As we were hanging drywall in the kitchen, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I patched up the hallway at the same time?”

There isn’t a lot of wall space in the hallway since it mainly consists of doors (six to be exact, plus one opening for the kitchen), but where wall space did exist the paint was cracked or peeling. So I got out my trusty wall scraper and found a spot to get under the paint.

In no time at all, I was once again able to get down to the original plaster, thanks to paper-backed wallpaper and presumably a couple of bad paint jobs (one layer of pink and one in the PO’s favorite non-color, white).

There was also a really bad patch job, which wasn’t even sanded or painted (it happened to match the PO’s favorite shade of white and blended in. I imagine most of these cracks occurred when the PO tore out the bathroom tile on the opposite side and put in the lovely (sarcasm) blue and yellow tile. The orange color you see here is the paper remaining after scraping. All I had to do was apply warm water onto the paper with a sponge and let it sit for a minute — it easily came off with the wall scraper. Another wipe down with clean water removed the rest of the glue.

Did I stop there? Oh no, I saw a crack in the ceiling and decided I should open that up a little in order to patch it. Down came the ceiling paint with an easy swipe of the wall scraper! I honestly don’t know how that paint remained on the ceiling all those years — it was not adhered to the plaster at all.

Now that it’s down I’ve discovered a few more hairline cracks that were hidden under the paint, so this patch job has become a little more involved. First things first though — the kitchen is priority number one. I’m not touching another thing until that project is finished.

I swear.

Tags: hallway, plaster repair, removing paint

Coinciding with my participation in Apartment Therapy’s Kitchen Cure, replacing one of the damaged plaster walls in the kitchen has become part of my “special project” to improve the kitchen aesthetically. I’d say this wall definitely needed to improve its look!

Although the original built-in ironing board cabinet no longer existed in our bungalow kitchen, we did discover its original location once we tore down the rest of the drywall-glued-to-plaster wall.

We added shelves between the studs in the same spot, leaving the plaster lathe exposed in the back of the cabinet to maximize the space. With the plaster oozing between the lathe, an important part to “keying” — which helps keep the plaster from cracking — it would have been difficult to cover it evenly anyway. This lathe belongs to the closet wall on its opposite side.

By adding a birch plywood door and hidden hinges, this useful little cabinet will remain flush with the rest of the new wall.

With the help of our dear friend Rod, we also installed the drywall last weekend.

I dreaded doing it, but I began to tape and mud the wall toward the end of the week. I was starting to get the hang of it and was all set to forge ahead early Saturday morning. I had barely begun when I turned the wrong way and did a number on my back. I spent the rest of the day nursing my back, which is still giving me problems today. Pete has taken over the job, for which I’m very thankful, but feel terrible about leaving him to do it — really!

I was hoping to be able to start painting by the end of the weekend, but that’s totally out of the question. Maybe, hopefully next weekend. My back feels a little better but I think it’ll be a few more days until it feels back to normal.

In addition to that, I also need to start on Week Two’s assignment: De-Clutter & Reorganize Tools. Time to get busy (perhaps after a warm, soothing bath?)!

Tags: Apartment Therapy, cabinet, drywall, ideas, injury, kitchen, Kitchen Cure, sheetrock

Although I completed Apartment Therapy’s Week One Kitchen Cure assignment last weekend, I’m totally behind on my posts.

First I removed everything from the pantry, wiped down the shelves and got rid of things I hadn’t used in ages, like the corn syrup I used to make ice cream fudge sauce for Christmas gifts one year.

Then I went through the fridge and found one lowly Boca Burger in the freezer from 2007 (yikes!) along with leftover gravy from Thanksgiving (that was rather gross) and other miscellaneous past-their-prime items. I have no idea how some things ended up in my fridge in the first place, like a jar of sweet cherry peppers. I know I never bought them, so out they went.

Once I rearranged things a little, I found that I had lots more space and could find things much more easily. I always start out with some organization, but eventually it gets messed up, especially when the husband simply places things in the most convenient empty space. I’ll forgive him, though. At least he puts things away.

The best changes were making room for the Penguin Soda Maker bottles in the door, placing all eggs and dairy on the same shelf, and putting leftovers and other more perishable items on top where they’re easy to see.

