Gallo-a-gallo

And now we answer the question, what is noisier than ONE feral rooster in the neighborhood? TWO feral roosters.

Several weeks ago we woke up to different crowing. A full cock-a-doodle-doo, as opposed to the cock-a-doodle of THE rooster. Then there was a call and response - cock a doodle doo.... cock a doodle... cock a doodle doo.... cock a doodle - that ultimately converged on our back yard.

Introducing Blondie:



And you already know Red:



Red is about twice as big as Blondie, but it is possible that Blondie has about twice as much spunk. So, although Red won the first battle-for-our-backyard (which ended with Red on top of the storage shed crowing until he had no voice left), Blondie has won just about every other re-match.

Operation Backsplash: Mission Accomplished

The tile is finished... which means the kitchen is just about there, too. Finally.

Tile Part Two

The tile is up. Tomorrow grout.

Operation backsplash

We're finally getting tile in the kitchen!

Here's step one:



Tomorrow, the tile (a simple, glossy white subway number available at your local Home Despot for cheap, cheap, cheap) goes on. Saturday, we get grout.

Oh - and did you notice the new window! It's beautiful... new windows go on the list of things that really make a crap house look a ton better.

Green with envy.

Last weekend I painted the guest bathroom. I bet you can't wait to visit just so you can be in the presence of such a beautiful guacamole-green room.



But really, you should wait to visit until I've cleaned. The cabinet is still full of Campos toothpaste. Thankfully, it lacks cryptic bon mots regarding babies and boxes!

The kitchen comes along.

We've also made some more kitchen improvements.

As enjoyable as giving my fingertips/fingernails a work out every time I opened up a kitchen drawer was, it was bound to come to an end. And it did. Several weeks ago. We now have handles. A very exciting development.



We also have a microwave! It's beautiful and has all kinds of features... like a re-circulating fan. That means we can stink up the place and cook some meat on the stove.



Here are the open-shelves we bought. We spent a lot of hours drooling over Metro shelving at the restaraunt supply store before coming to the realization that it was just too much for our little kitchen. But just when it seemed all hope was lost, we gave Elfa a second look. We are pretty pleased with how they turned out:



And Chad made this lamp. Dig the swag!

Vines!

A couple of weekends ago, we decided to devote some energy to the exterior of Rooster Haus. So, we went to the Natural Gardner and picked us up some native/naturalized vines to hide the unsightly chain-linked fence. They like their new homes and have started flowering. Here they are!

Cross vine:


Passion vine:

Radio silence

We've been working hard on the house, but on the kinds of details that just don't make for good pictures. We've been touching up paint, for instance, and unpacking. Lots and lots of unpacking.

But there have been some visible changes this week. We finished up our chalkboard hvac closet door.




And we finally unpacked the books and bookcases in the office.





We will hopefully be getting the above-stove microwave in soon... and we've been getting bids for the tile backsplash in the kitchen... So things are coming along, but at a decidedly slower pace.

No cajas por los bebe. . .

These enigmatic words were scrawled in child's handwriting in the master bathroom vanity. Creepy.

And in the category of disgusting: the vanity also housed a half-used tube of jock itch cream stuck to the top of one of the drawers.

And the oven - oh the oven. It's relatively new, and I just don't understand how it got so dirty in what must have been a relatively short amount of time. Not to mention the fact that there was grease everywhere - including parts of the oven that shouldn't have grease on them - like the oven's ceiling. Thank goodness the former occupants apparently never used the broiler.

Pictures, as promised.

The living room. Still unpacking!



Chad cooks our first meal at the house, delicious Cuban black beans. Mmmmm... Cuban black beans...



The east wall of the kitchen. We just recently got the cabinet drawers and doors. Our first pick clashed with the floor. And, because Ikea likes to watch us squirm, these were, of course, special order. We're still waiting on spacer pieces for the wall cabinets. Once those arrive (also special order), we'll be able to install the over-the-range microwave.



Here is the industrial sink and faucet. Like the gutters, they have also been declared ginormous by rooster haus visitors. In reality, the sink is fairly small compared to most. I think the single basin gives it the illusion of large-ness. The faucet really is a monster.

Rooster says: "4:31 in the morning, and all is well. . ."

"4:51 in the morning, and all is well..."
"5:32 in the morning, and all is well..."
"5:45 in the morning, and all is well... and why isn't anyone waking up?"

