New York Renovator

Well, well. This will take care of the weeds in the garden.

I came right up to the thing, about 3 feet away. It’s a young buck, can you see his stubby antlers? He kept rubbing them on his leg. When I tried to touch him, he jumped out of the garden and wandered around the backyard for a while.

The deer here are incredibly tame. He sat in the grass, swishing flies from his tail and munched on my lawn.

Later, I was sitting in the screened gazebo with Livvy when the deer came around again. My other cat, Fuzzy, was with us, too. Fuzzy was oblivious to the deer, because he was facing Livvy with his back to the deer. The deer spotted Fuzzy and for some crazy reason, started to approach him quietly. It looked like the deer wanted to play with Fuzzy! Slowly, slowly, the deer gingerly crept closer to Fuzzy. Livvy and I watched, spellbound, from only about 3 or 4 feet from them.

Suddenly, Fuzzy turned around and saw the deer. BOING!!! His tail exploded into a bushy rod and he sprinted for the basement doors (where he sleeps). The deer snorted several times and chased after Fuzzy!!! It was pretty wild! I’d never heard a deer snort, and I don’t think Fuzzy had, either. Fuzzy peeped his little head up from the basement steps as if to ask, “Is the coast clear?” The deer stared after him, wondering why the pretty kitty didn’t want to come out and play. It was a “Bambi and Thumper” moment. LOL.

Well, the deer eventually gave up and wandered back into the garden to eat more weeds.

It’s almost July. Ya think I should be getting back to the garden and home renovation projects yet?

We purchased an air conditioner. Hurray! It’s the first air conditioner I’ve ever had. It’s the window kind, so we’ve been having *fun* trying to fit it into our old 1855 window frame…. more on that to come. We’re still working on a unique shelf that juts out from the window, upon which will sit the A/C’s bulky butt. Man, those things are bulky. I guess they have to be.

I’m also starting to take more time off from work. I try to get my writing assignments done by the time I have to cook dinner. I don’t always make my goals, and sometimes I wind up staying up much later than I like. But at least I’m not working non-stop anymore.

Gardening is on my mind lately. I bought some hostas and a few blackberry bare roots (all died but one). I have to plug them in sometime.

And of course, I have a lot of loose ends to finish up after last year’s renovation. I still haven’t completed that kitchen bench. And my living room/office needs a lot of decorating help. I have Ethernet and VGA cables strung about everywhere. I dislike cords all over the floor. :-p My intention is to build a very nice modern office with updated equipment (i.e., an i7 core computer with slick video graphics array or DVI cables, and… *sigh* yeah) with nice furniture and orderly shelves! I can see it all in my mind’s eye. Reality is another matter, lol.

All in good time.

How are your summer projects going? Or are you one of those lucky persons that have no projects???

*sigh* To Do Lists....

I’m taking my dear friend Carole’s suggestion. After a particularly harried day fussing over a plumbing cob job problem, Carole said, “Go get a cup of coffee and look at before and after pics of your kitchen and cheer yourself up…” Hey, who am I to pass up a cup of coffee??

So I did. And I figured I’d write about the amazing things about my new kitchen that I am SO thankful for. Our kitchen renovation was a BIG job. I don’t think I’d ever tackled anything so intense, except maybe childbirth, lol. Even the 2007 living room renovation paled in comparison to last summer’s big kitchen blitz. We and some folks from our church rebuilt everything on our own– electrical, plumbing, heating system, insulation, drywall, flooring, cabinets and counters, and appliances. Whew, it was a very intense year. In case you missed all the tremendous fun from last year, you can check out some of my blog posts here.

Here are 10 things for which I am very thankful.

1. We’d gutted the kitchen and dining room to the bare bones. I am thankful for that because I’m a rather fussy person. I don’t like to inherit another person’s “disaster.” Old houses are almost never disasters– old houses are exceptional in that they are solidly built with superior craftsmanship and quality materials. In this, they have new construction beat. However, the common “disasters” that strike an old home is usually sub-par remodeling or neglect. My house has suffered from both, but especially from terrible “remodels” in some of the rooms. Much of my turmoil comes from fixing previous remodels. So I like to gut the walls and start from scratch. I don’t like patching up previous owners’ disasters. And I also like to see exactly what’s behind the walls. I’m still looking for those gold dubloons somewhere.

2. I am thankful for my dishwasher. My daughter and I STILL give thanks regularly for it. We used to wash loads and loads of dishes by hand. When I used to babysit kids, I was washing dishes for ten people three times a day.

