by Amy | Jan 17, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
Here it is! It hardly looks like the same room. I know, amazing…right? I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves tonight.
Here’s a tiny peek at the process. Luckily we ran into some friends at the hardware store who offered the services of their brad gun, air compressor and miter saw.
We covered the linoleum with red rosin paper so that if there was asbestos on the backing it wouldn’t get kicked up in the air when we nailed into it. Then it was a matter of interlocking the planks and nailing each one in place. Oh, and lots and lots of cuts to make everything fit just right.
The whole project took 9 days to complete. From the day that I tore out the carpet until the last tool was put away. Read yesterday’s post about dealing with project aftermath for more on how to cope with the mess. Actually laying the flooring took two full days of work.
We went with bamboo for a few reasons. First of all, we really liked the look of it. I loved the color and texture. Second, bamboo is not a scarce commodity…it grows fast and is durable and hard. And third…because it grows so quickly it makes it an affordable choice too.
So, what do you think? Panda likes it. After all, we did find her wandering in the bamboo behind our house in Louisiana. I like it too. I really couldn’t be more please. So we will mark this one complete. Ahhh…it feels good to finish a project.
Amy
by Amy | Jan 16, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
So often we can be fooled by DIY project photos. And I’m guilty of misleading you too.
We see the hideous “before.” The beautiful “after.” Photos of the steps that fall in between. But you know what you don’t see very often? The project aftermath.
The aftermath is all the things that are amiss you your home and life after a project is complete. As you well remember, just over a week ago I impulsively ripped out our nasty, smelly brown carpet. Eight days later we had a new floor and were able to call this project complete.
Seven days after I ripped up that carpet we had a new floor. Project done? Not hardly. Once you brush the saw dust off your hands, look proudly on your accomplishment, then promptly turn around to view the aftermath. Let’s see…there are tools strewn about. A Shop-Vac taking up half the dining room, the furniture is stacked Egyptian-tomb-style in the front room, empty boxes block the kitchen sink and cupboards, a basement full of saw dust and flooring scraps. And let’s not forget the non-project things that get neglected when doing some DIY…laundry, fast food containers {who has time to cook?}, the litter box…
Here are my ways of coping with the aftermath.
- 1. Don’t freak out. Yes, the house will be a mess. Don’t even try to stay on top of things while you are knee deep in project. Just let it happen.
- Schedule in an extra day at the beginning of your project. Do laundry, make a big meal that makes good left overs, take out the trash, clean the litter box…do all those little things ahead of time. Make your unaffected rooms clean.
- Schedule an extra day at the end of the project. When you put in that last nail, revel in your accomplishment. Go out for ice cream. Use the following day to put tools away, vacuum, do more laundry, etc.
- Save the prettiest part for last. I use my favorite part of the project as a reward for getting the aftermath cleared. Rearrange my furniture in the living room until this afternoon…when everything had been put away and all the boxes were taken to the recycling center. I wanted the room to look finished, but knew that I had to do the lame stuff first.
- Make piles. Don’t wear yourself out by making a million trips to the garage or basement. Instead, sort things out…then use plastic bins, bags or laundry hampers to haul big loads at once.
The moral of the story is that home improvement is more than just a before and after shot. {But seriously, who doesn’t love a good B&A?} I’ll show you the pretty before and after tomorrow. But for now, to be fair and totally transparent, I needed you to see the aftermath. Because I know we are all anxious…I’ll give you a preview.
That’s all you get. Now, don’t get your panties in a twist. The big reveal is happening tomorrow evening. So be sure to check back! And like the Facebook page, while you’re at it!
Amy
by Amy | Jan 9, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Faith
As I’ve told you before, its quite snowy here.
A few days ago I set out to do a routine shoveling. You see, I’d {we’d} slacked off a bit and let things pile up. A flurry here, a dusting there. Barely seems like enough to clear off. Eventually…the flurries and the dustings piled up. And they needed to be moved. The thing is, even after sitting for a few days, it had just stayed so cold the snow was still light and easy to move. So I started in.
It’s lovely to live on the corner lot. There are lots of perks. The drawback? Shoveling. Clearing the space all the way around the house. All things considering it was a nice day, and fairly easy work. So I didn’t mind.
