Louie and I enjoy watching two Saturday morning shows on PBS: Woodsmith Shop and American Woodshop. We drink coffee, watch, and talk about projects. (One of the things I'm anticipating in Louie's retirement is him being able to make some of the things he's talked about making!)
One episode of American Woodshop had them making a barn workshop. I *love* that episode! The directions are theoretically online on their Facebook page, but I haven't taken the time to locate them.
I've been having fun working on plans for a garage at the lake. It's easily two years out (financially), so I'm just enjoying myself by thinking of possibilities. I'm not very good at construction "stuff," so I've been asking for input from others (Mike LaMoore, Nick, . . . )
Nick recommended a Netflix show called Grand Designs. For some reason, Netflix only has seasons 10 and 15 . . . We watched episode one together and I watched episode 2. Interesting stuff! We definitely aren't working with the kind of budgets those people are!
Last time we were at the lake, Louie was cutting some boards. The smell made me think of my dad's woodworking days and it made me happy / sad. Nostalgic, for sure.
I love seeing what Louie (and other woodworkers) create!
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2020
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Random Notes from Months Ago
The ceiling in our basement bathroom had some unpleasant color on it. Mold? Dirt? Not sure, I tried cleaning it gently. Then more vigorously. I tried spraying bleach water on it. I asked Louie if we could remove the entire popcorn ceiling (since I don't like that look anyhow). Sure, as long as I was willing to do the work.
After watching YouTube videos and reading articles about it, I thought I was ready. Tools in hand, I sprayed a mixture of soapy water, waited ten minutes, and started scraping. Hmmm. I sprayed again, waited a half hour, and scraped. I went back to the internet and read some more. I tried again.
When Louie got home from work and we talked about it, I learned that he had applied that ceiling himself. He had purchased a product that was ceiling paint with texture . . . and one of the stipulations in the directions I was reading was that the ceiling had NOT been painted! I knew that we hadn't painted the ceiling since we finished the bathroom, but was ignorant about the fact that it had initially been applied with paint!
I knocked down the biggest bumps and Louie used a sander (huge mess!). Then he decided to just use sheetrock mud to even out the ceiling. That took many, many applications. As long as he was priming and painting the ceiling, he touched up the walls and painted them too. This took some time, what with the other busy stuff of life and waiting for coats of stuff to dry.
The other note - about Titus eating poop. Again, I read articles online. He seemed to mostly be trying to clean up messes(?) I worked with him on "Leave it!" and "Drop it!" It hasn't been as much of an issue this summer, so I hope it was just a phase that we're past!
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
One Thing #7 (Focus on the Positive)
Wow! Today is 8/10/16 . . . I'm falling behind on this and school hasn't even started yet!
For August 1-6, my One Thing was "Make a dinner date with Brad and Amy." We've talked about doing this for a few *years* and Brad gave me a hard time last time I saw him (March?). I said I was going to call Amy and make it happen! It has been on my to-do list for a looooong time and was my goal for last week.
Finally, I went to call her. Hmmm. I didn't have her as a contact on my phone. I looked in our paper-based phone book and tried the most likely (non-Brad) number. Generic voice mail. Hmmm. I sent her a FB message but didn't get a response. I tried looking her number up online. Finally, I texted Brad to ask for her number, fully expecting to get an excessive hard time from him. Nope. Just her number. After many texts back and forth, we have a dinner date on the calendar! Woohoo! I'm really looking forward to the two couples just hanging out. We used to get together every few months, back in the day.
For August 8-13, I had a LOT of things bouncing around in my brain (and my paper to-do lists are extensive and growing, as always). I decided on "Work on the basement bathroom repair list." The bathroom is one of my favorite places and I want it to look nice. Since I already have an orderly list, I'm going to work on it!
I tried to get Louie to "play" with me, but he doesn't want to commit to One Thing. It was so much more fun when we did it "together." I promised to not blog his item any more, but either he doesn't trust me not to, or he feels pressured, or . . . I just need to have a positive focus for myself. Especially with school stuff ramping up, this "game" helps me to focus on what IS getting done rather than stressing about all the other stuff in life. Feeling the joy!
