Old School Yard Tools

In the continuing spirit of 1908 I decided to add another wrinkle to my old school mind set where it applies to the house. I have been using a flat blade manual lawn edger for several years now.  Truth be told, I like it much better than the gas powered and electric line edgers that I had used for many years prior. It leaves a much cleaner cut than the frayed edges of the spinning nylon line. It also takes roughly the same amount of time to edge our tough St. Augustine lawn. The best part is, it doesn't cost me any money in gas, oil, or edger line. How great is that?  This started me thinking. Why should I keep storing lawn equipment that seldom gets used? California has been in an extended drought for several years now. Although it rained this week, during that time our lawn mower has been in the way more often than it has been useful. The reality is that since there isn't a lot of storage in our old garage, wasted space becomes just that... wasted! Believe it or not, a few months ago I donated our lawnmower to Goodwill and decided to move forward with a push mower (in the event that I need one in the future).  I still have not needed one, or missed it! For now, this other piece of 1908 era appropriate equipment seems to be working just fine.  Enter the serrated blade grass cutter / weed whip. Taylor Ingebretsen gave it to me years ago when they moved. I watched him use it on many occasions. It is simple, requires virtually no maintenance or gas, and provides a pretty good workout! In my book that is a win, win, win, win! I realize that some of you are thinking that this is crazy. This may be so.  However, I think it is fun as Jenn and I continue to find ways to honor our heritage as we simplify our lives.

Hanging Onto Time

In the spirit of restoring our 1908 craftsman home I have decided to create a series of era appropriate oil paintings depicting what life likely would have been like around the time the house was built. For this painting I wanted to explore something that Jennifer and I do today... hang laundry. This piece will hang, of course, in the laundry room. I have found great inspiration for the project in the television show "When Calls the Heart" which airs on the Hallmark Channel. The show is set around the same time period as our craftsman home. The painting seems to have touched a nerve with many of my friends and family. In response to the numerous requests, my plan is to make giclée prints on canvas available in the near future. I would love to get your feedback on the matter.
All the best,
Chris

Goodbye Sweet Holly

It is with great sadness that I tell you that we had to put our sweet Holly down this morning. We are going to miss her so much. She was always there to greet us and follow us around the yard. Unfortunately, she seems to have been sick for awhile. She wasn't laying, but we thought she was broody and molting like Sabrina. The last few days were very difficult. She just wasn't getting any better no matter what we tried. This morning she couldn't get up and could barely hold her head up. We did not want her to suffer any longer. Even though we will miss her, we feel peace that she will no longer be suffering.

Hugs,
Jenni

The Broken Pipe Saga Continued

The beginning of the removal of siding.

Well... the broken pipe saga continued. After doing what we could, we decided it was time to call a plumber. Mike Babineau, owner of Glendora Plumbing and Heating, is our top choice in plumbers. He came out on that Tuesday and let us know that he could do a temporary fix until we could get the entire house re-piped.

More siding removal

However, while cutting open the house and digging around some more we found a bigger problem. The drain pipe from the sink had corroded and was draining under the house. Apparently, it had been this way for quite some time. He fixed the leaky pipe so that we could turn the water back on, but we cut the water off to a random pipe that we could not figure out where it went. In addition, we could not use the sink. The next day Christopher used our second bathroom and discovered that the random pipe was water to the toilet. Yikes! He called Mike back to let him know the new situation, and Mike was already scheduled to return the following day. This, of course, could have been a lot worse. Mike arrived and set to work climbing under the house and removing the damaged section of drain pipe. That was quite a task. It was cast iron and 107 years old. While he was under the house he discovered these bones.

Bones discovered under the house

We have no idea how they got there, but we have decided it was a large animal that brought them in and had set up home under the house. These bones were not small. I'm hoping they were bones removed from someone's trash and dragged here. If not, please let me live in denial.

Over 6 feet of corroded drain pipe

This nasty drain pipe has been removed and replaced with something more efficient. You can see all of the corrosion on the pipe, but just in case you need a closer look...