After the driveway was clear I moved on to the sidewalks. I noticed that my slacking had indeed effected my neighbors. There were lots of tracks. Evidence that people had gone for walks, taken their dog on a stroll, went jogging…down my stretch of snowy walkway. Ugh. Now I felt bad. I’d just put it off because it really wasn’t effecting me…and because I’d barely had enough time at home to do it. But here is was, and I was a jerk. Just thinking of the poor mailman out doing his on-foot deliveries…bringing my mail–to my doorstep, mind you–through all the snow that I hadn’t had the common courtesy to move. Woof. I’m so lame.
So anyway I shoveled on. It only took about 15 minutes {isn’t that the way our most dreaded chores usually go?} to get to the end of our property line.
Then something weird happened. Instead of going inside to a cup of peppermint tea and a cuddle with the cutest cat in the world…I kept shoveling.
Because I was able. Because I had time. Because it needed to be done. Because I really do want to live my life doing as much as I can, for as many as I can, for as long as I can. Who knows what my neighbors’ excuses are. Maybe they are old, or sick, or tired, or lazy, or busy. Who cares? Why not help…even the tiniest bit when we are able?
Now…I don’t want you to read this and think that I’m awesome. Or think that I think that I’m awesome. {Savvy?} Because I’m not. And I don’t. In fact, I think I’m pretty lame. But I serve a God who decided that I was worth it. And he has seen fit to bless me with physical, mental, and financial health. He has trusted these gifts to me and I want to use them in a way that will make Him proud and glad he put His resources in my hands.
Each day we decide how we will live. How we will give. How we will Follow. It’s a decision that we must make every day. When we open our eyes and hearts we will find an abundance of ways to live a Much, Many, Long lifestyle. Where you will make a difference today?
Amy
by Amy | Jan 8, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
So when we moved in to our house here in Minot I was still blogging at my old blog. Since then I’ve moved here. To this prettier, roomier site. When I posted the carpet-rip-up post yesterday I realized that maybe I should house all the house before photos here. If you are a long time reader, you probably saw this post in July when we closed. Otherwise, enjoy these befores.
1. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the house and yard. PS…the weather is just fantastic up here. It’s a dutch colonial revival circa 1911.
2. I love that the house sits up above the sidewalk. How cute is the stone wall?
3. I’m trying to convince Derek that we need a white picket fence. But in the mean time we’ve given the decks a
makeover.
4. I found this gem in the back. Maybe it’s thrown in with closing costs?
1. In the backyard peonies are in full bloom.
2. The kitchen is small but efficient. That door goes to the basement.
3. There’s the door to the back deck. I’m in love with the fact that the cupboards go all the way to the ceiling. I’ll need a ladder to get up there!
4. The kitchen has a lot of potential…but it’s so dark! We’ll have to change that.
1. This is the view from the front sitting room. That’s the
living room with the
brown carpet, then the dining room beyond that.
3. LOVE the open stairway. I’ve already given that
a redo. All that can lighting is just begging for a gallery display on the wall there.
4. Looking into the kitchen from the dining room. What would a house be without some wood paneling?
Here she is. The basement.
1. Stairs coming down to the basement from the kitchen.
2. Past a makeshift wall looking back toward the freezer from photo 1.
3. Looking toward the base of the stairs…To our “laundry room.”
Now let’s venture upstairs. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom up here. But they were hard to photograph. I didn’t want to post just photos of empty corners of rooms. So I’ll give you a few highlights.
1. Some of the doors have the original crystal knobs!!
2. While the house needs lots of updating, there are definitely lots of charming features, like these vintage ceiling lights.
3. Looking from the master bedroom across the hall to another bedroom.
4. Vintage vent covers are beautiful.
5. Another bedroom. Don’t ask about the paint job. The plan is to tear down the wall that joins this room to the master bedroom to make one large suite. Then we’ll add a third bedroom to the basement…stay tuned!
Oh, and one last thing. Did you notice the carpet? This is a classic shot of the flooring in this house. In the living room these three outdated flooring piece come together to form one nasty trifecta. As of yesterday the last of the
brown flooring on the first floor is history.
Yes…there is a different dark brown carpet running up the stairs and in the living room. And yes…that is linoleum and the landing…
More later!
Amy
by Amy | Jan 7, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
If you saw the Facebook post I made last night…you know I was up to something.
