Sears Never Fails

We've needed a new TV ever since we moved our 14 year old 32" CRT TV to the bedroom.  It still works and has a decent picture, but it takes up a lot of room.

When we renovated the downstairs, we thought about furniture placement and where the TV would go.  We carefully measured so that our older buffet would fit between the two new windows and it ended up being the perfect size for a 46" Flat Panel TV.

We've been putting off buying the TV for about a month, but with company coming it just had to be done.  Valerie did her research with help of her sister who is in the business and we decided on either a Samsung or Sharp with Internet connectivity for downloading Netflix movies.  She found the best price on the Samsung at Sears and saw online that our local Sears had exactly one left.


We arrived at Sears at 10:25 and they opened at 10:30.  We were the first ones in the side door, but still managed to get to the electronics department with four people ahead of us.  I kind of felt sorry for the salesman because there was five people waiting and he was the only one in the department.  Of course, the first person on line had to do a return and then a purchase and he wanted his discount for opening a Sears credit card.  Awesome.  He needed a manager override for the new price, and helped the next person at a register at the front of the department.

After about 20 minutes, we tracked him down at the front of the Electronics department helping other customers.

"Oh, I'm helping people up front now", was his explanation when we finally got to him.

Our salesman's associate was explaining the "Extended Warranty" to his customer when the customer said "It's a scam, no thank you."  Our salesman stopped what he was doing (helping us) and explained the virtues of spending an additional $250 on a $800 TV.

The customer was a little smart alleck and asked the salesman, "Are you saying that my TV won't last three years?  Maybe I better go somewhere else to buy it..."

"No, no, no, it's a good brand, but it's just like insurance!"

The other customer politely declined again and our guy got back to us.

"I see we only have one of your model in stock, I have to go and verify the inventory", he told us.  I kind of appreciated this considering what happened last time.  He came back in about 20 minutes and sure enough, they didn't have the unit.  Didn't even try to sell me another brand, a bigger size, or a different model.

As we were walking out, I said to Valerie that Sears never fails to disappoint me.

Getting Ready

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, we are getting ready for guests. The turkey has been purchased. I wanted a 10 lb bird, but the smallest I could find is 13 lbs. Let's hope everyone is hungry.

Cooper and Otis are freshly washed . Otis whined excitedly in the car and raced into the dog wash. However, once Coop and Otis realized it was bath time, they both tried to head back outside.

The linen tablecloth and napkins are washed and the Lenox cornucopia  is on the dining table.

Quantative Easing Explained

Time to Walk

When I work at home, I do not see much of the dogs in the morning. After breakfast, Cooper and Otis spend the morning napping on the bed.

When it gets to be around 11am, Coop will wander into the office and lay down. By 11:30, Cooper is thumping his tail. If I pet Coop, the wagging stops, but immediately starts again. Cooper is making it clear that it is time for a walk and a snack.

If I still don't take Coop out, he will paw at my arm and head to the door. Looks like the dogs have me well trained!

Taste of the Wild

When Cooper was first rescued, his foster Mom, Linda P fed him Taste of the Wild Salmon dog food. This high protein food was given to Cooper to help increase his weight and muscle mass.

We have now switched the dogs back to this food. I stopped at the pet store and picked up a 30 lb bag. When I paid the bill, I said, "Wow!".  The clerk said, 30 lbs should last a month. I told him I had 2 Goldens. His response was, "See you in 2 weeks!".

Paperwhites

Last Christmas I grew an amaryllis in water. After weeks of watching the leaves grow, the bulb eventually flowered.

Earlier this week, I received a  catalog from White Flower Farm, which showed beautiful paperwhite arrangements in glass vases with pebbles. Not wanting to spend $50 to purchase their kit, I spent $5 for bulbs at Walmart.

I have grown paperwhites before and am hoping that in 6 weeks these bulbs will be in full bloom.

