Fried rice for the kiddos
Lots of leftovers (I LOVE leftovers) for when the dad gets off work.
And following Kristin's advice.... we'll save the dishes for later.
Monday, March 31, 2008
One of my favorite meals to make
Spicy veggie stir fry with steamed rice:
Fried rice for the kiddos
Lots of leftovers (I LOVE leftovers) for when the dad gets off work.
And following Kristin's advice.... we'll save the dishes for later.
Fried rice for the kiddos
Lots of leftovers (I LOVE leftovers) for when the dad gets off work.
And following Kristin's advice.... we'll save the dishes for later.
Signs of spring ...
... from our front yard:
... and from my feet's perspective. I live for Birkenstock weather!
... and from my feet's perspective. I live for Birkenstock weather!
A Monday Afternoon
We headed to the store, after school and preschool, to pick up a few things... and filled our tummies on the samples of fruit, cheese, meat, bread and cookies.Yummmm..... samples.
Picked up flowers and potting soil, to go with a previous seed purchase. It was a little chilly to be pretending it was full-blown spring, but after waiting through such a long winter .... we couldn't wait another .... minute ..... more.
So we filled pots....and planted seeds.....
and made a new home for the colorful plants we couldn't escape the store without adopting.
We gave them a new home, in the planters grandpa made for us for Christmas.... (they have looked so lonely, waiting all winter for the perfect new tenants.)
The wind created a chance to try out the new "kite" from preschool.
When the sun started to fade, books, homework and art finished our day.
Monday, March 24, 2008
easter... spring
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Back to life
A Saturday:
soccer is back. a cool and windy day. someone has learned a lot. practice is paying off. it is still fun and not yet too competitive. I am relieved.
someone is growing up. it is showing. quite obviously.
the family gathered on the sidelines.
someone was more interested in the parents and the grandparents, than watching the game.
no. someone was more interested in "teaching" the grandparents all about.... well.... whatever was on the mind at the time. whatever it was, she was sure of it. confident. and more than willing to share her expertise.
finally back home. at a clean house. we were back to normal. or average. or everyday. whatever it was, it was soothing. calming. familiar.
a saturday filled with painting, books, legos and crayons.
What a glorious , relaxing end to the week.
soccer is back. a cool and windy day. someone has learned a lot. practice is paying off. it is still fun and not yet too competitive. I am relieved.
someone is growing up. it is showing. quite obviously. 
the family gathered on the sidelines. someone was more interested in the parents and the grandparents, than watching the game.
no. someone was more interested in "teaching" the grandparents all about.... well.... whatever was on the mind at the time. whatever it was, she was sure of it. confident. and more than willing to share her expertise. 
finally back home. at a clean house. we were back to normal. or average. or everyday. whatever it was, it was soothing. calming. familiar. 
a saturday filled with painting, books, legos and crayons. What a glorious , relaxing end to the week.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The sewage never smelled so sweet
Here is my warning: This post is about a sewer. Our sewer. And its problems. I promise to refrain from as much graphic detail as possible. (I'm sure you're glad there are not photos with this post.)
That having been said:
We live in an old house. And as with all old houses, and yards filled with mature trees, we have a pesky problem with roots in our sewer line. Many people do. So last Saturday, the first day of our spring break project, we saw the tell-tale signs of the need for a roto-rooter company to come out. Urrggh. Oh well. Let's call them.
We called a company that promised no OT for Saturday work. The gentleman showed up, worked for less than an hour and gave us some grim news: we have a broken sewer line. He can't fix it. It must be replaced by digging up 70 feet of our backyard, and replacing the sewer line. He can call someone else in his company to give an estimate on that. In the meantime, the advice? Don't use your sewer, because if you do, it will end up in your backyard. (The conversation was much longer and detailed than that, including the statement that 6 years ago, a few months before we bought the house, the LAST owners had been told they had a broken sewer pipe too. Now we were confused and frustrated -- and downright mad. Had we bought a lemon? Would we now have a very expensive project because the previous owners had failed to TELL us about this, and it had been festering for 6 years old getting worse? Just how bad was this? How close to complete sewer melt down were we?)
That was S A T U R D A Y.
Then came S U N D A Y.
Then M O N D A Y. It rained. A lot. We did not get the devastating flooding that other Midwestern states did, but it did rain -- a lot. We were told it was too wet for someone to come out to give an estimate on our broken sewer line. The problem was not getting better. (Meanwhile we scraped, sanded, and primed. It would have been nice to be able to wash clothes, take showers and, quite frankly, use our facilities during this time.)
