed of my obligation to do it!

    Of course, Viv is appreciative, and a considerate child, so she wrote her letter:

     

  • Sun’s Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

    In true midwestern style, the neighborhood kids were in shirts and flip flops during this early warm spring weekend. We couldn’t stand to spend another day working in the basement on a sunny day, so we tackled the yard.

    I dug up enough rocks and gravel to fill the freshly repainted flower boxes. Moms old wrought iron planter looks amazing after a coat of Rustoleum. Paul restacked the retaining wall blocks so they were less “boob like” in their shape. The fussy-looking, non-functioning gas light post fixture was yanked out, as well as the stake lights. Yes, we already owned a lawn edger before moving in. How is it we (or maybe just I) doubted that home ownership was for us?

    For a tiny little front yard (we don’t have any back yard at all), it was a lot of work! Paul isn’t keen on my suggestion to make the flower bed a rock garden, so we have more work yet to do.

    Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

    Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

    Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

    Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

  • Generations

     

    Great-Grandma Mickey said she’s going to live to be 104 so she can see Viv grow up. I’m now more concerned about being a first-time mom at forty than ever—Viv, have kids young so I get to be a Grandma too!

     

  • Look Familiar?

    Paul made the trek up to Door County yesterday to start the process of getting the trailer ready for the season. We had thought that the Tin Can Cottage would be our big renovation project for the year! Turns out, it may be our refuge from renovation chaos instead. Once we get some work done on it.

    The cork-patterned vinyl tile is going to look fantastic. Just getting rid of the old, grey, filthy floor will make the entire trailer feel clean and fresh. As will finishing the coat of paint we had to stop when I got too pregnant, too hot, and too bitchy to continue last summer. I must have been really bitchy when we left it in August because Paul said it looked like we had just stepped away–things were left out, like swimming suits hanging to dry. Being up north in an empty campsite with snow on the ground in April isn’t creepy enough.

    This time for the floor, we are going to watch youtube videos before installing. There is such a thing as too much glue!

     

  • One Little Nook at a Time

    Night three of the Office Nook fast-track renovation — the flooring is going down. There will be paint touch up to do, and shoe molding to replace, but the little room is almost done. The wall paint is Benjamin Moore’s Dark Pewter in Matte finish. The Matte finish is flatter than Flat—the depth of color is amazing. The trim is BM’s “Natural Cream OC-14”. It’s not white, not cream, not grey—it’s the perfect non-color color. Paul calls it “stick of gum”. See the vintage Fiat -it’s that yummy color. The painted trim throughout the house will all be that color. Yes, we are painting wood trim. Get over it.

    The flooring is a happy accident. I originally bought it to replace the flooring in the trailer (Tin Can Cottage), which we still will do. It’s cork-patterned vinyl plank, very cheap and cheerful. Perfect for the trailer. But I brought a piece into the house just to see if it might also work to replace the old, dirty lino in the existing kitchen, office nook and hallway. It looks good, and for 69 cents a square foot, it looks fantastic!

    Paul went back to HOBO and snagged the last 4 boxes of it. I spent two of my “alone time” hours at 7am on Saturday at Home Depot. We are heavy into Renovation Mode.

    My plan, there is a plan to my madness, is to get the Office Nook done quickly so that we can have at least one tranquil, clean and completed space in the house from which to plan the rest of the renovation work ahead. The weeks and months and years ahead…

     

  • Apr 14, 2013

    Despite good intentions of a fresh start, yesterday was crap too!

    We can’t drop a 220 line for the dryer without putting in a sub panel so we need to get a gas dryer instead. Paul put up the clothesline directly across the walkway at the basement stairs. Running downstairs for a tool or another roll of paper towels? Smack, wet burp rag in the face. Oh, wait, that happens to me all the time anyway.

    Paul believes in temporary fixes and jerry-rigging. I live by “do it once”; spending three times as much time planning before doing. This is not looking good for our relationship .

    At least we both can agree that salvage yard excursions make great restorative breaks.


    Apr 14, 2013

  • Domestic Struggle

    Me: “You aren’t listening to me!”

    Paulie: “There’s so much to listen to!”

    Thank goodness we can laugh at each other. Moving has been stressful, buying has been stressful, and now we have a mountain of renovation work to do. Time to resurrect our division of labor technique. I’m the Design Department, Paulie is Structural Engineer. I’m Project Manager, Paulie is Operations. We are both Labor.

     

  • Who Would Have Guessed?

    More than 10 years ago, Paul was working at this custom-built workstation designed by his then co-worker, now design “god” Scott Wilson (http://www.mnml.com/).

    Today, my company is decommissioning that office. TQ asked Paulie today if he wants to save one of the desks from the landfill–“it’s perfect for the basement”. Paulie is thrilled. I’m in awe. How small, and perfect, is our world?

     

  • Boxes and Baskets

    A few tips for that week between when you packed up all your belongings and the day you actually move:

    Un-used diapers make handy pot holders. Coffee can be filtered with paper towel. One lightbulb can be moved from fixture to fixture.

    If the pizzas are ordered from a different place each time, that means you did not “just order pizza” three times in one week.

    Beer is just as important a packing staple as tape.

    There is no good, space-saving way to pack lamp shades, curtain rods or pillows.

    Somewhere in this house is the bottle of asperin. Just not in this box, not in that box, not those boxes I opened over there…

    A rough day can be made better by sneaking a Peep from the baby’s Easter basket!

     

  • The First Before and After

    The refinished floors are gorgeous! They make all the trim and doors look like crap! Such is the domino effect of renovation.

    The First Before and After

    The First Before and After