Remodeling Progress

The remodeling is at the halfway mark more or less.  I'm leaving for SF today to pack up my things and move.  So much to do in the next few weeks.  Stressful.

I can't believe it will be finished when I return.  Below are pictures from the remodel.  We found hinged panels and a trapdoor behind my front staircase.  We think there may have been a speakeasy in the house during prohibition.  The hinges, etc are all very old.  Gotta do some research into the history of the house.

Door to back staircase.

Back staircase.

Demolition underway.

Insulation seepage.

More seepage.

Insulation company trucks.

Insulating the attic.

Hinged panels behind front staircase.

More hinged panels.

Hidden trap door.

Attic windows.

Old kitchen.

Choosing wall sconces at Typhoon Lighting.

Granite, tile, cabinet door, flooring.

Final choices for tile, cabinet door, flooring.

Backyard/workshop.

Staircase removed freeing up the wall for the refrigerator and cabinetry.

Back wall of kitchen.

New basement staircase under construction.

Antique wall sconce installed.

Living room/office/kitchen during remodel.

New Photos

Finished all the blocks of squares for my afghan.  Now all I have to do is sew them together.  It's tedious work, but I want to get it done.  I have to stay motivated.

We had spring-like weather this Sunday.  It got close to 70 degrees.  Pretty purple and orange flowers bloomed in my front yard.  It's supposed to freeze tonight.  I hope they don't die.  Lots of neighbors were outside and I had a chance to meet and chat.  It's a very friendly neighborhood.  I feel like I fit right in.

I've been trying to get healthier.  I need to lose a lot of weight.  I've been eating better and going for walks around my neighborhood.  It's fairly hilly and I'm really out of shape - a perfect combination for a good workout.  After about 15 minutes I'm ready to die.  That's my limit.  I plan on increasing about five minutes a week until I can walk comfortably for at least half an hour.  I'm also going to join the YMCA.  The extra weight is hell on my joints and I find that I have a lot more stamina in the pool.  I took photos of the lovely homes on one of my recent walks.  Creighton Ave is very close to my place and it has lots of historic homes.

I'm going to my first meet-up in Pittsburgh this Thurs.  It's at a jazz club.  Here are the details:

...networking along with lively jazz/blues performed by vocalist Jessica Lee, Mark Strickland (guitar), Jay Willis (sax), Dave Pellow (bass) along with other musicians, including a special Chinese erhu performance by Mimi Jong.

"Spring in the City" panelists include:

-- Jeremy Waldrup, President and CEO, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership

-- Renee Piechocki, Office of Public Art/Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

-- Andy Kirtland, Associate Artistic Director, Unseam'd Shakespeare

-- Mimi Jong, Music Programming Manager, Silk Screen Asian Arts & Cultural Organization

--Connie Brinda, Co-Founder/Finance Director, Prime Stage Theatre

It seems like a good introduction to what's happening in the arts here in Pittsburgh.  Plus I can meet locals who share my interests.

Afghan & Remodeling Progress

My afghan is growing and renovations are finished in my second floor laundry room.

You can see my bird pillow on my bed. I brought it back in my suitcase from SF the last time I was there. I think it fits right in and adds some color variety. Without it, there's too much orange and blue. I'm planning to remove the wallpaper and paint the walls a medium charcoal grey. It's a good neutral that should balance all the color and pattern in the room.  And it will go well with other color schemes if I ever want to change things up.

For the past two years in SF we've had to go to the laundromat.  Because our place is set back from the street we had to walk about half a block with bags of laundry just to get to the little community laundromat where we'd often have to wait to use the (only four) machines. Or, we had to walk about a block to get to the car to go to the bigger laundromat in the plaza. I had my own washer and dryer in the garage when we lived in Redwood City.  While convenient, they were right next to the pet door to the yard so the floor was never clean. God forbid you dropped a piece of wet clothing on the floor.  In my Crafton home at the end of the hall on the second floor there is a small room about the size of a large walk-in closet. It shares a wall with bathroom making it the ideal spot for a laundry room. Thanks to the work of Jim and his assistants from Matt Mertz Plumbing the transformation to laundry room is complete. I am in heaven. I did three loads of laundry the night it was finished. So easy.  No more stairs. No more laundromat. No more dirty garage. More than any other renovation I'll do on this house, I'm going to love this one the most. I'll bet if I ever sell this place the fact that it has a second floor laundry room will seal the deal for any woman (or man who does the laundry) who sees the place.

Running the various lines for the washer and dryer entailed opening up the walls in my kitchen. Not a problem because I will be remodeling that next. I've met with five different contractors and got two bids. Luckily, the bids were from the two contractors I liked the best. Even though I used to work for a home remodeling company, it still is a shock to see what it will cost to do what I want.  I've scaled back a bit and have chosen a contractor.  It's very different to be on the client side of things. I have to remember the total cost of the house and all the renovations is less than half what you'd pay for a 2 bdr, 1 ba fixer upper in San Francisco. And people wonder why I moved.