Let's Play

Saturday was a beautiful warm and sunny day. Jeff went out onto the deck and both dogs raced outside. I heard Jeff laughing and looked out the window.

There was Otis, racing around the deck with my slipper in his mouth.  I often find my slippers in different rooms, but never imagined they could end up outside. Jeff reclaimed my slipper and said you will need new ones by Christmas.

Putting It Back Together

The sheetrock repairs have left dust everywhere, on the floors, walls and furniture. Sheetrock dust is very fine and does not vacuum up well. To remove the dust the floors have to be mopped and dried several times.  The dust travels throughout the house so it is not just the downstairs which is impacted.

There is nothing more frustrating than having to once again put the house together.  I keep thinking, didn't we just do all this work a few weeks ago ? At this point we have no curtains, no ceiling lights and no art on the walls. Most of the furniture is in the guest bedrooms.

I am no longer enthusiastic about the renovation. After 6 months of turmoil,  all I want is a clean house and a couch to sit on.

Sheetrock Repaired

The sheetrock has been repaired.  Steve sanded off the mesh tape and installed paper tape in the damaged areas. I am hoping that this permanently fixes the problem and no new issues arise.

The sheetrock problems have left me extremely jaded. I don’t know that I would ever want to renovate again.   Jeff is more philosophical and says this negative experience should not dictate what we do in the future.

Fresh Air

Cooper is happiest when he is outside in the sunshine. While Jeff and I raked the lawn on Sunday, Cooper was out on the deck, barking and chasing the falling leaves.

On Sunday night, Jeff went out on the deck to barbecue and Cooper raced outside. It was dark, cold and windy. I thought Cooper would immediately want to come back in. Jeff cooked dinner and we ate, all the time Cooper was curled up on the deck, staring out into the yard.

After dinner, Cooper reluctantly came inside. His ears were a little cold, but his eyes were shining. I guess Cooper really loves the fresh air and the many interesting smells carried on the wind.

Sears Open on Thanksgiving

I saw a news article that stated Sears would be open on Thanksgiving. I thought this was rather sad.

Thanksgiving is one of the few days where businesses are closed and people can spend time at home with their families. I realize that some people may prefer to shop on Thanksgiving or do not have anyone to share the day with. However, it still seems that something is being lost with our endless consumerism.

Fall Back

With the end of Daylight Savings Time on  Sunday, the clocks get set back and we all get an extra hour of sleep. That is unless you live with Cooper and Otis.

The dogs woke up at 6:45 am, which is the new 5:45 am! Coop and Otis were raring to go and would not consider laying down for even a few more minutes. The only positive was that the sun was up and we were not walking in the dark.

One hour later, after being walked and eating breakfast, both dogs were stretched out asleep on the bed.

Sheetrock Update

Steve has started to repair the sheetrock.

The light fixtures are uninstalled and the curtains are down. Some furniture has been moved upstairs and the rest is under tarps. The dining, family, and living room are all unusable.

We are hosting Thanksgiving, so this work needs to be completed in 2 weeks time and the house put back together.

$115 for dog food!

We switched the dogs to Hill's Science Diet d/d, which can only be purchased at the vet's office. We purchased an 18 lb bag and I gave the tech a $6 coupon. The tech was not sure how to process the coupon and said, take the food and we will bill you.

I received a bill in the mail for $60. I was shocked that the cost had gone up $20/bag in 2 weeks and there was no discount for the coupon. I called the vet and was told the bookkeeper had just adjusted the prices and was now on vacation. They could not be sure, but thought the price was accurate. Wow! I didn't argue, but thought this will be the last time the dogs get this food.

I put the check in the mail. Two days later, I received another bill. This time my coupon was deducted, but the bill said I owed $115! I called the vet's office again and they said the bill was for 2 bags of d/d. I explained that I only had one bag of food. The tech said one bag would be removed from our bill.

Jeff comment on all this, "You and your damn coupons!"

