Checking in.

I didn't get the mid-century dining set, for a couple of reasons. First of all, the ad was misleading (as things can sometimes be on craigslist), and it actually wasn't located in my town at all, but in a rural area kind of far away. I've been very busy the past week or so and just haven't had time to go out there. Plus, I'd have to use my dad's truck to pick it up, and they've been in and out of town. Sometimes things just don't work out! Oh well.

But, I think I've decided to buy a couple of things for my house in the next couple of months.

First, a screen door for my kitchen door. I have a steel door in my kitchen that leads directly to the driveway on the side of the house, and it has a doggie door in it. She Who Shall Not be Named had a doggie. Well, the doggie door leaks when it rains, when it's raining JUST hard enough and the wind is blowing at JUST the right direction. After I moved in, it took a long time to figure out where the water was coming from in my kitchen after it rained. Then one day I happened to be at home during one of these storms (Summer Monsoon 2k7), and saw the water coming in through the doggie door. It did this again last night as a rather large storm moved through. I don't have a gutter on that side of the house, and I think that would help some, but the wind could still blow it in. So I need a screen door. These are pretty cheap at Home Depot and installation is only something like $29. Can do. Should do. Because I'm not always home to towel up the rain, and it gets under my wood laminate floors, and that's probably not a good thing. Unless there's some attractive way to board up a doggie door? On a steel door, I'm not sure there is.

The second thing, definitely a dishwasher. My kitchen does a neat trick. If you touch the metal top of the dishwasher and a wet part of my stainless steel sink, you get electrocuted! Not a lot, just a tiny jolt, but man, that doesn't seem right! Or safe. I discovered this one day while cleaning. I wonder what causes it? I assume the wiring on the dishwasher is messed up.

So yeah. And still planning to paint the bathroom. Maybe this weekend I'll have time to go look at paint chips. I just don't have much time to get things done.

New ideas and projects

So, I've changed my mind. I'm not sure if I'm going to rebuild my deck this month. I have this (perhaps irrational) fear that there will be a lot of unexpected/hidden costs. Yeah, the lumber will only be $300. But what about tools? Paint? Sealant? Etc.? I'm just not sure. Maybe I would feel more compelled to do it if my backyard were a truly nice place to hangout, but it's just not. Too many mosquitoes.


Here are some fall projects I'm mulling over right now.

1. Repair all of the plaster cracks in my walls and ceilings. I was stupid and used that putty compound stuff to fill cracks with before I painted my dining room and living room. It's already starting to break apart. I've been reading up on plaster repair, and it seems simple enough. Hard, time-consuming work, but simple.

2. Paint the bathroom. The color the walls are now was actually one of the least offensive colors I had to deal with when I moved in. It's not bad, and goes alright with my lo-ve-ly vintage pink and lavender tile.

This is a picture I took when I looked at the house. That's a non-functioning gas radiator. She Who Shall Not Be Named told me the gas line running to it was capped. But you still won't find me playing with open flame in my bathroom...

The color is alright, but it's a *horrible* paint job. I suspect she used cheapo Wal-Mart brand paint. There are missing patches everywhere, and in some places, blue drips? I don't know what happened. I think the whole space would just look much fresher with a good paint job. I've been inspired by this post at SaucyDwellings to maybe do some sort of creative paint job. Maybe one color on top and one on bottom? There is a sheet of vinyl, I suspect, on the bottom and then regular walls on top. You can just see it, barely, in this photo.

I'm thinking about finding two colors that more closely match the tile. But would that be nauseating and too much? Maybe. I like the idea of vertical stripes, but I think that would just make my already small bathroom feel smaller (taller and more narrow). Anyways, it is small and there's not much to paint, so this wouldn't be that big of a project. Working around the toilet and above the shower would be the toughest part.

3. New dishwasher?? HMM! Maybe. I found a cheap one on craigslist, only a couple of years old, but then I called a plumber to see how much they would charge for installation. Almost $200. Yikes. That makes buying a used one completely not worth it, when Home Depot will install for only $20. And since brand new ones can be had for as cheap as $200. My current dishwasher?

(Nevermind the bizarre stuff on the counter and the paint-y rag hanging near the sink, this was right after I moved in!) You can see just a slice of it here, and believe me, this does not do justice to its oldness and disgustingness. I have no idea how old it is. 20 years? It's all rusted out on the inside. The cycles are about five minutes long. It's very loud. You have to wash every single crumb off the dishes or else they'll end up stuck on the glasses for all of eternity. The heated dry sometimes misses entire corners of the racks, and doesn't dry anything at all. I hate it. Maybe $300 on this instead of a new deck would be a more satisfying purchase.

I don't know, just more ideas to consider!

RIP Mitch Hedberg.

"I went to the Home Depot the other day, which was unnecessary... I need to go to the Apartment Depot, which is just a big warehouse with people standing around saying 'Hey, we ain't gotta fix shit!'"
- Mitch

I just got back from returning something at the Home Depot. The lady at the return counter said, "Let me guess, it was for an apartment?"

What, you mean I don't have home-owner written on my forehead? Damnit.