Ask them right now. Right now. Call them up. Send an email. Set a specific date. Once you know they're coming, you'll scurry to get the junk out of the way.

Now.

Don't post again in this thread until you've sent the email or left a message.

ARrrrrrrghhhhhh!
I hate it when someone says, "You know you have to do it. Get off your fat, lazy, butt, suck it up and do it."

Ok.
Putting on tennis shoes.
Am going to walk out to the barn where one of the guys is now.
Will ask.
Will walk back, remove crap, and wait for them to drive out.
They will stop on their way.
Move cabinet.
I'll hack the crap out of shorten the cleat.
Wait for a new victim person to come by and rehang it.

One tennis shoe is on.

I agree, assuming you aren't snowed in or anything.

Mine is friends or family coming over for a visit. For me there's no more powerful motivator than people coming over and I need to wrap up whatever stage of the project is in work and make the place as decent as possible.

In the spirit of airing dirty laundry, mine are fixing drywall that was torn up a little during pantry door installation and touching up paint in the area + three other locations that need it and varnishing the new front door trim on the outside of the windows and fastening/caulking the front door stop and gaskets.

The pantry doors came in yesterday. They were pretty easy to install, but I have a few places where the drywall needs a little attention now. I'm pretty sure I will not be able to have handles of any kind on these doors so now I have the two non-returnable Miele handles to find another home for (bedroom closet doors on barn door hardware?).

I decided to go ahead and trim out the front door for the sidelight that I currently have in there, and just deal with changing the size later. That will enable me to put in the reducer between the entry hall and adjacent areas since I will know how wide to cut it. This week I'm also ordering the stainless for the toe kick and the veneer for the beams. Once that's in the project will be complete and I can move on to something else.

Job number two gave us a task a while ago to write a 50 item bucket list. 3 or 4 were easy, 10 wasn't bad. But beyond that, I put things I want to do or have or be that probably wouldn't be on what others would call a bucket list, I don't think.

Many of the things on that list aren't hard, expensive, extravagant, etc. They. just. take. time. And mostly they take getting started. And doing a little bit at a time. About 5-10 of them are about organizing/cleaning/decluttering X (my office, my garage, etc.)

I ran across a saying when I was in middle school: "Think, there must be a harder way to do it." Yep, that's me. I know what to do, I know that the way to do it is. to. just. start. doing. it. But I make such a big production out of things, I don't start.

I work well with lists. Often times the lists become a distraction beyond what I have to get done (setting up some new app, etc.) but I really do work well with them when I use them. And I work well when I have some very artificial framework set up. Something like "Each weekend I'll do 1 of the things from this section I've been avoiding." or "I'll schedule 30 min to work on project Y twice a week".

And I work well with a timer. Not a true Pomodoro method, but just saying for certain things (either things I tend to really like and lose myself in to the neglect of other things, or things I'm avoiding and need to force myself to work on).

The funny thing is that before CR I put on my list that I need to start scheduling blocks of time to work on this and that, and I told DH that I need to stop watching so much TV for no reason in the evenings and work in my office, etc. instead. CR was mostly fun and excursions and one day of meetings. In the one day of meetings the owner went through how he's been so productive recently...blocking out time for three big things each week, scheduling them as if they're appointments, and sticking to them. Yep...that's what I need to do.

On the asking for help thing, I totally get you. Sometimes I just suck it up and ask. Sometimes I think of something that will make me feel good about 'paying' someone to do something ( in brownies or something). You know they don't expect something, but it makes me feel better to give or offer something.

BTW the hit of Thanksgiving dinner...my bread.

ETA: I see the little dog face in Schicksal's pic. :)

This post was edited by cal_quail on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 10:50

Sometimes all it takes is the proper motivation from a complete stranger.

Or, the threat of a visit from a family member. And then you actually have to clean out the guest room so they can find the mattress to crash on. I was once a poor kid traveling cross country, sleeping in a ratty station wagon. I would really have appreciated a mattress on the floor at a relative's house. So, that cleanout got done, and a hot meal was prepared. They can pay it forward when their grand-niece needs a place to crash some time in the future.

