Building A Better Bumblebee

Oof.  Foot in mouth.  

Didn't have plans to run Eugene, but if there was a sizable gathering, I'd make the trip.  Sucks that now it's a "trip" to WA...

Should be pretty easy for them to hook up a toilet, unless they are waiting for something else to go in first, like flooring.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Oof.  Foot in mouth.  

Didn't have plans to run Eugene, but if there was a sizable gathering, I'd make the trip.  Sucks that now it's a "trip" to WA...

Ah. Well, if you ever do happen by, remember that we live less than a half hour from PDX.

Jim Lentz wrote:Should be pretty easy for them to hook up a toilet, unless they are waiting for something else to go in first, like flooring.

You'd think. We'll see if they can bend a bit. We'll survive a few days without it (we don't have to get ready at the same time), but it'll be nice to get back to normal. Or as close as we get to it.

Wow. Busy day.

I started off with my alarm set for 1:30 a.m. so I could deliver Alita to the van at 2:30 a.m. for her Portland to Coast team's 4 a.m. start.



Alita was ready to go, and well equipped.

I headed back home and tried to get more sleep (I'm working a night shift tonight, and worked one last night, too.), while Alita headed out as walker No. 2, nailing a 6.08-mile stretch in about a 15-minute pace. Faster than I can walk, that's for sure.

She finished her leg as the sun was coming up.



Then came what I think would be the worst part of the event: waiting your next turn to go. She finished a little before 6 and has to wait until about 12:30 a.m. Saturday to walk again. The rest of the time is riding in the van, then hanging out while the other van goes. At least they had a house they could stay at in their van's first downtime, which is much better than trying to nap in a field somewhere.

Back home, I was up fairly early for Day 1 of cabinet reconstruction.



Which started with the destruction of the tile countertop on our kitchen island. We never really liked the tile, so we're not sorry to see it go, but whoever installed it must have intended for it to last forever. It was seriously attached.. and the fact that the installer put a bazillion nails into the cabinet, which is made of hickory, made it very challenging for the guy today.

"It's like pulling nails out of a baseball bat," he said.



Still, he prevailed, though he had to saw through the top to get it done. Crazy.



Our new countertops arrived, so we can admire them in their giant sheet form for now. They should look sharp.



Less sharp is what the soil looks like under the vapor barrier in our crawl space. We flooded on June 17, and the soil under the plastic is *still* soft and muddy. We have a very silty, poor-draining soil in the area, so I guess it's not all that surprising, but wow. They say it's not an issue, thanks to the vapor barrier. Even so, I hope it dries out soon.



At the end of the day, after much work, the installer had the cabinets placed and the decks roughed in. They were going to pull the end panels on the island and one cabinet due to water damage, but those, too, were over glued to the material beneath. They're going to just put another layer of veneer on top. It'll make the island a half-inch wider overall, but it'll save them many hours of aggravation.

On Monday, they'll be back for more, and they're supposed to wrap on Tuesday. Then the floors start going in.

The day continues. I'm at work now, with Alec hanging out in a conference room until I'm done. (Not quite old enough to solo at home.) Then to bed while Alita walks, and then we head to the Oregon Coast tomorrow to pick her up at Seaside... and hopefully meet up with Michele, too.

It looks like you got a lot of pieces moving at one time. It's good to see that your kitchen is starting to look like a kitchen.

Nick Morris wrote:It looks like you got a lot of pieces moving at one time.  It's good to see that your kitchen is starting to look like a kitchen.  

It is nice, Nick. I even managed to find a working outlet so I could plug the coffee pot in over there this morning. Good thing, since they took our former countertops and haul them away. I think this is what they call "creative destruction."

We will be heading over to the coast a little later to retrieve Alita, who did great in her second leg and will be very happy to not be cooped up in a minivan anymore. It is going to seem a little weird being only a spectator at such a big running/walking event, but it should still be fun to soak up the atmosphere.

