New York Renovator

Many old homes are loaded with toxic stuff, mine included. My area of New York State has one of the highest levels of homes with lead-based paint in the state. A lot of these homes were built in the 1800s, before people knew (and even after some manufacturers knew) about the dangers of toxic products for the home. Everyone hears about lead paint these days, and the dangers of it, but who hears about the dangers of asbestos? I hardly ever hear about it, and I know that a LOT of old homes have it. Mine does– it was used to wrap furnace ducts and hot water pipes, and is even on the exterior siding (lots of homes around here have asbestos-cement siding– a salesman made the rounds in the 60s and managed to wheedle a lot of homeowners to get it. :-p). Don’t fool with asbestos! It must be removed very carefully. You don’t want the fibers to become airborne, and you do not want to breathe them in.

Asbestos has been known to cause asbestosis and mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer. It was big news here in Central New York when a construction company had its workers remove tons of asbestos-laden materials without proper safety procedures and protection. It’s becoming all too common, so much so that there are now Mesothelioma Lawyers who specialize in this kind of action. (Ever see A Civil Action? Kind of like that). Mesothelioma is most common among people who work in the shipbuilding and construction industry, and in auto mechanics (brake pads are still lined with asbestos). The really maddening thing about this is that for DECADES industries have known about the dangers of asbestos and still some have done little or nothing to protect people. GRRRRRRR!!!

Asbestos is fireproof, which is why it became so popular. But when the material is broken into small fibers and allowed to become airborne, it can get into the lungs and “stick” to the inner lining, causing health problems. It is less of a threat to everyday homeowners, but you don’t want to be an idiot and spew the stuff all over the place! Read up on how to deal with asbestos and other toxins in your home before you start any demolition. In most cases, you can remove small quantities yourself with a strong plastic bag, a spray bottle to capture any loose fibers, and a HEPA mask. Know the dangers! And if you or someone you know has worked in the construction industry or shipbuilding industry, make them aware of the health effects, and get checked. And put the pressure on industries to stop poisoning our homes and communities!!

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Whoa, fashions in wallpaper has gone funky! I found this “heat-activated” wallpaper at a design site recently. I’ve heard of heat-activated paint, but not the wallpaper until now. It’s pretty, but I can’t say that I’d really like it in my house. It’s wallpaper that sprouts pink flowers with a heat source. lol! Would you get this?

From Dornob.com.

I also found some very, very cool retro wallpaper; again the source is from Dornob.com, who links to Second Hand Rose, the largest vintage wallpaper collection in the world, “dating all the way back to the 1860s and featured in museums around the world. Their rolls range from two to four figures depending upon the design, rarity and its origins (including Frank Lloyd Wright originals).” Wow! I’d just like to browse through their wallpaper books– like a history/art lesson in interior fashion, eh?

Some wallpaper doesn’t deserve a rerun. This is the kind of stuff my mom had in her kitchen.

Ew. :-p Gone are the days– thankfully so– of polyester pantsuits and funky orange pool floats lounges with purple flowers. The 70s is an era best forgotten, IMHO.

Ooo, how about this? Surf’s UP, dude!

Ummm.

This is more my style. I like the Victorian stripes and roses, and flocked wallpaper. Mmm.

Check the site for more. Cool stuff there!

These are far, far from practical, but I enjoyed watching this video of some really interesting Japanese inventions in electric cars. These are from the motor show in Tokyo in October 2007. Pretty amazing!! They remind me of George Jetson’s car from that old cartoon, The Jetsons. LOL!

The car coated with silicone got me laughing. The girl just kept pinching and pinching the silicone, but honey- if a vehicle is barreling down the road at 40, 50 miles per hour, no half-inch of silicone is going to cushion the pedestrian who gets catapulted into the air! Maybe Japan’s roads only allow a car to crawl down streets?!

With hats in hands, we bid a sad farewell to the Yugo tomorrow (I’m such a sentimental schmuck, I know). The Yugo, mass produced in the 80s, was a simple car designed to be small and economical, compared to the futuristic, complex, gas guzzling SUVs with their flashy gadgets and flash memory microchip in the engines. The Yugo was also notoriously unreliable.