Here is a closer look.

Now imagine this crack running the length of at least six feet of pipe. This was very bad news. It was vital to get it taken care of immediately. However, in order to remove it, Mike had to not only crawl under the house, but he had to remove a gas pipe temporarily in order to shimmy his way over to the problem pipe. What a mess!

Christopher and Mike holding the offending pipe

Working as a team to get the pipe out through the siding on the house, Christopher and Mike had a grueling day. It was hot and humid. Working in these conditions is never easy, but these two made it happen and Mike saved the day. Of course, all of this work is like a bandaid until we can have this little bungalow re-piped. This will happen sooner than later. Now onto the task of figuring out how to pay for it. Oh the joys of home ownership of a 107 year old bungalow!

Hugs,
Jenni

I've got the POWER!!!

Starting new home improvement tasks are not always about the know how. Sometimes the knowledge is there. However, the ability to complete a task is not always realistic without the right tools. In my case I often find myself mulling over the "gonna do" list with dreams of wowing the doubters.  That isn't to say that I am a home pro when it comes to fixing everything. It does mean that I've been blessed with just enough experience to pull off a few general tasks. In all of that, one constant I have found about myself over the years is that I really don't want to start a task if I don't have the right tools to finish it adequately, or in a timely manner. How AWESOME is it then that Jennifer likes to collect power tools!  I feel a little Tim Allen pride coming on. Anyway, there have been some whispers going around that I'm not very handy... OK people, enough! Summer is here and the power tools are out. Let's work on something.

All the best,
Chris

The Broken Pipe Saga

Yesterday, Christopher discovered a wet spot in the dirt at the base of the house. Of course he asked me if I had turned the faucet on the day before. I replied that I had not. Fannnntastic!

This means that we have a broken pipe, and it looks like it is the one to the kitchen faucet. Ohhh great! We had a full day scheduled of birthday celebrations with multiple family members. When were we going to squeeze this in? Do we call a plumber, ON A WEEKEND, or do we investigate first?

We decided to attend the breakfast party then come home and see what we could uncover. Remember we live in a 1908 Craftsman. Fixing things like this can open a can of worms that we don't have money to repair. Fingers crossed at this point.

We returned from breakfast to begin the digging. This is where Christopher really had to step up. (I injured my knee a few days ago and I could not get down on the ground.) It was incredibly hot yesterday, and Christopher began the task of digging around the pipes. He discovered where the leak was and determined we could do a quick fix that would hold until we could scrap pennies together and have the house re-piped. Off to the store we go. We buy what Christopher deems is the best fix. He spent several hours between digging and repairing. At this point we have had to turn the water to the house off. YIPPEE!!! You don't realize how much you need that until you don't have it. Here are a few pictures that don't even begin to cover the scope of this disaster.

Here is the culprit. It is the small rust colored pipe next to the large pipe on the wall.

Christopher is working his magic on the repair kit.

Lots of dirty words taking place here.

We let the first step of the repair cure overnight. Today, we will hopefully have it fixed and the water turned back on. If not, we call in a plumber and try to find the money hidden in the cushions to pay for it. In the meantime, I'm making trips to my mother's house for full bathroom/shower privileges. Oh the joys of owning a 107 year old house. I keep reminding myself that one day there will be more money for repairs and that this is just another bump in the road to a beautiful home.

Hugs,
Jenni

Sharing an Experience

As you know, we are in the process of restoring our bungalow. It will take years for us to turn this into the show piece we would like. Along with that is the decisions to make about what art work we would like to display or even purchase. Last year we took an image transfer class together. It was awesome! We had grand plans to come home and create more pieces and even larger ones. However, life got busy. Then we were having a discussion yesterday and I remembered these pieces we had created in class. It got us thinking that we should attempt a few more and on a larger scale. We will have to decide what images we will use and just how large we want to work. I'm excited to see what we will do together. At the very least, we will enjoy the process.

Hugs,
Jenni