ICT Japan

Late Fall Ice Cream

2011-11-21T22:37:00.001-05:00

I'd been on the library waiting list for months before it was my turn to borrow Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.

Given so many interesting flavor combinations I decided to flip through the book until I found two recipes I could make with ingredients on hand. The winners:

Celery Ice Cream with Candied Ginger and Rum-Plumped Golden Raisins - delicious flavor, but too many raisins.

Roasted Pumpkin 5-Spice Ice Cream - Perfect! I cant stop taking the container out of the freezer for just one more spoonful.

I like that the base for all the ice creams are thickened with corn starch rather than eggs, to me the taste is better. I also found that both of these recipes didn't freeze rock solid like some of the other recipes I have tried. This book is going back to the library tomorrow morning before my willpower fails and I make the Brown Butter Almond Brittle which in addition to lots of cream calls for three sticks of butter in a single pint.

Canadian Club Brand Center

2011-11-03T22:54:00.001-04:00

A few weekends ago Mike's family treated us to a tour of the Canadian Club Brand Center in Windsor.

I'll admit I don't like Whiskey, especially without a mixer, but I really enjoyed the tour; the guide shared a lot of interesting information about the role of Canadian Club during Prohibition.

The view of Detroit from Canada always looks so nice!

Swim Meet

2011-10-25T20:48:00.003-04:00

I spent last week near Sacramento competing in a synchronized swim meet. For three days my teammates and I were at the pool from dawn to dusk. I spent much of that time in the tent city trying not to get sunburned.

On Saturday I was able to participate in an attempt at a Guinness World Record for the largest water float pattern. There were 286 participants who formed the pink breast cancer ribbon. Here are the aerial photos. On Sunday my team routine won the gold medal in our age group (the average age of my team members is 50).

After the meet we moved on to Yosemite for the next two days...

before heading back to Michigan. I really liked this crystal and wood sculpture in the Sacramento airport, I'd love a smaller version hanging over my dining room table.

Raspberry Picking

2011-09-19T15:40:00.001-04:00

Over the weekend Mom and I picked seven pounds of raspberries to make freezer jam. I've been enjoying the extras with whipped cream.

Twenty Seven Hour Flight Delay

2011-09-02T19:38:00.002-04:00

I've been in Japan for almost a week. I should have been here longer, but my flight was delayed leaving me stuck at the airport for 27 hours. I was given a hotel room overnight, but this is how I passed the time at the airport:

I watched the fountain

and watched the birds

used extra food vouchers to 'buy' instant coffee

got a manicure

watched the plane engine being repaired

After 25 hours we finally got on the plane, which was almost empty since most people had given up on waiting and taken other flights

On the runway we were forced to go back to the gate for further repairs, but at the gate I convinced a flight attendant to get me cup of wine.

Anatomy of an August Sunday

2011-08-23T21:10:00.003-04:00

Dream Cruise

Rain

Graduation Open House

Door Desk

2011-08-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

My vision when I designed the basement space was to have a wall to wall desk, but then I fell in love with idea of a door desk. Lucky enough I had an old door that was the right width to match up with some Ikea shelves to create my new desk.

Curtains

2011-08-17T22:06:00.000-04:00

My special order fabric which was supposed to arrive in less than 6 weeks ended up taking 12, I've lived that long with only one curtain panel, but I couldn't be happier to finally have a finished set of curtains.

Tomatoes

2011-08-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

The plants on my deck have ripe tomatoes, but I just can't bring myself to pick them.

The Foor is Done the Painting is Not

2011-08-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

The bathroom floor has been finished for a few weeks (already?) but I still need to finish some caulking and painting around the shower.

The laminate vanity counter, which I already disliked, clashes terribly with the Travertine tile so I need to research my options for replacing it.

So Close

2011-07-31T23:24:00.002-04:00

Over the course of three twelve hour days and then some my Dad took the my bathroom floor from demolished to finished.

My job was painting and bringing a constant supply of clean buckets of water during the grouting process. Unfortunately the grout needed 24 hours to cure, so the baseboards cant go up until tomorrow. Almost there...

This Floor 's About to Go

2011-07-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

My Dad can't play golf this week (he normally plays almost everyday) so he offered to tile the floor in my master bathroom! My job was the demolition...

Off to Madison

2011-07-22T12:51:00.000-04:00

Cathy and John's wedding is this weekend so I am skipping out of work early today for the road-trip to Madison.

There have been no further developments in the basement, I am on strike until my favorite season is over.

Summer Potatoes

2011-07-15T11:41:00.003-04:00

Michigan red and gold potatoes with garlic scape 'pesto'

Summer Weekends

2011-07-08T17:21:00.000-04:00

Looking forward to another beautiful Summer weekend! Hopefully the skies will be as pretty as they were last weekend while we were waiting for the fireworks to start.

Knee High by the Fourth of July

2011-07-01T23:42:00.001-04:00

This week I had a business trip to Indiana (far less exciting than Japan!) As we drove through the endless fields of corn I was trying to explain the saying Knee High by the Fourth of July, but practically all the corn was already as tall as me.

Rainy Sunday

2011-06-23T08:21:00.001-04:00

I am packing up to fly out tomorrow, but I wanted to share some more photos from last weekend. Tomoki-san, who I first worked with more than seven years ago when I joined the company, offered to entertain me on Sunday. Knowing that I have already been to a lot of places in the area, he suggested the Aichi Ceramic Meseum where you can look at the artifacts and then make some pottery on a manually turned wheel. I was really impressed with this piece that is a few thousand years old.

After the museum we had a mochi snack at a tiny tiny place near his childhood home

and then moved on this his favorite 'expensive bar' in Toyota city.

The whole place only had 11 seats, the bartender/owner apologized for being "a perfectionist who can only make one drink at a time," and the selection of liquor was like none I have ever seen - every surface was filled with bottles

My Favorite Holiday

2011-06-21T13:22:00.013-04:00

I love daylight, and sun and the Summer Solstice. The Solstice happens on the 22nd here and the sun will be rising at 4:39am! I'd love to see visit a Scandinavian country and see this someday.

