Home Improvement

The 3 minute wait for water to heat up is just too painful. Much more so than previous years. Each morning my mother-in-law puts a coffee cup in the kitchen sink turns on the hot water and walks away to wait for the hot water to kick in and warm the cup. If the water were just hot right off the bat she wouldn’t have a chance to walk away and forget the hot water was running in the sink.

My only fear is picking the right company to trust in my home. We happen to live in a bit of a rural area that’s experiencing a building boom. Incentive to perform good work is out the door at times when they know other jobs are waiting and nobody is checking behind them.

This just isn’t the case with Los Angeles Water Heater Service since their techs are company employees and not sub-contractors. Plus the company has been in business for 20 years meaning there’s a level of trust in picking up the phone. You know it will get done correctly the first time. This just isn’t the case if you play Russian Roulette with subcontractors, word-of-mouth recommendations for friends of the family.

I wonder how Michaelangelo did it. Really… I know he had scaffolding. History books say he laid on his back and all that. Well, I’m here to tell you that painting the bedroom ceiling, with a roller, is harder than imagined. Perhaps I’m just tired from moving all the furniture out to the hallway. Perhaps vacuuming the ceiling and walls wore me out. But even though I’m 6′4″, looking up and rolling paint truly sucked. Call me worn out. Call me a cup of coffee — Val’s just gone downstairs to scratch my caffein itch. Painting a room is not one of my favorite things to do. My favorite thing about painting a room is the way it looks afterwards.

Duh.

Old two-story house with a white picket fence and tiffany lamps? Never in my life did I dream I’d want a white picket fence or discuss purchasing Tiffany lamps, task lighting or new ceiling fans. Before marriage, before buying a house — I used whatever was handy. Never thought about decor… not much anyway. Now I’m involved in all kinds of decisions (and hardware installations) and know what? It’s fun.

I am living the American dream, eh? Now I get it. Climbing yellow rose bush? Check. Amazing lamps in the window, welcoming family, shining out through the evening? Check. Old maple tree in front yard? Check. Front porch with rocking chair? Check.

If JJ could see me now. Picket fence? Can I say that enough times? Sorry, repetition isn’t pretty but it certainly makes a point. Our fence is utilitarian. Dogs in, strolling passers-by out — then I picked up a can of white exterior paint as primer for windows and doors because we’re getting ready to paint the exterior this year.

Age is catching up with me - quickly. Seriously, I’m the one bring up the discussion of lamp choices for the dining room and bringing back our 7:00pm family dinner. Less TV and more reading. For goodness sakes I have a study with a reading chair. Two married daughters - one with kids. In the last 10 years my life went from driving a speed boat daily to becoming a full blown adult living in historic downtown Washington in a two story home with a white picket fence.

Never in my life did I dream I’d want a white picket fence. Seriously. Me? Old two-story house with a white picket fence? Can I say that enough times? Sorry, repetition isn’t pretty but it certainly makes a point. Our fence is utilitarian. Dogs in, strolling passers-by out — then I picked up a can of white exterior paint (Ace is the place) as primer for windows and doors because we’re getting ready to paint the exterior this year (also parts of the interior if Val keeps planning our “new bedroom” and gets her way — which she will.)

Well… I came in the house a while ago to check email and thought I’d brag on my work.

After scraping and priming the living room windows, I just kept going and now we have a white picket fence in the front yard. No photo this time because the Sony needs AAs.

Now I get it. Climbing yellow rose bush? Check. White picket fence? Check. Old maple tree in front yard? Check. Front porch with rocking chair? Check.

I am living the American dream, eh?

Okay, I am not allowed to reveal the new gazebo yet. We’re still working on it — I need to finish the painting, hang the bird feeders, and mow the yard but I will post photos of it soon. We bought safflower seeds for the feeders this year. It’s expensive but supposedly we will get a “higher” quality of migratory bird (read: not a crapload of sparrows) this winter. The gazebo will have a handrail through the yard that leads to it so Ruth can get there with some steady footing. Meanwhile, Linus and Thompson enjoy peeing on sides of it. Then again, they enjoy peeing on just about anything in the yard. When we were determining what kind of dog to get, Val said she wanted short dogs. Told me she’d had labs for decades and their “pee-arch” can reach 10 feet or better! That is one of the top reasons why we have Jack Russell terriers. Kinda sad, isn’t it?

Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes acceptable choices when shopping for outdoor furniture. We want quality, style and comfort. Our plants and ornaments may be eclectic but we want to sit and dine on something nice.

There’s an interesting website featuring outdoor furniture and patio furniture. You’ll have to be prepared to spend some time online with the CedarStore.com website. It’s jam-packed with gazebos, redwood furniture, patio sets… benches… sometimes the sheer amount of merchandise offered can be over-whelming to the casual web-shopper. The best way to view the site is to get an over-all feel for the products offered — the categories of items shown — then settle down to the specific item(s) you seek. Take time — why? Because the prices are reasonable, shipping is usually free, and the online payment system seems secure.

Pergolas, cabanas, gazebos and pavilions. Great selection of all things yard. If I buy a piece from them, I don’t have to build it from scratch myself. Trust me… Val likes to have me “see” her vision and construct it. I’d rather have her “see” her vision in a catalog and have me buy it. We are seriously considering redwood deck chairs for the back porch. One for Ruth and maybe a couple more for us. Stability is very important, no folding chairs for a 90 year old to sit on, eh?