If a tree falls, and no one is there to hear it...

Does it still block your driveway?

A resounding YES!

As we were leaving the house this morning, to head to our respective offices, I looked down the driveway and saw this:



Here are some other angles:





As you can see, a rather large portion of a beautiful mountain laurel decided to take a nap in our driveway today. We can't get either of the cars out, and Amar turned down my suggestion to try to drive them out through the front yard. Though I can't blame him for that.... ;)

Anyhow, a bit more drama before 8AM than either of us are used to.

The people that work on this sort of thing are supposed to be here around 10:30. Right in time for some massive and somewhat severe thunderstorms! Oh yeah, it's going to be a fantastic day!

Wish us luck! More pictures to come as the process continues.

I'm crossing my fingers that we don't have to lose the whole tree...

Uncluttering

There was a series of articles out on various blogs last week about uncluttering. Now, I didn't pour over all of these articles, but merely skimmed them thinking, "I wish our house was more clutter-free....someone should really get on that..."

Past
My parents were pack rats. My mother, in particular, kept just about everything. We had stacks of old newspapers that she wanted to go through "one day" to clip out an article here and there....and yet, that day never came.

My dad, who stocked an extensive workshop in his garage, also kept just about everything, and had labels for it. Bins of random, old nuts and bolts. Various ratchet sets. Nails of all shapes and sizes.

Summary: I'm genetically engineered to keep stuff that has surpassed its useful life.

Not-so-distant Past
I like to think that we keep our house relatively clean and somewhat clutter-free. Yes, we have our random stacks of mail here, and bags there. Who doesn't? Occasionally, one or both of us will get into a cleaning frenzy, and tear through the house cleaning or organizing. Amar, in particular, is excellent with sorting through paper. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to just stack things and forget about them.

Until recently, our guest room served as a dumping ground for stuff that just didn't have any other place to go. Boxes of books. Boxes and boxes of paper. Old stuff that my dad brought over that had been living at his house. Dogs. Computers. Tools. You name it - it went in our study.

So our 1,400 square feet started feeling smaller and smaller. Something had to be done.

Summary: Something had to be done.

Present
Well, since I just about finished the table project, I was in need of something else to occupy my time. Our guest room had been bugging me, and after a recent trip to IKEA, I think I was just about fed up with the clutter in there. I was inspired by the various displays of organizational boxes, things nicely stacked and grouped, etc. I was also inspired by the blog articles that I skimmed, and so I went to work a few nights ago.

I started emptying out boxes. I stuffed already packed boxes into the closet. We threw away newly empty boxes. I moved the desk, file cabinet and drawers to another wall. I created a tool shelf and moved that to another wall. I went through old magazines and tore out only the pages I cared about, tossing the rest. I filed those pages in a cute file folder. I organized our end tables. I cleaned off our dresser.

Amar got into the groove as well, going through a box of papers that was years old. And voila - he found some old stocks! Goodness was abounding! I just wish I had taken before and after pictures. But for now, here are the after pictures. Note: I know they are bad. But I like the bad, because it means that light from the sun is now getting into the room, which I enjoy. So deal with it ;)

The soon-to-be reading corner:
I eventually want to hang some shelves over the windows, get some under-shelf lighting going, pop some pictures up on the shelf, and throw in a nice big chair. The dogs are also enjoying the space, I might add.




The new tool shelf:
Yes, there are still boxes, but there are WAY less than there were before. AND I know what's in these: pictures. I'm proud of the storage for the tools, since we frequently need tape, or a hammer, or a level and we used to have to dig to find them:




The new "office":
This desk and drawer unit used to be in front of the windows. I shuffled it over to this side wall, did some cord-management (under the desk) and various organizing. I would like to get some wall organizing stuff for the space over the desk, recover the chair, and potentially paint the file cabinet white. Ta da:

Spring!

One of my favorite seasons...and here's why:

Just passing the time...

There is a bit of a lull right now at work, between Excel & PowerPoint firedrills. So I started poking around a bit on the internets and found a fantastic series at This Old House.

