Bogieblog

Window Treatments

At the beginning of the month we had a couple of sunny, 95*+ days. I started thinking of ways to keep the house from heating up so badly and the simplest is to keep the sun from coming in the windows to the east and south side of the house I had already taken care of the west side bay windows. My house being older, does not have "traditional sized" windows so I had to special order. Fortunately, H*me Dep*t had a 20% off sale going for Bali window treatments, so I took advantage.

For the south facing window in the living room, there was special consideration to be given since it is just behind the pellet stove. Technically, it should be fine with any type of window treatment, but why take chances? So, I went with a metal blind. I got really lucky as the color I picked closely matches the bay window curtains. I ordered a cordless blind so there was no potential for cats to get themselves in trouble (the white item to the right is a plastic stick that opens/closes the slats).

For color comparison, here are the drapes on the bay window

For the window above the kitchen sink, I wanted more of a shade. Then I ran across shades that I could see thru - icing on the cake. Of course, I can only see thru it when it is lighter outside than in - and the see thru works opposite; people can see in if it is lighter inside than out. But I don't worry about people being able to see my microwave on the opposite wall, so it was perfect. The see thru picture below was taken this morning - a very cloudy, dark, gloomy day where it is just slightly brighter outside than inside with the lights off.

I still need to get a treatment for the bay window beside the refrigerator (south side), but that is shaded most of the day by the willow tree and it has large plants in it to also help keep sun out. Plus, I am having difficulty figuring out what to put there since access to open/close is not good and I can't place the rod above the window as it would interfere with opening a cabinet door.

UPDATE: Well, that was quick. While I was thinking of it I measured the actual space needed and found that I could indeed install an outside mount shade to the kitchen bay widow and the cabinet door would have just enough room to open all the way. So, while the sale was still going on for Bali shades, I ordered the same type as I have on the other kitchen window, except motorized so I'll be able to use a remote. I got a bit of sticker shock with the motorization, but then adding up the costs for the motorized  drapes in the living room, found that it was  in the same ballpark. I will just have to make sure that I keep the plants trimmed so none of their branches/leaves stick outside the plane of the shade.

Once I get Started . . .

 . . . I just have to add on. About 3 weeks ago I installed some flooring where I store pallets of pellets in the basement. Well, I decided while there were no pellets there that it would be the perfect time to put up some sheet rock over the rigid foam insulation and Reflectix foil. This all sounds good in theory, but that wall had never been framed in and with all kinds of plumbing hanging down along the wall I couldn't really install a 2x4 along the sill. Add to that that I have never done framing of any sort, much less that had to be anchored to a concrete wall and I was feeling that the project was probably beyond my abilities.

And then, somehow, some way, I ran into metal furring, also known at hat channels and after some research possibilities opened up. Happily, I work with someone who would lend me a hammer drill so all I needed to buy were materials. Two weeks ago I went to pick up the furring materials, which come in 10' strips. I found that from the dash in front of the passengers seat to the far back corner of the truck was just under 10' and made for a nice snug, secure fit against the hatch just below the window. I couldn't quite close the window but had it secured with rope for the 30 mile trip home.

 

Drilling holes is no fun even with a hammer drill. But I got it done and last weekend I had a full wall of furring strips, plus the started furring strip for the wall behind the stove. Additionally, I had one of the 4.5" PVC "trim" board installed at the bottom for the sheet rock to rest on so it is far away from any dampness from the floor.

 

Sunday evening I installed the other PVC board and got up two sheets of sheet rock but decided the pieces that would go behind the safe would have to wait. These would be difficult as at 800 pounds, and being anchored into the concrete, I was not moving it (I tried before doing the flooring - it's the anchors that kill the deal).

Last night, being the first Friday night I haven't worked (filling in at another place), I decided to tackle the part behind the safe. It was a bear wrestling those things in as there was just enough space, but finally I persevered. And, I got it taped and first coat of mud too.

 I'll only get one piece of sheet rock installed on the other wall, but that is all I need before lugging in 3 tons of pellets - if it ever stops raining that is.

For my Mother

Wow, now this is a short landing!

Mother's Day 2017

Happy Mother's Day to Cop Car!

I hope you have a pleasant day filled in whatever way you find the most fun/relaxing/adventurous - whatever you wish.

Basement Flooring

Last summer I installed flooring in half of the basement. Since the floor is damp during the spring I had to put in an Air Gap system, then install the plywood on top of that. A couple of weeks ago since the pallets of pellets I keep in another corner of the basement were pretty much empty, I decided to do the same thing.

First I cleared out the 10 bags of pellets, the pallets, and other miscellaneous stuff from that corner.

.Then I installed the Air Gap system

Then I covered with plywood. I was pretty proud of myself for doing a "once and done" cutting of that piece with the hole for the floor drain.

I also covered the rest of that Air Gap with another piece of plywood for now. It will probably come back up as I will need to have a fire proof material there in front of the stove. In fact, I may be cutting out to the drain for that reason, but the stove is off for the season, so it makes walking on it easier to have it all the same height.

Maybe next summer I will get the rest of that basement floor covered :)

Live and Let Live Farm LOH Donation

Back in March, LOH of the Concord HOG Chapter held a fundraiser and half the money raised was to be donated to Live and Let Live Farm, an animal rescue organization of which one of our members is a volunteer to.