Chad and I spent our first night in the house this Saturday. The rooster was up to his tricks Sunday night, too, but it didn't disturb us as much as the screaming noise the master bedroom toilet makes when being flushed. We're hoping that we'll get used to the crowing. Because it does happen all night. And we'll have the home warranty folks out to check on the toilet and the sudden (Monday morning) lack of hot water.

We've been working hard moving in and will upload pictures soon.

The termites are on to us.

While caulking last night, we encountered three swarmers. When termites are on the run, they sprout wings and fly. These three guys were pretty sick - they'd take off and fall out of the air, slide down the wall, fly into your face and fall out of the air, etc. - but trying mightily to find some new wood to eat. Industrious. We hope their trouble flying means the termite treatment is working. But who knows, maybe these little guys are just perfecting their act for Vaudville.

No pictures today - puttying nail holes and caulking are difficult to capture on film and not all that interesting to look at when you do!

Closing in on completion.

We're close, but still not ready to move in. While we were in Kansas City visiting family and friends this weekend, Drew installed our appliances, sink, countertops, and trim. We also got a new door. This one does not feature holes, like the one that came with the house. (We're slowly closing in on holes... first the ones in the floor... then the doors... next the gaps between window panes and window frames...) When we got back, Chad worked on the hot water heater shed, and I put a second coat of polyurathane on the trim and doors. Drew is going to finish lining up the trim, and then we caulk. After caulking, we can move in!

Some things really make a house look like a house again... like walls... and appliances... and trim. Our house has all of these, so it's really looking like a house. Finally.

Here's the kitchen:





And the trim in the office:



And the trim in the guest bedroom:

Cabinets are hard.

And they're even more difficult when your walls aren't straight, and the ceiling has a bit of a slope to it. So, it's a good thing that Drew was around to help us hang them. Chad assembled the cabinets, and Drew devised ways of attaching them to our kitchen. I ran important food and hardware store errands.... oh, and installed some registers.

The east wall:


The west wall:


The register:

Mind out of the gutter...

The gutter folk came yesterday and installed our gutters. Chad deems them ginormous.



And this is our rain barrell:

And the floor saga continues

We decided that we could stand the hobo life for another week if it meant we could make one more run at the floors. They were too close to fabulous not to try to get rid of the underlying orange peel effect of the bubbles. So, this Saturday, Chad and I met Drew at the house to sand the floors again. Drew applied another coat of poly - this time a satin finish, rather than a semi-gloss, in the hopes that a flatter finish would be more forgiving. The result is that you have to really work to see the bubbles, and, therefore, things look sooooo much better. Six to ten small flies sacrificed their lives to the floor. They either landed on it and got stuck while it was drying or died from the fumes. Whatever the case may be, several small flies are embedded in the floor. We salute you flies (and we think we can sand you out)!

Chad and I also painted the fascia (no idea if that's spelled correctly) - in preparation for the installation of our gutters this Tuesday. As attractive as khaki and olive are, someday Rooster Haus aspires to be either "Island Shores" blue with a "Crisp Linen" trim or a "Green Tea" with "Crisp Linen" trim... either way, white gutters are going up, so now's our only chance to paint the wood behind them.

Watch for posts this week. If all goes as planned, we should have baseboards, cabinets and appliances by this weekend. Exciting!

More floors

The third coat of poly was not so successful (damn you, infernal poly bubbles!). So, it had to be re-sanded and re-coated. The most recent coat is smooth, but still has issues from the earlier coats. BUT, from a distance, the floors are shaping up. We just have some decisions to make about how perfect we want the floors to be... and how long we can live like hobos to get them there.

The kitchen:


The living room:


The office:


The guest bedroom:


BUBBLES!

Plan B

What's more fun than moving in an ice storm (my last move)? How 'bout moving in 104 degrees with 110 degree heat index?

We moved out of the Woods at Manchaca this Sunday. All of our earthly possessions are stuffed into the master bedroom, and we're house-sitting for a work friend until Thursday. After that, we're staying with Sarah and Sadie. Thank you, Cynthia and Sarah!

Here's the bedroom:



House-sittin'!

Let there be floor

Chad and Drew have been leveling, laying tarpaper, and screwing down plywood. The result - we have floors!

