Looks Like a Room Again

Ceiling ready for sheetrock.

 

New electrical along the old closet wall ready to go.  We even wired an outlet for Bear's room as we are going to take down his closet wall too and will need an outlet on that wall.   That's what we like to call forward thinking!

Sheetrock is all up ~ next task ~ mud and tape!

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Ready for New Sheetrock

Outlet all taped up and ready to go.

Bear joins the show and now we have a three ring circus!

He has been a huge help ~ he's strong ~ he's tall ~ and he's fun to work with!

All the seams are taped on the vapor barrier and the sheetrock is go'in up!

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Window Wall

Window wall with the vapor barrier removed.

The insulation did not cover around the electrical just 

behind it and caused frost buildup.

Josh ~ I mean Kenny change the electrical on this wall so instead of one outlet we have two.  One for each person by a night stand.  I ~ I mean Karie did not get to use the spray foam on this wall as I was at work while this wall was being done.

There take that wall!  That's much better!

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Karie Gets to Play with Spray Foam

No more ice behind the outlet.  Yes that is a bit much on the spray foam but Karie just could not help herself ~ spray foam is just so darn much fun!

Kenny & Karie hard at work!

 

The big wall is all buttoned down and the power and outlet box are set up and ready to be installed.  We are now ready to start on the window wall.

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Word of the Day ~ au fait

au fait ~ o FAY

MEANING:

adjective: Being well-informed or skillful in something.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French, literally "to the fact", from Latin facere (to make or do). 

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Culprit Found

The culprit for the mold that ran along the wall was due to the fact that part of the garage roof on the other side of the wall had insufficient vapor barrier.  The added heat and moisture from the garage and garage roof created heavy frost that later melted and molded.

Don't you just love old houses?! 

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No More Closet

We have also decided to go European and do away with the closets.  They take up space and do nothing but harbor junk and become a play ground for dust mites.  The room is only 9x9 with the closet and will be a 9x13 without.  We will also run power to this new room wall so that there is an outlet on each of the walls in the room. 

The room feels bigger already!

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Here We Go

Here we go ~ off with the first bits of sheet rock and we can see the very thin plastic used for vapor barrier and the moldy and poorly installed insulation.  

 

Around the outlet the vapor barrier was just hacked out allowing warm inside air to get into the walls and form ice and in the spring melt and mold, 40 years of this and insulation is shot.  The ice behind the outlet was an inch thick and covered most of the lower wall

  

 

Josh started the work of sheet rock removed, and then we formulated a shopping list for the home repair store and put Bear to work on removing the rest of the sheet rock.  By the time we returned one hour later ~ val-la ~ the job was done! Way to go Bear! You sheet rock!

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Bye~Bye Carpet

 

Our house was built in 1973 with 2x4 construction.  Down and dirty housing built at the start of the Alaska Pipeline project, housing for the oil pipeline management personnel. We have remodeled most of the house to include a new kitchen, both bathrooms and a new fireplace.  We have been in the attic and the crawlspace re-insulating and upgrading so we have a fair idea of what we are getting ourselves into. 

The plan for this room is to take the sheet rock off, re-insulate and vapor barrier the two outside walls as the room is very cold in the winter and as you know we have a lot of winter.  When we pulled the carpet we can see tell-tale signs of water damage and mold.  Not sure what we will find but it’s bound to be interesting.

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Word of the Day ~ Dog's Age

Dog's age ~ dogz ayj

MEANING:

noun: A long time.

ETYMOLOGY:

Referring to the typical age of a dog: 10-15 years.

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Let the Fun Begin

Time to start another project!  This time is is the bedrooms.  Drew's room is in need of a makeover, since he moved out this past fall his room has been empty.  We are going to turn it into a guest room.

Standing in the doorway looking to the Northeast corner of the room.

Standing by the window looking at the closet and the door to the hallway.

First things first.. the carpet must go!  It was in the house when we bought it from Todd & Michelle 13 years ago and I think that the carpet had been in there at least 10 years before we moved into the place.

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Faith

There are things in my daily life that I wish I did not have to be part of, jobs or tasks that look innocent enough but get muddled with bureaucracy, rules and regulations.  Not to mention all those little things that go off beam, take a left turn or just plain do not make sense.  At times these little things add up to something bigger then ourselves and we see our world around us changing and morphing into a place we no longer recognize, a world with more rules, more regulations and incursion into our privacy. 

