WYFP?! Finally - it is Enough. An Adoptee Gets Genetic.

CJB

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Saturday January 04, 2020 · 5:00 PM PST

2020/01/04 · 17:00

Hi, everyone. Welcome to What’s Your F**king Problem?! Spill your heart. Bare your soul. Confess your embarrassment. Or just, you know… yack. Whatever. May you find acceptance here.

A long time ago, I began to tell the story of being an adoptee and what that has meant in my life, and in the lives of those around me. The initial installments are here and here and here.

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday September 08, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/09/08 · 06:00

In case you’ve forgotten:

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.

Or sometimes, we just gab.

Okay, it seems that few diaries about Casa CJB would be complete without an anecdote involving previous owner, Senor Half-assed. This diary is no different. According to some nabes, Idiot Boy had spent enough time in jail that he couldn’t stand looking at anything that resembled vertical bars. That, apparently, is how you end up with a second story deck design, the railings of which looked like this:

Some of you may remember that I provide childcare for a couple of kids at a time, and all I saw when I looked at this was ready-made ladders to sudden death. So we knew that a deck redesign had to be near the top of the list of DIY projects.

It wasn’t until the next spring that we got to it, but get to it, we did. Out go the horizontals:

In go the verticals:

Et voila. MrCJB, kidCJB on the left, our neighbors’ two girls, and - for whatever unremembered reason - a large zucchini all trying out the new look. We reused as much wood as we could, since we wuz poorish back then.

So. That’s the look it had for 14+ years. The railing was all that we replaced, which will become obvious when I show you the next pic. You wanna talk dry rot? Here is the old and the new, side by side, with KidCJB, and his bestie Marcus helping out. I swear, those old boards weighed bout 4 lbs apiece when we brought them down. We’re lucky no one ever fell through.

Almost there...

Aaaaand, the finished look:

We also put a corrugated “ceiling” under it, so the lower deck stays somewhat dry in front of the dining room slider where we built the outdoor storage.

May this be the last upper deck design under our watch.

What are you all working on this weekend?

Saturday Morning Home Repair - Burnin' Down the House!

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday August 11, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/08/11 · 06:00

The yadda yadda:

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.

Or sometimes, we just gab.

Hi, everyone.

This week’s offering comes with yet another tale involving previous owner, Mister WTF?!, and this one’s a doozy.

Part one: We were told by our neighbors to the west that one evening, Idiot Boy burned a fire in the wood stove that got so hot that when the fire department arrived, parts of the cast iron stove were actually glowing. This was corroborated by our across the street neighbor who had a friend who was one of the responding fire personnel. I’m not sure what transpired during the rest of that evening other than no one died, and nothing burned down. But, we found out later, just barely on that second part.

Part two: When we moved in, the east and west sides of the house were still covered with those horrid asbestos shingles, which we removed over a the space of a year. The last place to be uncovered was the south east corner of the house. That was when we found out how close the house had come to catching fire on The Night of the Glowing Stove.

I didn’t take pictures with the intention of diarying — this was too long ago, so the pics don’t really tell the story, but you can see in this first picture a bit of the smoke damage that came through the wall, and was hidden under the asbestos. It was much worse down lower where the new siding is. The wood down there actually showed burn marks and charring, sadly I didn’t get a pic of that.

There’s a bit to the right of the chimney, too, up high. Actually, there are number of minorly interesting things in the picture below. The green bottle tells me that it was long enough ago that Henry Wienhards was still making decent Blue Bore ale. I miss that stuff. It only looks like we’re flying a flag in our living room. That’s actually a reflection. Wonder why we had her out. This was 2007, so Bush was still stumbling around choking on pretzels. Must have been more protest than celebration. And finally, that connection box precariously attached to the otherwise-purposeless 4x4 is only there awaiting reattachment to the wall. Took me waaay too long to figure that out.

Anyway, we found a place that had the double-beveled shiplap siding, and His Nibs went to town making it solid again. He’s awful good at that.

Really glad the old place didn’t go up in flames, cuz we sure like it here.

Anyway, thanks for reading this installment of “Woodstoves and Substance Abuse: What Could Go Wrong?”

‘Sup with your projects?

YouTube Video

Saturday Morning Home Repair - Bathroom Wall

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday July 14, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/07/14 · 06:00

Hola, alla y’all. Haven’t read this since last week, have you:

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.

Or sometimes, we just gab.

Okay, where were we? Oh, yeah. Today is Projects Left Purposely Half-Done Day.

So, we’ve talked about moving the washer and dryer from the basement to the second floor for… well, forever. Then, in 2009, the contemplation of that possibility collided with the energy retrofit that we did, and we realized that it would be much smarter to carve out the area in what was under-the-eve crawlspace before they blew in the insulation then it would be to fight the insulation later.

So. I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

And that is where the “ready for washer and dryer” aspect of the project stopped. We’re at the falling-domino, whack-a-mole part. In order for the appliances to move, we have to fish the electrical from the basement to the 2nd, and, since we’re going to replace the bathroom floor anyway, we pull up the floor to take the electrical across the room and then well, everyone gets tired of thinking about it, and cracks a beer.

So, in the meantime, we’ve done this:

It’s functional. Looks fairly intentional. All of the fans and the window AC unit fit behind there. Good enough for now.

Got any Purposely Left Half-Done Projects at your place?

Saturday Morning Home Repair - The Creator

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday June 09, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/06/09 · 06:00

Look! An intro!

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.

Or sometimes, we just gab.

From time to time, MrCJB - DIYer extrodinaire - begins to chafe at the confines of creativity that home ownership can present. Recently, he stood up and exclaimed to all who would listen, “I am better than constantly tearing things down and shoring things up! I am bigger than relentlessly patching and painting! I can create! I will build myself something sturdy, and safe, and clean, and it will be good.”

And so he did.

It began with discovering the bones of the project. These bones were unearthed in the garage after much measuring and drawing.

He then relocated the bones to the side of the house by the back deck, and added hearty side boards to protect the contents from the harsh weather. And he declared, “It is sturdy!”

And it was.

He added hinged doors and locks to keep out thieves and possums.

“It is safe!” he proclaimed.

And it is.

He had his offspring lift the corrugated cover to admire the work, midway. “Someday, all of this will be yours, fruit of my loins!” he shouted, waving his arms around, much to his loinfruit’s embarrassment.

He added fancy copper and brass plumbing so that he could wash his hands, and rinse various unclean things in his cute l’il sink. “It is clean!” he offered, approvingly.

And it has been.

And finally, the great creator stood back and observed his work. He saw that it was sturdy, and safe, and clean. So he said, “Let there be light!”

And there was.

And it was good.

What are you creating, my DIY pals?

Saturday Morning Home Repair - Outside storage

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday May 12, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/05/12 · 06:00

Gooooood morning, Daily Kos!

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience. Or sometimes, we just gab.

Okay, lessee. Today’s project was completed over a couple of weekends last fall. Our 1916 kit house has zero storage for larger items on the main floor, so we decided to put some storage just outside the back sliding door. Here is the tall one that holds 3 vacuums and the ironing board. (Who has 3 vacuums? Does anyone else own 3 vacuums? And who decided how to spell the word “vacuum”? Because they were high.)

I think most of the framing wood for both areas was stuff we had. And we use corrugated for lots of things. It’s relatively cheap. Sturdy. Doesn’t rot. Doesn’t warp. T’ain’t fancy, but it’s durable. Here’s the inside, with one of the vast selection of vackumes from which to choose:

In a handy coincidence, previous owner, Idiot Boy, installed one of his 22 outdoor electrical outlets on the wall that’s now inside, lower left of this cabinet, so we can charge two of the vackyooms.

Here is the smaller cabinet on the other side of the door:

We use it to house large canning stuff, and the items we use to roast coffee.

And here’s some freshly roasted coffee to make you want another cup.

The project all in all? Terrific function. Tidy enough to look at. B+ in my book.

What are you all up to?

Saturday Morning Home Repair - I'm Floored!

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday April 14, 2018 · 6:00 AM PDT

2018/04/14 · 06:00

Haha! If you liked that click-bait title, you’ll love the weekly Here’s Who We Are:

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.

Or sometimes, we just gab.

Hey, everyone. Been a long time since I’ve opened up the shop around here. Last week eeff was lamenting the lack of writers, and I realized we have some stuff that we’ve done that I could write up. Quite a bit, in fact. We’ll start with revisiting a previous project to see how it’s holding up.

About five years ago, we installed laminate flooring on the main floor. The original diary is here. You can check out the just-installed pictures there.

Okay, five years on, these boards have held up amazingly well. I could take more pictures, but they’d look pretty much just like the ones in the other diary, plus a nice layer of dust and a bunch of annoying little dots because we have a cat the sneezes constantly. There is one spot that has scratches, and that was just a sad bit of inattention on our part. We didn’t notice that the felt piece had come off of the right front of His Lordship’s Archie Bunker chair, and the chair leg scratched up a board or two:

If anyone has a recommendation for a particular brand of scratch repair pen, I’d happily take some advice. Normally, it’s underneath the chair, so I don’t think about it.

One concern that was brought up in the other diary was the edges “flaking.” That hasn’t happened with this batch. Some of the edges are — hmmm — raised slightly, but they’ve been that way from the git go. It’s a result of over-enthusiasm on my brother-in-law’s part. When the boards were installed, he kept thinking that they needed one more WHAM! when they definitely didn’t. DO NOT OVER DO IT WHEN YOU’RE TIGHTENING THE FIT!! But, they’ve held together just fine, and the edges aren’t really noticeable unless I point them out. You can see a raised area just to the left of center below. And those dots? Stupid cat.

Cleaning is easy. A light spray with a liquid flooring cleaner, and a slightly damp mop (I use a cloth on a Swiffer type mop), and the floor is nice and shiny again.

Bottom line is that we are very happy with the way this particular project is aging.

What’s up at your house?

Saturday Morning Home Repair - SMHRB!

CJB for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday May 27, 2017 · 6:01 AM PDT

2017/05/27 · 06:01

Hi, all. Long time.

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience. Or sometimes, we just gab.

Well, we finally got around to a project that’s been on the list since 2002 when we moved into our now-101-year-old home. In the kitchen was a small, scabbed-in cupboard with 3 crooked, wood scrap shelves. I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture of the inside of the thing, cuz it was fairly ugly. Here is the wall where it resided. You can see where it was by the little round, black knob under the pans. We used it as well as we could, but it seriously lacked.

Knob. That’s what I call MrCJB when he’s bein’ a derp.

So. You know the routine. I started measuring and squinting and imagining. The Mister and I negotiated various variables. Then we re-negotiated them. For instance, from the very inception of this, 15 years ago, I would have a laundry chute to the basement. Adamant, I was. Resolute as hell. In the end, I willingly gave up the laundry chute after having carried that need/want/must-have in my head for a decade and a half.

I demoed on Friday, so we could start right in Saturday AM. Why, yes, that is lath and horse hair plaster. Along with the remnants of a long defunct doorbell. I call it “Still Life with Hammer.”

For shelving, I landed on the Rev-a-Shelf brand with double shelves and the nice “pull back” glide. They’re perfect. Super sturdy. Each shelf holds up to 100 pounds. You can adjust the height of the top of each pair. They anchor 3 ways — bottom, back and sides, for great stability.

We settled on 3 double shelves fitting into just about 6.5 feet in height.

One challenge was that the cupboard had to fit between the now-decommissioned chimney to its left, and the air duct from the basement to the second floor on the right. In order to get the maximum width, MrCJB sawed off half of the 2x4 on the left where it was in the way, and sistered in another two by four by the now-sawed-down 2x2. And by “sistered in,” considering the chimney and the water pipes to the 2nd floor, I mean “crammed in like a madman.” There was JUST enough space to get that 2x4 in place. Lucky.

Another frequent challenge is the persistent fact that nothing in this old house is straight, true or square. Well, almost nothing. On Saturday morning, the first thing I heard from the kitchen was “WHAT THE HELL?!” “Oh, great,” thinks I. “What’s the matter, dear?” “THIS BASEBOARD IS ACTUALLY LEVEL!!” Hahahaha!!

Next, MrCJB sawed the wall down just to where we could get to a tight electrical wire. We then loosened that up with a new piece of wiring so that it could drop down under the new cupboard. More sawing, placement of a bottom deck to hold the new shelving, and then MrCJB was off to build the box in his tool sanctum.

We placed the box, painted everything, MrCJB added the cleats and shelves and anchored in the new Rev-a-Shelves. Fronted it with 1x2s. Piano hinge for the door.

And, fairly suddenly, more storage than you can imagine, all completely pull-outable.

Still to come is a really cool closing hinge that I got from a marine supply place.

Total project about $450 with throwing in things we already had on hand. No more than $500 without.

Yep, we’re happy.

Decided to pile the pics down here, cuz it’s easier.

Box. Hole. Speaking of holes, see that old chimney access behind the box? More on that down below.

Shelves in temporarily while we check heights. MrCJB is filling in the extra width from the other cupboard. When he plastered over that, he also did...

...this amazing job of plaster feathering that’s covering...

...this decommed wood stove chimney access, which was unearthed from under a previously ugly bump. MrCJB did such a great job that you don’t even notice it now.

WYFP?! The Pain of Procrastination.

CJB

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Saturday July 09, 2016 · 5:01 PM PDT

2016/07/09 · 17:01

Hi all.

Tonight’s WYFP will be short. KidCJB’s application to the college he wanted was denied. He’s got the grades and the scores, but his timing was just too late. MrCJB and I were hoping that this was not the lesson he would learn. Not with something this big. But – it is what it is, and we are where we are, and I can tell that this lesson will last a lifetime. So...

We’re all just pretty gut-punched. KidCJB is taking it much better than am I. I’m good at not showing it, but it’s so hard being disappointed on behalf of your child. Especially when I look back and know that it was I who helped set his expectations a bit too high. I thought my alum/legacy status might help give him an edge. It may have, but it can’t perform miracles when there are housing needs involved.

Anyway, he has quickly pivoted, and launched into Plan B at a local school with the intention of transferring to his college of choice next year. And this time, he’ll have his papers in pre-deadline.

That’s all. Just sad for my kid’s setback.

And, if I may ask - what’s YOUR f*!&$in’ problem?

WYFP?! Tuition, Plus Room and Board Edition

CJB

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Saturday June 25, 2016 · 5:01 PM PDT

2016/06/25 · 17:01

Hi all. Welcome to WYFP. Here’s the usual yadda yadda:

WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?

Okay, now the whiny confession.

Tonight’s WYFP is, in part, one faced by millions. The current cost of college. To which I will get, eventually, but first, a bit of background.

When I was young, my parents made a deal with me. If I went to college, and graduated with a degree, they would pay for my education. If, for any reason, I failed to graduate with a degree, I would pay back any and all monies spent up to that time. Pretty good deal, yeah? So, after taking a year off to try out the world of work, I followed my friends to Oregon State, graduated, and all was well. When I got out, I landed in the computer business just as personal computers were really taking off. (Apple IIC, anyone? :) ) Spent the next 15 years surviving mergers and acquisitions in corporate houses large and small, before changing directions when KidCJB was born. That college degree was my ticket into a great early career.

Skip forward to the late-90s. The hub and I are expecting a baby. I tell the hub that when the kid reaches college age, I’d like to do the same for him as my folks did for me. He agreed that this was a good plan.

(Calendar pages flipping by, indicating passage of time.)

KidCJB is now 19. He, too, took a year off to work after high school. This has been a good motivator for him. Last year, he came home on his fourth day of employment at a local department store and announced, “I am definitely going to college.”

Now, the hub and I knew this time was coming. We knew the deal that we’d made, and that it would require a good deal of money. We knew that college tuition was rising. What we hadn’t followed closely enough was JUST HOW MUCH college tuition had risen. Add to that the undeniable fact that we really suck at saving money, and you know exactly where we are, don’t you?

