Closeted

Hack! Snort! Achoo!

Winter is the time for indoor projects. Unfortunately, it is also the time for colds and flu. I get a cold about once every 5 years and when I do, it's a doozy.

But I rallied from the sick bed and we got the door wall of the closet built and installed.

"Built and installed". Another simple statement that does nothing to convey the sore knees from putting in screws while on the floor or the joy of hitting the frame with a sledghammer because an old house is uneven and measurements don't equal reality.

But, yes, the door frame is built and definitely installed.

Next day, since we have always shared everything, Tom came down with the bug. So that was a construction day lost to the couch.

The day after that, he figured he may as well get something done while feeling poorly, so we put up the final wall.



And wallboarded the outside.

I  hate wallboard. The 4' x 8' sheets are too big to handle easily, it breaks if you give it a dirty look, and it's a pain to cut. Seems about time someone invented a good alternative but I haven't heard of one. At least we have walls, however rough they look.

We're not rushing with the next step (the final goal is to finish this wall off with trim and build bookcases along the big, blank area. We'll be moving a solid wood door from another room for the doorway.) We're just going to enjoy not having construction materials and tools all over the living room for a week or so.

And maybe finally get over these colds.

What's Cooking?

Potting mix.

Bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes to sterilize to avoid damping off in your seedlings.

And even though my mom always said you had to eat a peck of dirt before you die, I'll make sure no one thinks this is dinner.

And So It Begins

Red Marble Cipriani onions.

In the Closet

We're closet preppers.

In our case, quite literally.

When you mention southern Indiana, New Yorkers usually respond with "Oh, that's tornado country." It came as a surprise when I was looking at properties in this area that few had basements. The place we bought not only has no basement but doesn't even have an interior room.

We looked at the ugly, open stairway and decided that enclosing it would not only give us space for lots and lots of bookshelves, enable us to seal off the upstairs to save on heat, and we could also expand and reinforce the under-the-stairs closet for a storm shelter.



Open stairway with construction materials at the ready!

January is the perfect time for an indoor project so we drew up plans and made a pricey trip to the hardware store.

I thought we would start with an 8' section but my saner half reminded me that we were indeed capable of building something we couldn't lift. We built two 4' sections instead.


For strength we put in double beams and in one case (my mistake in measuring) a triple beam.

As with any project, problems arise. In this case, an outlet that was in the floor and had very little play in the wire to move it.

We pondered and jiggled and tugged and cursed and finally got it to the point where we could work it through the wall.

In the middle of the first day of construction, I discovered I was coming down with what seemed suspiciously like the flu. We knocked off for two days while I sneezed and coughed and moaned around on the couch. Today I dragged myself off of my sick bed and we put up the drywall for this section.



 "Put up the drywall". Sounds easy, right? Let's just say, you are very glad you weren't here. Nuff said.

Working inside during winter means you store your materials inside, so everytime we start and finish for the day we end up moving 2"x4"s and sheets of drywall. That in itself is almost as much trouble as the actual work.

Next, we start the extension part, but not until I'm fully recovered 'cause it ain't no fun trying to run a screwgun while you're sneezing your head off.

Buyer Beware: A Tale of Two Companies

This is basically a long rant; buckle up and bear with me.

Tale number one: As a present to myself, I ordered a garden cart. I waited until the company of my choice--a well-known purveyor of nonelectric and homesteady type tools whose name I won't mention but it rhymes with "Lehmans"--offered free shipping and put in my order. Two boxes arrived within a few days. I opened them with anticipation. Box one held two sturdy wheels. Box two held yet two more sturdy wheels. I knew the cart required assembly but figured there were a few parts missing, so I called customer service.

Surprise! I reached a real person with the first ring. She apologized, said they had some new people in shipping, promised to look into it and to call me back (I have this image of a motherly type hiking down to the shipping department, collaring some hapless workers by the ears and giving them what-for).

Surprise again! She did call back within an hour or two. She arranged for pick-up by UPS of the wrong parts and within a week I had the correct shipment.