Here’s the thing. Derek went to a friends house to work on a project for a while. Ever since the Christmas hubbub came to an end I’ve been itching to do a project. Not a craft {I did plenty of those leading up to Christmas time} but a real, serious project. And I had my eye set on a certain, brown, shaggy, smelly prize.
I have been threatening Derek for a week now.
“I’m going to do it. Don’t test me. You’ll come home and that carpet will be gone.”
And guess what. Last night I did it.
At 5:30 I got off the couch. I had just watched the season 2 finale of Downton Abbey in preparation for the season 3 premiere last night. A friend was going to come over for Revenge at 7:30. Two hours is enough time to rip up carpet and padding, remove a few staples and drag it all to the dumpster, right? Sure. So I went for it.
Here is where the house started last night. If you really want to know why I hate this carpet…look all the way back to this post. Where I show off our many shades of nasty brown carpeting.
First I moved all the furniture out and covered things up. I have this fear of old dust. It’s rooted back to my studies of the crew who opened King Tut’s tomb. They breathed that ancient dust and got real sick-like. I realize this isn’t ancient Egypt. But caution never hurt anyone.
Then I started tearing it up. Which, honestly went very quickly.
Once the shag was up I was simply disgusted at how NASTY the padding and belly of the carpet was. No wonder it has been smelly.
Next I rolled up the padding…and took all of it to the curb for garbage pick up. Finally, I rolled the carpet as good as I could. Then I started working my way toward the door. And here is where things got tricky. Carpet is heavy. And this stuff all came up in one piece. So I was dragging it through the dining room out the kitchen door, onto the deck. I got it about a full foot through the door when it got stuck. After pulling and pushing, grunting and cursing I resigned myself to the truth that I couldn’t budge it. Either way. You just can’t make this stuff up.
I couldn’t get it back inside. Or further outside. So I sat down, all sweaty…letting the cold breeze blow through the door that wouldn’t shut. Then, miracle of miracles…Derek got home. It’s funny how much easier it was with two people.
And there you have it. The brown carpet is simply a memory. Remember when we moved into that house in Minot and it had terrible brown carpet? Ahhh…I’ve been waiting so long to use past tense when talking about that wretched stuff.
But now…present tense. My living room is covered in bubble gum pink linoleum. Woof. Gross, yes. Up I still consider it an upgrade.
The project continues. I promise, some day soon I will have flooring from this millennium.
by Amy | Jan 4, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of the Moment
A while back when things when I was feeling a little down about my {lack of} work situation my phone rang. Weird number…so I screened it. Voicemail…interesting.
It was a guy named Matt from a production company called Studio Now. Long story short, they work on a national scale to coordinate productions projects for businesses with local freelancers. He asked if I was available for a shoot. And after really looking into this place that called me out of the blue everything looked legit. So I agreed.
That decision took me on an adventure yesterday. I traveled for my first time into Oil Territory. Despite what you might think, not all of North Dakota is pumping oil. Minot sure isn’t. That all goes on pretty much straight west of here. Williston is the major hub. But I didn’t go that far. I stopped in Tioga, ND. A tiny town very populated by rough necks {that’s the real term for oil guys} and construction workers.
My shoot was at the Wanzek Housing Facility. AKA, a man camp. Man camp? See…there are so many people moving here to work there is no where near enough housing. On top of that, many of the men who come to work, do so at the cost of leaving their families behind in another city. They secure a sweet paying gig on the oil field…but their family cannot relocate simply because there is no where for them to live. That’s where the man camps come in.
They are temporary housing units. Some are really nice. Some are pretty much just shady barracks, sometimes without good showers. Wanzek is a very nice man camp.
They have furnished used FEMA trailers that men can rent out. They have their own bathroom, an extra bedroom, access to a lounge and fitness center.
I was a little nervous about going to do the shoot. The people of Minot {the natives at least} are pretty down on the whole “oil thing.” They describe the oil region as hectic and dangerous. So I didn’t quite know what to expect. And maybe it is. Mind you, I was just scratching the surface…at a family owned facility.
It’s just crazy to me that there can be nothing for an hour’s drive, then–BOOM–you’ve hit the boom. Truth be told, it’s a pretty desolate drive. Beautiful scenery but not much as far as civilization is concerned.