KRAGUJEVAC, Serbia, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Serbian auto maker Zastava, producer of the iconic Yugo, will make its last vehicle on Friday before closing its doors to revamp operations in a joint venture with Italy’s Fiat. The Yugo car dates back to 1978, and, since mass production started in 1980, nearly 800,000 Yugo vehicles have rolled out of the Zastava plant, 142,000 exported to the United States.

Socialist Yugoslavia created the Zastava car plant in 1953 to service its domestic market of about 20 million people.

Thus ends another chapter in the closing of what could loosely be called an automobile. It was imported into the U.S. by businessman Malcolm Bricklin, who:

…wouldn’t be satisfied until he had forced every American to walk to work. To that end, in 1985, he began importing the Yugo GV, which turned out to be the Mona Lisa of bad cars. Built in Soviet-bloc Yugoslavia, the Yugo had the distinct feeling of something assembled at gunpoint. Interestingly, in a car where “carpet” was listed as a standard feature, the Yugo had a rear-window defroster — reportedly to keep your hands warm while you pushed it. The engines went ka-blooey, the electrical system — such as it was — would sizzle, and things would just fall off. Yugo. Or not. (TIME magazine, The 50 Worst Cars of All Time, 2007).

The Yugo became something of an icon, a symbol of everything that was wrong and inefficient about the Soviets, socialism, and later, wacko-liberalism. The Yugo was the brunt of many jokes over the years.

Yu*go (yoo-go) n. (1) A small, economical, Yugoslavian-built automobile. (2) a 4×4 hood ornament.
adj. 1) What doesn’t happen when you press the accelerator.

A man walks into an auto parts store and says,
“I’ll take a gas cap for a Yugo.”
“Sounds like a fair trade,” says the salesman.

How do you double the value of a Yugo?
Fill the tank!

What is found on the last two pages of every Yugo owner’s manual?
The bus schedule.

What do you call a Yugo with a flat tire?
Totalled.

Why do Yugos have a heater for the back window?
To keep your hands warm when pushing.

How do you make a Yugo go faster?
A towtruck.

Yuk yuk yuk! Goodbye, Yugo. If nothing else, you made us laugh.

My local news source linked to a Move.com article detailing some exprected trends in kitchen remodels. To be honest, I really question the trends. They seem extremely extravagant. Now I know, I know, I live in Upstate New York, not exactly within the realms of the Beverly Hills/Manhattan Home Re-Do specialists. And I admit, I do view “trends” with a wary eye. To me, “trends” are less about “what’s hot,” and are more about “stuff that corporations are marketing to consumers.”

Here are some of the trends that are being marketed to us this year … everyone is buying so we have to have it too … becoming popular:

1. Granite countertops.

Are they kidding?! There was a flurry of news reports in July and August, claiming that granite countertops emit radon. I blogged about it, too. Besides, granite is THE most expensive countertop you can buy (unless you want gold plate). I am highly suspicious that granite countertops are the new “trend” at the same time that people are losing their 401Ks and manufacturing jobs continue to be outsourced (by the way, do we still have any manufacturing companies in the U.S.?)

2. Personalized, decorative tile backsplashes.

Again, this is a highly customized feature. I seriously doubt that people are going to want to spend 5 times more for decorative tile for their backsplashes.

3. Glass front cabinets.

Not terribly thrifty, but glass front may eventually be cheaper than solid wood. Still, it’s another semi-custom feature. I think consumers are going to lean toward more stock items, things that are durable and easy to maintain.

4. Stainless steel appliances and white appliances.

When did white appliances go out of “trend”? I think 99% of us have white refrigerators, right? Stainless steel appliances have come a long way. I think they used to be priced right around $2500 when they first came out; I saw one at Lowe’s for about $1,500 recently. Still… a refrigerator is a refrigerator. Does it really matter if it has a micro computer memory chip to make the perfect ice cube? Do you think you’d pay $1000 more for a fridge because it has stainless steel covering? Not me, anyway.

