Dear OSHA,

please turn your head,
and close your eyes.
we're almost done...

the master bath... rough-in

from the top of the stairs you can see outside...

closing up the 2nd sunporch entry to make way for vanities. we hung the single french door as the new door to the library... see below.

ta da!

future pedestal sinks, with proper venting (no more spooge).

view of the master bath from the bedroom. big shower at the back, then toilet centered on the window and pedestals when you enter.

our updated vent stack

I <3 Plumbing...

actually we don't <3 plumbing, at all.

Joe the plumber... stays far, far away from plumbing work for good reason. We enlisted a highly recommended plumber to come help us start over with the previous homeowner's handywork.

As I'm typing, Joe is emptying the shop vac because it has what I call "Spooge" - nasty, disgusting, rotting sewer water that was sitting in our vent line and has small wiggly worms growing in it. Bob the Plumber (BtP) had to frantically clean up an unexpected mess he came across today when he cut into the vent line to repipe (the line was crumbling to pieces after xx years of poor piping). DISGUSTING!!!

I'll spare you the photos... but it got all over our ceiling of the new kitchen. I'm hoping it doesn't stain and we got all the water up in time!

We should've known that this line would've had spooge in it, since Joe and I came across the same thing over the weekend when we demo'd the remainder of the old plumbing. We hit it when we demo'd a poorly done vent line... again another place where water shouldn't be.

Lesson Learned? Always have a shop vac on hand, plugged in and ready for the unexpected.

Dear Santa,

There's a couple of house items on the list...
a table saw for Joe
and a compact canister vacuum for HM.

Thanks!

treasures

We always are on the hunt for hidden treasures in the house and this past weekend while Joe was hunting around in the attic... we found some... see below!




he found (6) postcards under a floorboard in the back corner of the attic!

1 year House-iversary...

This weekend we hit the one year mark as homeowners... and with progress on the house.

Ironically, we spent it in Hood River at a friend's modern hideaway. The fall colors were beautiful, and of course it included a hike led by Joe... which meant mini rock scramble, snow and 30 degree temps in the middle of October.

Our goals for year 2?
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exterior Paint
Exterior Siding

Wish us luck, photos to come soon on the "progress"

11.5 months

Since we joke that our house is our child, we'll start tracking it by age. I think it's when you hit over 24 months that you can start to relate things to actual years?

At any rate, we've come a long way in the last 11.5 months of home ownership and have quite a ways to go. This post will be about the future and our BIG! plans for the next year...

Spring 2010: Reshingle and Paint the exterior. We postponed this event with the slowing of the economy and our job professions (*just in case*)... and saved more money since this will be almost as expensive as the kitchen to undertake!

Winter 2009- ?: Work on the Master Suite and be our own workers/ GC. The Master Bath will be tricky but I think we can do it! Final floorplans coming soon!

My other Year 2 goals include...
1.) Finish off the Entry (it's the last room on the 1st floor to be worked on)
2.) Lay Tile and work on the Sunporch
3.) the Front Door...
4.) Oh, the yard... but hey, it's Oregon. Nobody has a gardener here!

Bathroom Inspiration: