Here’s Emmie!

I got a new dog!

She’s some kind of mix, I’m not sure what. They called her Matilda (yuck!) —I call her Emmie.

She was billed as a Westie mix, but she’s not any kind of Westie that I can see. Everything is different. Coat, legs, tail, head, ears, eyes, everything is different. Maybe I’ll get a doggie DNA test…out of curiosity. And even though I had Westies for 35 years, I don’t care if she’s not a Westie… she’s cute (and sweet, when she’s not being fearful.)

I rescued her at the end of May from a rescue organization, Rescue Ranch in Yreka. She’s now about 1-1/2 years.

I think she was living wild for awhile. She’s happy in the backyard but can be fearful in the house. When the mulberry tree was dropping berries she was having a field day. She foraged for other edible fruit in the yard, too. Neither of my other dogs wanted to eat mulberries…

She barks ferociously when my renters come in or go up and down the stairs. Not a good thing, but she’s getting better every day. She was hiding under the bed a lot at first, but now she’s more comfortable and doesn’t hide very much.

I’m going to take her to obedience classes. She’s pretty wild and won’t even come if I call her. Sometimes she won’t even take treats out of my hand, I have to put them on the floor, especially if she is some distance away. I think she had been tricked by someone using food to bait her and trap her.

But she’s not totally wild, lets me hold her and she sits in my lap. In fact, she’s more of a lap dog than Westies ever were. And she sleeps on my bed with me.

Speaking of renters…

Carin, one of my renters, moved out at the end of August. She paid off her car and wanted her own place, so she rented an apartment a few miles north of here.

When she gave notice I started thinking about the room situation upstairs and reflecting on how little I use my office, since I have a computer in my bedroom, too. And how much more income I could create by renting the larger room. (Twice as much!)

I looked into the office from the doorway and what I saw was storage. Most of the stuff in the room was storage! THREE filing cabinets!  (Well, one did hold up the end of the desk…) And supplies! Office supplies, art and design supplies, sewing supplies and books!

Flipping the Script

So after careful consideration and planning, I downsized and moved my office into the small room (formerly Carin’s room). I gave myself a month to do it and my plan worked perfectly. There was only one piece of furniture that I had to put into attic storage, a drop-front desk. I tried to give it to David, my other renter, to use but he didn’t want it. Oh, there was also my Elfa desk but it is just two metal tubular legs on one end, and as I said, a filing cabinet holds up the other end, and a flat melamine covered panel for the desk top. So I broke that down and slipped it into the attic, too.

Here’s my (not so pretty) planning sketches:

Then I reorganized and redecorated the former office (the “cute” room—now called “La Jolie Salle” — formerly L’Atelier [workroom]) with a new rug and a little bistro table and chairs. Everything else I already had. I didn’t manage to move everything of mine out of the room, however. I left some books and half of the drawers still contain office supplies.

Everything that wouldn’t fit or need to be in the smaller office either went into the attic or the basement (and 3 empty filing cabinets into the garage). I had to have help moving the bigs things so KayeDon, my friend, came over and helped me. 

I also reclaimed the stair hall closet to use it for storage of household items like air conditioners, cleaning supplies, etc. I had let Carin use the closet because the one in that room is so small.

Here’s  ~La Jolie Salle~

The New Atelier

This room is about 10×10…

Fixing the Wall

I broke down and hired a handyman to fix the wall in the upstairs bathroom. I had been contemplating doing it myself but… I wanted it to be fixed before I rented the room. Don’t ask how it got damaged…

Much better!

He tore out the whole panel below the window and replaced it with drywall. He did a great job! Better than I could ever do. (Well, I painted!)

I also added a printed, water-resistant, peel-n-stick tile backsplash I found online above the vanity to spruce up the vanity area in the upstairs bath.

So, what else is new?