Next week should be crazy busy, with the cabinets being finished, then the floors going in. It coincides with what was a week planned vacation, though any previous plans we had are now gone. At least we won't be around for the final push on the house.

It will probably be nice to get away from everything. Also, it sounds like you'll be coming home to a new house, which will be exciting. Kinda like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition..."Move that bus!!!"

Mark B wrote:At least we won't be around for the final push on the house.

Did I really write that? It's supposed to say at least we WILL be around for the final push.

Nick Morris wrote:It will probably be nice to get away from everything.  Also, it sounds like you'll be coming home to a new house, which will be exciting.  Kinda like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition..."Move that bus!!!"

Which I didn't realize until I read your comment, Nick. Oops! No, we're here. It'd be nice to slip away, but we'd need to figure out what to do with the cats with workers in the house... and those workers seem to keep coming up with questions about how we'd like things done, so being away might not be the best idea.

Oh well.

Our extraction mission was successful yesterday, and Alita is back home now. She's pretty sore from the event, and was definitely sleep-deprived. We went to bed early last night and hope to catch up on some sleep while we can. The cabinet guy comes tomorrow at 8.

Other updates: I've untaped my toes, so we'll see how that goes. So far so good. It's been a month since the fracture, so it ought to be.

It's been more than 24 hours post-untaping with no ill effects, so I think it's safe to post the photo. I've had a little soreness, but it had been in other toes as they adjusted back to normal.

I'll walk on it for a week or two before testing it with a run. Can't wait!

I see the problem, your foot is on upside down!

Great job, Alita!!!

Glad that Alita had fun as did we, but we didn't make it to Seaside until 5:30 pm.  Sorry to be so close yet so far.

Jim Lentz wrote:I see the problem, your foot is on upside down!

Great job, Alita!!!

Heh. Wondered if anybody was going to point that out. I posted from my phone, and the EXIF orientation data didn't carry over.

I've adjourned to the computer and tweaked it so the image is right-side-up now, however. I'm pleased, but not quite ready to dance on the ceiling yet.

I'll pass on your congratulations to Alita. She's much less sore today, and she's caught up on all the sleep she didn't get out there on the road.  

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Glad that Alita had fun as did we, but we didn't make it to Seaside until 5:30 pm.  Sorry to be so close yet so far.

Wow. We were nearly back in Vancouver by then! Turns out Alita's team had grossly miscalculated their projected finish time. Luckily they were newbies, so they didn't get penalized for it.

Here is Alita after getting her medal.



It's too bad we couldn't meet up, but I'm sure we will get it done one if these days.

How'd your team do?

Check out my blog: http://1lranthere.blogspot.com/

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Check out my blog: http://1lranthere.blogspot.com/

Sounds like a great time! That traffic is something, isn't it?

Too bad you weren't able to catch up with Michele.

Glad to hear Alita enjoyed the weekend and is recovering well.
AND your toe is improving.
AND your house is coming along nicely.

Sounds like life is good at your home.

nkrichards wrote:Too bad you weren't able to catch up with Michele.

Glad to hear Alita enjoyed the weekend and is recovering well.
AND your toe is improving.
AND your house is coming along nicely.

Sounds like life is good at your home.

Yes! All good. But rather hectic, it seems.

We had a big push of activity this week, with the cabinets, countertops, vinyl and hardwood floors going in. We've been out shopping to replace personal property lost in the flood (not the least of which, new living room furniture) and even allowed ourselves the indulgence of replacing our battered 10-year-old dishwasher that was sure to die in the next couple of years anyway (right? right?). We had to move all of our computer gear out of the office, so access to updating this blog has been a bit limited.

We're doing well, though I think we all have that "so close but yet so far" feeling building up. The house is starting to look very nice (photos later), but we're still missing toilets, sinks, laundry facilities and a kitchen. We've got another week and a half of detail work and reconnecting things, if all goes well, and we're eager to see it done.

