correction

corrected:

I took another look and see now that the official time for the neighborhood garage sale is SATURDAY: 8AM-2PM Just saturday... which works just fine for me. I guess I will get up early and open up at 8 :)

Bring the Wagon!

My blogging has been truncated as of late... but I do have an announcement in between all this work.

There will be a massive Neighborhood Garage Sale next weekend, May 2nd and 3rd. It will be in Northrop Neighborhood, in the area of 46th and Cedar Avenue. (sounds like much of the activity will be to the North West of that intersection)

I've been cleaning, cleaning CLEANING trying to get as much stuff together as possible. As it stands I have a substantial pile of clothing and stuff. I will be adding a Gas Burning Fireplace insert, a couple of maple cabinet doors that have been stripped down (see a previous post) and STORM WINDOWS... since the PO's of my home decided to rip out all the hardware. A twin bed (two of them)/dresser set (from the 1930's) and a set of chairs that came from my great grandmothers beauty parlor in the St Paul Hotel from 1940. We'll see what else we can dig up... There may be a cat added to the pile if she doesn't stop waking me up at 4am to eat.

I would imagine that there will be a few people looking for deals EARLY in the am next weekend... but I will open the garage at 9am...

If you're into the garage/yard sale thing it's probably going to be a big deal.. there are SEVERAL homes within a couple blocks that are going to participate. I think that some of them are pretty serious about this stuff :) Probably a number of plants.. so bring your cash, a good eye and your wagon (warm it up for the Friend School Plant Sale)

Will

Portable jungle speak out

clivia-oncidium1
Originally uploaded by gardenmonkey

Hey, look what happened to my window garden! These plants are so great. They only bloom in dry periods, so winter works out perfect. The quick evaporation from the furnace vent gives them just the right climate to send up a bloom. It's funny but plants like the orchid (the little yellow one) tend to bloom when they think they might die. But this one does it every year this time (sometimes earlier).

So, even if mother nature has decided it has to be cold for another week, at least I have spring inside :)

Beams

Beams
Originally uploaded by turbofan

So despite all the going on with the outside of the house there's not too much happening (anymore) on the inside. Brent and Brian (the dynamic duo!) moved the original door to center it on the new peak of the back gable.

Because of the size of the roof and the sheer weight of the addition they needed to put in 18 inch laminated valley beams... hence the big ick cutting through the ceiling. It actually will work out, since that will likely frame in the top of an opening to a storage nook... Think archival storage... I'm a collector AND a curator.. it's a perfect marriage of interest and business :)

Also, the hole on the ceiling to the right side of the pic... this will MAYBE end up being the coolest thing in the world. I'm hoping to open up a hole, frame it nicely with oak and run a library ladder up to it thus creating the coolest guest bed in the WORLD. And on the other side, you can use the ladder to access the attic space.

It's all still developing. Keep an eye out to see how things progress (slowly...)

New addition is done!

New addition is done!
Originally uploaded by turbofan

Attention, Men and Women, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages!!

The addition (and the outside 2nd floor restoration and the basement supports to level the floor etc) is done! On the outside. They did a great job and I would like to officially recommend Plekkenpol Builders. Friendly, SKILLED, honest etc etc. We worked with Keith, Flynn, Brent and Brian and would recommend them highly.

Now we just need to finish the inside and paint the trim. Don't know what color that will be. Any suggestions??

-W

The windows are in!

The windows are in!
Originally uploaded by turbofan

Getting closer...

The roof is water tight, the bargeboard is secured, the sheathing is up and the windows are in... now I know, they look small, but keep in mind that this is a bathroom. It's doing to be nice to know that there is no conceivable way the neighbors could be exposed to.. well, anyone in the bathroom really.

Gosh, this project seems to be dragging on and on. I'm going to talk with a friend about framing and insulation this weekend (I hope) and the possibility of putting a sleeping loft up in the hole created by the construction. I suppose this is the most opportune time to try right??

Stay tuned, this should be winding up soon.. or at least changing tunes.

-W

House update

House update
Originally uploaded by turbofan

Well, it's moving along. Surely but semi-slowly. We've had a good stretch of weather... which up here means it's been above 0F.

So Brent and the Crew scraped the snow off the back and brought out the saws! Ta-daaaa, we went from water-tight (sort of) to no roof to skeleton roof... and now to ROOF! When I left in the morning the goal was to seal 'er up. With the temp headed up to 40 degrees (that's 80 degrees warmer than a week ago!) we are expecting rain over the weekend, turning to ice and eventually to snow. Hoorah for Minnesota. (and you though that LONDON had it rough this week)

I thought that we would be freezing when they did this, but it turns out that virtually all the work is happening outside of what is already insulated. In face, they removed the trunk room door to put in a beam and replaced it with a chunk of plywood and some insulation. The plywood keeps out the cold better than the drafty old door! Don't worry, the door is going to be used in the bathroom. My hope is that no one will no the bathroom is new... just a really clean, old bathroom.

So I expect we will begin the inside mess next week some time. This will involve ripping out parts of the walls from the second floor to the basement to provide support for the roof in the even of a heavy snowfall. They will also be busting through the cement floor in the basement to put in 3 new support posts. 1 for the roof, and 2 to boost up the sagging spot in the floor. Gee, once they stabilize that I can finally attach the dishwasher and cabinets without worrying about having to take it apart to re-level it in a month.

I know that I promised to post a recipe or two. I am still thinking about it. The baking didn't go the way that I had hoped, but I'm going to do some more after work tomorrow. The pastry cream was awesome... and the creme brulee was to die for... and they might make it up here. If the new ones turn out I will post those.