When I have lots of small things to do, I play games with myself. Sometimes my mind says buckle down and do it, sometimes it says I'm scattered and can't focus. On the scattered days, I make a list of maybe four things to work on. I set the timer for 15 minutes and start on the first one. When the timer goes off, I stop and move to the next one. I go round and round until I run out of time/tasks/energy. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes if you can just totally focus. Of course this doesn't work if it requires mixing up sheet rock mud or something. :)

The other one is my "5 things" plan. It's especially useful for decluttering/organizing. I must deal with five items. If it's on my desk, they have to be paid/filed/scheduled/tossed, whatever is the appropriate action. If it's the garage, they get trashed/put away/whatever. I allow myself to stop after 5 things, although I rarely do. "Just 5 more" goes a long way.

I'm not likely to completely finish anything this way, but I can make progress on several things, instead of one thing getting all the attention, and the rest being ignored.

aok I like both of those.

Ok.
It's done. In the meanwhile, I scrubbed the Citristrip off some drawers I was stripping. It's on "The List" to do. :) Yes, I work well with lists, too. I like to find a list later and discover I've completed quite a few items!

I did move the cabinet.
Tomorrow I'll start hanging. That's the easy part.
Monday it's supposed to be 60F, so I'll be back outside to work on the potting bench. It's on The List to finish before spring. Really, before January!

Another thing I've found handy is pick something up and tell myself I can't put it down until I find it's "away" place. Sometimes I"ll walk around carrying a pot or pair of shoes for awhile, but eventually, it's put "away." This actually has helped clean this up dramatically! Giving my hoard, "away" with construction materials means "make something."

Off to work I go. Hi Ho, Hi HOOOOO

(Golf clap.)

I'm a multi tasker by nature..I work best when I have multiple things going on, my mind moves quick amd I get bored easily.
Written lists work if I have a direct short term accomplishment. Otherwise I flit from this mental to do list to that one. It often takes longer to finish something because one thing leads to 2 or 3 side things. Drives my husband crazy.

I recently made a to do list for the house. I got tired of walking through rooms and making mental notes of things that have to be done. Now they go on the list.

Motivation is hard for me. My health isn't the best and sometimes I'm just too tired to do simple tasks. Other days are better though and I get things done. The hardest part is that I mostly have no one to help me do things. I want to hang crown molding and I know how to do it and have the tools to do it, but it's hard to hang crown by yourself. I want a paver patio in front of the house and know how to do it, but am not physically strong enough to do it.

I have friends who can help but they're really busy with their own things or they're professionals and I don't feel right asking them for help when they should be hired and paid for their work. So I wait until I have the funds to hire them. That's how my bathroom project is going to happen. My friend the plumber is going to replace my tub and hang the backer board in the bathroom and I'll do the tile myself. It may take me a while but I'll get it done!

Nothing this week probably, have a small trip planned.

I hear you about how hard it is to do things that are large or heavy on your own. When the ceiling was going up I finally had to start getting mean. I had to keep reminding my other half that Facebook and the internet would still be there afterwords, but I need help getting these 16' long pieces of wood up on the ceiling now.

Today I am not at work so that means getting things done at home. If I can do that drywall work and trim the area around the front door I'll be happy.

CEFreeman - My father always said - don't put it down, put it away. I hear myself repeating this to my two teenagers and smile a little.

aok- I do both those things too! Set timer for 5/10/15 minutes and zip around, then repeat. Also tell myself I am going to do 10 things. Now if I just did both of these daily...

For many tasks, I clip my phone onto my belt and play booktapes. I can easily, happily, work for hour after hour, listening to old and new favorites. Ironing, polishing silver, painting, scraping paint off the floors, cleaning the fridge, dusting, gardening, laundry, cleaning - all mindless tasks which become very enjoyable. With itunes, I've found that I can easily download the CD's/DVD's I borrow from the library to my phone. (I delete them after listening).

We know you've run out of steam - that's the point of the weekly posts, right? Counting up to "finished" in the hope that the number will somehow move you forward - although week 1 wasn't likely week 1. You're seeking motivation to get back on track. At least you're trying.

