This is the time of year that brings out the worst of this tendency in me. It is such a relief to go to my daughter's home for Christmas and not put up a tree in my own house. From the minute the tree went up until the minute it came down, I would never stop "tweaking" the ornament arrangement. I could never just sit and enjoy the tree. I was always looking for a "flaw" to correct. I would actually say out loud to myself, "Just stop it". Then I would get up and move an ornament one inch to the left. At my daughter's house, I just look at the tree and enjoy it. What a relief.

I tend to quit when it's no longer a safety hazard, or a hazard to itself.

Then as energy or budget allows, I do the detail work. I'm currently finishing off the wood flooring that's been down for 6 months to a year or more. Woodwork still to be painted.

But I'm not a perfectionist, I'm a satisficer.

Then a friend will remind you, "A thing worth doing is worth doing well!". ugh.

I can make so many errors working on a project no matter how prepared I thought I was. Even if I write or draw it all down on paper, SOMEthing goes wrong. I used to wonder why my carpenter uncle did things the way he did in my old house (his), and now I know. Just pound a nail here, stick a shim there, fill it with caulking. :)

Ironic that this week, like many birthdays, is a repeat of week 29. ;)

I've been doing stupid things (like leaving my phone in the bathroom to have it stolen and not preheating the oven as I'm waiting for my bread to rise...so who knows if it'll come out ok). So I have been trying to limit my internet time. This last couple weeks of the semester is a killer. So glad it's almost done.

The software company shuts down for the next two weeks but gives us teachers the option to teach the first week if we want. I always do and was going to this year too and decided...nope. So I've got a couple classes tomorrow and then off job#2 until the 27th. And done with job#1 on the 19th until the 5th. Hoping to get my parts of the kitchen finished on break. Hoping to stand strong talking DH out of going away at all.

I'm the dummy that points out the flaws or incompletions to others that never see it. I do eventually stop seeing it.

I did a DIY quick refresh on a hall bath about 5 years ago (could be 9, could be 3). I replaced the old sheet vinyl that coved up the wall with stick down $1 floor tiles. I painted the vanity (ok), painted the walls and ceiling (ok except caught some shower tile and some of the ceiling with some wall paint), and an original built in cabinet behind the door. That last one turned out to have oil based paint on it and so the paint just slid off. I haven't done anything about it. I had painters tape along the edge for a couple years. I haven't replaced the hardware and struggle to open the drawer every time. And I'm missing baseboard (there and in the LR/DR and kitchen too). I don't see the horribleness anymore...until someone new is about to come over. Then for a split second i think I need to do something about it. But then the spiral would start again. Someday we'll properly re-do the bathroom. Until then, the only thing I'll do is get baseboard up when I get the other baseboard.

That's why it's so important for me to make sure the kitchen gets "DONE". I am the queen of half-done projects. Usually because I try to DIY and get in over my head or get tired or bored. The kitchen paint needs to be finished before 1/1/15. And hopefully the doors we ordered back in February installed too. Then the only thing will be the backsplash.

I tend to "need" things more "done" than my husband. But I have learned to let most things be "unperfect" but cosmetically good enough.

One of the things that bothers me about this "new" house is how every single door interior and exterior is hung improperly. They stick, they have major light coming around all sides when they are closed. You have to wiggle the handle on the hall bath door to get it to close all the way every third or fourth time you close it.
We put in new weather stripping around the front door to only realize it's warped. Lol.. Metal wrapped around wood core.
New doors and frames are in order. But most of them are on the long range replace/repair plan.

It's a tough question to answer since I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

With this project there are a few go-backs. The column in the kitchen has a spot of drywall where I should have sanded better before painting, and I could have tucked the splices for the pantry lighting in a bit better. We also need drawer organizer since we know what will go where. The hinges on the new doors are brass and I need stainless ones, and I need a couple of extended strike plates. However, that won't keep reveal pictures from going up tomorrow or Tuesday and me declaring the project "done!" It's been a year and a half in the making and I don't mind ordering those and putting them in next week.

As far as progress goes, the veneer is up and I need to trim the areas on the beam where the pieces on the long sides are too long. This stuff is thick so it'll be me and a razor blade after work this afternoon. Then I'll test out the finish I'd like to use and hope that it works.

I expect everything to be complete today but I can't take before/after pictures because it will be dark outside and they look better during the daytime.

Hello, all,

I popped in two weeks ago as I was embarking on my adventure - being the vanguard of moving myself, my 5 cats, some stuff, some cars, a business and (eventually) one SO across country.

