Remodel: Day Four

After a quiet weekend where we allowed ourselves more time to adjust to the disarray of living with construction, it all got a little more real. Larry arrived around 8:30 with the plumber close on his heels. During our touch base, I was informed that, in addition to the plumber, the electricians and HVAC specialist would be here all day. So, no water, no power.

And, guess who is here all day because there is no school for MLK Day? And, guess who has an assignment due on Wednesday? Yup. Thing 1 and Thing 2. Fortunately Winston was able to go over to Peter F's house to play. Simon and I picked up John and took him to Zen Box for ramen and takoyaki. Then we camped out at Dunn Brothers.

Upon our return home, progress was evident. A four-foot long slice of ceiling was missing from above the original entry, and that hole freaked me out a little.

Before (note recessed lighting and chimney water damage)

recessed lighting gone! smaller holes cut for LEDs.

closer view. note guidelines!

All the existing light fixtures had been removed thus leaving several large holes. New holes had been drilled uniformly for the new LED lights. And, another but much longer slice of ceiling was missing near the fireplace. The electricians were cleaning up when I arrived so I said hello. The apparent lead electrician said, "Let's just say you've got an architecturally challenging house." Why, thank you. But, I'm sure he didn't mean it as a compliment.

Scaffolding

Other changes included prepping the space. Scaffolding that resembled a jungle gym had been set up in the studio. The furniture that had been wrapped in plastic on Friday was further consolidated and wrapped again. The peninsula was shrouded in plastic. Another sheet of plastic had been hung over the kitchen doorway. With my prospect removed, I missed my open kitchen immediately.

Old insulation + new insulation (pink stuff)

I spent some time exploring and taking photographs. Then I sat down in the den, in my Mama Bear chair, to process the changes before fixing dinner in my newly, temporarily enclosed kitchen. And that's when I heard running water. When I looked in the general direction of the running water, I saw Nancy in the laundry basket of clean clothes--my clean clothes--and realized she was using it as a litter box. Grrr. Poor kitty.

Remodel: Day Three

For a split second this morning, we thought we might have a reprieve from construction. Fine thinking when we're only two days into a six week project. I know. But work wasn't on the schedule, and no one had shown up by 8 a.m., and the guys are pretty punctual so one can hope.

shower niche framing

medicine cabinet framing

And, then they arrived and spent the day framing--the new linen closet, the shower niche, and the recessed medicine cabinet. The carpenters also wrapped all our belongings in the studio--bookcases, furniture, boxes--to protect it from construction dust in the upcoming week. Everything is shrouded as if in a cocoon. And, I'm grateful because in the cruel light of day, I can see that every horizontal surface in the kitchen and dining loft has an inevitable, but fine, layer of dust on it. 

At the end of the day, Larry left us a note to say that we have quite a bit of copper pipe, which is good. There had been some concern about lead pipe, which would need to be replaced to meet current building code. I'm not exactly sure how, but copper means a different kind of routing and additional cost. Yay!

August looking cute but small

August survived his first week of construction. He hated being confined to the den, and I can only imagine him going ape-shit when I leave the house. The cats are a little freaked out too. But, here's hoping they'll have a better week.

Remodel: Day Two

Hanging by a thread

A lot of loud noise and thumping and banging came from the general direction of the rest of the house. For most of the day, I stayed somewhat locked in the den and recapped my reading year before too much more of 2015 gets away from me. That said, I didn't have much time to check in with the carpenters, and they left before I got back from picking up kids and running errands. When I went downstairs to use the guest bathroom, I noticed the towel rack mounted on the wall over the toilet was on the floor with towels scattered everywhere. The vibrations of power tools must have popped  the rack right off the wall. Crazy!

Here's what I know: jackhammers were used. Here's what I observed: the blue bathroom is devoid of almost all evidence of its former self. All the fixtures are gone, including the last half of the tub. The walls are completely down to the studs and the floor is exposed concrete. Even the closet framing has been removed. I hadn't imagined that the closet would be demo'ed, which means that we're really building up from scratch.

The schedule doesn't indicate that work is being done tomorrow. That can't be true. I'm feeling a little exhausted. The construction binder said that demolition would be stressful, and initially I was too excited and busy packing to think much about it. Here on Thursday, it's true, the week has been stressful. But, it's a good kind of stress, if that makes sense. It's the anticipation and the uncertainty and the change to routine--all of that attendant emotion sucked the life out of me. I plan to self-medicate with a cocktail and a pizza.

