My Days - Fabric and Other Things

I'm linking to:
http://kate-life-in-pieces.blogspot.com/2012/05/15-minute-challenge-may-15th.html


Fabric Version


Tues - May 8 - Nothing with fabric
Wed - May 9 - Nothing with fabric
Thu - May 10 - Nothing with fabric
Fri - May 11 - Nothing with fabric
Sat - May 12 - Nothing with fabric
Sun - May 13 - Nothing with fabric
Mon - May 14 - Nothing with fabric



The Longer Combined Version - Too Much Information


Tuesday - May 8 - DH and I cleared space in garage and took to Goodwill nearby.  Took my mom to her exercise class and to have manicure and pedicure.  I went to brick place to see what the retaining wall will look like.  Then too tired to think when I returned home.

Wednesday - May 9 - Cleaning and straightening up.    Took photo of the treatment I am interested in for side walkway and left note at that house asking them where they got it - Home Depot is the answer!  DS came over to mow lawn - I missed text message he sent asking if he should do today.  Since we are hiring workers to remove the lawn this isn't necessary now.  So he straightened his desk instead and I wrote emails regarding conference I chair in the fall. Drove DH to see different style of blocks for the retaining wall.  The contractor? said his part would still be around $150 to install so DH and I decided to go with the blocks I liked the best - they also have different varieties of blocks so could build a stand alone wall if desired.

Thursday - May 10 - Facial for me!  (and this is strange - had my nose hairs waxed!  TMI?  Didn't hurt - was $5. We'll see if it changes my life.  Ha.)  Went to Home Depot for the drivable pavers sample, to paint place to see how the rocks will finish up, to tile place - realized I don't know exactly what I'm looking for.  Met contractor's? assistant and discussed job.  Saw DS a bit (he took mom to beauty college for hair while I was doing the errands).  Picked up Friend at airport, took him to Russian restaurant for dinner, then home to watch Denver Nuggets vs Lakers game.

Friday - May 11 - I went to my cooking class with DS.  DH and his friend did some errands and just chatted I think while I was gone.  The workers are doing such a fast job on the yard!  We'll have to make quick decisions on what to plant, whether to have vegetable planters, what stones or pavement to have installed etc.  I found out though that their prices do not include the materials on some of the things that I thought were included.  As long as they do a good job and there is no flooding or water that pools up it will be okay.  We went to Blue Water for dinner - there was a long line.  I'm not sure our friend liked it as they sell shark and he said that was not a good thing to do (or eat).

Saturday - May 12 - Our friend is not feeling top of his game - sinus infection from all the scuba diving.  We took him him to Liberty Station for the Asian Cultural Festival - ate a quick lunch there.  Then on to the light house to see and read about those things.  Then he said he needed to nap back at home.  When we got there though we ended up watching a show he had had recorded - The Killing - sort of a dark series, reminded me of Breaking Bad.  Then DS called and we had him come over to see all the work that had been done in the yard - we four went out to eat at Palestinian restaurant.  Nice chatting and food.  Basketball when we returned, then a Shark special that featured the scientist that was on his trip last week, then bed.

Sunday - May 13 - Had a little time to chat with Friend this AM the he went to living room to take a nap - he was asleep until almost 4!  DH and I had left overs for lunch - there were still some left for Tom when he woke.  I've been reading a book while waiting for him to rebound..... finished it and gave it to Tom to read - it's an interesting read.  Makes me want to finish reading or listening to BrainWave.  It was nice to not have workers making noise and just being around the house.  I think tomorrow they will finish the grading, move the sprinkler faucets, install the TV holder and finish fireplace so it's ready to have tile applied, and sure would be nice if they would finish fixing the holes the electrician made on the inside when he added the ceiling lights.  So might be tomorrow I can sew!  But tonight we went to Adam's Avenue Grill for a delicious dinner and dessert.

Monday - May 14 -  I'm exhausted.  Between getting up at 4:00am so I could say goodbye to our Friend, to cleaning the guest/sewing room, to having workers here again working on the yard, to .....  it just seems to go on an on.  The end result, on the yard is, it's not done.  The guy realized, and we could see too, that really getting the soil below the patio enough so it wouldn't flood wouldn't be the best way to do it.  We have to raise the patio pad up too.  So our lovely new patio posts are now going to be wrapped in special stuff and buried in the cement.  I didn't talk to him about that, I let DH do that talk.  It's apparently a treatment that is done in cases like this.  It's very unfortunate that our lovely posts were built before we knew about this need.
So we will also get new walkway built at the same level to the right along the house.  The ground there gets so much moisture that nothing grows and this cement will protect the house from more moisture - and will be a place where DH can put the BBQ so it's under light so he will be able to better see what he is doing in the nighttime BBQing.
Since there will be a truck of cement we will also extend the driveway about two feet and will have a walkway (used to be brick until two days ago) that will be the path for the garbage bins to be taken to the street.  There will also be a cement pad put for the trash bins to the house so there is no flooding.
Looks like we are not using the drivable tiles that I spent so much time looking for.  By saving money and keeping the fake rocks on the side of the house it would look cheap to have them so the smooth cement will be better.
The side cement pad will also be what we step on from the garage to the trash - if I can ever really empty that area.  We've never used that way to exit the garage as there is too much stuff in there, and the old chain link fences were in the wrong place to let DS play at the side of the yard.
DH went to stores to get what is needed to mount the TV to the top of the fireplace - nothing is going to happen to that I think for a while.  I should have the tiles here that they will put on the front anyway or it's another trip for the workers.
The workers are nice, they do not talk really loudly, they work very hard, they work well together, they do not smoke and they are neat.
I lost days getting ready for and hosting our friend - hope I can get the sewing and cleaning out and bookkeeping momentum up again.  Right now my feet hurt as I've been slipping on sandals and going outside to see things and have been getting dirt under my soles and rubbing them in so my feet bottoms feel raw.
If only I could depend on more all in one contractor service to be worth the extra cost - but this is the way we have to go - one step at a time.  Even with an official contractor sometimes things have to be revised.  As long as we are to code we are okay - and since just replacing stuff don't have to get licenses so far!
I'll need a break once all this is done before even thinking about having the work done that I wanted on the inside of the house!
I guess I'm sort of glad that our South African friends who were going to come to the conference in June and stay with us while they were here are not coming. Then once I get sewing set up again I can do a little each day rather than getting diverted to organizing things for guests.
I hope they will come another time though.... I told our Friend from Colorado that I would get a new mattress before his next stay - so will have to figure out how to have a full bed in there and all my sewing stuff!


http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com/2012/05/praying-for-miracle.html