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Painting continued this morning
November 30, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Painting continued this morning. The office is completely finished, complete with switch covers and all. The main rec room and kitchen is mostly done. I put a second coat down most places, but I still have more ceiling and a few walls to do, not to mention the stairwell. It's going to be tight, as we're running low on that particular color of paint.
Tomorrow is our informal painting party, though hopefully there's not much for people to do. We could do a bunch of trim and some doors, though we'll see how energetic everyone is after they arrive.
As for today, it was fairly low-key. Sam was pretty beat, watching all of Toy Story and half of the sequel. I did get him on a short hike in the morning, which was nice. Still, I think our kids might be a little sick as Emma's been grumpy lately.
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Yesterday, I was a painting fiend
November 29, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Yesterday, I was a painting fiend. I think I worked for around eight hours in between the Thanksgiving gatherings. I did a single coat of paint everywhere and went to bed that night completely exhausted. This morning, the plan was to start again at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately, it was evidently Sam's plan to get up at the crack of dawn as well. I did manage to paint the office with a second coat, but the rest of the basement remains.
I did have a good Thanksgiving otherwise. Jamie's family arrived bringing lots of food. Later I went over to my mom's for another big meal with the other side of the family.
Today was more subdued. Mostly we hung out, Jamie cleaning and me watching kids as much as I could. The kitchen ended up sparkling with an inner light. Now it's approaching nine and time to collapse in bed.
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Yesterday was yet another of those that try m...
November 27, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Yesterday was yet another of those that try men's souls. It began with an overflowing toilet, spending what I had hoped would be a couple leasurely hours cleaning up sewage. Immediately after that, it was off to Sam's preschool to wrangle twenty kids about. I didn't really have time to be exhausted, as the duty of parents tend to keep them endlessly busy.
Finally, Jamie and Emma picked us up around noon. Sam opened his present from me - the extended version of the Two Towers - and we watched an hour or so of it. After that, it was back to watching kids and getting ready for Sam's semi-birthday party at my mom's. It was a nice gathering and Sam got a suit of armor, which he's been wearing all morning.
Today I downed a couple cups of coffee and went to work on the basement, painting big sections of it. Jamie's currently taking her turn behind the roller, but I don't think she'll last very long. She thought she'd do anything other than watch kids, but it appears that painting is one of the exceptions.
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Ah, mocha Tuesday
November 25, 2003 by Adam in Family
Ah, mocha Tuesday. Today's my last day of work for the week, as I've been shanghaied into helping out at the preschool tomorrow. Jamie's plan is to paint during the brief window between retexturing and getting the cabinets hung. After that, it's four days of franting painting then they put down carpet and vinyl. Can't wait.
A dreary morning indeed. Sam woke up at six in the morning bouncing with energy. We stuck him in front of Teletubbies, which mesmerized the whole family for awhile. Emma seems much better after her digestive woes. She's getting very verbal and wiggling about on the floor.
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It's a crazy day here at work
November 24, 2003 by Adam in Family
It's a crazy day here at work. It seems as if everyone in the world decided to e-mail me their latest issues. Plus I got paged at 3 am this morning. Fortunately Jamie's a light sleeper, otherwise I would have snoozed through the loud beepings.
Poor Emma was throwing up last night. I think it was a little too much sweet potato too fast. The poor thing looked miserable, then fell fast asleep.
Jim did a super job painting over the weekend. Supposedly we get textured walls today, then a bit of painting tomorrow night and cabinets go up. By Thanksgiving, there should be tons of painting to do. Feel free to attend our painting party on Sunday.
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Saturday seemed filled with activity, though ...
November 23, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Saturday seemed filled with activity, though I basically stayed at home the entire day. Sam and I played a lot of our new Star Wars game. Jamie had the luxury of sleeping in and taking a shower while we entertained Emma. Judy came to take Sam and Josh to see Elf, while we stayed at home to do laundry. Jim and the boys went to see the civil war game, then they and Jamie headed out to North Bank. Lots of juggling, it seems.
The basement is coming along nicely. Jim's done a great job of painting doors and trim. Tuesday night we have to paint an area of the room in preparation for shelves, which I guess show up Wednesday. The drywall should all be finished by Thanksgiving weekend, which is the time when everything else gets painted.
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Well, the remodel is coming along quite nicely
November 21, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Well, the remodel is coming along quite nicely. The sheetrock folks put up all the drywall. It still needs to be plastered a bit more and the walls textured, but it's getting closer. Jim arrived safe and sound yesterday and has already started on the doors and the trim.
Thanksgiving plans seem to be floating around these days. It sounds like Jamie and the kids will be doing something with Brant and Ray, with a guest appearance at my mom's house. I'll be doing the opposite, spending time at my mom's and putting in a guest appearance with the Mellor side of the family. Ah, holidays and the coordination that comes with it.
I'm looking forward to my Friday mocha, though it's a few hours away. I'm actually meeting a couple people for coffee around 9:30, Jonathan and Kate from back east. If I remember right, Danica mentioned they were headed to Eugene after school and didn't really have a place to stay or work to be had. They've since found an apartment and are currently looking for jobs. I suppose I'm the impromptu welcome committee. I feel I should be passing out rubber ducks and umbrellas, though I'm not really sure what constitutes symbols of our town.
