So there is a grass roots campaign going on here in Fresno…apparently as a city we are quite a joke in the eyes of the rest of the country. Other cities look down their collective noses and sneer at us, making jokes and empowering themselves to feel far superior to our “backwoods ways.” There is a group of local Fresnans working to change all that…and they’re taking to Facebook to do it. It’s called 31 Days of Fresno, and I think that it is a pretty good idea.
Sure – living in Fresno can be a bummer sometimes. Heck, I’m getting pretty disenchanted with California as a whole lately. But really...Fresno isn’t all that bad. I’ve lived in quite a few places over the past decade, and Fresno isn’t too bad. Really!
So I plan to participate in the campaign. I’ll post something new every day in January about Fresno and why it’s not such a bad place to live. Then I’ll come back to this blog posting and update it with my daily reason as to why Fresno isn’t so bad after all.
Okay…maybe 31 reasons might be a stretch. I’ve been brainstorming and have only come up with 15 reasons so far. But as I see it, I’m almost half-way there, and that gives me two weeks to think of 16 more reasons as to why Fresno isn’t so bad. Stay with me…maybe I can do this after all.
1. Location, Location, Location! Fresno may not have an awful lot to offer in the immediate vicinity, but we’ve got so much to offer nearby! I’ll go into more detail in other reasons as to why Fresno isn’t so bad…but let’s just leave this reason at this: We’re almost in the middle of the state. That means that we’re already half-way there when we want to go somewhere else! As I see it, that’s pretty darned convenient.
2. Moderate winters. I like that we can see the snow from where we are, and should we be feeling daring and adventurous, we can go to the snow…but I don’t actually have to live in the snow. I spent some time living in Germany and it snows there. And I had to drive in it. It was not something that I relished.
3. I like the heat. As a person, I’m cold almost all the time. I spent almost five years wintering in Germany, and I don’t do well in cold climates. Sure…120 degree days during the summer might be “extreme” heat, but at least I’m not cold!
4. Big town amenities, small town atmosphere. People complain about how Fresno doesn’t have much, and you need to go to LA or San Fran to do any decent shopping. Really? As far as I’m concerned, the only thing Fresno is missing is an Ikea. And I’m not too heartbroken over that because Hubby and I really don’t need any new furniture. We’ve got plenty of great shops and restaurants here. These people just don’t appreciate them!
5. Low traffic. Anyone that has ever driven in LA log jams knows what I’m talking about. I work across town and I’m out my front door and to work in half-an-hour or less. Can many people in the “bigger and better” cities say that? Traffic jams on the freeways are few and far between (that mess at 41/180/168 notwithstanding…who the hell thought that was a good idea?? They should be shot!!) In fact, one of the first things Hubby and I noticed about Fresno when we came out here to hunt for a house was how quickly we could get around town. I’ll take that over sitting still in traffic any day. You hear me, LA??
6. Gateway to the Sierras. We’re so lucky to have the mountains nearby! It’s a crying shame that we can’t see them more often. They really are pretty spectacular, and in the winter, when it rains and the air clears, their snow-capped peaks glisten in the distance and invite you to go exploring. I like living near the mountains…I find myself taken aback when I unexpectedly catch a glimpse of them.
7. Affordable to live here…relatively speaking. The San Joaquin Valley is the most affordable place in California to live. Sadly, we’re also the most depressed during this economic downturn. But the fact remains that we have lower housing prices than anywhere else in the state, so this is a great area for people to live if they want “affordable California.” Just don’t expect the beach.
8. Low humidity. Anyone that has lived in a tropical climate can relate to me on this one. Great skin, and great hair days. Even my sister and my niece noticed the lack of humidity when they came out to visit during the summer of ’08. Although my skin cries out for the moisture, for the frizz-prone mop on top of my head, this is great!
9. We’re mere hours from the “real” big cities…LA and San Fran. So when I feel like sitting in traffic, I don’t have to drive far to do it! At only three hours or so away, both LA and San Fran offer great cultural opportunities. I’ve been to both and done the “touristy” thing, and I’m glad that I don’t have to live there. I’ve got plenty of big city amenities right here in Fresno, and I don’t have to deal with the “big city” hassles to enjoy them. But should I feel the need, I’m only a few hours away.
10. It’s not Huntsville. I spent nine months living on a military base in Huntsville, AL. I didn’t enjoy it all that much. In all honesty…I probably would feel differently if we were to live in Huntsville today. But back in 2000, I was dealing with all of the life-altering adjustments that I was going through at the time, and adding having to learn to live with the military into the mix…well, it was not the best time for me. Fresno has been waaaay better to me.
11. Earthquake-free. When we moved to California, we worried a bit about earthquakes. We’re seasoned hurricane veterans…but you can plan for hurricanes. You know days in advance that one is headed your way! Earthquakes just kinda happen as they will. Well, it turns out that the worst we can expect to experience is maybe a little vibration. Not too bad. Especially since one day California is going to split itself along the San Andreas Fault and Fresno will suddenly find itself much closer to the ocean. ;p
12. National Parks. Give me Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon! All an hour or so away. We’ve got some spectacular sights right in our back yard, and Hubby and I love getting out and seeing them as often as we can. We’ve got our annual National Parks pass and we love hiking in the parks. And we‘re so fortunate that they’re right here!!
13. We actually have a “rainy season.” Where I come from, you can count on rain almost every day, pretty much at the same time. You wouldn’t really know it by the drought that Fresno has been experiencing the past couple of years, but when we moved here in December 2005, I wondered if the rain would stop and if the sun would ever come out? This winter seems to be fairly wet, as well. I hope that it continues. I love that during the summer, spring and fall, no matter what you want to do, you know that the weather will be dry and cooperative…except for maybe the heat. It has a mind of its own, that one.
14. Culture. Yes, really...we have “culture” here. There is the cultural heritage of so many immigrant populations (I was exposed to the best Mexican food here for the first time in my life, and I had never heard of “Hmong” before moving here), and the cultural events are pretty amazing. Wine festivals, beer festivals, art festivals, music festivals, ethnic festivals…Fresno has a little bit of everything. I’m vowing to get out and see more of these great events.
15. Small-town feel. For the size of this city (California’s sixth-largest!), it is amazing how people know each other. For instance, I just recently discovered that a guy I work with is married to a girl that was on the Fresno State equestrian team with a girl that I used to work with at The City. And the guy I work with has a brother that is great friends with a guy that another girl I used to work with at The City married. What do you suppose the chances are of finding such an inter-woven connection in those “big cities?”
16. Agricultural heritage. If you eat raisins or almonds, they probably come from the Fresno area. For having such a “near-desert” climate, we’ve got some pretty darned fertile soil around these parts. The San Joaquin Valley is often called “America’s Bread Basket” because of the amount of fruits and veggies grown here. Even with all of the problems getting water to our farmers, we still manage to grow some pretty spectacular stuff.
17. Great Sports. And anyone that knows me, knows that it is *huge* that I’m saying that. Hubby and I enjoy going to the Grizzlies games (AAA!) and I’ve even found myself attending hockey and college football games. I seriously believe that my fellow Fresnans need to learn to appreciate these great opportunities…not every town has such a selection, and we’ve already lost the Falcons.
18. We’re “green.” Or as green as we can get, air quality notwithstanding. Fresno recycles…we’re one of the biggest recyclers ever! And it’s so easy to do in this city, too! Just look at how big those blue recycling bins are…just put your recyclables in there and roll it out to the curb once a week. The truck comes by and empties it out. Repeat. Admittedly, I’m not as “green” as I could be. Not absolutely everything that can go into the blue bin makes it in there. And I don’t always remember to take my reusable tote bags into the store with me. But I do try, and that has to count for something.
19. The Blossom Trail. In March and April, when all of the fruit and nut producing trees around us come into bloom, you can smell the sweet nectar of the blossoms and it is intoxicating! And to drive through the orchards and seethe vibrant blossoms hanging on the trees…mesmerizing.
20. Car Culture. Another “culture” with a different twist. We had only been out here for a few months when Hubby found local car clubs online for our Nissan & Datsun Zs. Granted, the Fresno group has not been very active (we consider ourselves the “ambassadors of Fresno” to the other Z Clubs) but every now and then people pop out of the woodwork. Sadly, with the changing of hands of Nissan of Clovis, I doubt that we’ll have our annual “Z Fest” again…sad, really…that event was a lot of fun. But Hubby has found a niche in this area, and I’ve grown to appreciate cars in a different light since my exposure to the Fresno corner of the California Car Culture. I don’t even mind going to the car shows when they roll through town.
21. We get some pretty great shows. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen the Trans Siberian Orchestra, Rascal Flatts, Van Halen, Dave Matthews Band, Darius Rucker, Peter Frampton, the Bob and Tom Comedy Tour and the Barenaked Ladies. Hubby has been to see Tool and Metallica. They come here…we don’t have to drive hours to see them . If we were really all that po-dunk, we wouldn’t even be on their radars!
22. Christmas Tree Lane. Now granted, there are a lot of towns around that have streets that get together and decorate elaborately for the holidays, but Christmas Tree Lane is one of the finest examples I have seen. Blocks and blocks of holiday lights and displays…some outlandishly done. To see a community come together like that, to put together an annual show that is so well known that it is a tradition for so many…well, I’m hooked. We’ve driven the lane twice. This past year, we got together with friends and walked the lane. In our opinion it was a much better way to enjoy the spectacle and will be our way of celebrating the season in the future.
23. This place has forced me to get back in touch with my Southern roots. It might be the abundance of cowboy boots and big hats. Maybe it’s the fact that they consider rodeos a big thing around here. Or it could be the fact that I can drive down the freeway and admire a giant tumbleweed on the side of the road. But there is something distinctly “Western” about this place. Sure, I’ve been out of the Deep South for 10 years now, but until moving to Fresno, the places that we’ve lived with the military have been such a mix of people from so many regions, that I never really thought about “being Southern.” But the regional culture is so concentrated here, among the locals, that since moving here four years ago I’ve started to really consider what it is that makes me Southern. My cravings for BBQ, sweet tea and the way I say things like “bewh-ts” come to mind.
24. Architecture. Fresno is a town of the Old West, but it has modern twists. There are old Victorian homes, cute bungalows, and farm houses. Areas retain their old-time charm…Huntington Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue. Downtown, there is a delightful mix of old and new…restorations are in the works to preserve the buildings from an era when going downtown meant something and new buildings go in to complement the styles of existing ones.
25. We get actual seasons. Autumn, spring, summer and winter all make an appearance here. While winter is fairly cold and wet, with few freezes, spring and autumn are marked with a crispness and colorful backdrop that can’t be beat. I tend to think of spring and autumn as those brief periods when we can live with the windows open. Summer is the longest season – the show-stealer, if you will. Sometimes it feels like it is the “only” season that Fresno has.
26. Mountain sunrises, smog sunsets. As spring rolls around, Hubby and I will again be able to enjoy the sunrise over the Sierras as we leave the gym at 5:30 am. Seeing the sun peek over the mountains, capped with snow, is really a beautiful sight. And in the evenings, looking to the west, where there are more mountains that we just can’t see…the trapped smog causes the diminishing rays of the sun to light the sky with beautiful rose, orange, red and blues that create such a breathtaking sunset! Finally…something about the smog that isn’t ugly!!
27. If we want to gamble, we can. We’ve got casinos around us…so if we have the sudden desire to go blow a few dollars, or eat at a giant buffet, the opportunity is there. Granted, I’m not a big gambler. If I’m going to blow my money, I want to have something to show for it…like shoes. But if I’m in a casino, I have no problem dropping a few dollars into the penny slots. It paid big in Vegas, after all. (Ten whole dollars! That’s three trips to Starbucks!!) And Vegas is six hours away…Table Mountain and Chuckchansi are less than an hour!
28. This is where we bought our first house. Sure – it’s not a spectacular house, and we paid way too much for it at the height of the real estate boom…and we’re so far underwater on this house now that we don’t have any hope of leaving it anytime in the near future…but it is our *first* house. It is modest, and a diamond-in-the-rough, but it is *ours.* Fresno will always be the first town we started to put down roots together as a married couple, and that’s pretty darned special.
29. I adopted my dog here. It’s a pretty big coincidence that she was born the month that we found out that we were moving out here…and then, 16 months later, when I worked for The City, I happened to walk into the animal adoption center one day and there she was…surrendered by her former family. She is now a part of my heart…and I can’t imagine our lives without her. I’ll always be grateful to Fresno for bringing us together.
30. Friendships have been made – some roots have been put down. I’ve made a few really great groups of friends…from the Cool Girls/People and the Raisinettes to the Banker Bitches…I’ve got friend that I know that I can count on and a great support group. I know that after we leave Fresno and move on to the next chapter in our gypsy lives, I’ll still be in touch with my Fresno friends and our home will always be open for visits. Yes…even when we live in Orlando…the House of the Mouse.
31. The Spirit of Fresno. There are people out there in the metro of Fresno that know that Fresno has so much to offer…that Fresno can be so much more than it is…they see the potential that others don’t see. They look past the negativity and the people that say that Fresno is a joke. It is people that have this kind of vision that will make this a better place to be. And eventually, others will see Fresno as a destination in its own right. I hope that Fresno can pull it off, because there is just too much potential to let the city perish.
So there it is...31 days and 31 reasons. Amazingly, there are a few other reasons that didn't make the list. Like Tri-tip and the Doghouse Grill. Roeding park and the Chaffee Zoo. Not to mention a pretty cool dog park out there. Woodward Park and the Shin-Zen Gardens. I just don't know how those didn't make the list. There are other things ... See Morethat didn't make the list, even though I know that they are great, but only because I haven't experienced them. Like Storyland, Forestier Underground Gardens, the University. My point is that Fresno has sooo much to offer...you just need to be willing to go out and find it!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Working On Me
I’ve been slacking all year. I stopped blogging and sharing photos, and I’m not happy about that.
I guess that I have had some issues to work out.
The last half of 2008 was not so kind to me. It started with my unexpected…well…firing from my job at The City. I can see now that that was a big blow to me. Kinda funny, though, because now I can look back and see how absolutely awful that job was. I think that deep down I may have known how bad that place was for me; however, at the time I was determined to stick with it and see my job through. Foolish of me, really.
The worst thing to have come from that, though, was the blow to my self-confidence. I had failed at something, and failed in such a way that it could have had a serious impact on both myself and my husband. What if we couldn’t pay the bills? What then?
Fortunately, I spent less than a month unemployed. I was picked up by Willy Wonka’s Raisin Factory in a nearby town and temped for them for almost four months before they hired me. I was so grateful for a job that I didn’t mind working 50 hour work weeks. I must have been doing something right, because they gave me a raise before they hired me. Finally, a boost to my bruised self esteem!
2009 started out in an unassuming manner – I had been hired on full-time at Willy Wonka’s and was content. The benefits weren’t what I had become accustomed to, but then again not every job could be as good as a federal or municipal position, right? And then out-of-the-blue I received a phone call from The Bank, where I had worked before leaving to go work for The City. My old position was coming open and my old manager was interested in talking to me about coming back.
There was suddenly a light shining down upon me. Another big boost to my self esteem! It was a heart-wrenching decision to leave Willy Wonka’s and the family I had gained there, but it was a decision to be made.
I’ve spent the past year back with my old co-workers at The Bank. I slipped right into the fold again and have rolled with some pretty unsettling changes…staying busier than I was promised and taking on quite a bit more responsibility than I had anticipated when I went back. It has been a challenge that I think I have risen to well. And my self esteem has recovered quite a bit.
In retrospect, while sorting out my issues and licking my wounds, I can see that I’m not so bad after all. Looking around at the economic climate of the time, to have been unemployed for less than a month was pretty amazing. To receive a substantial raise by the company that I was temping for before they even hired me was pretty outstanding. And to be hired back by The Bank, whom I left to go to work The City, where I would eventually be fired…well, I think that that alone speaks volumes. I really don’t think that the problem at The City was me.
I don’t think that I am back to where I was before. I’ve stopped cringing when the phone rings, but I still find myself facing a sense of dread that I’m not doing a good enough job. Which is really silly of me…there have been no indications at all over the course of the past year that I haven’t been doing well. But that sense is still there…it is probably something that I will carry with me for a long time…all as a result of the time I spent working under Boss Lady (who has since been renamed something really not appropriate for public forums.) So I’ve still got some issues to resolve, but I’m working on them.
So 2009 was a better year for me than 2008, and I’m looking forward to 2010. This year, I resolve to blog more and start sharing photos and accounts of our adventures and explorations together. In fact, I plan to spend this weekend getting our photo collection caught up on Shutterfly. We really did go places in 2009, and I’ve got the proof on my computer. And I’m already brainstorming new blog ideas for posting.
Stick with me…it’ll get better. It already has.
I guess that I have had some issues to work out.
The last half of 2008 was not so kind to me. It started with my unexpected…well…firing from my job at The City. I can see now that that was a big blow to me. Kinda funny, though, because now I can look back and see how absolutely awful that job was. I think that deep down I may have known how bad that place was for me; however, at the time I was determined to stick with it and see my job through. Foolish of me, really.
The worst thing to have come from that, though, was the blow to my self-confidence. I had failed at something, and failed in such a way that it could have had a serious impact on both myself and my husband. What if we couldn’t pay the bills? What then?
Fortunately, I spent less than a month unemployed. I was picked up by Willy Wonka’s Raisin Factory in a nearby town and temped for them for almost four months before they hired me. I was so grateful for a job that I didn’t mind working 50 hour work weeks. I must have been doing something right, because they gave me a raise before they hired me. Finally, a boost to my bruised self esteem!
2009 started out in an unassuming manner – I had been hired on full-time at Willy Wonka’s and was content. The benefits weren’t what I had become accustomed to, but then again not every job could be as good as a federal or municipal position, right? And then out-of-the-blue I received a phone call from The Bank, where I had worked before leaving to go work for The City. My old position was coming open and my old manager was interested in talking to me about coming back.
There was suddenly a light shining down upon me. Another big boost to my self esteem! It was a heart-wrenching decision to leave Willy Wonka’s and the family I had gained there, but it was a decision to be made.
I’ve spent the past year back with my old co-workers at The Bank. I slipped right into the fold again and have rolled with some pretty unsettling changes…staying busier than I was promised and taking on quite a bit more responsibility than I had anticipated when I went back. It has been a challenge that I think I have risen to well. And my self esteem has recovered quite a bit.
In retrospect, while sorting out my issues and licking my wounds, I can see that I’m not so bad after all. Looking around at the economic climate of the time, to have been unemployed for less than a month was pretty amazing. To receive a substantial raise by the company that I was temping for before they even hired me was pretty outstanding. And to be hired back by The Bank, whom I left to go to work The City, where I would eventually be fired…well, I think that that alone speaks volumes. I really don’t think that the problem at The City was me.
I don’t think that I am back to where I was before. I’ve stopped cringing when the phone rings, but I still find myself facing a sense of dread that I’m not doing a good enough job. Which is really silly of me…there have been no indications at all over the course of the past year that I haven’t been doing well. But that sense is still there…it is probably something that I will carry with me for a long time…all as a result of the time I spent working under Boss Lady (who has since been renamed something really not appropriate for public forums.) So I’ve still got some issues to resolve, but I’m working on them.
So 2009 was a better year for me than 2008, and I’m looking forward to 2010. This year, I resolve to blog more and start sharing photos and accounts of our adventures and explorations together. In fact, I plan to spend this weekend getting our photo collection caught up on Shutterfly. We really did go places in 2009, and I’ve got the proof on my computer. And I’m already brainstorming new blog ideas for posting.
Stick with me…it’ll get better. It already has.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Spring Beginnings
I've added quite a few photos to See. Experience. Explore!
Lots of updates to the Garden Gnoming 2009 section - my garden continues to thrive and shower me with blooms. I've got a nest of baby birdies in the privet shrub in my back yard! They come with a very defensive momma bird that has her eye on me every time I step out into the back yard to tend to my plants. She even flew into the house through an open window on Saturday! Fortunately, i was able to safely remove her and put her back outside.
The Car-azy section houses photos from our trip to Los Angeles for the annual Motorsport Auto West Coast Z Car Nationals. Another year of awesome cars on display - it is the largest gathering of Zs in the world! this year saw comfortable temperatures - a welcome change from the excessive heat of last year.
Also in the Car-azy section are photos from Nissan of Clovis and Central Valley Z's fifth annual Z fest. It is the large, local show for Z Cars - about 80 entries this year. Mike and I ran the registration table, and I got to be a guest emcee and the trophy girl this year! Sadie spent the day with us, helping to keep watch over the raffle prizes. Of course, she stole the show and made a ton of new friends.
In the Journeys section, photos from our day trip to Yosemite National Park are displayed. We took yesterday and decided to spend the day in the park and hike down to Mirror Lake to try to catch this seasonal beauty. It was a pleasant day, even with all the crowds that we had to deal with. We've made a mental note not to head back to the parks on holiday weekends.
Enjoy!
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com/
Lots of updates to the Garden Gnoming 2009 section - my garden continues to thrive and shower me with blooms. I've got a nest of baby birdies in the privet shrub in my back yard! They come with a very defensive momma bird that has her eye on me every time I step out into the back yard to tend to my plants. She even flew into the house through an open window on Saturday! Fortunately, i was able to safely remove her and put her back outside.
The Car-azy section houses photos from our trip to Los Angeles for the annual Motorsport Auto West Coast Z Car Nationals. Another year of awesome cars on display - it is the largest gathering of Zs in the world! this year saw comfortable temperatures - a welcome change from the excessive heat of last year.
Also in the Car-azy section are photos from Nissan of Clovis and Central Valley Z's fifth annual Z fest. It is the large, local show for Z Cars - about 80 entries this year. Mike and I ran the registration table, and I got to be a guest emcee and the trophy girl this year! Sadie spent the day with us, helping to keep watch over the raffle prizes. Of course, she stole the show and made a ton of new friends.
In the Journeys section, photos from our day trip to Yosemite National Park are displayed. We took yesterday and decided to spend the day in the park and hike down to Mirror Lake to try to catch this seasonal beauty. It was a pleasant day, even with all the crowds that we had to deal with. We've made a mental note not to head back to the parks on holiday weekends.
Enjoy!
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com/
Friday, March 20, 2009
Home Improvement
I love our house.
Hubby and I have been in our twenty-year-old house for three years now. We’ve worked hard to make it a home, and we’ve succeeded. Every day, I look around our home and think about how content I am to be living here at this point in my life.
Never mind the fact that our house has plummeted in value since we purchased it at the height of the housing boom…we’re here now and we’re here for the foreseeable future. So we’re taking this opportunity to take our basic house and make it something more…along the way taking an opportunity to build up our DIY skills. (They make it look so easy on TV!)
This house has had very few, if any, upgrades done to it since the day it was built. When we moved in, it looked like the only improvements were ceiling fans in the bedrooms, fresh interior paint and new carpet.
Since taking ownership of this house, we’ve made some improvements here and there, and have learned some valuable lessons along the way. The number one lesson being that they might make it look so easy on TV…but it is generally not so.
We’ve painted all of the rooms in the house and replaced the original light fixtures in the hallway, foyer and both bathrooms with more modern fixtures. That is about the extent of the “easy” projects.
From that point on, all the plans that I had that seemed so simple just turned out to be darned near impossible.
I thought that we should pull the plain mirror off the bathroom wall and purchase a beautiful mirrored medicine cabinet for our master bath, along with putting in a beautiful metal and alabaster light fixture. Turns out that to sink the medicine cabinet into the wall, we’d have to pull permits and hire someone to do it, since the cabinet would go into an exterior wall and thus cause issues with supporting the structure of the house. So we just hung the cabinet on the wall, and Hubby had to build a box to bring the light out from the wall so that it would hang over the cabinet as it should.
I thought that the closet doors to my closet were big and bulky. Why would anyone want sliders when bifolds are so much prettier and functional? Turns out that my closet door opening isn’t a standard size for accommodating bifolds. I can order custom doors, or rip out the framing around my closet opening and rebuild it to accommodate the standard doors that are available at home improvement centers. I just hung up a curtain and called it a day.
I thought that we should replace the light over the sink in the kitchen. Turns out that once Hubby pulled out the old light fixture, he discovered that the light box wasn’t secure…it was actually wiggling on its support that wasn’t fastened to the joists correctly. So he had to tear into the ceiling and fix the support, and then repair and retexture that section of the ceiling.
I thought that we should get an alarm on the house. Turns out that during installation, the technician drilled through a wire that caused our outside patio light to stop working. Two years later, Hubby looks into fixing the patio light and has to rip part of an interior wall and ceiling out to solve the problem.
I thought that it was amazing that our house had survived almost twenty years without an overhead light fixture in the living room. The open plan allowed the room to “borrow” light from the kitchen, dining room and hallway/foyer, but the room itself was still cave-like. So I bought a ceiling fan with a light and Hubby went about installing it. Turns out Hubby had to rip back into the recently repaired dining room ceiling to install a junction box to run power to the fan. He has yet to match the popcorn pattern on the ceiling.
I thought that the wall paper in the hall bath was ugly. Surely pink and purple floral wallpaper was never really in style, right? It would seem so simple to pull the wall paper down to remodel the room. Turns out that the wallpaper was original to the house and the builders didn’t prime the walls before pasting the paper up. Thus, when we pulled the paper down, the drywall came with it. We had to pull down the wall itself to get rid of the wall paper! And when it came time to tile the floor, it seemed to be not so perfectly level. And pulling out the old countertop did some damage to the remaining wall. And I thought that we could keep the old vanity, paint it and reuse it with the new countertop that I bought for the remodel. Except that the sink wasn’t positioned in such a way that the vanity would work so we wound up buying a new one anyway. And my grand plans for crown molding seem to have hit a snag thanks to non plumb ceilings. (Thankfully Home Depot is offering a class on installing molding tomorrow…we’ll be there!) I think that there may have also been issues in putting up the wainscoting that caused Hubby to declare that the room wasn’t perfectly squared.
I thought that a nice black and silver plaque to display our house number might look nice in front of the garage. The house numbers that are original to the house are on the eaves of the house and are now hidden by Italian Cypress Trees that were planted in front of them. Turns out that our house is made of some sort of fake stucco that is stuck to Styrofoam (yes, apparently I live in a Styrofoam house, but I can get away with that as there are no hurricanes here to blow the house away!) and now we have to devise some sort of elaborate plans to get the numbers to stick to the house, since anchors won’t anchor to the vast nothingness that is behind the fake stucco that makes up our house.
You think that we would learn a very important lesson from all of these experiences. Sadly, we keep trudging along.
This weekend is the beginning of the master bath renovation. We’ll be pulling out the vanity and countertop (watch out, walls!) and painting in preparation for tile and a new vanity and countertop. We have already established that we will have to make a couple of minor alterations to the new vanity to accommodate the existing plumbing. Hopefully that will be the worst of the renovation.
This summer…new kitchen, foyer and dining room floors, along with removal both patterns of popcorn on the dining room ceiling. Shortly thereafter, new countertops in the kitchen. And after that, we’ll reface the kitchen cabinets ourselves.
We’re just setting ourselves up for new challenges. But we won’t accept failure.
We’re going to be living in this house for awhile yet…and I want to get all of these projects done with plenty of time for us to enjoy the results. This is, after all, our home.
Hubby and I have been in our twenty-year-old house for three years now. We’ve worked hard to make it a home, and we’ve succeeded. Every day, I look around our home and think about how content I am to be living here at this point in my life.
Never mind the fact that our house has plummeted in value since we purchased it at the height of the housing boom…we’re here now and we’re here for the foreseeable future. So we’re taking this opportunity to take our basic house and make it something more…along the way taking an opportunity to build up our DIY skills. (They make it look so easy on TV!)
This house has had very few, if any, upgrades done to it since the day it was built. When we moved in, it looked like the only improvements were ceiling fans in the bedrooms, fresh interior paint and new carpet.
Since taking ownership of this house, we’ve made some improvements here and there, and have learned some valuable lessons along the way. The number one lesson being that they might make it look so easy on TV…but it is generally not so.
We’ve painted all of the rooms in the house and replaced the original light fixtures in the hallway, foyer and both bathrooms with more modern fixtures. That is about the extent of the “easy” projects.
From that point on, all the plans that I had that seemed so simple just turned out to be darned near impossible.
I thought that we should pull the plain mirror off the bathroom wall and purchase a beautiful mirrored medicine cabinet for our master bath, along with putting in a beautiful metal and alabaster light fixture. Turns out that to sink the medicine cabinet into the wall, we’d have to pull permits and hire someone to do it, since the cabinet would go into an exterior wall and thus cause issues with supporting the structure of the house. So we just hung the cabinet on the wall, and Hubby had to build a box to bring the light out from the wall so that it would hang over the cabinet as it should.
I thought that the closet doors to my closet were big and bulky. Why would anyone want sliders when bifolds are so much prettier and functional? Turns out that my closet door opening isn’t a standard size for accommodating bifolds. I can order custom doors, or rip out the framing around my closet opening and rebuild it to accommodate the standard doors that are available at home improvement centers. I just hung up a curtain and called it a day.
I thought that we should replace the light over the sink in the kitchen. Turns out that once Hubby pulled out the old light fixture, he discovered that the light box wasn’t secure…it was actually wiggling on its support that wasn’t fastened to the joists correctly. So he had to tear into the ceiling and fix the support, and then repair and retexture that section of the ceiling.
I thought that we should get an alarm on the house. Turns out that during installation, the technician drilled through a wire that caused our outside patio light to stop working. Two years later, Hubby looks into fixing the patio light and has to rip part of an interior wall and ceiling out to solve the problem.
I thought that it was amazing that our house had survived almost twenty years without an overhead light fixture in the living room. The open plan allowed the room to “borrow” light from the kitchen, dining room and hallway/foyer, but the room itself was still cave-like. So I bought a ceiling fan with a light and Hubby went about installing it. Turns out Hubby had to rip back into the recently repaired dining room ceiling to install a junction box to run power to the fan. He has yet to match the popcorn pattern on the ceiling.
I thought that the wall paper in the hall bath was ugly. Surely pink and purple floral wallpaper was never really in style, right? It would seem so simple to pull the wall paper down to remodel the room. Turns out that the wallpaper was original to the house and the builders didn’t prime the walls before pasting the paper up. Thus, when we pulled the paper down, the drywall came with it. We had to pull down the wall itself to get rid of the wall paper! And when it came time to tile the floor, it seemed to be not so perfectly level. And pulling out the old countertop did some damage to the remaining wall. And I thought that we could keep the old vanity, paint it and reuse it with the new countertop that I bought for the remodel. Except that the sink wasn’t positioned in such a way that the vanity would work so we wound up buying a new one anyway. And my grand plans for crown molding seem to have hit a snag thanks to non plumb ceilings. (Thankfully Home Depot is offering a class on installing molding tomorrow…we’ll be there!) I think that there may have also been issues in putting up the wainscoting that caused Hubby to declare that the room wasn’t perfectly squared.
I thought that a nice black and silver plaque to display our house number might look nice in front of the garage. The house numbers that are original to the house are on the eaves of the house and are now hidden by Italian Cypress Trees that were planted in front of them. Turns out that our house is made of some sort of fake stucco that is stuck to Styrofoam (yes, apparently I live in a Styrofoam house, but I can get away with that as there are no hurricanes here to blow the house away!) and now we have to devise some sort of elaborate plans to get the numbers to stick to the house, since anchors won’t anchor to the vast nothingness that is behind the fake stucco that makes up our house.
You think that we would learn a very important lesson from all of these experiences. Sadly, we keep trudging along.
This weekend is the beginning of the master bath renovation. We’ll be pulling out the vanity and countertop (watch out, walls!) and painting in preparation for tile and a new vanity and countertop. We have already established that we will have to make a couple of minor alterations to the new vanity to accommodate the existing plumbing. Hopefully that will be the worst of the renovation.
This summer…new kitchen, foyer and dining room floors, along with removal both patterns of popcorn on the dining room ceiling. Shortly thereafter, new countertops in the kitchen. And after that, we’ll reface the kitchen cabinets ourselves.
We’re just setting ourselves up for new challenges. But we won’t accept failure.
We’re going to be living in this house for awhile yet…and I want to get all of these projects done with plenty of time for us to enjoy the results. This is, after all, our home.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Winter Endings
Well, I've got all of our photos posted and captioned, so I'm caught up there. Until I finally get around to converting all of our negatives to digital format, that is!
As 2009 progresses, we're concentrating mainly on the house and sprinkling in a few trips here and there. We've already kicked off the year with a weekend to Hearst Castle on the California Coast and are looking forward to a trip down to LA for the Annual West Coast Nationals for the Z at the end of April.
Spring is rolling in, and we're taking advantage of the gorgeous weather to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in. We're also planning on beating the heat of summer and establishing the gardens quickly!
The yards and gardens are almost complete. I estimate that there is one more day of work to put into the front flower beds and then it'll just be maintaining the plants. We've got to finish disposing of the old shrubs (the yard waste bins only hold so much!), repair two sprinkler heads and then I can plant. I'm planning on two blue salvias between the Azalea and the tree, and maybe another rose between the tree and the front sidewalk. More newspaper weed barrier, of course, and mulch. Then I'll fill the very front of the bed with colorful annuals that I can change out with the seasons.
I am very pleased with the progress of the back yard! Hopefully we'll be able to walk back there in three weeks or so. We'll overseed with grass seed to fill in the blanks and finally be able to move the gardening equipment off of the patio and back into the shed. All of the plants in the back flower beds seem to be doing really well, but the summer heat will be the true test. Hopefully everything will survive and we can move on to the maintenance stages back there. (I haven't forgotten to take photos of the Touch of Class Everblooming Hybrid...I just can't get to it without walking on the grass. But I can see it from my bedroom window, and it is doing magnificently!)
My container garden is an ever-evolving project. As time and budget permit, I will go back to experimenting and expanding this little patio oasis (made possible by last year's purchase of the patio cover!) I intend to bring back the delphinium and other pretty flowers, and now they'll stand a chance back there because of the cooling shade that we finally have. I also intend to add a small table-top fountain and nestle it in with the plants for added serenity.
We're also looking at the inside of the house. The hall bath is so close to being completed - just needs trim, caulking and finishing paint. I need to change out the existing blue - it's too turquoise! I've chosen a calm sky blue and will change that out once the trim is complete.
My attention is turning to the master bath. I've purchased the calming beige paint, new vanity, new faucet, tile, bath mats and we've already installed the new toilet seat. Once I have the new counter top (next weekend!) we can begin demolition and remodel. I may change out the accessories and towels over time.
Sitting in the back of my mind is the kitchen. Hopefully we'll have that done by the end of the year. Budget constraints will make it a multi-stage project. Paint, countertops, backsplash and sink first. Then cabinets. Then the floor. (Or maybe floors, then cabinets...I'm flexible on that!) Then finishing touches - like a new light fixture. All with time and patience, and a little bit of elbow grease.
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com
As 2009 progresses, we're concentrating mainly on the house and sprinkling in a few trips here and there. We've already kicked off the year with a weekend to Hearst Castle on the California Coast and are looking forward to a trip down to LA for the Annual West Coast Nationals for the Z at the end of April.
Spring is rolling in, and we're taking advantage of the gorgeous weather to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in. We're also planning on beating the heat of summer and establishing the gardens quickly!
The yards and gardens are almost complete. I estimate that there is one more day of work to put into the front flower beds and then it'll just be maintaining the plants. We've got to finish disposing of the old shrubs (the yard waste bins only hold so much!), repair two sprinkler heads and then I can plant. I'm planning on two blue salvias between the Azalea and the tree, and maybe another rose between the tree and the front sidewalk. More newspaper weed barrier, of course, and mulch. Then I'll fill the very front of the bed with colorful annuals that I can change out with the seasons.
I am very pleased with the progress of the back yard! Hopefully we'll be able to walk back there in three weeks or so. We'll overseed with grass seed to fill in the blanks and finally be able to move the gardening equipment off of the patio and back into the shed. All of the plants in the back flower beds seem to be doing really well, but the summer heat will be the true test. Hopefully everything will survive and we can move on to the maintenance stages back there. (I haven't forgotten to take photos of the Touch of Class Everblooming Hybrid...I just can't get to it without walking on the grass. But I can see it from my bedroom window, and it is doing magnificently!)
My container garden is an ever-evolving project. As time and budget permit, I will go back to experimenting and expanding this little patio oasis (made possible by last year's purchase of the patio cover!) I intend to bring back the delphinium and other pretty flowers, and now they'll stand a chance back there because of the cooling shade that we finally have. I also intend to add a small table-top fountain and nestle it in with the plants for added serenity.
We're also looking at the inside of the house. The hall bath is so close to being completed - just needs trim, caulking and finishing paint. I need to change out the existing blue - it's too turquoise! I've chosen a calm sky blue and will change that out once the trim is complete.
My attention is turning to the master bath. I've purchased the calming beige paint, new vanity, new faucet, tile, bath mats and we've already installed the new toilet seat. Once I have the new counter top (next weekend!) we can begin demolition and remodel. I may change out the accessories and towels over time.
Sitting in the back of my mind is the kitchen. Hopefully we'll have that done by the end of the year. Budget constraints will make it a multi-stage project. Paint, countertops, backsplash and sink first. Then cabinets. Then the floor. (Or maybe floors, then cabinets...I'm flexible on that!) Then finishing touches - like a new light fixture. All with time and patience, and a little bit of elbow grease.
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com
Friday, March 6, 2009
Getting Caught Up On Some Things
Holy crow! I didn't realize quite how far behind I had gotten on cataloging and captioning our photos!
I put some work into it and am caught up through the end of 2008! Check for new albums in the "Photos 2008" and "Car-azy" sections. (Keep your eyes open for Mike autocrossing in the white Z!) I also found photos from our trip to Catalina in 2007, so check that out, too.
I'll also be adding photos to the "2009" album in the gardening section, and to the two bathroom renovation albums as we finish up the hall bath and kick off the master bath renovation. Keep checking back to see how those projects go!
Now I just need to get 2009 captioned and added and I'll be caught up! Let's hope I do that before I get too far behind. Again.
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com/
I put some work into it and am caught up through the end of 2008! Check for new albums in the "Photos 2008" and "Car-azy" sections. (Keep your eyes open for Mike autocrossing in the white Z!) I also found photos from our trip to Catalina in 2007, so check that out, too.
I'll also be adding photos to the "2009" album in the gardening section, and to the two bathroom renovation albums as we finish up the hall bath and kick off the master bath renovation. Keep checking back to see how those projects go!
Now I just need to get 2009 captioned and added and I'll be caught up! Let's hope I do that before I get too far behind. Again.
http://seeexperienceexplore.shutterfly.com/
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Deja Vu
I’ve noticed a pattern lately – events in my current life seem to be reflecting and magnifying my recent past. Only this is happening in ways that are better than before.
When Hubby and I first moved out to California, I found myself returning to the banking industry and spent a year as a banking assistant in a lending department. The position held no glamour. It had no excitement. I spent my days filing, archiving and making copies. Not exactly a challenge to me. After a year of living this existence, I branched out to another employment opportunity that I thought would be a better move for me…back into government employ, although this would be my first foray into localized government.
Well, we all know how that worked out for me. I took quite a beating for a year and a half and found my confidence in myself to be much less than what it was before. For the first time in my life, I had doubts about myself and my abilities. I couldn’t quite bring myself to feel secure in anything that I did. I no longer felt confident when conferring with supervisors. I often worried about whether or not I was performing to expectations. I began allowing myself to suffer - always putting the needs of others before me and never accomplishing anything for myself. It was to the point that whenever anyone asked me to do anything, I would immediately stop what I was doing and work on the new task - never feeling a sense of accomplishment for anything and always feeling the pressure of that backlog of tasks waiting for me to return.
This summer, forced into unemployment, I found myself working in an accounting department in an effort to make ends meet and continue to live a comfortable life. Like my prior stint in the world of accounting (as an accounts payable clerk for a roofing company – term of employment was one month), the pay wasn’t exactly what I was accustomed to, but it was enough to live on. And I really liked the job, the environment and the people that I was working with. Sure – I was working 54-hour workweeks. But I was among like-minded people. We had fun together and the time flew by. I found myself beginning to rebuild my former self – the confidence and ease were returning. But like before, the experience was to be short lived.
A couple of weeks ago, totally out-of-the-blue, I was contacted by a former coworker of mine from the bank. My old position was opening up again, and my former manager was interested in talking to me about coming back to a beefed-up position with higher pay.
I was absolutely floored. I did not go seeking this opportunity – I had already decided that I liked where I was and would be able to live with the downscaled benefits and longer days. However, I was intrigued. I met with my former manager and we discussed the “new” job. It certainly sounded better than before and she and the rest of the staff were glad to see me when I came through the door.
The offer came through and I spent time agonizing over the decisions. The benefits would be so much better, the pay equal to what I brought home working for The City…oh, and to return to a 40-hour workweek! But I loved my current job – the days passed quickly (all six of them each week!) and I really enjoyed bantering with the people that I worked with. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but in the end I decided on a return to my past.
This week, I will return to the life of banking. I feel confident that I will be able to meet the challenges that will be laid before me. I’ll be learning new duties and have the opportunity to once again prove myself to be successful.
I will overcome the emotional damage that I sustained in my prior job. I will rebuild my confidence. I will prove myself. I will be a success.
When Hubby and I first moved out to California, I found myself returning to the banking industry and spent a year as a banking assistant in a lending department. The position held no glamour. It had no excitement. I spent my days filing, archiving and making copies. Not exactly a challenge to me. After a year of living this existence, I branched out to another employment opportunity that I thought would be a better move for me…back into government employ, although this would be my first foray into localized government.
Well, we all know how that worked out for me. I took quite a beating for a year and a half and found my confidence in myself to be much less than what it was before. For the first time in my life, I had doubts about myself and my abilities. I couldn’t quite bring myself to feel secure in anything that I did. I no longer felt confident when conferring with supervisors. I often worried about whether or not I was performing to expectations. I began allowing myself to suffer - always putting the needs of others before me and never accomplishing anything for myself. It was to the point that whenever anyone asked me to do anything, I would immediately stop what I was doing and work on the new task - never feeling a sense of accomplishment for anything and always feeling the pressure of that backlog of tasks waiting for me to return.
This summer, forced into unemployment, I found myself working in an accounting department in an effort to make ends meet and continue to live a comfortable life. Like my prior stint in the world of accounting (as an accounts payable clerk for a roofing company – term of employment was one month), the pay wasn’t exactly what I was accustomed to, but it was enough to live on. And I really liked the job, the environment and the people that I was working with. Sure – I was working 54-hour workweeks. But I was among like-minded people. We had fun together and the time flew by. I found myself beginning to rebuild my former self – the confidence and ease were returning. But like before, the experience was to be short lived.
A couple of weeks ago, totally out-of-the-blue, I was contacted by a former coworker of mine from the bank. My old position was opening up again, and my former manager was interested in talking to me about coming back to a beefed-up position with higher pay.
I was absolutely floored. I did not go seeking this opportunity – I had already decided that I liked where I was and would be able to live with the downscaled benefits and longer days. However, I was intrigued. I met with my former manager and we discussed the “new” job. It certainly sounded better than before and she and the rest of the staff were glad to see me when I came through the door.
The offer came through and I spent time agonizing over the decisions. The benefits would be so much better, the pay equal to what I brought home working for The City…oh, and to return to a 40-hour workweek! But I loved my current job – the days passed quickly (all six of them each week!) and I really enjoyed bantering with the people that I worked with. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but in the end I decided on a return to my past.
This week, I will return to the life of banking. I feel confident that I will be able to meet the challenges that will be laid before me. I’ll be learning new duties and have the opportunity to once again prove myself to be successful.
I will overcome the emotional damage that I sustained in my prior job. I will rebuild my confidence. I will prove myself. I will be a success.
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