The Shower Leak Saga

Around the first of the year 2024 I discovered that my first floor master bath shower was leaking into the basement below. Ever since it was installed as part of my bathroom remodel in 2014-2015, one corner was low, because the shower pan was not correctly leveled when it was installed. Nine years later, this low corner is where the leak appeared to be emanating from. I did fairly extensive tests to verify that this was the source and came to the conclusion it was. I couldn’t ignore it, even though it wasn’t leaking very much; I had to get someone to fix it, or so I thought.

The first quote I got to fix it was almost $9,000! Not happening.

I ended up hiring my neighbor/contractor for about half of that, but he did a less than perfect job. I found out (the hard way) he’s not a detail guy… There’s a bit of a difference in skill level between re-building a fence and demo-ing, re-building and re-tiling part of a shower. 

And the worst of it was…it still leaked! 

BUT

It was a week or more after it had been “fixed” by the contractor and it was still leaking. I even called him to come back and he put some more grout in the corner, thinking that would fix it—after what he had already done to fix it— but, of course, it didn’t…

So, in my desperation, I cried out to God and told him that I know He can fix it… AND HE DID! 

I prayed — and it stopped leaking. PRAISE GOD!
I’d call that a miracle!

My Project for this year

Small but significant…

I carried out my house number plaque plan that had been on the drawing board for awhile. Here it is and how I did it.

• I glued and clamped two pieces of 1×8 fir together to make the board large enough. (Pre-made wood rounds weren’t the right size.) (Sorry, I didn’t take more process pics)
• I cut it into a circle on my band saw.
• I sanded, primed and painted it then applied the custom printed, exterior, weather resistant, adhesive-backed vinyl “decal,” for which I created the layout and uploaded the art to the sign company to print.

Voila!

Looking Ahead

I think I’m going to be “retiring” from my design business at the first of the year. I won’t be taking on any new projects, especially websites, but I may continue to do maintenance for the few clients whose websites I currently manage. Renting my rooms makes up for any income I will lose from not doing design work.

I look upon maintaining this house as my main job now. It’s my big investment. I’m its caretaker.

Merry Christmas and have fun in the new year!

Diane

I think it was originally white…with forest green trim.
But the house next door is white, with blue trim.
They must have thought
That just won’t do …
So let’s go ahead and paint it blue!

This is a continuation of my post about my bedding collection.

I discovered another combination that I had not considered until a few months ago—actually it was when I was considering changing my bedding for the Holiday season.

I usually use the red & gold medallion print comforter set, but this year I felt like something different—something festive and bright, but not the usual.

I’ve had this star quilt (pictured below) since we lived in Texas. That’s more than 20 years ago! The coordinating comforter set is long gone so I haven’t used the quilt in forever. But it’s way too cute to get rid of… (I think I originally purchased it from the Spiegel catalog!)

Then I realized I have this green-rose-off-white quilt and shams. For a long time I had stored it in the basement but brought it up recently and stuffed it into my linen closet. It suddenly dawned on me that they just might work together.

And they do! The color of the star quilt is kind of a coral, but really more of a rose shade. So, its color coordinates with the roses in the floral areas of the green/pink quilt.
Also, the checkerboard squares of both quilts are about the same size, creating a harmony of size, shape and repetition. Even the green gingham check bedskirt coordinates!

I hadn’t considered the green/pink quilt before because I previously used it on a double bed and my bed is a queen. But I figured I just might be able to use it crosswise for the queen. In actuality, it is square (the same dimension both ways). It just barely fits.

Happy New Year! Here’s to new unexpected combinations!

Read also: Changing with the Seasons

It’s just fun and provides variety. It does require a lot of linen storage, especially for queen comforters, but what the heck, it’s only space. And there’s always under the bed…

So, now that I have this collection, I’ve taken to changing things seasonally. Below is my red & gold Winter/Christmas set, with off-white coverlet and shams.

I change the scheme in February—looking forward to spring. No sense in staying in winter any longer than necessary. You could call it “winter white.”

Voila! A bonus—the reverse side of my late winter/early spring comforter set. A sunny look for rainy, gray days!