T U E S D A Y. Still too wet, says the company, to come out to give an estimate.
W E D N E S D A Y. The man comes. He takes a few looks around, gives us an estimate of between $1800-$3000. We are frustrated. But more than that, we are confused. We have mulled over the words the other man from the same company told us on Saturday. They don't quite make sense. His story doesn't seem to go together. But what do we know? We are not sewer people. We should just trust them. Right?
Finally we decide to call another company -- worst case scenario, they come and we pay 2 companies to tell us the same thing. Fine. Worth the peace of mind.
That afternoon, the second company came out. They (a man a few years older than us, and the 65+ year old owner of the company) worked for 2 hours. And? They cleared the line. But what about our broken sewer line? "We don't think you have one." But how can you be sure? "Well, we fixed the clog, didn't we? We punched out a bunch of roots, didn't we? If you want us to come out here with a camera to put down the sewer to check out the integrity of the line, we can, but we just cleared it out for you -- so that's exactly what we'll see with a camera (and more $) -- a clean line. No problems. You're good to go. Take a shower, do the dishes, wash the laundry. And yes.... flush as much as you want."
The entire process was physically and emotionally draining. We were expecting a project this week -- painting. We were not expecting to have to ward off an unscrupulous company trying to prey on a young family who does NOT have $3K to just throw away. (Who does?) We were not expecting to have 5 days of our painting project without a working sewer system. (Ewwww. I really cannot begin to relate that frustration in words. It was awful.)
So, what comes next? We are not interested in revenge. But we do not want others to give in to this company in the future, and pay for expensive, unnecessary, and yard-damaging sewer work. We got a second opinion. We were lucky. I'm sure not everyone does. This company (whether it is a company problem, or a few dishonest workers) has likely gotten someone before, and will likely get someone again. (It sounds like they even tried to get our home's previous owners... ) So we will put in a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. We will call the company back (now that we have simmered down) and try to speak to an owner/supervisor. We hope to get our money refunded (by the way, the fee the 1st guy charged to NOT clear the line, was more than what the 2nd company charged to spend double the time and actually FIX the problem). But we are not expecting our cash back.
If you live in my small section of the world, I'd be glad to provide you with the names of the reputable and the unscrupulous company, so you too, are not scammed. But more than that -- please just be aware that these things happen. Always get a second opinion. Do your research. Question their "expertise." Trust your instincts.
We're really just relieved it was a couple hundred dollars, not a few thousand, to fix our project. And let me tell you... the s**t smells better when you know it is going straight OUT Of your house, and into a clean, NOT broken, sewer line.
That having been said:
We live in an old house. And as with all old houses, and yards filled with mature trees, we have a pesky problem with roots in our sewer line. Many people do. So last Saturday, the first day of our spring break project, we saw the tell-tale signs of the need for a roto-rooter company to come out. Urrggh. Oh well. Let's call them.
We called a company that promised no OT for Saturday work. The gentleman showed up, worked for less than an hour and gave us some grim news: we have a broken sewer line. He can't fix it. It must be replaced by digging up 70 feet of our backyard, and replacing the sewer line. He can call someone else in his company to give an estimate on that. In the meantime, the advice? Don't use your sewer, because if you do, it will end up in your backyard. (The conversation was much longer and detailed than that, including the statement that 6 years ago, a few months before we bought the house, the LAST owners had been told they had a broken sewer pipe too. Now we were confused and frustrated -- and downright mad. Had we bought a lemon? Would we now have a very expensive project because the previous owners had failed to TELL us about this, and it had been festering for 6 years old getting worse? Just how bad was this? How close to complete sewer melt down were we?)
That was S A T U R D A Y.
Then came S U N D A Y.
Then M O N D A Y. It rained. A lot. We did not get the devastating flooding that other Midwestern states did, but it did rain -- a lot. We were told it was too wet for someone to come out to give an estimate on our broken sewer line. The problem was not getting better. (Meanwhile we scraped, sanded, and primed. It would have been nice to be able to wash clothes, take showers and, quite frankly, use our facilities during this time.)
T U E S D A Y. Still too wet, says the company, to come out to give an estimate.
W E D N E S D A Y. The man comes. He takes a few looks around, gives us an estimate of between $1800-$3000. We are frustrated. But more than that, we are confused. We have mulled over the words the other man from the same company told us on Saturday. They don't quite make sense. His story doesn't seem to go together. But what do we know? We are not sewer people. We should just trust them. Right?
Finally we decide to call another company -- worst case scenario, they come and we pay 2 companies to tell us the same thing. Fine. Worth the peace of mind.
