Vocabulary

I made it to two wonderful Thanksgiving dinners yesterday. 2 turkeys and 16 pies in total. There were more plates of pies than main dishes. That's a lot of pie. Thankfully, Davy's nearly famous key lime pie made appearances at both events. Both very well received. As restitution, I was running around like a madman in the yard all day. Digging dirt, spreading mulch, turning compost. And generally staying out of the way of the workers.


The remnants of my cardboard addiction. I'm weaning myself from taking all the cardboard marked "Basura" at work. (Basura = Mexican Garbage) This was only one week's haul. It is an addiction I'm determined to conquer. But cardboard makes such good weed barrier.


Meiwa Kumquat Tree. It's a mini-me version of oranges. The rinds are thin and edible. If you try to zest these, you'd get more fingernail and fingertips than zest. They're very cute. I'm hoping it survives in it's new home.


Lasagne bed in use. Pole beans, cauliflower, red swiss chard, sugar snap peas, and bok choy. I'm hoping these survive too, but the earwigs are a bit aggressive this year and eat all the tender new growth. I'm timing these vegatables to be ready when the new kitchen is done. I'm being optimistic.


I wrote a Haiku for this picture.

Man-made Spanish Moss.
Wires dangling from ceiling-
Wet hair quite unwise.


They spent all morning attaching 1/2'' pieces of plywood to the bottom of the joists, so there won't be a bump in the ceiling under the steel beams. All this in the pursuit of smooth ceilings. The building term for this wood version of hair extensions is called "firring." Not to be confused with "furries." Which is something else entirely.


Boxes of ceiling lights. The building trade nickname for these are "high hats." Because they look like Abraham Lincoln hats when they're not inside the ceilings. I can't wait until these lights are installed. So I can use the cardboard in the garden.


Tub of Meow Mix. I'd hate to see the cat that eats galvanized metal. The building industry term for this practice is called "being cheap."

The sky is falling

Well, just as I thought. That hole in the ceiling WAS growing.


I walked into the house last night. Phoow. Where'd the ceiling go? There are only so many suprises one can take in a day.


Building out the wall to hide the new drains for the upstairs bathroom. I'm losing approximately 8 inches of kitchen because of this drain pipe. I'm not happy about that. Kitchen should be growing, not shrinking.


Forms for the staircase landings. Don't get too attached to these. I'm making them rip it out to extend the pad another 14 inches. All so the edge of it will line up with the edge of the patio. We're going to hide the air conditioning condensor underneath the staircase. Such ugliness requires creative positioning. This staircase confuses Preston, because he's still looking for the old one behind the new one. Silly dog.


And this is where the ceiling went. The black mesh things aren't plastic, but steel lath. I feel sorry for the workers. Like I said before, this place is built like a bunker.


Another Pile-O-Ceiling. This is a sad thing because ceilings are supposed to be overhead, not at ground level.

Stepping out

I have a choice of 4 Thanksgiving dinners to go to. I'm very tempted to go to every one and eat all the turkeys. But I'll probably only make it to two. Let's see how much food I can stuff into me tomorrow.


Base of stairs getting formwork. More concrete to come soon.


Is it just me, or is this hole getting bigger?


New window going in. For bathing alfresco.


Box O Drains and Vents. Because of the budget situation, some people may be getting boxes O Drains and Vents for the holidays.

Frosty

I found myself drinking wine out of the mug that my high school guidance counselor Mr Ziegler gave me. Highly amusing. And oddly appropriate.

It's been damn cold. The windstorm and rains ripped apart the plastic that was supposed to keep out the elements. Oh well. I spent the morning raking and sweeping the front yard. Woke up early and drove to the house to do it too. Damn neighborhood pride. It was a mess in the entire neighborhood. But by the time I checked into the house again after work, most houses in the neighborhood had been cleaned up. That was fast! Great to know most people care. But a little laziness on their part would allow me to be slightly lax about the whole meticulous front yard thing. Especially since I'm the only one within a half mile radius that doesn't pay a gardener. I skipped the backyard. It's all about appearances.


And I still have this to clean up in the near future. Aie ya!


Where did the shower go? All empty.


Where did the floor go?


Hello Andrew Graper from 12-28-1989. Googled the name and this is what I found out:

Madre Hills Drywall - Andrew Graper, Owner
Established 1984, no job too big or small, free estimates, references

Every Christmas Eve, he goes up to the mountains, brings back a truckload of snow, and builds a snowman somewhere in Sierra Madre. Here's a picture of him in 2002. He's the guy in the green jacket.


The bathtub caught the sink and toilet showering together, and is now confronting them in a jealous rage. Loud nearly incoherent screams about the unholy relationship ensue. The washer and dryer look on silently, unable to tear their eyes away, scarred for life and wishing to block out the entire scene from their minds.


Metal studs in the wall. Still shiny after all these years. Thanks to Mr Graper of Madre Hills Drywall in 1989.


What's left of the shower. The tub is holding this as evidence against the sink in it's divorce proceedings- seeking full custody of the washer and dryer.

Strapping young studs

I'm being adventurous today. I'm raiding Mom and Dad's food stores. I'm trying all their food in the freezer and pantry. Which could be dangerous. Everything is labeled in Chinese. I don't even know what I'm eating, let alone follow the instructions on the packages. So if I turn up dead, the package with the cute mouse logo is actually rat poison and not a breakfast drink.


This is what I stare at when I'm bored in my office. That is, when Charmed isn't on television. Then I stare at Alyssa Milano's peaks and valleys.


Beam taken down again. They fixed the tigger bouncy floor upstairs. I hope. They better have. There have been NO cracks in the walls of this house since it was built in 1917. They better be building to the same standards.


