Catch Up

Half-frozen 'Cramoisi Superieur' buds

Garden Update
It's been a rough several weeks from a blogly perspective. I had to work late a lot, it's dark all the damn time as far as I can tell, and on the few occasions that I'm out during the daylight, it's dull and washy, through a dense curtain of frigid mist (that's "frigid" as defined in the South--low 40s to low 30s--not Minnesota frigid, which I gather makes the ice planet of Hoth look like the Garden of Eden).

Needless to say, we have not spent a lot of time in the garden lately. And the news from the garden is not particularly fun, anyway. We got our first hard freeze a week or so ago, and it caught 'Cramoisi Superieur' and 'Duchesse de Brabant' with bushes heavy with buds, all now dangling dully from their stems. 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' had several big, fat, petally blossoms and buds, which froze into solid wilted blobs that are now rotting on the ground.

A couple of hopeless 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' buds

But now that heavy-hitting bloomers like Cramoisi and the Duchesse have been in the ground for over 2 years, I think they'll probably rebound and bloom again if we have a long enough period above freezing. After all, they're finally getting rain, a fact that is probably making the sap rush deleriously through their half-dessicated xylem and phloem.

'Green Ice,' that miniature paragon, is chugging along, undaunted. As usual, it is completely outblooming the tiresome parvenu 'Knockout.'

In House News
We finally replaced the tap in the guest bath. It look a long time because there is no such thing as a cheap faucet for pedestal or claw-footed tubs. They're all painfully expensive. I finally found the model I wanted (Barclay Products Limited 4025PL Wall Mounted Tub Filler w/Hand Shower) on eBay for $125--over $100 dollars cheaper than the nearest competitor.

Handsome new "tub filler" (what's up with that name, anyway? Is "faucet" insufficiently smarmy?)

And we also got some cellular shades for the window, so now our guests can be both clean and private. The room's not done (needs a new mirror, a new bath shelf, some sort of stool or small stand, a small antique dresser or bachelor chest, and the A/C vent needs to be moved about 7 feet toward the door so it doesn't blow on people's faces at night.

Nevertheless. Good progress. Rome wasn't built in a day. From little acorns mighty oak trees grow. Slow and steady wins the race. Or, as Jon Stewart puts it, "Keep fuckin' that chicken."

The other big house new is that we're planning to install a ventless gas fireplace in the living room as our Christmas present to each other. This is going to be a many-stage process because we want a custom surround and, ultimately, a pair of built-in bookshelves on either side. This is all going to take a very long time, so we're just going to start with a wooden platform and the firebox. Below is a composite of fireplaces I found online that looks more or less like what we're going for.

The long-term goal, more or less. Brought to you by the magic of Photoshop.

We've already bought 6 vintage Helman Art Nouveau tiles to go above the fireplace--we'll find some (cheaper) coordinating modern tiles to go around that. Shout-out to the folks who sold us the tiles, by the way: we love the tiles--they're even prettier in real life than they were on the web; they're in terrific condition; and when the shipping came out to more than they had estimated, they reduced the cost of the tiles so that the total remained the same. They company's called Recycling the Past, and they have a great selection and really good prices. Love them.

Our lovely period tile from Recycling the Past

In Culinary News

After Thanksgiving our local HEB had pork loin half off, at which point I fell off the local meat wagon and bought one. Because look at that thing--it's longer than my arm!


I brined it and then we grilled it per the directions at the Grilling Companion, and it turned out completely delectable--juicy, smoky, fork-tender, and flavorful. I think pork is in the process of becoming my Second Meat: first chicken, then pork, then beef or lamb. (Lamb would be my Second Meat, if it weren't so darn expensive.) Must go back to buying it locally, though.

And Finally, the Big News
I bought a car! I've been saving up for ages, and I finally bought a replacement for my late lamented 1995 Accord: a 2010 Honda Insight (hybrid). It's lovely and complex, and I think it's even rather sporty. I'm still amazed that I'm sufficiently adult and responsible that financing companies want to give me cars, but hey, I'm not gonna complain.

My new baby. It was rather cold out, as you may have inferred.

So-FA!

Dutifully blowing our rebate check like the patriots we are
We looked at some more sofas today, and I think this may be the one: a brown velour sofa with contrasting funky pillows. Mostly safely bourgeois, a tiny smidge bohemian.

One wants to be settled and have attractive things that are a good long-term investment, but one doesn't want to be boring. I mean, I was a ghetto-dwelling grad student for a long time. I had some clothes stolen from one apartment laundromat when thieves absconded with the washing machine they were sitting in, fer cryin out loud. I don't want to forget my roots. I don't want to be too gentrified. But I like pretty things. So. Brown velour + funky pillows.

The colors below aren't quite right (The photo of the pillow swatch came out oddly African, but it's actually kind of piquantly 1960s-ish), but you get the idea--the sofa's nice and rectangular. We like a rectangular sofa.

