Back to shorts weather

After a couple of frosty mornings, I am back to wearing shorts today. The forecast is for a high of 75. Sweet!

The first frost in town was Saturday morning. I covered the tomatoes and peppers in hopes of getting another week or so out of them. There was another frost Sunday morning. I'm not sure if they are really going to make it. We'll have to see in a couple of days.

There still hasn't been a real freeze in town though apparently there was at the airport - the official weather recorder. The indication of a real freeze is the falling of the ginko tree leaves. I am still waiting for that to occur. The leaves haven't even turned yellow yet. There have been a few times when they have dropped before the green is gone.

There are still some beautiful fall colors in the neighborhood. We have had a gorgeous season this year.

A different kind of apple fest

There is a different apple fest than my annual last Sunday in September one. This is the backyard animal apple fest that goes on all fall.

The sparrows eat the apples on the tree and generally leave them there. The wasps eat at the ones the birds have started on.

The squirrels grab some apples from the tree or get the ones on the ground. Slugs eat the ones on the ground. The squirrels place the apples around the yard (see photos below). This year there is a chipmunk living in the backyard. It usually eats the ones on the ground.

There are plenty of apples to go around so I am not concerned with the backyard animal apple fest.

On the fence

On the ladder step

On the top of the ladder

At the front door!

There is probably a Dr. Seuss rhyme in there somewhere.

Powder Room (not an update)

This isn't really an update but more of a teaser. The work on the mechanical elements is complete except for an attempt to tighten the toilet.

Why I'm not counting this as an update is because I want to wait for the final design piece to be complete before showing off the finished project. I have ordered the final piece which should arrive next week.

The photo below is a hint at another piece of the finished project.

Frankie and Uno Updates

 Mr. Frankie has regained weight. When I weighed him on Monday, he was back to 9 lbs and there haven't been throwing up incidents.

Frankie has also been running around the house more than in the recent past. He is still licking the inside of the freezer which continues to make him eat more.

Miss Uno got a long-delayed grooming on Friday. This photo does not reflect the cleanup but does demonstrate her continued grumpy attitude.

Daddy tried the grooming but gave up to the growling and irritation.

Another action packed weekend

Friday night attended the opening of The Events at The Guthrie. This theatrical piece from the UK explores the mass killing in Norway a few years ago. It was very thought provoking especially given the killings in Oregon just the day before.

Got up early Saturday morning to go to St. Paul to 1) help with a fund raising event and 2) pick up my race packet for the Twin Cities 10 Miler.

Saturday evening we celebrated Christine's birthday by going to Severs' Corn Maze in Shakopee. Severs farm has been creating a huge corn maze since the '90's. There is so much more than a corn maze here including an animal menagerie, hay ride, live music and pumpkin launching. We ate at Perkins after. The blueberry pancakes were wonderful.

Sunday morning got up even earlier to get downtown for the Twin Cities 10 Miler. This year I was joined by three others from Running For Brunch group. Michelle, Tracy and Trish also ran the 10 miles from Minneapolis to St. Paul.

I had a really good run this year. The weather was beautiful. we met up with Jon, Jason, Molly and Marlin for brunch at Red Cow in St. Paul.

Sunday after the race was spent in front of the fireplace and TV.

Powder room update

Coming close to finishing the powder room project. Now that the mechanical elements are in, decorating was done.

With the round edges of the toilet and the sink, I chose the round buttons for the flush mechanism.That decision lead to more round or rounded elements.

I found the round mirror on Amazon.com. It is actually a charger plate. The facets around the edge also tie into the crystal chandelier.

The corner shelving unit came from Bed, Bath and Beyond. The outside edge of the shelves is rounded. I decided to hang the piece so that it can serve as a towel rack and hold the soap dispenser at sink level.

The other big update is the floor. This is a vinyl floating floor product made to look like cork. It is waterproof and comfortable under bare feet.

It wasn't too difficult to install if I could only remember which end to cut. It cuts with an Exacto blade and snaps so that part is easy. Getting around the door jam was a pain. But many thanks to JT for loaning me his electric saw tool that trims molding for the flooring which is taller than the original floor.

The other new piece is the wall treatment for the radiator wall under the window. Painting behind the radiator is not really possible and the plaster is not in great condition. I found another flooring product that kind of looks like stone. It was easy to install though I have to find another way to get it to stick to the wall.

Remaining tasks are to have the baseboards installed (I stained them) and have the door trim put back up.

The other piece is to find or make art for the blank wall above the toilet. I have an idea just have to figure it out exactly.

Powder room update

Big changes this past week. I told my contractor that I wanted a usable bathroom by Sunday for Apple Fest. That meant getting the toilet and sink installed and functioning. To accomplish this the walls needed to be drywalled ,painted and the electrical finished.

The carpenter came on Monday to install the drywall and the first coat of mud. I picked up the light fixture that I had ordered.

Though the room is small it still has four corners and four walls. It is tricky to maneuver inside the small space so mudding the drywall was not an easy task. Dave finished the first coat on Monday. When he arrived Tuesday morning, the mud was still not completely dry. We put a fan on it and he came back in the afternoon to do the final coat.

I kept a fan on it all night. Dave came back Wednesday and gave the go ahead for priming...that was my job. I got the priming done by late morning. It took longer than I thought because again it is just so tricky maneuvering in the small space. The ceiling is 9 feet so a little later is necessary.

Dave came back to do a little touch up and then I painted. All this to be ready for Thursday morning electrician and plumber.

The electrician arrived early Thursday and installed the light fixture, outlet and dimmer for the light. The plumber arrived later in the morning. The in-wall tank and floating toilet were new fixtures for the plumber. But he was able to figure it out with the provided instructions.

The plumber also installed the sink and faucet. He picked up on my comment on the plastic pipe and went out to get a metal p-trap and drain. I really appreciated his attention to this. There is not going to be a vanity of any kind so the pipes are exposed. The metal looks so much better.

So everything needed to make the room function as a bathroom was completed on Thursday. I was able to paint the radiator after the plumber was finished.

Now just waiting for the flooring to come in. The floor is a vinyl floating floor material and special order from Home Depot. Once the floor is in, the carpenter will come back to re-install the door molding and install new baseboard. There are a couple of touch-ups needed from the plumber's work.

It is impossible to get decent photo of the powder room because it is so small.

Toilet wall drywalled.

TaDa! Walls painted, toilet and sink installed, and electrical done.

The fantastic light fixture.