Crucial update

Before two feet of snow took up residence in our backyard we figured out that it was a raccoon or raccoons who had been relieving themselves on our lawn. Lots of paw prints and a sighting.

Carry on.

11 views on YouTube = famous!

We mentioned on Twitter recently that we had a visit from Park City TV to take a look at our current condo. We are clearly not TV stars, but we still get a kick out of seeing the finished product (and that remixed Jose Gonzalez song as the soundtrack!):



(Plus, how classic is it that Tai's first reaction was, "the SWINYARD condo??!?" Totally makes up for all those times I've been called a Biesinger, darling!)

Stabbing Pain

We met with the architects and the builder on Friday and have made cuts and are close enough to just move forward. The plans will be done on Friday morning next week and we will go to the city and put them in for permit.

So this weekend I went to my dad's house to help him on some projects before my life gets consumed in the construction of our house. We were fixing his fence which had fallen down in a few places and............... I stabbed my self with a bowie knife.

Long story long, my dad has a knife that he uses for sprinklers that he had just gotten cleaned up and sharpened. I went to look at it and then decided to throw it in the grass, because that's what really cool people do. My stance had my right leg in front of me and I threw the knife handle first (first mistake) and let go of it a split second too late and so instead of going forward and down into the grass a few feet in front of me, it went straight down and into my shin. The point of the knife went into my leg, pierced the shin bone and then bounced several feet.

At first it just felt like I hit my shin with some blunt object but then I remembered that I had been throwing a fracking knife and fell to the ground and put pressure on the stab hole that I had put in my leg. My dad helped me into the car and we went to the ER. I got to ride in a wheel chair for the first time though and that was cool. When they were checking me in they asked what my pain level was on a 1 - 10 scale. It was about a 4. After about an hour the doc showed up and shot the area up with some very nice stuff that makes it feel like nothing happened. As he got to cleaning the wound he found that the knife had pierced the shin bone, which changed things quite a bit since if infection got in the bone it would be a really really bad thing (amputation was mentioned). So he stitched me up and ordered an x-ray to see the extent of the damage to the bone and gave me a huge shot of anti-biotic in each of my butt cheeks and prescribed me a 7 day round of anti-biotics. This with all the cleaning he did of the wound should take care of any danger of infection, but I need to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon if it doesn't feel better in a week or so.

After about 3 hours I was able to leave the hospital and I was feeling pretty good, if not like a complete idiot. I went back to my parents where I had dinner and then took off for home. I needed to pick up my prescription first. This took about an hour and half. Each minute that passed more of the local anesthesia wore off and the pain increased. By the time I was driving home from the pharmacy the pain was approaching a 9. Nobody was driving fast enough and I hit every red light. I was screaming louder than I ever have at everyone in my way all the swears I could think of.

All I could think about was getting home to the Lortab that was not prescribed to me for this, but that I have in my cupboard from some oral surgery last year.I took it and now the pain is a 6 or 7. Advil just wasn't going to cut it.

I had ridden my bike 30 miles this morning and then worked in the sun for a few hours and I was pretty dang filthy. Now, you're not supposed to change the dressings for 24 hours and you really aren't supposed to get them wet. Well, I put a trash bag on my leg and taped the top with tape that wasn't sticky enough and got in the shower. I got my dressing all wet, so I changed it with the stuff I got at the pharmacy, but it isn't really doing the job and I'm alone because Kersten is in San Francisco for the weekend. So, I'm basically a wreck and though they stitched up my leg, my ego needs some major work right now. Like maybe a transplant.

So, don't throw knives because getting stabbed hurts exactly as much as you think it would hurt.

Edumacated

While we're waiting for our cost estimate (a pre-bidding phase that will help us refine the design to maximize but not break the budget), here's a little book I saw in Philadelphia recently. My thinking was, "ooooh, I wonder if they have good photos of tile that we could use..."


And then I turned the corner and saw the rest of the title.


Have a great weekend, everyone. I will, once again, be dreaming of a yard.

Hot diggity dog

Well, it looks like we sneaked onto local spotters and touters Your Heart Out recently — check out our shout out. (Thanks, Amelia, for the heads up!)

And now I'm off to figure out that Bertinelli reference.

