Hot Chicks!

Vero, Sarah, and I took a chicken and duck class at BioFuel Oasis a couple weeks ago so as soon as the store's order of chicks arrived, Vero and I went down and picked out five. We ultimately want three chickens but because not all of them are guaranteed females, we chose five with the expectation that at least one will turn out to be a rooster. If that happens, he'll be the first on our table. The rest are for eggs.

We chose two Araucanas, one Rhode Island Red, one Black Australorp, and one Black Sex Link (the only guaranteed female). They're pretty cute and fun to watch. We took them outside the other day and let them run around. I found worms for them under rocks and they chased each other around fighting over them. They're growing pretty fast; you can see in the photo that some of the fur is already turning to feathers at the ends of the wings.

Apricot Blossoms

We had ordered four fruit trees back in September and they arrived
about a month ago. I planted them along our fence in the back yard and the first flowers just bloomed this week.

Water, Part 1: This Old Plumbing

Since we bought our house last year, water has seemed to be a recurring theme . Water coming in; water going out; water from the sky; and water from the earth. First we'll start with water coming in, i.e. supply. Our house, like many old houses, had galvanized steel pipes for the water coming in and going to sinks, tubs, toilets, etc. It probably sounded like a good idea at the time and it sure beats lead piping, but the life span of galvanized steel pipes is about forty or fifty years. The problem is that minerals and rust start to build up and near the end you'll have a 3/4" pipe with a 1/4" hole. This really affects water pressure and while our shower was tolerable, we barely got any hot water pressure in our kitchen sink. Which brings me to Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 1. This is not good. This was the pipe that went from our water heater, across the house to the chimney shaft, up to the floor framing, back to the exterior wall, and then back down to the kitchen sink on the same side as the water heater. A fifteen foot straight distance made with probably 100 feet of pipe. This piece was in the crawl space and as you can see was completely rusted through...and wet. This might have lasted another ten years or it could have burst at any moment, which could be quite inconvenient if we were out of town and the water ran for a few days at full pressure flooding our crawl space and running up an exorbitant water bill. So I replaced this section of pipe, which brings me to Exhibit 2:

Once we removed that section of pipe, I was able to break it in two just with my hands. We replaced it with a section of copper pipe and I thought that would fix the pressure problem but no. It was just the same, which meant there was another spot with a lot of corrosion or maybe it was all blocked. So we decided to have the house re-piped, and quite a difference that made. A team of guys arrive and in one day they replace all that old pipe with brand new copper pipes, which should last as long as the house does.

The finished product. You can see the old galvanized pipes (the smaller diameter ones) that were left in place.

Back in the Saddle

I replaced my stolen mountain bike a few weeks ago but didn't have a chance to really ride it until yesterday. There was a particular bike that I was interested in and a local shop just happened to have one in my size that another customer had cancelled. It was a little more than I was planning to spend so it took me almost a week to get used to the idea of buying it. Mountain bikes these days are expensive pieces of machinery and it hurts a bit to get one, especially when I have to replace one that was working fine.

Yesterday Jesse and I went up to Annadel State Park and did a very fun muddy ride. I didn't realize how much I missed riding until I was out there having a blast. The new bike is quite a bit lighter than my other one, which I didn't think would make that much difference but I felt so fast on it that I might name it Bette because when I'm on it I feel like I've got the wind beneath my wings. Haha!

Kitchen Makeover

We have a pretty good-sized kitchen in our house, but it wasn't that attractive and it felt a little dark. It was mostly the fault of the cabinets, which were a dark wood color and without hardware. The white tile floors and counters aren't ideal either but a kitchen remodel is far down the list of things to do.

We decided to at least paint the kitchen to see if that made a difference and what a difference it made. We painted the walls and all the cabinets and now it feels so much brighter. We even removed one of the upper cabinets in front of the sink, which was also a big improvement; it made being at the sink feel a lot less enclosed. Finally, we added hardware to all the cabinet doors and drawers and I even spray painted all the existing hinges to match.

It took us about three weeks but it was worth it. It's so much more enjoyable to be in the kitchen now and we had it ready just in time for Thanksgiving.


Before


After


Before


After

To see a few more photos, take a look at the Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62052031@N00/sets/72157622915434014/.

My Boy

Ash discovered a spot where he could enjoy the last of the day's
winter sun.