We wanted to give the donation at the farm and get a tour, which was great in theory. After two snowstorms, HOT training and lots of rainy weather, we finally made it come together. Although not many got to go, we had a good time feeding the animals and getting some of the background on them.

First, because the farm is a working farm and obviously very busy, we got the donation presentation out of the way; Michelle is on the left with the owner of L&LLF next to her. I'm in back with Darlene in front of me. Keith is next holding a goat. Then there is Tom and Linda (married to each other and both volunteer at the farm.

This kitty was having a ball playing with its toy. He had the run of the upstairs of a barn where dogs are kept in isolation until it is determined they don't have any communicable diseases and have gone thru temperament evaluation.

The cattle loved the carrots that I brought

As did the goats. The goats are so energetic and fun to watch

The fowl (geese, chickens etc) are allowed to roam the grounds freely. This goose has set himself up to be the greater / protector of a specific barn that housed several hens, some horses, goats and sheep.

Keith, our Director, feeding a horse

 

Linda, an LOH/HOG member who also volunteers a lot of her time at the farm

 

I got to pet and feed a mustang who was being worked with by the farm's "horse whisperer". The horse was very good at taking the carrots out of my hand and seemed to be thriving under the whisperer's guidance.

 

These two mini horses roam the grounds. They are very good with people and kids. They, of course loved the carrots.

Some of the animals had horrific stories and it was amazing how a lot of them have come back to trusting people again. They took in 5 horses from an alleged neglect situation a couple of days after our visit. There were a lot of children there volunteering their time - some with their parents and some were dropped off by parents who did not share their children's interest, but who had found a great outlet for their children's love of animals.

Yard Work When It's too Wet to do Yard Work

When I bought this house, the mailbox post was sitting in a metal pail which had been filled with concrete. The pail has always been rusty, but this winter it really started falling apart. Last weekend I pealed off the rusty pail parts and the concrete stayed pretty much in one piece. So I bought a planter and just stuck it in there, filled the remaining room with rocks from the yard, and voila, it's not only stable again but looks pretty good too.

And, I didn't stop there with yard work. Although it was too wet to mow, I got the worst of the leaves and the rest of the bigger branches loaded up and took them to the town dump's brush pile.

 

I was hoping to mow and use the mower to mulch more leaves this weekend but it rained a lot last week and then we had heavy rains last night and earlier today, so the jungle continues to grow.

International Female Rider Day 2017

Today, 5/6/17, was International Female Rider Day (IFDR). Our LOH group had a group ride planned by Assistant Director Michelle and for which a couple of us ladies contributed by arranging the additional insurance (it was open to anyone, so we needed gap insurance for the day) and creating the flyers. Michelle also made sure we had additional Road Captains to help keep us safe (they all have communications so if anyone had troubles or if part of the group got caught by a light/stop sign they could keep in touch).

And, just like last year, Mother Nature decided not to cooperate and it rained quite heavily Friday afternoon into this morning. However, we have a core group of die hard ladies, and all our Road Captains are quite hardy too, so a group of about 8 ladies and 3 Assistant Road Captains, and one guy that goes to everything set out for the 1.5 hour ride. We had a great time and only saw a couple of light showers. Pictures before we left:

In the purple is our Assistant Director Michelle and Blake, her husband and one of our Road Captains is the guy next to her. Behind Blake is Sandy, our Membership Officer and way to the left in the background is Darlene, our Secretary. I don't know the name of the other guy in orange and yellow - he just joins any ride and has that beautiful bike with red, white and blue decals. Oh, and my bike is the closest one to the camera.

 

The two ladies, Gina and Traci, in this next picture don't belong to our chapter. They rode from near the seacoast to join our ride. Apparently the group they had planned on going with wimped out for IFDR :). They were great and we were glad to have them join us! Traci's bike is the gold Deluxe and Gina's bike is the Road Glide (the one she is standing behind).

Dave, our Editor a(the tall dude) and Bob, our Safety Officer (the smaller guy) who rode Sweep (last) were both Assistant Road Captains. Sandy is over on the right and Michelle is way back there by her beautiful purple bike.

 

This was the registration table with Patty, our Treasurer next to Bob. Sylvie, our Merchandise Officer is in the white coat and is standing next to our Director (sitting). Peter, our Activities Officer is in the background. Everyone under the tent stayed and ran raffles and held a BBQ.

 

The BBQ was just getting set up and we were happy as heck there was food there when we got back around noon!

And then the Group photo after we came back; Gina and Traci, our guests are at the very left. The tallest one in back is Patty, and the short one in front of her is Darlene.  Peeking over Darlene's shoulder is Nancy, who had a heck of a time getting out of her muddy driveway so she joined us part way thru the ride. Then of course, there is me, then Michelle, then Sandy.

After eating I left for home, and naturally it started pouring so I got soaked (seams in rain pants don't keep out water when you are sitting in a big puddle - the seat). Fortunately it was fairly warm, almost 60, and I had my helmet on, so my biggest worry was that traffic on the highway could see me thru all the road spray and rain. I got home fine and of course the sun came out about 10 minutes after I pulled into the garage. No matter, I still had a great time!