1/8 Cherokee and a lot of freckles.
More bathroom work, more insulation, more wiring, more green board, more spackling.
More done.
All of the green board is up and first coat of spackling doneee! It all feels so much better, so much closer, so much more like a real ROOM!
I also recently purchased this chalkboard from an Etsy store. It is made from old barn wood and sits perfectly on our kitchen wall in a bare spot that we simply were not sure what to fill it with.
With the snow melting, we’re back to renovating the bathroom! By Friday night, Christopher and my dad had completed the wiring (two new outlets, the new light fixture, the new ceiling fan, and fixed the light switch box), put up insulation, removed and capped the radiator, and put cement down along the edges to level the floor. We had hoped to salvage the old tile, but it had many cracks and was severely damaged by the radiator. Instead, we selected a nice laminate floating floor that will hold up well against moisture and look similar to the rest of the flooring. Not only is laminate incredibly inexpensive (less than $80 for the whole bathroom), but wood and bamboo floors are not suggested because of water issues.
Saturday brought a new day with new goals and another trip back to Lowe’s. Chris and my dad picked up the greenboard and concrete board. I’m not sure how they managed to carry all those boards–so heavy! Instead of putting in a window, we opted for glass blocks since, well, it is in the shower. Creating the frame was quite a pain because, as you can see, the original frame wasn’t even level. I was so thrilled to see the window finally uncovered. It let so much light in! I can’t express how dark and grimy our bathroom used to feel. Then they managed to get some greenboard up.
I picked up these knobs from Anthropologie to dress up the new vanity. They have a ton of great hardware. Kind of pricey, but very nice. These were $6 each.
We thought about shifting plans around and getting a clawfoot tub instead of tiling for about ten minutes. I wish we could, but it would just be too expensive. I know it will look great anyway. So, next weekend we will get back to work again, take a week off, and then hopefully be in our last weekend of work. And be done! I am planning a red ribbon cutting ceremony and everything. I think that my dad should be honored with the first shower because he has been such a big help through all of these projects.
As the upstairs bathroom project is coming kind of near a close, I keep thinking up new projects. Too many. Ahh! Home renovations are fun, but I could go broke with all of my ideas.
Another six inches of snow.
So, I like the snow and all, but it gets kind of ridiculously boring not being able to go anywhere. I thought I’d brave it last time and ended up getting my car stuck, causing me to never want to drive in the snow again. This snow, we got “just under a foot,” according to the news, and they didn’t plow our street until around 4:00 pm. No luck in getting out at all.
Fortunately, our house is within walking distance of a lot of great places to eat. Chris and I decided we needed out and headed down to The Caviler.
Afterward, we grabbed the sleds and headed over to Vista Ave, a very, very steep road in our neighborhood with trees on either side. This road is so rough that it has been closed down twice for the snow, making it awesome awesome awesome for sledding. So we thought. We took turns using the old traditional sled that belonged to Chris’s dad and also a green, plastic, modern sled that resembles a trashcan lid. Both worked great, but the newer sled did now allow for as much control and usually left the rider spinning.
After a few trips down the road, a snow plow truck came through. And as you can see in the last picture, this road is so bad and crazy that the snow plow actually got stuck! We never did see that situation come to a resolution and I sure hope that he isn’t still sitting there in his car. Poor guy. That road is nuts!
So, we decided to pack it up and head home when I had the bright idea of filming a sled ride from “my perspective.” I chose the green sled since it lends itself for a more crazy ride. Yeah. Bad idea. I spun out of control, cruised right over the road’s curb, flew straight down about six feet (at least!!!) into the woods. And ended up sitting on top and kind of inside of a little tree. You can see the video here.
It was so fun and crazy and I’m lucky that I didn’t slam into a larger tree. Goodness, this could have been so bad! I have bruises all over and am super sore, but I certainly cannot complain much.
And I plan to do it all over again tomorrow.
Lynchburg got about nine inches of snow, our second of the season.
Neko was not so sure about us going out into the white stuff.
Chris shoveling out a path in the back yard. He kind of looks like a marionette puppet to me.
me: Hey! Look! A fortune on the floor… This must be from the fortune cookie that Neko [our cat] got into…. “Money isn’t everything. You can buy a doctor, but you can’t buy health.” What a horrible fortune to give a cat with leukemia!
I haven’t really been thinking about the fact that the year has indeed clocked over to 2010. Now I keep wondering how I will say it. “Twenty-ten” or “two thousand and ten.” The former is much short, but I don’t like it. So I won’t say it.
Here are my goals for 2010–not resolutions, just goals:
-Finish the Ed.S. after this summer.
-By the new year, have 3/4 of my doctorate coursework completed.
-Come up with an awesome dissertation topic.
-Maintain a 4.0.
-Write fiction or CNF at least three times a week–whether or not I feel inspired.
-Submit three manuscripts for publication.
-Politic with MFA department heads.
-Teach three English courses per sub-term for LUO.
-Try to teach English as an adjunct residentially with a local college.
-Work on my family history project.
-Get my family involved in my family history project–see, you guys didn’t even know I started one! Months ago!
-Get that bathroom remodeled.
-Exercise consistently.
-Eat healthily consistently.
And now… 2009 in photographs.
K for Katie at the apartment!
So much thesising happened.
Ice storm at the end of January.
After the worst job fair ever. Our worries for the days after graduation grow.
Snow in March! The next morning, I was offered a job interview in Tampa.
A few hours after my Tampa interview. I guess they decided that they didn’t have a position after all? It was for the best.
Mt. Pleasant. One of my favorite places.
Graduation! M.A. in English.
We got the jobs in Liberty’s education office on the drive to vacation at Pompano Beach (but this was taken in Key West).
And then we vacationed in Nags Head.
Chris was hired to teach English for LUO. We began our doctorates. And we bought a house in Lynchburg’s historic neighborhood, Rivermont.
Backpacking with ponies (Grayson Highlands).
Apple Orchard Falls
We adopted Neko in October.
McAfee Knob
Hosting our first Thanksgiving
I was hired to teach English for LUO. Snow in Lynchburg!
Building a gingerbread house with my niece and nephew, Sydney and Matthew.
I guess I should be updating about the new year, but I won’t quite yet. I forgot to post Christmas photos.
I gave Sydney and Matthew a gingerbread house.
The sound of dripping water, melting snow, collapsing ice.
It did not soften soon enough for us–stuck in the sludge at the corner of Riverside and Rivermont.
Two views of the one River, streaming James out to Richmond, formerly the ferry of Thomas,
Namesake of our city.
Fortunately, Lynchburgers are kind.
Two strangers and our neighbor helped to push us out.
I’m not leaving the house again for at least two more days.
…that it snowed?
Like, a lot. Over fourteen inches. Man, the last time I saw so much snow in Virginia was when I was nine.
Fortunately in Lynchburg, we seem to get at least one good snowy storm a year. Last year was seven inches. But, really, I don’t know when we’ll be able get out. Until then, it is time for Star Wars (particularly Empire), Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones. Epic-movie time.