Remodel: Day One

We survived the first day of construction! I had been apprehensive, not knowing what to expect because the schedule was vague: prep and demolition. Larry, our contractor, and two other guys arrived punctually at 8 a.m. and promptly taped heavy brown paper on the stairs and over various pathways through the house. And, then they cranked KQ92, the classic rock station, and started ripping up the bathroom.

First the toilet and sink were removed. 

The CMU (right) was once the house's exterior wall

The tub was cut in half to ease removal and to get it through doors. One half went out to the dumpster today; the other half will go tomorrow. Manageable chunks of vinyl flooring and wallpaper-covered drywall left the house in utility buckets. A few weeks ago, my friend Rose said, "It will be interesting to see what you find once you get into the walls." And, indeed, among the wall detritus were many safety razor blades. At some earlier point in the bathroom's history, there would have been a slot in the wall where razor blades could be deposited. A little internet research showed pictures of slots built into medicine cabinets and even tiles. 

The wall above the sink was framed for a medicine cabinet once upon a time ago.

When Simon and Winston arrived home from school, they were assaulted by a chemically, burned smell. So, we asked, "what is that smell?" and were told that it was a combination of the tub's plastic coating and the demolition saw's coating.

The animals fared well. August was contained in the den all day and only occasionally curious about the bumping and thumping and clanging. Nancy appeared in the den at some point during the day and proceeded to use a cardboard box as a litterbox. She was certain about not wanting to leave the den. Trixie was missing all day. I had dark fantasies of her being sealed in an open space so that the next person who renovated would find a cat skeleton in the wall where we'd found razor blades. She finally appeared just before 9 p.m. Phew.

T minus 1

The studio with dining loft

In less than 24 hours, construction begins on our house. We are about to embark upon a much needed and long overdue bathroom remodel.

Ugly blue wallpaper, nasty vinyl flooring

When we moved into the house 10 years ago, the bathroom closest to our bedroom was the only room in the entire house that hadn't been updated. We've often wondered why the previous owner didn't bother to remodel, or, at the least, just paint over the ugly blue wallpaper. By our best guess, the owner, who had MS, couldn't easily get to the other bathrooms if her primary one was out of order.

ugly tile in need of grout repair

After meeting with the contractor and subs, I suspect that the real reason is much more complicated. Fixing the plumbing and electrical wiring, as well as bringing the venting up to code, requires jackhammers, re-roofing, and breaking through a concrete wall with subsequent masonry repair. Cha-ching. So, we'll do it. We'll update the bathroom and make sure the job is high-quality and the design interesting. So many of the remodeling projects we inherited were sloppy. We'll have to re-do all of it, but we're starting with the oldest, most neglected corner of the house.

I'm excited about the design, which is all mine with John's collaboration. We hired Castle Remodeling based on the strong recommendation from friends who have had them do several projects, including a bathroom. But, Castle was happy to have me do the design. We've worked closely with one of their owners and with a remodeling designer, Ashley, who translated my AutoCAD and SketchUp drawings into their software. She was a great help when selecting finishes and fixtures. Because even though I am an interior designer, I found all the choices--for tile, paint, faucets, wood finishes, and more--to be overwhelming. I think it is so much easier to make design decisions for someone else.

Couldn't we at least have replaced that mirror?!

The current bathroom is plagued by slow drains in both the sink and the tub; a toilet that runs for a long time after the tank has refilled; a broken exhaust fan; ugly wallpaper; dated, stained tile in the shower and on the wet wall; a narrow, awkward closet where storing towels is impossible; and crummy, hard-to-clean vinyl flooring.

56 s.f. small

Basically everything has to go.The bathroom will be gutted to the studs. All the fixtures--bathtub, toilet, and sink--will be removed. The plumbing will be replaced, and a new streamlined toilet and wall-mounted sink will be installed.The closet will be converted to open shelving and a base cabinet. The tub/shower will be converted to a shower with a glass enclosure and three walls of 3/4" tile, which will wrap around through the floor. We'll swap out the horrid wall-hung mirror for a medicine cabinet, which John as always wanted. One great vanity light fixture will cover the entire room's needs so we can get rid of the current dome fixture. All the wiring will be shored up so the fan is on a separate switch from the lights. And, the wood paneling on the ceiling will be replaced with gyp board for a smooth finish. The overall effect will be lighter and fresher, up-to-date but with clear reference to midcentury modern.