Very rough mock-up of possible new sofa. Shape is right; color is not completely wrong

It'll have a queen-sized sleeper, too, so we can have multiple guests at once or snuggle up for late-night movie watching. And it's good and firm and has a clean sort of an outline. The velour feels just a little decadent, too, which is fun. Our sofa says, "yeah, baby" and waggles its eyebrow rakishly.

Closeup of pillow fabric. In real life, it has more colors in it. Zesty and lubricious!

We're waiting on some swatches from the manufacturers before we make up our minds for sure, but I think this one is going to be it. And it's going to be 25% off! If we order when the sale is on, we'll be celebrating the arrival of the new sofa and the departure of the old by the end of September. Rest in peace, 33-year-old hideous yellow-and-orange-and-brown weave. You've served my family long and honorably.

R.I.P.

New upstairs vanity
In other acquisitions, last weekend Lowes put a vanity I've been eyeballing for some time on sale--about 40% off--so I went ahead and nabbed it. Since it's abnormally thin, it's an unusually good fit for our wee snippet of a guest bathroom, which contained no cabinet of any kind. And it's all part of my long-term plans for making everything in the guest room match. Oddly, it will be the only set of rooms in the house that does.

A. New shelf matching new vanity
B. Picture to be replaced by mirror that matches shelf
C. New vanity--now we have a place (other than the floor) to store toilet paper!
D. Fixture, mirror, and towel bar set to ultimately be replaced with shiny new prettiness to match the vanity.

The sink is a separate piece and is held on by gravity--not, in my opinion, a particularly adequate adhesive. So I smeared a big fat bead of liquid nails on the top of the cabinet and set the sink on that. I feel a little anxious about this--was there some reason for the top to be a separate piece? Something to do with--I don't know--expansion and contraction under humid conditions or something? But the deed is done. If the vanity experiences some sort of catastrophic breakdown as a result, I'll be sure to let you know. That's what happens when you don't follow the instruction manual to the letter.

Elsewhere...
No movement on the swing or trellis. It's too damn hot. Anxiously awaiting autumn, the true season of renewal here in Central Texas.

Tub, Shelves, Groundcloth, &c. &c.

We have been very energetic lately.

I touched up all the scuffs and smudges (that I could find) on our walls and doors, stripped and varnished a book shelf, and painted the outside of the pedestal tub. Also, Matt & I installed more metal edging and put down weed barrier.

Painting & Varnishing

The first two were pretty straightforward. Here's what's worth mentioning:

1) I impulse-bought a little bucket from Sherwin-Williams that is made for touch-ups. It has a special little lip so that you can scrape the excess paint off your brush without it going down the outside of the bucket; it has a magnet to hold your brush in place when you aren't using it; and it has a rubber handle that fits snugly over your hand.

The result is that you can carry it all over the house to make touch-ups without every dripping or spilling--it's a miracle! I was actually annoyed at the time of purchase--I had wanted just a cheap-o plain bucket for the task, not this fancy-pants professional-grade bucket with all the special features. However, there were no cheap-o buckets available, and as it turns out, the special features are killer. Love this bucket.

2) I bought a stain/varnish combo for the book shelf (which is an attractive but chintzy item that we got second-hand and originally came from Target). I didn't think it merited the complications of first staining, then varnishing. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the varnish something like a 7.8. It's easy to use, but in the miserable sauna that is our metal garage in August, the varnish tended to a slight gloppiness.

Also, in order to get a somewhat even finish, you have to apply 3 coats, which is annoying. And finally, it instructed me to use steel wool between the 1st and 2nd coats. But steel wool leaves little steel fuzzies which apparently hang suspended in the air until you put down your next coat of varnish, at which point they materialize out of nowhere and leap on the wet lacquer all at once. Most aggravating. Still, for refinishing second-hand bookshelves from Target, it's all right. And if I'd used sand paper instead of steel wool, I'd have given the product an 8.6

Chintzy but attractive bookcase. Original finish was chipping off. Sanded & refinished.

The Tub Rebels

The tub is... more difficult.

Stuff I learned about tub epoxy:
1) Really, really, really don't put it on too thick. If you do, it may never, ever dry.
2) If you have glops or imperfections, rub at them with a xylene-soaked rag sometime before they're 100% dry--xylene dissolves partially dried epoxy.
3) Buy the air canisters in bulk if (like us) you idiotically opted not to buy a power sprayer.

I ended up rubbing off the bits that kept not drying; hopefully by now (2 days after the xylene and about 2 weeks after initial application) the tub's first coat will be dry, if very uneven.

I painted the outside of the tub a darker shade of the wall color, although Matt (presciently) implored me not to. It isn't that it looks bad--it just doesn't look at all exciting. I had thought it would be really zingy. Alas. The color wasn't as pretty as I expected, and it has surprising nautical connotations--if the Navy had pedestal tubs, they would probably paint them this color. It's not terrible, just... meh.

Oddly institutional grey-blue of our pedestal tub. Oh well.