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It snowed yesterday, right after lunch
November 20, 2003 by Adam in Family
 It snowed yesterday, right after lunch. My coworkers kept looking at the window and making excited noises. Sam went out to play, but I think the cold and wet got to him after awhile. By the time I got home, it had mostly turned to slush and no one really wanted to go outside.
We got ceilings yesterday, and hopefully walls today. The main floor bathroom also got new tiles put in. Sam and I tested out the bath last night, as we hadn't used that one for quite some time. There are still a couple holes in the wall that need to be patched, but everything is finally usable.
Jim should be there by the time I get home, painting like a maniac. Sam and I are also looking forward to the arrival of a new computer game, Knights of the Old Republic. It's a Star Wars game and supposedly quite good, so we're pretty excited.
Can't wait for the weekend. I'm already feeling the urge to take some time off. Maybe around Christmas after the basement is finished.
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The morning ride to work was quite exciting, ...
November 19, 2003 by Adam in Family
The morning ride to work was quite exciting, the wind blowing leaves all about the road. Very picturesque.
The remodel is moving slowly along. The carpenters were back yesterday, putting down a thin layer of wood in preparation for the vinyl flooring for the kitchen/laundry area. Supposedly the sheetrock folks are here today, so we'll soon get walls. Rumor has it that they're going to try to be finished with the walls and cabinets by Thanksgiving, but I'm not holding my breath. Jim should be here tomorrow to begin his painting fest, of which we are very grateful for.
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Problems with the web site today
November 18, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Problems with the web site today. It kept reporting that too many users were connected. Unless I've suddenly become super-popular, I'm guessing it's something else. Still not sure what it might be yet, though obviously it's up again. Turning things off and back on again works wonders.
Otherwise, it was a quiet day at work. The contractors put up insulation and the sheetrockers arrive tomorrow to get the walls up and running. We might actually have some room-looking-things in a bit.
Emma's getting increasingly mobile. She's able to scoot herself along on her belly for a few inches now. The rec room should be done just in time to contain her wanderings.
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The weekend is coming to a close, the kids in...
November 17, 2003 by Adam in Family
 The weekend is coming to a close, the kids in bed, my lunch made, and pyjamas waiting for me. Weekends are a mix of relaxation and frantic activity these days. I had a luxurious bath while reading a new library book, something I hadn't done for months. We also had an assortment of house projects, park runs, preschool meetings, bread making, dinner guests, lots of laundry, and computer playing.
The remodel is coming along fairly well. We've got most of the electrical work done. People start hanging sheetrock next week and Jim's coming to paint towards the end of the week. Hopefully we'll have things ready for Thanksgiving weekend so we can paint endlessly.
As for the highlights of the weekend, Sam and I made really good bread together. We also went to the park and found that someone had dumped some snow in a big pile. Sadie called and we chatted while I carried Emma about. Emma's learning to slowly scoot herself short distances on her belly.
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I had a hot shower this morning, a significan...
November 14, 2003 by Adam in Family
I had a hot shower this morning, a significant luxury after the last few days. The ride to work was also stunningly beautiful, with the sunrise matching the leaves on the trees quite nicely.
It looks like I won't be painting this weekend, as Jim's coming down from Portland to do just that. That leaves us with few remodel projects in the short run. The electrician continues to work today and tomorrow. I think we'll do a library run and perhaps go shopping for Sam's birthday.
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The great plumbing issue has been resolved
November 13, 2003 by Adam in Family
The great plumbing issue has been resolved. It turns out the plumber hooked up the fixture upside down, causing the hot and cold water to mix. I think we'll be passing along the bill from our hot water heater maintenance guy to the plumbers.
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I had a warmer shower this morning, though st...
November 13, 2003 by Adam in Family
I had a warmer shower this morning, though still not quite as tosty as I would have liked. The plumber came back, poked at things a bit, then told us to call the people who service our natural gas-powered heater. That guy asked at once if we'd installed any new fixtures. Evidently there are issues where they can cause cold and hot to mix together at the fixture, causing our problem. I think we'll be calling the plumber again to tell them that.
In the meantime, I cranked up the hot water to 140 degrees so that we can at least get warm enough water to bath kids and take a shower. Ah, the joys of home ownership.
The electrician was over yesterday. He was looking skeptical about turning the sauna power into an outlet. I told him to bag the whole thing and I'll just run a power strip through the wall for my computers. Sigh.
The week chugs along. We signed a million papers last night for our new home loan. It's not a great new rate, but there were no closing costs, which is nice. Jamie and I are knee-deep in parenthood these days, a dazed look continually plastered across our faces.
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I took a cold shower this morning, though per...
November 11, 2003 by Adam in Family
I took a cold shower this morning, though perhaps not for the reasons you expect. We had the plumbers over yesterday, replacing the bathroom pipes and fixing a toilet. Unfortunately, my guess is that they did something to turn down the temperature of the hot water, though we can't figure out how they did it. The reading on the hot water heater (which is gas powered) reads 114 as it should. So, we'll call them over today to see if they can get it back to normal.