But, that's not all! We're going to replace our ceiling...the whole thing, from the top of the original back wall and hall, through the dining loft, over the studio, and down to the front porch.

Cracked  and peeling popcorn texture

We have always hated the popcorn texture, which was most likely applied to improve acoustics.

Staining from water damage around the chimney

The ceiling is, in part, peeling, which is a product of age, but there are many places where the plaster has cracked and stained due to problems with the roof.

Half of the ceiling

Now that the roof has been repaired and the chimneys sealed, we can clean up the stucco. Instead of replastering with a smooth texture, Castle's owner suggested (and the masonry/drywall sub agreed) that gyp board be installed. We'll get the smooth look we want and nominal acoustic help, plus the drywall should be easy to replace if repairs are needed again.

And, while we're at it, we'll have the recessed "can" lights removed and have LED glimpse luminaires installed instead. The front porch will get a new ceiling fan, something sexy and modern and with a light.

I have been packing frantically for the past two days. Books and valuables from the studio, the dining loft, hallway, and side entry have to be cleared so the work crew can prep the site with tarps, special flooring, and scaffolding (the sloped ceiling rises from 10' to 16' or higher). They'll also start demolition.

I am excited, and I am nervous. Our household will be topsy-turvy for six weeks, which isn't horrible. In fact, the bathroom will be finished before the snow melts. And, I know we'll all adjust to the new routine of having workers, who initially will be strangers, in the house first thing in the morning until dinner. And the animals will adjust to having strangers in the house. I hope. And, we'll cope with occasional water or power interruptions. And, I'll try to be brave about the inevitable surprises the are uncovered when the walls, ceiling, and floors are peeled back.

movies 2014

For posterity and personal reference, here is my movie list from 2014. My favorites are in bold; avoid-at-all-costs are in italics.

