Is there a Rugdoctor in the house?

This weekend we had our first thing break in the house that was unplanned.  Mostly, we've been doing the breaking ourselves, on purpose of course and in the form of demolition.  But this weekend, I got up to take a shower and found this:

The cold water handle had just mysteriously broken off and was lying in the tub.  We weren't brokenhearted.  We know that the fixtures in the bathroom are cheap and ugly, and we want to replace them eventually.  Note the word "eventually."  Jason has big plans for the bathroom, and to properly replace this handle would require some other demo that we are not prepared for at the moment.  But how exactly did it break?  I'm thinking this one did it:

Tosca loves the bathtub water from the faucet.  I mean L-O-V-E.  She drinks it like we don't give her clean, filtered water in a petmate water fountain.  So to get her fix, why not break off the handle so it can't turn off?  She is quite a diabolical kitty.  Here she is, staring at the faucet and willing it to drip, because Jason has fixed the handle.  It isn't a handle that matches, but this is a quick fix until we get something grand and beautiful in there.  In other words, we don't really care what it looks like right now as long as it works!  

 Right after I took this picture, Jason asked, "must we always have a picture?"  The answer is heck yes!  Here he is demonstrating our other weekend project:  cleaning the carpet!  When we moved in, the carpet in the basement was really stained. So stained, that we thought it was ruined and we just thought we'd live with it for now and replace it someday.  But my very smart parents suggested that we clean it.  Here is a picture I found of a before:

And here is the after!  

Okay so that doesn't really show how dirty it was, but believe me it was.  Plus, my student Patrick asked today if it was just him or was my carpet more blue?  Way to be observant, Patrick!  We also cleaned the couches upstairs.  Woohoo to a productive weekend! 

Decorating Neurosis

So this may be surprising to those of you familiar with my weekly schedule, but I think I may have too much time on my hands.  Last weekend I created these:

I must admit that I got this idea from the Hyvee Seasons catalog that I get for free in the mail, and I was so giddy with excitement when I saw them there was no stopping me!  I spray painted a bunch of funky looking gourds and probably spent an hour bedazzling them by hand with rhinestones and a glue gun. When I picked them out of the bin at the store, this socially awkward looking man came over to rifle through the bin also, but really he was just trying to talk to me.  He kept asking me dumb questions about what you do with them.  You look at them, of course!  Then I kept running into him inside the store, and he would comment on the fact that I was buying SO MANY useless pumpkins.  He was clearly not good at picking up people.  

I also made this table runner.  I know it is kind of wide for a table runner, but I didn't know what else to do with the fabric I bought.  It is a bit worrying to me how much joy I get from doing these crafty projects!  Jason does not seem worried, however, so that is a relief.  

I also purchased this wheat wreath in honor of fall.  I could go crazy buying home accents but I try to reel it in. 

I've complained about the ugliness of the wicker on the porch the entire time we've lived here, and finally while my parents were visiting, we decided to tear it off.  Here is the before picture.  

And here is the after.  No one has noticed enough to comment, but it makes me breathe a sigh of relief that it is gone.  True, you can see the peeling paint of the cement underneath now, but a wicker free porch is worth it.  Plus, it wasn't even real wicker, it was wicker like plastic, which seems even worse somehow.  Anne gave me that pumpkin for the porch and I love it, what a great gift!  Anne is probably the best gift giver ever.  You rock, Anne! 

Random Summer trip photos

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I'd put up a few more pictures from our summer vacation.  

I adore the drive on highway 38 from Portland to Coos Bay!  It is so picturesque with river and forest views, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures to pass the time. 

I love the way the water was glittering that day.  

The drive to Coos Bay has a lot of neat bridges!  

Jon and Roberta took us on a road trip in their massive RV!  That is their Honda Element that is dwarfed in the background.  

I always forget how gorgeous Oregon is in between visits.  It really makes Nebraska pale in comparison!  Nebraska isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but honestly, there is no contest here.  You might think that you would get used to it living there, but both my parents and Jon and Roberta take full advantage of the beauty by taking frequent sojourns in their surroundings. 

I have forgotten the name of this lake.  We stopped here randomly on our RV trek, and we took a couple hours to walk around this lake and stretch our legs.  I love the craggy branches of this submerged tree.  

This is that same lake from a different angle.  The mountain in the background appears to be peeking sheepishly at me! 

Jason's Dad is always on the lookout for places suitable for swimming.  Here they are sharing a bonding moment.  (I used my telephoto for this one, Dad!)

Remy, Roberta and I preferred to watch from the beach.  

Something I always look forward to when visiting Jason's family in Coos Bay is barbecued oysters.  Marvel at their enormous size!  We like to dip them in garlic butter. 

This picture was taken back at my parent's beach at the end of our trip.  It is amazing how much the Oregon coast seems to change from day to day!  I just can't soak up enough of it when we visit. 

There is a Baby Siberian Tiger in this post! Get excited!

We finished our guest room just in the nick of time before my parents arrived!

 I can't believe what a transformation the paint made in this room!  