Danny Remembered

The other day Danny's dog walker, Diane, posted a comment on our blog. I visited her website and there was a photo of our beautiful boy.

Click on the link: Danny

It is nice to know that we are not the only ones who miss this special dog.

Stairwell Complete

The stairwell has been painted. This is the last item that needed to be painted due to the renovation.

Frozen Carrots

I was putting a frozen dinner into the oven and it slipped out of my hand. The dinner landed face down and the plastic covering the frozen vegetable broke. I picked the dinner up and a few carrots fell out.

Before I could clean up the carrots, Coop and Otis raced in and ate them all. Danny loved fresh carrots, but Cooper and Otis refuse to eat them. I don't know if the dogs liked the fact that the carrots were cold and crunchy like ice cubes, or if they thought they were getting something forbidden (my lunch).

Why all the cracking ?

To everyone who is asking why our newly installed walls and ceilings are cracking, I have to say that we do not have a definitive answer. No, we do not live on a fault line!

After reading several "How to Sheetrock"  books, it appears that fiberglass tape should NOT be used with pre-mixed joint compound. Even the Home Depot 1-2-3 book warns you that cracking may result. Special setting compounds are required for fiberglass tape.

Don't people use fiberglass tape and pre-mixed compound all the time ? Yes, but many times this leads to problems with joints cracking. The sheetrock god, US Gypsum, warns on their website, "Do NOT use fiberglass tape with joint compound, only with setting type compounds". This same warning is carried on their fiberglass tape.

Our contractor does not think this is the cause of the numerous ceiling and wall cracks.

If you are going to be installing sheetrock, I suggest reading more about paper joint tape vs fiberglass tape. Paper is significantly stronger and recommended by the majority of sheetrock professionals.

Leaf Blower

  I was walking Cooper and Otis and we passed  a landscaping crew cleaning up leaves. This was the first time Coop saw a walk behind leaf blower. I thought Cooper might be scared of the noise. Instead, Coop started whining and wagging his tail.

The sight of a hundred leaves blowing around was fascinating to Coop. Coop loves to chase the falling leaves and this was a bonanza. I pulled a reluctant Coop away from the landscapers.

Eating cats & acorns

The mailman brought Otis and Cooper a very special gift - homemade cookies from Bobbi. Bobbi had originally adopted Otis in Maine, but could not keep him. Bobbi still keeps track of Otis thru the blog.

  
The dog treats are in the shape of cats, bats, owls and acorns. Otis is very happy to finally be able to snack on cats and acorns.

The pups love these treats! The cookies smell so good, that I am tempted to eat one. Thanks Bobbi & Michael !

More Cracking

After  painting the built in cabinets, the dining room wall needed some touch up. As I was painting the wall, I noticed a hairline crack. I took a deep breath and tried not to panic. Perhaps the wall crack was limited to just one spot .

In my heart, I knew that just like the ceiling, most of the walls were probably cracking. I looked in the hallway, family room and formal living room. Every external wall is cracking!

If I was angry about the ceiling, I am furious about the walls. Every room will have to be repainted.

Jeff is trying to find a resolution for this debacle. Jeff is talking with our contractor, Steve, to see what will be done to remedy this situation.

Slippers II

I realized that my slippers would never survive if I left them on the floor. I put the slippers on a shelf in the closet and thought that would be the end of Oti's interest.

Two days later, Otis pranced out of the closet, proudly carrying my slipper. It seems that Otis had no problem reaching up to grab my shoe.When Otis stands on his hind legs, he is as tall as I am. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how high Oti can reach.

I find it odd that Otis ignores racks of leather shoes, but desires a plush slipper. Otis is a puppy at heart and it seems my slipper is now his favorite toy.

Built In Update

The built in cabinet doors have been painted and installed. I think that the cabinets look nice and will be a focal point in the room.

I was able to fit most, but not all, of the china into the new cabinets.

Oak Trees

After Oti's acorn incident, I read online that acorns and oak leaves are poisonous to dogs. Since Otis did not swallow or chew the acorn, I was not worried.