• Goon (The boys picked it. Gut-wrenchingly dumb.
• My Idiot Brother (Paul Rudd plays a goofy idealist brother. Not off to a good start with movies this year.)
• The Way Way Back (Funny and poignant coming of age)
• Closed Circuit (British thriller with no recognizable actors; surprisingly good)
• Bridesmaids (Second viewing; still pee-your-pants funny)
• This Is 40 (More Paul Rudd; funny and sad movie about reaching middle age, parenting, and marriage)
• Ender’s Game (The book was really powerful, the movie less so)
• Sherman and Peabody (Charming animated adaption of a favorite childhood cartoon)
• The LEGO Movie (Creative with a good message and delightful twist. Plus, Will Ferrell.)
• Pitch Perfect (Funny, whip-smart; exceeded my expectations. Cannot wait for a second installment)
• Divergent (Oh, I don’t know. I think I wasn’t supposed to like this but I did for the compelling action.)
• Frozen (Impossible to get the theme music out of my head)
• Spider Man 2 (Still grooving on Andrew Garfield)
• Godzilla (Summer blockbuster kick-off did not disappoint)
• X-Men: Days of Future Past (Accompanied Simon on his first date to see this)
• Monuments Men (Quirky cinematography and storytelling made for a delightful movie)
• Spirit of the Marathon (Inspiring enough that I almost think I could train for and run a marathon)
• September Issue (In-flight movie; comfort watch while we were grounded)
• Grand Budapest Hotel (In-flight movie; my least favorite Wes Anderson movie)
• American Hustle (In-flight movie; wish I had seen this on the big screen)
• World’s End (In-flight movie; for the boys; clever)
• Miss Potter (Extending the vacation; Lake District)
• Napoleon Dynamite (Finally; so funny. The boys loved it and now quote lines. Good thing I purchased a copy)
• Expendables (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stratham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li. Yup. First of a series)
• Vampire Academy (Watched with a representative of the target audience; enjoyed)
• Guardians of the Galaxy (Twice. Favorite movie of the year. Inspired to make a better “awesome mix” for the boys)
• In a World (A favorite. Indie. Lake Bell wowed.)
• A Most Wanted Man (Date night. Genius interpretation of a Le Carre novel. Shame about Philip Seymour Hoffman)
• Braveheart (Extending the vacation; Scotland)
• The Lunchbox (Sad and uplifting foreign movie; a case of mistaken tiffin identity)
• Top of the Lake (Loved this often disturbing SundanceTV series with Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter, and [apparently] Lucy Lawless.)
• Muscle Shoals (Fantastic music documentary about the legendary recording studio; will watch again)
• This Is Where I Leave You (Date night. I wish my family’s dysfunction was this funny; Tina Fey’s and Jason Bateman’s characters were played annoyingly and predictably, but Jane Fonda rocked)
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Whole family saw at Riverview and we were not disappointed)
• Veronica Mars (Like a drawn-out TV episode but not disagreeable)
• Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (Stumbled upon this documentary while browsing the library. Deserves a second viewing)
• The Judge (Date night. Predictable, painful because it touched a little close to home, but not horrible.)
• Bad Word (Funny. Jason Bateman)
• Homeland, season 3 (Never disappoints. Thinking about subscribing to Showtime so I can catch season 4)
• Horrible Bosses (Very funny)
• Tammy (Even though it wasn’t my favorite Melissa McCarthy, it was still funny. She’s genius)
• 22 Jump Street (Watched in solidarity with the target audience)
• Tropic Thunder (Fell asleep)
• November Man (Meh, occasionally confusing thriller with Pierce Brosnan)
• Big Hero 6 (Characters, animation, solid story = this movie has it all)
• Austenland (Disappointing. Then again, I’ve never been much of an Austen fan)
• Chef (Charming movie about a chef who reconnects with his son on a cross-country journey in a food truck)
• Running the Sahara (loved this documentary about three guys who run 4300 miles across the Sahara, from Senegal, through Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. 111 days. Crazy awesome.
• Shut Up and Play the Hits (Documentary about the end of LCD Soundsystem and gootage of their last concert)
• Tiny Furniture (This is Lena Dunham’s true genius, and I wish I has seen it before Girls or Not That Kind of Girl. I am now officially tired of her story)
• Wild (Caroline and I saw at the Garden [Princeton] as a kick off to the holiday movie marathon)
• Into the Woods (not a fan of Sondheim nor of musicals; even though impeccably edited, this movie was nearly unbearable, especially with the dark extra ending)
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (Battle scene was only 45 minutes, not the dreaded 1-1/2 hours)
• Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One (Draggy set up; why, why, why split this movie?)
• The Equalizer (Fantastic movie interpretation of the 80s TV series; Denzel Washington was fantastic as ex-CIA/current vigilante)

soup (again)

We rang in the New Year with a lunch stop at Hoa Bien. I believe firmly that pho and related soups, such as ramen, have healing properties. Although I have no scientific evidence to support my belief, I can attest to anecdotes of warm, rich, spice-laden broth enriching and lifting one's spirit and soothing a sore throat. The soup above is bun bo hue, a thicker, richer broth with a fattier cut of beef and egg noodles. It was a first but definitely not a last for me. Delicious.

soup

Soup is pretty much a perfect meal for me. I could eat it daily for lunch, year round, but in the winter eating soup is a sure way to stay warm. Pictured above is Melissa Clark's Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, which I wrote about here a few years ago. Still a favorite, I put it back into a seasonal rotation; this time with extra carrots.

now it is december

Although many consider the solstice to be the beginning of winter, my less conventional but absolutely regional marker is the first snow. By that token, winter is here. We've had several snow falls and an abundance of cold, which has enabled the snow to "stick." The only way I'm going to make it through winter is to get a good attitude, even though my handsome husband says it is okay to be cold. So, I am attempting to make the most of nicer days (i.e., no windchill, sunshine) with longer dog walks. And, since oldest son has joined the Nordic team at school, I'm contemplating taking up cross-country skiing again.

Winter, welcome?

please be awesome, october

Here it is. My favorite month of the year: October. A major month of transition as we shift between seasons. A shift that often carries a reminder of warm summer days but also the promise of cold winter days. A month of transition in diet as we close down the grill and fire up the slow cooker. A month of transition in wardrobe as we pack away the sandals and unearth socks and boots.

I love all of it: the earthy smell of decaying leaves, the unreal beauty in fall foliage, pumpkins, warming spices, wellies, an extra blanket on the bed, a new start.