For August 1-6, my One Thing was "Make a dinner date with Brad and Amy." We've talked about doing this for a few *years* and Brad gave me a hard time last time I saw him (March?). I said I was going to call Amy and make it happen! It has been on my to-do list for a looooong time and was my goal for last week.
Finally, I went to call her. Hmmm. I didn't have her as a contact on my phone. I looked in our paper-based phone book and tried the most likely (non-Brad) number. Generic voice mail. Hmmm. I sent her a FB message but didn't get a response. I tried looking her number up online. Finally, I texted Brad to ask for her number, fully expecting to get an excessive hard time from him. Nope. Just her number. After many texts back and forth, we have a dinner date on the calendar! Woohoo! I'm really looking forward to the two couples just hanging out. We used to get together every few months, back in the day.
For August 8-13, I had a LOT of things bouncing around in my brain (and my paper to-do lists are extensive and growing, as always). I decided on "Work on the basement bathroom repair list." The bathroom is one of my favorite places and I want it to look nice. Since I already have an orderly list, I'm going to work on it!
I tried to get Louie to "play" with me, but he doesn't want to commit to One Thing. It was so much more fun when we did it "together." I promised to not blog his item any more, but either he doesn't trust me not to, or he feels pressured, or . . . I just need to have a positive focus for myself. Especially with school stuff ramping up, this "game" helps me to focus on what IS getting done rather than stressing about all the other stuff in life. Feeling the joy!
Monday, June 27, 2016
One Thing #4
Tuesday, June 14
Okay, time to "get back on the saddle" with this . . .
Our May 30 - June 4 goals were:
Jeanne - get laundry done
Louie - adjust bottom rack in oven (while it's cool)
These were pretty minor goals BUT I had meant to do laundry the previous week (and at the end of the school year, life is on fast-forward) so it felt really good to achieve that goal! I had clothes to pack for St. Cloud and I left Louie and Lou with sufficient clothing. (Of course, here I am on 6/14, doing laundry . . . but that's how it goes!)
Louie did his goal last night when I did a little nagging about it. Dude! I had only written it down for him because he kept mentioning it! Every time he preheated the oven, then opened the door to put something in, he commented that he needed to "fix" the thing in the bottom of the oven that had gotten out of place . . . but it was too hot to touch. So anyhow, those both got done.
Last week, I didn't write down new goals for us. As it turned out, my big one was staying cheerful as the Minnesota Quilters Volunteers Co-Chair with Louise. Success. Louie ended up doing some work in the garage and happily discovered the problem with the wiring in the four-wheeler (which has been a project goal for a looooooooong time). Success!
Now that we're practically to the half-way point in the week and I already have a page of goals, I think it will help my attitude to pick one attainable goal that will be completed before we go to the lake.
Jeanne - will wrap up her MQ Co-Chair responsibilities
Louie -
6/27/16
Excellent! I felt so fantastic getting all the MQ stuff done and dropping things off at the Bloomington house for Louise on 6/17. It was truly liberating (and time-consuming). Louie never set a specific goal for the week, but we did a LOT of stuff on his goal list up at the lake last week. His biggest one was to treat the siding on the cabin. Then when he realized he had forgotten to bring the sprayer AND the metal poles for the scaffolding, he set a goal of taking down the huge dead birch trees in the "front" yard. Well, he really, really, really wanted the siding treated, so we did it! With ladders and paintbrushes. I helped with the low parts. It felt so good to get it done - in two days - and move on with things. On Saturday, we (he) cut down the dead trees and I helped clear away the logs and branches. It was quite an ordeal and felt incredibly good to go swimming when we were done.
For June 27 - July 2, we set new goals.
Louie - mow lawn and find water filtration system for Morgan (for BWCA).