A few days later, I was walking the dogs. Cooper was chasing the falling leaves. I looked down and Coop had an oak leaf dangling from his lips.

Maybe I do want winter to get here quickly after all.

Tick Season

It's that time of year when the ticks start trying to find a warm place for the winter.  Every now and then we spot a tick on Cooper's head and yank it off immediately.  I wonder how they end up on his head?

Cracking

With the cabinets almost finished, I hoped that our work on the house would soon be finished. That is, until I noticed a crack in the formal living room ceiling. Upon closer inspection, there were 2 long cracks. I was upset, but Jeff said this may be due to settling. Steve was still working on the cabinets and said he would fix the problem. Jeff and Steve looked at the other rooms and did not see any issues.

I came home to find that most of the joints in the formal living room ceiling had been taped and plastered. I nearly cried. The entire ceiling has to be repainted. Before painting, furniture has to be moved, all light fixtures have to be removed and  curtains have to be taken down.

Fast forward to a sunny day after the cabinet construction was finished. I slowly walked thru the downstairs and found multiple cracks in the hallway, family room and dining room ceilings. Almost every ceiling joint is cracking.

I am angry and disheartened. For there to be so many problems, the cause is either faulty materials or faulty workmanship. Jeff and I spent weeks painting the downstairs and this work will need to be redone. When we renovated, the process seemed to go fairly smoothly. I never imagined that 3 months later, it would become a nightmare.

1,000 posts

This is our 1,000th blog post! When Jeff started Wilton Diaries back in 2006, I never imagined it would survive so long or that I would become the principal writer.


I suppose that my writing many of the posts is not that surprising. Growing up I thought of becoming a writer or an English Lit major. Practicality won out and I graduated with a BS in Computer Science.


I have learned a lot by writing on the blog:

* Writing is hard work. It may seem effortless, but a lot of time is spent crafting ideas, taking pictures and putting the content together.
* Deadlines are tough. To maintain interest, I try to post every few days. However, life is not always interesting and even Cooper and Otis have settled into a predictable pattern
* My admiration for talented authors has grown. It seems that I often fail to find the words that truly express what is in my heart. Yet for some, this is a seemingly simple task.

I am still pleasantly surprised that people take the time to visit our blog and share in our Wilton adventures. To all our readers, thank you!

Acorn

I was grilling on the deck and saw Otis pick something up and start to chew on it. I thought perhaps Oti had found a stick, but there was nothing hanging out of his lips.

I decided that I should find out just what Oti had. Good luck trying to get a large dog to open his mouth, when he does not want to.

I finally got Oti's mouth open and stuck my hand inside. Talk about trust, I have no doubt that Oti could crush my hand if he wanted to. I searched around and pulled out an acorn! I threw the acorn over the railing. Oti just stood there and stared at where the acorn landed.

Maybe dogs really are like toddlers, putting everything in their mouth.

Painting Built Ins

The panel, mantel and cabinets have now been painted. It took many hours to apply 2 coats of paint to all of this wood. The doors still need to be primed and painted.

I like the look of the mantel and built ins. However, I am not sure that it has the Wow Factor that I was hoping for. Perhaps putting items into the cabinets and on the mantel will help make this more interesting.

Beautiful

Sometimes I forget just how handsome our pups are.

Cabinets

The dining room cabinets are now finished!

I hope that we can complete the painting in 2 weeks.

Slippers

I finally threw out my old sheepskin slippers that Otis loved to carry around. I hoped that Otis would ignore my new slippers. Unfortunately, by the end of the first day, Otis realized that the new slippers would make a fun toy.

Otis loves to run upstairs, grab a slipper and carry it off. I may find a slipper in any room of the house. If Otis feels that he is not getting enough attention, he lays down in front of me with a slipper in his mouth. I go over to retrieve the slipper and Otis gets the attention he is looking for.