It's called "Home Inspection Nightmares" and it goes a little something like this:



It's currently a 10 part series of all of the crazy things that home inspectors have found while on the job. It could likely be retitled: Stupid Human Home-owning Tricks.

Anyhow, take a gander. Be sure to read the captions and the comments. Some of this stuff is just incredibly uneblievable. People actually live like this.

Confessions:

1. We currently have duct tape sealing part of our hall bath tub surround. But it is nowhere near this bad.
   
   
   
   
2. We lacked flashing on part of our roof (unbeknownst to us) for quite a while. But again, it was not even close to this.
   
   
3. My grandmother's house did look similar to this for 50 years or so:
   
   

New Masthead

Folks,
I know that many, many of you were fans of the previous masthead. Thus today may in fact be a day of mourning for you all.

Have no fear, however, as bigger and better things are yet to come.

I present to you the new masthead!!!

Ok, enough with the silliness. I just got a new computer that came complete with Photoshop, so I've been havin' me some good old fashioned editing fun!

This masthead is part of a series I made last night, after I got a little photo-editing happy with some of the pictures from our trip to India awhile back. The original shot was taken at Mahabalipuram, which is a coastal town just South of Chennai. There are several temples by the sea, built centuries ago. Read more about it at your leisure.

Anyhow, I took several shots around the site, but never really did much with them. Until last night. For some reason, I was really liking this editing element. So after some cropping, playing and touching up, I wound up with the above picture.

Hope you like it!

Project Table: Inching towards completion

Yesterday was a good day in table-construction land. Tis a cheerful land, able to transport one's thoughts from the rut of day-to-day schlepping about to a land of magical power tools, sawdust and progress! Join me, won't you?

Because Austin's weather apparently thought that the city was temporarily located in the Southern hemisphere yesterday, conditions on the previous work-site (the front porch) were too stifling to endure. So project table went indoors.

The new work-site:



The first step yesterday was lining up the doors and joining them with two hinges, set perpendicular to the seam for stability, as you can see in the super-fancy-artsy-macro-closeup of said hinge:



Here's an idea of what the table looked like from the under side, pre-legs. In this shot, you can also see the tools needed for such a job:

1. Duct tape
2. Fancy drill
3. Pencil
4. Pillow
5. Tape measure



Yep, we're all pro here at Project Table. And don't you forget it.

Ok, moving on. I chose to use 5 table legs for this particular setup. One at each corner, and one in the middle to support the seam. Here's a shot from below so you can get the idea:




And here is the current product, not quite in it's final form:




What could be missing from this picture of perfection, you ask? The following:

• Glass for the top
• Potentially a coat of poly
• Some kickin' chairs

Project Table: Day 10

This week has been a good week for Project Table. I was able to finish scraping, cut the boards, and start painting. Lovely pictures of the progress below:



This is a picture of the rip fence that I setup to enable the cut to be straight. As you can see below, it worked. I was pleased to find out that the door was in fact solid. I had been thinking that it was, but couldn't be positive until I had cut into it. Had it not been solid, I would have had to attach a piece of wood to the outside so that the cavity wouldn't be exposed.

To be honest, I was pretty scared of making the cut. I've used saws before, but there's always a feeling of apprehension before you actually cut. I had purchased some clamps and a small piece of straight wood (a piece of a fence), and got to work. I had to extend my table length a bit to account for the hole in the door where the doorknob and hardware went. I didn't want to have an exposed cavity at the corner, so I bumped the cut line out a few inches to make sure I would have a solid corner after the cut.

Once I had measured my cut line, I taped over it (to ensure that the wood wouldn't splinter during the cut) and redrew it. Then I had to measure where the rip fence would go. Basically, the blade on the saw was offset about 1 1/4 inches from the right-most point of the saw, so the fence went 1 1/4 inches to the right of the cut line and I clamped it into place. Making triply sure that it was completely parallel to the straight cut line, I got to work cutting. And voila, a straight cut.



Here is what both pieces looked like after the cuts:



That was the status as of Wednesday night.