 

It sometimes becomes hard to remain strong and not let the doom and gloom seep into our lives or our hearts.  We must remain watchful and correct wrongs that we know we have control over.  We must be steadfast in our faith, do the right thing when the time comes and remember that we are all on this planet together.  It is the same sun that rises and sets no matter where we live in the world.

 

I aim to be steadfast and constant.

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Photo credit goes to a friend who is currently stationed in Iraq.

Thanks for letting me post them and for sharing your view of the world.

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Friday Quiz

How many verses are there in what we know today as The Star-Spangled Banner?

There are three in the above sheet music but there are actually four verses.  The lyrics are from the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” written by Francis Scott Key in 1814.

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer and gifted amateur poet. Inspired by the sight of the American flag flying over Fort McHenry the morning after the bombardment, he scribbled the initial verse of his song on the back of a letter. Back in Baltimore, he completed the four verses and copied them onto a sheet of paper, probably making more than one copy. A local printer issued the new song as a broadside. Shortly afterward, two Baltimore newspapers published it, and by mid-October it had appeared in at least seventeen other papers in cities up and down the East Coast.

 

Information can be found on the Smithsonian web site click HERE.

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Word of the Day ~ Fool's Gold

Fool's gold ~ foolz gold

MEANING:

noun: Something that appears valuable but is worthless.

ETYMOLOGY:

Shakespeare wrote in The Merchant of Venice, "All that glitters is not gold." Fool's gold is another name for pyrite, also known as iron pyrite or iron sulfide. Its shiny yellow luster has many fooled into believing they have struck gold while holding a mineral of little value.

The name pyrite is from Greek pyrites (of fire), from pyr (fire) because it produces sparks when struck against a hard surface. Some related words are fire, pyre, pyrosis (heartburn), pyromania (an irresistible impulse to set things on fire), and empyreal (relating to the sky or heaven, believed to contain pure light or fire.). 
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Spring

Spring is on the way!

It will be here before you know it and it can't arrive none to soon!

Sunrise 9:14 a.m.

Sunset 4:58 p.m.

AKST

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Don't Miss

Two things I don't miss about living in the states...

Cockle burs and wood ticks.

 

If you do have these pesky things in your back 

yard you could try these fancy products available at Ben Meadows.

BurzOff™ Bur Removal Tool

Brush burs off in just seconds!

Safe for all outdoor clothing from denim to fleece. Three-sided Tool has a coarse side for canvas-type clothing, a fine side for loose woven materials and a smooth side for your hand.

Water, heat and cold with not harm the BurzOff Tool or its performance-and it floats, too! Helps prevent the spread of invasive plants. Made from 90% post-consumer recycled materials.

The Tick Tool™ Tick Removal Tool

Remove and Dispose of Ticks without touching them!

Tick Tool removes ticks simply, safely and with reduced risk of infection. One-handed operation means tick removal has never been so easy! Handy Tool removes the tick and the patented slide closure captures the tick in the collection scoop. Removes even the very small deer tick. Safe for use on people and animals. 

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Word of the Day ~ Canard

Canard ~ kun-NAHRD

 

MEANING:

noun:
1. A deliberately misleading story; hoax.
2. An airplane with small forward wings mounted in front of the main wings; also such a wing.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French, literally a duck. The term is said to have come from the French expression vendre un canard à moitié (to half-sell a duck, or to take in or swindle). 

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Sunshine Birthday

Your kindness is perfection to my heart.

The color of your love fills me with joy.

Your light glitters in the sun clear and bright for all to see.

Your love is just what I need and it has come just in time.

Thank you for the sunshine!

Have a wonderful, blessed, and happy birthday my dear friend CJ!

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Great Day!

It has been a winter filled with elipta-fun.  We purchased an elliptical machine this fall and I have been actively pursuing this activity. So far I have had elipta-fun for 23 hours, and walked/ran 156 miles.

Here’s to the start of another great year!  It’s going to be GREAT year and a great month of birthdays!   

Happy Birthday to all my Aquarian family and friends!