Tuesday, June 30, 2009
You Never Know....!
On a lark I placed our "pillbox style" vintage toilet and tank on Craigslist. Why not? Heh.
It took a grand total of two days to get a hit from a lady in north Portland. Hmmmm....cross your fingers! We need to raise some cabin-repair money!!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Fun Never Ends....
Last weekend we took a well-deserved break! I went schlepping fiber down to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene while Gary went "June hog" fishing.
We were back at it again this weekend - and the weather at the beach was glorious!
The detached shop was in camouflage earlier this year...
Then Gary did the weed-whacking magic. Oh look, there's a big pile of gravel....hmmm...looks like WAY too much to shovel manually (ugh!).
So we took Mr. Kubota to the beach.
Now look at the shop! Wow~
For those who failed to notice in the previous post...that hot water heater inside the house does NOT have a safety relief valve. Someone removed it and inserted a pipe plug. Brilliant. Time bomb! So we leave the power off to that baby for now!
We were happy to see the hot water heater in the meat locker does, indeed, have a safety relief valve. However! We didn't think it would leak on us so soon.....good thing the floor needs replaced anyhow...
I found a rather ancient fan upstairs - and wow! It still works - and dried up the floor almost all the way over the weekend.
While Gary was cleaning up the back driveway, I went forward and scrubbed the kitchen. I did not get done...and uh, I did SCRUB that floor. Still looks dingy. It will likely come up within the year - I dislike floor tiles with indented designs in them - they collect dirt and are difficult to keep clean. I like SMOOTH, FLAT floor tiles. Just sayin'....
Here's the before shot (ICKY)
Here's the after....(that dark crap on the counter above? Years of instant coffee spills...gag...
Then there was the front bathroom. We had the proper tools this time and managed to remove all the fixtures!!! Yay!!! Oh, and my grandmother had kept sort of a household inventory. There was an "overjohn" cabinet in the bathroom. She acquired this lovely item in 1974 from "Green Stamps"! Here's Gary after removing all the fixtures...
There is alot of mold in here - heck, even on the wall behind the toilet tank...
We now have some temporary lawn ornaments:
And then there was more plumbing......
Outside, under an old cover we discovered this relic... and after much head-scratching and
sand digging, we are happy to know that this is an old water source from a sand point. Whew! The ugly outside water pipe wrapped in a blanket, tied with electrical tape had to go. Gary installed a new hydrant.
How can you tell if you have a water leak? You check the water meter, of course!
And, at the end of a very long, dirty day....you celebrate!
Who picked out the wine? Gary did...he liked the label. And yeah, you guessed it. The beach cabin is now dubbed the "Fish House". And yeah, it's a pretty good Chardonnay from Walla Walla.
What's up for next weekend? Numerous dump trips (again)....
Then Gary did the weed-whacking magic. Oh look, there's a big pile of gravel....hmmm...looks like WAY too much to shovel manually (ugh!).
So we took Mr. Kubota to the beach.
Now look at the shop! Wow~
For those who failed to notice in the previous post...that hot water heater inside the house does NOT have a safety relief valve. Someone removed it and inserted a pipe plug. Brilliant. Time bomb! So we leave the power off to that baby for now!
We were happy to see the hot water heater in the meat locker does, indeed, have a safety relief valve. However! We didn't think it would leak on us so soon.....good thing the floor needs replaced anyhow...
I found a rather ancient fan upstairs - and wow! It still works - and dried up the floor almost all the way over the weekend.
While Gary was cleaning up the back driveway, I went forward and scrubbed the kitchen. I did not get done...and uh, I did SCRUB that floor. Still looks dingy. It will likely come up within the year - I dislike floor tiles with indented designs in them - they collect dirt and are difficult to keep clean. I like SMOOTH, FLAT floor tiles. Just sayin'....
Here's the before shot (ICKY)
Here's the after....(that dark crap on the counter above? Years of instant coffee spills...gag...
Then there was the front bathroom. We had the proper tools this time and managed to remove all the fixtures!!! Yay!!! Oh, and my grandmother had kept sort of a household inventory. There was an "overjohn" cabinet in the bathroom. She acquired this lovely item in 1974 from "Green Stamps"! Here's Gary after removing all the fixtures...
There is alot of mold in here - heck, even on the wall behind the toilet tank...
We now have some temporary lawn ornaments:
And then there was more plumbing......
Outside, under an old cover we discovered this relic... and after much head-scratching and
sand digging, we are happy to know that this is an old water source from a sand point. Whew! The ugly outside water pipe wrapped in a blanket, tied with electrical tape had to go. Gary installed a new hydrant.
How can you tell if you have a water leak? You check the water meter, of course!
And, at the end of a very long, dirty day....you celebrate!