Stop counting. It's not helping to mark the passage of time. Just pick a project that has multiple components and map out your completion with a timeline and a list of things that must be done each day to meet it, and try to stay on schedule. Schedule in down time as well.

And give yourself a break. You're working and you are doing much of this completely alone. This is how it goes on the road less traveled. It's a (word that rhymes with "itch").

I work well with deadlines. I wanted to have the family room painted before my sons came home for Thanksgiving break, so I started a week before. There is a lot of furniture in the room, so I did one half, moved the stuff back, did the other half. Part of "moving stuff" included clearing off bookcases, so they could be moved. I got rid of a lot of books from one - and eliminated the second bookcase completely! It's in the garage, waiting to go to our church rummage sale (there's a storage room at church, so I don't have to wait until spring to take it over).

With a deadline looming, I kept to a pretty rigorous schedule, even going in to work late one morning so I could do the first coat, and have it dry in the afternoon for the second coat.

Since my sons use the family room when they're home, I was motivated to put everything away - not just finish painting and leave things piled up until I got around to dealing with it (which is more my tendency).

not just finish painting and leave things piled up until I got around to dealing with it (which is more my tendency).

Yeah, I'm a pile-er. I embraced it several years ago, but know that there's a time and place for pile-ing, and most of the time there's not.

don't put it down, put it away.

My biggest problem is that there isn't an 'away' for lots of my stuff. So it gets moved from one room to the next when there's company or work to be done etc. Most of my biggest goals are getting an 'away' place for everything in my life. But that's not quick work.

My current project is my office. As I clear an area, I end up cluttering up the hallway, my closet, the kitchen counter, my bathroom. It's good we have company planned next week so I don't completely bury everything again.

I have to spend the bulk of the day doing school stuff and I just. can't. get. started. I've done a bunch of job two stuff, and I went in my office to work on clearing off a particular cabinet surface. I think I need to spend an hour on school work, then I can attack that surface. That's the kind of thing that works for me.

EAM44, very kind words and a nice reminder. Of all the things you mentioned, plus the fact that these threads are to remind us of all we do get done every day.

Today was a bonus day for me. I think it's in the high 50s, may be early 60s. Don't know, because I'm out cutting down shrubs and working up a sweat. I wanted to do this all year, but it was just too hot. I might repot something before I hop in the shower.

Since it's a bonus day, my plan tomorrow remains working on the potting bench and distracting myself with shrub carnage when I hit little "Oh, craps" in my building process.

I feel like I've gotten a lot done today, even though I got up very late (for me) and have meandered in between shrub-murder sites.

You all enjoy your Sunday!

From one piler/stacker/place-seeking crazy person to another.

Oh, I totally get the reluctance to ask for help, although maybe from a different angle. I am a person who always liked to "do it herself" and I do a lot (although not nearly as much as most of you -- more simple things like painting, removing (or hanging) wallpaper, or installing a faucet or disposer). So there is that. And if I need physical help that I can't get from my DD, I pay for it.

But also, I was a single parent starting from the time DD was 2, and once I moved to the Midwest I found that there was a suspicion from neighbors and aquaintances that I would be forever asking for help and favors (and perhaps also a bit of fear that I would be looking to find a man from amongst the husbands?). And the help, when extremely rarely asked for or given, was not always given gladly. As an extreme example, I was actually once bluntly told, as part of an offer to transport my DD to/from vacation bible school (a favor that I did NOT ask for, one of the lovely Sunday School ladies initiated this because I had told her that I could not take DD due to my working) that I must not expect such assistance in the future! Need say that turned down the offer? DD didn't need that kind of religious education.

So I am to this day extremely reluctant to seek or accept any assistance from anyone other than two other single female homeowners in the neighborhood -- over the years we have traded off on helps with big chores and emergencies.

I get it, raee. I pay, too, which is why just asking is really an issue.