The land down under

We're back from Australia and basking in the memories of that very cool place. Friendly people, amazing beaches, beautiful city, and lots of modern homes. We didn't do any tours or seek out houses that fit our aesthetic down there. But the thing about Sydney is that modern architecture is everywhere -- it certainly seemed to be a more accepted and desirable style than in Salt Lake City (understatement? check!).

These houses are a few that we ran across while looking for other things. They aren't necessarily the best examples of the work down there (Dwell thinks that it has those covered in its March issue), nor are they necessarily exactly what works for us, especially in this climate. But, wow, aren't they cool?

This one was a public building at a beach in a national park about a half-hour south of Sydney:

This one backed onto a beach just north of Sydney. While we were enjoying the beach, a professional photography crew came to get styled shots of the interiors and rear of the house.

This was right across the bay from where we were staying (Thanks, telephoto!):

This is for sale:

This one had gorgeous landscaping:

And this is how a pitched-roof can look cool:

Sigh.

On a personal note

I have done laundry almost every day since we got the washer and dryer. It has been great.

In other news, I was working a pretty crazy job during 2008, and we just wrapped. Sunday night felt a bit like New Year's Eve for me, and this week has been all about the recovery. I've had a lot of mixed emotions about the job ending — amazement that my co-workers and I were able to do what we did, gratitude that it all worked and no one died (I'm only half joking!), and sadness that it has all ended so quickly.

Part of my recovery is planning a vacation to Sydney for three weeks. We will be exchanging our condo with some lovely folks from Australia who wanted to ski. We need some serious beach time, so it all works out! And, I suppose that this is mildly house-related in that our renovations have made it possible for us to exchange because our place catches people's eyes.

Finally, we're still working on that lot, so stay tuned. And keep a good thought for us in the meantime.

Oh, hi Internet...

Hello again, friends (if you're still reading — and really, I wouldn't be reading after six months of silence).

I wanted to offer a quick accounting of our last several months:

June: work
July: work
August: work
September: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK!!!!!
October: WORKWORKWORK
November: WORK
December (so far): WORK

As you can see, it's really been a blast.

We haven't moved on anything house-wise during this time either, but that has less to do with the work schedule and a lot more to do with the general state of the world economy and all that frightening business. (We'd prefer to not jump in too soon or rashly — I'd like to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.)

I will say that we have been stalking a particular lot basically since July, and by stalking, yes, I mean it all: imagining what we would look like together at parties, signing my last name with its address in my diary, picking out outfits for it, driving past at all hours of the day and night, stopping by all the shops in the neighborhood, and so on.

We actually went through a round of negotiations with the owner of this lot about two months ago but we couldn't reach a comfortable price for everyone. In the meantime, Tai has designed about eight iterations of the "outfit" we could put on that lot, and we have watched the price slowly — so slowly — edge downward. We'll keep stalking it through the next couple of months, and who knows? Maybe we'll be able to report on some action sooner rather than later. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Many thanks

We really enjoyed seeing you all last night — thank you for stopping by and sharing our place with us!


Above, some flowers from a guest...thanks!

Hey Internet!

We're finally having that house-warming party I promised back in February.

Saturday, June 7
6 to 9 p.m.


It's an open house, so come by whenever you like, for however long you like, and check out the "after" in person. We'll provide treats; you provide the conversation.

Email me if you're interested in an address or directions.

This is how we do things in Utah

Re: pest control

We don't deserve your pity

It's hard to feel too sad about a week in Cabo San Lucas when this was the scene this morning in Salt Lake City:

posted from iPhoneSlide.com

Slacking again

This post obviously doesn't contain any "after" pictures, neither does it have any details about how we're planning to put a face on the fireplace, or finish the living room, built-in book case.

Instead, we thought we'd let you know that we'll be on vacation this week. I will promise all sorts of goodies once we get back, though. Including — regardless of plumber/plumberless status — actual "after" pictures of our condo.

We'll say "hi" to Baja for you, in the meantime.

Haiku in honor of L'element

Traditional (5-7-5)

You were the greatest
investment we didn't know
we needed to make


We could not believe
Ikea cab'nets fit so
well, until we saw.