When Spring has sprung, I will change to my Spring/Summer Quilt and matching shams. This stays on the bed for the longest period of time.

What else changes?

The bedskirt! I had a real problem because normally one has to lift the mattress in order to change the skirt. Well, my mattress is a Tempur-pedic and it is extremely heavy. Without help, it is impossible for me to lift, so…

Solution: I have a “base” skirt which is the green check (seen in spring and summer photos). But that skirt DOES NOT coordinate with the autumn and winter comforters. So I determined that I could trim the other skirts’ platform (the part that goes under the mattress) to about 12 inches (see drawing), so that I can slip it between the mattress and (in this case, it’s basically a box, not a box spring) and alleviate the need to lift the entire mattress. So the green check stays on all the time and the other skirts are layered over it. Yes!

Originally published November 2021

I have a bee in my bonnet. (Wow, that’s an old saying! But I couldn’t resist…it’s a bee thing…) Translate that to mean that I have an idea that’s been buzzing around in my brain for awhile now. Let me explain.

My house at 1432 East Main St. was built in 1927. The house next door, number 1428, was built the same year. It is a different style than mine, but some of the details, like window style and trim are very similar to mine. Sean and Robyn own 1428 and they are gradually fixing it up and doing some restoration, like stripping off the 1950’s facade that had been applied to their living room fireplace, to reveal the original brick.

Then there is the house next door to 1428, number 1404, which, records show, was built in 1928. These three houses are set apart from surrounding houses in architectural style, age and location. I think they are related and may have even been built by the same builder. That’s why I call them the Three Sisters.

1404 needs help. I feel so sorry for her. I’ve been trying to think of a way to help the owners fix her up. First things first— she desperately needs a new roof.

The house has a really cute sun porch on the west side. Here’s a picture…

I created a spot in my laundry room for small repair needs and projects so I don’t have to go to the garage and get the big guns (tools). The cabinet contains tools, tape, batteries, etc. as well as cleaning supplies, but the little bits needed a home and there aren’t enough drawers. In fact, the base cabinet was one of the cabinets we took out of the old kitchen (the sink base with banks of drawers on both sides) and re-used it here. I painted it gray and found a laminate countertop for it at Lowes (on sale!)

This verdigris-green metal shelf (shown below) I originally purchased to use in the main bathroom in our Carrollton, Texas house. I used it to display decorative bath articles, etc. near the bathtub. Now, in my laundry room it serves to hold miscellaneous hardware bits which I corral with the little scoops from my laundry detergent. I’d hang the shelf on the wall but there’s no wall space left! (Yes, I still use powdered detergent in my old-fashioned, white, top-load washing machine! No, I haven’t bought into $1000+ glamorous, high-maintenance machines. But I digress…)

Come to think of it, most of the stuff in the laundry room is repurposed or reused. The cabinet with glass doors above the counter (below) was in the house’s original laundry area. We moved it, repainted it and I put adhesive film on the glass that mimics reed glass. Very cool.

Even the suction-cup holder that is holding the nozzle for the sprayer (above) started life as a soap holder for the shower.

Even the white cabinet above the washer/dryer was reused. I first had it in my office in Carrollton, then in Eagle Point and now it contains laundry supplies.

A little while ago I came up with a great solution for storing throw pillows. I realized that my pillows would fit in a garment bag I had just hanging around. The suits it used to protect are long gone but the bag was still here…

This garment bag now has a second life! It measures 15″w x 20″d x 40″ long —holds 10 to 12 pillows, 18×18″ or smaller. It only takes up about 15″ of hanging space. I think that’s a WIN!

Here’s another solution for linen storage—for tablecloths! I had these old pant hangers just hanging around unused.

Now they maximize my closet space and I think they actually work better for tablecloths than pants. I think I need one more for the tablecloths on the left side of the photo!

Some of you may know Alexis McKenna and that she lost her place of residence and all of her belongings in the Almeda fire of September 2020. She escaped with only her cat, Cy, her car and very few belongings. (Cy is short for Cyrano de Bergerac!)