To Oota and Back

2011-06-19T06:26:00.002-04:00

Commuting to Oota and back to Toyota City on Friday, under the influence of jet lag, left me almost sleeping in my rotary sushi dinner. Round trip it's more than 500 miles, but at Shinkansen speed it was possible.

Wandering Around

2011-06-18T06:24:00.001-04:00

This afternoon, I took a much anticipated trip back to my old neighborhood. First stop, Harvest Hills, my old apartment building. I lived in the third floor middle apartment, the tree is almost as tall as the balcony now. The tiny garage looks the same.

From the apartment I walked over to the grocery store, Valor. Honestly, it didn't make sense to pick up souvenir snacks and drag than back to Toyota City on the hour long subway/train ride, but I did it anyway for old time sake. Next on my tour I wanted to get green tea soft serve, but the place I had in mind was closed (or has been changed to another business?) so I continued on to Heiwa Park.

Pretty as I was walking up the steps to this monument it started to rain so rather than continuing on to Daiso I went back to the hotel. One of the things I disliked about my stay in Japan was getting wet all the time...walking into work with wet shoes and my pant legs soaked up to the knees really irritated me.

Couch

2011-06-17T00:10:00.040-04:00

Early last week when the weather was in the 90s I decided I didn't want to wait any longer to start enjoying the newly finished basement (which stays nice and cool). Before this realization I had been researching a trip to North Carolina to buy furniture, but I ultimately gave up on that and decided to go with an IKEA Karlstand which required no waiting and a good price. I don't love the legs, but I might try something like this to make them less noticeable.

Mike and I barely got this thing assembled before I had to leave for Japan, but this is how the room looked when I left.

I've Arrived

2011-06-16T06:15:00.001-04:00

My flight landed in Japan on Tuesday night as the sun was setting and ever since the sky has been this color, but the gray sky hasn't stopped me from wanting to sit in the hotel window Lost In Translation style

I haven't done much, but work since I got here. The new R&D office that was being built during my ICT is finished, it is much much better than the old office and has a special cooling system that is making the temperature more comfortable. Everything looks modern, bright, and new (except the desk chairs.) The cafeteria was also remodeled to double the previous size and there are many more meal options including a salad bar. Due to the earthquake one of the three elevators was shutdown to save power and there are signs encouraging taking the elevator to save power, the bathroom hand driers are also turned off, but the heated toilet seats are still on.

Tomorrow I am headed to a meeting in Gunma via Tokyo on the Shinkansen, so I picked up some convenience store breakfast along with my dinner.

Now That it's Fixed I'm Ready to Talk About it

2011-06-09T23:44:00.002-04:00

The night my Dad installed the sliding door it felt like everything went wrong with it. The doors I purchased are hollow and pretty much the cheapest thing ever so after trimming them to height there was no material left to screw into - that was the first thing that went wrong. The second issue was with the track. After hanging the doors they interfered with each other during the movement...

The next day, while I was at work and my Dad was hard at work finishing the molding he discovered the root cause. The rollers that attach the doors to the tracks are intended to be different between the outer and inner door - I hadn't read the directions closely enough so we had one of each roller type on each of the doors.

By making a custom reinforcement and getting the rollers in the correct arrangement my Dad got the doors running smoothly. All that's left is for me to do is some painting.

Croutons

2011-06-08T12:48:00.001-04:00

Since adapting sourdough baby I am constantly required to come up with new ways to use it. One of my go to snacks is croutons - I eat them like potato chips.

Cube up some day old sourdough and toss it with olive oil, salt, and Herbes de Provence, bake at 250 for 20ish minutes.

Blame it on the Train

2011-06-07T23:01:00.000-04:00

I had a good trip with great friends in Milwaukee over the weekend. As I previously mentioned, departure on Friday was from Muskegon on the Lake-Express ferry. I've taken the ferry a few times and when the water is very calm it's a nice ride otherwise it can turn your stomach. Luckily I had nice blue skies for departure.

On Saturday we took a brew-pub crawl by boat through Milwaukee.

A lovely view of Lake Michigan from the hotel.

On Sunday afternoon I took Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago and then Chicago to Detroit. Everyone who takes Amtrak has a horror story about delays, but I the ferry was out of service on Sunday so I had limited options. The leg of the trip to Chicago was great and I enjoyed a nice layover lounging in the Great Hall at Union Station.

The second leg of the trip from Chicago was slow, I ended up getting back to Royal Oak after 2:00am, more than an hour late. Ive been trying to catch up on sleep ever since.

PS I'm working on a basement update for tomorrow.

Milwaukee

2011-06-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

Off to Milwaukee for the weekend to celebrate Cathy's last weeks as a single women. To make things interesting I'll get there by boat and return by train.

Light Change

2011-06-02T12:17:00.001-04:00

With a box of stuff ready for donation at the Habitat ReStore I decided that one of the boring light fixtures I planned to donate was actually better than this dated brass thing that was at the top of the second floor staircase.

Nothing spectacular, but an improvement. Plus the replacement fixture is insulated and the old one was not.

I'm returning

2011-06-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

It's finally official, in less than two weeks I'll be returning to Japan. It's just a short trip, and it's rainy season, but I am still pretty excited!

Memorial Day in Pentwater

2011-05-30T22:50:00.000-04:00

Had a very relaxing Memorial Day weekend, in Pentwater, filled with good company, good food, lots of reading and finally a little sun today.