Here's the kitchen:



And the guest bedroom:



And finally, the office:



We're really excited about how they've turned out. The higher quality plywood looks terrific. Drew suggested we use fancy screws to add some visual interest - so ours have a square shape to them. And Chad and Drew have carefully organized a pattern for the screws, so even the fasteners are pulling their aesthetic weight.

Also note the PAINTED ROOMS(!). We are finally feeling like the house is really coming together. Tomorrow, we finish screwing down the plywood... we may get to sanding and the first coat of poly. Then we pray for a weekend of dry air.

Painted and Floored

We've been so busy working that we don't have pictures to share tonight. BUT, here's a list of tasks accomplished this past week.

1. The house is painted! In the end, we went for the linen white. It was the least white of the three, but when it's on ALL of your walls, it's pretty white. So we're pleased that we went with it, rather than the whiter Dover White. We also bought some paint for the bathroom. I thought it was a nice, light, yellowy-green. No dice. It's pretty much flourescent. We're going to test a patch of wall before going back to the Home Depot. (Chad thinks the color will grow on us. I'm not convinced. It reminds me of some socks I had in the '80s.)

2. We bought the cabinets. Ikea had just about everything. The only thing they didn't have was the countertop that will hold the sink. So hopefully that will be in sooner, rather than later. It would be nice to have a place for our kitchen sink and fancy faucet to rest.

3. We bought flooring material -- lots of leveling compound (like concrete, but runnier) and on-sale cabinet-grade plywood. The on-sale plywood was a huge boon. Because of the sale, we were able to get the cabinet-grade for the price of lesser plywood. Cabinet-grade lacks knots and spray-painted edges. It's fancy. And pretty.

4. We scraped and shop-vaced; taped up some of the gaping holes ("roach doors"); and poured leveling compound in the office and guest room. (We didn't catch all of them, though. So we have "leveled" some dirt under the house. The holes form little, mesmerizing whirlpools of concrete.)

5. Today, Chad and Drew (contractor) screwed down plywood in the office and guest room. It looks pretty kick ass. There will be pictures soon.

We're moving in - for better or for worse - this Sunday. We're hoping that the floors will be finished and cabinets assembled (if not installed) by then. Hoping is the operative word. We have scraping, shop-vacing, leveling, and plywooding to do in the kitchen/living room. AND, we have to wait for three coats of polyurathane to dry.

Don't worry. We have a back up plan. We've gotten good at back up plans.

The Elusive Rooster

Perhaps you have been questioning the existence of the rooster. He's quite the mover and shaker, so it's difficult to get a picture of him. Here he is: blurry, but proud.



Our across-the-street neighbor, Daniel, informed us that the rooster is actually ferral. He belongs to no one. He enjoys our street because Daniel puts out bird feed in the evening for the pigeons. The pigeons scatter when he swoops in, so he always enjoys a hardy meal.

Tape that!

Our contractor finished texturing the walls, so painting walls and ceilings is next. Chad's an expert taper, as well as pole sander.

Pole Sanding

Chad said that "Sand the Wall. Make it Smooth. Eat its Flesh." was too obscure of a reference to Lord of the Flies (and too creepy to boot) to title this entry. But that's what we've been doing for the last three days. Not eating flesh. Floating and sanding dry wall (with the assistance of our trusty, stilts-wearing contractor and Mike, Greg and Dad). Through this process, we have discovered that Chad is a downright talented pole sander. There's not a bump on the ceiling that's safe while he's around.

Here's the west wall of the kitchen... all mudded, sanded and sealed up. Maybe you can also see our new can lights. Normally I'm not a huge fan of the recessed lighting, but it makes a huge difference in opening up (and brightening up) this low-ceilinged room.



And here's the east wall of the kitchen. See the holes? Those will be behind cabinets, so we don't care!



And here's one of the former closets. Again, all mudded, sanded and sealed up.



And finally, here's the new porch that brothers Mike and Greg and my Dad constructed on their busy weekend of construction fun. It's a much more manageable size than before, doesn't have termites (yes, they were eating the porch, too!), won't encourage future termites (no wood-to-ground contact), and was lovingly constructed with spaces for potted plants to reside. Chad and I feel so fortunate that they decided to spend some of their vacation helping us work on this project. We got so much more accomplished this weekend than we ever could have without them.



Tomorrow the texturing begins.

Lots of work. . .

Dad, Greg & Mike (brothers) are in town and helping out. Among many other things, today we floated and mudded dry wall (no gaping holes!), installed can ligths, and started a new deck.