I knew I was in trouble, when Cooper grabbed a slipper and began to prance around with it. Coop's tail was wagging and he had a play with me look on his face.

I may be asking Santa for another pair of slippers for Christmas.

Waiting on Glass

The wood panel over the fireplace has been built and installed. The edges of the large middle panel match the edges of the firebox.

The bottom cabinet doors have been built and installed. We are waiting on the glass to be cut and polished, so the top doors can be finished. We are also waiting for the Restoration Hardware knobs to be delivered.

Primed

The cabinets and mantel have been primed. The doors are still being made.

I believe that painting the cabinets and mantel will take longer than painting the balusters on the staircase.

Splash of Color

I couldn't resist these beautiful flowers. They really brighten the kitchen.

Where's Cooper ?

Depending upon the time of day, Cooper can be found in different rooms. Coop likes to follow the sun and is enjoying the new windows.

Last Column

The last column has finally been painted. Now when you walk through the front door, the foyer appears finished.

If you go up the stairs, you will see that the stairwell still needs painting.

Remember November

Mantel

The rainy weather has slowed down the cabinet construction, since the damp weather makes it difficult to work outside cutting the boards.

The mantel  is now finished. We chose fluted columns as the mantel's legs to mirror the other columns in the house. The crown molding on the ceiling is also used on the mantel to unify the design.

Yawn

On the weekend, Otis does not get to sleep all day long. By the afternoon, he is ready for a nap.

Looking at all those teeth makes me glad he is a friendly dog.

Monarch

With  the tropical storm and strong winds coming, I thought I should bring in my plastic watering container from the deck. When I picked up the container I saw that there was water in the bottom and a monarch butterfly floating on top.

I could not reach my hand in to pull out the butterfly, so gently poured the water out. The butterfly was free from the container, but just lay on its side. I tried to stand the butterfly upright, but it immediately fell over.

I realized that the butterfly's wings were wet and it could not fly. I was not sure what to do. I then saw the mum in full bloom and gently placed the butterfly on a flower. The butterfly was able to grasp the flower and slowly spread its wings. I thought the Monarch could have a snack while he dried out.

When I looked outside a little while later, the butterfly was gone.

Drapes

The dining room curtains have been hung.

I had bought a curtain rod before the chandelier arrived. After seeing the chandelier, I realized the curtain rod would not be a good match. This meant another trip to Penney's to exchange the rod.

The dining room table has been put together, so we now have a place to sit.

Shoe Molding

Now that the hardwood floors have been refinished, the shoe  molding has been installed.

While the installation took only a few hours, the painting of all this took much longer.

Cabinets

The old mantel has been removed from the fireplace and the cabinets are being built.

When construction completes, we will paint the cabinets white. Yes, more painting.

New Food

I think that Otis has allergies, as he often chews at his feet and scratches at his ears. This is especially noticeable after Otis eats. I am not sure if these are allergies to food or pollen or grass.

Jeff saw an ad for a new Science Diet Prescription d/d dog food. This food is supposed to help reduce food allergy symptoms. This dog food can only be purchased from a vet. When I called our vet, I was told they do not carry this food, but could order it. I was then asked if the dogs would prefer salmon, venison or duck.

I know that Cooper had enjoyed salmon before, so ordered an 8 lb bag. I mixed the new food with the existing, to ease the dogs into their new diet. I was surprised that both dogs gobbled up the salmon and potato kibble.

The prescription food is pricey and I do believe that the dogs may now be eating better than we do!

Fireplace

When we renovated, our family room became the dining room. The reason for doing this was to have the dining area adjoin the kitchen.

This means that there is a fireplace in the dining room. We wanted to have a new mantel and custom cabinets  built, but this exceeded our budget.

A few months have passed and work on the built ins is starting. In two weeks, the construction should complete.

Never Ending

It seems that the painting never ends. We still need to paint the hallway upstairs, but with cold weather approaching, Jeff decided it was time to start painting outside.