Once again Christians come to the aid of one in need. Sounds like she felt pushed into transporting a little girl, even though you didn't ask. She guilted herself! Imagine. Taking a little girl to somewhere she would further her religious education, which could bring her closer to ... um. Or could help her be a great person with great, strong values. Um. At least that woman has served as an example of what not to be. Everyone has a purpose in life and she has fulfilled hers.

The 2 times I've forced myself to accept help from someone other than my neighbor and my barn guy, the two fellows evidently thought they were going to get a little on the side benefit. Shoot. If I were into that my house would have been finished 5 years ago and we wouldn't be enjoying these threads.

Yes, asking is like pulling teeth.
But you come to know who your real friends are.

Glad to hear that you got a lot done.

Over here I was able to get to the drywall and paint repair but decided to work on the car instead of the trim around the front door. The place is clean again, which I always appreciate.

I am still hoping to be done within a week but we'll see...

raee, your story breaks my heart. My Mom lives in a small town in MN, and she has had the opposite experience. She's alone, and increasingly frail. Her philosophy is "Never deny someone the opportunity to do you a good turn". She's not afraid to ask strangers for help.

Example: she was preparing for a trip to see my brother, and had a suitcase and some heavy boxes in the garage, waiting to get loaded in the car. She happened to have the satellite guy out that day to fix her dish, and asked him if he would mind loading her stuff in the car. He was happy to do so.

More than once if she had someone working in the house - plumber, electrician, carpenter - she would ask him to do something extra - like carry bags of softener salt to the basement. Every single time she was met with smiles and enthusiastic assistance.

It seems to me that the folks who have the hardest time asking others for help are often the very first ones in line to help others.

Aankh, I'm so glad for your mom. Sometimes we just can't do it, even though we feel like we should.

I know it was gut-wrenching to have to accept help after we had a house fire. Pet supplies via Freecycle. Donations from the yoga studios where I taught (didn't even know some of those people KNEW me!) for us and our $17K vet bills, a complete stranger at the doctor's office gave me husband $11K because "more people should take care of their pets this way."

It was SO hard to accept these things. After getting over myself, I could see, with great astonishment, how much it meant to these folks to be able to help. Shocked me, because I'd never had to or been able to see it from the other side of the coin.

(I let the UPS man help me get a refrigerator off my truck. I felt guilty.)

Getting that story off my chest I think will help me to let it go even though it was a bit off topic. I realized how much resentment I have been harboring over this and a few other incidents. It is sort of funny (now) that that church has a "widow's work day" twice a year where folks would volunteer to help widows of any age in the congregation, but a divorced mother didn't merit the same consideration. However, I encountered this attitude not just in this church but in my neighborhood and the elementary school. I do believe, now some 20 years later, that the people around here have become more accepting (well I don't know about that church!)

Annkh, I am glad that you mom lives in a caring community.

Yesterday I raked, mowed, and mulch mowed again. Also finished cutting up the fallen limb and got the Christmas lights out (although, not up). Today it was sleeting, but since the pear has just started dropping its leaves, I have at least one more mowing in my future.

Eek, I have got to run, I will be late for work at 3!

Not a fun day - a huge bill came in relating to the house the roofers broke that I wasn't expecting. A builder was basically used for their expert opinion, basically providing a detailed quote or bid for what it would take to fix the place. This was used in the demand letter. I like this builder and never did it come up that there would be a bill later so I was very surprised there was one, let alone one this large. I am trying to get the bill waived if I use their construction company, or maybe this will add to other things owed by insurance.

I did order the veneer. For those counting, the only other thing to be ordered is the stainless for the toe kick. Gotta measure that before I can order. But for now I'm just going to sit around. I've had more than enough stress for one day.

cefreeman you are the last person anyone would call lazy! i read your entries and get tired:)
btw i decided to diy my own backsplash...in April! (the rest of the reno was paid for labor) haha someday i will get to it:(

Shicksal, I fear your battle has only begun. I am surprised you received just a bill, not something stating it could be complimentary if they're doing the work. Perhaps they've assumed you'll be using them and the insurance company was going to eat it. No wonder insurance rates are so high, come to think of it.