Half and Half

2011-05-26T23:03:00.020-04:00

The work with my parents last night started out good, but ultimately ended up being very frustrating. When I arrived my Dad had the door framed and all of the molding in. After dinner we started with the Windowsills, they were heavy (a bit over 100lbs). Since the granite store refused to let me take the sills home in my car for fear they would break (my Mom had to pick them up for me) I I had been running windowsill disaster scenarios through my head pretty much all afternoon (ie we slip carrying the windowsill in the rain outside or the sill cracks into multiple pieces and ruins the new floor or it is impossible to fit the thing into place, or...) My Dad wanted to set the sills in place without doing a dry run, but I wasn't willing to take that risk so we started to maneuver them into position and immediately realized that the opening was too short at the front. This was easily fixed by cutting back the drywall and allowing the sill to slip into place under the drywall. Next we Caulked on some silicone and with three people slipped the sill into position fairly easily. My heart was racing, but the process was almost painless.

I am really happy with how they look, and for the price that better be the case (Granite remnants are not as inexpensive as the home improvement shows on TV lead you to believe). The one thing left to complete the look is a bit of caulk and paint.

Next we went to work on the door and it was/is a disaster I am not ready to talk about yet...

Moving Along

2011-05-26T11:59:00.001-04:00

It Turns out the wall I didn't build is not plumb. Before the drywall was installed I never noticed that the door, which is plumb, did not have a consistent gap to the framing. This inconsistent gap posed a problem for trimming out the door, so my Dad spent a lot of the day yesterday making custom shims to cover the issue.

In addition to the door trim, by the end of the work day most of the quarter round was installed. I am happy with the color match to the floor. Who knew 'Special Walnut' stain on pine is a good match for cork?

Breaking in the Paddle

2011-05-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

It took far too long to put the new mixer to use making cookies. Searching the Smitten Kitchen blog for chocolaty cookies I stetted on World Peace Cookies

Without chocolate chips my cookies are slightly different from the recipe, but they were delicious enough for me. I hardly had any left to photograph.

Mistakes

2011-05-24T11:38:00.000-04:00

Now that this basement project is almost finished I am finding some mistakes.

*The heat vent is too close to the floor, I should have taken the height of the molding into consideration when I decided where the vent would be located.

*On the TV side of the room I forgot to include a plaster ring for the speaker wires to come through.

*I took the time to level the plaster rings for the rear speakers, but I didn't pay enough attention to their position relative to the ceiling and they ended up at slightly different heights.

*I forgot to hard wire in a smoker detector for the unfinished side of the basement. I'll be installing a less reliable battery powered one instead.

South Jersey

2011-05-23T17:55:00.001-04:00

This was my ride to South Jersey - a sixteen foot moving truck towing a car trailer.

We departed from Michigan around 7:00 on Saturday morning and thanks to my wrong turn that lead to a detour through downtown Pittsburgh we didn't arrive until after 8:00 that evening. As soon as we arrived unloading started and it took until after 11:00 to haul the contents of the truck to the second floor walk up.

Sunday was spent unpacking which made sense Rebecca has a roommate (who was hoping to see the floor of her living room ASAP) and started her new Job this morning.

The drive to the airport this morning was gray and cloudy as we passed over the Delaware River.

Philadelphia Bound

2011-05-21T10:56:00.003-04:00

I never pass up travel if I can help it...so I'm currently on the road with my best friend for the Michigan to New Jersey leg or her Texas to New Jersey relocation.

The Floor is Finished

2011-05-20T12:35:00.004-04:00

Thursday while I worked my parents worked on the basement. They were able to finish laying down the floor and install the baseboards up to the point where they will meet up with the doors.

I've got a lot of homework before they come back next Wednesday:
*Buy sliding doors & track
*Frame the opening for sliding door
*Stain the framing around the future sliding door
*Adjust the drywall surface around the existing door so the molding will fit flush
*Buy finishing piece for the raw edge of flooring on the unfinished side of the basement
*Cross my fingers that the windowsills are completed quickly

Bike to Work Day

2011-05-20T09:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Bike to Work Day. Here are some views from my bike ride this morning, it was very foggy!

Oops

2011-05-18T12:20:00.000-04:00

Part of the electrical required getting a wire from the basement up through the stairway wall so we could tie it into the the three-way switch at the top of the stairs. In the process - which included coat hangers, a fiberglass stick, and lots of cheering when we finally succeeded - the drywall next to the switch was slightly damaged.

I am not much of a drywaller, but little jobs like this are manageable. As my uncle explained it to me, the secret to good drywall repairs is to cut the damaged material out to the point where the paper still has good adhesion to the gypsum plaster.

Just got word from Lowes that the lone box of cork has arrived. It was supposed to arrive on the 16th and then it was delayed until the 19th, but now it is here. I've got to get a move on painting / staining moldings.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

2011-05-17T17:30:00.001-04:00

I took Lindsay's advice and made Salted Butter Caramel as the first batch of ice cream. I love sweets (which I blame for the dental filling I got this morning), and this ice cream has an excellent flavor, but it is just a bit too rich for my taste. What else could I have expected from an ice cream made with 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 a stick of butter, and 5 egg yolks?

For the next batch I'm thinking something a little lighter, maybe matcha, or chocolate sorbet? hmm, I also love vanilla beans...

In searching for ice creams I also noticed that Google has a recipe ingredient search, is this new or have I just never noticed it?

Tool Box Cleanup

2011-05-16T12:55:00.016-04:00

This is the tool and materials storage situation I've been working with this Winter. It actually doesn't look too bad right now, usually tools are spread out much further onto the floor.

I inherited the shelf, on the right, with the house and it is defective and permanently crooked. My goal is, using only materials I already have, to turn this mess into something functional and organized

Window Covering

2011-05-15T19:29:00.002-04:00

This post was supposed to be about stick-to-it-iveness, but I ran into trouble that I couldn't overcome. Yesterday's project was hanging curtains, I wanted this to be a one day project and I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Step one was calculating how wide to set the rods and correct spacing with respect to the window. My personal preference is to hang curtains high and wide trying to make the window look as large as possible.

The first road block, came when I tried to drill into the heat duct. Why does the heat duct have to run in exactly the same place where the curtain rod bracket needs to go? This issue was solved with a very short metal drywall anchor and an equally short fine threaded screw.