A more personal transition occurs for me this month as I celebrate my birthday. Never dreaded, always welcomed as an opportunity for change. My New Year. And, this October, I hope to experience a professional transition. While I have had plenty of professional transitions in the past six years, I remain hopeful that a job offer is imminent. So, please be awesome, October.

Glasgow, Day Two

Having been much deprived of sleep the previous 24-plus hours, everyone slept soundly the first night, except for me. The XL beds at CitizenM were plenty comfortable, and I was definitely tired, but messed up by time zones. That, and the sun rises at 4 a.m. My ipad was a constant companion through the wee hours of the morning. I took advantage of the hotel’s free wi-fi to keep up with friends on Facebook, and I read The Accident, Chris Pavone’s new thriller set in the publishing world.

Leave it to a hot breakfast to feel revived! Ever a fan of the traditional English/Irish/Scottish hot breakfast—bacon, sausages, blood pudding, eggs, broiled tomatoes and mushrooms, beans, fry bread, and copious amounts of toast—I was pleasantly surprised by the not-so-traditional buffet presentation at fancy-pants CitizenM. Even the boys have made a study of black pudding and had the best intentions to eat as much as they could on this trip.

After breakfast, we trekked to the West End to meet Dorothy and David for a day of sightseeing. The West End had been described as a bohemian neighborhood with hip restaurants, hotels, art galleries, and bars. Glasgow's major greenspace, Kelvingrove Park, is located here as well as Glasgow University and several significant museums.

Our first stop of the day was the Hunterian Museum (above and below), housed on the campus of Glasgow University. The Hunterian, named after William Hunter and comprised of several smaller museums or collections, was a revelation.

We started in the main museum, which includes displays of Hunter’s medical discoveries, scientific instruments, such as those used by James Watt (he of the steam engine) and Lord Kelvin (of the unit measuring temperature) and

the university’s anthropological research,

zoological research,

and the Antonine Wall--the boundary of the northernmost point the Romans reached in Britain. It took 12 years to build the wall and its 16 small forts, which reached across the central belt of Scotland (from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde). Eight years after completion, the Romans were unable to contain the Caledonians north of the wall and retreated to Hadrian's Wall, 99 miles to the south. Since our time didn't allow for a visit to the Antonine Wall site, I was thrilled to see such major remains at the Hunterian.

Then, we crossed the street to visit the Hunterian Art Gallery, featuring the world’s largest public display of American artist James McNeill Whistler's work. I loved his full-length oil paintings of society women and females relatives, including the sketch of Miss Ethel Phillip and Red and Black: The Fan, a portrait of his sister-in-law, for their exquisite detail and non-sentimentality. But, I especially loved the Cartoon of Rich and Poor Peacocks, which was a study for the Peacock Room mural, which was one of sixteen motifs I included in a Furnishings assignment while in design school. (Note to self: add Washington DC's the Freer to list so as to visit the Peacock Room.)

And, although we missed seeing Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s sketchbooks and paintings, which were housed in the gallery, we did get a wonderful tour of the Mackintosh House (below).

The original house had been torn down when the University expanded in the 1960s and was rebuilt of modern materials 100 meters away. Interior photography was not allowed for obvious conservation efforts. Suffice to say, the reproduction was faithfully executed with many of the original doors, windows, furnishings, and other fittings. Walking through the house was like stepping into one of my History of Furnishings textbooks:  white everywhere and the organic form of Glasgow roses galore.

After a mediocre Italian lunch, where Simon ordered the best imaginable mashup--pizza with French fries--we all piled into cabs again to visit the Burrell Collection, another private art and artifact collection. The following photos give an idea of the breadth and depth of the collection as well as a glimpse into the beautiful space.

Later, back of CitizenM, John took a nap, but the boys and I walked a mile to the Geek Retreat. We thought we were going to a comic book store, but instead, the shop was a hangout for gaming. A cool idea but not what we were after. Disappointed, we walked back to CitizenM and stretched out a bit before dinner at Stravaigin, one of those hip West End restaurants. This one featured weird and wild food, but also had an off-menu burger for fussy, jetlagged American lads.

The highlight of my dinner was camel meatballs. Yes, camel, which tasted gamey, like antelope or venison. When spiced and sauced, you might not have guessed they weren’t beef or lamb. So good.

Up next: the Lake District