Baby Steps

Here is a rundown of things we've fixed since we moved in. We would have gotten more done but Ryan brought home scarlet fever or SARS or something and we've been under the weather and unpacking.

First, our kitchen has problems.

The fridge that came with the house doesn't work, 52F is not a safe food storage temperature. A fridge should keep food between 37F and 41F, it seems low, but it's not. 52F is like begging your mayo or milk to kill you in the most horrible way imaginable. So we got a mini-fridge as a stopgap until one of us caves in the great fridge standoff of 2012.

The cabinetry was filthy. So very, very gross. I cleaned most of the cabinets inside and out, it took several hours over the course of two days. I threw out fourteen roach traps (I counted), two of which actually had roach egg cases attached to them. The pictures don't do it justice. Think about the kitchen the family from the Texas chainsaw massacre would have, or one from a home in Silent Hill (minus blood) and you get the idea.

The cupboards and drawers were sticky to the touch.

I actually had to remove the hardware (and last coat of paint) to get these clean.

The top shelf is clean and the bottom one isn't in this pic. No live roaches have been spotted yet, small favors.

The kitchen door is custom. I like it, but it needs a bit of spiffing. Molding is falling apart, the little latch that holds up the sliding screen shutter is broken, and the lower half could use a cat door.

We had to do a little carpentry to get the
deadbolt in. Good thing I bought a mitre saw. We'll have to do a little more to make it not look condemned.

This is the latch to close the window in the kitchen door.
The guys at Home Depot have no idea where I can
 get a replacement. Also, nearly impossible to scrub clean.

Second, the windows were basically opaque with copper sulfate residue. 

So the screens and windows got a good going over. It's brightened up the house considerably but now we really need to put up the curtains.

First Bedroom, now with street
view and one pet screen. 

Second Bedroom, now with garden view.
Also note the paint removal testing in
progress. Citrus paint stripper vs. lead
paint: lead paint wins.

Third Bedroom, now with
laundry shed "view". 

Screen repair, window cleaning, and window dressing. My living room has over 100 square feet of windows. I need a 10' curtain rod and more 63" panels. My Target doesn't carry them anymore and they won't ship to Hawaii from the online store. If you're interested in being my mainland source for curtains and curtain rods, hit me up and I'll send you the specs. I'm good for it, I swear.

The "rust" from one screen. There are 16 this size.
Plus the two enormous ones in the living room, we wore dust masks.
Safety first!

Copper screens, neat, they oxidize green and are more salt resistant than steel. The oxidate is copper sulfate from the volcanic acid rain reacting with the metal. Ryan says that inhalation is contra-indicated, yay dust masks.

It's hard to take pictures of screens. This is a 1" square patch
in the kitchen, we did a handful of these using the screen from
the one we replaced.

From the inside, the difference is not
so jarring. But this was the only one
beyond saving by patching.

Patching metal screens is a pretty neat process. First, you cut a piece of screen a bit larger than the hole. Then you pull away woven strands from the edges of your patch so it's sort of "frayed". Then you bend the frayed edges perpendicular to the patch face and push them through the screen around the hole. Finally you use a couple chunks of wood and a small hammer or mallet to bend the edges towards the center of the patch and flat against the screen.

Finally, we come to Reader Requests! 

Jane, the dear, has asked for photos of unusual household pests and Ryan's butt. If you have something you'd like to see, or have questions about, please let me know and I'll add it to a future post.

Kittens are not unusual, but are definitely pests. I'm sure I'll get some good shots of the geckos and frogs soon. It rains [heavily and continuously] here, hence the high-water look we're both sporting. Not shown: other two cats going on with their lives.

Chuckles, the goof, was most upset about the
move and became a burrowing cat. For an entire
 day, whenever we sat down, he cuddled
aggressively.

And the move was traumatic for Ryan as well. He
refused to wait for my help with a heavy box and
nearly broke a toe.

The ventilation for the attic should be screened to keep out critters. But most of ours were open or shredded. My hero replaced those. Sexy handyman, ahoy!

Why did I make the tall guy crawl up into the attic?

Because his arms are the only ones long enough to get to the eaves. Not because I needed a shot of his behind, I swear.

P.S. Please pardon my totally peculiar formatting. I'm working on it.