Ardcp, thank you for the kind words. :)

Today I worked on my potting bench. A gorgeous mid-60s day. I got tired, so I moved to the back porch and taught myself to use my benchtop planer. I'm planing this gorgeous oak I got from some house tearing out old shelving. Dimensional lumber, with the widest plank being 11.75" wide. I see cabinet doors in my future.

In the meanwhile, it's as loud as my table saw. I hate noise, but sure love the results!

Sounds like you'll be saving a ton with that lumber. Wish I could have salvaged some of our old shelving but it was made from lousy whitewood and painted... barney purple. No thanks, it's in the bin now. The only good part was that you can karate chop it pretty easily. It's fun!

I hope you're right about the estimate. The more I looked at it last night the more mad I got. What kind of builder charges $175/hour to put a bid together?! I could have paid the lawyer for that! I'd like to save up and have it dried in better, but at the rate everybody keeps sending invoices in we're moving in the opposite direction.

At least I have the measurements needed to order the toe kick today. That will be the final material order for this project, and something to be happy about.

Hello,

I'm hoping to join you on these weekly threads. I'm at the moment on a plane moving cross-country from NJ to CA. I'm heading there to establish a forward base after shipping off my (few) things, cars, and 5 cats (yesterday).

I will be on my own for several months while SO (stands for SomeOne in my head because I dislike all the terms for unmarried partner) is wrapping things up in NJ and could use all the motivation and momentum I can get - keeping up steam is a challenge for me.

My first hurdle will be getting to and into our new house without being arrested for breaking and entering (long-distance purchase) then setting up a household to receive my cats when they arrive oh-god-please-let-them-be-safe tomorrow or Thursday.

I have only a suitcase to my name until my things arrive in a week and won't have much more then - most of our furniture was too cheap or too destroyed (re: cats) to bother moving.

This is my dream move to a dream house with a dream kitchen (nod to the forum) in a dream area with a dream climate - I don't know yet what realizing the dream will bring.

Thanks for listening,

~emmers

We had a great weekend in Port Huron at my younger son's hockey tournament. They lost of course, but they had a lot of fun. Well, they did tie one game and they announced Gs name on the loudspeaker when he got an assist. In the final game they had a dark arena, and a spotlight on the door and flames coming up and they announced each player by jersey number and name and they came out through the flames and skated around the zone to the blue line and then they played both national anthems. He'll remember that forever!

Today was quite cold, but I managed to get up most of the rest of my leaves until I ran out of yard waste bags. I did that for about 3 hours. I should be putting up my Christmas lights but I was too cold so I came in to warm up. I think I'll do the lights tomorrow. Add me to the list of those who don't like to ask for help very often. I either make my kids help me or I do it myself. LOL Plumbing and electrical, I will pay someone unless it's installing a faucet/toilet or installing a switch or fixture.

Speaking of which, I got an indoor motion sensor thing for the hallway/landing light and it only senses when I'm at the stove. It doesn't sense when the back door is open or when someone is coming up the stairs from the basement. That was a pipe dream I think, it's too far from the sensor, but I thought the back door opening up would trigger something! I don't know if I'm going to keep it. I don't need it when I'm standing at the stove.

Tomorrow my kids leave for Florida for Ms soccer tournament, so while they are gone I will pick up a couple of OT shifts. That money will go into an account for when I fix up the bathroom.

We got our Christmas tree up and I need to get up the rest of the indoor decorations now. I'll do that after dinner. Most of my Christmas shopping is done, so I'll be wrapping while the boys are away.

CEF, I think you accomplish quite a lot! I think that all the little things we do add up, and we don't appreciate them because they are "little things."

Schicksal, Wow! Sorry to hear about that nasty surprise! I hope the insurance adjusters can get this solved soon.

Emmers, good luck with the move!

We started this morning with a blank slab, after 10 hours and some VERY kind friends, the new MIL addition looks like this.

They actually got a few more walls up but it was getting dark and I wanted to snap a picture while I could.

I am one of those people who has a hard time asking for help. My dad however, does NOT suffer from that affliction. He networks, asks for favors BUT he is also the first one to jump to someone else's aid.