I know. I know! But we’ve done amazing things with money we’ve spent. Especially when it comes to improving our house and property. And, yes, I’m justifying. Don’t judge. >:P

When I was in school, a year of room and board came in at around $6000. This year, same school, $25,000. That’s $100,000 for an undergrad degree. At a state school. THAT IS INSANE!!

We’ll make it. The kid’s got really decent grades, so he got some help. We have really decent credit, so we’ll do the good, red-blooded American thing and rack up some debt, which we’ll pay off in fairly good time.

But, man. I wish we’d been smarter. A lot smarter.

Anyway, before we move on, I understand that this is hugely a first world problem, and that it can be hard to sympathize with an FP that is the diarist’s own damned fault. Go ahead and let me have it in the thread. So many others facing things so much more dire. Save your sympathy for those who really deserve it. :)

And, with that, What’s YOUR f*@!%n*’ problem?!

WYFP - "It's Terrible to be Old."

CJB

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday April 16, 2016 · 5:01 PM PDT

2016/04/16 · 17:01

WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?

Evening, everyone. First diary on DK5. Been a long time since I’ve been up top around here. Volunteered the night of ‘ace’s WYFP memorial. His loss is still unbelievable. So, I guess to start, I raise a glass to Adam.

Second, I stole the intro image from annieli. Thanks, annie.

And, then, let’s see… What is my *@#^in’ problem? I used to write about my mom on occasion. I think ’ll go back there. In regards to her, looking back a few years just proves that what I thought were FPs were just pre-FPs. Proto-FPs, if you will. She’ll be 92 in a few months, and we’ve gotten to the point where we’re just playing whack-a-mole with her health issues. We get the ulcers under control, and her back goes out. Get her UTI medicated and her heart goes wack. Get her blood pressure down, and suddenly her kidney is enlarged. “It’s terrible to be old!” she snaps, on occasion.

It’s all manageable, but it’s so hard to watch her realize that she will likely never be really well again. Her heart will always scare her. The ghostly, shifting pains will never again completely stop. Her arthritic knee will catch and make her grimace ‘til she dies.

And her mind… She is forgetful to the point of making me afraid sometimes. Will she put the kettle on to boil and forget it? Will she over-medicate and fall? She’s started believing that she’s going to win any one of the many sweepstakes that prey on those who don’t have the faculties to know that they’re being robbed. She hoards her junk mail. Thinks people are stealing from her. Talks the bank out of counter checks, and orders whatever powdered yak hoof capsules the scam catalog has told her will help her joint health. We both get tired of me confiscating these things.

She’s very bright and chirpy about all of these crazy things. Talks about it all like it’s the most normal thing in the world to send 3 one dollar bills to the Save the Three-legged Dog Foundation, so they can send her the $10,000 check they’re holding in her name. Totally going to happen. My sister and I have decided that, as long as she doesn’t overdraw the special small account that we’ve set up for her, it’s her money, and she can roll it up and smoke it, if she wants to.

She lives in a wonderful retirement community, where she has been living independently in her own apartment on the 7th floor, with a great view, but it’s really, really time for her to move to the next level of care. However, I just know that making that move will start the final downward spiral. She and dad moved into her current apartment in 1988. For nearly 30 years, it has been her home. When she moves, I will hope for the best, and plan for the inevitable.

We go to the doctor. I help her out of her clothes and into the gown. She sits on the end of the exam table, chilled. Resigned. We chat a bit to cover our anxiety and discomfort, until we run out of words, and her mortality fills the silence.

And, if I may ask, what’s *your* f*@%in’ problem?

Sanders Actblue Auto Donate is Broken!

CJB

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday March 08, 2016 · 9:09 PM PST

2016/03/08 · 21:09

Not an issue of too many people trying to access. When I try to access Bernie’s auto-donate, there isn’t one. This is costing the campaign a lot of money if others are running into this. Sanders campaign? Please help!

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