The Stairway Debacle

A few weeks ago we measured for a bought a load of trim from a local lumber store.  We needed crown moulding for the family room, baseboard for all of the rooms we plan to paint, casing for the doors and windows, a new windowsill for the powder room (and we learned that it's actually called a stool).  The crown moulding came in 16' lengths so all of the trim lived in the family room for what seemed like forever.

 

We were both excited to get the wall at the top of the steps finished.  Andy measured for the board at the top of the wall and sanded it super smooth and rounded the corners.  It's amazing how much time "simple" decisions that we didn't even know we were going to have to make can take.  I think the depth of the overhang took a good week...too short, doesn't look good...too long, permanently bruised hips (or in my case closer to my waist)!

 

But we finally made a decision and love the result.

The next dilemma was what to do with the trim where the steps meet the new wall. On the full wall side we had this odd triangular transition from the stair trim to the existing baseboard.

This is what was left on the side with the new wall.

Andy setup his handy laser level to make sure the cut on the full wall side (right) was the same elevation as the trim on the left.

With the old trim removed we found this interesting cut in the drywall.  Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't enjoy cutting drywall, who would take the time to do this?  Intentionally?

 

Andy had to patch the top section for the new trim.

Because a portion of the wall/trim stepped down we had to order a small section of a taller version of our new baseboard so that Andy could notch it out to the correct dimension.  Maybe we just think too much and make things harder than they need to be but this dilemma drove the new baseboard we picked because we need a profile with different height options.

The trim along the stairs still needs some work and some day we'll get new carpet.

And here is the final baseboard.  We still have nail holes to fill, lots of painting to do and some decisions to make about the trim going down the steps. 

Garden Pests

I hate slugs!  Not because they leave slimy trails on our sidewalk, not because they eat my marigolds, and not because we occasionally track one of them in the house on our shoes (GROSS! Kodak finds that extremely offensive.), but because they are destroying my garden and they especially love green beans and eggplant.  We try to keep the garden as organic as possible and I've learned that traditional slug bait can be very toxic.  I tried an organic type of bait but it's designed to make the slugs feel full instead of killing them so you have to re-apply regularly and it's expensive.  I read online to try beer traps and figured it was at least worth a shot.  

We saved some Chobani yogurt containers (apparently black cherry is popular around here)...

Dig a hole and bury the empty cup in the garden...

Fill with the finest type of beer available.  I won't reveal the source who donated the high-quality Pabst Blue Ribbon, but the slugs love it! We have since tried some Coors Light and it works but not nearly as well as the PBR.  At least it's good for something!

Fill as close to the top of the cup as possible and wait...

After a few days you have a cup full of scummy beer and dead slugs.  Emptying the cups is definitely one of the grossest garden tasks to date, but well worth it to get rid of the slugs.

Definitely Creepy (Installment 4)

Andy found this "friendly" garter snake sunning himself on the top of our wood pile.  I hope he's eating  some other less-desirables but he isn't my favorite visitor!

The Release 2012 (or Cool or Creepy -- Part 3)

As the snow peas were nearing the end of their life this spring I started to notice some aphids.  They never got to the tomato plants (at least not that we saw) but I didn't want to risk an infestation like last summer.

I ordered another container of lady bugs from Amazon since we had such great luck with them last year.

You are supposed to release them at night so that they stay in the garden and do not fly away.

They wanted out -- BADLY!

And the next day we still had tons of lady bugs and haven't seen any more aphids since.

July and August Garden Update

At the beginning of July I pulled all of the garlic that we planted last October.  We let it dry outside for a few days before bringing it in to the basement.  I am relatively pleased with the harvest and will plant some more again this fall.  Some cloves are definitely bigger than others and the small ones are a pain to clean when you need them for cooking but over half of the bulbs were reasonable (grocery store) size heads of garlic.

We have definitely been harvesting more veggies this summer than last year.  Lots of tomatoes, green bean (or in this case purple ones), eggplant, cucumbers, hot peppers, and basil.  I liked the purple beans but they turn green when you cook them.  I had the best luck with a green variety called Provider and a wax variety called Gold Rush.

 

Provider green beans in blossom.

The zucchini and yellow squash both have mildew.  I planted a second planting and should be harvesting from the new plants soon.

We had some wonderful eggplant a few weeks ago before the slugs got to them.  It looks like they have some new blossoms now so we'll see if we get any more eggplant this season.

Garden Salsa pepper -- good and not as hot as a jalapeno.

Andy built this large tomato cage at the beginning of the season and it's been wonderful!  The tomatoes can grow taller than with traditional tomato cages and I haven't had as many branches break off this year during storms.

The cucumber plant has wilt but did well most of the season and produced some wonderful cucumbers.  I planted some faster growing cucumber plants about a month ago.  Hopefully we'll get some more cucumbers before the end of the season.

I know worms are good, but we have TONS of them.  And they are closer to snake size than worm size!!

I Have a Closet, I Have a Closet, Hey, Hey. Hey, Hey!!

I've had a closet for several months, but this is what it looked it.  Just a big, blank, box and I was having trouble figuring out how I wanted to arrange my new closet.  

Enter Google Sketchup.  I was able to use some of its simpler 3D modeling to create some layout options.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

I actually settled on the layout several months ago but was having trouble deciding what type of storage system I wanted to use.  Option 3 was the ultimate winner because it gives us shoe storage right inside the door that Andy and I will share, a section of double hanging for shorter hanging clothes, a section for  longer hanging clothes, and four shelves along the back wall.

Lowes and Home Depot have several closet organization systems but every time we would go to the store with the intent of buying one we would leave empty-handed because we either couldn't justify the cost without looking at other options or there were things we just didn't like; for example, I don't like the hanging bars that have support brackets that prevent you from sliding hangers the full length of the bar.  Instead, you have about 12" until you have to pickup the hanger and move it to the next section.

After much debate we finally settled on creating our own system with wood shelves that we would cut and paint.

First, Andy mounted the brackets for the hanging rods with the help of his laser level...

Once everything was checked and leveled he installed the adjustable rails (in the corner) to the side wall for the shelves.

While he was working upstairs I setup all of the cut shelves in the garage and primed and painted them.

These didn't have to be the best paint job in the world...just sealed and smooth so I used a foam roller.

I started with two coats of stain-blocking primer.  We never used this brand before but we were pleased with the results.

After two coats of primer and one coat of paint they dried in the garage for a few days before they got installed in the new closets (some of these are for the new bathroom closet).

And here is the relatively finished product.  It still needs a better shoe storage system that we are working on and some organization but after almost a year all of my clothes are once again in one location.  I got so used to walking down the hall for shoes and the guest bedroom for my hanging clothes that it took me a few days to readjust.