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?