On the way home I stopped in a town called Stanley. The folks at Wanzek told me that that’d be my best bet if I wanted lunch or gas before I hit Minot. It’s about 30 miles into the drive back home. I popped into a cafe on Main Street where I was served a delightful philly cheese steak sandwich. There were construction workers and oil workers and old ladies having book club all dining together. Business was hopping. And I wondered if it was the same 10 years ago.
As I sat and watched CNN on the TV in the corner it occurred to me that change will come. Change will bring new people and faces into our lives. They will be different from us. They’ll have a background that we may not be able to relate to. But we have a choice. We can be the chipper waitress from Joyce’s Cafe. Serving each other with a smile. Eager to know who will be the next “regular” in our life. Eager to memorize each others “usual order.”
Or we can resist the change and all the things that come with it. We can be like on particularly crabby apple that attends my senior adult fitness classes. Picking at the things that are new and unusual. Turning our mouth down at differences.
Either way…change will happen. And we’ll all be happier if we are working at Joyce’s Cafe.
Amy
by Amy | Jan 3, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
The light in our basement went out the other day. Our basement is very unfinished. The previous light was a fluorescent fixture that hung from a couple of ducts and plugged into the wall above the dryer. It’s just one of several very ghetto-rigged lights down there.
So, we need a new light. But until we get one Derek took one of our end table lamps and sat it on top of the dryer. When we flip the switch it comes on and illuminates that little dingy corner with warm soft light.
{Don’t be fooled by the paneling. It’s just those two sheets. Then concrete all around. Pretty shady.}
Derek told me to start thinking of what kind of light I’d like above the laundry station. And I will. Because in 2013 we’ll start {maybe finish?} working on the basement. The finished product might be a long, loonng way off, but each time I flip on the switch to feed Panda, or grab something out of the freezer, or fish out some craft supplies…I see the lamp, and I can see where we are moving. Our basement won’t always be dirty and dingy. Eventually it will be the kind of place where guests sleep and pretty lamps live.
It’s a reminder of where we are headed. Where I’m headed. Where things are headed. I love it. It got me thinking…what are other little changes I can make in my life and my house that will remind me of where things are going? It’s wild how sometimes a small change can shed some light and bring a little hope.
What can you do to remind yourself of the hope this year will bring?
Amy
by Amy | Jan 2, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Living
This is the first day of a new year. Obviously. What better way to look to the future than learn from the past? So lets take a look back at my year’s most awkwardly photographed moments. I’ll try to put them in chronological order.
2012 kicked off with a stellar Mardi Gras season in Louisiana. One of the floats threw out a weird spray-painted mask. So the obvious thing to do was immediately put it on my face.
Shortly after Mardi Gras we went to Gators & Friends where I tried to pet this baby camel. But he nibbled my arm instead. It was all drooly.
Then it was on to a wedding…where I taught everyone to be a creep. What? The groom is a little busy? That’s okay, I’ll just take a photo with his back.
I caused an awkward scene before jumping off the cliff.
Someone else made this photo weird for us. “Oh, could you see me in your picture?” She asked.
The rest of the summer was pretty low key. Then I took a trip to California. I had an amazing day at Sea World. We saw this pet show, afterward you can pet the stars of the show. I accidentally pushed a kiddo out of the way. But I {kind of} got a photo with a super cute dog…
We ran an Urban Adventure Race. Derek had to make a frosting mustache on me. The face I’m making in the lower left corner is quite possibly the most awkward and pathetic image of myself ever taken.
During our trip to Philly, DC, Dover and Lancaster I amused myself at the Liberty Bell while my friends were wandering the museum. See…everyone was crowding the front of the bell {where the iconic crack is} but no one was on the backside. So I got a good close look. Then I just stood back there and smiled in the background of everyone’s vacation photos. Photobombing at its best. The photo below is just a general weird moment…but you can see the tourists in the background.
Derek caught me playing gladiator while shoveling.
I condoned cutting down a “Christmas tree” from a gas station parking lot.
And why not squeeze one more in for good measure? Sometimes I just can’t control my face. Derek’s uncle caught this moment during the family’s White Elephant exchange.
Happy 2013 my lovlies. I’m looking forward to sharing another year with you…where we can continue to laugh at my expense.
Amy