So far so good and it's still light outside. Next stage, sew some curtains. I had about 4 yards of fabric and it took exactly 2.5 to make one panel, no problem, Joann Fabrics is about 2 miles away. Unfortunately, they only had less than 2 yards in stock and I'll need to place a special order to get more.

On the upside I have a lot of molding to paint / stain while I'm waiting for the fabric.

What Remains?

2011-05-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Doing a mental tally of what construction tasks remain:

1) Flooring - Did I mention that I miscalculated the square footage and came up one box of cork short? I forgot to include the stairwell. The box is scheduled for delivery Monday.

2) Baseboard - The baseboard that I used throughout the rest of the house is too narrow for the floating cork so I'll need to also use quarter round I need to calculate how much material I need and get it painted / stained.

3) Windowsills - I decided on granite because in the Winter I'd like to put plants on the sill and I worry about wood being damaged. The granite has been ordered and will arrive around May 25th.

4) Door - After I rejected the poor quality French door from Home Depot my Dad suggested sliding doors. I priced them out and they will cost about 1/4 of a French Door.

5) Molding - The current door and the new sliding door need molding, I'd like to match existing door molding.

6) Heat Register - it just needs to be installed, why have I procrastinated this long?

Rain Rain

2011-05-14T09:19:00.000-04:00

...go away I want to ride my bike to work again someday.

Mulch

2011-05-13T13:17:00.000-04:00

Loving the look of my freshly mulched front garden. In previous years I used the natural colored cypress mulch, but, this year I switched to the dark brown version. My Aunt and Uncle were out walking the dogs and stopped by while I was putting the stuff down, they agreed with my color choice.

Tackling the Top Two

2011-05-12T12:38:00.000-04:00

For years the top two items on my long and random To Do List have been "Watch Rain Man" and "Ice Cream Maker." Earlier, on the day that M and I planned to watch Rain Man, I was in Salvation Army for Ladies Night (all women's clothes are 50% off and they play fun music) checking out, in a hurry, late for a hair appointment when I spotted the prize - a Donvier Ice Cream Maker - on the counter waiting to be restocked.

It was marked $4.99, but out of nowhere the cashier suggested that it was only worth $3.99 and that's what she charged me. I should be embarrassed to admit that the thing has been in the trunk of my car since before I left for Mexico. Time to hunt for the perfect first recipe, any suggestions? The next two tasks on the To Do List are "Shower Curtain for Upstairs" and "Order Window Sills for Basement," much less fun than movies and ice cream.

Vacation in Mexico

2011-05-11T12:38:00.003-04:00

When I asked the boss to sign my vacation request for a trip to Mexico he laughed at me since traveling to Mexico for work isn't my favorite. As I hoped the beach in Mexico is a lot more enjoyable than the area where I got for work.

We stayed at an all inclusive resort which was a first for me and very convenient. I did get a little tired of the food toward the end of the trip, but that is my only complaint - otherwise it was a most relaxing vacation.

Our one trip off resort was to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.

Couch Hunting

2011-05-07T12:01:00.147-04:00

I'm on the hunt for a sectional for the basement - I need something to sit on if I'm ever going put the TV to use. Ikea is usually my first try for furniture, but when I looked in January I didnt see/feel anything that was right. I'm not sure if I tested the "KIVIK," or not, I might like it if it had full height arms.

image from http://www.ikea.com

The second place I have luck finding furniture is West Elm. Browsing their website I liked the "Blake"

and the "Henry"

I wanted to test these two sofas out and the nearest West Elm is on Columbus. Unfortunately neither of these was comfortable, but luckily the mall also had a Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. Of the 15 or 20 sofas I sat on far and away the most comfortable was from the Pottery Barn "Comfort Collection."

The bad news is this one starts around $3000. The search will continue.

Columbus, OH

2011-05-06T15:31:00.040-04:00

Last Saturday I talked M into driving with me to Columbus on a couch scouting (more on that later) trip. I like road trips, but a little less so when gas is over $4/gallon.

For lunch we went to Northstar Cafe. I had the Northstar Burger "Just made with organic brown rice, black beans and beets, topped with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion + simple salad." I like beets and they were a nice veggie burger addition, but the real highlight was the café vinaigrette.

*Notice how green the trees are just 3 hours south?

On our way out we noticed a sign for Jeni's Ice Cream which I recognized instantly from Lindsay's blog. I sampled the Goat Cheese with Cognac Fig Sauce and Olive Oil with Sea-Salted Pepitas, but ended up going with the a scoop each of Honey Butter Cake and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. I'm now craving more of the Goat Cheese Fig.

Flooring Day 2

2011-05-05T12:20:00.000-04:00

Also known as the Monday I went to work and my Dad went to my house and nearly finished putting down the floor.

Flooring Day 1

2011-05-04T15:18:00.000-04:00

My Dad is a slave driver. On Sunday he had me installing flooring from the time I got home from swim practice at 11:00 until 10:00 at night. I got breaks to pick up extra materials at Lowe's, get a Frosty from Wendy's and cook dinner. My Dad worked harder than me, he didn't take any breaks.

The day's results look like this:

To get there we used an additional 50lbs of floor leveler, laid down almost 400sqft of vapor barrier, watched a video about the floor installation and then started clicking together the cork planks (which is more difficult than the video indicates).

Pink Paint

2011-05-02T21:33:00.001-04:00

I gave the pink to white ceiling paint a chance and the results were good. No more streaks. Thank goodness that job is done! Just in time because the floor is going down soon...

Design Thoughts

2011-05-01T11:06:00.003-04:00

The fabric in the background was intended for a shower curtain in my spare bathroom, but it clashed terribly with the tile. I like the geometrical pattern too much to not put it to use somewhere. Unexpectedly it looks ok with the cork and I like the way it looks with the curtain rods I got free with Kohl's Cash earned buying the Kitchenaid mixer.

It feels early to be thinking about curtains before any of the furniture is chosen, but I might be willing to make a commitment to this fabric.

