Bathroom renovation

I have just finished re-doing the downstairs bathroom.

Last winter I had a couple brainwaves for some remodeling. One was to do something about the dark paneling in the living room; the other was possibly removing the tub from the bathroom. I never take baths; the tub hasn't been used for a decade except as a catch-all for clothes, cleaning products, spiders, and at one time: An excersizer! (There is a shower in the upstairs bathroom.)

I took a little time to see what realtors are saying about removing tubs from houses and found a mixed-bag of opinions, so I figured it would be ok whatever decision I came to. I left the question hanging for the meantime, but I was intent on doing something about my former living room which looked more den-like than suits my tastes. I had an idea that I could take the top part of the paneling out and replace it with sheetrock, leaving just the bottom part of the wall paneled.

This spring I got in touch with a contractor who did the panel removal and sheetrock installation. Right away, before starting the job, he noticed the bit of sag at one side of the hall door leading into the living room. That's something I'd been aware of since buying the place and it was caused by someone(s), at some point in the history of the house, deciding to cut one of the joists under the floor in order to fit some plumbing! The contractor stressed that it was a serious issue and he'd love to do something about it, so I asked him for a quote. It was approved and he spent a day propping up that portion of floor with a new partial beam perpendicular to the joists, and it is held up with two acroprops. I am very thankful to him for bringing that problem to my attention and stressing it's importance and effect on the rest of the house.

After he'd taken out the top of the paneling, installed sheetrock and put in a chair rail, I wallpapered. The paper is from Little Greene (A UK company) and the pattern is called Great Ormond St in the green colorway.

My former living room is now to be known as my "grand salon" ...

Before (you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them):

After:

It's so much lighter and airier now. I like it very much. I have decided I'd now like to replace the ceiling (it very much needs it) with a tin ceiling. But not this year.

While he was here working that week, I asked him for a quote to remove the tub from the downstairs bathroom. So a month later he came to remove the tub, sheetrock where the tub surround had been, and rebuild part of the floor under the tub because there was a big hole there. (My desk is on the other side of the wall from there and I wondered why it seemed much cooler in that corner in the winter!) When he finished his work, I painted and papered, lifted the old floor tiles, and installed trim.

I chose wallpaper from Sanderson in the pattern called Woodland Chorus. I need to take lots of time when I paper. I absolutely can't do it if I'm stressed or hurried, it's not a fast process. I may put up one strip and need to walk away to de-stress. I don't think I've papered any of my walls in one day. This little bathroom had it's challenges. But the papering got done and I really like it.

The sheetrock on the old walls (where the tub was not) was not like the stuff that's common today. When I was pulling off the old paper from those walls, sometimes the top paper layer of the sheetrock came with it. What a mess. After thinking about it for a few days I decided to skim the surfaces of the old walls with watered down sheet-rock compound and then prime it with sealer in order to put up the new wall paper. It seems to have worked quite well.

Then the time came to pull up the old floor tiles. My little video will explain the tricks I learned to make good work of it:

The challenges of not being professional at something are 1) we don't usually have the precision, high-grade tools available, and 2) we don't have lots of experience making mistakes to learn from. All this came into play when I did the trim work. My little chop saw is not up to the task, really--it doesn't saw straight when the blade is tilted 45 degrees. Oh well, I managed to get the trim in and it looks acceptable to me as a DIY project.

I had taken a "before" picture but I accidently deleted it from both my hard drive and my camera! Anyway, here's the "after" pics. I contacted the contractor today to let him know he can come and put the toilet back. As he was rebuilding the walls where the tub had been, I asked if he could build a niche on one wall. I've painted it robin's egg blue. I will go down to the glass store this week to inquire about custom-cut shelves for it.

A walk in the woods

On a whim I took a walk into the woods above my house this afternoon. Quite literally a whim: I had not planned to take a walk and had no premonition I'd be in the woods today. I haven't walked the pathway in several years mainly for fear of walking alone after having witnessed bear, moose, big cats, coyotes, and fox on my property. But I bought a personal tear gas canister a few months ago and had it with me; it eased my mind.

It's so very beautiful a walk, super quiet solitude in a multi-hundred acre conservation forest. I did not go as far as the waterfall, going only as far the clearing in the path. It was a bit of a shock to see how much logging was done on the way to the clearing a few years ago. The lumberjacks were out there all of one season and they cleared a quite large area. I did not explore the cleared area but will do so in a future walk.

The space above this knoll was logged a few years ago. 