Still no running yet. My pinky toe is handling the transition from wearing sandals all the time to going barefoot indoors on hardwood, and after a brief "holy cow, what's this?" transition, they're feeling more normal again. I get a little ache in the toe if I push it too much, but otherwise, it's as if it's totally normal.

Get your blue tape ready and your pad of paper for the punch list.  You'll get there, Mark.  In a month, you'll have something to replace it.  But what trouble will Fluff find?

ounce wrote:Get your blue tape ready and your pad of paper for the punch list.  You'll get there, Mark.  In a month, you'll have something to replace it.  But what trouble will Fluff find?

Lots of bits of blue tape up already, Ounce, even in areas where they didn't do work! We're hoping they'll fix a few dings, ripped drywall seam and whatnot at a minimal extra cost to us. They'd make fast work of something that'd probably take me hours to do poorly sometime later.

Carpet replaced on the stairs, carpet transitions fixed to the hardwood areas, and carpet reattached in our guest room on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then the painters return to refinish and reinstall base moulding, refinish the window casings, and then reinstall a whole bunch of stuff that'll make our house a lot more livable.

Photos coming next. You may notice a difference from earlier photos....

And it's time for a house update!



We'll start with the beauty shot first. They finished the hardwood on Thursday, and we commenced to shopping this weekend to fill the space. Camp chairs are nice, but really... you need something else to sit on. We also replaced pillows, throw rugs, heater register covers, etc. We're not done yet, but it's a big improvement from what was essentially a disaster area.



The office is closet to being done. I reconnected all the electronics yesterday, which is nice. It gave me a chance to root out a bunch of cables that we don't use anymore that were strung all over the place. I found a way to make it look clean.



So, we're not quite there yet. Still missing the stove, sink and dishwasher in the kitchen. The refrigerator is still in the living room. Water is still in the garage. This is the "so close but yet so far" element I mentioned earlier.



Here's a view of upstairs, with Fluff and Callie. They are having a few issues with traction on the floors, so they're glad we kept carpet on the stairs. That's our bedroom behind them. We haven't done anything with that space yet. We're in the guest room for now, and it works. So when it's all done and cleaned, we'll move back in. That process may take a while, since we'll be sorting things into "keep it, donate it, trash it" piles in the garage. That ought to be interesting.

And since a blog about the Fluffpacolypse isn't complete without some issues, there's this:


(Yes, it still works.)

The cabinet and flooring workers set up their saws on our front step, and left the front door open while they worked. (It was hot last week.) All well and good, except for the amazing volume of crap that ended up inside the house. We've spent some time cleaning up the mess, with the knowledge that there's more mess to come. We're very glad that the insurance is paying for a whole-house cleaning as the last step in the process.

All looks remarkably good!  Yeah!

Great progress...on the house and the mending toe.  Keep us updated as time allows.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:All looks remarkably good!  Yeah!

Thanks, Michele! Careful cropping left out the giant refrigerator still presiding over the living room, and a few boxes full of stuff that needs to eventually be put back where it belongs, but yes, it's coming together now. There were times when it didn't seem that'd ever happen. Glad to be wrong on that count!

nkrichards wrote:Great progress...on the house and the mending toe.  Keep us updated as time allows.

Thanks, Nancy! I've tested the toe out with a few little jogs, barefoot and in my sandals. The pinky toe handled the extra activity well, though the rest of my body felt pretty rusty. C-r-e-a-k!

Alita's off at her first day back at work today, and Alec starts tomorrow, though he has something to do this afternoon.

I can sense old routines beginning to stir. Now all we need is a completed house, and we'll be good to go.

That entails...