New Toy

2011-04-30T11:19:00.004-04:00

I saved up my Discover Card Cash Back earnings for a long time (OK, It should have taken longer - I spend too much money on the card), redeemed them for Kohl's gift cards, waited for a good sale, and bought the KitchenAid mixer.

So far I've only made a loaf of bread, which didn't turn out any better than if I had kneaded it myself, but did save me the 25 minutes of hands on time. I've got a beach vacation coming up so sweets aren't on the menu, but when I get back I'll be making this banana pudding:

2 bananas

2 c milk

1/2 vanilla bean

4 egg yolks

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c cornstarch

1 t salt

2 T butter

Combine the bananas with milk and vanilla in saucepan, boil, turn off heat. Cover, set aside for 10 min. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt whisk until smooth. With the mixer running slowly add the banana mixture. Return everything to the saucepan and whisk constantly until it returns to a simmer and thickens. Return the mixture to the electric mixer, add the butter and whisk on high until cool. Refrigerate.

Low Voltage Wire Organization

2011-04-29T11:38:00.003-04:00

This little devise to hold the low voltage wires was unquestionably overpriced, but I cant get over how streamlined it looks.

Leveling Off

2011-04-28T12:32:00.002-04:00

With all the rain and bad weather this week, my Dad had time away from the golf course to get started on the basement flooring. Step one: level the slab. After mixing 25lbs of floor patch in small batches, by hand, Dad decided that it was close enough and any remaining unevenness can be resolved with tar paper and the vapor barrier. The cork instructions call for levelness within 1/8 inch over 10 ft, that might be a stretch.

My tasks before any more progress is made are painting the ceiling and deciding which direction the floor should be laid.

Light Bulb Moment

2011-04-27T22:31:00.000-04:00

This photo is a good illustration of the streayness on the ceiling that has still not been resolved - I bought the paint, just need to put it to use. What I wanted to show in this photo is something my uncle pointed out when he stopped by to borrow a tool.

I incorrectly installed the light bulbs, notice that in the light on the left the bulb sits flush with the ceiling while the bulb on the right is not visible. It turns out the recessed light fixtures have an adjustment for the height of the bulb, which should sit a few inches inside the fixture to minimize glare.

Amaryllis

2011-04-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

It took two years to get this amaryllis to bloom, but it is making a nice showing now. I just learned that the actual name for this plant is Hippeastrum, it is erroneously called Amaryllis.

Streaky

2011-04-24T10:37:00.001-04:00

After a coat of primer and two coats of paint the ceiling is still looking streaky. I think the problem is that I just cant see, if I turn the lights on it is too blinding and the outside light never seams right either. Maybe I should try the paint that goes on pink and dries white?

Strange Gift

2011-04-23T11:26:00.008-04:00

My parents stopped in Thursday night on their way home from Arizona for the summer. I am so excited that they are back (with my Dad's help the floor in the basement can finally happen!)

Behold, the lemon, nearly the size of my head, that they brought back for me. Would this be worth a fortune in Japan?

Lights

2011-04-22T12:39:00.001-04:00

I've been too busy, tending to my sourdough baby, to blog or work in the basement for the past few weeks. The light bulbs and recessed light bezels did go up a few weeks ago, but I still have holes where the door, and switch plates should be.

There are so many choices when it comes to light bulbs I was overwhelmed and picked the least expensive and on sale option. If I start to notice an increase in my electric bill I might regret this, but it was a quick fix for now.

Sourdough

2011-03-26T00:10:00.001-04:00

One of my Amazon orders of stuff for the basement was shy of free shipping, and learning to make sourdough bread has been on my to do list so I added sourdough starter to my order. I didn't realize how much care this sourdough baby would require. For a week I had to keep the starter at a temperature between 70-85 degrees and feed it every 12 hours. After 4 days I was sick of waiting so I decided to make a loaf of bread - this was also a lot of trouble! The instructions call for kneading the dough for 20 minutes, by hand, before letting the loaf rise for 4-24 hours. The first loaf of bread turned out too dense, I should have followed the instructions and waited the full week for the starter to mature.

The second loaf turned out much different. I let it rise overnight and in the morning it had flattened out into a huge fluffy disk.

I'm planning to make bread pudding with the second loaf and then go for a third try this weekend. I need someone to take some of my starter in case I accidentally kill the original, let me know if you are up for the job.

Electrical --> Finished!

2011-03-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

My Uncle and Aunt came over Tuesday and Thursday this week and got the outlets and switches installed. I am happy to report that as of last night all the new circuits are on and working.

The next big project is flooring. I am pretty confident this is the floor I'll be using. I can feel that the current floor isn't level, but I am not confident about using floor leveler on my own.

Introducing Artichoke Heart

2011-03-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

The chosen color is called artichoke heart. It's a Martha Stewart color, but based on my Mom and the Home Depot employee's recommendations I had the color mixed in Behr brand paint. The photo makes things look more complete then they really are. The ceiling has been primed, but still needs to be painted. A light second coat is required on the walls, and the edges also need to be finished up. After painting I am really happy with the drywall work! I noticed a few small spots while I was painting, but non of the joints are visible and I don't see any waviness.

Mandatory Work Slowdown

2011-03-21T13:14:00.001-04:00

I've been under the weather the past couple of days, but on Saturday, before I started feeling terrible, M and I primed the ceiling and put up two potential test paint colors.

By the end of the weekend I was hoping to have photos of the painting completed and the outlets and switches installed, but the sickness stopped me. The only reason I am in any sort of rush to get this stuff done is that the stairway lights now belong to the new basement circuits that cant be turned on.

Priming

2011-03-18T00:09:00.001-04:00

Rather than celebrating St Patrick's day with green beer, I ran over to Lowe's after Pilates and picked up a 2 gallon bucket of primer. At the recommendation of the drywaller I also grabbed a 3/4 inch nap roller. Three hours later the walls are primed and the bucket is empty. It looks like I will need to put on a second coat, but the information online isn't definitive on weather this is necessary or not.

There is still so much drywall dust in the air that I couldn't get a decent photo without all the floaters.