He is part of a group called Church Builders who go every summer to a different place to help build a church. The helpers today were 2 of those church builders, his cousin and my brother. They got the 1300 sq ft addition almost entirely framed in one day.

Helping each other out sure can accomplish a lot!!

One day? That is seriously fast!

Today I cut the last of the trim for the area around the front door. It would have been nice to round the edges and prime it but dew was already forming when I put up the miter saw so that wasn't about to happen. But enough with the boring stuff.

I need to publicly thank Doug for the awesome handles that showed up in the mailbox today! They will be perfect for the recreated built in hamper in a bathroom to be restored next year. Everything about them is spot on. Seriously I owe you a great deal of thanks for this.

The final material order is in. :) In five business days I may be done!

Yay TexasGem and Shicksal!!

That is a lot of work in one day Texas! Those church builders are hard workers! Has your brother come around, then?

welcome emmers and hope your cats are well.

TG that is some serious progress.

I'm in a waiting room for a dr. Appt. have had a couple bouts of skin cancer, the latest of which was on the top of my head and when they cut it out they didn't get all of it, so I need to keep getting it re- checked. I think something is starting to peek out, so I'm imaging they're going to want to slice into my head again. Oh joy! But knowing they didn't get it all, I'd rather they do it sooner than later.

Nothing much happening around the house other than it's staying picked up for the whole week, which is really incredible. That never happens.

Having flowers on the dining room table and on the island (left from thanksgivibg) seems to be helping,

They are fast but then again, they've got a lot of experience. My home is actually my childhood home, I helped my parents build it and we did it from slab to move in in 6 months the same way, through the help of friends and family, almost no contractors.

MGMum- ehhh, my parents told him this is what we are doing, his idea of dealing with it is to just pretend nothing ever happened. No apology, no "hey I'm cool with it" nothing. So, he keeps trying to act like everything's fine and dandy and I'm still upset and hurt that he won't even acknowledge.

Schick- I can't believe what keeps happening with the crushed roof house!! Man I hope it works out for you in the end. I do love those handles, it will be cool to see them on the hamper when you get it done.

Cal- I'm so sorry, I know how much fun that ISN'T. Those lidocaine shots HURT but better the shot than feeling the biopsy. I hope they get it all this time.

Hi everyone, I miss participating but work is really taking it out of me. Hope to have more free time in a few weeks.

Making a little progress on the bedroom. I did get started on the tile. Hoo boy! Glad I don't do this for a living. I would certainly starve. Can't say I'm good at it either, but it will probably turn out okay if one doesn't look too closely.

Schicksal - Glad to see the handles finally showed up. They said they would arrive last Friday! I'm happy they found a good home. I knew you needed them as soon as I saw your house.

Texas_Gem - Wow! That's fast. It's nice you have that kind of help available.

Cal_quail - Be well. I hope everything turns out okay.

CEF - I'm never afraid to ask for help. I'm sure you know this deep down, but the person who agrees to help gets more benefit than the person asking. Think of it as spreading goodwill. I mean, you did try yourself before asking. You had a legitimate reason for asking.

As far as managing projects, I keep thinking that if I owned less stuff, I would have less to do, so I'm on a lifelong quest to get rid of more stuff and have fewer but finer things in my life. Can't say it's made any difference yet but it feels right to me.

Well, back to the grind. Future goals are to finish the tile this weekend and two weeks from today I'm scheduling to replace the main electrical panel for the house. That will make a lot of people happy, including the electrical inspector.

Doug

"As far as managing projects, I keep thinking that if I owned less stuff, I would have less to do, so I'm on a lifelong quest to get rid of more stuff and have fewer but finer things in my life."

Love that.

Dr. said the thing I was worried about was just dry skin from where the incision healed. Whew.

At the other end of the spectrum, I was a bone-head and left my phone in the staff RR at work today and now have no phone. Not happy that it disappeared from a staff RR and wasn't turned in. Not sure what I'll do.

