Home Improvement - condo style

Storage is premium. I purged and purged from the house of 30 years. I am purging more. There are years of stuff to let go of.

But there is some stuff that you have to have. That includes towels and sheets for a two bedroom unit and impending guests. 

There is this space above the master bath toilet that isn't worth decorating. So I installed shelves to hold my towels and washcloths. I need a couple of baskets to make it look nicer.  

Thank goodness for having a Dremel tool. Wire shelves come in 36" length and the space was 35 1/2". Dremel with a grinder tool works wonders.

Having these shelves frees up space in the linen closet for the bedding.

  

Oregon - Jill's Birthday

 Made another trip to Oregon to see my dearest friend, Jill. It had been over a year since I travelled by plane and that trip was also to Oregon.

This trip was to attend Jill's cousin's wedding and celebrate Jill's 65th birthday.

I flew into Medford where Jill picked me up. Spent the night in Ashland then we drove to Bend, Oregon. It is only a few hours to Bend but we stopped in Rogue River Gorge (you will have to ask about Prospector Bob) and Crater Lake.

Photos do not do Crater Lake justice. It is a place you have to see and experience. We got to use my birthday present from Jill, a National Parks Senior Pass.

On to Bend via Oregon 97...very straight road through the high desert. The photos make our trip look very green and lush but we went through a good deal of desert-like areas and also burned out forests. In some places the entire forest has been burned to nothing.

The cousin's wedding was beautiful. Bend is beautiful. 

Click this YouTube link to watch a video highlights.

Backyard Finale

 Thank you to everyone who gathered today to celebrate the end of a long tradition. Now looking forward to new beginnings.

One last project?

 These were really "get ready to sell" projects.

The window molding in the main bedroom was looking very dingy though I liked the yellow...not that the rest of the moldings in the room were in any better shape. They just didn't stick out...at least not to me.

Can I tell you how long it takes to prep then paint 3 windows that have multiple panes?! Yikers.

It does look cleaner and neater and I should have taken photo with the custom roman shades but you'll get to see those photos soon enough.

Main bedroom window trim repainted a "neutral" color

I like to call the upstairs bathroom door my "magic" door. It is the original door for the bathroom but had been removed because the toilet and the door did not get along.

When I had the bathroom remodeled in 2007, I convinced the contractor to saw the door in half. I found the bi-fold hinges that would fit. He was very nervous. He said we only get one chance to do this.

The door had to be cut exactly precisely or it wouldn't hang, swing and close properly. It ended up perfect! But I never painted the hall-facing side. Well, now it finally is and looks fantastic.

The door does close like a normal door and hinges out of the way of the toilet. It is truly magic. :-)

What I call the magic door finally painted

Kitchen Project - Home Repair - sell prep

My kitchen has needed a new paint job for a while. Nothing like selling my house to push me to do it.

There were a few places to repair like the ceiling where the paint had peeled off due to a freeze. And around the radiators where I removed the quarter round which pulls plaster off with it.

The paint was a gallon of very dark green exterior that I bought when I thought I was going with a tri-color job on the house. I toned down the green with left over white paint. I think it came out pretty good. Totally by accident the color matches the dark green tiles in the backsplash.

Plaster repair in progress

Ceiling and spackling patched

Custom mix

Custom paint color

Matching tile

St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park

It was a balmy day for December in the low 20's so I visited a new park for me, St. Croix Bluffs. If there had been more snow on the trails, my regular hiking boots would not have been adequate. I was glad I packed the handwarmers, too. Taking photos meant removing my gloves and my hands (fingers) really cannot handle the cold.

Here are a few of the photos. To get to the St. Croix River meant going down-down-down which the park's name would have given you a clue. And hiking down means you have to hike back up. It was a good workout.

Lots of deer tracks and as you will see, beaver action. There were also lots of birds including song birds, woodpeckers and mallard ducks.

I got to walk on the frozen river. It is always exciting and a bit un-nerving walking out on a large body of frozen water.

This tree wasn't in the park. It was in a field but was so beautiful I had to stop to photo.

Hoarfrost on everything.

More hoarfrost.

Some serious beaver action.

The view down on the river.

I love symmetry and I love trees.

"THE LOOKOUT" I found this on my hike up from the river.

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

It was such a beautiful November day on Saturday that I had to take advantage. So I drove north to visit and walk the paths of the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.

Known for the flocks of Sandhill cranes that migrate through in the Fall, the refuge also has Trumpeter swans, other migratory birds and more beavers than I have ever seen. Also oak savannahs, acres of prairie grasses and ponds and lakes with cattail and other marsh plants.

I easily saw a dozen beavers on three different ponds or lakes. Not just beaver activity but actual beavers. The beaver pond had 7-8 beavers with 5 small pups hanging out together and what could have been the biggest beaver I've ever seen.

Sunset selfie

Sunset colors

Moon rise over the beaver pond