January 8, 2009

Siiiiiiiiigh! Oh - did I mean Yay!?

I love my curio cabinets. Two of them have framed my media center for the last ten years or so. A few special items were artfully displayed in each. The one above had some antique-y and Asian items, with a matched collection of classic books on the top shelf. Okay, they’re only the Reader’s Digest versions, but I like the way they looked. The other curio cabinet appealed to the child in me. One of my mom’s Madam Alexander dolls sat beside a couple of stuffed toys - two beagles and a bunny - and the middle and bottom shelf held my m.c. escher books and part of my toy collection: Slinkys and jacks and wooden puzzles and my beautiful kaliedescopes. Most of my lliving room was packed up a few months ago, but I kept some stuff in the curio cabinets just becauase it always makes me smile to look at my little collections.

I’ll be saying goodbye to them today. One of my neighbors came by yesterday and looked at the improvements that have been completed on the house and the work that still needs to be done. I told her I’d be having another garage sale soon and she asked if I’d sell any furniture. When I said I was thinking about selling the living room furniture her eyes lit up. There were boxes stacked all around the curio cabinets and she could barely see them, but she liked what she saw.

My curio cabinets are empty now. The glass has been shined up and I’ll be giving them a some loving attention with Murphy’s Oil Soap in a little while. I got a good price for them and the money is needed, so why do I feel like crying?

Technorati Tags: curio cabinets, furniture, moving

January 5, 2009

A sneak peek at the “new” kitchen

Paul is almost through making the new cabinets for my kitchen. Actually, they’re not new cabinets - they’re new faces for the old cabinets. We used 3/4 inch birch veneer plywood which I stained with maple wood stain. The process was actaully quite easy. He used the old cabinet fronts as templates. The doors are the same size as the door openings when first cut. (The black thing is a “pigtail” for new under-cabinet lighting, already purchased and waiting to be installed.)

I sanded the cut edges and stained the pieces, and also stained the moldings that would be used for trim. Paul cut, fitted and installed the trim around each door so that it had a finished look and was about a half-inch larger in width and height than the opening.

I used Varathane Premium Wood Stain in Colonial Maple. Super easy to apply - just brush it on, wait a while and wipe it off. When it was dry I applied a paste wax to help preserve the finish.

We re-used the existing door and drawer hardware to assemble everything. The hinges show some wear but are perfectly functional. If I’d been staying in the house I’d probably have bought all new hardware. The cost for new ones would have been between $80 and $100 and I’m on a tight budget here, so we went with what we had. The ivory drawer pulls are some I had on hand, still in their original packaging. I think I found them in a box of hardware a friend dropped off when she was moving off-island.

One more cabinet to go, and this one will be all new construction. My washer and dryer used to sit in the alcove beneath the kitchen window. They were moved outside to my screened room when it was built, leaving a big, unfinished-looking space in the kitchen. There’s a capped gas pipe coming through the floor and a sheet-metal covered vent opening in the wall. We’ve installed a new countertop and Paul will build a cabinet under it. It will be shallow to allow knee room in case the new owners want to use it as a breakfast or homework space.

Paul started on the cabinets in September. Unfortunately, he doesn’t work often and when he does it’s only for short periods of time. I’m convinced that the kitcehn work could have been completed in a week or two by someone putting in “normal” work hours, but that’s not Paul’s style. Now I’ve got my fingers crossed and am fervently hoping he’ll finish up in the next week or so. Not holding my breath though, because, well … he’s Paul.

There is a flaw with his design. Can you spot it? He cut the first cabinet front with the grain running on the vertical. He “forgot” and placed the grain on the horizontal with the others. Nothing to be done about it now and I’m sincerely hoping it won’t be a sore point with prospective homebuyers!

Technorati Tags: cabinets, carpentry, home remodel, kitchen cabinets, kitchen upgrade

December 25, 2008

Christmas photos

Could someone please explain to me how people manage, year after year, to get perfect family photos at Christmas? My friends Denise and TW (waving & sending aloha) manage to get a spectacular photo of their whole brood in matching Christmas pajamas every year. No one sneezes or squints or looks away. None of the shots are fuzzy and no one’s head gets cut off. I want to know what their secret is, that’s all I’m saying.