Thursday afternoon I was also able to make some good progress. I was itching to start painting, and had come to the realization that there was no way on God's green earth that I would ever have all of the paint scraped off. So I did what final prep I could with slightly more scraping, some sanding and lots of brushing off.



So after two coats of some paint, the final product is above.

This afternoon, I hope to get the second door painted. Then assembly can start tomorrow! Yay!

Questionable post...

But something compels me to write it nonetheless.

My church has a retreat coming up.

They sent an email to all of the attendees, providing some of the retreat information and generally welcoming them to the event.

But they apparently didn't spell check before they hit send.

The word was supposed to be "Buckner"

Unfortunately, an "f" made an appearance in the word.

In the absolute worst possible place.

Just imagine it.*

"Buckner" with an "f" somewhere strategic.

From the church.

To a lot of people.

Yeah.







*Footnote:
I debated about whether or not to actually write out what they wrote. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, and trust, rather, that you can just figure it out on your own. Go for it.

Project Table: Day 7

First off, thank you all for the encouragement! Via email, comments, etc, you have been incredibly supportive!

Much progress has been made since day 2. I have just been too lazy to post about it. But I know that you are all on the edges of your seats, so I couldn't make you wait any longer.

I worked on the doors almost every day after work last week, chipping and scraping away. I did luck out on Friday and found out that the other side of the door that I had been working on all week was a TON easier to scrape. So as of last Friday, I was able to get to this stage on that door:





For your reference, this is what your jeans look like after an afternoon of vigorous scraping:



Saturday, the great and powerful Tiffany accompanied me to IKEA so that we could do some brainstorming and potentially procure some table legs. The trip proved to be really successful, and at times, humorous. We basically took over the dining section of the store, moving tables and chairs at our leisure trying to see what arrangements would work. We test drove almost every chair they had, so if you have any quesitons about their selection, just let us know.

As for work on the doors, the bitterly cold rain kept us from doing much that day. However, that was not the case on Sunday. Tiffany came back over (a glutton for punishment, some may say) and we got to scrapin'.

Here is Tiffany with her weapons of choice:



Though Tiffany did seem to get a lot of scraping done, I couldn't help but think that she had a hard time keeping her mind on task:



Anyhow, here is what the door looked like before:



And here is the damage that we did:



The triumphant warriors after a long, hard day at battle:



Goals for the week:
- Finish scraping both doors
- Purchase hinges
- Purchse equipment to make a rip fence*
- Cut both doors to size
- Start assembly

The stretch goal is to have the table assembled by Saturday night, when we have a big group coming for dinner. Keep your fingers crossed...

*A rip fence, as suggested by my dad, will aid in cutting a straight line across the bottom of the door. For this I will need a set of clamps and a straight piece of wood...I'm off to the hardware store later today to get such items.

Project Table: Day 2 part 2

Progress from yesterday afternoon:



I'm hoping to finish that side this afternoon, after I pick up a better paint scraping apparatus today on my way home from work. Yippee!

Just for some context, the dark part that you see exposed is the first layer of paint on the door. Then come 2 layers of some sort of tan. Then another layer of brown. And finally a layer of white. Wow.

Project Table: Day 2

In an effort to be transparent through this process, and to share with you the craziness that is me brainstorming/second-guessing/creating/etc., here are a few things/thoughts/questions that came to me in the last 12 hours:

Musings

• Will one big table, made of 2 doors, be too big?
• Should I instead, make 2 smaller tables?
• We could leave 1 out all the time, and store the other one, then when the need arises, bring them both out and put them side by side...
• Will the glass be too expensive?
• Will the glass be too hard to procure?
• How will we get it home?
• Ordering two smaller pieces of glass would be easier to transport, potentially less expensive, and allow for the flexibility of having 2 tables at a time, or just 1 table at a time...
• Should I strip all the paint of both doors, or just keep chipping away at it for a bit longer?
• If I just chip away at it, and don't get it all off, is that ok to paint over?
• Geez, these are ugly paint colors that these people picked back in the day...why do you paint the hardware onto the door?
• Are old doorknobs worth anything?
• What color should this be in the end?
• Is this really worth the time and effort just for the "unique and handmade" factor?
• Do I have all of the necessary tools/skills/etc. to complete this?
• Just how much can you do with a circular saw?
• I wish I had a table saw...
• I wish we had a garage....
• Am I making too much noise for the neighbors?
• Do the neighbors think I'm: insane? and idiot? weird? Who cares?
• Will one table be too narrow?
• Will the narrowness cause people to knock knees? Unavoidably play footsie? Never want to have dinner with us again?
• Will people need to sign a liability waiver before they dine with us?
• Will the legs support the weight?
• If I do two tables, is there a cool hook/clip/clamp I could install under the seam so that they can lock together?
• Is the aforementioned idea too much work?
• Am I now, or at some point during this project will I be, breathing in anything toxic?