So when I heard that she might need someone to look after him until she found a place to stay, I volunteered. I used to be a cat person… until I became a dog person.

As it turned out she found a place fairly soon so my help wasn’t needed…at that time. 

More recently, when Alexis decided she wanted to go to California for December and January she asked me if my offer might still be good—which it was. So Cy is here and he’s settling in.  

Cy arrived at my house the Friday after Thanksgiving. Each day for him was an exploration, finding his “spots” and learning the boundaries of what and where I would tolerate him to be. Not lying on the dining table, not drinking out of the toilet, etc. 

By the following Thursday he had explored the downstairs, finding special fascination with opening the door to the stairs and going up. (We usually close the door but leave it unlatched for easier opening when coming downstairs.) Nothing for cats upstairs, as all the doors to the rooms but the bathroom are kept closed. I made the mistake of showing it to him! Anyway…

By Thursday afternoon he decided he was ready to go outside. Alexis told me he’s an outdoor cat so I let him go. We have a doggie door—I showed him how it worked a few days before, but he wasn’t interested then. This time he went out and back in a few times, everything was good, so I went back to work. 

Evening came but the cat didn’t. It was dark by then and calling him was unfruitful. Nothing to do at that point but wait and see if he reappeared. 

Friday morning dawned—no cat. 

Friday afternoon I walked around the neighborhood calling and talking to anyone who was out, asking them to keep a lookout. I couldn’t imagine he would run away…not from a warm house and food. Nor did I think he would just wander away and get lost. He was too cautious. 

Friday night—no cat. Freezing temperatures. 

Saturday morning I was walking through my dining room and I heard—Meeooww. I couldn’t pinpoint the sound so I looked outside—no cat. I thought, he couldn’t be in the basement! I opened the basement door, which, oddly enough, is in the dining room, and there he was. And was he HUNGRY! 

Now for the blessing. 

Ever since we’ve lived here (6-1/2 + years) we’ve had a rat problem in the basement. Evidently it’s a problem in this neighborhood and probably beyond. I had a pest control service for a year or so but it’s too expensive, but they left me with quite a few traps. But to me, the best solution is to find where they’re getting in and take preventive measures. Pest control helped find a couple of openings, but rats, and recently a little opossum, were still getting in and meeting their demise in the deadly traps. I’d rather not kill them, just keep them out. 

But the cat ending up in the basement proved to me that there must be an opening big enough for a big black cat to get through—not to mention RATS! The only place this could have happened is under the deck on the back of the house. 

The deck was probably added in the 80’s or 90’s, as it is made of composite materials. But we hadn’t been able to see the foundation on that side of the house because of the deck. 

The cat in the basement confirmed to me that this had to be the place, so Bernie, my handyman and I did some reconnaissance to see if we could zero in on the most likely area of the breach. Turning off the lights in the basement and looking for light in the suspected location gave us the area to concentrate on. 

The basement is only about a third of the entire house footprint, mainly under my bedroom, the southwest corner. The rest is just crawl space. So the breach seemed to be in the foundation of the crawl space near the southeast corner of the house. Bernie pulled up two deck boards in that area and we discovered a hole about 14” wide and 5” high. There is a pipe running through the opening which appears to be part of the air conditioner plumbing. It looks like it was a foundation vent that never got re-screened when they installed the outside air conditioner—who knows when! Arghhh! (Remember, this house is 93 years old!) 

If Cy hadn’t come to stay and if he hadn’t disappeared, to wind up in the basement, I might never have had a strong enough suspicion about the location of the entry point to tear up deck boards. 

Hallelujah! He earned his room and board, and then some! 

Thank you Jesus!

Carin, my renter, has been doing an amazing job of whipping the yard into shape. She planted all of the impatiens and is tending the new compost bins, to mention just a few tasks she undertakes. Thanks Carin!!!!

Click image to see larger and slideshow…