Technorati Tags: beagle, Christmas, family photo, Hawaii

December 16, 2008

Horrified and saddened

L to R: Daniel, Chris, Sandy, Desi, Martha

When my son was little I didn’t believe I’d ever seen him grown. I know now that a lot of parents feel like that. We feel that we’ve been so blessed, so lucky, that it just can’t last. Something terrible will happen - the child will die or perhaps the parent, because there’s no way that such a charmed life can continue. I never told anyone about my fears back then. I’ve never been the superstitious sort, but I think I felt that to speak it could have made it a reality. Those dark thoughts faded as the years passed and it’s been my happy fate to see my son grow into a happy and productive adult. An undeserved blessing, the greatest blessing of my life.

My cousin Toni’s worst fears became reality today. She went to wake her son Daniel for school and discovered that he had died in the night. I can’t even begin to imagine the agony she is living with.

The photo above was taken about ten years ago. I had gone to New Orleans to pick up my father and move him to live with me here in Hawaii. We both knew that he might never return to the mainland, so we took some time to visit with family scattered around Texas before completing our journey. I enjoyed getting to know my cousins’ children, whom I hadn’t seen since they were babies. I think Daniel was six or seven years old then. He was a bright and happy child, bubbly and funny. His mother Toni lavished all of her love and attention on her only child and there was never any reason to think that he wouldn’t grow up, much as my own son has, to be a happy adult living a normal middle-American life. That dream was shattered a few years ago. Daniel contracted encepahlitis, probably as the result of a bite by an infected mosquito. He was in a coma for an extended period of time - I think it was several months - and his brain was damaged by the infection and fever. His speech and cognitive skills suffered, but he was soon back in school with some special classes to help him cope with his problems. I spoke to him on the phone a few months ago and told him I was looking forward to getting to know him again when I move “home” to Texas. His speech was a little difficult to understand, but he was looking forward to it also.

Daniel suffered seizures over the years and they recently became more frequent. His doctors were concerned that the seizures might be damaging his heart and had been planning on scheduling some tests soon. I don’t know yet if it was heart problems that caught up with him last night. I suppose there will be tests and the usual post-mortem studies to determine just what happened. I don’t suppose any of that really matters now, except in the sense that it may further understanding of the disease. It doesn’t matter to me and I’m sure it won’t matter to Toni. I’ll try to track her down later today or tomorrow, but I don’t have a clue what I’ll say other than “I’m sorry.” Words are so inadequate.

Update: I just spoke with Toni. Daniel saw the cardiologist yesterday. She found no problems with his heart. His blood pressure was slightly elevated, but not enough to cause real problems. He had a grand mal seizure yesterday evening, but was fine by the time he went to bed. When Toni found him this morning Daniel was face down, clutching his pillow and bedding so tightly that she couldn’t get them out of his hands. He had vomited sometime during the night. The M.E. may have more info later, but it appears that Daniel either smothered himself with his bedding or aspirated on vomitus during a seizure.

Technorati Tags: children, encephalitis, family, loss

December 12, 2008

And so it goes

I guess the weather pixies decided that the nine inches of rain that fell on the Waianae Coast on Wednesday and Thursday wasn’t quite enough. We had strong, gusty winds and intermittent sprinkles all day today. Late in the afternoon we started getting thunder and lightening - something we don’t get often in Hawaii. The skies opened up again just before sunset and my carport flooded again within about a half an hour. I guess the ground is already too saturated to take any more water, so it’s just standing there instead of draining off. I had gotten the new cabinet pieces stained before the rain got serious, so they were already tucked away under visqueen again and didn’t get wet. I had forgotten until this morning that my iron was outside. I’ve been using it to install veneer on the exposed cut ends of the birch ply (the veneer has a heat-activated glue on the back.) It sat in water for over a day and so did one of my extension cords, but considering what other people lost to the flood I guess I got off easy. If you don’t know why I chose to toss them, get thee to a library and check out some OSHA handbooks and safety equipment manuals.

My kitchen and dining room floors have been looking a bit like a jigsaw puzzle for several days. I installed all of the whole tiles and am cutting tiles that need to be pieced whenever I have time to fool around with them. I was able to keep working on that for a while after the rain started again and I finished the pantry floor and the area all around it. I’ll pull the fridge out tomorrow and floor beneath it if Paul isn’t here working on cabinets (he probably won’t be.) I can’t move the stove by myself, so I’ll get him to move it one afternoon before he leaves & then put it back the next day after I get the floor installed there. The kitchen is done except for those two spots. Half of the dining room is done. I’ve got boxes and pantry items in the other half & should be able to get to it tomorrow, too.