-Installing carpet on the stairs, finishing edge of carpet where it meets the hardwood, securing carpet in one bedroom where it'd been pulled up to dry.
-Detail work on the wood floors (a bit of quarter round in a few spots).
-Refinishing and reinstalling base moulding, window casings and such.
-Installing toe kicks and more quarter rounds on the cabinets, plus any other finishing touches.
-Touching up paint dings, and probably fixing a bad drywall seam that predated the flood.
-Reinstalling toilets (2), sinks (4), garbage disposal, the washer and dryer, range and dishwasher.
-Installing a new light in the dining area.
-Reinstalling a section of under-house insulation.
-Carpet cleaning in water-affected bedroom (and probably the other two carpeted rooms).
-Whole house cleaning.
-Reloading large furniture currently stashed in the garage.
-Taking delivery on refinished table, chairs, bench and coffee table.
-Final inspection by building department.

Yeah, just a few things, eh? Sheesh. (And I probably missed something.) The thing is, they expect to be done by this time next week. That will be nice. Then, all we'll have to do is start unpacking and deciding what goes back in the house. If there's ever a time to create the keep-sell/donate-trash piles, this is it.

---

One thing that had been bugging us for years was how the very cool bed we'd purchased had very soft wood and very thin espresso-colored stain, which meant ever fingernail nick, claw scratch or cross-eyed look showed up in stark contrast. We'd kind of given up hope -- the wood folks who'd been in the house kind of shrugged and suggested painting it -- when we bought a bottle of scratch-covering elixir for dark wood at the grocery store. Heck, the finish was already ruined, so we figured we might as well give the cheap-o option a try.

Uh, well. Wow. It worked! It filled in the light-colored scratches and left the whole thing looking artfully distressed, not randomly shredded.Caveat emptor. Check the wood in the furniture before you buy it! You wouldn't think furniture makers would use super-soft wood like this, but they do.


Yes, still scratched up, but at least the gouges are dark, not light.

Giddy with success, we even tackled an old hand-me-down dresser from Alita's grandparents that's been convenient but thrashed, and it even made that look better. Talk about a pleasant surprise.



Of course the bed will keep getting scratched -- the magic elixir didn't harden up the wood, and even my fingernail can scratch it while I'm making the bed  -- but at least we know what to do now.

---

The longer I go barefoot around the house, the more I feel my feet waking up. The soles of my feet got soft and puffy wearing sandals and shoes all the time; now, they're getting back in proper condition.

bump to the top.

ounce wrote:bump to the top.

Oh hey, I do still have a blog, don't I?

It's been difficult coming up with something to write about lately.

We're a lot closer to having a fully restored house now, but it's come with more than a couple of hitches that pushed our stress management abilities to the limit. Right now we're waiting to hear back from the adjustor on some significant issues that need to be addressed, and we'll be relatively pleased once that happens. It'll mean the adjustor would have to cough up some more money to have some work redone properly, so we'll see how smooth that process goes.

"Hitches?" you ask? "What sort?" Well, let's see: a plumber cracked our washing machine door, someone sprung the door of our oven, the cabinet guy made the hole for the sink too big, folks didn't show up when promised, leaving us hanging without a kitchen for an extra weekend; more significantly, damaged baseboards got put back in -- poorly -- rather than replaced; and water-damaged windowsills were covered with a wood finish -- poorly -- rather than begin sanded down or replaced, etc.

Oh yeah, and the serpentine belt on my car broke, requiring a tow to the shop and replacement of the belt and three pulleys. And our project superintendent was hospitalized with a giant kidney stone.

The sad thing is, our house is starting to come back together. We spent our first night back in our own bed since June 16 last night, and we have a functional kitchen (the magic of caulk seems to have solved the too-big-hole problem for now), washing facilities (the crack on the door didn't damage the seal, thank goodness). The broken things will be repaired, and we're hopeful that the adjustor will do the right thing and allow us to get the job done.

I'd hoped to be starting to get back to running by now, but I'm spending a lot of my free time waiting for contractors to arrive. The rest of the time, I'm pretty distracted by figuring out what to do next. So I just sent an email to the Oregon Coast 50K asking if I can volunteer next month, since I'm clearly not ready to go scampering up some basalt headland at this point. It's a letdown, but I'm hopeful that it'll get me jazzed up enough to get back out there.