Modified

To the bamboo floor
you huffed, "eh, bring it on,"
but your tires rode low.


Free form

Your clean lines evoke minimalism,
but so many people shirk
from your boxiness.


You were cheap and easy —
the only cheap and easy thing
about this remodel.

The Home Show

Figuring that we ought to take advantage of the resources in our area, and also figuring that we needed an entertaining way to kill a few hours, Saturday we went to the home show in Sandy. The vast majority of the exhibits were entertaining in the way I think a renaissance fair might be entertaining — kind of a hoot once in a blue moon but really not my thing. For instance, this tile arrangement:


There were many more alarming examples of wildlife in home decor, such as this lamp base:


We also noticed a few too many exhibitors of coffins (I wish I had a picture of the white lacquer box with hot pink lining — nothing better to carry you into the afterlife). And etched granite designs featuring more wildlife.


I was a little snippy with one exhibitor who was displaying a binder of home plans for sale. I started flipping through the binder, looking at the different plans (ick and more ick, I'd say), and the exhibitor asked whether we were looking to build. I said yes, but we'll probably use an architect. He immediately said, do you have one already? Well, no, but we know of a few we'd like to talk to. Then he asked whether we were in the industry. Well, no, but we do have a few connections and are fairly optimistic. The undertone of his remarks felt a little like he was trying to convince us that it would be too difficult to retain an architect if we weren't in the industry. Eh, maybe. But we're still not purchasing one of these. Now, if he were talking about plumbers I might believe him... His house plans were full of gables and peaked roofs and extraneous columns and massive garages and turrets and windows in odd places and, and, and.

This particular home show was billing itself as an eco-expo; as far as I could tell, there were about 10-12 exhibitors who were advertising green products or services, a few Toyota hybrids on display and a speaker talking about compact fluorescent bulbs. Green washing, anyone?

Enough griping. We did run across a few gems, including a very interesting booth about insulated concrete forms. This particular brand of the product uses styrofoam blocks that look a lot like hollow Duplos. You stack the blocks in the dimensions of your house, reinforce with a little rebar and few joists for flooring/ceiling/etc. and pour concrete into the middle of the styrofoam. The mass of the concrete makes for a sky-high R value, major sound deadening capabilities and a nearly indestructible house. You save on drywall inside the house because normal construction requires drywall sheets to meet on a stud in order to secure them; that method can make for a lot of waste if you have to trim the drywall. ICF don't require the use of studs at all — they're built into the styrofoam and concrete. (If you read any of our sidebar links, check out the archives of Modern in Minnesota — they used ICF in that very cold climate.) ICF does have its downsides, notably that it makes for thicker walls, which decrease living space on a small lot. Concrete is also pricey, but the overall construction would be only slightly more than traditional building because of comparable rises in cost of lumber, siding, etc. Obviously, it piqued our interest.

We ran across a booth about solar electric and thermal panels (thermal for heating systems as opposed to electric for running, say, your vacuum cleaner). There we learned that the "starter" solar array system costs around $8,500 to $10,000, including installation and all energy company rebates. That same system provides an average of about 35 percent of a house's electricity; more if you are conscientious and conserve. Wow, that's a lot of money.

We learned about blown-in fiberglass insulation that fills nooks and crannies better than sheet insulation (without formaldehyde or similar chemicals). We also learned that it is made of recycled glass and sand, so it's fire-proof without chemical treatment (can't say the same for blown-in insulation made of recycled paper). And we met a very nice man who promised to help us out with radiant heat should we decide to go that route — and we would love to.

In all it was great to hit up a place that offered so much under one roof — the leaping wolves I need for my next table lamp as well as the solar panel contractor I wasn't sure existed in Utah. It was nice to see that all these wonderful things we read about happening in California or the northeast can also happen in Utah. With some work. And some cash.

Happy New Year

Best wishes to everyone out there from everyone in here! As you might have been able to tell from the increasingly short posts up to this point, we had a crazy December. The first half of the month was spent rushing around trying to make the condo livable to make a December 15 move-in date.

We made it. We made it in time to cobble together a Christmas tree complete with trimmings and that fresh pine scent (a welcome change from the Pine-Sol we used this fall to get rid of the cat smell!). We thoroughly enjoyed seeing family and friends over the past two weeks, and we even scraped together enough chairs to host a few minor gatherings for out-of-towners who might not be around for a late-January/early-February house-warming shindig.