Can you see the shiny patch of glue to the left of the tiles? It’s close to impossible not to leave little patches like that when you’re completing the job over several days. I had Lance blocked out of the kitchen/dining room with some boxes, but he managed to shove them aside when I wasn’t looking. I tried covering everything with packing paper, but he displaced that, too. He’s got flooring adhesive on his left hip and leg. It will come off with paint thinner, but I don’t think that’s a terrific idea for a guy who bathes with his tongue. I think I’ll just have to let the glue wear off over time.

Technorati Tags: flooring, Hawaii, rain, remodel, storm

December 11, 2008

Rain delay

It started yesterday afternoon. We had had some gusty winds and a few sprinkles early in the day. Paul came over and cut a cabinet front and doors out in my carport. I was going to sand and stain them after he left so he could come install them today. He was barely out of sight when a strong gust snapped my flagpole and the rain began to come down in earnest, blowing sideways and soaking everything in the carport. I secured everything I could and covered the new work with visqueen, weighting it down with wood scraps.

The rain continued all afternoon and into the night. I heard occasional crashes on my own property and a few loud noises as neighbor’s barbecue grills and lawn chairs went flying. When I went out this morning I stepped into four inches of water in my carport. Leaves and debris were moving across the paved surface at a brisk pace as the wind continued to drive rain and everything else it encountered.

Paul’s chop saw was sitting on a half-inch piece of scrap wood under the work table. The bottom of it was in water, but the motor was high and dry. I raised it a little higher with a couple of lengths of 2X4. He called me today to tell me that all of his other tools are lost under two feet of water that flooded the place he’s staying.

I had secured everything that I could before I came inside yesterday. At that time I only wanted to protect everything from the gusty rain that was blowing through the carport. There was nothing I could do this morning about the birch plywood leaning against the wall and thoroughly soaked by the flood. I hope it will dry out and still be usable.

I’m a little frustrated that the weather is delaying the work that was going smoothly, but I’m much better off than Paul and many others around the island. Roads and schools are closed and emergency shelters have opened for folks who have been flooded out of their homes. You can see the story and view some slides at KHNL News. They even have pictures from my Waianae Coast this time. Rainfall totals around the island vary between 8 and 14 inches, but the rain is still coming down and is expected to continue through the weekend. Lucky we live Hawaii?

Technorati Tags: flooding, Hawaii, Oahu, rain, storm, Waianae Coast

December 8, 2008

Christmas memories among the clutter

My grandmother started making stuffed Christmas ornaments for me when my son was a baby. She made a dozen or so the first year. Every few years she would add a few more to our collection. She created her own patterns and used fabric and supplies that she had on hand, so each ornament is unique.

The Christmas horse is my favorite. It’s had a place of honor, front and center, on each tree I’ve decorated since that first year. The red bandana fabric was a perfect choice. His saddle was cut from a foam meat tray and stitched on with star sequins. I need to find some more of those and replace a few that have been lost over the years.

I think my grandmother liked the mice best. There were several in the original collection and others joined them later. I lost several of them to real mice and dampness when I lived in a tiny rental house and had only a dirt-floored garage for storage. After I started doing pest control she got a kick out of keeping my supplied with mice (perhaps because it’s hard to make cockroaches look cute.)

In the mid-eighties I had a bad fall in a warehouse I was servicing. My equipment gashed my leg as I fell, but the worst of it was a hard blow to the head. I had what I called “black headaches” for about a year afterwards. Grandma memorialized my accident with a bear festooned with appropriately placed bandages.

I’m still winnowing out things that aren’t worth taking with me when I move. Much of it goes into boxes for the garage sale I hope I’ll have time for and even more has gone out with the rubbish. Moving is helping me finally declutter my life, but some of my clutter is good stuff and will stay with me always. Grandma’s ornaments help me keep her memory close and remind me of the warmth and humor that defined her personality. They’re not clutter. They’re part of the fabric of my life.

Technorati Tags: Christmas ornaments, family, grandmothers, handcrafts, memories

December 6, 2008

Lance is getting uppity

Lance sleeps with me. That’s cool. We both enjoy the companionship. His place is up against the back of my legs (I sleep on my right side.) Sometimes, if he’s feeling playful or affectionate, he’ll come up to my pillow when we first go to bed. He’ll bump his head agaist mine and we’ll play the “rub faces” game for a few minutes, then he’ll wander back to “his end’ of the bed and settle in. I’m very comfortable sharing my personal space with the beagle, but I do have my limits. Over the last few days he’s decided that my neck roll pillow is his favorite cuddle toy. I keep it on the couch and stick it behind my neck whenever I’m sitting there. Here’s the thing: he drools. In addition to that, he smells like a dog. Not a nasty, smelly dog - he gets bathed regularly - but a dog, nonetheless. His natural aroma is not strong enough that I notice it transferring to my beddign, but I don’t want his slobber and doggy smell in my hair and invading my nostrils. I’ve taken the pillow away from him several times lately. This morning I came into the living room and saw him cuddled up against the pillow. I put on my best mom-voice and said “Are you usurping my pillow again?” He rolled one eye towards me, reached out a paw and pulled the pillow just a little closer, leaving the paw possessively draped across the forbidden item. Why do I feel like this is a battle I’m not going to win?

