With November coming to a close, it's time to reflect back on this month's weather here in the Upper Peninsula. Typically I don't do this unless a certain month or period is really one to remember. And this month was really exceptional, especially for those who enjoy warmer weather this late into fall. November 2009 ended up being nearly seven in a half degrees above normal compared to a typical November. It was also the least snowiest November on record - that's saying a lot when comparing it to November of 2008 which ended up being one of the snowiest (some 43+ inches of snow fell during the entire month of November of last year). Although the hunters looking for deer really didn't like the warmer weather, its really been nice not having to worry about driving on bad roads yet, this late into the year.
As I mentioned, the weather this time of the year can really be unpredictable. November is typically the month when we have some of our worst storms of the year. November gales are what they're called, and one was notorious in 1975 for bringing the ore freighter the Edmond Fitgerald down to the bottom of Lake Superior. The storms can be so fierce at this time of the year, waves frantically crash to the shore and can cause serious beach erosion. Sometimes it's fascinating to watch the waves crash against the breakwalls in Marquette. These are the kind of storms that draw people to the shores to watch mother nature at work. However this November, those kinds of storms were certainly lacking. I think in October we had a couple that were pretty fierce, but November was quite tame. In fact, I remember many days where we had sunny and warm conditions rather than rainy, wet, and raw days.
So November of 2009 was certainly enjoyable for those who like it warmer than putting up with the snow and cold that us Yoopers have to endure for many months on end during a typical U.P. winter. And when the snow gets delayed like it has this late in the season, it makes for a shorter winter, which makes a lot of people breathe a sigh of relief. Hey, I don't mind the snow. But when it's still on the ground in March and April, it gets a rather tedious to look at - and you'd rather it be all gone by then! We have a long ways to go during this winter of 2009-10, but we're slowing picking away at it. Before long, it'll be the end of winter and we'll be longing for the days of warmth and spending time at the beach. Four months does go by pretty fast these days.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Here Comes the Holiday Season
It kind of snuck up on me this year, but the holidays are officially here. It's hard to believe we are now heading into the last month of the year; and this decade, for that matter. I remember back when I was in grade school, the period of time between October 1 and Thanksgiving Day moved so slowly. It seemed like it took forever before Thanksgiving Break came. Now as an adult, there's no such thing as a Thanksgiving Break, unless you take a week of vacation during that period of time. I was granted Thanksgiving Day off, which was really nice. It kind of broke up my seven day stretch of day shift pretty nicely. But nowadays, time really moves by a lot faster than when you're a kid. Maybe we just didn't care back then, but there's so much more to keep track of now. And it's not really much of a surprise to hear from relatives and my parents that as the years go by, the time goes by that much faster.
For this Thanksgiving, my family had the pleasure of my sister from Wisconsin joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. It had been awhile since she was able to join us for the holiday; over ten years at least. I always enjoy spending time with her, even if it's just for the day. As I mentioned, I had Thanksgiving day off, so after work the day before, I packed up a few things from my house and headed for my parents. My sister was already there, so I got to visit with her that evening. Our family tradition whenever she comes up or when we visit her is to play Scrabble. The game usually involves myself, my mom, and my sister. I've been in a slump lately, and it continued on Thanksgiving Eve as I ended up in last place. I don't know what's going on - but during this particular game, I got stuck with an endless amount of vowels. There's not a lot you can do in Scrabble when six of your seven letters are vowels. Nevertheless, it was still a fun time and whatever the outcome, it's always a blast to play a game like that with your family.
Thanksgiving Day brought my other sister and her family over to my parents. I always have such an enjoyable time seeing my niece and nephew whenever possible. My nephew is always so busy that it's often very difficult to keep up with him! But I don't get to see him too often, so our visits together are always a lot of fun. My niece is a very funny girl. She says a lot of things that often make us chuckle. She's a bit more shy than my nephew is, so it often takes her awhile to warm up to everyone, particularly me. But before long, she's coloring, playing with her dolls, or watching Spongebob. Neither one of the kids usually eats very much and Thanksgiving dinner was no different. But it was really nice to have all of us together, once again, for Thanksgiving. The last time we were together like that probably was when we had dinner at my grandma's. So it ended up being a very fun day.