I took the opportunity to feel bad for myself about having my phone stolen by making a few martinis and ordering in pizza.

I had the same thing happen with a phone at Home Depo back in the day. It makes no sense to steal a phone that's already old, that's just going to get shut off in a matter of minutes anyway. I have no clue what's wrong with people. Just turn it in to lost and found.

>>As far as managing projects, I keep thinking that if I owned less stuff, I would have less to do, so I'm on a lifelong quest to get rid of more stuff and have fewer but finer things in my life. Can't say it's made any difference yet but it feels right to me.

This has become our philosophy as well. My wife and I have to look no farther than our own parents to see what happens when projects accumulate faster than they can be dealt with.

Today is a milestone for us because when I pick up the stainless this afternoon all of our building materials will now be here. At this point it's just up to me to finish everything, clean up and take pictures.

This afternoon the insurance company is coming by to finally have a look at what their client caused. Someone from the attorney's office will also be there, and I'm swinging by too only to grab a set of pictures of what the place looked like when they were here. I also want to make note of anything that has changed since our estimate was done and to just observe. Maybe things will wrap up soon but I have doubts.

Emmers! Welcome. I cannot imagine moving my 5 cats without serious trauma .. for ME! Good luck with this new home, new place, new people, new everything! It's a wild ride!!

Shicksal, what happened with the builder and his estimate? Did you have conversation? I still have a feeling, as someone else mentioned, that the house will be a wreck before anything's done, then what the city will do? require? Who knows.

I, too, like MTDoug's philosophy. I am also one of getting rid of crap. '

Texas_Gem, that's wild. I'm willing to bet this weekend you'll be showing us the entire place closed in and ready for insulation!

Unfortunately it quickly packs up with new crap. The difficult thing is, too, that I have purpose for the crap. In the last month, I've made several things out of crap, without having to buy anything. Well, the raised garden bed was a bale of hay ($6.00), the potting bench a piece of corner bead ($8.00) and today, inside, my apothecary drawers.

I find these spice/apothecary drawers to be the most useless pieces of crap in the world. Almost as useless as base, reach-in cabinets or 12" wall cabinets. However, on a 16' run, they give the eye a break. Plus, I have 4 sets of them. Don't ask.

But, I'd already bought the corbels from a true artist on Etsy. Absolutely lovely. No idea what I was going to do with them. I've used primer I have, I'm going to use a SW sample paint for the bottoms, sealing it with the dark, paint base I already have. So, crap already here.

I also came to a roadblock with the lovely oak I've been planing. It's dimensional, with live edges. I mean, BARK on the edges!! What can I build to showcase that, since it's incredible? I was planning cabinet doors, probably, but I'd have to joint that off. Noooooooo... Ideas?

Hmmm... No phone. Pizza and Martinis? I'll take the latter. YEAH! Martinis and pizza!! What could be better, except talking on the phone with someone about how great it is. Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope all is uploaded somewhere.

Shicksal, the reason for stealing the phone isn't to use it, it's to sell it. With a SIM card, anything's possible. Interestingly enough, many phones now have GPSs or programs to shut them down, so even that lucrative activity is slowly thwarted. In the meanwhile, Crap of a different sort.

Ok. Off to sand and paint. What can I make with that gorgeous oak? We're talking 6-8' boards. 9-11 3/4" wide....

I have hung 90" of upper cabinets in the last 2 days, though. Gotta put the doors on, but oh, so pretty. And OFF the counter.

Cal_quail, I'm so relieved for you. I was holding my breath.

CEF I can relate about needing help! It's not that I'm loathe to ask; it's that I'm so darn impatient I want to do what I want to do, now.

I painted my front door over the summer. A neighbor helped me take it down and put it on saw horses outside. (My kids were both gone on a mission trip.) After sanding it, I wanted to prop it upright and spray it with the hose. No problem, I was able to lift it up and prop it against the grill, spray and dry. But getting it back up onto the saw horses by myself? Not so easy. I ended up dropping it on my feet... the day before I ran a half marathon. Dumb!