That afternoon, the second company came out. They (a man a few years older than us, and the 65+ year old owner of the company) worked for 2 hours. And? They cleared the line. But what about our broken sewer line? "We don't think you have one." But how can you be sure? "Well, we fixed the clog, didn't we? We punched out a bunch of roots, didn't we? If you want us to come out here with a camera to put down the sewer to check out the integrity of the line, we can, but we just cleared it out for you -- so that's exactly what we'll see with a camera (and more $) -- a clean line. No problems. You're good to go. Take a shower, do the dishes, wash the laundry. And yes.... flush as much as you want."
The entire process was physically and emotionally draining. We were expecting a project this week -- painting. We were not expecting to have to ward off an unscrupulous company trying to prey on a young family who does NOT have $3K to just throw away. (Who does?) We were not expecting to have 5 days of our painting project without a working sewer system. (Ewwww. I really cannot begin to relate that frustration in words. It was awful.)
So, what comes next? We are not interested in revenge. But we do not want others to give in to this company in the future, and pay for expensive, unnecessary, and yard-damaging sewer work. We got a second opinion. We were lucky. I'm sure not everyone does. This company (whether it is a company problem, or a few dishonest workers) has likely gotten someone before, and will likely get someone again. (It sounds like they even tried to get our home's previous owners... ) So we will put in a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. We will call the company back (now that we have simmered down) and try to speak to an owner/supervisor. We hope to get our money refunded (by the way, the fee the 1st guy charged to NOT clear the line, was more than what the 2nd company charged to spend double the time and actually FIX the problem). But we are not expecting our cash back.
If you live in my small section of the world, I'd be glad to provide you with the names of the reputable and the unscrupulous company, so you too, are not scammed. But more than that -- please just be aware that these things happen. Always get a second opinion. Do your research. Question their "expertise." Trust your instincts.
We're really just relieved it was a couple hundred dollars, not a few thousand, to fix our project. And let me tell you... the s**t smells better when you know it is going straight OUT Of your house, and into a clean, NOT broken, sewer line.
Spring Break Project: Transformation
The Project
A week without school and work (and with a husband finally getting over his 10 days of strep and the flu, an incredibly unfortunate combination) we took on what we thought would be a 3 day project: repainting the dining room. It has been untouched since we moved in, 5+ years ago.
It was:
Too loud. Too bright. Too patterned. Too dated. Not our style. Well past time for a change.
It was:
Too loud. Too bright. Too patterned. Too dated. Not our style. Well past time for a change.
We found many unexpected troubles, like far more cracking and chipping paint than we thought we had, and a very unfortunate, unrelated (but impacting) sewer issue, which deserves its own blog.
So we chipped. And chipped. And scraped. And scraped. And scraped. And scraped some more.
Then we sanded, and sanded, and sanded. Then we stepped out from behind our masks, goggles and gloves, got a fresh breath of air, then we sanded some more.
Finally it was time to prime. 
We covered the room and a hallway (and oh so many built-ins, windows, trim, notches and doors) with a soothing bath of white.
After a previous bad experience stripping wallpaper (okay, who really has a GOOD experience stripping wallpaper) we made the controversial decision to paint over it. I know, I know, its a no-no. But knowing the quality of plaster underneath, we decided a few seams of paper was better than the re-plastering job we knew we'd have once we got to the bottom of it all.Finally, after far more than 3 days, with only a few breaks for food, sleep, quick re-supply trips to the store, and a politics fix, we were painting.
It was a mess. But finally we were seeing progress.
Two, and sometimes three, coats of paint later. We were done.
Well, we're almost done.A few more pieces of trim need to get a final coat. Those pesky (but oh so character-filled) decorative windows also need one more round with a paint brush.
But we are mostly done. And satisfied. And tired. And achy.
But there's nothing like the satisfaction of seeing progress - completion - difference - change - transformation - to prove it was worth it.
We were able to purge the room of many things we don't need (or at least don't have room for now) and will use the room more as an office/music room than a dining room. (Our breakfast nook works quite well for our family -- another house/time will allow for dinner parties. For now backyard BBQs and eating and drinking on every available table chair and floor spot in the house will have to do for our guests.)A final note: I couldn't help myself from peeling back the carpet in a corner and was relieved to find the same hardwood floors I once fell in love with, in a corner of our living room. They're there. And splattered with paint from a previous careless improvement project. That's the one BIG project left (or at least the last big one I have my heart set on): refinishing the hardwood floors. I'll let my back stop aching from this one, before I start to put a timetable on that.
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