"Ah, Neighbours"

"My apple trees will never get across / And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. / He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbours'."  -- Robert Frost

Today my landscaper stopped by to go over the work and estimates for part of the overall job intended.

As part of landscaping my front yard, and fixing the terrible, terrible grade, he will be building a new fence, a sturdier fence, between myself and my neighbour. My neighbour that is an apartment building, a neighbour that has no face, but many random ones, a neighbour who needs to pay for half this new fence.

The old fence was a shoddy, shoddy job. It's leaning into my property so much, that there is barely room to move between the fence and my garage. Barely room for me...me; aka LJ, aka 'Lil Jess, aka small fry, aka 29 year old woman who is mistaken for a junior high student.

This could have something to do with the many times I have found furniture, shelves, mattresses, etc. all at once piled up in the back alley near the dumpster, leaning on my fence. Might I add, there is no recycling bin, a huge pet peeve as the majority of the "garbage" is recyclable packaging. But that's a rant for another time. I am kind of proud of the one tenant who leaves her recycling in blue bags, on my side for pick up so that it's actually recycled, though it is still on my property, but good on her ( I assume 'her') for trying.

So came the time tonight to contact the owner of the next door building, asking ever so gingerly if he could pay for half. An email is better than a call at this hour, and for documentation. We shall see...

I am excited though. Plans for an arbor to have trellised plants crawling on, a curved detail on gate, lattice detail on top 2 ft of 6 ft fence, and made strong to not lean like the current one has.

My inspirations from a lunch hour spent with headphones in, googling...

Work to begin as early as next week, including new sidewalk of paving stones from front entrance all along side of house, with edging detail using roman wedges shaped stones in "Rustic"and lighter roman square and rectangular stones in "Desert Buff" to make a somewhat randomized yet controlled pattern. A yellow brick road of sorts leading to my Oz. Like in the movie, a journey and an Oz that gives Dorothy the realization...

..."you don't need to travel over a rainbow to find your heart's desire, you can find it in your own backyard" -- Wayne Purdin, 'The Theosophical Foundations of L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz' 

"The Wisdom of John"

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." 

-- John Lennon

Today, after work I had this feeling of now what? Going home and finally not having much to do. Nothing to do. Everyday and weekend for 6 months, I've had things to look into, people to hire, work to get done, ideas that needed spinning, contractors to book. Now there is only a fence to be built, landscaping, and bathrooms left to be done. Compared to all that has been done, that's not very much.

Bathroom guys come back tomorrow, landscaper to pop by Wednesday or Thursday. Plans done, ideas done. A lull between projects. I know I will find other things to do, but there was a feeling of the fun is ending. I love this process. Decorating, creating, making it mine. My touch, my style. Me.

For a girl whose never really felt like she had a home, a safe place, a quiet place, a place showing who she really is, this is a huge deal.

As I was getting into my car, I had this epiphany, followed by; 'I could work on my Social Work portfolio due at the end of August, but who wants to do that?' That time spent I wasn't so much looking forward to. Hence the start of the blog. Time spent reminiscing and sharing my experience and not doing my portfolio. Time wasted? I think not.

"Bathroom Renos"

I've only been in my house since the end of August 2010. I was extremely lucky to find an amazing tenant for my basement who moved in a few days after I did. Unfortunately, she had to move out recently to be there for her family in a time of need. This gave me the opportunity to look at doing my bathroom in the basement.  Something I have wanted to do since before I had moved in. But thinking I wouldn't be doing for a few years given all the things I had to do to the house exterior. More on that later.

All of this has to go. My tenant so lovingly pointed out to me how freezing the bathroom is in the winter. Well, I found out that would come from the lack of insulation on that exterior wall. In the many weeks I have been thinking of what kind of layout and fixtures would work, I realized to keep a tub in my house I'd have to add one downstairs, as my upstairs bathroom is so tiny.

That tub needs to go, so worn, so tired, so stained. However any new tub would not fit in this space. So shower it is. But that darn window. How do I get glass doors and shower door opening to work in this space? After much searching and googling, I found an Ove Decors Shower, only distributed by Costco. Thanks Teen, allowing me to be your guest. Super good buy at less than $700.