Now with Thanksgiving out of the way, on comes Christmas. One of my least favorite things about the holiday season is doing the shopping! I'd rather find what I need for everyone on my list right away than spend hours and hours looking for the right gift. And what complicates things even more; my mom's birthday is just nine days before Christmas. I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet, but there's plenty of time. I usually procrastinate quite a bit until about a week or two before Christmas. I think this year, I am going to try shopping a little bit early. It's better to get it all done with plenty of time to enjoy the holidays than rushing around at the last minute. Hopefully it goes exactly as planned this year.
For this Thanksgiving, my family had the pleasure of my sister from Wisconsin joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. It had been awhile since she was able to join us for the holiday; over ten years at least. I always enjoy spending time with her, even if it's just for the day. As I mentioned, I had Thanksgiving day off, so after work the day before, I packed up a few things from my house and headed for my parents. My sister was already there, so I got to visit with her that evening. Our family tradition whenever she comes up or when we visit her is to play Scrabble. The game usually involves myself, my mom, and my sister. I've been in a slump lately, and it continued on Thanksgiving Eve as I ended up in last place. I don't know what's going on - but during this particular game, I got stuck with an endless amount of vowels. There's not a lot you can do in Scrabble when six of your seven letters are vowels. Nevertheless, it was still a fun time and whatever the outcome, it's always a blast to play a game like that with your family.
Thanksgiving Day brought my other sister and her family over to my parents. I always have such an enjoyable time seeing my niece and nephew whenever possible. My nephew is always so busy that it's often very difficult to keep up with him! But I don't get to see him too often, so our visits together are always a lot of fun. My niece is a very funny girl. She says a lot of things that often make us chuckle. She's a bit more shy than my nephew is, so it often takes her awhile to warm up to everyone, particularly me. But before long, she's coloring, playing with her dolls, or watching Spongebob. Neither one of the kids usually eats very much and Thanksgiving dinner was no different. But it was really nice to have all of us together, once again, for Thanksgiving. The last time we were together like that probably was when we had dinner at my grandma's. So it ended up being a very fun day.
Now with Thanksgiving out of the way, on comes Christmas. One of my least favorite things about the holiday season is doing the shopping! I'd rather find what I need for everyone on my list right away than spend hours and hours looking for the right gift. And what complicates things even more; my mom's birthday is just nine days before Christmas. I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet, but there's plenty of time. I usually procrastinate quite a bit until about a week or two before Christmas. I think this year, I am going to try shopping a little bit early. It's better to get it all done with plenty of time to enjoy the holidays than rushing around at the last minute. Hopefully it goes exactly as planned this year.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
A Frustrating Day
So yesterday I took my mom to town so she could buy groceries to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. All in all, the trip into town and driving around was the most frustrating part. I fear that the craziness of the holiday shopping season was already quite evident at the store I went to. It kind of threw me off - as I didn't expect certain people to be so vindictive, at least not so soon before Thanksgiving. Then there was the crazy drivers in and around Marquette that made me nearly lose my mind. Which is why I don't venture into Marquette too often anymore, unless I absolutely have to get something or I plan to make several stops. No more joyrides for me anymore.
Our first stop was a trip to the grocery store. Instead of me tagging along with my mom, I dropped her off and I ventured to the nearby big box home improvement center. I have had my eye on buying a new lava lamp for my house. I kept one at my parents house, but eventually it quit working and my mom threw it out. The other one I had at my apartment broke during the move to my house. And I've always liked the look of lava lamps. The home improvement store was having a big sale on lava lamps, so I picked up two; one for my mom and one for me. As I strolled through the store, I heard one woman ask for assistance locating a certain item that was on sale. No - "asked" isn't the right word. She was downright rude in the way she addressed the salesperson. Apparently she was misdirected by another salesperson which obviously lead to her frustration and lashed out at this other defenseless salesperson. Needless to say, he lead her to the right direction and she found the item she was looking for. I continued to go on my merry way and I proceeded to head to checkout. Don't you just love it when practically everyone else in the store decides to go and checkout at the same time as you? That's exactly what happened in this instance, and with only three checkouts open, things were getting very backed-up. Well this same woman who was bickering earlier also needed to checkout. It appeared she was with a daughter, as she was younger than the woman. I'd say their ages were 60 and 40, respectively. Well, seeing the long lines at the checkout must've really made her blood boil. She abruptly put her item on the floor next to a shelf and walked right out, muttering to herself along the way. Honestly, how rude can you get? All you have to do is have a little patience. It wasn't much longer before two additional checkout lanes opened up and things were moving again at the front of the store. But that's how some people respond to situations like that, and they may even say that they won't step foot in that particular store again. Yet you know they will.
So after exiting the store, I walked towards the car carrying my two bags of merchandise. I popped the trunk of the car open and placed the two bags over to the left side of the trunk. Suddenly I got totally distracted - the car on my left, with two passengers, was just taking off. Meanwhile, the car on my right was just arriving. In that vehicle was an Asian couple and they were fiddling around with stuff in their car. Before long, out came a stroller. Unbeknownst to me, I dropped the keys to the car in the trunk and slammed the trunk shut. I was ready to enter the car when I started to feel around in my pockets for the keys. They weren't in my coat pockets, so I tried my pants pockets. Not there either. I didn't totally remember dropping the keys in the trunk, but then I kind of figured out what happened. Then the realization came over me - I was locked out of the car! Now, this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. But still, knowing that the keys are inside the trunk and there's nothing you can do about it really leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth. So I had to figure out what to do next. My two options were either go back in the store and try and call for a locksmith or take a hike over to the grocery store where my mom was at and hope that she had the extra set of keys for the car in her purse, and then hike back. And needless to say, this isn't exactly an easy walk. The highway between the home improvement store and the grocery store is the busiest in the Upper Peninsula! Regardless of that fact, I pressed on and started walking. At first I didn't know if it was the smartest decision, but the closer and closer I got, I knew it was the right pick.
The distance between the two stores is probably three quarters of a mile. However, I wasn't walking a straight line. So it probably ended up being around a two mile trek round-trip. I told my mom the situation and yet, she wasn't sure if she had the extra set of keys. Yet, to both of our relief, they were in her purse. She was ready to checkout at the grocery store, so I told her to take her time. I ended up having to cross four lanes of busy highway traffic four different times; yet there was enough of a gap to take a dash across the road. By the time I got back to the car, I had worked up a pretty good sweat! I was relieved the keys opened the doors and when I went to look in the trunk, sure enough; the keys were right in the very front of the trunk. Honestly, I was glad to get out of there and continue on with our day.
Needless to say, it wasn't a typical shopping trip for me and my mom, although she probably had far less stress than I did. It just goes to show you that it's easy to become distracted and do something foolish. I used to have a car where I'd tend to leave the headlights on, which would cause the battery to go dead. Or I'd lock the keys in the car. That car was a magnet for troublesome situations like that. But then there was a time when I locked my keys inside the car I currently have and it was still running! I ended up having to get a wrecker out to my car, which was at work, and open up the car for me. The car ended up running for a good hour at least before the wrecker came. Good thing I had enough gas in it to drive back! These are all instances where at the time, you wished things would've worked out better. However in the end, at least you can look back on them and laugh. And I can laugh about yesterday's incident at least.
Our first stop was a trip to the grocery store. Instead of me tagging along with my mom, I dropped her off and I ventured to the nearby big box home improvement center. I have had my eye on buying a new lava lamp for my house. I kept one at my parents house, but eventually it quit working and my mom threw it out. The other one I had at my apartment broke during the move to my house. And I've always liked the look of lava lamps. The home improvement store was having a big sale on lava lamps, so I picked up two; one for my mom and one for me. As I strolled through the store, I heard one woman ask for assistance locating a certain item that was on sale. No - "asked" isn't the right word. She was downright rude in the way she addressed the salesperson. Apparently she was misdirected by another salesperson which obviously lead to her frustration and lashed out at this other defenseless salesperson. Needless to say, he lead her to the right direction and she found the item she was looking for. I continued to go on my merry way and I proceeded to head to checkout. Don't you just love it when practically everyone else in the store decides to go and checkout at the same time as you? That's exactly what happened in this instance, and with only three checkouts open, things were getting very backed-up. Well this same woman who was bickering earlier also needed to checkout. It appeared she was with a daughter, as she was younger than the woman. I'd say their ages were 60 and 40, respectively. Well, seeing the long lines at the checkout must've really made her blood boil. She abruptly put her item on the floor next to a shelf and walked right out, muttering to herself along the way. Honestly, how rude can you get? All you have to do is have a little patience. It wasn't much longer before two additional checkout lanes opened up and things were moving again at the front of the store. But that's how some people respond to situations like that, and they may even say that they won't step foot in that particular store again. Yet you know they will.
So after exiting the store, I walked towards the car carrying my two bags of merchandise. I popped the trunk of the car open and placed the two bags over to the left side of the trunk. Suddenly I got totally distracted - the car on my left, with two passengers, was just taking off. Meanwhile, the car on my right was just arriving. In that vehicle was an Asian couple and they were fiddling around with stuff in their car. Before long, out came a stroller. Unbeknownst to me, I dropped the keys to the car in the trunk and slammed the trunk shut. I was ready to enter the car when I started to feel around in my pockets for the keys. They weren't in my coat pockets, so I tried my pants pockets. Not there either. I didn't totally remember dropping the keys in the trunk, but then I kind of figured out what happened. Then the realization came over me - I was locked out of the car! Now, this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. But still, knowing that the keys are inside the trunk and there's nothing you can do about it really leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth. So I had to figure out what to do next. My two options were either go back in the store and try and call for a locksmith or take a hike over to the grocery store where my mom was at and hope that she had the extra set of keys for the car in her purse, and then hike back. And needless to say, this isn't exactly an easy walk. The highway between the home improvement store and the grocery store is the busiest in the Upper Peninsula! Regardless of that fact, I pressed on and started walking. At first I didn't know if it was the smartest decision, but the closer and closer I got, I knew it was the right pick.
The distance between the two stores is probably three quarters of a mile. However, I wasn't walking a straight line. So it probably ended up being around a two mile trek round-trip. I told my mom the situation and yet, she wasn't sure if she had the extra set of keys. Yet, to both of our relief, they were in her purse. She was ready to checkout at the grocery store, so I told her to take her time. I ended up having to cross four lanes of busy highway traffic four different times; yet there was enough of a gap to take a dash across the road. By the time I got back to the car, I had worked up a pretty good sweat! I was relieved the keys opened the doors and when I went to look in the trunk, sure enough; the keys were right in the very front of the trunk. Honestly, I was glad to get out of there and continue on with our day.
Needless to say, it wasn't a typical shopping trip for me and my mom, although she probably had far less stress than I did. It just goes to show you that it's easy to become distracted and do something foolish. I used to have a car where I'd tend to leave the headlights on, which would cause the battery to go dead. Or I'd lock the keys in the car. That car was a magnet for troublesome situations like that. But then there was a time when I locked my keys inside the car I currently have and it was still running! I ended up having to get a wrecker out to my car, which was at work, and open up the car for me. The car ended up running for a good hour at least before the wrecker came. Good thing I had enough gas in it to drive back! These are all instances where at the time, you wished things would've worked out better. However in the end, at least you can look back on them and laugh. And I can laugh about yesterday's incident at least.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Songs I Dig - 14
The last "Songs I Dig" blog I wrote was back in March. Did I think it would take this long to write a new entry? Not in the very least! The absence of the SID blogs during the last several months was completely my fault, because it wasn't like I didn't have any songs to write about. There's been plenty of great songs that were released during the summer and fall of 2009. It's going to take me some time to get back on track, but we still have a month in a half left in the year. I have confidence that I can bring back the SID blog with a vengeance and continue that momentum in the new year. 2010 starts a new decade of music, too! Holy cow, where did the 2000's go anyways? Anyways, off with the newest Songs I Dig!