Drywall Day 1

2011-03-16T12:33:00.007-04:00

Drywall work started Monday morning, five guys arrived about 9:00 and started carrying 33 sheets or drywall down the switch back stairs. I got a call about 3:00, letting me know they were leaving for the day. When I got home this was the shocking change I encountered:

Before Drywall

2011-03-15T12:33:00.001-04:00

Last Thursday I had a third and final drywall estimate. All three of the drywallers I had come in for estimates came recommended, and I suspect they each would have done a fine job, but I had to choose one. The estimate prices came in at $2000, $1200, and $1500. I eliminated the $2000 quote from consideration and debated the pros and cons of the remaining options.

$1200

Pros: Very eager to get the work, open schedule, least expensive

Cons: Didn't know the difference between horizontal and vertical, schedule was too open, wanted payment on delivery of supplies

$1500

Pros: "Pay me when I finish, " suggested I clean up the window frames before drywall was installed, very busy

Cons: More expensive

I ended up going with the $1500 option, I am assuming that they drwaller who has a busy schedule in this current housing market must be really good.

This is what things looked like on Sunday night (I love daylight savings time! it's still light outside in these photos).

So How's the TV?

2011-03-10T20:24:00.001-05:00

It's good now, resting on my patio chair, but the delivery and setup didn't go as smooth as I expected.

I ordered the TV from Amazon and was looking forward to the delivery service which should have included setup. Instead of spectacular delivery, I was alerted that the TV had arrived by the sound of it being pushed across the front porch. The shipping company hired by amazon, Pilot, sent one person with a shipper that clearly stated "2 man delivery" and shoved the TV through the door rather than setting it up. The initial attempt at setup failed when we couldn't find one of the parts to attach the base. The next day, after calling Amazon and having arrangements for a replacement to be sent, I found the missing piece while boxing the thing up to be sent back...

Last Tuesday

2011-03-09T20:01:00.000-05:00

On our last Tuesday working together, my uncle hooked up the new circuits to the main panel. I left work a bit early so we would have daylight to shut the main power outside the house off before going into the panel in my condo.

As far as I can tell everything looks good, but I'll have to wait until the drywall is done and the outlets and switches are hooked up before I can turn the new circuits on.

Sweating the Small Stuff

2011-03-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week drywall estimates are being made so I've got to get everything in top shape, it's my last chance before it all gets covered up.

I put in a block so I'll have something to screw the heat register into

Looking up at the ceiling, I attached a metal plate with cords to the duct so I will still be able to close it off in the summer and not air-condition the basement.

On the walls I reinstalled all the plaster rings, this time ensuring that they are level

Seventeen Months

2011-03-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

Big News!
I've lived without a TV for seventeen months, but I am not that virtuous, I watch plenty of TV on my computer. This Friday, I will be TV free no longer, my new fiftyfive inch Samsung LCD is being delivered.

With M's help I initially had my mind set on a Panasonic Plasma, but after checking out the actual products at two Best Buy locations I decided to my eye the Samsung LCDs are better. I ordered the TV from Amazon, I have heard good things about their TV delivery service, plus there is no tax. Why the rush to buy the TV? I couldn't come up with any better way to confirm that the HDMI cable is functioning before it gets drywalld in.

One Tuesday at a Time

2011-03-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

Every Tuesday after work my uncle has been working on the electrical. Progress is usually slow because nothing is ever as easy as anticipated. Last week we discovered that adding a third light to the existing three way light switches would require fishing a wire up through the wall to the top of the stairs - so this week I learned how to fish wires through walls (almost) without damaging the drywall. Like a everything it helps to have the right tool. At the end of the workday today we had all of the switches wired and lights that turn through an extension cord.

The plan for next week is to get an early start to take advantage of the remaining daylight and turn the main power off so we can add the new circuits to the breaker box.

No Contest

2011-02-25T19:45:00.000-05:00

I worked 58 hours at my day job thus far this week and two hours on the basement. I had intended to call some drywallers, but I haven't had time. I love my job, so I am not complaining, but I would like to see more basement progress!

Getting Lazy

2011-02-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

No pictures today, it is getting hard to see if I have accomplished anything. This is what the countdown to drywall list looks like today:

-Wire 6 more light fixtures
-Wire 3 way lights to switches
-Hook up electrical to main panel
~~-Eliminate more air leaks with Great Stuff~~
-Install missed stud
~~-Run speaker wire~~
-Finish tacking electrical wires (I don't think I will ever be done with this)
~~-Confirm code location for smoke detectors~~
-Install one missed electrical outlet box (I was just shy of the 12ft code requirement)
-Remove insulation from the wrong side of vapor barrier
~~-Install splitter and run cable to TV wall~~
-Buy piggyback breakers (2 20/20 1 15/15)
-Buy more yellow wire nuts
-Install blocking for drywall
-Move Cat5 and speaker wire away from power wires to prevent potential interference

MIA

2011-02-15T22:19:00.001-05:00

So, I was in Arizona for the past nine days visiting my parents with my Grandma. It was a nice break, and just long enough that I am glad to be home and back to being productive.

Some highlights of the trip:

Celebrating my Grandma's 83rd birthday with my parents and elementary school teacher.

The Grand Canyon

Hiking at White Tank park.

I'm a Sucker for Freebies

2011-02-03T20:41:00.001-05:00

I celebrated my Birthday last month and I am still enjoying the freebies for the occasion. Here is a list of my favorites (they are all no purchase required):

Aveda: Free Perfume
Baskin Robbins: Free Cone
Biggby: Free Drink
Boarders: Free Coffee or Tea
Brugers: Free Cookie
Coldstone: Free Ice Cream
CVS: $3 CVS bucks
Noodles & Company: Free Noodle Bowl
Starbucks: Any Drink any Size Free

Work Snow Day

2011-02-02T22:02:00.001-05:00

Today my office was closed because of the weather! When I woke up this morning, and didn't see 12 inches of new snow, I almost didn't call the hot line they had set up to notify us if the office would be closed.