I got a cheap dishwasher, too– the kind without the electronic panel and no fancy features. I’d heard that fancy dishwashers break easily. I got this cheapo model in case it died early– then I wouldn’t feel so bad if it broke on me. But it’s been going like a champ. And we LOVE it.

3. I am thankful for my vinyl plank flooring. My first choice was hardwoods (whose isn’t?!) but it was too expensive and I didn’t think I could install something like that myself. So I opted for easy care vinyl plank flooring. It really is very easy to take care of, and doesn’t look too bad!

4. I am thankful for my kitchen window. I love this window. It’s so big, more than twice the size of the previous window. I can see the entire backyard through this thing. And when I open it, all the breezes come in. I love the woodwork and the pendant light!

5. I am thankful for my wood countertops. I bought them online and had them delivered, can you believe it?! 350 pounds of countertops! Laminate might have been a little cheaper, but it would have been too much work to custom make it to fit my large space. The wood is just so wonderful. I am just starting to relax a little about the countertops. Before, I was rather hyper about any scratch or swelling. But now I’m not as fussy, because if the wood gets a scratch or swells, I can simply sand it down and recoat the surface with oil.

6. I love my dining room.

7. I am SO thankful for insulation. Maybe that sounds kind of weird, but if you have ever lived in an old, uninsulated house, you know exactly what I mean. The insulated walls make the house so, so much more comfortable. I can’t wait to have the upstairs insulated.

8. I am thankful for new electric. For several years, we had no electricity in many of the rooms. After we gutted the living room in 2007 and saw the condition of the 100-year-old knob-and-tube wiring, I disconnected it for fear of fire. We were without electric in the kitchen except for a small ceiling light and one outlet. It was a pretty miserable room to be in, so dark and ugly.

When we gutted the kitchen and dining room, I wired new electricity throughout the house. I also wired Ethernet (and considered a cell booster, but stuck with the wiring for noe). Of course, in some of the upstairs bedrooms we only have one working outlet and a switch-operated ceiling light, but it’s one NEW outlet and a NEW light operated by a switch (before, the ceiling lights were pull-chain, ugh). I am very, very thankful for our new electric. I sleep so much better at night now.

9. I am thankful for drywall. I adore the inventor of drywall. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. There are some “hard core” old home owners who install plaster and lathe in their homes, but not me. Plaster is dusty, dirty, ugly, it cracks, it’s lumpy and bumpy and did I say it’s dusty? It also smells. :-p I like my drywall.

10. I’m thankful for my new cabinets. They cost me a verrry pretty penny, but I love them. They are solid plywood. Beautiful doors. I love the color and they are so durable.

Can you believe I’ve counted to ten already?! I could keep going on and on!

In case you’re wondering, this is what the old kitchen looked like.

Now you see why I am so thankful.

It’s rather easy to see only the things that go wrong when you have an old house (mostly because things are always going wrong in an old house!!). But there’s a lot of marvelous benefits to living in an old home. And I am grateful to have a home. I shudder when I remember apartment living!

It’s one of her favorite chores. Can ya guess?

From what I have seen on your blogs, it looks to be one of a kitty’s favorite things– “helping” to make the bed. LOL. Livvy LOVES it. She races all around the mattress as the sheets and blankets flap up and down, snagging and grasping the flying materials. It’s so cute. Even though Livvy is now a mature young lady (she’ll be three next month!), the kitten in her rises up when she helps to “make” the bed.

It’s so amazing how quickly Livvy has grown up. I wish kittenhood lasted longer. I really miss the cuddles and the squeezes; I miss carrying her around in my pocket all day long. Now, she’s too grown up for that. I am SO tempted to get another kitty. But then, reality hits. I can’t have too many more pets, we are busting at the seams now. The last thing I want is to have more critters running around, needing their shots and needing to get “fixed” (which is incredibly expensive, yikes!). Non-neutered male cats, especially, are a pain in the butt. They walk around with this chip on their shoulder (or maybe it’s just the kitty testosterone patches), whizzing everywhere, ugh. I have sworn off male cats FOREVAH.

But kittens are soooooo cute!!! Must. Resist!!!!