Owl City - "Fireflies" : In today's era of music that's mostly littered with profanities and derogatory messages, how refreshing is it to hear a sweet ode to fireflies? Like the deejay I was listening to today said, it's a song that the whole family can listen to. I find it pretty darn cool that not only has local radio picked up on this song, but many of the pop radio stations in the United States. It took awhile for the local radio station to start playing the song - probably within the last month. But what drew the programming director of the station to the song was the incredible music video that was created for the song. It's basically an ode to classic 1980's toys like speak and spell, lightbright, etc. The song is super catchy in that when you hear it, don't be surprised once it's over that you begin to start singing all about fireflies.
Train - "Hey Soul Sister" : Here's a group that has experienced great success during the current decade. And from the looks of it, the start of the new decade could be just as successful for the group. "Hey Soul Sister" is the first single from their new album titled, "Save Me San Fransisco." And judging from the amount of airplay the song is getting, it just might be a very big hit. Train presents a different kind of sound to this song, different from past tunes. It's largely in part because of the ukulele, I think. And I believe the song is in a pretty high octave for lead singer Pat Monahan, but he definitely does not struggle. But I'm sure during a live concert, the song leaves him out of breath afterwards. All in all, this is a great song from Train and I can't wait to hear what else the group releases from their newest album.
Five for Fighting - "Chances" : There are certain groups or singers that you always wish the very best for, and others that you hope would just go away. Five for Fighting is a group I always root for because they may not be flashy or overly popular, yet they put out some really great music. "Chances" is one of those songs that gives a positive message and really helps to boost morale. Yet, this isn't unlike of Five for Fighting. Their other hit songs like "Superman (It's Not Easy)," and "100 Years" fit a very similar mold. You could make the case that "Superman" became a hit because of its message following the attacks on September 11th. Whatever the case, Five for Fighting produces music that really makes you think and doesn't leave you depressed. "Chances" is off to another great start like their other two big hits.
Mat Kearney - "Closer to Love" : Although Mat is a relative newcomer to the main stream pop music world, the later half of this decade has proven to be rather successful for the Oregon-born singer. "Closer to Love" is the first single from his second album titled "City of Black and White" and is proving to be a nice follow-up to his debut album. I don't think "Closer to Love" has proven to be as big of a hit like "Nothing Left to Lose" and "Undeniable" were for Mat, yet "Closer to Love" is a pleasant, soothing song. I really enjoy the beat and the lyrics of the song. It's another "positive message" kind of song, including the lyrics "You pull me out of the dark, just to show me the way..." It's nice that it can be positive and upbeat, yet refrain from becoming too sappy.
Nickelback - "Never Gonna Be Alone" : Here's a group that has achieved monumental success with hit after hit and they ain't slowing down! "Never Gonna Be Alone" is (surprisingly) the sixth single from their latest album "Dark Horse," and should garner similar success to previous releases "Gotta Be Somebody" and "If Today was Your Last Day." Its already generated a lot of airplay on the radio. Nickelback gets a lot of criticism for the music that it produces. Critics say the group doesn't try mixing things up with different sounds and have become too stale. Obviously the fans and the radio stations don't think so, because their albums continue to reach platinum status, if not beyond that. As the saying goes, whatever works, and for Nickelback, it certainly works well.
Well, that wraps it up for the latest installment of the "Songs I Dig" blog. It's been a long time coming, but I am happy to say it is back for good. Don't be surprised to see another installment soon. After all, I have to get caught up on the rest of the songs I missed out on discussing during the previous seven months of this year. And the year ain't over yet! I'm sure one or two new songs will be released that'll end up making the "Songs I Dig."
Owl City - "Fireflies" : In today's era of music that's mostly littered with profanities and derogatory messages, how refreshing is it to hear a sweet ode to fireflies? Like the deejay I was listening to today said, it's a song that the whole family can listen to. I find it pretty darn cool that not only has local radio picked up on this song, but many of the pop radio stations in the United States. It took awhile for the local radio station to start playing the song - probably within the last month. But what drew the programming director of the station to the song was the incredible music video that was created for the song. It's basically an ode to classic 1980's toys like speak and spell, lightbright, etc. The song is super catchy in that when you hear it, don't be surprised once it's over that you begin to start singing all about fireflies.