The clearing in the path. Great location for a picnic.

The clearing in the path would make a great place for a picnic and I think I'll plan one for September. Maybe Labor Day with friends and neighbors. I was thrilled to find milkweed gowing there; I haven't seen them in the wild since I was a child. The distinctive bird body-like pods that will open up soon to release thousands of feather weight fluff with seeds attached. A miracle.

Milkweed

A spring on the way to the clearing.

The walk came after some hours working in the downstairs bathroom remodel (a post about that soon) and switching the license plates from my old car to the new (a post of that to come soon as well).

I almost felt drawn to the woods today. Hard to explain how it was such a spontaneous impulse with no forethought. I had been doing some observation meditation in the morning which put me in touch with some very deep feelings and perhaps that was the driving force. I hope to soon have a post or two about what music I'm working on at the minute and what projects are in the works--there are a few of them.

Watch this space

As some of you might know (I know several of you do not know), my facebook account was hacked last week. Someone was able to get my password, and with it changed my account email address and password. They then proceeded to do things (I don't know what, but I can imagine) that are against FB policy and my account was therefore disabled. I tried going through the recovery process fb offers, but it failed to accept the photo id I uploaded (this older laptop camera isn't the best). There seems to be very little recourse for clearing up this mess.

I decided to create a new account with a different version of my name (leaving out the middle names, the one I was assigned at birth and the other I added some years back) but it too was immediately hacked and locked down. Ugh. I responded to an email from FB yesterday by uploading a photo of myself and I'm waiting to hear back from them about whether or not I will ever get my account(s) back. I think it's doubtful. FB is not known for their customer service and I've read some pretty discouraging reports online from people to whom this has happened in the past. If I do not get my accounts back I will write my congress persons to alert them (I'm sure they've heard before) to the shoddy way in which FB treats it's users. There should be a phone number to call, there should be a real person with which to converse, there should be very clear instructions about how to proceed. None of this exists as far as I can tell.

So. A crossroads. Part of me is thinking the universe may be nudging me away from FB. To be sure, I've been very displeased with it as a platform for some time. I do not think it is a good platform (too manipulative) or company. Still, with the add-ons I used and ad-blockers, the experience was manageable, if barely. Part of me is toying with the idea of setting up an email account solely for my FB account and creating a[nother] brand new profile using yet another version of my name. The problem, of course, is letting everyone know what my new account is. Several friends are only known through the FB platform and I have no other contact info for them. And then, part of me is toying with the idea of resurrecting this blog to use as a platform for sharing my craft works and important political thoughts now and then. So stay tuned, there may be life left in this blog! :)

Topped off ...

The Christmas quilt top is done! In record time when I look back on it: Just about 3 weeks. Holy Moly!

I really like how it came out and I had a blast making it. What could indulge the inner child more than thumbing through Christmas print fabrics? The reds and greens! The blues and silvers! The reds and golds! The silver and golds!! What fun!

Oh, happy memory of the red and green crepe paper streamers we used to string criss-cross up on the ceiling at Christmastime. Too much! We'd get up the next morning to find it had sagged almost to the floor! Crepe paper has a ton of elasticity. But the colors, oh my! I learned about complimentary colors very early on... don't really know or recall how I learned it. Must have been from a book. Red/green, yellow/purple, blue/orange. What a delight for the eyes. Much came flooding back while my younger self swam through the ocean of color in these printed fabrics full of Christmas.

The top is now at the local quilt shop getting prepped for the long-arm quilting machine. I'm having it stuffed with wool batting: My favorite. It is, after all, a winter quilt.

I am looking to donate it to charity or a charitable cause, although it may have to be put in storage until next year since time is running out. By the time I get it back from the long-arm (some time next week I expect) and hand-sew a binding on it, it may be too late for this year. But we will see. I would love for nothing more than to see it comfort a young child going through a particularly difficult time at this time of year.

It is 85" x 85" and is seen here on my queen size bed. A good size indeed.

Exhaustion ...

During the fall, winter, and spring months, Wednesdays and Thursdays are out straight for me. We had orchestra rehearsal last night (In Lebanon, NH ~35 miles one-way) so I worked during the day yesterday. Got home a little after 10 p.m. and was in bed around 11-ish. Up at 7:15 this morning to get to Lebanon, NH again for my 8:45 lesson. Lesson was followed by Cello Choir class after which I went to the local super market to pick up fixings to make pumpkin pies--our once-a-month quilter's guild meeting was this evening and I was on the food committee: in charge of dessert.