In the pantry I put all baking ingredients on a lower shelf, all canned goods on an easily-accessible shelf, and placed oils and vinegars together on a tall shelf. I also used a rectangular Tupperware container to hold bags of nuts and seeds, and another one for dried beans, rice and other grains.

While this was going on, we have also been working on the kitchen wall, which ties into my special Kitchen Cure project. More on that next!

Tags: Apartment Therapy, cleaning, kitchen, Kitchen Cure, organization, pantry

As I mentioned a few days ago, I signed up for Apartment Therapy’s Kitchen Cure, a four-week program to designed to whip your kitchen in shape. It kicks off this weekend, so if you’d like to join me and over 2,000 others, just follow the link above.

This afternoon I received my first assignment: Clean Out the Fridge and Pantry.

Prior to cleaning, however, I had to take “Before” photos of the pantry, fridge and cabinets. They were a little disorganized, but not terrible. Have a look:

This is the opposite wall, before we demo’d it.

And, as it looks today.

The electrician has been here a couple days now, and this wall is ready for sheetrock! I debated about calling our contractor to do it, because I really, really hate to hang drywall, but I think we’re going to do it ourselves and save the money. It shouldn’t be too bad.

As for my first assignment, I already started on cleaning the pantry, and I’m going to tackle the fridge tomorrow. Who knows what’s lurking in there?!

Tags: Apartment Therapy, cleaning, kitchen, Kitchen Cure, organize

Something I’ve been wanting to do for years and years and years was to choose the ideal photo from each of our vacations (which have been quite scarce lately, unfortunately) and hang them as a group somewhere.

I finally made some time to go through our boxes of photos (pre-digital) — luckily I was quite anal with the photos back in the day and was very organized with both the prints and the negatives (stored separately for safe keeping).

Once I chose all the contenders, Pete and I started eliminating. Some were easy to eliminate; others very difficult. When deciding between several good ones, we asked ourselves, for example, “Does this really say ‘Hawaii’ or could it be anywhere warm?” Or if one photo reminded us of a special hike in Maine when the other was just a good photo somewhere in Acadia.

We finally narrowed it down to six vertical shots and three horizontal (for now). I bought identical gallery frames from Pottery Barn for this (watch for sales), although I like the look of an assortment of frames too. Since I have that look for old family photos (which I have yet to hang on the wall), I wanted to go with a uniform look this time.

Our TV room — or should I say “media room”? — was the perfect spot for these. Originally I planned to hang the horizontal 8×10s above the sofa, but Pete rightly pointed out that we wouldn’t see them much there, so we hung them next to the window. Now I see them every time I walk into the room and while I’m sitting on the sofa.

The six vertical 5×7s fit nicely on a small wall between the closet and door.

Now to start vacationing again!

Tags: Decor, photos, picture frames, travel

A number of months back, I tore open a section in our kitchen wall in the hopes I would find the remnants of the original built-in ironing board — I thought it would be cool to turn into a spice rack. No such luck.

It wasn’t a lost cause, however, because the ultimate goal was to demolish this wall completely since 2/3 of it consisted of drywall securely fastened to the original plaster with construction glue and screws.

Since the PO covered most of this wall with the pantry and refrigerator (as evidenced by the green paint outline in the photo below — one of my very first projects when we moved here), the drywall wasn’t completely mudded, and the parts that were drywall only didn’t necessarily blend smoothly with the drywall-over-plaster parts.

On top of that, there was some iffy electrical work behind the wall, a combination of the PO’s 1990s-era remodel and original wiring. Since the plaster wall was unsalvageable, I thought it would be a good idea to remove it completely to clean up what was behind there and make a few electrical changes.

I have been itching to start on this mainly because I wanted to wrap up the electrical work. I convinced Pete that we should do it over the weekend. We started around 11:00 Sunday morning, first by removing the cabinets and countertop on this wall.

By 4 p.m. it was demolished and cleaned up.

This happens to coincide with an email I received last week from Apartment Therapy’s Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan telling me my kitchen needs a cure (how did she know?). Beginning this weekend, February 26th, you can sign up for a “four-week program designed to help you get your kitchen in tip-top shape.” You can devote as much or as little time as you’d like to get your kitchen in shape.

Obviously I’m starting my cure in a big way, and I’m hoping by the end of the four weeks I’ll not only have a clean, organized kitchen, but also a freshly-painted, stylish one. Won’t you join me?

Tags: Apartment Therapy, demolition, kitchen, plaster

Have a backyard bird feeder? Like to go for a walk in the woods or along a lakefront? Or do you like to birdwatch wherever you are?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, taking place this weekend, February 12th-15th. The data collected are important to orinthologists as they study bird migrations and populations from year-to-year. According to the site,

Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. The information from GBBC participants even more valuable as scientists try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes.

The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change, noted consistently over a period of years, is an indication that something is happening in the environment that is affecting the birds and that should be followed up on. GBBC information also allows us to look at what kinds of birds inhabit different areas, such as cities versus suburban.

All the information from the GBBC and other surveys goes into a massive bird database called the Avian Knowledge Network. AKN now holds 36 million records of bird observations which are used by scientists around the world.

It takes as little as 15 minutes to observe and record your bird sightings. Your observations can be recorded over the course of a day.

At any one time, count the greatest number of each bird species and record that number. Say you count 4 Purple Finches at your feeder in the morning, and then later that afternoon you count only 2. You would record 4 as the greatest number (don’t add the numbers together).

You have until March 1st to record your observations on the web site.

As I sit here in my home office, I’ve already observed six different species. What I’m most pleased to discover is that today, for the first time in several years I saw two Black-Capped Chickadees! These cute little birds, along with the American Crow and Blue Jay, were greatly affected by the West Nile Virus, which hit hard in the Chicago area — Skokie and Morton Grove were especially affected by it.

If you’re new to birdwatching, the Great Backyard Bird Count website has tips for identification, especially for discerning the differences between certain species like Sparrows and Finches. If you have kids, it’s a great way to get them involved. You don’t have to observe every day, but the count only takes place this weekend, so start today!

Tags: backyard, birds, get involved, nature, wildlife

I rearranged a few things in the living room, and I really like how this corner of the room looks, finally.

The bookcase belonged to my parents. I think they bought it when they were first married. It’s a little beat up — it still has the mark from the iron my mother set on top of it — but it fits in perfectly here.

Tags: art, Decor, details, home portraits, living room

About a year-and-a-half ago, we signed up for Residential Real Time Pricing (RRTP) with Commonwealth Edison, our electricity provider. Many utility companies across the country offer similar programs, so please check with your local provider for energy-saving opportunities on utility bills.

RRTP uses ComEd’s Basic Electric Service Hourly Energy Pricing. With it, the price of electricity varies from hour to hour based on wholesale market prices verses the standard fixed-price rate that most people have. According to ComEd the more you avoid using electricity when prices are high, the more you potentially could save with real-time pricing. It’s not necessarily recommended for those who work out of the home, as energy prices typically run much higher during the peak daytime hours. Even though I occasionally work out of the house, we’re energy-conscious and decided to try it.

The terms of the program require that you remain on it at least for 12 months. After that, you’re free to switch back to the standard fixed rate plan. When signing up, ComEd will replace your meter, and they will notify you via email “when predicted day-ahead hourly prices are expected to reach or exceed 14 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for any number of hours during the following day.” They will also alert you when the real-time price reaches or exceeds 14 cents per kWh, typically during the summer months when A/C usage is high. Presumably during these peak times you have the opportunity to turn off any energy-depleting devices to cut costs, however we really didn’t make any adjustments in our energy usage.

At the end of 2008, I reviewed our energy costs and was disheartened to discover that we actually lost money. From May through December 2008, we paid $35 more on RRTP than we would have on ComEd’s fixed-rate plan. Not a huge amount of money, but still.

I reviewed it again at the end of 2009 (you can compare your monthly energy usage and download the data when you sign up at The Watt Spot). This time the news was much better: we saved $107!

Considering I worked at home often last year due to all the construction we had going on from May through July and we added a second HVAC unit for the new second floor and increased our overall square footage by almost 50%, I’m very pleased with the outcome.

