Month: August 2009

Kat, Chris, Marie, and I went for a bike ride this morning down to Vineyard Haven.  While Chris could have picked a shadier spot to have a tire blowout, there at least was a decent view to admire while he changed the inner tube.

We have arrived on the Vineyard.  Our friends are already making good use of the porch.

This is the inside of Lis’s garage door opener.  You’ll note the fine white nylon powder all over everything, and the almost-toothless main drive gear that the powder used to be. 

Fortunately, parts are still available for this model, so I’ll be able to repair it after the Vineyard.

I took apart and reglazed one of the bedroom windows today, so that the glazing compound can cure while we’re gone and I can paint it upon our return.  Imagine my surprise when I lifted the shade and saw what I at first thought was a hummingbird affixed to the outside of the screen.

This is some sort of sphinx moth, probably either a five-spotted hawkmoth or a Carolina sphinx.  These species spend their caterpillar lives as a tomato or tobacco hornworms, respectively, and as such are big crop pests.  But it was cool to see this very cooperative adult moth up close.

The office, it is back together.

Mostly.

Tools of the trade:

This saw is used by flooring installers to cut the bottom little bit off of trim, like around a door, so they don’t have to scribe & cut the flooring to fit.  It’s little tricks like this that make the pros efficient, while it takes weekend handy guys twice as long.

We have been getting Boston Organics deliveries since shortly after we moved in.  But we were growing concerned that, with the summer weather finally upon us, the goodies within would wither in the heat.  So we purchased a “deck bench” and I lined it with rigid foam insulation. On delivery days we can put in a freezer pack, which with luck will keep the veggies comfortable until we can get home.

Enough of the new floor in the master bedroom is down that we were able to put the bed back together, after having spent last night on the mattress on the floor.  This is a huge advantage of the prefinished flooring.

The new oak looks very nice, a vast improvement over the ratty old carpet.  I can feel my allergies improving already.

New vs old:

The old floor on the second story is in pretty amazingly bad shape in spots — some worn painted wood like you see here, some sort of linoleum-like stuff in 2 rooms, various patches.  The new floor will look something like what you see here (the oak part).

We are taking the opportunity to paint the office, since we’ve removed a good bit of the furniture in preparation for the floor work this week.

The new color is kinda peachy, and looks good against the newly-white trim.  You can see the old red on the baseboard (and in a few spots where the walls need a second coat).