Sometime in the near future (after we get new windows and fix the front porch and maybe paint the house, lol), we’re going to build a very nice deck in the back of the house. Right now, we currently have no where to sit in the evenings, just the asphalt lot in the backyard (and have I ever mentioned how much I hate asphalt??) and the grass with the ever-encroaching weeds. A deck would be so very nice. I’ll have my grill on there. I’ll build big planters along the perimeter, to hold all my herbs and lettuce for salads. I’ll have a gathering of Adirondack chairs and a nice wooden table. I’ll maybe even splurge and get a few of those cool-looking, South American torch light thingys made from bamboo. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get something like one of those outdoor patio umbrellas:

Actually, the style does not go with my old house– but then again, old houses didn’t have decks, either. It’s quirky enough for me to like it. Maybe I could even string a few cocoanuts from the thing! Talk about a conversation piece! LOL

It’s actually synthetic thatch. They don’t use *real* thatch for tiki umbrellas anymore, and good thing. The real stuff got moldy, old, and was flammable. This synthetic stuff is water and weather resistant and can be reused. They also have poolside cabanas and a very exotic-looking tiki bar (which would be a great gift for dad for Father’s Day, actually). The umbrella is very unique– it is a DIY kit and you can secure it to a wooden or even concrete deck (how about asphalt? :-p). The canopy span in 11 feet, and the wood is all cedar! It’s pretty high quality. And, of course, it shades the hot sun from scorching your skin.

Seriously, the models are probably more suited for a commercial establishment or a beachside home. But a girl can dream, can’t she?

There’s a new bug in town. And yep — you guessed it — it’s a native of Asia. With all the bugs and diseases that comes from Asia, it’s any wonder that there are even ANY trees there. Yikes.

The latest news of doom to come from the cooperative extension is the emerald ash borer, a tiny, iridescent green beetle that kills ash trees. I love ash trees. They were a hearty replacement for the gigantic elm trees that one graced Main Street America. They died off by a beetle, too, in the 1950s and 60s. So now you know where the name “Elm Street” comes from and why there are no elms. The ash trees also grow to be giants. When we moved here, there was an enormous ash tree in the front yard. It must have been 40 feet tall. Unfortunately, it had been planted smack dab on the property line, and the neighbor took it down. So he could put in an asphalt parking lot.

Photo from Wikipedia

Anyway, between chainsaw-crazy, asphalt-loving neighbors and the emerald ash borer, the ash tree looks like it’s in trouble. Really, there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do. It’s a BUG. We all know how pervasive bugs are– there’s no stopping them when they smell fresh meat.

The emerald ash borer is native to Russia, China, and Korea. It was first detected in North America in 2002, lurking in shipping containers brought to Canton, Michigan. The bugs (in containers) spread to Maryland and Virginia, and it really hasn’t taken long for the bug to reach the surrounding states and up into Canada. Now, it’s here in New York State. There are 7 billion ash trees at risk by this dumb little bug. The emerald ash borer has already chewed through millions of trees in the Midwest.

The ash tree is a commercially important tree to us. It’s a very versatile and dense hardwood. We use ash tree wood to make guitars, baseball bats, furniture joinery, flooring, milled products, tool handles, and millions of other materials where strong but flexible wood is needed. The sugary sap from ash was even once used by the ancient Norse in making their “Mead of Inspiration.” The ash tree is also an important shade tree since it grows so tall so quickly. The Northeastern White Ash can tower to heights of 100 feet.

The emerald ash borer kills ash trees by strangulation (called “girdling”). The bug lays its eggs beneath the surface of the bark, where the larvae tunnels around the sensitive phloem and cambium layers of the tree. The tree, unable to transport nutrients from its roots to upper trunk and branches, dies within 2 to 4 years from infestation. Good Lord. Since 2002, the bug has killed 50 million trees in North America.

The only thing we can do to stave off the pandemic is to be VERY careful about firewood we carry to camp sites and report the beetle should we discover it in our area. The Department of Environmental Conservation is taking this threat very seriously and has quarantined several counties in New York State (see maps below). See their page about the Emerald Ash Borer for more information.

Image courtesy of DEC

Image courtesy of DEC

As far as we know, there is no natural predator to the emerald ash borer in North America. I read a story that a certain type of wasp was discovered on ash trees in China, so that may offer some help. It’s not like you can slather best acne treatment on trees… I wish there was some kind of easy solution. Who knows what problems imported wasps will bring….

Can you spot her? Where could she be?

Hint: It’s where cats love to be….

Isn’t she the sweetest thing?! She often hops onto the clothes dryer to nestle in a laundry basket. She cares not if the basket is filled with socks and shorts, just as long as it’s warm and cozy. Gotta love cats.