I had the bathtub faucets fixed. There was nothing where the tub spigot is now. According to the plumber that round white cap on the wall of the tub was where the spigot once was. It had been capped off years ago. The only way to fill the tub was to run the shower. Now I can take a bath or a shower. There are a lot of little things that need to be done to finish this bathroom including some minor tile repair and then painting the trim and the radiator which are now a brilliant Kelly Green.  I was told that modern subway tile won't work in my bathroom because the old tile didn't have a beveled edge.  I was ready to hunt down old tile at Construction Junction, but the tile Gods were with me.  I found a stack of the original subway tile in my basement.  My contractor is thrilled.  Other than that there's a bunch of stuff left to install:

• new faucets for the pedestal sink
• a shower curtain rod 
• towel bars and shelving
• ceiling light fixture
• hand-held shower head

I can't wait until it's all finished and I can post pictures.  It really is a special room.  Subway tile covers every inch of all four walls and the ceiling.  There's unglazed hexagonal porcelain tile on the floor and an incredible stained glass window.  It must have been the equivalent of a modern luxury spa style bathroom in its day. 

My Trip to Awesome Books and Natural Stitches

Awesome Books on Penn Avenue

Yesterday the temperature rose to 66 degrees. I figured it was safe to venture out by car. Little to no chance of icy roads. Artist Laura McLaughlin is one of the proprietors of Awesome Books in Pittsburgh. I visited their Penn Ave. location. They also have a store downtown on Liberty Ave; more on that later. I hadn't seen Laura since 2006 on my first visit to Pittsburgh. Her enthusiasm for the city and informing me about the strong local support of the arts through innovative programs and funding, not to mention the incredibly low cost of housing, were a big part of the impetus behind my move.

The wall outside Spak Brothers Pizza

Mojo working his mojo.

Aside from an excellent selection of books, the store has five cats, most rescued by Laura.  The two big guys, Mojo and Cupcake Slim, are super cute and friendly.  The three others, also super cute, are scaredy cats.

Laura's studio is in the back. She gave me a tour where I saw recently finished pieces and works in progress. So talented. The storefront's mosaics are all by Laura as are the ones at Whole Foods in Shadyside.

Laura McLaughlin's mosaic storefront.

Awesome Books' Liberty Ave. location needs heat. They're in the middle of a campaign to raise the money to install a heating system. Click here for info.

After buying a book I stopped for a slice and a ginger beer at Spak Brothers Pizza next door. Yummy.

Note the yarn bombed lamp post and sign.

Then it was on to Natural Stitches, also on Penn Ave. I needed more yarn for the afghan I'm making for my bed. The store is huge and they have quite a selection of yarns. They also have the comfiest chairs where you can sit and work on your project. I want one.

Afghan in progress.

BTW, I have a Facebook page for my crochet work. I post a lot of crochet and fiber art related stuff. Check it out.

My last stop was at Trader Joe's where I stocked up on groceries then made my way home. Thank God for GPS. Pittsburgh is not an easy city to navigate.

The one and only cupcake Slim.

Weather!

Woke up to 66 degree weather.  It was 7 degrees when I arrived last Tuesday. It's supposed to go back down to the 30s by Thursday.  Does the temperature always fluctuate this much here in January?

Sunshine On Sunday

Sunday January 27, 2013

After my harrowing trip to the supermarket on Friday I decided to stay in on Saturday. Didn't do much and it was nice not to have to go anywhere.  The sun is out today, but it's still very cold. Tomorrow it's supposed to get up into the 40s and be in the 50s by mid-week.  Hallelujah!  A huge relief because I have a bunch of errands to run. I won't have to deal with my lack of winter driving skills while I'm out and about.  I certainly don't want to end up like the people in this video (click to view):

Funny video about getting around in the ice and snow.

Since I don't have much to do until the renovations start in about two weeks, I've decided to go back to SF to watch the Superbowl in my hometown and spend a few days sorting and packing all my worldly goods. SF will go absolutely nuts if (when) the Niners win. Close to 1 million people came out for the SF Giants Victory Parade each time they won the World Series. I expect the turnout to be equal to, or more than that should the 49ers win. It is truly a great time to be a Bay Area sports' fan. I'm sure enjoying it.

House at the top of the hill, about a block away from me.

I walked around my neighborhood today and took pictures. My camera let me take three pictures before deciding to stop working.  Not sure why, maybe the cold? The battery was fully charged.

Garage for the house at the top of the hill. There's a very long staircase going up the side of the hill to get from the garage to the house.  When I took these pictures a group of people had just parked on the street and climbed the stairs.

Even though it's nice to have a break from the responsibilities of pet ownership, I'm looking forward to introducing my dogs to the joys of playing in the snow.  Now that I think about it, the snow will be waning by the time I move them out here. Oh well, it will still be fun to take them for walks around our new neighborhood.  I'm very grateful to my daughter for taking care of all our pets while I'm in Pittsburgh getting the house in order.

Icicles on the overhang. Last picture I snapped before my camera quit working.

Houses Across the Street

I've met the people who live here.  Nice neighbors. It's next door to the house in the two photos below.

Directly across the street from me.  Doesn't it look like it should be on a Christmas card?

Wood frame houses aren't as common as brick around here.