The kids were a bit much last night. Emma was quite grumpy, crying all through dinner and much of the night. Once again, AC/DC put her right to sleep when all other recourse was taken.
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What a weekend
November 10, 2003 by Adam in Family
What a weekend. I lost track of all the laundry I did, probably somewhere around twelve loads. We didn't have any use of our washer and dryer for awhile, so it had been awhile since we ran it. Both days I was going up and down the stairs with laundry baskets, folding endlessly.
Overall, though, it was pretty good. Jamie and the kids all seemed in good spirits. Sam and I tried to get out of the house for at least part of it, including a cold trip to the park and a long hike on Rigeline trail. We also watched Finding Nemo, which I had never seen and enjoyed quite a bit.
Sunday we had a birthday party for Seraph, which was fun. Having all the kids arrive was a bit crazy towards the end. We walked home and Jamie's uncle Darrel arrived for a quick visit.
We'll see what remodel wonders await me on my return home. Supposedly we'll have the electrical work started in on.
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Ah, the weekend
November 08, 2003 by Adam in Family
Ah, the weekend. No plan really, other than laundry and entertaining children. The tile guy is coming again today to regrout the upstairs bathroom. The downstairs shower was fixed as well yesterday. It turns out our plumbing problem was due to a leaky shower head which would have been quite easy to fix. Now we're going ahead and replacing all the pipes since we tore out the wall. Sigh.
Most of the carpentry is done in the basement. Monday the electrician starts. Hopefully I can get him to do the funky stuff to support my computer projects. It'll be nice when this is all finished.
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When life gets busy, it's the simple things l...
November 07, 2003 by Adam in Family
 When life gets busy, it's the simple things like a warm cafe mocha on a cold morning that make life good.
The construction project continues on. We have walls now, or at least the frame where walls will be. It helps give a sense of space, providing a better feel for how big things will really be. There's also those last minute descisions and details that need to be decided upon. I think we'll leave the bottom of the stairs alone, for example, instead of having them go straight down they'll keep their curve.
The main plan for the weekend is to do a bunch of laundry. The water is hooked up, so we should have some opportunities to get some cleaning done. They've been piling up for quite awhile now.
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Thursday already
November 06, 2003 by Adam in Family
Thursday already. It wasn't nearly as dreary this morning when riding my bike to work. The last couple days have been cold and wet indeed.
The construction in our basement continues. We now have floors you can walk on and the walls are mostly framed. The electrician is supposedly coming in tomorrow or Monday to do his part. We also started finally fixing the plumbing on the main floor bathroom. Tiles were removed by the tile guy, we're getting someone else to open up the wall this morning, and later today the plumber comes to fix the pipes. It's quite the hassle to organize all the different people and Jamie has done a great job.
I had the kids all by myself last night while Jamie went off to a preschool meeting. Though I dreaded the worst, it actually went fairly well. By the time Jamie returned, both kids were snoozing away.
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The remodel is well underway
November 05, 2003 by Adam in Family
 The remodel is well underway. Yesterday they measured and framed out the floor. Today we have an insulated floor as well as the plumbling for the sink and washer and dryer. Plus, the tile person came to take off the tiles in the upstairs bedroom (which has the leak). Jamie's been amazing, organizing all these people and companies.
I started getting sick yesterday and find myself quite sniffly. Work was pretty hectic too, as I had to make up for taking off Monday. Despite it all, the kids seem relatively happy and healthy, though Jamie and I are clearly pretty beat.
Oh, and if anyone is browsing magazines at the supermarket, take a look at Computer Gaming World and turn to page 108. I'm mentioned there for my Neverwinter Nights projects. Pretty neat.
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It's been a relatively quiet day, though the ...
November 02, 2003 by Adam in Family
 It's been a relatively quiet day, though the kids appear to have caught the cold. Emma's been hit the worst, having a hard time sleeping with all the sniffling and sneezing. Sam has a touch of it too, though it's not too bad.
Jamie went off to visit with Angie this morning, leaving me to fend for myself. Fortunately both kids were pretty good. After her return, we've puttered around. Sam wanted to be an orc, so he applied his own makeup for the situation. When we decided to make bread this afternoon, he agreed to help as long as I called the ingredients things like "powdered elf toes" and the like.
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Halloween went well
November 01, 2003 by Adam in Family
 Halloween went well. Sam donned his skeleton outfit and we went out into the neighborhood to seek our candy glory. It was freezing cold and so we only made it to a few houses before we turned back again. After dinner, we drove over to my mom's house to show off the outfit. Then it was back home to greet trick or treaters.
Sam was our official candy giver. For a long time, there wasn't really any people showing up, but then we started getting big groups around 7 pm. Sam and I watched various Halloween specials while we listened for the telltale chatter of kids seeking candy. Finally around 8 pm we closed up shop and all went to bed.
We're going to try and clean out the garage today, moving things under the porch area. I think my dad's coming over to help, which would be very handy.
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