5. Turquoise and pink colors.

*screams in horror*

I FINALLY got rid of all the turquoise and pink paint from when they did it to my house in the 1950s! Noooooooooo!

“It’s any color pink. Pink is the hot shade. Bubblegum, raspberry pink, cherry pink… all those pinks are big. The other big shade is turquoise. Turquoise jewelry is hot and we’re starting to see that in fabric and wallpaper design. It’s just now starting but it will get huge.”

Ladies, if we want the men to pitch in in the kitchen, JUST SAY NO to pink.

6. Round or oval tables.

7. Hardwood floors.

Again, #6 and #7 are in moderately higher echelons than the other existing choices– rectangular tables and vinyl flooring. I have seen some very nice hardwood-looking resilient flooring at Home Depot. The stuff is amazing– my local Walmart actually installed it recently on their floors. The stuff is beautiful and incredibly durable. It’s called “Trafficmaster Vinyl Plank flooring.” It installs in strips, like laminate flooring, but it has sticky tabs that make it stick together. When I re-do my kitchen, I’m using that stuff. It wil last forever, and be a breeze to maintain.

Well, that’s my take on what the talking heads are saying about kitchen trends. I’d really like to know what you think about all this. I read these “trends” lists with a skeptical eye, but I do wonder if it’s just me being too cheap, or do I really have a pulse on the average homeowner’s thoughts? Let me know!

If you are like me, you do a lot of sewing this time of year. Now that the hefty summer chores are over, and the rainy season has set in, I spend much more time indoors. We are inthe process of preparing for winter, yet. I know, I’m late this year! I have several sets of drapes to sew, a few pillows, some blankets to finish (and begin) and various other odds and ends around here. My local fabric store recently closed its doors so I’ve been prowling around the Internet looking for fabric stores with good deals.

Here’s a place to go: Robert Allen Fabrics. They have loads and loads of GORGEOUS material, including name brands like Waverly, Laura Ashley, Kravat, Hunter, Burch, and more. The great thing about Robert Allen Fabrics is that they list the country of origin for the fabric. I am becoming more and more aware of what country my products are coming from– and of course I prefer the United States to China. I really like this feature.

The fabrics are beautiful. I think they have a fine selection for anything and everything, including trimmings, stuff for kids’ rooms, and furniture. You can order swatches, too, to make sure your fabric choice is a perfect match for your home decor. Oh my my, and what’s this? I can have drapes custom made for me? Pillows, too? I like this store more and more! They are based in New York City, too, so they’re practically local!

Our old Sealy Posturpedic mattress had seen better days. I also strongly suspected it as the reason for my spate of back problems. I would wake up in pain every morning and stiffly stagger around most of the early part of the day. I’d researched all sorts of mattresses available, but the number of choices were overwhelming. Reluctantly, I headed over to the furniture store to see what was on the floor (I say reluctantly because I always like to do my homework before encountering a salesman).

I tried all sorts of beds there, and the most comfortable was the Tempurpedic. Tempurpedic is just the brand name for the “memory foam” mattress. Tempurpedic was the first to come out with the memory foam, and they held the patent on it for a decade or so before other companies could manufacture it. Too bad they didn’t name their foam “Disney”; maybe they could have gotten an eternally-renewing patent. :-p

The temperpedic foam is really neat. The foam condenses with the contour and weight of your body. This is said to relieve pressure point pain while sleeping. The mattress is incredibly comfortable.

I’d spent a lot of time lookinf for and reading online reviews about the mattress. The biggest complaint I’d read was that the mattress makes you feel very hot. Apparently, the foam doesn’t disperse body heat very well. One person complained of waking up in a “pool of sweat” (ewwww) because it was so hot.

Here in Upstate New York, I didn’t think this would be a terrible issue. It is FREEZING for six months out of the year… I’ll give another update come July, but for now I am really thankful for the heat-retaining properties, especially since I have a teeny-tiny heater vent in my room that just barely oozes warm air. I just love how warm and cozy the bed is. But if it does get too warm in the summer, all you have to do throw a mattress pad on it, and be sure to spray the foam with Febreze once a month. (Yes! I found another helpful use for my Febreze!)