More craziness to come, I'm sure. Stay tuned...

Project Table: Day 1

Here's the damage I was able to do after work today:

Project Table: An introduction

I like to make things.

At times, I also tend to overestimate my ability to do so.

This deadly combination recently manifested iteself in the form of my newest project for the house: a dining room table.

I've been thinking about our need for a bigger table for a few weeks now, but I wasn't really ready to take the plunge, spend several hundred dollars, and have something cookie-cutter in our dining room. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just wanted to do something different.

I've seen this particular experiment done on t.v. before, so I'm going to attempt to recreate it for the purpose of allowing us to host more than 2 people for dinner at our humble abode.

To summarize: I'm going to attempt to take 2 old interior doors, cut them to size, join them together, attach legs, and add a nice piece of tempered glass to the top. Voila - we've got ourselves a table.

So Amar suggested that I keep a running status of the project on this here blog, since I know you are just dying to know what we're up to.

Current project status:
There are two very old, very dusty, very ugly doors on our front porch. I was able to partially remove some of the harware on one of the doors over the weekend.

What's up next:
This evening I'm hoping to get the doors cleaned (they are really filthy). I'd also like to get the remaining hardware removed and the paint scraped off. Since I'm planning to paint the wood, and not stain it, it's not imperrative that it be totally stripped down. And if the wood happens to get a little scuffed up in the scraping process, it will just create all the more character.

Wish me luck.

I'll also try to post pictures of the process, so you can feel like you're right there with me, which I know is of importance to you all.

For now, however, here's a taste of what the end project will resemble, and a link to a "how to" article:



How To article

The race is on!

Ok, seriously folks. All of the Presidential coverage is killing me. It's akin to decorating for Christmas in October. By the time the holiday rolls around, you're already over it.

Why must we be subjected to this day in and day out for months on end?

Amid my whining, I saw this quiz posted on a blog I read. Basically, it matches you up with the candidates that most closely hold your views on various topics. I took it, and here are my results.

84% John McCain
79% Mitt Romney
72% Mike Huckabee
70% Fred Thompson
68% Tom Tancredo
58% Bill Richardson
58% Rudy Giuliani
55% Ron Paul
50% Hillary Clinton
50% Chris Dodd
47% Barack Obama
46% John Edwards
36% Joe Biden
28% Mike Gravel
24% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I'm honestly not sure about the accuracy. But it is interesting to say the least. How do you measure up?

Some cuteness to start the week

Ok, seriously. How cute is that guy? I just couldn't avoid posting it after seeing him on the front page of Wikipedia this morning. Happy Monday!

For more on this little guy, read the whole article here.

Cake

My corporate life as of late:

"Bake me a cake" says the man upstairs.

"No problem, sir." I respond. "I'll need 6 eggs, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, some vanilla and some icing."

"No problem." He responds.

2 days pass, while I'm making the cake.

The phone rings.

"Kim, I still need that cake. But you're going to have to make it with half the eggs."

"Sir," I humbly reply, "I don't know if I can do that and still make a decent cake."

"Kim - bake the cake. 1/2 the egss. Talk to you in 2 days."

So I slave away in my bakery, trying to figure out how to make the cake with 1/2 the eggs I was originally planning on.

Two days later, the phone rings.

"Kim's bakery. How may I help you?"

