Project Updates

Our application to become foster parents has been approved! To be honest, in the current state of things, it feels a little anti-climatic. We are supposed to start with respite care, then move to long term care, but with T’s medications and the current mandates, I don’t think we are able to do respite care. So… Not really sure what it will look like. We are supposed to find out more details this week from the Y for how on-boarding will look, etc.

This weekend, we also kicked ass on projects. If you recall, the back of our backyard used to be all blackberries. We cut those down last year, but the whole area was still full of sharp stems. So a couple weekends ago, we did a final raking. And then this weekend, we took T’s small rototiller and rototilled the whole area. Then, we finally pulled down the chicken wire fence we put up a year ago to protect Spike (our little dog) from getting hurt. We still need to get rid of some of the pile of sticks (our yard waste is full-full-full), and we need to go over it again with a bigger rototiller. My dad’s neighbor is going to let us borrow his at some point.

Plus, months ago, we had built a railing in the nook on the landing by the stairs to bring the house to code for fostering (and safety). This weekend, we finally stained it and finished it with polyurethane. Four coats of poly! But it looks amazing, and it is done.

When we moved in, we also removed the door from the doorway to the nook because we are not using that space as a bedroom, but living space. We wanted it to feel open. However, the cutouts in the frame for the hinges and latch were still there and ugly. I had the bright idea to fill them in with shims and paint stir sticks (cut to the correct length), which were the perfect thickness. So now they’re filled with wood, and the gaps are filled with latex putty. After we sand and paint, you will not be able to tell the frame was missing anything. You can barely tell now. (Although, that says more about the state of all our trim — another project for the future is to repaint all the trim.)

All that, plus our normal chores and cooking for the week. That’s the one thing COVID-19 is doing for us — giving us the time to finish up our projects.

Projects & DIY

Is the world still into DIYers? My wife DIY a lot of things. The main reason is that we have a budget and can’t always just pay someone to do something for us, or pay for a ‘real’ product. We’re also lucky that my dad is retired, lives close, and loves projects.

For example, we purchased a solid wood chest at a salvaged building materials shop and turned it into a cat litter box hider. We sanded it and cut a hole for the cats to go in, then painted the chest and redid the hinges. But when people see it, they have no idea it hides cat poop. Exactly the point. You can buy the same thing in press-board for at least twice what we paid to make it ourselves.

We built a wood railing in our ‘nook’ on the landing. Well, we purchased all the pieces and put it together (with my dad’s help). We did not shape and create the baluster or the newel posts or the top and bottom rails.

Recently, we took a wood stove out of the house. It was sitting in front of the fireplace on the hearth, taking room and looking ugly. (Besides, we can’t get earthquake insurance because our chimney/fireplace is real masonry, so we may as well use it!) The prior owner had painted the fireplace, but painted around the stove. So we’ve painted that to match. Now we’re waiting for a chimney cleaner/inspector before we do more.

At some point, we’re considering putting in a fence in the front yard. Just a short one. I want to put it in ourselves, rather than pay for someone. Just think of the savings! Honestly, I think the hardest part is digging the post holes and getting the posts in correctly. After that, the rest should be a breeze, right?

We’ve been in this house for almost a year – we purchased it last year in March. And it seems like it is a never ending stream of projects that need completing. But I guess that’s just what happens when you own a house. Or so I’m told.