I love the fact that the Temperpedic came with a split foundation. When we moved to this house, we couldn’t get our Sealy queen-size mattress and box spring up the stairs (it’s an enclosed hallway and has a very low ceiling). How did we get the bed into the upstairs when we moved here? Our moving buddies removed the bedroom window and hauled it up with a rope! LOL! Hey, it worked! However, now that we want to get rid of the old bed, we, um, can’t. I don’t think the window could handle being taken apart again (it’s a century old). So we have to bust up the old bed… joy.

New-fangled beds come in pieces. You can see the new split foundation in the photos below. We got a frame with a center bar to support the division between the two. I had feared that I’d be able to feel the division when laying on the bed (the Princess and the Pea syndrome have I), but I don’t. I LOVE the bed.

You can also see that there are two layers of foam within a lightweight fabric bag. The mattress is supposed to come with a heavier fabric bag that zips up, but we are still waiting for ours. Back on delivery day, an overzealous stockboy sliced through the cardboard box and into the cover when the mattress was being prepped for delivery. I really, really wanted the mattress when scheduled, so the store delivered the bed on time with the promise we’d get the cover by FedEx. Hmm, I’m still waiting for the cover. I think they need to check out their Stackers. Gotta call them about that… (I’m using a store-bought mattress pad for the bed right now).

So my opinion? I love Tempurpedic! It’s so comfortable, I haven’t had any back pain since using it, I sleep better, and it’s warm. The cons are it’s somewhat difficult to ship and install (the foam is extremely dense and heavy, and the lightweight fabric bag is very filmy and thin), and it’s pricier than your “average” mattress. However, I will say that we got a terrific deal on this. It was on sale already, and the furniture store was willing to haggle with us. So we paid the same price for this bed as we would have with a spring-coil mattress and foundation. Definitely haggle if you can, it’s worth it. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:

Pros
Extremely comfortable
Warm
No dust mites with this!
Easy to clean (Febreze spray)
Great for people with sore backs

Cons
Expensive
Cumbersome when moving
Needs a special cover

The Tempurpedic memory foam bed gets a thumbs up from Mrs. Mecomber!

I saw this neat little gadget at HipCompass. It’s a handheld water sterilizer, called the “SteriPEN Adventurer Handheld Water Purifier.” When swished around in a glass of dirty water, it’s supposed to destroy the DNA of nasty microbes. It uses ultraviolet light to do so. Interesting! I don’t know if I’d be so brave as to try out the water to make sure the gadget works. And it’s $78 at Amazon, gulp. So next to travel insurance, this could be quite the expensive little carry-all. They have bigger filtration systems, too.

Water filtration is on my mind because Health Nut Wannabee Mom had a great post about bottled water versus tap water. She wrote about the benefits of tap water versus the expensive bottled water. And I agree, tap water can be just as good or better than bottled water. But it really depends on your source. If you live near a bunch of landfills or toxic waste dumps, you can be assured that bottled water is a better choice than tap water. I wrote in the comments:

Tap water has so much junk in it. It’s basically sewage liquid, run-off water, and ground water that goes through a treatment plant. My tap water is loaded with chemicals. I know there’s flouride, chlorine, and lead in it, and God-knows what else. In Arizona and Nevada, there’s tungsten in the tap water which has led to a leukemia epidemic there. The water in Albany, NY, was recently tested and was found to have exceedingly high levels of Cialis in it. How on earth did Cialis get in the public water supply? The water is treated WASTE water– people who took Cialis (and I guess there are a lot of men in Albany who do) pass the drug into their urine. The urine goes through the septic system, to be recycled and treated for our drinking water. The chemical treatments might remove cholera and typhoid, but not a lot of the prescription drugs that people take.

There are increasing levels of chemicals — purposely added, and some are there from industrial waste run-off that I just don’t trust tap water…

I’ve been puttering around, looking at water filtration systems and wondering if I want to install something when we redo the kitchen. I guess I just don’t trust the tap water anymore. More to think about…