Jeanne - work on estate to-do list (from lawyer)
I really struggled yesterday and today with this. It feels so very good to finally really "be" on summer vacation but I'm almost overwhelmed by possibilities and all I'd like to get done! I spent some time during my devotions this morning just seeking God's will. I don't want to fall back into my lists and projects and checking things off . . . there won't be enough time in my life to "do" all the things I think I should or could do.
I went back to the purpose of my starting this "one thing" deal . . . and I recognize that I am someone who can easily get lost in the "stuff" of life. I tend to focus on my failures and short-comings. The reason I pick "one thing" to get done in a week is so that I can enjoy the sense of accomplishment and be grateful that I was able to achieve something concrete. It sounds almost silly to type that, but it's honest. I will do many more things this week (I've already got my first load of laundry in for the week) but it helps me to see the little sign in the entryway with the "one thing" that I hope to accomplish over the course of the week. I'm not sure how long I'll be doing this experiment, but it's also fun to share it with Louie. We both talk about lots of ideas and projects, but it's nice to have a focus. (And I NEED to work on estate stuff - I've been ignoring it for too long.)
Okay, time to "get back on the saddle" with this . . .
Our May 30 - June 4 goals were:
Jeanne - get laundry done
Louie - adjust bottom rack in oven (while it's cool)
These were pretty minor goals BUT I had meant to do laundry the previous week (and at the end of the school year, life is on fast-forward) so it felt really good to achieve that goal! I had clothes to pack for St. Cloud and I left Louie and Lou with sufficient clothing. (Of course, here I am on 6/14, doing laundry . . . but that's how it goes!)
Louie did his goal last night when I did a little nagging about it. Dude! I had only written it down for him because he kept mentioning it! Every time he preheated the oven, then opened the door to put something in, he commented that he needed to "fix" the thing in the bottom of the oven that had gotten out of place . . . but it was too hot to touch. So anyhow, those both got done.
Last week, I didn't write down new goals for us. As it turned out, my big one was staying cheerful as the Minnesota Quilters Volunteers Co-Chair with Louise. Success. Louie ended up doing some work in the garage and happily discovered the problem with the wiring in the four-wheeler (which has been a project goal for a looooooooong time). Success!
Now that we're practically to the half-way point in the week and I already have a page of goals, I think it will help my attitude to pick one attainable goal that will be completed before we go to the lake.
Jeanne - will wrap up her MQ Co-Chair responsibilities
Louie -
6/27/16
Excellent! I felt so fantastic getting all the MQ stuff done and dropping things off at the Bloomington house for Louise on 6/17. It was truly liberating (and time-consuming). Louie never set a specific goal for the week, but we did a LOT of stuff on his goal list up at the lake last week. His biggest one was to treat the siding on the cabin. Then when he realized he had forgotten to bring the sprayer AND the metal poles for the scaffolding, he set a goal of taking down the huge dead birch trees in the "front" yard. Well, he really, really, really wanted the siding treated, so we did it! With ladders and paintbrushes. I helped with the low parts. It felt so good to get it done - in two days - and move on with things. On Saturday, we (he) cut down the dead trees and I helped clear away the logs and branches. It was quite an ordeal and felt incredibly good to go swimming when we were done.
For June 27 - July 2, we set new goals.
Louie - mow lawn and find water filtration system for Morgan (for BWCA).
Jeanne - work on estate to-do list (from lawyer)
I really struggled yesterday and today with this. It feels so very good to finally really "be" on summer vacation
I went back to the purpose of my starting this "one thing" deal . . . and I recognize that I am someone who can easily get lost in the "stuff" of life. I tend to focus on my failures and short-comings. The reason I pick "one thing" to get done in a week is so that I can enjoy the sense of accomplishment and be grateful that I was able to achieve something concrete. It sounds almost silly to type that, but it's honest. I will do many more things this week (I've already got my first load of laundry in for the week) but it helps me to see the little sign in the entryway with the "one thing" that I hope to accomplish over the course of the week. I'm not sure how long I'll be doing this experiment, but it's also fun to share it with Louie. We both talk about lots of ideas and projects, but it's nice to have a focus. (And I NEED to work on estate stuff - I've been ignoring it for too long.)
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