Another energy-saving opportunity with ComEd is Central Air Conditioning Cycling (formerly called Nature First), which allows ComEd to install a special switch on your central air conditioning unit that lets them cycle your compressor “off and on” during summer days with high electric demand. We receive a $10 credit for 4 months on this program and haven’t noticed any temperature difference, or whether ComEd has even needed to do it (the need is dictated by the weather — hot temperatures with high humidity — and if ComEd’s system is reaching capacity). You do not have to be enrolled in Real Time Pricing to participate in the Central Air Conditioning Cycling program.

The last option is Load Guard, in which we’ll enroll before the summer. With Load Guard, you must also be enrolled with Real Time Pricing.

With Load Guard, you can choose a price level to moderate your central A/C usage. The Green level will put the A/C in conservation mode for two hours when the price hits 10 cents per kWh, which will decrease energy usage and emit fewer greenhouse gasses. The Blue level will kick in at 14 cents per kWh instead of 10 cents if you prefer a cooler house, but of course will mean higher energy costs. Because Load Guard is a web-based service, you can switch between the Green or Blue option for the following day so for instance if you won’t be home on a hot day anyway, you can choose the Green level the night before and can always switch back to the Blue level the following day if the house is too warm for your tastes.

Since our attic space is now fully insulated with foam along with ceiling fans in many of our rooms, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with the more environmentally-friendly Green level. I’m looking forward to more savings in 2010!

Tags: eco-conscious, eco-friendly, electricity, energy efficiency, green living, save money, utilities

Last week the kitchen was relatively spotless so I quickly snapped a few photos. It doesn’t stay that way for more than a few minutes, unfortunately.

This is the view from the back of the kitchen, near the back door. The fridge is to the left with the pantry cabinet to left of the fridge (not shown). Before our attic remodel they were on the opposite wall to the right. The wall behind the stove moved inward 6 inches in order to widen the staircase to the second floor (on the opposite side of that wall).

Obviously, there is still painting to do here. The soffits above the stove and in front of the window hide the master bathroom plumbing upstairs.

The plumbing in front of the kitchen window doesn’t extend the width of the window, however I had the contractor frame the entire window with the soffit so that it appears to be more a design element than an eyesore that is obviously hiding something. It would look odd if it stopped halfway. We still need to have the electrician come out to install a strip of lights in that recess to provide some accent lighting above the sink. I’m also planning to hang a pot rack bar over the sink.

The IKEA pot rack in the photo below is a temporary solution on the opposite wall. The cabinets are additional wall cabinets left over from the new layout, and the countertop is a shallow section left over from the countertop above. I’ll explain more about that in another post. By placing these cabinets and counter at bar height, we can tuck our kitchen table underneath and can see the display better on the microwave.

A closer look at the far end of the wall reveals one of the projects on our 2010 To Do List: repair hole in kitchen wall. This was where the original built-in ironing board would have been located. I was hoping to find remnants of it — at least the frame of it — so that we could make a built-in spice rack out of it. No such luck.

This wall is partial sheetrock, but mostly sheetrock over plaster. Since the plaster wall is unsalvageable, I’d like to tear the entire wall out and replace it completely with sheetrock, because the plaster-sheetrock section doesn’t blend very well with the sheetrock-only section. The PO had it hidden behind the refrigerator and pantry, but it’s much more apparent now.

The former master bedroom closet is also behind the lathe. Since it’s no longer a master bedroom and is a large closet by bungalow standards, I’ve been thinking about stealing a couple feet from it and creating a pantry closet for the kitchen. It would still leave a decent-sized closet in that room (which is now our TV room), so it can still be considered a bedroom.

In the meantime, it’s going to remain a hole in the wall.

Tags: cabinet, kitchen, to-do list

I love carbonated water. I’ll drink much more water if it’s the carbonated variety and we all know we’re supposed to drink lots of water. But even though we recycle, I hated all the liter bottles of Poland Spring Sparkling Water we went through.

So I was ecstatic when I received the Sodastream Penguin Starter Kit for Christmas.

Best. Present. Ever. (Okay, not counting the Spring Rocking Horse I received when I was 2, but that’s another story.)

The Penguin comes with its own 20-ounce glass carafes, which is probably the biggest disappointment. I would have liked a bit more capacity in the bottles because we go through 20 ounces really fast. They have other models, like the Sodastream Pure Starter Kit which use BPA-free plastic 1-liter bottles (also supplied) at a lower cost. If I had to choose again, I think I may have gone with the cheaper Pure model, mainly because of the bottle capacity.