When I got home this afternoon around 1 pm, I was surprised to find the stove still going! I had not filled it when I got up this morning thinking I'd let it die down so I could empty some ashes. Like I mentioned in the prior post, I wanted to try moving the hot embers to the side and scooping out some of the ashes below. It worked well enough and the remaining embers were plenty hot enough to get the fire going again. The two pies got taken out of the oven this afternoon just in time for me to leave for our meeting. The meeting, which starts at 5pm is usually not very long but tonight was an exception: Meeting and dinner weren't over til 8pm so I decided I'd take a full personal day from work.

I'm exhausted this evening! It's a good exhaustion though: I got a lot done today. I look forward to some quiet time tomorrow perhaps to do some sewing.

My lesson was good. I'm revisiting "thumb positions": Those notes that are played by reaching around with the left hand up beyond the neck of the cello where the notes are high. It's tricky business and seeing how I'm not in my single-digit years any longer, it takes a major bit of work and effort to make it manageable. But! What's happening now is several times better than when I first attempted thumb position several years ago. Several magnitudes better, so I'm pleased about that. It feels within reach. Quite a journey, this cello learning, and I love it thoroughly.

The major piece our orchestra is playing in a few weeks is Vaughn Williams' "Sinfonia Antartica" (yes, the unusual spelling is correct for the title of this piece). It is based on music he wrote for a movie about the ill-fated expedition of Captain Scott. We have some fun and interesting instruments joining us for this performance: A wind machine, a harp, a celeste, an organ, a piano, a soprano and female choir, besides the full orchestra!

And snow came ...

We had more snow late yesterday into over night resulting in about 2" on the ground--with a crust of ice beneath it. It feels very wintery with the current temperature at 8 degrees F.

I managed to get the deck cleared of furniture yesterday morning, and all the remaining garden ornamentation put away as well. The only outstanding task is getting some protection around the roses. I don't think I'm too late, and if it warms up next weekend--it's suppose to--it seems to me that will be a good time to do it. Feeling a bit relieved that the yard is now winter ready.

I moved the bird feeders closer to the side door this week. I recall the hassle of having to clear a path all the way around the deck just to fill them last year. I'm learning. They're only a few steps from the side door now. I could watch the hungry visitors this afternoon from this desk I'm currently typing at. A heartening sight.

I have to figure out now, when to empty the stove of ashes. Since it is still burning well enough when I alight from my slumber in the morning, I am able to simply throw a few more logs in with maybe a stick or two of kindling to wake it up as well. But the ashes are piling up and I guess I'm going to have to let it go out in order to clear the ashes. Hm. Perhaps I can push the hot embers to the side and scoop out some of what's underneath? Perhaps. I'll certainly try it. The soap stone lining in the stove is wonderful, indeed! It does take a little time to get it up to temperature, but then it retains the heat very well and seems to throw it out into the room in a most gentle manner. I'm sitting at the other end of the house from the stove--and there are walls in between--yet it is 69 F right here, and the amazing thing is the living room, where the stove is located, is not uncomfortably hot. Most pleased with this stove so far.

I think I am going to try to make my own lye from the ashes taken from the stove. It seems a simple enough process: Run rain water (I imagine melted snow will work as well) through the ashes and collect the liquid. It would be exciting to make soap from lye that was leached from ashes that came from my own wood stove.

It's hard to believe that the land is pulling up the blankets already and tucking itself in for another winter. Sheesh, golly, and wow! Summer seems to have camouflaged itself this year, I don't recall seeing it. But I know it happened, there were some hot, sweaty days.

On a positive note, the days will start getting longer starting next month.

Switching gears ...

Well this is a very unusual situation for me: I'm switching gears right in the middle of a quilt! I've had it in mind to make a Christmas quilt and it started sinking in that there's not a whole lot of time left. So I have set aside my current quilt project for a few weeks while I work on something for Christmas.

There are several more rounds to go, but I’m liking it so far. I started with half a printed panel 22.5" square (I’ll use the other half to make a matching pillow). I’m adapting a pattern from Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting, July/August 2013, called “Colonial Medallion”.

I'm sewing the whole thing on my 1875 (yes, it turns out my estimate of 1878 was off by 3 years) Wheeler & Wilson. So much fun.



We had our first snow last evening and today. Well needless to say, I wasn't ready. There are still some garden ornaments and furniture to put inside, and the roses need protection. Looks like it will be a busy weekend!