Since it wasn't safe for my office to be open I figured it wasn't safe for me to leave the house so I worked in the basement virtually all day.

Excuse the poor photo and admire two of my newly functioning lights (also excuse the fact that the lights are working though an extension cord and no the main electrical box)

It's almost time to get drywall quotes...what's left to complete?
-Wire 6 more light fixtures
-Wire 3 way lights to switches
-Hook up electrical to main panel
-Eliminate more air leaks with Great Stuff
-Install missed stud that I discovered today
-Run speaker wire
-Finish tacking electrical wires
-Confirm code location for smoke detectors
-Install one missed electrical outlet box (I was just shy of the 12ft code requirement)
-Remove insulation from the wrong side of vapor barrier
-Install splitter and run cable to TV wall
-Buy piggyback breakers (2 20/20 1 15/15)
-Buy more yellow wire nuts
-Install blocking for drywall

Compared to what was accomplished today, this list doesn't look too long.

I've ordered a few things from Amazon for the project, today I was $1.02 short of getting the free shipping on speaker wire so I did a quick search and found this website that provides a list of items for the exact amount remaining to free shipping - fun.

Bring On the Snow

2011-02-01T12:16:00.000-05:00

Just this past weekend I was dreaming of a big snow storm, looks like it is coming...hopefully it doesn't disappoint!

Electrical Progress

2011-01-31T23:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I made some progress on the electrical work. Where framing was a lot of hard labor I feel like electrical mostly involves buying more and more items from Lowe's - I had to spend another $60 there today on switches and plugs, these little things really add up.

The lighting plan calls for the current single switch at the bottom of the stairs to multiply by four.

Thus far I have the light cans up on the ceiling and the blue outlet boxes on the wall, hopefully tomorrow my uncle will teach me how to run wire.

The Most Important Wire

2011-01-29T23:20:00.000-05:00

I spent most of today enjoying good food rather than working on the basement. Pretty much the only work I did today was with my credit card at Lowes, buying recessed lights and other electrical supplies.

Breakfast was at The Toasted Oak with M's family, lunch was at Panera with my BBBS little sister D, and then for dinner I cooked up mushroom and chard ravioli.

After dinner I got M to string the first wire, a cat5 cable, through the ceiling (he is tall enough he doesn't even need a ladder).

Out With the Framing, In With the Electrical

2011-01-26T23:26:00.000-05:00

I skipped swim practice and the gym tonight to finish* the framing. I've gotten in the habit of working with my Uncle on Tuesday nights, but last night I had dinner with M and his co-worker Kimberly who recently got back from a three month stay in Japan...so, this week my Uncle is coming over on Thursday and I had to be ready.

This photo is like Where's Waldo, can you spot the change? Finally all the boards to hang the ceiling drywall around the duct work are installed.

*The framing isn't completely finished because the wall on the left isn't flush with the corner, I thought I had it figured out but the geometry isn't making sense to me so I need a second opinion before I make any more mistakes on it.

Everything is cleaned up and ready for electrical. I just need to pick up some electrical boxes and wire over lunch tomorrow.

What Did I Buy?

2011-01-22T16:44:00.000-05:00

As I head off to Home Depot yet again I am calculating what I bought thus far...

100 22s
5lbs of Nails
3 lbs of Screws
2 lbs of Galvonized Nails
5 Screw bits
4 Drill bits
84 2x4 studs
9 Pressure Treated 2x4s2 Pressure Treated 2x6s
5 ft of Round duct
6 ft of Square duct
1 Roll of Foil Tape
1 Box Sheet Metal Screws
9 Sheets of Foam Insulation
3 Cans of Great Stuff
2 Tubes of Caulk
1 5ft Door

Driving Around Town

2011-01-21T23:19:00.000-05:00

Lunch View

2011-01-20T15:31:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Saltillo

2011-01-19T17:19:00.002-05:00

Mexico

2011-01-17T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'm in Mexico this week for work. On the connecting flight from Huston I counted 42 men and only one other women - she was traveling with a baby and a Mexican passport. I used to like coming to Mexico for work and there used to be other women on the flight.

Exhausted

2011-01-16T22:54:00.001-05:00

My hands are so tired they are hardly capable of typing. I woke up early this morning, cooked a Swiss chard and Camembert frittata for breakfast and then went to work on the basement.

This is how things looked at the end of the day, pretty messy!

Last night at put my curtains back up so I could work at night without feeling like I am on-stage. The shiny thing between the curtains is the new duct work that took three frustrating hours to install. It was a job that I should have been patient enough to wait for help to complete. The 5ft section hanging in the ceiling actually fell on my head at one point. Another project today was insulation. I removed the paper backing from the existing insulation (since it is not code to use in a basement) and installed a roll of insulation I had laying around.

Framing is, still, almost done. I have a plan for finishing the remaining side of the door opening, just need to make another trip to Home Depot for more wood and screws. As a reward for a day of hard work completed I made this desert.

Late Start

2011-01-15T22:48:00.001-05:00

I got a late start this afternoon because I was having my hair color corrected this morning. I had it done on Thursday and the color was a little bold / red for my taste, but it is good now.

Since I didn't get to the basement until the evening I didn't want to anger my neighbors my nailing so I decided to tackle cleaning the other half of the basement so I have space to use the table saw and my Christmas tree isn't getting covered in sawdust.

After I got tired of cleaning I started playing with this tool my uncle let me borrow. Basically you point the laser at a surface and it reports the temperature.

Turns out that behind the insulation in the corner there was frost on the plywood, so I need want to get some foam insulation to fill the area.

Taking a break with my favorite construction snack, sweet potato fries.

Must Have

2011-01-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

I have two requirements for the next place I live and at the top of the list is curbside recycling. Since it got cold in the fall I have not been to the recycling center, but it got to the point that I could barely get in my car because the garage was filled with recyclables. This photo doesn't do the amount of stuff I recycled today justice - the entire trunk and back seat are filled up to the roof.