Look at the lovely and relaxing view from the bed you would have if you stayed with us!  It took three coats of white paint to cover up the dark brown and yellow on these doors, but it was worth it!

Jason is really proud of his patching job.  You can't even tell there was a hole here!  

Right away while Jason was at work, Eric and my dad rescued a dove from our fireplace chimney that had been stuck there for a few days.  Jason and I read online that if you put a flashlight at the bottom, the bird would fly toward it.  This did not work after several minutes of standing there with a sheet and a box, and even though Tosca (our cat) said she could get it herself, we had no other plan. 

My dad grabbed it with his bare hands and Eric threw a towel over it!  Manly stuff, I tell you!  You can see in this picture that the dove is filthy with soot, and it lost a lot of feathers in this process, but it flew away (probably into the neighbor's chimney)!  

We also did some touristy things, like riding the skytram at the zoo

visiting the baby Siberian Tiger, (it's okay, you can say it:  aww!)

and walking across the new pedestrian bridge across the Missouri River.  This was Mom's first trip to Iowa, woohoo!

We knew we'd had enough fun when things got a little crazy at the Durham Western Heritage Museum.  All in all it was a great time and went way too fast! 

The Final Countdown

Painting offers such a fantastic before and after for the amount of work it takes!  This was Sunday when it was apparently the 70's:

And just a day later on Monday, we have entered the 21st century!  This is just primer, but I had to post this so my parents know that they'll have a completed room to sleep in when they arrive on Thursday!  That dang brown trim is going to take a THIRD coat of paint of course, but I'm so pleased by how it looks so far.  Jason is pleased that is drywall patching job turned out so well! 

We also painted this hallway the same color.  It was just boring white and pretty tired and dirty at that.  I know you all are super jealous of our super sweet knotty pine basement.  Can you imagine we were originally going to paint this as well??!!  What were we thinking?  I don't care that the 50's are raging in our basement, because this wood paneling is the bee's knees. 

I really must stop blogging because we're celebrating Jason's birthday tonight!  At least Tosca is keeping him company, but I really should be also.  I let him open his presents a day early because he has work tomorrow night, and there is nothing more cruel than giving a guy 4 games from his Amazon wish list when he won't have time to play them until a week later!  Happy birthday baby! 

No more unsightly holes

Renovation progress is being made at the Strom pad again, fueled by the eminent arrival of my parents in a couple weeks. 

Our guest room has had massive holes in the drywall for months.  One hole was made in order to replace the bathroom plumbing, and the other was made to replace electrical wiring. We don't go in this room very often, so it was kind of low on the priority list.  Out of sight, out of mind! 

I don't think my parents would mind if this room wasn't finished when they arrive, but their visit offers good motivation.  Plus, I don't think electrical wiring hanging around your head is conducive to a restful sleep! 

Today, Jason installed the drywall panels over the holes and started the mudding process.  He had a little electrical dilemma because there were some loose wires in this wall that were not up to code.  He would have had to fish out the wire from the wall, which was attached to something somewhere, and that sounded like a big headache.  Instead, we decided to just make the loose wires into an outlet!  Sure, it is a random outlet in the middle of the wall, but who cares, it's the basement right?  And can you really have too many outlets?  I think it adds character to the room.  Or something. 

My Parents are Living the Dream!

This summer, Jason and I were able to stay at my parents' new beach house for the first time!  The beach is the perfect place for my parents for several reasons. 

Walking has been a daily ritual in both their lives for a while now, but it took the purchase of the beach house to get them to do it together!  The beaches by their house are the ultimate in serenity and beauty, and I can't imagine a better way to start your day than with this meditative routine.  It certainly beats Mom's treadmill!

Dad enjoys taking pictures, and there is never a dearth of subject matter here! It is constantly changing with the weather and the tides.  Low tide offered us a closeup of these colorful starfish hamming it up for Jason's camera. 

Jason finds an intriguing vantage point to view the scenery.  

Mom and Dad's beach house is brand new, one in a set of quadruplets on a hill.  It is perfect for entertaining because each bedroom has its own bathroom.  I'm pretty pleased that I can use visiting my parents as an excuse to stay here again!  They've had a whole bevy of guests stay this year including my grandparents who are there right now.  Take note:  if you miss your family and friends, get a beach house!  I'm going to start saving now because buying a house in Omaha is apparently NOT the ticket to getting visitors. 

Even though it is fully functioning, I guess the fireplace is really just for decoration because it is basically 60 degrees there year round. 

With a populations of 336, small town life perfectly suits my parents laid back nature.  (I also learned from www.city-data.com that there are no registered sex offenders!  Bonus!)   

The open concept living space is beautiful and homey at the same time.  

My favorite part is this little sanctuary in their master bedroom on the top floor.  It has another decorative fireplace, a kitty to warm your lap (look closely) and a fantastic view!

If that isn't fantastic I don't know what is!  I'm so proud of my parents for achieving their dreams.  I plan to enjoy it with them as often as possible, which is never often enough!