But, I’m still thrilled with the Penguin, and it’s super easy to make carbonated water with it: just unlock the chamber and it slides open. Insert the carafe, filled with cold water (we use tap water that is filtered through our refrigerator) and close and lock the chamber.

The CO2 cartridge is stored in the other half of the Penguin and will make about 60 liters of carbonated water. Using short, quick pumps on the “beak” of the Penguin, pump it until the Penguin whistles (it takes about 8 pumps for me). For extra fizziness, you can pump it until it whistles again. Press the button on the front to release the gas and then unlock the chamber (it won’t unlock until you press the button).

You can also purchase SodaMix flavor syrups to make your own soda (lemon-lime, root beer, diet cola, etc.), or if you prefer the unsweetened flavor essence, like I do, they have berry, lemon-lime and orange in a 3-pack. You only need about 1/4 teaspoon to add a hint of flavor to the water.

Voilà! Tasty sparkling water at a fraction of the cost!

Tags: cool finds, kitchen, purchases

Continuing with our “clean theme” for the new year, we were able to start using the master bathroom back in mid-October even though it wasn’t quite finished.

As you can see here: no fixtures for hanging towels, toilet paper; no mirror or light above the sink; sink temporarily installed on a plywood countertop; no shower door; caulking in progress…

I wanted to try and save money by tiling a countertop ourselves using travertine tile similar to the floor but with less variation. The drop-in sink that I bought at a discount would help with the savings. But once we put the sink in place on the plywood base, I absolutely hated it — it took up way too much space and the little bit of counter surface surrounding the sink was too small, making it totally unusable. And after figuring out the details on all the costs involved in tiling the counter (not to mention the amount of time we’d have to put in), the “savings” dwindled away. So much for trying to saving a buck.

Not wanting to hate the bathroom every time I used it (I already have one of those), we did what we should have done in the first place and ordered a solid surface countertop with integrated sink bowl. A painful lesson, but worth every additional penny.

That was installed in early November and we slowly kept chipping away at it, mounting a towel ring, towel bar, toilet paper holder, clothes hook, and the lighted mirror, all of which we bought on sale at Restoration Hardware.

The lighted mirror wasn’t initially in the plan. I never liked the light bars that are mounted over a mirror and wanted to install the more flattering light source from sconces on either side of a mirror. Because we also installed a countertop cabinet, it didn’t leave much room for sconces, so I was happy to find an all-in-one solution: a mirror that provided soft, flattering light (and cost about the same as a mirror and sconces would have). If you need a strong bathroom light, however, don’t buy this. With an overhead light/fan combo, a light in the shower, and a huge skylight in this room, we have plenty of additional light sources.

For the counter cabinet, instead of installing a spacer to the right of it, which was a necessity so that the drawers would clear the light switches, receptacle and thermostat and the door wouldn’t bang into the wall, I found acrylic shelves at The Container Store. At 6 inches deep and 12 inches wide, by mounting them parallel to the side of the cabinet it created little cubbyholes to tuck away unsightly things like Pete’s shaver and display shelves for lotions and other girly things. Clean towels can also be rolled up and stored here.

I’m pretty pleased with my little spark of genius there.

Between the shelves, the counter cabinet, the under-sink cabinet and lower drawers, we have tons of storage here.

Now for the pièce de resistance.

Shortly before Christmas we finally arranged to have our shower door installed. Because it’s a custom fit, I was holding off as long as possible to save up for it (especially after the sink debacle; I didn’t want to cut corners here). It’s a large enough shower to contain most of the water, so it wasn’t much of a problem to shower without a door. We just had to point the shower head toward the wall and watch out for a stream of water running down our elbows and out onto the bath mat.

I really, really wanted a frameless shower door and I love this thing. It has a nice, clean, streamlined look, and it shows off all our hard tiling work! So far, upkeep is a breeze and we haven’t had any problems with streaking. The shower guy suggested using a squeegee if needed, but we really haven’t needed it yet.

The final “fixture” you’ll see here: Günter. With the radiant heat flooring, he literally spends almost 24/7 here. I can’t say I blame him.

Tags: attic renovation, completed projects, master bathroom, purchases

I think it’s appropriate to take a “clean, fresh” look at our new laundry room, just like the start of the new year feels to me.

Back in October, Pete and I laid the Marmoleum tile, an all-natural linoleum flooring, and our washer and dryer arrived soon afterward.

We opted for the pedestals, both for additional storage space and to make it easier to access the clothes without a lot of stooping.

According to my research, the Bosch Vision 500 Series Washer fit our needs best.

It appeared to be the most energy-efficient, quietest washer on the market. Because this was going on the second floor, a washer with the least amount of vibration was also a big advantage. The added security of their Aqua-Stop feature, which shuts the water off immediately if it detects a leak, also sold us on Bosch.

The companion gas dryer has a steam option, which is good for people like us who rarely iron.

Now that we’ve used them for a few months, in general I’m very happy with them. I can definitely feel the vibration when the washer is on the maximum spin cycle, but considering the speed, it’s very minimal. It hasn’t walked its way across the room, so that’s a good thing. For smaller loads, we found it best to reduce the spin cycle, which you can change with a touch of the button.

There are a couple minor quirks, like the beeping when the load is done on both the washer and dryer. It seems to continue indefinitely and I haven’t checked to see if that can be turned down or minimized.

The dryer has a sensor to detect when clothes are dry, so the dryer tends to shut down at various times — some clothes are dry while others are still damp. I guess it’s a good thing so that quicker-drying clothes don’t get “over-dried” (if there is such a thing!), but it means more trips to the laundry room. That’s not a big issue since it’s in our living space now, but several trips down to the basement would get old really fast. There’s probably a better way to handle that, but I haven’t checked the manual to see if it can be adjusted.

Since we went with a red, gray and white color scheme here, the old red IKEA computer desk from the basement fit in perfectly here and should be a nice little sewing station (I really must break in that sewing machine!).

And, what laundry room wouldn’t benefit from a little organization? With The Container Store’s Annual 30% off ELFA Sale in full swing now until mid-February, our New Year’s break was the perfect time to purchase and install shelving.

Another transplant from the basement was our under-counter refrigerator, which came from the laundry room in our previous house. Although we used it when we hung out in the basement with guests, we didn’t have an “under-counter” spot for it in this house, so it was wedged next to the bar. Since the additional attic space is turning into a lounge/exercise/yoga/gaming spot, we thought we’d get more use out of it upstairs.

The small coffeemaker, a thoughtful Christmas gift from Pete, allows me to get my coffee fix without having to crawl downstairs to the kitchen. He knows me so well!

This shelving unit is located directly across from the red desk, and that’s about all the room that’s left here. It’s a very small room, around 7-ft by 7-ft, which seemed like plenty of space until the washer and dryer arrived. The original plans called for the furnace in this room, and I’m so glad we moved it to another area or there would be absolutely no room to move.

I’d like to get a little artwork or something on the walls in here, and we have an idea for mounting a wire shelf above the washer/dryer to use as a drying rack. Yeah, yeah, it still needs trim and a door (and I have a great idea for repurposing a basement door, which will have to wait at least until spring because it involves paint stripping) — minor details, right? — but for all intents and purposes, this room is done!

Tags: attic renovation, eco-conscious, ELFA, Energy Star, green products, green remodeling, laundry room, organization, Resources, shelving

While 2009 was a banner year for renovation, our 2010 goals will be more modest and much less exciting:

• Repair kitchen wall (um, I kind of poked a big hole in it, hoping to find remnants of the original ironing board cabinet. No luck.)
• Repair and paint office closet (project already started)
• Install doors on second floor: master bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, closets and knee wall access (this will include stripping and staining some existing doors currently in storage)
• Install baseboard and window trim on second floor (staining new wood)
• Paint basement and second floor stairwells (I’m itching to get started on this one)
• Paint existing kitchen cabinets (will have to be a spring/summer project)

Let the projects begin!

Tags: goals, planning

Now that we’re well into the new year, I thought I’d start my first post of the year with the ever-popular review of 2009.

What started out as a modest “plan to continue planning” the unfinished attic renovation quickly turned into construction reality. Although Pete and I are both self-employed in different businesses and industries, we were truly blessed with no drastic ill-effects from the economy. There have been many years in the past where we’ve both struggled, so I feel extremely fortunate that we have seemingly weathered the worst of it. Here’s hoping that continues in 2010 as I pursue new opportunities for personal and professional growth.

But I digress.

While the first couple of months were spent planning, by March we had finalized the attic renovation plans and quickly received approval from the Village Building Department. By May we had secured financing and chosen a contractor. We also decided to hold off on the mudroom. (Looking back, I’m very glad we decided to wait on that since a new roof and other changes cut drastically into the budget.) By July the contractor’s work was completed and the rest of the year was spent continuing the project on our own. It’s still a long way from “done” but by October we officially moved our bedroom upstairs and have slowly been completing various projects. I’ll be posting the latest (long-overdue) photos in the near future.

The second goal was Patch plaster walls in main floor bedrooms. Although fully intending to handle it ourselves, we succumbed to “let’s pay someone to do it and get it over with already” which also allowed me to complete another goal: Paint remaining main floor rooms. Done and done. While I was irritated with the plaster guy, I’m very happy it’s completed.

After receiving a sewing machine as a Christmas 2007 gift, I had big plans to Make roman shades for bedrooms (lose the $5 paper window coverings already!).

Well, I’m ashamed to say that the sewing machine STILL has not been used, and I instead opted for super-cheap top-down/bottom-up cellular shades from JC Penney (check often for sales). I’m still glad we went with them.

Next on the list was Finish basement bathroom.. No progress there, and it’s not high on the priority list for 2010. Although it’s still down to the studs when we demo’d it even before we owned the place, Pete added some drywall on the unfinished side of the basement to make the room a little private. At the very least it’s functional.

The final goal for 2009 was to Continue planting prairie garden. We made a little progress there, however most of the yard is still either weeds or dirt. I just received a catalog from Prairie Moon Nursery and hope to make more of a plan for the outdoor space in the coming months.

The 2009 Wish List included a new kitchen, which was partially realized because we had to move a wall in the kitchen to accommodate the new stairs. It allowed us to rearrange the layout into a much-improved workflow using the existing cabinets. New cabinetry will have to wait, but I managed to get a new sink and faucet, so I’m happy about that.

The “ups” of 2009 were not without its “downs”.

The saddest moment in 2009 was the unexpected loss of my dear cat, Axel. I still miss him a great deal, unlike his brother Günter who has become my shadow and best buddy. Even though they were from the same litter, Günter has shown no sign of mourning and seems rather content to be an only “child”.

We also had quite a scare with Pete’s dad over the summer. While he will never regain the strength he had, nor will he be able to live independently, we recently celebrated his 90th birthday and we’ve all adjusted to his new way of life.

On that note, may we all be so lucky to celebrate 90 years! Here’s to a happy, safe, healthy and prosperous new year to all!

Tags: completed projects, goals, planning

With the temperature plummeting over the past couple of weeks, Pete decided to move the bird feeder from the side yard and into the backyard so that the birdbath heater could be plugged in. Now that we turned the TV room into an office, it has been a great source of entertainment for me on days I work from home, like yesterday.

Our basic setup includes sunflower seed, suet and Nyger thistle feeders.

As you can see, the The Bungalow Chronicles Diner was quite busy yesterday.

At our last visit to Wild Birds Unlimited, our favorite critter resource, we saw a suet feeder made from a piece of wood with holes drilled in it to hold the suet. Instead of paying $30 or so for it, Pete decided to make one with a piece of oak — I think it may be from our firewood pile.

To make your own, all you have to do is drill some round holes in a few spots, penetrating about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way into the wood. Screw an eye hook into the top and hang on a chain from a tree or your feeder. Spread the suet into the holes and wait for visitors.

It didn’t take long for the Downy Woodpecker to find it.

Hint: if you hang it from a tree where squirrels have access, buy or make suet that contains cayenne pepper. The birds aren’t affected by it, but the squirrels can taste it and will leave it alone.

Speaking of squirrels, a squirrel baffle on the feeder is a necessity, but that doesn’t mean it won’t keep them from trying any way they can to get to the seed. If it’s close enough to jump from the garage or house eave, they’ll do it. So far, ours seems to be at a safe distance to keep that from happening. However we decided to spread a little Christmas cheer, so we bought some seed balls at Wild Birds Unlimited for a fraction of the cost because moths had gotten into them. The guy at the store said they’d be perfect for the squirrels.