Thanks to time-warp technology, though, I didn't miss a week and I feel better about popping back in :) (I should have known better than to make a new (mental) commitment to posting just as I was heading into the unknown with no internet and thousands of initialization tasks.)

Cal_quail, I have not officially turned 30 for several years now. Circumstances got in the way of my turning 30 life goals and I decided to just not turn 30 until I'd made more progress. So there, mortality.

Words cannot express the enormity of the relief I feel in reporting the safe arrival of my cats at their new home. They have given me several sleepless nights, first by immediately deflating my twice-used air mattress and consigning me to sleep on the floor, and by general nightly shenanigans. But all in all they have made a remarkably smooth transition and I am now enjoying an unprecedented CpSF density on my urgently-obtained new mattress and couch.

I hope now that this coming week allows me to settle into a routine of steady progress on my many fronts.

Addressing the question of the week is a tough one for me. Of necessity and habit, I've been locked into a cycle where done, or almost done, has been the most that was attainable for several years. I'm now aspiring to something more, even if it means I won't be done until it's 'good enough.'

~emmers

Ok, so, I was trying to be inspired and posted the morning view photo, but I can't let it go without posting a cat pic. All five are in it, one as a lump under the blankets, in the room I kept us all in for the first few days. And my (thankfully, previous) sleeping arrangements.

I have no clue where that is, but it's a killer view! The upside down cat seems to be saying "pet me already! This is not a trap!"

Around here, the veneer is done and all that remains is caulking, cleaning and taking pictures. That'll happen this afternoon because I'm at work for the next however many hours to go. It'll probably take longer to line up before/after pictures than anything else. Fun stuff.

Then a friend will remind you, "A thing worth doing is worth doing well!"

Remind them that perfect is the enemy of finished!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_the_good

What I have done is well-done ... doing well often means doing enough to make it livable and then continuing to do well as you finish up the edges.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nirvana fallacy

emmers, they are SO much like mine! At any given moment, I'll have as many as 3 with paws up, tummy out. Sooooo funny and such a sign of a very safe, happy kitty. I'm glad you all made it safely to your new home. That view is incredible. Please tell me it's from your new home...

Today I picked up a CL find.
A tree service that mills their own trees has been kicked out of it's 30+ year home by the county and they're moving. They have acres of trees ready to be milled. Every time the mgr moves a pile of trees, he'll find boards already milled, just left there by the owner's crazy ex. Decades of them.

So.... in my never-ending search for cabinet doors I like, I picked up 48" wide (yes, wide) oak, cherry, poplar and walnut. They cut the boards at 6', which still gives me a ton of play. The hard part is I have to have them planed, because most are 5/4". The GRAIN in these boards is incredible. Where the branches split off.. oh, my.

Oh, and the kindest thing? Since this mgr is sick that they're probably have to split it up for firewood? He gave it to me for a tip to the fellow who cut and loaded the boards. $20.00. I'm also welcome back anytime, and will be returning Wednesday to pick up the rest of my original load.

My truck is such a weenie. BUT!! What a find, right? Even if I make something else out of it, it'll be beautiful.

Yeahhhhhhh, ME!

Awesome! I'd be totally happy about giving something like that to someone who needs or would use it instead of having it go as firewood. Great score!

The project ended today. Done. There are so many before/afters it took me 20 minutes to make a reveal thread. Now it's time to do something else... I'm not sure what but it won't involve building anything.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reveal Thread - Finally...

Well, the roof looked like this end of work today.
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Another day or two and we should have decking on it. I really hope we get it at least covered with tar paper before the rain/snow we are forecasted to get this weekend.

I also got my wedding tree up, pics in the link below, and all the Christmas candy made so it has been a productive few days here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wedding Tree

Nice! I think it's funny they install the rafters and then cut the ends off the same. Never thought of doing it that way... it's probably a lot faster.

I am going to go back and read this posting weekly!!!
Good reflection!!

Thanks.

When my sons were little, "done" rarely happened - there was always something more to do. Now that they are off in college, I find it easier to chip away at my list.

Yesterday's project: add a drawer to my bathroom vanity. Several years ago, we gave our bathroom a bit of a makeover. My plan was to simply paint, but when I asked him about color choices, my DH replied "First that countertop has to go!" We ended up with new vanity, sink/counter, paint, shower curtain... talk about project creep!The vanity is 6' long, and instead of forking over big bucks for a single unit, we got two matching 3-footers. Of course bathroom vanities don't have a top drawer, so I finally broke down and made one, using Blum Metabox sides.

