Lap Cat

Like most catmoms, my primary function of existence is to attend to Kalisha's every whim. Tonight, her whim was to sit upside down on my lap while I was at the computer.Hmmm...guess we know who's the boss in this household! And it's not me....Have I shared this photo from APOD, the Astronomy Picture of the Day? If you've never checked the website out, you should--this universe is amazing, and they have a new photograph of it every day.

Now You See It, Now You Don't!

Well, what do you miss the most? The ugly cabinets? The modern, well-sized vanity with it's matching faux oak medicine cabinet? How about the hole in the fence where the panel blew down last week?

Bill & I got another early start--when we scheduled, we forgot the switch to Daylight Savings Time, so we were out before the sun was up! We got all of the kitchen cabinets removed. Here I am pulling cleats off of the ceiling.

Don't you love my fashionista safety glasses?Bill found the mouse's personal entrance--when the last contractor plumbed, the hole between the crawl space and the kitchen wasn't sealed. WOW, the mice thought, DISNEYLAND with FREE SNACK FOOD! We found more than one mouse dropping behind the sink cabinets! ARGH!The bathroom vanity will soon be residing in the duplex. You can see how well the old 24" vanity fitted the space. I found a 30" vanity that I LOVE at Home Depot. It will be topped with a granite counter, and under-mounted sink. It will be joining us once the plumbing is repaired--there's a small leak, and NO HANDLES! WHY do people do stupid things, like remove spigot handles????????? Why? WHY, WHY, WHY????

Yes, I said "WHY" a LOT today...We got the fence and gate repaired and tidied up the garage doors. Bill took down the remains of the jerry-rigged porch light, which was spliced to the wires from the backyard security light, then run through a fifteen foot conduit tucked under the eaves with handy-ties.

I got the enormous rose in the backyard pruned almost to the ground--it's clearly very old, and should be spectacular when it blooms, now that it's not blooming on spindly old canes. We also trimmed the hemlock tree in the front, and repaired the fence boards that were damaged when a big limb broke off of it.

My best coup today was finding laminate hardwood flooring at Home Depot--special purchase, 99c/sq ft. Wow, now THAT'S a SALE! So, the "hardwood or carpet" dilemma has been solved. I can't put a decent carpet down for that price. I really wanted hardwood throughout, so I'm thrilled. Now, if I can only find really good deals on everything else I need!

Spring must be here. A flock of about 30 house finches made a visit outside of my window yesterday. You should have heard them singing--they'd give a canary a real run! Watch out, American Idol, these babies have PIPES! Look at the red on the males--I wish the camera had picked it up a little more, because it was really vibrant. Have you seen any spring birds around your place?I hope your day is delightful! Get out and enjoy it, OK?

Demolition Day!

Wow, it's amazing what you can do with a crowbar and a hammer! Today was DAY ONE of the HALF-DUPLEX DEMOLITION DERBY.

This is the half-duplex in which I'll be living--and I'll refer to it as the "house" from now on, since I also own a full duplex as a rental (or will at the end of the month, when we close). I think calling them "the full duplex," which is the tan brick building in which both units are rentals (see yesterday's blog), and "the half-duplex," the white & green half of a duplex in which I'll be living (see the blog from a few weeks ago), is too confusing. So, from now on, it's the house and the duplex. The house is close to City Park. The duplex is close to Lowry and the Community College.

Bill met me at 7a and we got started. Here are "before" photos...note the outlets with the conduits running up outside the walls.
Here are "after" photos. That black hole is a wonderful live outlet box that I discovered behind the tile. None of the wires were capped--what a total fire hazard! Fortunately, it was my only real surprise behind the tile. I still have to take the cabinets out, though. Who knows what's behind them, besides mice and spiders? The sink wasn't even secured onto the countertop--and there wasn't anything supporting the entire 4 feet square of counter to the right of the sink! It was just hanging in space! No wonder it sagged a little!I removed the electrical outlets that were mounted on the walls. This is the electrical mess, run through the cabinets, as a result of the "quick electric" project. That conduit continued out the right side of the cabinet and ran behind the stove:I removed the gargage disposal (which was corroded and therefore garbage!). Here's the sink without the disposal. Note the extremely professional outlet with the wires safely wrapped under & over the water lines.After I unplumbed the sink, I removed the dishwasher, then went into the bathroom and unplumbed and removed the vanity. Yay, me! Remember the old vanity (below)? It will be going over to the duplex for a new home. It will do a good job replacing the vanity with the drawer that won't close. That vanity will work perfectly in the other unit, because the toilet is on the other side, the drawer side, so the vanity can be offset to accomodate the plumbing.

Did I mention that my toilet isn't actually attached to the floor? Bill is rounding up a plumber to install a flange and set it properly. I guess the former owner just sat carefully so as to not move the toilet, so that it wouldn't leak. Unfortunately...well, you can imagine the rest of that story...Bill ran the new gas line for the gas stove:Bill also fixed some plumbing and helped me with everything that required stronger biceps than mine. You can see the electrical mess. The small holes in the wall are the new plumbing for the water line to the fridge.He also cleaned the furnace.We'll be back at it on Monday. Monday's projects include cabinet removal, drywall repair, swapping out light fixtures, repairing the fence, repairing the flashing on the roof and a few other "honey do's." Stay tuned for more surprises!

Adventures in Inspections...

Welcome to the duplex inspection! I asked Mike to do this inspection--he did the inspection on the half-duplex in which I'll be living. He did a great job, so I decided to use him again--and that's the way to build your business.

I thought I'd share some of the highlights of this inspection, starting with the new, updated window treatments! Plywood is always an attractive option...this is the kitchen window in the east unit. The 2x4 is nailed to the window casement, and a long bolt secures the plywood in the window frame. Um...how about NEW GLASS? Why is that a hard concept?This stove is made by Vespa. Never heard of them...but it works! It's clean, too.We turned the water on and heard water running somewhere. I went outside, thinking it was a spigot...nope, water was coming out between the brick and the foundation. We went inside the east unit and found a flood on the kitchen floor. Water was pouring out of the wall adjacent to the old washer lines, which had been left in the wall after new water lines were added to a closet for the washer. Apparently, they froze at some point and burst. The old owner didn't want to deal with the leak, so abandoned the property, thereby losing the building for want of a $50 fix. We opened up the wall to see what we were dealing with, and when we discovered the split in the pipe, Mike realized that it would be an easy fix, and offered to do it if I'd go get the caps and sauter.

Now, I don't know if you've ever had a home inspected, but "plumbing repairman" is NOT in the contract. Mike offered to do it because he knows I'm going to buy the property, and it has to be done at some point. It also allowed him to inspect the rest of the plumbing. Most inspectors would have said that they were unable to inspect the plumbing because the water couldn't be turned on due to the burst pipe. Once this was fixed, we were able to find another small leak that could have turned into a major headache....It's one of those "above & beyond" gestures that will earn my business and my recommendations forever. The mess by the stove is the drenched insulation and drywall...yuk. Most of those tiles are broken, so that floor will be replaced with vinyl.That wall will be repaired and hidden by the fridge. After cutting the pipes, we decided that it would be smarter to cut & cap them in the crawl space. Otherwise, they are likely to freeze and burst again at some point. So, Mike went down into the crawl space and sealed them again, in a much better spot! The east unit has a working washer & dryer. The west unit just has a washer, so I'll be browsing Craigslist for a working dryer...maybe even a matching dryer!Someone added two lovely storage lean-to's to the east unit. This is the one off of the kitchen.This is the view from inside the kitchen. Yes, they built it OVER the kitchen window! Then they put shelf paper on the window to cover it up! The exterior spigot is inside the storage unit--good place for it, in case you want to water the floor...The other lovely storage lean-to is also on the east unit. I think it was used to house a Harley, based on the oil stains on the floor.However, once again, THEY BUILT IT OVER A WINDOW!!! THE LIVING ROOM WINDOW!!!WHAT were they thinking???? Needless to say, both of these lean-to's will be visiting the Denver City Dump very soon. Notice the shattered pane on the right. Four panes need to be replaced in the building.This is the living room and kitchen in the west unit. The wall colour is pretty accurate--peach. I'm going to steal the colour Odette is using in her basement--it's a pretty bluish-gray. I'm not sure of the function of the bars--maybe to remind someone of their other home? The hallway for the bedrooms is to the left. The bedrooms are separated by a linen closet, the hot-water closet, and the bathroom. Both bedrooms are approximately the same size--small.Kitchen in the west duplex. It needs a fridge, and a dryer. It also needs new linoleum, and new paint. The back door has a broken screen door which will be removed.The cabinets are original to the building, which was built in 1959. I'm going to replace all of them (both units), because they are truly disgusting. This area is fairly low-income, but I can't stomach being the kind of landlord who would expect anyone to live like that. They won't get granite, but they will get new laminate countertops, too. All of the plumbing leaks either from the faucets or from the drains; they'll get new plumbing fixtures.I think the stove is a Whirlpool or Frigidaire--it's self-cleaning, and in excellent condition. You can see the same washer spigots to the left of the stove; these haven't burst, yet. Mike is coming back after I close on the house to cut & cap those in the crawl space, since they are totally unnecessary. He'll also fix a minor leak in the water heater, and help me with some miscellaneous fixes around the place. This is the west unit's washer/dryer closet. Don't you love the 220-volt plug hanging from the shelf? ARGH! Guess I need an electrician, too!
The bathrooms need a little work. Both tubs are filthy, but it's just grime, so can easily be cleaned. Both bathrooms need new sinks. This sink is barely hanging onto the wall. If I can find a small vanity, 18" or so, I'll install a vanity. If not, it'll be a pedestal sink. There is a linen closet just to the left of the door, and if a full vanity were installed, you would only have about 10" between the edge of the vanity and the corner created by the linen closet--that's a tight squeeze.This is the west unit's bathroom. Notice the open drawer? Another great installation...The plumbing is IN THE WAY of the drawer--so it can't be closed! Can you imagine the bruised shins during those night visits? This bathroom will get a small vanity or pedestal sink as well.One of the bedrooms. They are fairly small, but have decent closets--in fact, more closet space than the half-duplex! I'm a little jealous!It's going to be a lot of work, but mostly cosmetic stuff. There's a few more minor plumbing leaks to fix. I need to buy four new faucets, a fridge, a dryer, exterior porch lights, new cabinets and countertops and do a LOT of cleaning... I am hoping to get the units rented within 2 weeks of closing, so we'll see how that timetable goes! I'll keep you up to date!

What a fortune!

Don't you LOVE this fortune cookie, posted in my airplane! :-) Southwest has the most amazing paint jobs. You've probably seen Shamu, and the Simpsons. I spotted this one at DEN last week. Wow, what an incredible mural! I still think Frontier's talking tails are the best, though! Have you had a chance to check out their commercials online? Tomorrow is inspection day on the new duplex...I'll take and post photos so you can see the "before" pictures of the rental.

I'm going to start work on the half-duplex that I'll be living in on Friday. This week's projects include changes to the plumbing and gas lines. I should have photos of that, too, so stay tuned!

Got this one too!!!

Just a quick note--I GOT THE DUPLEX!!!! We'll sign paperwork for it tomorrow. They had multiple offers, since it was priced so low in foreclosure, and apparently my offer was the highest--and I thought mine was LOW! You know how you hear about "buying homes for pennies on the dollar?" That's how this purchase will work out when it's done--I'll walk into a nice bit of equity. I'm pretty excited about it...I'll update with photos when we do the inspection next week! Guess I'm on my way to building my real estate empire!

2009 Northwest Flower & Garden show, and A Big Step

It's that time of year--time for the Northwest Flower and Garden show! I flew out on Wednesday to join Baze, Kim, Lori and Jayme for the gala. This year Baze and Kim hosted me at their new home, which is lovely. Did I get photos of it? No--I was a dork...but I had a great time!

We started the day at Joe Lamp'l's seminar. He reviewed the best gardening tools of 2008. He had the BEST facial expressions! Playing with sharp tools might do that...especially if they slip...check out the wicked shovel!The gardens were amazing, as usual. It's like being a hungry kid in a candy store--I want one of everything! This arbor is just about what I want in my new back yard.My friend Erick would LOVE this sculpture. He's an amazing jazz musician. Again, you can visit his website at http://www.hotbebop.com/
Baze and Kim found a new friend!This was one of the more relaxing exhibits. You could get a foot rub while being fanned. Mmmm.....The quilting society always displays some wonderful quilts. I've never quilted--look at that talent! I can barely sew a button on; I can't imagine the skill it takes to put scraps together into a work of art. More skill--these are stone masons. They are listening to the stone, trying to hear what it wants to be. We thought it wanted to be a falcon.And even more amazing talent--the Borneo mask-carvers were back! Here are two of their new masks. If you jump back to the 2008 NWF&G blog post, you can see last years' masks.This peaceful path is made of crushed quartz. Wouldn't that be nice in your back yard?This is a unique table, isn't it? The seats are on wire containers, filled with firewood, as is the table base. What a great, multi-functional piece of furniture.This year, there were little stuffed garden critters hidden amongst the gardens. You could bid on your favourite critter. The proceeds went to Make-a-Wish. Do you need a carrot? It's an unusual variety--a Climbing Tree Carrot!I'm not sure if you can read the sign...these are Kinky Shoes! Each one is welded, created from all sorts of salvaged items. Pretty cool, huh? Watch out, Manolo Blahnik!More foxy garden art!Everyone loves a wind chime--and you can make one yourself, using utensils stolen from restaurants! Want to go out to eat?This beautiful piece of driftwood was stained and posed as a piece of art, above and beyond the casually tossed piece in the yard. Look at how it echos the bonzai behind it!Oh, yes, there were orchids. I almost forgot to mention them. Lots of orchids. Lots of beautiful, tempting orchids. Lots of beautiful, tempting, homeless orchids, looking at me with their big sad orchid eyes....So, I adopted two. The above is an unnamed scented orchid, and below is "White Knight," a new scented species that is being patented. Kim & Baze, hanging with the Hick Chicks (me & Jayme)! Yeehaw! Regretfully, I didn't get a photo of Lori, but she was there....really, she was!!!!We enjoyed the Dale Chihuly exhibit on the way out. I worked for Dale about 15 years ago, doing a temp job. He's an amazing glass artist, isn't he? One of my fantasies includes going to an estate sale and finding a Chihuly for a dollar...keep dreamin', kiddo...I got back to Denver on Saturday and found a foreclosed duplex that had just been listed. My Realtor and I looked at it this morning. I made an offer on it an hour later. It's pretty cute--both units are 2 bedrooms/1 bath. They have kitchens with a little dining nook, and a decent sized living room. Each unit has its own yard. They have hardwood floors, washer/dryer hookups, and decent storage inside.The best part is that, if I get the building, the rent of one unit will pay the entire mortgage! If both are rented, I'll be living free and still have positive cash flow. I LOVE this economy! I'll get more photos if we go under contract. This place needs less work than the half-duplex that I bought--we close on that on Friday, and I'll be moving in April. We're hoping to close on this duplex in late March/early April, and I should have it painted and cleaned up within a week or two so that I can get it rented immediately.I hope that your day is filled with dreams, fantasies and flowers--get out and make something good happen, OK?