Mobile Blogging Test

I'm trying out the ability to blog from my phone. I took a picture of
our new Fuji apple tree, a housewarming gift from my aunt and cousin.

Urban Releaf

Our neighbor is the founder of an organization called Urban Releaf, which plants trees in Oakland and Richmond. They apparently had four trees permitted for our property but the previous owners didn't want them so they were never planted. We of course said yes and they were planted last week.


Before


A team of volunteers planting the first tree.


After

They planted three Aristocrats along the side and a Kawakamii in front to match the other trees that are already there along the block. The trees went into shock and aren't doing so well but they should recover fine. They're losing their leaves so they may have to go bare now and then come back in the spring. As Kemba, our neighbor, said, a tree is a eight to ten year project. So if I still have a blog and the house a decade from now, I'll post a progress picture.

Unwise Guy

It's been 2 1/2 months since my last entry and that wasn't exactly one I wanted to leave at the top of the list for so long. Oh, well. I was wifeless for five weeks so you'd think I could write an entry or two but here Veronica is back after visiting her family in Venezuela and I'm finally writing something. The house could have easily provided a few entries since I spend most of that bachelor time working on it. But I'll show some of those projects later.

I actually have a moment now because I'm lying low for the weekend recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed. I had a dentist long ago say I didn't need to take them out because there was plenty of room for them but I couldn't clean around them easily so my current dentist recommended taking them out now instead of later in life when it would be harder to recover. And for some reason I ended up doing it with the dentist instead of an oral surgeon. I think I had it in my head that the surgeon was going to cost more and since it was all coming out of my pocket, I went for the more economical option. Well, hindsight is 20-20 as they say.

I spent almost three hours in the dentist chair and ended up going to the oral surgeon in the end anyway to get out a couple stubborn roots that wouldn't cooperate. I had local anesthetic and nitrous oxide, which was an experience in itself. The whole thing feels surreal now that it's over and the time didn't seem as long as it was, maybe due to the nitrous.

The nitrous oxide seemed to have stages depending on how much was turned on or how the nose piece was seated. At first I didn't feel anything so I asked if it was even on so the dentist cranked it up. Once he started working on the first tooth everything suddenly felt extremely exaggerated. He was pulling my tooth from side to side and it felt like we were moving a foot in either direction and my imagination was running wild with what was going to happen when it gave. I suddenly realized that my imagination never works like that so I must be a little high. I asked them to turn it down but it felt like they turned it off so for the rest of the first two teeth I was aware of everything except that I couldn't feel a thing. It was a very strange experience.

The best moment was when they raised the whole chair so the dentist could stand and work. I don't know if that opened the flow in the hoses or maybe pressed the nose piece against me a little harder, but that' s when it felt like nitrous oxide does. We were up closer to the lights and those started doing weird things and I got the wah, wah, wah sound and I just felt really happy. That was the moment I realized why they call it laughing gas...I think even did laugh at one point. They could have worked on me all day in that state. But then we lowered back down and it went away. That was the most interesting part of the whole experience, the legal drug trip. The oral surgeon would have been easier and they would have knocked me out but then I would have missed the experience and I'm all about the journey in most cases.

Now it's just been a weekend of recovering. The first day it felt like I had been beat up because my jaw had been so abused for so long. Yesterday morning it seemed the pain had all gone away but then it came back and I took a couple Vicodin in the evening and then some Motrin today. Now I feel pretty good, though, and I hope it stays that way.

Wrongly Accused

Last Monday I had my day in court. Well, more accurately I showed up to court and was dismissed because my accuser didn't show. A couple months ago I was pulled over for not wearing my seatbelt...which I was wearing. I should have argued a little more with the officer but I didn't really think he was going to give me a citation once he saw that I was actually wearing it. He claimed that because I was wearing a bright white shirt, he didn't see the seatbelt against it. I should have said right then and there that he was wrong and that my mother didn't raise me to not wear a seatbelt. Oh, well, you always think of the things to say after the fact. And I tend to freeze up in the face of authority, which probably only makes me look guilty.

I should have just paid the ticket and been on my way but it was about principle. The whole process is a mess, though. I had to go to court one morning at 7:30am and wait in line forever just to get a morning or afternoon time to say guilty, not guilty, no contest, or traffic school. I got my morning session and had to wait while everyone else made their plea, or told their sob story, or whatever. I was unfortunate enough to be one of the last called. I said "not guilty", they gave me a trial date, and there went a wasted morning.