I dunno--maybe when I install a new shelf and cabinet, and add the bathmath, and so on, it will all pop into place. Maybe.

Taming the Front Bed

I'm quite happy about the week barrier. The roundup worked a treat on the burmudagrass, so now we're covering their browning corpses to prevent them from ever returning again. Later, we'll mulch on top of the weed barrier. Hot work, though. Not hard work, per se, just hot--I absolutely rained sweat.

The brown bits are the dead bermudagrass--Mwahahaha!

But the steamy outdoor work gives me a proper appreciation for our front porch, which is nice and shady and even catches the odd breeze. It's surprising how much a variance of a few degrees matters--you would think everything over 95F would just be bad, but actually, when you go from our oven of a garage out into the yard, you'd swear the outdoors was cool and delicious. And when you go from working in the yard to our shady porch, that 98-degrees-in-the-shade is remarkably refreshing.

In Which I Inhale a LOT of Epoxy

Tonight I finally began a long-anticipated project: the resurfacing of our upstairs pedestal bathtub (ca. 1920-30). Our guest room has this wonderful old tub, rather like the one below, only dull, dinged, stained, and with a very unattractive tap. Just to clarify the intrinsic--if currently obfuscated--coolness of our tub, check out this reproduction, available from Restoration Hardware for the perfectly reasonable price of $4,299.00

A shinier, snazzier version of our tub

So it's a very cool tub. However, it's so scroungy, you don't really want to touch it with your bare hands, let alone your bare bum.

Rather than trying to extract the beast (which is larger than the bathroom door--we rather suspect that they moved the tub into place and then built the bathroom around it) and send it to a workshop that re-enamels your tub for you, we're doing the drastically downmarket version and coating it in this epoxy stuff:


It's called "Tile Doc," and it's an epoxy coating that you spray on top of your existing tile/porcelain to refinish it.

We're doing the guest tub first, so that we can use it during the 4 days it will take our master tub to dry.

The guy at the Sherwin Williams on Braker very sweetly agreed to tint the base for me, which meant a lot of eyeballing, adding a smidge, mixing, eyeballing, adding another smidge, and so on. It was really rather above and beyond of him. And it's so nice that he agreed to, because the color we've painted our trim and cabinets (white with a soupçon of moonglow) looks really awful paired with pure white.

Anyway, last night I prepped the tub with xylene (to take off any lingering traces of shine and to remove residues). I kind of like the smell of xylene--it reminds me of the hobby paints Dad uses for his model train. In addition, I'm told that it can be used to make meth; it's always so smart to have backup career plans. I think it can be used in explosives, as well. Versatile product.

Today I put down the first coat of Tile Doc, and let me tell you--when they warn against fumes, brother, they aren't kidding. You don't want to try talking while spraying--the stuff will literally make you gag. We had the vent going, the window and door open, and two fans blowing, and we were still swimming in a toxic miasma. The rest of the house still reeks of the stuff--I'm considering sleeping in the back of the Jeep.

Another key tip: do be very disciplined about putting down very light coats. I had problems with spraying too much, too closely, resulting in drips. You can try to soften the drips a bit while it's partially wet, but obviously it's better to avoid the problem altogether.

Incidentally, you may be wondering what kind of sprayer I used. I was only ever able to find Preval (the brand that gave me so much grief this past weekend), but I got a tutorial from the S-W guy, and either because of that or for some occult reason beyond my comprehension, it decided to work today. Very pleased about that.

I'll be putting down the next (last) layer in an hour--I'm blogging right from the thick of the action today. You are, in effect, embedded in the combat zone. Matt will be watching me, so if I keel over from the fumes, he can drag me off by the ankles. If you don't hear from us in a few days, you may want to send the police around to make sure we didn't suffocate in our sleep.

Just kidding.

Probably.

Update
Wed. a.m.

Okay--we survived the night. The 2nd coat didn't go quite as well as the first--the stupid spray canister wasn't working properly. It blew in spurts and stutters and suffered from low flow. I used a brand new air canister for the 2nd coat, too.

People. I implore you. If you ever take on this kind of task yourself, buy a power sprayer. Of course, they do require an air compressor, a fact that only serves to remind me of lost opportunities for buying useful tools back when we were bambooing. But we went through 2 air canisters last night, one of which didn't work properly, and we'll have to buy three more before this one project is finished. It'll presumably take 5 or 6 canisters to complete the master bath. Between the cost and the heartache, a power sprayer would definitely have been the prudent choice.

Nevertheless, the tub looks better this morning than expected. Because the spray flow was so low last night, the paint job came out all blotchy and we ran out of air before we had gotten through half the bottle of paint--so it was not only blotchy, but incomplete.

But epoxy is a viscous, oozy sort of substance, and I think that as it dries, it expands a bit and kind of mudges together, so it's less blotchy this morning than it was last night. Interestingly enough, it's still quite tacky, even wet. I'm not entirely sure when we'll be able to put down the next coat. But even with the splotches, it's already looking much, MUCH better, which is ever so gratifying.