Mistake by company taken care of swiftly, politely, and easily.

Tale number two is a far different matter.

At the end of October, I ordered a propane generator via Home Depot. This was at the time of Hurricane Sandy so I feared there would be a back order but was pleased to receive the generator a few days later.

That was the last I was pleased with the transaction.

This first delay is my fault. We had to have an extra propane line run and I waited until it was done before testing the generator. We hooked it up late November only to find that the pull-start wouldn't pull.

Unfortunately, Home Depot was only the seller, all questions and problems needed to be handled by the wholesaler. I won't mention their name, but it rhymes with BUFFALO TOOLS.

We called. Called again. After several attempts we reached customer service who told us to try a few fixes. Nothing worked. They said they would arrange a pick-up and replace the unit.

Here is where it goes downhill at a furious pace.

Days passed. No notice, no pick-up. Finally reached someone who said they would notify UPS. Again, nothing.

More than a week passed. More calls and now we're also resorting to email. At this point, my normally low blood pressure is rising rapidly. Now the company says they need the original receipt. We contact Home Depot for a copy of the order and send it to B.T.

The first nonworking generator is finally picked up.

We wait.

And wait.

More calls. More emails. Weeks later we receive a large box from UPS. Open it with trepidation. It's a generator. A GAS powered generator. We don't know whether to laugh or cry.

It's my turn to call. I am not known for my patience or calmness in these situations but I promise Tom I will not use profanity.

I ask for the customer service supervisor who blames the mishaps on UPS. Huh? (in the time this has taken, we have received numerous shipments from UPS, all in good time, some faster than expected). She promises that shipping will call. They don't. More calls, more emails. We've got this down to a routine, taking turns.

After another two weeks of more noncommuncation, this generator is picked up. We're promised that as soon as they know it's been shipped, a replacement will be coming our way.

This time, only 15 days pass. The supervisor passes the blame to the shipping department.

Eventually, somehow, another propane generator is delivered. The labels on it are a mess and there is oil in the bottom of the box, leaving me to guess this is a used or rebuilt model. We set it up and pull.

And pull.

And pull.

Over 50 cranks and nothing. So...

This email states we expect a refund. Period.

Lo and behold, it is answered, saying the refund is in process (we'll see, nothing yet).

This rant is not to badmouth a company, the one that sounds like Buffalo Tools.

Well, ok, it is that. But also to point up two things:

One. Be persistent. My husband has the well-earned nickname "Mr. Squeaky Wheel". Sometimes you have to push and push and push. It's annoying and exhausting but necessary 'cause often that wheel won't get greased unless you insist on it. And take notes!

Two. There is no excuse for the ineptness shown by the generator company. Lehmans is a good example of a great place to deal with, Zappos is another. Good business and good customer service can co-exist.

This simple idea applies to everyday life, too. We should do what we say we will, follow through, be polite, help when needed. If we all did, the world would see to that grease before being nagged to death by Mr. Squeaky. Wouldn't that lower your blood pressure?

But in the meantime, caveat emptor. Big time.

Heatwave

They say wood heats you twice--once when you cut it, once when you burn it.

We've found it warms much more than that.

A woodstove provides a cozy place to sit and read and dream. A place to percolate coffee and simmer soup. A drying rack in front of the stove beats the clothesline on drizzly days and a table nearby provides a great spot for dehydrating fruits and vegetables using solar power once removed.

Burning wood warms your buy-local-carbon-footprint heart when you buy fuel from your next door neighbor who harvested it 1/2 mile away. And even those of us who don't cut our own gain exercise from stacking and hauling. And we get fertilizer from the ashes.

The financial benefits are heartwarming also. We dropped some serious change to buy and install this stove but I'm betting the price of propane will continue to increase and outpace firewood; as many have said, a woodpile in the yard is money in the bank. This stove will last a lifetime, unlike a furnace, and requires no electricity to run.

During winter, a woodstove becomes the center of the house. When you come in from the cold, you immediately feel the warmth wrap around you, your muscles loosen up, and you know you're home.

Welcome home.