Christmas Chaos

The last two weekends have been full of parties and events while at home the construction (and destruction) continue to require that three downstairs rooms remain quarantined by plastic and blue tape and Ashley's old bedroom is in disarray as a new closet is constructed and leaking patio doors repaired. There are very few places not impacted as furniture and items from the now empty rooms fill the remaining rooms to overflowing.

Two weeks ago, it was a friend's Christmas gathering where a twenty foot juniper had been chopped down and all of its 700 pounds somehow wedged through the single entry door and propped and braced in the two story living room. During halftime of the USC-UCLA game, the men mounted 12 and 16 foot ladders to hang the lights while the wives steadied the lower rungs. We all brought a few ornaments to help decorate the "larger than normal" Christmas evergreen. Then it was off to a get together of those going on the artist's cruise to Mexico in later January. While the artists got their itineraries and supply lists, the non-artistic spouses plotted excursions to be taken such as an ATV tour or zip line over the jungle.

This weekend, I spent my Saturday continuing to work on the guest bathroom stripping the remnants of the wallpaper (I have a little more to go) with a deadline to get it completed before our family comes to spend Christmas Eve. Then it was off to the company Holiday party again held at the Fairplex in Pomona. We had a good time, but the dinner serving was somewhat indicitive of the problems within the real estate industry. The salad literally had three leaves and the vegetables consisted of three string beans and one baby carrot. Good thing I like steak!

Sunday, after church, we drove up to Pasadena to visit Ashley, Bryce and Ezra. Bryce was kind enough to take us over the classic city hall where we five took a family Christmas picture although I'm not sure Ezra looked at the camera very often. Then we went to Pei Wei for an early dinner before dessert at the Hales and then home.

Plumbing and Other Home Issues

After having water dripping from our master bathroom toilet for over two weeks every time it was flushed, two weekends ago I finally tackled its "repair". Saturday afternoon became an ordeal.

The tank had to be removed and with a fixture about 30 years old, the bolts securing the tank to the bowl were frozen, rusted, and immune to torque. So, taking my trusty hacksaw blade (not saw, as the frame wouldn't fit between tank and bowl) I sawed away at the bolts for what seemed hours. In the process, portions of the porcelain cracked! Then it was out to the front yard to wash out the tank (hi y'all, welcome to West Virginia), and then off to Ace to acquire the new fittings required. With new valves, gaskets, bolts and flushing arm, the tank was finally secured to bowl, and, of course, on the first flush, water again cascaded onto the floor!

Frustrated, I gave up for the day, only to awake the next morning having dreamt that I could fix it with another gasket sandwiched between the bolts and the tank. A cursory inspection of the guest room toilet showed a similar arrangement, so I was off on the second repair attempt. Tank off, bolts re-worked, tank re-installed - same result with the better part of the weekend spent on this.

So, the answer was a new toilet. How about one like the Toto downstairs? Seemed like a good idea even if we are able to proceed with a master bath remodel/expansion this year as the toilet could be re-installed. We called up our plumber (notice the sequence) and gave him the model number of the new toilet we wanted. Mid-week he arrives with the new model only to find that we have a 10" rough-in and the new toilet, and most new ones, require a 12" rough-in! Luckily, we didn't have to pay for it and he was able to find a cheaper one that fit. The only issue is that this toilet is a complete throw away with a new bathroom. Oh, the joys of home ownership!!

In preparation for a remodel, we've talked to a general contractor who is currently designing how our bathroom and closet could use the deck above our morning room. Carolyn and I gave them a list, room by room, of what we'd like to do, and I tremble at what the estimate might be. The list was somewhat depressing, because I don't think there were many rooms that we didn't foresee needing some work whether it was new flooring or a complete addition. But we really like our new kitchen and downstairs bath, and, of course, our lake adjacent location.

The Holidays End

The re-organization continues at the Hutchins' household. This last weekend, we took down the Christmas lights, put away the mantel decorations, dis-assembled the fake tree and tried to cram it into a storage box that was only large enough for it before the box was opened the first time. All this accompanied with a little sense of melancholy at the demise of the holiday season and the absence of family.

We also tackled a rearrangement of the game room. The aquarium had to be moved to the end of the room which necessitated emptying 2/3rds of the water. In front of the pine table, we placed the two person couch and shifted my chair to the side by the bar. It really opens up the area; we really like it. Unfortunately, our two long-lived goldfish did not survive the move!

Saturday, we attended Compass Bible Church's first Saturday night service in our new location and then had a great Italian dinner at Cosmos around the corner. We're not sure if this will be our preferred service time or not, but Mike's preaching was excellent as always.

With more free time on Sunday, I forged ahead with straightening the garage. I'm glad to say I can now see the work surface of my workbench and the laundry table has room to actually fold clothes! And after the chores, I was able to watch two NFL post-season games that I had DVR'd in about 2 hours.

A Strong Wind Blows

Carolyn thought it was raining last night after we had heard the wind brushing trees against the house. She went out on our deck and found that our jacuzzi lid was open! It had been closed earlier and I couldn't imagine why or who had opened it.

As I went out on the patio, I found both umbrellas from our deck (the second story) and our patio table overturned. The wind had been so strong that it had uplifted both of them along with opening the jacuzzi cover. In addition a large terra cotta planter had been blown over and broken. Our own little Katrina!

Luckily nothing major was broken (like the glass patio table) and we just collapsed the umbrellas and locked down the jacuzzi cover and called it a night.

We've had our share of house issues (several which would be solved with a larger master bath and closet on the deck off of Ashley's old room) and we don't need anymore.

Here's hoping that in 2007, we stay dry and secure in our little home.