Train - "Hey Soul Sister" : Here's a group that has experienced great success during the current decade. And from the looks of it, the start of the new decade could be just as successful for the group. "Hey Soul Sister" is the first single from their new album titled, "Save Me San Fransisco." And judging from the amount of airplay the song is getting, it just might be a very big hit. Train presents a different kind of sound to this song, different from past tunes. It's largely in part because of the ukulele, I think. And I believe the song is in a pretty high octave for lead singer Pat Monahan, but he definitely does not struggle. But I'm sure during a live concert, the song leaves him out of breath afterwards. All in all, this is a great song from Train and I can't wait to hear what else the group releases from their newest album.
Five for Fighting - "Chances" : There are certain groups or singers that you always wish the very best for, and others that you hope would just go away. Five for Fighting is a group I always root for because they may not be flashy or overly popular, yet they put out some really great music. "Chances" is one of those songs that gives a positive message and really helps to boost morale. Yet, this isn't unlike of Five for Fighting. Their other hit songs like "Superman (It's Not Easy)," and "100 Years" fit a very similar mold. You could make the case that "Superman" became a hit because of its message following the attacks on September 11th. Whatever the case, Five for Fighting produces music that really makes you think and doesn't leave you depressed. "Chances" is off to another great start like their other two big hits.
Mat Kearney - "Closer to Love" : Although Mat is a relative newcomer to the main stream pop music world, the later half of this decade has proven to be rather successful for the Oregon-born singer. "Closer to Love" is the first single from his second album titled "City of Black and White" and is proving to be a nice follow-up to his debut album. I don't think "Closer to Love" has proven to be as big of a hit like "Nothing Left to Lose" and "Undeniable" were for Mat, yet "Closer to Love" is a pleasant, soothing song. I really enjoy the beat and the lyrics of the song. It's another "positive message" kind of song, including the lyrics "You pull me out of the dark, just to show me the way..." It's nice that it can be positive and upbeat, yet refrain from becoming too sappy.
Nickelback - "Never Gonna Be Alone" : Here's a group that has achieved monumental success with hit after hit and they ain't slowing down! "Never Gonna Be Alone" is (surprisingly) the sixth single from their latest album "Dark Horse," and should garner similar success to previous releases "Gotta Be Somebody" and "If Today was Your Last Day." Its already generated a lot of airplay on the radio. Nickelback gets a lot of criticism for the music that it produces. Critics say the group doesn't try mixing things up with different sounds and have become too stale. Obviously the fans and the radio stations don't think so, because their albums continue to reach platinum status, if not beyond that. As the saying goes, whatever works, and for Nickelback, it certainly works well.
Well, that wraps it up for the latest installment of the "Songs I Dig" blog. It's been a long time coming, but I am happy to say it is back for good. Don't be surprised to see another installment soon. After all, I have to get caught up on the rest of the songs I missed out on discussing during the previous seven months of this year. And the year ain't over yet! I'm sure one or two new songs will be released that'll end up making the "Songs I Dig."
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Home Projects
I am now entering my fifth month as a homeowner and I couldn't be happier with my decision. In fact, I think I'd be pretty content living here the rest of my life. Naturally, a person's desire to live in a particular location does tend to wane over time. But as of now, I'm pretty happy with the location. I guess the big test is seeing how the winter season is in this particular spot. The weather has been fairly mild lately and so far there's no snow in sight. The front of the house faces south toward a major highway, and that highway is pretty busy. I am guessing that this particular location gets a little less snow from the lake as those areas more inland. But still, it's a place susceptible to snow. Two to three miles down the road, the highways parallels the Lake Superior shoreline and during some of the worst storms, the visibility is bad enough that the highway gets shut down. My house is before that juncture and I don't believe visibility will be a problem where I'm at because of trees and neighboring homes. Still, during blizzards it doesn't matter how many trees or other obstacles are in the way. The wind still whips the snow around fiercely.
