This & That Projects; Out of Doors, Y'all: 5

The pictures sure don't show it very much, but the window trims on the outside of the house are done! And I did it without having to deal with any ladders on uneven ground and all that rot. The satisfaction of having completed these is disproportionately large to the visual impact. Satisfaction is enough!

North-ish side.

East-ish side.
It's going to be time to stain the siding again soon, too. Sigh.

The balcony door and trim are done as well! This is the first time that I have not had a bright door, except the black one I had once; I hope I like it as much as I think I do right now. Regardless, I'll hold off judgement until the screen doors are done. I do think this color will be a lovely backdrop for any wreaths, swags, or other decorations we may put up.

I am talking full advantage of this being on the second floor and having a screen to keep the door open for a few-to-several days and avoid any mishaps with the new finish pressing against the jamb.

The front door and door trim won't be done until some carpentry, beyond my meager abilities, is committed. Hopefully in September. Eric and I have discussed a way to alter the screen doors that came with the place to fit & work better, as well as function better for our lifestyle. However, that is a project that can be accomplished regardless of weather and will not likely be started until next spring.

This & That Projects; Out of Doors, Y'all: 4

Remember how I said that I was going to use the stormy weather as an excuse to focus on projects in the bathroom like refinishing the cabinets? Well, I did not work on refinishing the cabinets. In fact, all I did for the bathroom was make a few hand towels to go in there (photos, below).

Well, DAMNIT. I can not capture the green trim paint (Benjamin Moore Regal Select Exterior, HC-119 Kittery Point Green, low lustre finish) at a distance. I have tried a few different lighting conditions and just don't have the skills. But DAMNIT, I have spent some hot, dusty, uncomfortable hours working on this and I am going to post about it. (damnit)

All three windows on the front of the house are done! And the trim on the upstairs balcony door is done, too. I still have the door and screen door (if we keep it on) to do.

All three windows on the front of the house are done! I finished the balcony door trim, too. I still need to do the door and the screen door should we decide to keep it. All these will be Benjamin Moore Regal Select Exterior, HC-166 Kendall Charcoal, low-lustre finish. I think I have a new plan for both the screen doors that came with the house.

Instead, I mostly did stuff hat I don't much remember now that I'm trying to recount, but I kept busy. Then when the weather dried up I got the trim painted on for more windows!

Just two more to go! One second story window each on two sides of the house. I highlighted them in the photos above to help show the difference between the bright white vs. the new mossy green. I like to work on the upper story windows when Eric is home, so they'll wait until a weekend.

There's this window, too, but it's a mess. I mean, I get that sometimes you have to replace a window with a smaller one for one or more reasons and sometimes you don't do the finish work again for one or more reasons, but for crying out loud, at least install the new one level! And so it shuts properly! Anyway, we figure not doing anything is going to call the least attention to it, so we're just going to let it go for now. And now that I am looking at the photo I don't even think that opposing sides of that "opening" are the same length or even equally out of level or plumb. Sigh.

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Above mentioned hand towels. I have some more prints and linen already cut for more hand towels and for dish towels, too.

These are cotton quilting prints on the front, linen on the back, with trims of various fiber content. They dry hands nicely, too.

Dr. Potter's Medicine Show

We're less than seven months from when Eric's first book comes out. YAHOO! We put together these calling cards for him to hand out at MidAmeriCon II, that's The 74th Worldcon, this weekend in Kansas City.

And he did. Plus did other author-y stuff. It is SO FUN to watch this unfold from up close!

One Step At A Time: The Bathroom Redo Edition. Volume 6A

So, it looks like I'll be moving my home improvement efforts indoors for a little bit.

Luckily*, I have a project or two to work on. I had started to sand down the vanity the week before we hosted Eric's team at work for a cookout - that quickly moved indoors when the lightning started and just before the gully washer downpour - and realized it was a messier and longer project than could be accomplished in time to host guests. So I put the doors back on the the drawers back in and focused on other pre-party tasks.

I'll also sand down this large storage cabinet and a small wall shelf that we took out of the laundry room right after we moved in.

I am considering adding some moulding details, but haven't come to a decision.

I'd already taken off the sweet little porcelain knobs when I remembered to get a before picture. There are holes indicating that this piece originally had doors. Given the cute finish details and the otherwise utilitarian look to the laundry room, I have to assume this piece started it's life somewhere else; maybe not even in this house. The other open shelf that was in there seems to have been made with the same materials as kitchen cabinets, so perhaps it was original to either the laundry room or the kitchen.


* Air-quotes are implied.

Whose Poop is This, Anyway?

Apparently some critter that gets on our deck railing has been training at the local Dairy Queen.

This squirrel scat is HUGE. (man fist for scale)

There are enough squirrels frequenting our bird (bear, chipmunk, and squirrel) feeders that it's hard to know exactly which one excreted this soft-serve turd, but it very well could have been this one.

Stealing/destroying all of our string lights and eating the bird seed is just the tip of the jerk iceberg with these jerk squirrels.