Starting Back Up

2011-01-11T22:48:00.001-05:00

It took four passes with my uncle's the power planer and enough wood shavings to fill the trash can, but the "stuck wall" is now in position and ready for me to attach.

After getting the "stuck wall" resolved we framed the wall around the furnace and almost finished one side of the door opening. I was mistaken about having space for a 6ft door, it looks like I actually have just the space for a 5ft door, one way or another that is what is going to come down the staircase

I have to go to Mexico next Monday for work, so my new goal for finishing framing is before I leave the country.

On Hold

2011-01-10T22:05:00.001-05:00

My plan to install a 6ft door between the finished and unfinished sections of the basement is on hold after I learned that the 6ft window I had hoped to bring it through only has one removable pane not two. This is putting any further framing on hold. I visited Home Depot this evening hoping they would have an idea, but the only suggestion they had was disassembling the frame to get it down the stairway and then reassembling it in the basement.

I am also in a holding pattern because after moving some junk that was in front of the existing framed wall I learned that it is not inline with the metal support pole. So it looks like I will be building this wall out another two inches to hide the pole in the wall.

This area is turning out to be more tricky than I expected, the duct work is also blocking the trusses so I'm not sure how I'll attach the top plate for the wall around the furnace. So much for thinking I was on schedule - now I'm into the tricky work.

On Schedule

2011-01-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

Today M helped me install the drop down to go around the duct work. I decided to go with option c and lower the ceiling over the entire width of the stairwell door. There are still have some more pieces to fit in immediately next to the duct since I don't think the drywall can span the entire distance being lowered without additional support.

Also completed today was finishing up the end of the "stuck wall" and tearing out of the studs to make way for the HVAC vent I was convinced to reroute since you can't heat a basement from the ceiling.

I ran out of 2x4s, yet again, with just the short wall to hide the furnace remaining.

If I can stand to venture out for more wood while the temperatures are in the teens I should be able to finish up the framing tomorrow (less "stuck wall").

Resting

2011-01-07T18:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I took the day off, I didn't get home from work until 8:00 and as I have mentioned before I am tying not to disturb my neighbors too much. I just got home from work, I might be able to do a little bit of work before M comes over for dinner.

I am currently trying to decide what will look correct for going around the duct work that requires lowering the ceiling height.

I am leaning toward the last option because it will require less drywall work, but I need outside opinions.

Under the Window

2011-01-06T12:44:00.000-05:00

I took last night off working on the basement so I could go to swim practice. We are starting to cut music and choreograph our new routine - the music is Caravan Palace.

Yesterday over lunch I was able to fill in under the window. I have been hesitant work too much or too loud after work for fear of making my neighbors unhappy, but my goal for tonight is to finish framing the top of the window. I estimate everything to take three times as long as anticipated, but maybe I can finish the framing next Tuesday? And start the electrical next week?

Stuck

2011-01-04T23:28:00.002-05:00

On my lunch break I came home and set up a section of wall so that when my Uncle came over tonight things would progress quickly.

Even though I cut the studs 1/8 short, the wall is still too tall and is on hold until next Tuesday when Uncle can bring a punch power planer to know the nails in and locally trim a 1/16 inch off the top plate.

I really think my method of installing one stud at a time is better than building the whole wall in place. No one likes toe nailing, but it is better than ending up with a wall that doesn't fit. Despite the setback I was able to install seven boards today and I only stopped because I didn't want to make my neighbors hate me.

With extra energy remaining I was able to finish the medicine cabinet!

I just need to touch up the paint where I market shelf heights, but my stuff is moved back in.

Back to Work

2011-01-03T22:45:00.001-05:00

Work cuts into my framing and blogging time! I pulled all the staples out of 30 2x4s over lunch and then installed three 2x4s after work. I also went to the Pilates which further cut into my home improvement time. Tomorrow my uncle is coming over again so hopefully we will make some more progress worth posting photos of.

The medicine cabinet in is also moving along slowly, it is now a painted square hole in the wall with shelve locations marked. I just need to drill some holes and install the shelving.

Taking Shape

2011-01-02T18:58:00.001-05:00

When I picked my uncle up from the airport today it was pretty easy to convince him to come check out the progress. He also voulnteered to help and good things started to happen.

The saw was easily fixed and now I understand how to assemble electrical cords - a good future skill. Next I was convinced to change framing methods and build the wall on the floor and then lift it into place. This method isn't as accurate, but moves much more quickly. This would have been even easier if we built the wall an 1/8 inch short and just shimmed it at the top, our wall was just the right height and took a lot of hammering to fit into place plumb and level.

With the new method we quickly ran out of studs so we used uncle's truck to pick up 30 2x4s three times as many as fit in my car, plus I didn't have to carry them into the basement alone.

Taking a break for dinner breakfast burrito...I still hope to secure the new wall with a few more screws, finish the medicine cabinet and make the gym stop missing me all before I have to head back to work on Monday.

Turning a Corner

2011-01-01T19:43:00.003-05:00

There wasn't much progress today, I only put in 2 studs, but I have turned a corner. I also finished the first pound box of screws and got things cleaned up. I am picking my uncle up from the airport tomorrow morning so I want to make sure things are clean just in case he is willing to stop by and see the progress.

I did not attempt to fix the saw like I planned, maybe I'll feel more ambitious tomorrow.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

My tired hands needed a break. Happy New Year!

Speeding Up

2010-12-31T17:52:00.001-05:00

I was going to title this post slow and steady, but then R came over and the wall started to progress quickly.

We slowed down a little bit when an unexpected bright pop took the end of the saw cord off, the blade was not moving at the time I am not really sure what caused this to happen. I'll find out if the saw is OK after I rewire it tomorrow (is Home Depot open on New Year's Day?)

This is what things currently look like. I am almost out of 2x4s, galvanized nails and screws. Tomorrow I plan to start back on the medicine cabinet - my goal is to have that finished before I head back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year's Eve!