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Finals week. I've gone into 'planning for break and 2015' mode. I'm spending way too much time planning how to plan IYKWIM. I've pretty much given myself permission not to get anything else done until school is out. But once it's out...look out!

I've successfully talked DH into not going away at all over break. Both financially and time at home to get stuff done...it makes sense to stay home. I promised we'd go into LA at least once over break.

One more day with students, then one without.

ETA: And I think the belly up cat is saying "See, it's not bad to sleep on the floor. Just do 'this'."

This post was edited by cal_quail on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 21:13

Great drawer annkh! Lovely to have space where before there was nothing:) Now, you could be done, but how about a tilt down, or narrow drawer on the left side of the sink.... Doesn't Blum do a cool U shaped drawer for sinks..? (I'm never done, always planning the next project!).

So we have made good progress on our latest project and are wrapping it up - the family room built-ins. Last spring, we put in a large picture window and bumped up the ceiling (full attic upstairs). Then, I picked out the Tech Lighting track lighting, which was quite the project for DH to install.

Family Room (photoshopped version of rug):

With the modern lighting, and a room which now looked narrow (it's not really, 12.5 feet wide), I decided to put in bookshelves flanking the sofa (to make the room look wider; sleight of hand).

I built them in Sketchup and knowing how DH works, even sent him a How-To drawing :)

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(DH of course did not follow my plan that closely - but I did get the nailers right!)

With lots of back and forth between us, we finally got the dimensions correct and sent the specs off for the panels and boards (again, from Conestoga).

Then, lots of work putting these together and finishing them. I am so very pleased with how they turned out.

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You can hopefully imagine what it took to get the rails and stiles perfect.

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Shelves use a sawtooth shelf system which I love. Still need to paint the shelves, which DH made (face attached to shelf with biscuits).

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Pulls should be on this week; I've found ribbon works well as a temporary handle. I can see the trim piece does need to be filled/finished...

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Still to go - lower right cabinet will house DS's xboxes and the VCR. There will be an intake grid on the lower left side and a fan which sucks the warm air out of the cabinet and then up the right side (nailers are vertical). I also need to order some sort of 'repeater' so that the remotes work with cabinet door closed.

Oldbat2b, incredible! :) Not only my favorite inset style, which I know goes with everything you've done, but bookshelves. I realized recently that every room in my 1/2 done house has some form of built in cabinetry. Somehow, that makes things "done" for me. Then I can work on transitory things like paint. Window treatments (do I really need them!?) etc.

I wanted to put something out there, though. With your DH's talent, paying for face frames is crazy talk. If I can make them, someone who actually knows what they're doing sure can, too. I have the magic Kreg Pocket Hole system and it changed my building/woodworking life.

I have floor to ceiling bookshelves in my LR. 14.5" long, 8' high. They came from eBay 10 years ago, from someone who bought out a law firm's furnishings. ($10 a piece, 38"t, 57"w. Yeah, baby.) Anyway, they're just fine. But they're brown, fake wood laminate. Oh, it's good quality and very convincing (D.C. lawyers, right?) and I really could leave them as is.

However. (A fancy way of saying, "but") I love the beefy shelving and face frames. So what's a chick to do?
Pick up a bunch of 1x2",
oil-based adhesive primer, and
Valspar 'Natural Linen' done by Cabinet Coat.
Because I'm stupid and untrained particular and careful, this will take me awhile. I also have to get someone to help me lift the uppers off their cleats to attach the face frames. I'm going to make doors for the bottom rows and open shelving above.

My point in this dream, is your DH could whip out face frames in a heartbeat and you could use the $$ for more, wonderful things.

Gosh, everyone is so talented!

@ annkh - that's really cool! Well beyond what my carpentry skills are. I didn't even notice that it was two of the same vanity until you pointed it out. They go really well there.

@oldbat2be - nice Sketchup and in real life skills! Building all of that would have been some pretty serious coin if a cabinet shop did it. But I have to ask, what's a "VCR?" :D

@ cal_quail - how close will the end be by the end of the break? I thought you were near.

As far as what we're up to, not a whole lot. Just filing lawsuits against the roofers and supply company that crushed the house in August. :)

Wow! I can't even really comment on this. My skills are sadly lacking compared to anyone elses, and the money for projects is virtually non-existent. LOL I'll be taking my holiday pay and putting it toward the bathroom I plan on fixing up in the spring. It will be a gut job. I'd better start buying some stuff a bit at a time, so I don't go completely broke.