Yet more house is opened up and worked on. When is the destruction going to stop? They're tying the new outside staircase to the newly beefed up structure supporting the inside staircase with metal straps. Kinky.


And even more metal reinforcement for the header going over the barn doors. I wonder if all this metal will affect mobile phone reception?


The moat is filled in. Didn't we just do this not too long ago?


All filled in. For now. I wouldn't be surprised if they had to dig this out again.


Floating staircase. Needs more support. But don't we all?


Metal flashing against the wall. This will be covered up with stucco, but Davy will still be flashing the neighbors.

Fiber

I'm house sitting for Mom and Dad for the next few weeks while they're whooping it up in Asia. Which is good because now I have custody of Preston again. And I get to use their car to haul manure. And watch tv on a television larger than a soccer ball. And not trip over hammers and nails on the way to the bathroom.

Although Mom and Dad have heat and walls, I still miss living in what's left of my house. Missing walls, tigger bouncy floors, and all. But it's good timing to be away. I no longer have a wall behind the only working toilet in the house. And a reciprocating saw is the last thing I want to see when I pee.


Goes on bathroom wall upstairs. I have 6 boxes of these, I hope it's enough. They look like computer pixels, which is why I like them.


This is more information about my parents' dietary habits than I needed to know.


Preston loves to have his paws held. Even if he has to do it himself.


Breakfast. I like feeding Preston. Best part of my morning. I wonder if he's getting enough fiber?

I'm such a nerd

Beams are back in. The floor upstairs are jouncy, so I'm making them fix it. Though it took a lot of will power not to play with the hydraulic lift doohickeys. They seem so fun. They're calling out to me.


Happy wires. Yellow wires are a precaution in case the Green Lantern decides to attack my electrical system. Because his "power energy cannot affect that which is yellow." (I'm such a geek.)


Plywood on walls. Studs bolted to foundation. Building codes due to the Northridge earthquake. From the pattern of the knots on the plywood, I'm estimating that particular section of the tree is around 10-12 inches in diameter. (I'm such a nerd.)



Yellow wiring going in. Mike Myers on SNL from the early 90's had a singing child character, Simon, who liked to do "draw-rings" naked in the bathtub. But the song in my head now goes.

So I know my name is Simon....
And I like to do wire-ring....


Speaking of naked, it's awfully hard to cover your ass when there is no wall behind you.


New electrical sub-panel. I asked them to hide it under the outside staircase. It's completely stupid to have to go outside in the rain and hunt for a dark spider-webby circuit breaker when there's no electricity. But hey. It looks very ugly, and I don't want see it inside the house. (Which is anal retentive, but not nerdy.)

Deck the halls

It's my birthday.


Roof deck! When the stair case goes in, I'll be able to bring Preston home on the weekends.


View of Angeles National Forest from my balcony.


Railings going in to protect me from falling overboard. We built this around the big orange tree on the left. I'll be able to pick oranges right outside my bedroom next summer.


First floor opened up.


The kitchen will go here. Someday.....


Ugly ass smelly air conditioner that didn't work has been put out of it's misery. Davy's misery still continues.


See... so much easy access to Davy's bedroom. Yet, no takers.


This looks like those confections you buy in Asia. Unwrap the cellophane and eat the yummy things inside. Boy, I've been without real food for a long time.

Dead trees and dead people

I came home to a very strong wood smell when pulling into the driveway. Mahogany or camphor wood, coupled with machine oil. It triggered flashbacks to when I was a toddler and there was a coffin making shop near the bus stop. Same sawdust smell. Must be the sawdust from the plywood decking.

I am highly disappointed by frozen dinners from Whole Foods. Such high expectations because their fresh produce, meats, and cheeses are so delicious. But so far, everything in their freezer cases leave me cold. (Heh Heh, I made a pun.) The secret ingredient to tasty frozen foods must be preservatives and artificial flavors. No wonder I didn't buy any frozen stuff from them before kitchen shortage. Sux donkeys.

They laid down the first layer of the roof deck today. Plastic is now completely on the outside and no longer separating the old and new parts of the house. This is the first time where you could begin to imagine the boundaries of the new first floor. I forgot about dinner and just stood around the first floor. Soaking it all in. It takes a lot for Davy to forget about food. Pictures will come in the morning where there is more light.

Shredding more paper tonight. I've reached some high school papers now. Nothing like shredding your awkward teen years into mulch. Not that the 20's were any less awkward. So old. Some memories are better revisited with no surviving artifacts. If I dig deep enough, I may find a Mead Trapper Keeper.

My God! I was such a nerd. I found a Math 293 exam booklet. I scored a 97. Which is hilarious because I can't do simple addition and subtraction today. Sample papers I've shredded so far:

Thermocouples and Resistive Loads
Stress, Strain, and Equilibrium of Tention Structures
Phase Shifts of Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream
NaAl and Jet Turbine Crystals
Miller Indices, f.c.c. structures and locations of octahedral voids
"For a crystalline or glassy material, the Young's modulus E is related to the binding energy Φb and the interatomic spacing A0 as follows: E =nm/A03 Φb"

Was that really part of my life? And who is this Jennifer Petrucelli whose paper got mixed up in my college documents?

Panda habitat

Going a bit stir-crazy in the house yesterday. Got lightbulbs for 99c at IKEA. And then I realized I had only 3 dollars instead of the 4 dollars that I thought I had. And that meant instead of lunch, I had to settle for 2 little hot dogs for $1.50. Leaving 47 cents in my pocket.


Sleepwalking is detrimental.


Outside hallway. I predict this will become Preston's hangout.


Don't look down.


With all the destruction, I had to add some life into my world. New little gardenia shrub. It's so cute.


These rocks are heavy.


Panda habitat is closer to completion. Will need a panda soon.