86'n It

I was writing another post when I remembered to check out the SD card of photos my dear friend Tracy took at the apple orchard last weekend.
O. M. G.
Too cute. I think Tracy needs to come everywhere with us, for photo taking, but also because she's cool and has the best laugh ever. Marc has it recorded, but Tracy might kill me if I post it.... but I just might... ;) Stay tuned.

1. If you need a yard of concrete or over, order a concrete truck! Not only it is it cheaper, but so much easier.
2. If you do order a truck, make your forms strong. Or, even better, rent the forms!
3. If you do make your own forms. Use 1/2" MDF, not 1/4". We had great luck with the 1/2" and didn't even use release agent.
4. If you are going to mix the concrete by hand, don't bother with renting a mixer. It didn't save us any time over just mixing in the wheelbarrow.

Pre-Patio work, we had what seemed like an acre of invasive, spreading mint and fennel. A little mint is very convenient when making drinks like a mojito, or you've run out of gum, but a lot of mint is a total pain in the butt.

I was making a recipe recently and went outside to get some mint. Franca and I hunted high, and we hunted low. This hunt essentially consisted of me walking around tasting a bunch of lemon balm. (Which looks like mint, but tastes like... you guessed it: lemon.)

Pre-purchase Shit Hole.

Today. Ah, much  better!

<--This was my inspiration photo for the backyard. I remember saving this image and just thinking that this project seemed so far away.

Before we started, we could not hangout in the backyard AT ALL! There were dangerous piles, totally overgrown invasive plants, and no divider from the alley we share with our neighbors. In short, it was a shit hole.

We still haven't put up the hammock, but now, 4+ years after we bought this old [crack] house, the backyard has been conquered!

From left: wild flower planting area, BBQ area, stair, butterfly bush surround seating, sitting & firepit area.

Franca obviously loves it out there. When she's not walking on the seat walls, she's digging in the rocks or running around the yard or on top of my plants.

Pre-purchase. Rots-ville.

During back porch renovation

Back porch complete. Yard still a jungle.

Today looking from alley.

Today

Sweet little hand. More info.

Patio as "Ode to Concrete". More info.

Parking spot, fence & yard.  (Gates missing.)

Recyled Concrete "chunks" re-purposed as a wall. More info.

Gravel and the ill-fated paving stones. Even before I had the time to blog about it, we decided to remove the paving stones. They made the gravel bed too deep and hard to walk on, and they themselves posed a trip hazard.

Franca climbs up the wall, loving the now thinner gravel bed.

Stoop! More Info. Leftovers

Because nothing is ever 100% done, here are the still outstanding items:

1. Making 4 Fence Gates.
2. Regrade around house. [Marc has started.]
3. Make firepit and find chairs. [Fun!]
4. Clean up junk piles still left in back.

Goodbye LG.

So of course, now that Marc almost killed himself installing the floor drain and sump pit, we have not had enough water down there to even get close to the floor drain.

(Well actually, I think that once a 1/2" stream got close that enough maybe a drop or two went down the drain.)

While we were busting our butts on the backyard, we noticed the basement was getting humid, then downright tropical. I tried fixing the old dehumidifier, but could not get it to work consistently. This LG brand has performed valiantly, running almost non-stop 8 months of every year for the last +4 years. So we decided to retire it.

Goodbye dear, sweet dehumidifier. Job well done.

I did a bunch of research on the web, particularly this website. I narrowed it down to Frigidaire or Danby. I found the Frigidaire much cheaper than the Danby, so I scored the Frigidaire FAD504DUD 50 Pt. Dehumidifier off of amazon for $168.54 with free shipping. There are some reviews on Amazon talking about the direct drain, we just put a piece of thin wood under the front wheels and it is working fine.

At first we thought that this new Frigidaire was not as good as the old trusty LG because the basement still seemed damp. But then I thought: well, it has about 3 months worth of moisture to remove, so we let it run for a week and now the basement feels bone-dry! Which is saying something considering we got a TON of rain from the Lee storm. (We only got a nice breeze from Irene.)

The Frigidaire has turned out to be quite the workhorse and it is much much more quiet. Plus, even though the sump pit hasn't handled any floods, it is worth it just to have the dehumidifier drain directly in it. Because what good is a dehumidifier if you forget to empty the bucket??

To be honest the dry basement is also partly due to my trench drain and the new gutters, but let's give the dehumidifier its due too.

Ever since seeing that the DIY Diva (who is amazing) got a steam mop for her hardwood floors, I've been thinking about them. My first inclination was that how the heck is introducing hot steam at a high pressure good for wood floors? I've always thought water as the enemy to hardwood floors. But everyone uses them!

I quickly searched the Shark website. Is this skirting around the issue?:

Can I use my Shark® Professional Steam Pocket® Mop on all floor surfaces?

My beef is that all hardwood floors are not completed sealed. Even new installations. The clear coat is bound to open up along joint lines, especially in older home like ours. I've LOST things down the cracks between our floor boards.

But still, sick of getting down on my hands and knees with a cloth after every meal to wipe up the mess of several girls, I was hopeful.

So I called the great guys at Asheville Hardwoods (I've worked with them on projects before), and they said they get 2-3 calls about this every day. He said the NWFA (National Wood Flooring Association) recently released their findings on this issue and the NWFA DOES NOT recommend the use of a steam mop on wood floors.

Bummer. I was really hoping to be incorrect with my guess. We love our floors. Oak downstairs, heart pine (which is hard to find and very expensive now), so guess I'll just add a better vacuum to our Christmas list.

I'll be the first to admit that the lonely single shelf on the bathroom wall looked a little silly. A friend, Franca and I headed off to Ikea last Sunday, where I was determined to spend less than $100. Well, it wasn't too hard because the birch wall box shelves I wanted for Franca's room were out of stock.

I did however get a new shelf for the bathroom. The less deep shelf is so practical and helps the big one look less lonely. I love practical improvements!

"This little stool is mine, 

I use it all the time, 

to reach things I couldn't 

and lots of things I shouldn't."  

This stool is from my grandparents. I've had it for about a year and recently moved it into the bathroom. [You know, so Franca has a place to sit while she watches me shower or pee. (OMG. I'm so somebody's mom!)]

 Anybunny, it has become apparent that everyone had this stool when they were little too. You don't know how many people run straight out of the bathroom proclaiming: "You have my stool!" (which, the first time I heard, seemed a little obvious and gross).
I love that such cute little stool brings back such great memories.

So forget the new shelf. Did you have this stool too?


(Also, backyard reveal. Marc is going to mow the new grass this weekend and take some photos for the post!)