Who picked out the wine? Gary did...he liked the label. And yeah, you guessed it. The beach cabin is now dubbed the "Fish House". And yeah, it's a pretty good Chardonnay from Walla Walla.
What's up for next weekend? Numerous dump trips (again)....
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mission Accomplished!
Once the water company turned our city water on, they pointed out a slow rotation of the meter, telling us there is a small amount of water useage "somewhere". They really meant "you have a water leak". Great. Usually, they tell us, it's the toilet - go check your toilets. So we did. Neither was leaking. And we couldn't see any leaks around any of the sinks or tub(?). The front bathroom has this weird toilet tank and rather ugly sink...
Not really knowing what else to do at that moment, we proceeded on with crap removal. By the next day, I could see the foundation slightly wet just west of the front porch. Aha! Gary got to fiddling around, and realized it was a leak in the hot water line to the front bathroom shower. And, uh, the leak was UNDER the house.
It took us awhile to find the crawlspace entry - once we found it, I sort of remembered that at one time, I did know that it was there.
Gary had to remove many pieces of lumber (dry!) to gain entry (God bless him!). And thankfully, even though it was clean, dry (except at leak spot) and rodent-free, he found two sheets of plywood that he could lay on. The hot water line is plastic and had split, probably freeze damage - and based on his observations, it had been leaking for YEARS. Eweee....no wonder the study room had so much more mildew than anywhere else in the cabin: it's right above the leak and no ventilation.
Since that bathroom is so incredibly small, we elected to remove the shower (for good - it was an old metal, icky thing anyhow). This will allow us to install a new hot water heater IN THE BATHROOM, and remove the old one from THE STUDY !
And the old water heater in the study appears to be quite old, and also appears to be a ticking time bomb! (look closely....!!)
Not really knowing what else to do at that moment, we proceeded on with crap removal. By the next day, I could see the foundation slightly wet just west of the front porch. Aha! Gary got to fiddling around, and realized it was a leak in the hot water line to the front bathroom shower. And, uh, the leak was UNDER the house.
It took us awhile to find the crawlspace entry - once we found it, I sort of remembered that at one time, I did know that it was there.
Gary had to remove many pieces of lumber (dry!) to gain entry (God bless him!). And thankfully, even though it was clean, dry (except at leak spot) and rodent-free, he found two sheets of plywood that he could lay on. The hot water line is plastic and had split, probably freeze damage - and based on his observations, it had been leaking for YEARS. Eweee....no wonder the study room had so much more mildew than anywhere else in the cabin: it's right above the leak and no ventilation.
Since that bathroom is so incredibly small, we elected to remove the shower (for good - it was an old metal, icky thing anyhow). This will allow us to install a new hot water heater IN THE BATHROOM, and remove the old one from THE STUDY !
And the old water heater in the study appears to be quite old, and also appears to be a ticking time bomb! (look closely....!!)
Friday, June 12, 2009
More Old Photos!
I stumbled across a couple photos which are very, very cool - a glimpse into my father's life at a time he never talks about. This would be when his parents were still married - and maybe he has little recollection as he was quite young. I was NOT prepared for the resemblance of my father as a wee thing with my little sister when she was a similar age. Wow.
Anyhow, here are two photos: one of my grandfather, Walter, with dad and uncle Larry. The other is the two boys with Shirley, their biological mother.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Stradivarius it was NOT
I remember the stories Grandma Pat told me about her old violin, how it was hand made with rosewood pegs, and that she would save it for me someday. When my 9 year old daughter decided to play the violin in orchestra, I even thought, someday, when she is in high school and about to audition for the Boise Philharmonic, maybe she can play Grandma's violin!! I was SO excited when I found the old, moldy smelling violin at the bottom of the closet upstairs in the Beach Cabin Loft! Terry told me I just stared at it, shaking a little. Kind of like that look on Holly's 1 year old face when Grandma Fuller gave her a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie, perhaps. Anyway, not really holding my breath that it was a priceless, vintage instrument, I took it in to Telford's yesterday, for an informal appraisal. Bless their hearts, they still remember me everytime I walk in, and this time, bless them for their straight faces. "It's very old, it's domestic..." I told them them they didn't have to sugar-coat it. Without knowing who made it, it is very difficult to appraise. The good news is, that it is in very good condition, all things considered. The damp humidity is actually good for it. The bad news is, it would need about $100 worth of work to get it playable again, mostly strings, bridge, tailpiece. But, even then, it wouldn't even be worth $300.!!! So, we will just hang on to it for sentimental reasons for now. I would like to eventually get new strings on it, ask Holly to play it (hopefully the mold smell will eventually dissapate) and see how it sounds!
Michele & Jon
Ah, enjoying the fresh ocean breeze before the nasty work began! I was just so happy I found the beach cabin on ol' Huckleberry Lane without any help. Ok, so Jon saw the Harris sign, but I recognized the corner without even seeing the Harris sign!
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