I wish I could do electrical, because then I could start on my basement. Can't do too much there if we can't see! LOL

Ann and OldBat! Wow! You guys are amazing!
Schick, well you know you are amazing. I can't believe it's been since August and nothing is going on with that house resolution.
TexasGem, the house is really coming along!
Emmers, your cats are a riot! Mine (2) are just weird.

Christine - I wish I'd known you before I spec'd out the kitchen, it would have been all inset!! The more I see of this style, like you, the more I like it. I still go back and forth on the beaded vs. non beaded, details, details... Thank you for your kind words.

Yes, DH could have made the drawers/door fronts/face frames, but surprisingly, these weren't much more expensive than the other (particleboard) pieces we ordered as part of the cabinets. The smooth finish was most important to me and since DH doesn't paint, that would be up to me. I'm learning to sand between each coat but I wanted these to look really perfect, hence the outsourcing. DH did make the shelves - which are beautiful. He borrowed a biscuit joiner from a friend (which ended up being worthless), so he purchased one. The shelves are 14' deep, and with the biscuit joiner, he joined 2 7.5" boards together using a biscuit cutter, then cut down to size. Then, he biscuit joined a finished trim piece (again, perfect finish from the front) to the front of the shelf, if that makes sense. No nails, and a nice, perfect finish to the wide shelf rail. The time he spent on these shelves....

The other constraining factor is time. I've learned (the hard way) that progress is glacial on some projects.... 'S better to farm out some of the work...

I will look up "the magic Kreg Pocket Hole system" - sounds pretty awesome!! Love the idea of your adding doors and bookshelves to your bookshelves - please post pictures when you tackle this project.

Thanks Mags438, any progress which makes you smile means you are talented!

schicksal - ack, senior moment! Meant to say, cablebox. Showing my age, here.

MGMMum - Much of the work we do is not rocket science; if you can research and know what's supposed to be done, sometimes you can do it yourself. Good luck with the bathroom fixup! Start designing and posting if you can, plan changes are definitely something to avoid. I have seen bathrooms posted on the home decorating forum - you may want to start there.

Two more pictures of our project - a before and a during. I think back to the warm feeling of the wood framing and wonder what a ship-lap ceiling would look like....

Before:

And during:

What kind of window is that? Where you get it from?

@oldbat2be - Looking at that room (looks great, and built ins are AMAZING) I have to ask if you're the one for whom that room faces the kitchen and there's art work on the vertical space above the kitchen? (That probably won't make sense if it's not you. I just like to try to get people and their homes straight. :) )

@texas gem - I didn't see your big ol' addition coming along last time. Wow. The progress is just astounding.

@schicksal - It's just paint and baseboard (and maybe just paint...I may still wait and farm out baseboard). And...the breezeway door. I haven't heard from the door folks and I MUST call them tomorrow. I'm hoping that'll happen over break, but I probably waited too long to set it up.

Today they got the soffit and fascia framed up, still no decking though.

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I don't want to tell the "pros" how to do their job but I REALLY hope they get decking and tar paper on tomorrow.

Schick, I don't know how framing roofs goes normally, as it is completely out of my scope but, as you can see, they left the rafters long and frame up the soffit and fascia using the tail end of the rafters.

Our house has nice deep soffits, now that I'm noticing other homes, MUCH deeper than other homes. I could walk my entire homes perimeter in pouring rain and stay dry.

I'm not certain if that is why the rafters are left long but I do know I like my deep overhang.

Annkh- nice job on the vanity!!

Ob2b- you are making me want to rip out all my 8 ft ceilings and vault them! It looks so nice! LOVE the inset cabinets!

Oldbat, you guys did a fantastic job! And I love the view out your window.

Texas, your home is coming right along! It will feel so different when the roof deck is on.

My drawer project was a trial run - a test of my ability to build Blum Metabox drawers. This weekend I'm going to measure the kitchen cabinets in my Mom's apartment. She has base cabinets with the stupid half shelf in the back, and I I hope to put upper and lower pull-outs in three cabinets. Since I can't give her drawers, it's the next best thing.

Makes sense, OB2B!
Annkh, you can do this. Keep in mind I tore things out and added drawers to existing cabinets. It'll seem easy after all the stuff you've done!