The trial date was last Monday and Veronica came with me as my witness. There were a number of others waiting outside the courtroom for the time to arrive and then we all filed in. We waited while they got things in order and then they dismissed all those whose officers didn't show up, including me. It was anti-climactic and not the end I was hoping for. I wanted my day in court and the chance to face my accuser and say all the things I didn't say at the time but it didn't come.

The Water Heater Fiasco

It's been over a month since we moved into our new house and we're settling in pretty well. It didn't take long for things to go wrong, though. I think we must have been there only a couple days when the water heater broke. Luckily it didn't flood but it was leaking from the bottom, which was fairly rusted. I had planned on replacing the water heater anyway with a more efficient one but I was hoping to delay that purchase a while since the one I wanted was a little pricey. This moved things up, though, so I ordered the water heater from a local supply place with the plan of installing it myself. It turned out to be a little more complex than I expected so I enlisted the help of the guy who does some drafting for me because he's also a licensed contractor.

Since most of the components are at the top of the heater, we had to extend the gas line and then run a new PVC split-venting system. Plus because of the hot water out location, we had to get a little creative in extending the existing pipes. This took about a day with a few extra runs to the hardware store but once we had everything in place it was time for the test run. There's actually an on-board computer and an ON/OFF switch so I turned it on and it started to initialize. But then came the disappointing part: it displayed an error message stating that the flame sensor was grounded. Arghh! I called the company and the guy said I should pull the sensor out see if was bent, which would lead it to touch metal and ground itself. I pulled it out and it was straight as an arrow. That was about the extent of the help he could give me so he gave me the name of someone local to call. I called him up and he came out the next morning and spent the morning taking various things apart and calling the water heater company. Eventually they decided that the control board had to be replaced so the company overnighted one to him but we weren't able to schedule another visit until the following week. So that was about one week without hot water.

When he came back and replaced the control board, the same message came up. So he gave up and said I would have to return it. I called the company to see what to do and they gave me the number of someone else. So these two guys came over and looked over everything and ran their own tests and finally decided they should replace the control board. Since the other guy already replaced it, I didn't think that was going to do any good but they sent out another control board and they came back to install it. And it worked!! For twelve beautiful hours the water heater worked and talk about efficient; it heated 50 gallons of water to 120 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

And then it happened, a new error message. This time it said it was the igniter, which I had seen the first guy pull out. Now that I felt like an expert on this thing, I pulled the igniter out and found a very small crack. So I called the company, who overnighted me a new igniter, and I replaced the bad one and the water heater has been ever working since. Except now we don't have hot water pressure, which is another story.


The fancy water heater.

Finally Some Photos

We did our final walk through yesterday, I guess to make sure that we're buying the house in the same condition it was when we made the offer. Our loan documents are still delayed so we're still waiting to sign. I'm hoping it happens this week because we're leaving Saturday for Red Rocks.

So, the moment you've all been waiting for:


Front and side elevations. That is a sun room over the front porch. Everyone loves the sun room but I'm not a fan. I'd like to take it off but that may be vetoed.


Rear elevation.


Entry hall.


Living room.


Dining room.


Kitchen and breakfast nook.


Kitchen.


And the carriage house! It needs some love, though. I just hope it doesn't fall down before I can give it.

Closing In On the Close

We're coming to the end of this process and we have a date for signing the closing documents. We'll be signing either late Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I guess that means keys in hand that day and the house is ours. We'll have a month to move, minus a week of climbing in Red Rocks.

Loan Approval

We got the approval for the loan yesterday. I guess that means they'll give us the money. All we need now is the "drive-by" appraisal and I believe we're good to go. I wonder if that means we can close early.

Waiting Game

Now that the process is started, I'm ready to move. But alas, these things take time. I didn't know thirty days could be so long. The initial rush of doing inspections has morphed into the occasional document signing and just waiting for loan stuff to be done. We lifted our inspection contingency on Thursday but we are still waiting for a second appraisal done by the bank. Normally, only one appraisal is necessary but since we're getting an FHA loan and everyone's a little jumpy about lending money, we have to get a second one. That's delayed things a little but I think we may still close before the end of the month.