I stood on my patio wondering what the heck to do with this stupid door sitting on my feet. Luckily I heard a neighbor come out of her back door (can't see her back yard due to a large hedge) and called out to her. It took just a minute for the two of us to get the door back on the saw horses. It would have been so easy to ask for help first. And I bet I would have run my race a little bit faster.

Oh, Chicagoans! I laughed at the picture of you standing there, now all bruised up, thinking, "What the heck do I do now!?!"

I was stacking 6x6s, which were 8 to 16' long. I got myself in a pickle, when I got my feet wedged in between two. I was sitting on one stack, aligning the other, when they fell over. Thank goodness, onto each other. But I couldn't get my feet out without this very heavy stack of huge lumber coming down actually on my feet. Usually, even men won't move these without help. I mean heavy. (I'm a very tough, determined chick!)

LUCKILY, for once, I had my cell in my pocket. I seldom carry it. I called my neighbor, who had a client. I asked when he was done if he wouldn't mind popping over and letting me loose? He looked out his window, saw me just sitting there, ran over full speed, leaving his client on the table. It would have been a long morning waiting for his 1.5 hour session to finish! Bless his funny, helpful heart!

I hope your feet are better. The top of the foot is very delicate, with all those metatarsals and tendons. No flesh to cushion it.

But if your face, while you figured it out, was anything like mine probably was? [snicker & chortle] Candid Camera Lives ON!

CalQuail, glad to hear it was nothing.

CEF, a dining room table? Coffee table? Picnic table? Bench? It sounds lovely and rustic.

CEF - work my old phone they couldn't even sell it. It was a Verizon phone from 2001 with a green screen. No Sim card. Oh well... This was 7 years ago.

The house will be a total redo. Still not as much work as they've had to do on others in the neighborhood. It's not "historic" - it's actually historic. I enjoyed speaking with the person from the attorney's office today. It was nice to hear about how thoroughly the insurance company screwed things up for themselves.

Unfortunately the toe kick came up a piece short. Well have to correct that on Monday.

The phone was only about a month old, but I've been assured by everyone that no one will be able to do anything with it. It's a brick to them. So maybe it'll still show up after the weekend. I activated an old phone to 'get me through'. Yeah, that lasted about an hour and a half until I went and replaced it. I need it for job #2, so it's a write off. Small consolation.

Work for both jobs and DH is having poker tomorrow night, so I don't see doing much house-wise. I think things will be what they are until Christmas break, and that's fine.

I have started to think about only doing backsplash on the wall with the range. There's a 51"w spot between a corner and the fridge that we were going to tile too, but there's no reason, really, other than the fact that it's the only other drywalled wall behind a counter. That would save on tile and installation, which would help. I get mixed reviews when I say it to people around here. With the kitchen poker-ready tomorrow, maybe I'll take pics and finally do a reveal (even though we still don't have baseboards, the new exterior door or the paint finished). Then I can ask about the backsplash. Or maybe I'll just ask about the backsplash. Either way, I should post something on that this weekend.

Cal_quail- in re tiling only one wall in your backsplash I would be glad to Photoshop the options for you if you wish.

Texas_Gem - hoping to see more progress pictures of your MIL suite!

I'd like to see what it would look like photoshopped.

This is my "at home" weekend for the month of December so I need to make it count. For now though it's been coffee and Angry Birds.

We did talk about the bedroom/bathrooms project that is next in line yesterday evening, and the den/dining room project to come after that wraps up. The next project will be big, but not to the scale of this one. It is the last "large" project that I will DIY. The den and dining room must be worked at the same time, but there is nothing in the den that I can do. Gas, fireplaces, terrazzo, and opening up an exterior wall are not on my skills list. Other rooms after that are just smaller bedrooms and bathrooms that can be done one at a time, and there really isn't much to them. The real reason for the talk yesterday is to figure out where kids for fit into all of this.

The answer is, after the master bedroom/bath (next) project. At that point the large-scale chaos will be over and I will not be so preoccupied any more. In any case, is there a decent board here for bedroom/bath/closet layout? We're forming ideas now and could stand to have themshredded improved upon. Maybe the building board?