Now with that decision, how do I get a tub and which tub in the downstairs bathroom? I want a separate tub and shower, but again how to fit in this space? Thanks to my tenant and her step-dad who works at Best Plumbing, I learned about an awesome show room for everything bathroom. And in the sale section I found an awesome Neptune Bora Corner Tub that doesn't look like your typical corner tub, and it has air jets.  Mmmmmm.

The shower I already knew which one it would be by my many trips to Rona; a smaller glass shower, that's a bit bigger than just a square one, would work and be all I needed : Ove Shower at Rona.  Never, ever, wanted a neo angle. If there's no room for me in one, there's no way anyone would be comfortable using one daily, was easy, but it's placement, not so much. It will entail knocking out a closet, which happens to have the only basement floor drain inside. Can you say, breaking concrete? Cha-ching! Gotta move that drain to laundry room next door.

But if I'm going to do it, I may as well do it the way I want the first time. So that means I'm going to make the bathroom bigger, more knocked out walls, pushing about 16" into a bedroom, and making the bathroom a bit wider, especially to add that insulation and having space to get into that soaker tub.

I found the sweetest 4.5L/3L low flush Johnson Suisse Cottage Toilet at Best Plumbing.  Adding much needed storage thanks to IKEA and it's 15" depth Lillangen Cabinets. An above counter Glacier Bay Sink thanks to Home Depot, and glass tile up the ying-yang! If the luxury bathroom upstairs can never be, I will have one, and downstairs it shall go. Now to get it done, and in time to catch students for a renter. Timeline and amount of work needed for structure; poor electrical, plumbing needing to be moved, and yes even a water meter that needs to be moved; the end of August is not so likely.

Site measure was to be done today, but once he got here, and all the plumbing and electrical needs, he has to bring reinforcements Tuesday. So the adventure continues. Finishes and fixtures chosen and purchased, with layout complete, getting it done is the next challenge.

"Craft Time"

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." -- Carl Jung

Today I spent way too much time at Michael's not finding what I was initially looking for and ending up looking around for something to find. What I found...

Frame, adhesive backed felt, and patterned paper.

What I made to make my house even more of my home...

On the door to my bedroom, my space, just for me, a place of rest, a place of calm, mine.

It all began with a nail in the door, lonely, wanting to be useful. I couldn't find anything for the longest time, knowing I wanted a decorative 'J'. Then Michael's, a crafty person's heaven, inspired me to create what I wanted when it couldn't be bought. Trying to add a personal touch by purchasing something prefabricated really seems like an oxymoron. To add a personal touch, make it personal.

A pretty cool lesson within something so seemingly mundane. A reminder of how we all too often just buy what is on display for us, what's easy, what someone else created. A task that doesn't make us think, we just do. This can be seen in little things and in critical things.

It reminds me of Fahrenheit 451...

"Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs of the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving."

I want to move. I always want to move.

"From the Ashes Springs New Life"

My house and I, our love affair, where to begin...

It all began from the end of a relationship that tore my heart out and sent me on a course of learning what I really wanted and learning that I don't need to wait around for some story book fairy tale that may never come to fruition.

Oddly enough, once I had made the decision to buy a home, starting with thinking I wanted a nice little starter condo, preferably a townhouse condo, and learning that what I wanted was not where I wanted, I came upon my love...what was to be my home...out on a first date that went no where, and now I am neighbours with yet another awkward ending, starting a fantastic new beginning.

My home. Circa early winter of 2010. Purchased August 2010 after a long ordeal with previous owners who wouldn't budge on price, thought they could get more, me putting an offer on another home, having inspection, going back to see if my love was still on the market, once again making offers, ended up paying more than I wanted to, but I wanted it. And I got it. 1946 Bungalow, original hardwood, creaky floors, original crystal door knobs, renovated kitchen, brand new appliances, new energy efficient laundry, garden front and back, and my soul captured by it quirks, charm, rounded walls and coved ceilings.

August 2010, the change that saved me, showed me how much I can take on, and how it can take one choice to change everything.