Pete rigged up a hanging post using the stake and hook from our solar lanterns. The first seed ball was stolen quickly, so Pete secured the next one with heavy wire and that seems to have worked.

Some may think it’s wrong to feed the squirrels, but they’re not going anywhere, and just from my observations they’re territorial enough to keep others from moving in. Besides, who can resist seeing those cute little critter tummies? Certainly not I!

We don’t feed the squirrels or the birds all the time, and studies show that they don’t become dependent on feeder food and will not starve if you don’t continue.

However during the winter months when temperatures are below freezing a water source is helpful for wildlife survival.

Unfortunately you can’t completely control who visits your feeders (mourning doves are our least favorite), but I do love it when the Cardinals come for a snack.

(and yes, I wish they wouldn’t poop on the copper feeder roof, but they don’t seem to listen to me)

Tags: backyard, entertainment, wildlife, winter

My heavy workload did not let up until late Wednesday afternoon, which didn’t leave me a lot of time to prepare and cook for thirteen on Thanksgiving. I did manage to run out at lunchtime on Tuesday to get the grocery shopping done, but would have liked to have more prep time.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who chips in a great deal with household chores and cleaning, so I had one less thing to worry about.

I tried some new recipes this year along with the old standbys (mom’s stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, buttermilk mashed potatoes, creamed spinach).

I wanted to try a cornbread-based stuffing this year and found a yummy recipe on Epicurious. The mixture of cornbread, cranberries, leeks, pecans and Italian sausage looked so good in the bowl, I had to take a photo.

The flower bouquet from Trader Joe’s gave the table a nice shot of autumn color.

And, the first attempt in the convection oven, with the help of another delicious Epicurious recipe, was a moist, delicious success.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tags: celebrations, cooking, family, holiday

Oh dear, another week and a half gone and I haven’t been a good blogger. Once I get through a tight work deadline over the next week, that should change. Of course on top of work and teaching I also have Thanksgiving to prepare for, and the house needs more tidying up before next Thursday.

We’re into the little projects these days — the ones without a lot of punch, but with a big day-to-day impact. The new home office, which became the dumping ground for all clutter, is coming along. After moving the file cabinet and some other storage containers from the basement (along with a trip to Container Store), I tackled the mess. It still has a ways to go, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to stay on top of paperwork much better with a dedicated home office rather than with various spots scattered throughout the house. Maybe our dining room table will be used more for eating than for yesterday’s junk mail!

We’ve also been working on the kitchen and added a couple of wall cabinets that were left over from our summer mini-remodel. It gave me some much-needed additional storage space, and gave us more counter space as well. Photos to come.

Pete built a skinny base cabinet for the other side of the stove that now houses cookie sheets and the like. We saved a small piece of butcher block just for that purpose. It makes a huge difference, not only to have a spot to rest utensils while cooking, but also in finishing off the stove. It was a slide-in stove without the slide-in appearance and just didn’t look great. Now it’s starting to look like a cook’s kitchen!

Like I said, photos to come as soon as I can catch my breath.

Tags: clutter, home office, kitchen, organize

One of the great things about living in Morton Grove is the amount of green space for a suburb that’s so close to the Chicago city limits. The North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the town not too far from our house, and the river is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserve. The north branch bike trail winds through the preserve and leads all the way up to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.

It’s been a hellish work week, so I’ll just leave you with some photos I took on a walk with Pete earlier this week in Linne Woods and the adjacent Linne Prairie.

Entering the trail from the nearby residential neighborhood:

The swollen Chicago River:

Walking along the unpaved path to the prairie:

Prairie grasses with the forest in background:

The lone red leaf greeting us in front of our house:

Happy weekend!

Tags: diversions, forest, local happenings, Morton Grove, nature

The rain finally stopped late yesterday afternoon and the sun peeked through the clouds to let us know that it was still around.

The view from our front yard:

The neighbor’s trees have already dropped all their leaves, but ours are still trying to hold on:

I imagine we’ll be raking them up over the next couple of days (if the rain holds up, that is), but I hope to enjoy the vivid colors while it lasts.

Tags: autumn, changes, color, garden, tree