Today is a HUGE day. Hanging my kitchen cabinets and clearing off a counter has given me the boost to start things inside. The space is incredible. One thing moved means 30 other things need to be moved, and the only way to get them out of the way is to install them. So...

I've saved and saved and accomplishing this today (if everyone comes like they've said they will!):

I have 2 fellows coming to take all my building and hardscape materials back to the barn. All I'll have left is a place to build another garden bed and the materials for that. I'll be able to see my house. If you picture HD's lumber and paving materials area, mine puts theirs to shame for so much stuff packed into a small space. Then we have the back porch, but that's another day.

I have H4H coming to take away two, too big pieces I've agonized over. I'm going to give them all the antique doors I bought before I realized my doors were 32" not 30. Other crap, too.

With the advent of all this space, I've consolidated furniture and stuff into the den. My friend and her son are coming to sand the LR ceiling and paint it and the walls. I will have 2 rooms in my home painted. The nice thing is that it'll be a clean slate, where I can put just the appropriate furniture and even hang things on the walls. I am SOOOOOOO excited.

Now I need to get off the computer and continue to move things. I like things to be ready so people can go to work. When I have enough to pay someone, I'm not going to waste time and $$ with them moving or cleaning.

I'll post befores and afters if I can, later!

@MGMum - Gotta love the American legal system. As explained to me, laws regarding how insurance companies behave and what constitutes "bad faith" are written at the state level. In the state I live in bad faith basically happens when they have an order to pay that they disregard. There are no stated timelines for how long they can take before they decide to pay, or to do anything in general. So as you can see here, nothing happens. I wish there was some kind of mandate for them to act within XX number of days but there is none, and the end result is a particularly bad insurance company such as the main one I'm dealing with where their answer is to pretend that everything does not exist.

@ oldbat2be - that's a pretty wild transformation! Did the roofline also have to change?

@Texas_Gem - good idea with the larger soffits. Also it looks like they're using much larger lumber than average to build the fascia boards. Another good choice instead of going with the skinny stuff.

@ CEFreeman- PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES

All that's going on at home once I get there is cleaning. Family arrives late tomorrow and my dad is really allergic to cats. That means the guest bedroom has a lot of cleaning to do, I need to dust everywhere and vacuum walls and things, lots of loads of laundry... I'm going to be very busy after work today.

Christine - What an exciting day! Please do take and post a few pictures for us. Best of luck and congrats on the progress. P.S. - Funny what you said about anytime you move something, needing to move many other things. That's EXACTLY what DH said to me when I passed on your comment about making the face frames ourselves. He said he'd need to free up a lot of space in the basement :)

stanleyleecm - They are Anderson windows. I think the larger is a single window (vs. 3 individuals). I can try to track down the models if you like.

cal_quail - thanks, I smile every time I walk by!! I'm not sure about the vertical art work, but we do have the same window in our breakfast area (same room as kitchen):

Texas_Gem - love seeing your progress. So you're going to have a deck on the top of that? Neat!!

annkh - That sounds like a great plan. Please tell us more about the blum metaboxes. Are these the metal ones?

schicksal - the roofline slopes down on that side of the house, so we just cut out where the walls went up (I use the term loosely, our builder did this project). Good luck with the family visit!

(Please ignore lovely crabgrass and weeds mingling with the phlox)

Annkh- you can do it! I'm sure your mother will be grateful.

CEF- I echo schicksal's sentiment, pictures pictures pictures!!

Schicksal- ugh, I sure hope things get resolved quickly, though I know that won't be the case. The legal system never works quickly.

I bet you are excited to show the house off to family! I agree with you about the fascia boards. The ones on the original house were rotting and we had to rip them off and replace them!

They got all the framing done and they started putting decking on.
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I tried to get a shot of the whole house but I couldn't get far enough back!

Ob2b- sorry, no roof top deck. I was referring to the OSB sheets they lay on the rafters that the tar paper and shingles attach to. You can see some in this picture.
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I love the exterior shot of your house! It looks so cozy!

Oldbat, I'm very impressed with the Blum metaboxes. The installation instructions (online) were detailed and complete, including variations for face frame and interior drawers. There was one measurement that wasn't perfect (or perhaps it was my measuring), but assembly of the drawer went pretty well.

I got the measurements I needed, and had my local lumberyard cut the pieces for me (I don't have a table saw). I love being able to come home with a board 31-3/4" x 17-15/16". Perfect fit!

Hi ankh - thank you for the follow up. So with these, do you just spec out the drawer bottom and/or back, and the sides are metal? Neat concept.