A few of the projects I have conquered thus far includes some electrical and drywall repair. The living room in the house is painted white and the drywall was peckered with a variety of nail and screw holes from the previous owners. Over time, I've patched those spots. The living room is almost ready for paint except for a few areas that need additional patching and sanding. I need to scrounge up a few more things before I am truly ready to paint. I'll definitely need a tarp or two to cover furniture and the carpeting and I'll certainly need a ladder. I'm guessing the ceilings in this house are eight or nine feet tall and I'm no where near tall enough to reach that high. And of course, I need to choose a decent colors for the walls! I have honed on a light tan/brown color but I need to make a final decision. I brought home a bunch of sample cards from a recent trip to the home improvement center, so now I need to compare and decide which color suits me.
The other major improvement that is ongoing is some electrical work. During the last few days, I've replaced several old light switches with new modernized ones. I am definitely an electrical novice but I've watched my dad do a ton of electrical work on his house to know most of the basics. Well, I didn't realize I needed a special light switch for three-way wiring. So I had to take another trip to the home improvement store to get the appropriate switch for that job. And while installing it, I turned the job much harder than it should've been. It took me a good hour to get the wiring figured out, where it should go, and get the switch working properly. I even forgot to turn the breaker off once during my frustration and got shocked! Needless to say, that was the final electrical project I worked on for the night. But all in all, the new switches look nice and only help to enhance an already nice looking home.
I am also gradually converting the electrical outlets in the house. My dad helped me change a few outlets in the living room and I've changed one in the kitchen and another in the bathroom. My dad also helped me replace an older style fluorescent light in my kitchen with a bigger, brighter fluorescent fixture which really brightened the room. We also plan on making some wiring and lighting improvements in the basement and create a new circuit for the refrigerator. Currently the fridge is on the same circuit as everything in the living room (including the television and my stereo). It's going to take some work, but in the end it'll be worth it. So hopefully by spring, these particular projects will be completed.
I have more projects planned but as a homeowner, you definitely have to take things one step at a time. I don't want to become overwhelmed by a bunch of different things at once and have the whole house a catastrophe. You just have to pick and choose your projects and then once they are done, you're able to marvel at what you've completed. And then, it's on to the next project! Ah, the life of a homeowner...
A few of the projects I have conquered thus far includes some electrical and drywall repair. The living room in the house is painted white and the drywall was peckered with a variety of nail and screw holes from the previous owners. Over time, I've patched those spots. The living room is almost ready for paint except for a few areas that need additional patching and sanding. I need to scrounge up a few more things before I am truly ready to paint. I'll definitely need a tarp or two to cover furniture and the carpeting and I'll certainly need a ladder. I'm guessing the ceilings in this house are eight or nine feet tall and I'm no where near tall enough to reach that high. And of course, I need to choose a decent colors for the walls! I have honed on a light tan/brown color but I need to make a final decision. I brought home a bunch of sample cards from a recent trip to the home improvement center, so now I need to compare and decide which color suits me.
The other major improvement that is ongoing is some electrical work. During the last few days, I've replaced several old light switches with new modernized ones. I am definitely an electrical novice but I've watched my dad do a ton of electrical work on his house to know most of the basics. Well, I didn't realize I needed a special light switch for three-way wiring. So I had to take another trip to the home improvement store to get the appropriate switch for that job. And while installing it, I turned the job much harder than it should've been. It took me a good hour to get the wiring figured out, where it should go, and get the switch working properly. I even forgot to turn the breaker off once during my frustration and got shocked! Needless to say, that was the final electrical project I worked on for the night. But all in all, the new switches look nice and only help to enhance an already nice looking home.
I am also gradually converting the electrical outlets in the house. My dad helped me change a few outlets in the living room and I've changed one in the kitchen and another in the bathroom. My dad also helped me replace an older style fluorescent light in my kitchen with a bigger, brighter fluorescent fixture which really brightened the room. We also plan on making some wiring and lighting improvements in the basement and create a new circuit for the refrigerator. Currently the fridge is on the same circuit as everything in the living room (including the television and my stereo). It's going to take some work, but in the end it'll be worth it. So hopefully by spring, these particular projects will be completed.
I have more projects planned but as a homeowner, you definitely have to take things one step at a time. I don't want to become overwhelmed by a bunch of different things at once and have the whole house a catastrophe. You just have to pick and choose your projects and then once they are done, you're able to marvel at what you've completed. And then, it's on to the next project! Ah, the life of a homeowner...
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