Thursday - 2008-0508-2200 - Rain - Chicago - Night Rain; Yard; Living Room Renovations; Sanding Living Room Windows; Bamboo Flooring; Economic Stimulus Payment; Renaissance at Colony Park; Plants; Frame for Stained Glass; Looking for New Stained Glass; Traffic Patterns; Bamboo Flooring - Part II; More Tools

Rain - Chicago - Night Rain Larger Image An image of Chicago by Sara Piaseczynski at saralovering.com . The larger image shows that the photo is at base of the Marina City which appears at the left.

Last time, I'd made an agreement with a professional yard person to mow the back every two weeks. So Wednesday morning of last week, I heard the decibels of a large mower. When I looked out, he was whizzing away. His mower allows him to stand rather than sit. He says it gives better control and is faster, plus it prevents back pains.

I figure for the first several mows, it is going to look like a sheared wheat field. But slowly it will begin to resemble a more traditional yard.

This afternoon, I mowed the front for the second time; the first being Monday of last week. I know obviously that the pine roots have been there, but they seemed to have multiplied considerably.

Another factor that slowed me was that the power extension cord keeps slipping out of the mower plug. I think I can fix this by pushing the plugs closer together. Or I may need to tape it in place.

All four of the living room walls have been painted, but I'm having trouble with paint seeping at the corners from one surface to the other. I'm most likely being overly obsessive about this. I'll just have to redo several sections using a paint trimmer. I've bought three or four types that should work.

I've gotten all the baseboards painted - high gloss "sweet bark." But again the paint "splashes" onto the wall. Over the weekend, while at Lowe's I came across an idea of placing a quarter round molding of the same color on top of the base board. But I made the mistake of painting the molding haphazardly, so that the paint frequently dripped onto the back which makes for an uneven surface. When I tried to glue the trim to the wall, the fit was equally uneven. So there were frequent small gaps between the molding and the wall or the baseboard. Plus I had glue oozing out of the gaps. Crap!!!

This morning, I removed all the quarter round and cleaned up the top of the baseboard. Alas, in several places in removing the glue, some of the backing of the sheet rock peeled off too. Another wonderful problem!

After lunch, I was back at Lowe's. I spent at least an hour examing molding and wood strips. I did discover that molding trim does not always have a flat side. However, casing trim does. I finally picked out a casing trim that is 3/8-inch wide at the bottom and about 2-3/4-inch high. It curves from the bottom to the top to create a very smooth look. It will also allow me to cover some of the paint overlaps and ripped sheetrock. This time, when I paint the trim, I'll cover the back with tape, so the back surface should be even and flat.

This wee project seems to have become a Herculean endeavor.

Well, in the midst of all this, paint sploched some of the recently sanded front windows. So I'll need to revist that topic.

I also got some quarter round trim for either side and the top of the area. I'm think that once it is stained, the windows will have a very strong visual appeal.

I've now bought four boxes of bamboo flooring at around 25 square feet per box. Talk about unwieldy. The boxes are long and thick and weight about 50 pounds each. And you don't so much move them as wrestle then from spot to another.

Since I'm applying the bamboo as a Howstuffworks "How Hardwood Floors Work" - Installing a Floating Wood Floor, I'll need bamboo molding at the edges to help hold the planks in place. So I also bought this molding. Installation will have to wait until everything else is finished.

My Economic Stimulus payment ($600) appeared in my bank account Sunday night. Perfect timing for the improvements I'm attempting.

A new mixed-use development opened about a month ago in Ridgeland which is to the north of Jackson. Renaissance is structured as a neo-cobble stoned-street village. Although a friend and I have eaten at the nearby P. F. Chang's, I'd not had a chance to explore.

Parking is along either side of the double-lane streets. Something of a novelty for a development of this size. (As parking in a small village would be like.) One other oddity is that the parking places are marked with green lines.