The first coat on both box bay windows is now complete.

Security System - NOT

I always thought that Cooper and Otis made a good alarm system. The dogs usually bark when a car pulls up or if they hear a noise in the middle of the night.

This morning, the C&O security system failed. The 4Runner was having a problem and the mechanic stopped by to pick the car up. The person drove up, parked their car and drove away in the 4Runner. I saw all this through the window. I looked over and  Coop and Otis were sleeping on the bed. The dogs did not even open an eye - they were completely oblivious!

I guess their morning walk and breakfast had made them sleepy.

Railing Complete

The railing has been stained and the balusters have been painted.

I hope to never have to stain or paint the staircase again, as it is very time consuming. I now know why professional painters charge so much for trim painting.

Chandelier

The dining room chandelier has been installed.

I bought the light fixture on the Internet and the color was called "Wilshire Bronze".  In the online photos  the chandelier appeared to be oiled bronze, but in reality the color is more black than bronze.

In any case, I like it.  Now we just need to put the dining room table together so we can eat in here.

Aren't you glad we bailed out Chrysler?

Railing

The railing has been stained to match the hardwood floors. Two coats of polyurethane have been applied.

I still need to paint all the balusters, which will take a long time.

All You Can Eat

We have a large metal canister that holds 20 lbs of dog food. I had just bought a new bag of dog food and poured it into the container. I did not put the lid on it, since Cooper and Otis needed to be fed dinner.

I left the kitchen for 10 seconds. When I came back, Otis has his head in the canister and was eating, as if it was a trough. I think Otis thought this was his lucky day, with an unlimited amount of kibble.

Hallway Lights

The Waterford lights have been installed in the downstairs hallways.

We are slowly completing the finishing touches on the house.  The dining room chandelier should be delivered later this week.

CO

The second time is the charm. After installing smoke detectors in all the upstairs bedrooms, we have finally received the certificate of occupancy (CO) for our renovation.

I am sure this means that someone from the town will soon be stopping by to assess the changes for tax purposes.

Mums

This weekend, I saw two more signs that Fall is here. At the grocery store, the wonderful summer fruits are no longer on display. The produce section had a few peaches and plums, but most of the displays are apples.

At Costco, the beautiful mums are for sale. I bought this extra large container for only $10! I thought the display said $20, but when I arrived home and looked at the receipt, it showed  $10. I was pleasantly surprised.

Falling Leaves

The leaves have started to fall, which means that walking Cooper is now an adventure.

Coop scans the trees and if he sees a leaf falling, he chases after it. Usually this means, Coop tries to run with me in tow.

Sometimes the leaf will fall directly in front of Coop and he tries to grab it in his mouth. If Coop cannot catch the leaf, he pounces on it once it lands.

I can't help but laugh at Coop's antics. It is nice to see out 9 year old dog acting like a pup.

Delivery

The Waterford lights have finally arrived. I am hoping that Jeff will install them in the next few days.

After months of key lights and bare bulbs, it will be nice to see the crystal ceiling fixtures.

Only Chris Dodd Can Be That Ignorant

From SayAnything Blog:

Senator Chris Dodd was asked for a reaction to Obama’s apparent intention to name Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren to be the interim head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.
Dodd’s reaction? Confusion:

In dismissing the rumor last night, though, Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd — who authored the law — claimed he’d never heard of the interim appointment power.
“I don’t know what it is. I never heard of it before,” said a flabbergasted Dodd to TPMDC. “It’s kind of unique isn’t it?”

The problem? The power to make this interim appointment comes from legislation that is actually named after Dodd:

The authority for the Treasury Department to grant an interim appointment — distinct from a “recess appointment” — comes from the financial reform law itself.

But hey, it’s not like it’s his job to read the laws he’s, um, authoring. Not to mention voting for.

Salsa Dancing Golden Retriever

Wonder how long it took to train this Golden ? We still struggle with "Come!".