Day 70: Life and projects in-progress

Life since our last blog: We moved in! Then we. . .

• . . .visited with Aunt Boo (Eddie's Great-Aunt) and Chick & Chuck (Eddie's Ma and Pa)
• sailed on a big Lake
• ate a lot of ice cream
• read bad best sellers until 4 in the morning
• watched blockbuster hits until 2 in the morning. . .

Aunt Boo!



Sailing on a pirate ship with the Parkers.



See, lots of ice cream.

• . . .ran and volunteered at Hood to Coast, Oregon's 197 mile relay race
• went to Checkya's lovely wedding, celebrating our 1yr anniversary at the same site we got married
• started last term of masters classes and internship (Erin)
• witnessed, but not casualty of, downsizing at work (Eddie)
• celebrated the birth of Eli Henry (Gina and Jeremy's lil one)
• cooed and snuggled Lucy Mabel (Amber and Shaggy's lil one)
• ran the Rock n' Relay with 22 week pregnant couple, Emily (pregnant one) and Charlie, + friend Jon (Erin)
• celebrated the 3rd bday of the MOST adorable nephew ever, Arthur
  
• gifted one shiny red wagon to the MOST adorable nephew ever

The BIG 3!

• met new neighbor and discovered he might have rent-by-the-week plans for the house next door--gulp (Eddie)
• assisted Wrench in her recovery from a broken tib and fib due to a bad pile up in roller derby
  
• assisted EZ in her move to a super-duper-green new pad
• visited Mullet in the hospital (surgerIES for ruptured tendon)
• performed "invasive species" removal with Em and the Nature Conservancy (Erin)
• threw frustrated fists in the air over Pat's (Erin's mama) mold & HOA battle
• formally proposed a thesis in front of three esteemed professors (Erin)
• saw Bob Dylan and his band and felt concert fatigue, leading us to wonder if we were "getting old"
• went to a GNR benefit and got a skate massage (on back, with skate)
• put on sweatshirts, thicker socks and flannel sheets because it is getting chilly here in Portland, OR.

Erin and Hood to Coast captain, Emily (then 17 weeks pregnant, BTW, she kicked a ton of you-know-what!).

House projects in-progress:
Eddie's been mighty busy with his second FT job: this ole house. Erin's been his trusty PT assistant laborer, brainstormer and accountant. Since our last post we've organized and hosted five work parties (moving in, rock collecting in yard, 12 ft shrub removal in side-yard, wallpaper removal in study, upstairs kitchen demolition) plus one more tomorrow (fence post [ing]). Eddie hauled away 5 loads of shrubs (go Eddie!) and we visited the dump with our kitchen demolition, that latter sparking a heated conversation about waste and environmental racism/classism. Eddie also drew up plans for, bought parts for, and installed gas lines so we could have gas appliances. D.I.Y. hero? I think so. Oh, and we had a little BBQ for Labor Day and built a makeshift fire-pit.

We've worked with some pretty skilled and generous helpers along the way: EZ, Charlie, Em, Ben & Stephanie, Jeff & Steve, Geoffrey, Justin, Emily S., Laura & Sam, and Mullet. Here are some images from the past 50 (give or take) days:

Hot August moving day with Emily, Stephanie, Ben, Ez (np), Jeff and Steve (np).

Eddie post-move.

EZ and Charlie going to town with crow-bars and animal print bandannas.

Eddie raising the roof. What. What.



Eddie's gas line blueprint.



Mullet scraping "the study." Four layers of WP, folks. Four layers.



Erin scraping with the super sweet razor tool.



Justin hauling brush.



Erin post-tree limb sawing. Feeling pretty sawzy.



If I had a nickel for every time Jeff was sittin' down on the job. . .I tell ya.



Eddie's sweaty glove.



Unwelcome squatters (wet wood termites). Don't worry, they're not the scary house-collapsing kind.

Whew!

Day 4: On the evening of day 4, last Monday, Eddie and I finished cleaning the basement. Well, finished for now. We left a handful of hallway cabinets to be cleaned, but really, under a technicality they're in the hallway leading to the basement, not actually in the basement, so the basement is D-O-N-E (being cleaned). The vintage GE refrigerator was delivered with the help of Eddie's workmate, Greg. It is a beauty!

Day 5: Lani came over, and after some delicious Pho, the three of us got to work. Lani and I began scrubbing the walls on the main floor, while Eddie got to work in the "Master" bedroom (pretty tiny to be a Master, but it does have the most awesome closet, so Master it shall be). We scrubbed, rinsed, and wiped the walls until nearly midnight, then I returned Lani home to Emily's house.



Day 6: Tidied up a bit, continued to prep the Master bedroom, brought home a gas stove and the bowling alley lane, both from Craigslist. Geoffrey helped us unload and truck-in both finds. We're going to use the bowling lane to make our main-floor kitchen countertops.

Day 7: Rich and Eddie showed the Master bedroom wall paper who was boss. Wall paper: 0, Eddie & Rich: 1. I pulled a strip or two, but primarily prepped the the bedroom closet for painting, and spackle the holes in the living/dining room walls. Per Lani's advice, we saved a strip of wall paper to make something out of it, in memory of Zara, the former homeowner. Zara lived in the house nearly her whole life. It was her parent's house before it was hers. She passed away this past March at age 94. R.I.P. Zara, we love your home and will take very good care of it.

Day 8: Let the painting commence! With Lani, some snacks, some ELO and some adult beverages, we prepped the heck out of our living room and Master bedroom. It took a good four or five hours to do, but was rather enjoyable. Thankfully Molly and Geoffrey lent us the mother of all inventions--an electric paint sprayer, so we were able to prime both rooms in about 45 minutes! On the evening of Day 8 we had our first impromptu get together. Laura, Sam & their pup, Cuba, joined the three of us, plus Geoffrey and Arthur, and then later, Emily and Matt (another friend in town from Phoenix) for a game of Apples to Apples, and some pizza. Turns out most were feeling pretty literal, so I didn't do so hot.

Day 9: After some much welcomed Acupuncture with Lani & Kim, I met Eddie, Rich and Itzo EZ at the house to paint trim. By the time I arrived, Eddie had already painted the living room and Master bedroom with the first coat of the real colors: Gold Metal (bedroom) and Mexican Spirit (living room)! Ez and I painted trim and picture rail, while Eddie and Rich sprayed the day away. We listened to our wedding playlist, to which every song I squealed "ooooh, I love this song!" Ez and Rich left in the early evening and Eddie and I continued painting trim and the closet until 1 or so in a.m., when we finally ripped up the bedroom carpet, high-fived and headed back to M&G's house.

Day 10: Eddie and I painted all day. Cherry Lipsmacker came by for a bit and helped with the trim; it was really nice to see her (and EZ the day before), as I haven't seen many derby folks since our last game in June. She filled me in on injuries and her critters, which include three chickens and a sick kitty. Eddie and I took a break for take-out from the Delta. It was delicious, as was the view of the night sky from our backyard. We took some time to enjoy the view, the smells, the feel of the air, and then got back to work until midnight, when we closed out the day by pulling up the carpet in the living room! Yeeeehaw!!

Day 11: Wood floors, how you warm my heart.

Another week's past at Parker Manor, a week filled with scrubbing, mopping, scrapping, removing, ripping, prying, hammering, spackle-ing, sanding, prepping and painting. We've finally pulled up the carpet to discover beautiful Oak wood floors.