Technorati Tags: beagle, beagle behavior, Lance

Are you shopping the holiday sales?

So how’s your Christmas shopping going? I know that Jennifer has finished hers, but I’m betting that the rest of you are somewhere between her and me in the race to completion. I haven’t started. I’m not planning on doing much shopping this year anyway - it’s so hard to manage shopping, packaging and mailing everything in the midst of fixing up the house and trying to move - but it’s a certainty that I won’t be patronizing any merchants who don’t offer some pretty great sale prices to get my attention. I’ve decided to propose to my son and his girlfriend that we have a Christmas celebration when they come to visit me in my new home (they’re saying either February or April.) I think they’re having a tought time financially right now, so I think my proposal will appeal to them. I’m hoping to send a box of Kona coffee, macadamia nuts and other local foods to my cousin so she can hand them around to whichever relatives show up for the family gathering on Christmas day. I would like to get some small gifts for my sister, brother, nephews and great nieces, though. The little girls won’t be a problem - kids are so easy to shop for - and the others will be getting mostly “token gifts” from me instead of the big multi-gift packages they’ve come to expect. The nephews, their wives and my brother will probably get local tee shirts or other souvernier-ish items, but I can’t think of anything along those lines for Sis. She’s just not the tee shirt or silk lei kind of person. I found this Liz Taylor film set I think I’ll probably send her. It’s the Elizabeth Taylor Signature Collection, which includes National Velvet (one of Sis’s favorite movies,) Father of the Bride, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butterfield 8. Our mom was a big Liz Taylor fan, so we watched all of these when we were growing up and I think Sis will really love having them all available to watch whenever she wants. It’s availabe from Buy.com for only $22.39, which is not a lot more than I’ll be spending on those tee shirts, so I think I can swing that. I really should quit going to Buy.com. Every time I stop in I see a great price on something else I’d like to get someone for Christmas, but I’m trying hard to hold out on spending until I get settled into my new home. That’ll still work out well for me, because their prices are always lower than anywhere else. Maybe I should put everyone on hold and just have a Christmas in February (or April or whenever I get settled) for all of them instead of a housewarming. Heaven knows I don’t need more stuff for myself, so a reverse housewarming where the guests get gifts (instead of the host) actually sound like a good idea!

Technorati Tags: bargains, buy.com, Christmas shopping, family, holiday shopping

December 5, 2008

Tedious tasks

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m ever going to get out of here. Most of the “big” work on the house is done, though I still have to install new floors in my bedroom/bathroom and the kitchen/dining room. I’ve already torn out three layers of floor throughout the kitchen, but can’t finish the tearout until Paul is finished working on the cabinets. The front lanai still has to be sanded and repainted. Most of what remains though, is small individual tasks that suck hours out of each day.

The new cabinet faces are about an eighth of an inch thinner than the old ones. The drawer slides wouldn’t attach properly, so Paul had to add some backing to beef them up. I’m hoping he’ll be back tomorrow to finish the drawer fronts, install them and cut the cabinet fronts for the last two cabinets.

The front door is only a couple of years old, but the original matt finish holds grime, so it will soon be repainted. The painting itself doesn’t take long and I enjoy it, but the prep work makes me crazy.

Many of the thitty-five year old switchplate and plug covers are discolored or cracked. I bought replacements for several plugs that are really cruddy, then discovered that my wiring isn’t standard and I can’t use the new receptacles. I’ll have to settle for cleaning the old ones as well as possible and replacing the plates.

The old bathroom fan doesn’t work so I bought a new one. It’s slightly smaller than the old one. Rather than patch the existing opeing to a smaller size, I’ll try to adapt the old cover to fit the new fan. Each of the “small” tasks that should be quickly accomplished seems ot come with its own time-sucking problems. I’m sure I’ll be finished with it all someday, but my move date keeps getting further away instead of closer. Surely I’ll soon catch sight of the light at the end of the tunnel … won’t I?

Technorati Tags: DYI, home improvement, home remodel, moving