"Kim, about the cake..." comes a familiar voice over the phone. "I'm going to have to ask you to make it with no flour."

"No flour?" I reply, holding back the panic that seems to be creeping steadily into my tone of voice.

"That's right - no flour. You'll have to give me a cake with 3 eggs, sugar, vanilla and icing. Actually, hold off on that vanilla for now. I'll get back to you."

Two days pass.

The phone rings again.

"Hello?" I answer tentatively, not wanting to hear his familiar voice.

"Kim, I've been looking at the recipe again. It's calling for way too many ingredients. You're going to have to do with just one egg, 1/2 the sugar, and no icing."

"So sir, let me get this straight. You want me to make you a cake with 1 egg and 1/2 a cup of sugar?"

"Yep. And have it on my desk by 8AM tomorrow."

So back to the bakery I go, late at night, to figure out this cake. Since the man upstairs called at 10PM, it's going to be a long night to try to make my deadline.

Finally, I come up with something that I think might work. I drive back into the office and present him with the "cake".

Upon sampling the concoction, he spits it out. "Kim! This is nothing but flavorless meringue! I thought I asked you for a cake!?!?!"

So, who wants dessert?

Foods of yesteryear: A humble plea

The other night at Bible study, we started reminiscing about foods we used to love, but which aren't available anymore.

I mentioned Yoplait Custard-style Banana yogurt.

Suddenly the room was filled with "ooohs" and "ahhhhs" as people recalled the thick, creamy goodness contained within that pale yellow plastic cup.

I lamented, however, that I was not able to find such yogurt in any grocery store. Others shared the same concern, and out of that collective sorrow, I decided to launch a campaign to bring it back. We want our creamy delicious banana yogurt!

So Yoplait, if you're out there, we're desperate. We need you! Do you still make this tasty product? Your website indicates that you do, but none of us can find it!!

Anyone?

In keeping with today's theme: quirks

Eryn and Krista both wrote about various "quirks" today, so I figured I'd continue the theme.

Although, before I get started, you may be wondering about the nun. In searching for an image to complement this post, I searched for "habit" and voila: a nun. I love search engines!!

My quirks:

• I am #2 on Eryn's list
• Before I start doing laundry, I have to make the bed
• Actually, to think straight in the morning, I have to make the bed. This poses a problem when the husband is still sleeping...
• I could eat a peanut butter product every day for the rest of my life and not tire of the wonderful substance!
• I have a strong fondness for Microsof Excel, so much so that I basically think in spreadsheet format
• My work email box has to be relatively clean for me to feel productive/organized
• I tend to be a very competitive driver, so I guess the quirk here is that I need to find the most efficient route at all times
• I do not like talking on the phone, so don't take it personally if this particular quirk of mine impacts your life directly. You are not alone, nor is it about you
• I, too, count stairs when ascending/descending, though I am not as neurotic as Eryn seems to be about it ;)
• Actually, come to think of it, I used to count bites when I would eat as a small child. And I would have to have the same amount of bites on both the left and right side of my mouth before I could swallow. What a weird kid!

OMG!

I work with a bunch of folks who are relatively older than I am.

Ok, so they are a lot older, for the most part.

I am the same age as their grand-children, in some cases.

So when they respond to an email or instant message with "LOL!!!", it just about makes my day.

Here's a typical* IM session:

Kim: Hey Harold**, did you get my email?

Harold: Y :)

Harold: OMG! That was so funny! LOL!!!!

Kim: What was funny? I sent you an email about compliance training.

Harold: BRB LOL OMG!!!

Kim: Harold, are you ok?

Harold: CYA L8R!

Kim: Harold, did you take your pills today?

Harold:....idk?

Kim:Harold, is your blood sugar low?

Harold:IMHO, TMI!

Kim:cya....


*The definition of "typical" is used loosely.
**Names changed to protect the innocent.

I (heart) Steven Colbert

Simply because the man can do things like this and get away with it.

Check it out.

Even if you don't know who the heck he is, reading the Wikipedia articles will surely bring a smile to your face. If it doesn't, I don't want to talk to you ever again.

There, I said it.