We took her with us on our trip to Virginia. Yes, a 10 hour drive EACH WAY. She was…. vocal. We didn’t need to lock her in a carrier, she behaved well enough with her harness and leash. But we think she howled during the ride because she probably got carsick. After a few hours, she settled down and snoozed. She even used the litter box! What a good girl!

When i told my brother in Virginia that I would be bringing Livvy, he was incredulous. “You’re bringing your cat?!” he said. I explained that Livvy was a member of the family, that Siamese are special, etc etc. He doubted, can you believe it! But as soon as he saw her, he said, “Oh my gosh, what a beautiful cat!” And by the time we were packing up to go back home, my brother asked me if he could have Livvy. I said of course not! What would all her blogging fans do without her?!

Most of the time I tolerate Livvy’s antics pretty well. She has this very bad habit of climbing up on my desk and planting her big Siamese butt in front of my monitor. She then presses her wet nose on the screen– or even licks it!– so the monitor is speckled with slimy cat snot. *gag* Before I moved my keyboard into a keyboard desk tray, she’d lounge on the keyboard, too. If I was frittering away my time on the computer, that’d be one thing. But I work from home! I have scads of articles to write, and all she wants is ATTENTION! Who does she think she is, Cleopatra??

Well, I had a little fun with Livvy yesterday. Yeah, I was a bit stir-crazy. Looks like it was contagious.

She can be such a pain sometimes, but isn’t she adorable?!

Oh my gosh, it’s April already. APRIL! We haven’t got our taxes done yet. Usually the husband gets them done in the first few weeks if February. But this year, we might actually owe money. So, haha, we’re putting it off until the bitter end.

Because I am self-employed, the sheer amount of paperwork is overwhelming. Then there are the deductions, the interest calculations, the child credit, the charitable giving, the blahblahblah and blahblahblah. WHY does it have to be so stinkin’ complicated?! I am all in favor of a flat tax, across the board. It would simplify everything and would enable each citizen to be an active part in the government. Plus, it would lower taxes. And federal salaries. It’s just a good thing all around! lol!

Here in New York State, we are taxed to the hilt, several times over. We’re taxed on our income. Then if we buy something with the income we have left over, we have to pay sales tax. And if we buy a service with the product we purchased, we have to pay tax on that. So when all is said and done, we’ve paid taxes multiple times on the same chain of products or services. There’s something evil about that….

My area of Upstate New York is a popular “senior citizen” hub. I’m not sure why– winters are bad here and you figure they’d all move to warmer climates. Maybe it’s the terrific Medicare Supplement Insurance, or the beneficent New York medicare supplements? It sure isn’t for the weather or the political climate…. I don’t know much about the quality of life for the older folks here. I know life insurance for seniors is a little pricey unless you shop around. Eons ago, when my husband was working in insurance, there was a new kind of insurance marketed to folks– extended care insurance (I think that’s what it was called). It was insurance for when you had to go into a nursing home. It was REALLY popular at the time.

But senior citizenry for me is a long way off. If I make it that long. Because I have to get through the income taxes first…. *sigh*

Thinking about it makes me very queasy, but the topic must be covered. Bedbugs. *gag* *wretch* And I thought fleas were bad.

Bedbugs are making a comeback, especially in New York. Bedbugs were practically wiped out from the industrialized nations thanks to DDT. But DDT is now banned, and critters like malaria-bearing mosquitoes and bedbugs are coming back. The nasty disgusting creatures are spreading like wildfire in schools, hotels, even lawyer’s offices. YUK!!!!

I am a bit of a bug-o-phobe. I hate bugs, HATE the disgusting, dirty little creatures. The family is on quarantine— that is, no more thrift store clothing, and no more curbside or hand-me-down furniture. Not unless it’s fumigated!

We have some very nice furniture, some are pretty hand-me-downs from family members. But the sofas are much too large for my living room (which is crammed with desks and office equipment). We are thinking about downgrading to a smaller living room set. And to be honest, I’m very hesitant to take another hand-me-down, just because of bedbugs. Oh it would be horrible to have them, horrible! So no more second-hand anything. I’m going to have to be a very savvy shopper and get my discounts from the retail or online bedroom furniture store and etc. I’m not taking any chances.

How about you? Has news about bedbugs changed the way you do things? I am not 100% sure that bedbugs have been discovered in my county, but I don’t live dangerously. I’m allergic to fleas and God forbid a nasty bedbug touches my skin! From now on it’s BYOS– Buy Your Own Sofa!