What Did Scott Do On His Winter Break? Or you never know what you might find!

December has been a frightful month in Portland. The first snow arrived three days before our move which, if you're from Chicago is normal. But in Portland it's cause for school closings, six hour traffic delays and ice on the roads (because Portland is notorious for failing to manage snow and ice on all but the main roadways). 

The second storm hit the week following our move. Not really a problem, lots to do inside and Scott was out of town. The weather finally cleared and warmed a bit, and Scott was off work most of late December. So while I was at work at the shop, he spent most of his time outside in the yard. First up - tackle the remains of the climbing Honeysuckle he removed from the side of the house the day before we moved in. It had been sitting in a pile just off the patio.  This was a two day, four yard waste bag job, but he got it done in fine fashion. 

Next up, pine needles! This is a bigger job than one might imagine. There are pine needles everywhere. Scott started before we moved in removing most of the pine needles on the driveway before the first snow. This past week he tackled the pine needles in the gutters and the roof. Thank goodness for his new battery powered leaf blower, which made the job much easier. Still the downspouts and drain systems to clear out, but add five more yard waste bags to the tally! 

And finally, the patio. Scott seemed to be on a mission to get the covered patio cleared, cleaned and set up. This job also entailed removing the English ivy that was attacking the house slowly (but effectively) at the corner of the patio and living room.

English ivy attacking the house slowly, but effectively!

Clearing the ivy was an experience that will likely be repeated on other projects around the house. It goes something like this...remove the first layer revealing something unexpected, remove another layer revealing a complete surprise and so on. In the case of the ivy, the first discoveries were multiple strands of decorative lights - large blue bulbs, small blue twinkle lights and a string of white plastic partridge lights. Then more ivy with wire and string supports and extension cords running through it. And then a concrete and stained glass pedestal fountain? Yes, really! 

But wait, there's more! Digging deeper into the ivy pile Scott found a cast iron frying pan, a large 1/2 barrel planter, another sunken barrel planter, multiple clay pots, and a trellis anchored to the soffit with wire, hooks and two lengths of chain. Apparently the trellis had tried to make a break for it some time ago. Visually the house looks so much lighter and cleaner, I have to believe the house is sighing in relief. Nicely done, Dear!

Anybody want a fountain?

 

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Moving, Discovering and Editing

We've moved!  We actually got all our "stuff" out of the condo and into the house. Here is the list of things we hoped to accomplish:

• Paint the office
• Paint the closets in both small bedrooms
• Replace the light fixtures in the hallway
• Pull up carpet in the two small bedrooms
• Clean the living room top to bottom
• Clean the small bedroom closet shelves and doors
• Clean everything else
• Pull up carpet in the living room
• Move
• Clean up the condo for the new owners
• Collapse

Amazingly, we actually did everything on the list! Husband Scott and Son Scott deserve major cudos for painting and tearing up carpet, respectively. Joe worked especially hard Friday preparing much of the house for our arrival - floor to ceiling in the main living rooms and especially when the carpets came up!  Lets take a look at those living room floors - OMG!

Living room - with carpet      

Living room - hardwoods!      

After the movers delivered all the big furniture and the bulk of the boxes, we picked up everything in the storage unit and then fragile items we wanted to move ourselves - guitars, artwork, bikes - the important stuff! And that's when I realized it...the living room is about a foot shorter width-wise than I thought it was. And the love seat in the office is about a foot longer and wider than I thought. Scott thought this was hilarious because I always said the rooms in the condo needed to be a foot wider in each direction.

What my realization actually means is 1) I need to edit out furniture in the living room and office, and 2) since the office was painted a color based on the love seat - yep, Scott gets to repaint it...smarty-pants!

Here are a few more before and after pics. Next entry...Contractor Hell or How many contractors does it take to get a quote?

Fireplace - before

 

Fireplace - after Joe

 

Wet bar - before

 

Wet bar - after Joe, check out the interior light!

Moving day!

It's the calm before the storm, 7:00 am on moving day.  Scott is over at the house putting the second coat of paint on the office. I'm waiting for the movers at the condo.  Minor things to do here yet - disconnect the electronics (TVs, cable boxes, computers stuff and printer), put the sheets in the dryer, and basically move stuff currently on top of things the movers will be moving.

Yesterday was a BIG day.  The living room was cleaned top to bottom - Joe, my new shop vac, while a bit dim-witted did a more than admiral job sucking up anything he was tasked with, the curtains were taken to the cleaners and my son Scott, as opposed to my husband Scott, took out the carpeting in the living room and cleaned that all up. And, as promised, there are the most beautiful honey oak floors underneath!  Lots of other cleaning and carpet removal was accomplished while husband Scott continued painting. Shout out to my son Scott!  We would never have been ready today without his help and muscles - thank you!

So, no pictures today - too much to do, but I'll have bunches to share with you later this weekend!

Meet Joe...

Well, it's official - We closed on 3301 today!  

And now the work begins.  Today, while I was at work, Scott removed a large climbing honeysuckle from the side of the house, put all the pine needles from the driveway out for pickup in the yard waste bin, patched dozens of tiny holes in the two small bedrooms preparing to paint and painted the ceilings in those bedrooms - needless to say, he's bushed tonight!  

We went over to 3301 tonight after I got home from work to check out his progress and take down the living room curtains to have them dry cleaned.  They are in surprisingly good shape for 50-year old curtains.  

And then there's Joe.  Joe is my new shop vacuum, complete with handle, accessory storage bag and big wheels to make it easy to move him from the dining room to the sunken living room, for instance.  

Meet Joe...

I have the feeling that Joe and I will be really best buds over the course of the next few weeks.  Coming up this weekend: 

• Paint the office
• Paint the closets in both small bedrooms
• Replace the light fixtures in the hallway
• Pull up carpet in the two small bedrooms
• Clean the living room top to bottom
• Clean the small bedroom closet shelves and doors
• Clean everything else
• Pull up carpet in the living room
• Move
• Clean up the condo for the new owners
• Collapse

Should be fun! Along the way we're taking lots of before pictures.  I can't wait to share them with you!

New Discovery - Live Better Electrically!

We have keys! Scott and I went over to 3301 and poked around.  Most of the owners things are gone and only clean up left to do.  While we were looking around we discovered a curious bronze medallion on the garage wall near the utility room door. I was not familiar with it, but Scott new what it was right away and was very excited about it!   

 

Apparently, the Live Better Electrically campaign was a really big thing from the late fifties through the early seventies. The idea, driven by electric appliance manufacturers (especially GE) and electric utilites, was to move more new construction to electricity from coal, oil and wood fire.  The campaign worked, especially as the western half of the country became more populated and the demand for new housing increased.  New electricity generating plants were built and the general consensus was that eventually electricity would become so inexpensive that consumers wouldn't even have to pay for it. Well, that didn't happen. But the campaign, driven by kickbacks to builders, was an incredible success.   

The campaign included commercials, here is one I found very entertaining: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ1_KjEQgo4 

It's interesting (as a marketer) that the commercials I have found tout improved quality of life as the biggest benefit to living better electrically, not cost savings. The "GE Theater" of the late 50's featured video pieces as well and hosted a video tour of (then actor) Ronald Reagans home. Here is one of their TV spots: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fwramn5U3M   

So what will we do with this really cool piece if history?  Not sure yet, but it will be prominently featured near the front door.  Stay tuned, moving day is next Saturday!