My first stop was Barnes and Noble, primarily because I knew where their bathroom was. I asked if they had a map of the center, and they did. But once I looked at the map, my enthusiasm waned. The stores were the standard fare of most malls. I was, at least expecting, something like Harry Potter's "Leaky Cauldron." Or a sex-toys store.

The site reminds me of Disneyland. I expected to see Mickey and Goofy at any moment. I wonder if they have a series of underground tunnels that allows workers to pop up at any place.

While I was out, I thought I'd stop by a plant store that has a large and varied collection. In talking with the clerk, I got several ideas for areas of direct sunlight and shade. They really appear to have some unusual items. But nothing is cheap. A single run-of-the mill plant may cost $30-$40. And many run into three figures. Again, as several times before, I left empty-handed.

In the midst of renovating the living room, I've decided to hang a piece of stained glass in each of the three windows. The few times I've seen the piece I have in direct sunlight, I've been transfixed. The colors are incredible.

Beyond exploring the new development, I also wanted to seek a new frame for a piece of stained glass. I bought it about ten years ago because it was the only one in the antique shop I could afford. It obviously came from a church window and shows a stylized dove descending. But the frame was nothing more than four pieces of plain grooved wood. I wanted a frame that would compliment the colors.

I meandered back to a spot where I'd had a poster framed several years ago. But everything in the center had changed. I think what was the frame shop is now a Mexican restaurant. There was one store that I remember, and I asked if they remember the frame shop and did they know what happened to it. The couple of clerks I spoke with had not been there long enough, but they did recommend a frame shop about a block away. (When I got home, I looked through some receipts and found the name of the shop. However, the telephone directory has not listing.)

I spent about 15 minutes in the frame shop and found a frame that significantly adds to the style of the glass. But, neither the clerk or I could figure out how to remove the old frame. I was fearful that if we exerted too much force, we might break the glass.I ask if they had other locations, and they mentioned they have four. One of which is next to the Lowe's I visit about every other day.

I visited the antique shop where I purchased the stained glass, but they only had one piece in stock. And it was about three-feet wide. Far too wide for my windows which are 31-inches in width.

There's a shop that creates stained glass pieces. So I thought I'd give it a try. It's in an area that has rapidly deteriorated over the years. I'm guessing the homes date from the 30s or early 40s. Many have interesting architectural details. Every third house is boarded up or in total disrepair. Sad, because at one time, I'm sure the area was very attractive. I get the very strong impression that the term "high crime area" would be an understatement.

The shop is very nondescript to the point of almost being invisible. I rang the bell, and asked the person who answered if they had a sales room or was everything made to order. The answer was the latter. The clerk didn't seem too interested in my need. But if you do everything to order, you really don't want to be bothered by carriage-trade riffraff.

My path crossed shopping center after center that I'd never seen before. And several times, I was not sure where I was, or how to get to the next location. And I was befuddled about plotting a route back to the Interstate. From a satellite, my path looked like that of a inebriated slug.

This afternoon, it struck me that the dimensions I've been using for the living room seemed odd. I'd written down 11-feet by 9-feet. Why I'd never thought this peculiar is beyond me.. In actuality, it is 11 by 19. Oppppppsssssss. A very major opppppssss. That means five more boxes of flooring, at least. Another $300 or so.

One of the major problems with the renovations is that I don't have the proper tools. I know I've spend about a $1,000 on tools - paint sprayer, drill, reciprocating saw, enhanced miter box, leaf blower, skill saw, orbital sander, detail sander, heat gun, power putty gun, power saw, shop vacuum. Also paint, brushes, hammer, putty knives, tape, glue, t-squares, nails, sand paper, shop towels, peg board, lumber, molding. And a variety of outside implements.

One big item that I know I will soon need is a table saw. Although I can use the manual miter box saw for smaller items, cutting the planks for the floor will need a power saw.

(In Thursday - 2008-0508-2200 / Out - 2008-0510-2200) This entry was written in multiple settings.)

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...