Bathroom remodel anyone?

Oh heck. Today started off so good. There was a list of possibilities. They quickly turned into "Oh my Heck!"


The middle daughter drew the short straw evidently this morning. She went to pull the lever up to take a shower and is now responsible for a total bathroom remodel! The house hasn't been touched since 1963 and that faucet connector (called a nipple - just for the blog traffic thank you!) is fused with the main pipe and will not budge. See photo below:

This picture is evidence of what facilitated the remodel. The tool, a nipple extractor - yeah guys name tools (forged steel) broke off inside the pipe (nipple, there I go again!) so now the entire pipe will have to be removed. That means taking out the tile. The tile is cemented on the wall. Those pesky 1963 builders! They've built this house to last through the millennium. Just not the plumbing.

We have been planning this for months actually. But we were waiting to see if we were going to expand the bathroom, and add a master bedroom onto the house. We are fortunate to own a house in the county so the building fees are reasonable. The only thing to be considered is the fact that this house was built in 1963. It has no foundation and a crawl space. So do we add on behind the other bedroom and expand the bathroom or do we use the patio already in and build on a room behind the garage?

The answer to that is if the patio is the correct thickness to be classified as a foundation. If it is the bathroom will stay the same size and we'll just add the room on the back of the garage. It will be the most cost effective room and we can make our other bathroom a full bath without too many difficulties. Worst thing? The middle daughter still hasn't been able to take a shower, fun.

Son Alison, have any tips for me?

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Spring cleaning. What this is June!

I have been spending time in my garage. Oh I'd love to call it the studio but it really is a garage. I park my car in it every night! I can't imagine going back to the days I parked my car out on the street or in a parking stall sort of like this:


That is truly cringe worthy for me! We have worked very hard to have a house with an attached garage and I'm going to use it for its designed purpose! Well, that said it is also my studio. Recently I have been having to move this, straddle that, and had become very frustrated with the layout. Yesterday morning I marched (well, more like begrudgingly meandered) out there to make some changes!

You know how in order to make things more organized, you first have to blow it up? Yeah that's the state of the garage right now. I still got my car in last night, but I have at least two more days before I can reveal the new and improved garage/studio. And yes, as you all know, with toes pictures and all, I'll share the finished work with you.

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Night photos

Blurry bird, originally uploaded by foodchronicles.

Fortunately we live in an area where night photo opportunities abound. Last night as I drove through the neighborhood I noticed a party on a street next to mine. A big party. As I mentioned it to my husband he said well it should be an interesting night.

Later it began to pour. We talked about the fire pit at the party being put out and it probably putting an end to it all. Then after about an hour the rain let up. The clouds dispersed a bit and a new light began to shine in the sky. It was our old friend the helicopter!

The helicopter is own by the sherrif's station in this county. On occasion we have had the pleasure of being awakened late at night with loud announcements to stay in our homes and make sure the doors are locked. Fun. But hey, that's the burbs for ya.

Last night I decided to grab the camera, set the ISO at 800 and see what I could shoot. I actually got some neat shots:

I love how you can see his spot acros the sky as he circles the problem area. There were also fire engines and ambulances involved. Nothing like a Saturday night for some fun in the neighborhood!

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