It feels good. Really, really good, in fact.

We still have a few things on our list, though, before we're ready for an official unveil:

1. Finish the built-in bookcase in the living room
2. Face and finish the fireplace (it's a gaping hole right now)
3. Get a long-awaited plumber to pull a drain up to our condo for a washer, install drywall and tile in the washer-dryer nook, paint, finish etc., and put in the washer and dryer.
4. Figure out some solution for a couple of spots where kitchen and bathroom cabinets do not quite meet the wall — we're not crazy about the weird glimpses into the unpainted baseboard and support beams you get from these three gaps

Otherwise, there are the usual tidying-up tasks, including unearthing our office desk from the avalanche of books, old mail, old magazines, Christmas receipts, etc., that have taken over our second bedroom. We also probably need a little straightening up in the bedroom and kitchen, too. But again — it feels good to have a home again.

We're already looking ahead for 2008, though. We worked hard to make this place nice, but we always intended it to be a temporary spot. We're eying places to build, kicking around ideas, weighing the relative merits and demerits in the historic landmark districts around here (ARGH), and thinking about how to approach the year.

In the next few weeks, we'll fill you in on the bookcase process (we had to remove our front door to get the case into our living room...), the fireplace designs and the never-ending search for a plumber. Oh, and a special field trip this weekend that we expect to be entertaining more than fruitful.

Happy New Year to all of you, and thanks for sticking with us through this process. We hope to have lots of interesting stuff to post this year.

The Great Salt Lake

We've been able to see this city's titular lake from both condos, and this is a high-energy song from one of our favorite bands (I gifted myself their new album for early Christmas). We're short on high energy these days (so. so. tired.), so pick-me-ups like this have been priceless. As we get down to the little details that will really make this place feel liveable, it's been hard to keep up enthusiasm. We are so close.

The window coverings have been a tricky part of the remodeling process for us. We have four floor-to-ceiling windows, one each in the kitchen, living, bedroom and office — Wendover residents could tell what we're eating for dinner. We hadn't bothered with blinds during the bulk of the remodel because if you're interested enough in us stripping wallpaper, painting, laying bamboo and cutting baseboard, knock yourself out.

Since this is a short-term place for us, we weren't willing to drop too much green on blinds. Enter Ikea (you knew that was coming, didn't you?).

We're quite pleased with our system. Show's over, neighbors!

Colorado

It seems that we're hitting about one major diversion a week — seasons of Felicidades, Arcade Fire, and a long weekend trip to Colorado with its fragile tundra. (This is where the blog takes a break from the depressing problem of a level floor to gloat about some fun.)


We have some good friends in Denver who were persuaded to join us in Vail for a few days. It was deserted and lovely with color. The only problem was that Vail seems to revolve exclusively around the ski resort, which is closed for summer and not yet open for winter. Our tentative plans to rent mountain bikes was foiled by the lack of open outfitters and weird looks when we asked locals (i.e. construction workers) what to do for kicks.


Having tapped out Vail's potential in a 20-minute walk around the town Thursday, we took a drive to Aspen and over Independence Pass on Friday. We'd like to pretend that we timed our Aspen drive-through with the 10-year anniversary of John Denver's death. His ghost was visiting the Gucci boutique in town.


We drove from Aspen over Independence Pass, a crazy two-lane road that dabbles in scariness with high drop offs, one-lane stretches, and steep switchbacks. The top of the pass at 12,095 feet made it difficult to walk more than about five steps without taking a break (home of the fragile tundra). The views were spectacular, though.


We also got to know the loveliest stretch of interstate in all the west — I-70's Glenwood Canyon. We hiked a straight vertical trail to a hanging lake with some friends. Also beautiful.


Tai promises me that we're done dinking around with silly things such as vacations. It's hard work now until the end. Stay tuned.

Nature's subfloor

We happily spent last weekend negotiating this:


It's like floor problems, in a way, I suppose. More pictures soon (plus some honest-to-goodness remodeling action).

Keep the car running

I present Arcade Fire, also known as tonight's work: