Woodworking 101

When I read about Sharon over at Laurelhurst Craftsman Restoration taking a woodworking class, I e-mailed here about joining.  We had our first class (through Portland Community College) last night at Franklin High School. 
The class cost helps to benefit the Landers Bree Foundation, a foundation that was set up to help support the woodworking shop at Franklin High School as well as teach students (many with disabilities) trade skills.   
We learned to use became familiar with several tools at the class including a chop saw and a table saw (I already have used these a bit at home) as well as a jointer and planer-pretty cool tools and a little intimidating. 
We will get to make a paddle board (he said that could be used for food prep or old school whalloping). cutting board, box with lid & dovetail joints as well as a plant stand.  I hope that I can sort of adjust the guide of the plant stand to make a side table instead. 

jointer & planer

perfect piece of wood that I created

wouldn't it be cool if I could make this?  um, yea

Mr with his hoard of animals

Refinancing our home

We have been keeping busy with any number of things recently.  Another thing that we decided to add to our list (and weren't planning on or even thinking about) was to refinance our home.  We were browsing rates and were shocked at how low the rates have gotten. 

After doing some calculations, we found out that we were able to refinance our place for a 15 year loan and pay less than $100 more than our initial rate that we got when we bought our home 5 years ago. We refi'd just about 1 1/2 years ago so will be paying more than what we currently pay by a few hundred as the new refi rate is for 15 years and our previous loans were 30 year terms. 

We have found an amazing refinance lady in the Portland area-Ann Hays with NW Mortgage (phone: 503-439-9191)-she makes the process pretty much painless and we have been able to do the whole process by phone and e-mail which is awesome for us.  Lugging a toddler to an office is not our idea of fun.

It basically takes a 10 minute or so phone call to talk with Ann (or whomever you are working with) and figure out if the numbers all make sense.  She then e-mails a check list of things (W-2s, paystubs, bank statements) that she needs to process it all (I just downloaded statements or scanned them in and e-mailed them off) and if you give the ok, she will lock in a low low rate for you. 

Then, you pretty much pay an appraiser a bunch of money (I believe it is about $400) to come assign a value to your home (we are currently trying to feverishly finish up projects before the appraiser comes sometime this week or next).  If the appraisal goes along with what you owe on the home (you'll know after a few days), then you wait for all the paperwork to be processed and meet to sign final documents.  Then you get to skip a month on your mortgage before starting with the new mortgage. 

I wonder who will "buy" our home this time?  It's cute and well loved, I promise.

Here are a few websites that look pretty decent for info on refinancing your home.  many of them have refi calculators that help you figure out how much you will save if you refi. 

•  HUD
• Google advisor 
• Yahoo! Finance
• bills.com
• Bank rate

DO IT...NOW!  You'll be glad you did!

Eeek! There's a mouse in the house

I have to say I am a little embarrassed to admit, but we have a serious mouse issue in our house.  Not talking Hoarders serious, but any mouse is serious to me.  PS, Are you obsessed with any Hoarders show like me....can't get myself to stop watching even though it is just completely gruesome.  But it does put me in the mood to purge, clean and organize my own house so let's call it therapy of sorts-for free!
Wish I could say this post was about finding an original version of the mouse trap game...remember that game, by the time you put it together, you were exhausted and didn't even want to play the game?

via

Anyways, I digress.
So we really do have a serious mouse issue.  My mom first said that she heard something in our walls when visiting last spring, which of course I ignored and thought to myself, we couldn't possibly have mice.  Well, it took us finding there droppings and lots of snacks eaten before we believed it.  Then I thought, it could REALLY only be ONE because we're not THOSE people.  Turns out we are. 

Old Skool trap via

SO the first mouse was easy.  It was coming into the kitchen through our junk drawer and eating some old easter candy or something like that-not even good chocolate so it was all cool.  Just dropped an old skool trap at the back and he was caught that night, however not dead as it trapped on his leg and Steve had to take him outside to put him out of misery. 
And I haven't mentioned that I am deathly afraid of dead mice.  I have been known to crouch in the corner and cover my eyes when Steve is carrying one out and I really hate finding them dead-eek!  Live ones are ok-not in love but ok.  I had a pet mouse named Ellen when I was a kid-she was cool.  Trained and all and we would just chill together.
Anyways, fast forward 6ish months and we thought, after catching nearly a dozen mice (nasty, I know) and we thought they were gone.  We found them in the attic, basement and kitchen.  We boxed all of our food (what a treat-it feels like we are unpacking from just moving or something, having to go into plastic tubs everytime we want to eat something that is in a cardboard box or plastic bag) or put it into cool old glass jars (that is neat and was on my to-do list anyways). 

However, we came home almost 2 weeks ago from camping and I noticed that the peanut butter was gone from our kitchen pantry trap but there was no mouse and no trap activation.  Looks like we still had a mouse and that it had gotten so hot that the metal on most of our traps had warped so therefore the traps no longer worked.  Then comes this past Sunday night when Steve saw the little bugger scamper across our living room (3 nights in a row) and then we heard it in our bedroom while we were in bed-true nastiness.
So last Monday came and I went trap crazy.  Went to the hardware store and bought 12 new old skool traps, 4 sticky traps (which our friends who lived in NYC and had a true mouse problem (12 in one day) swear by) as well as bait.  They (the traps) are everywhere that the dog and kiddos can't reach. 
One week later and still no mice.

Last night Steve saw the mouse in question run right under the living room chair and under the built-in by our tv-there is a drawer there so therefore a handy little place for a mouse to scurry and get access to the basement.  So up went the traps.  Two sticky and one old skool.  And this morning, mouse caught.  Who knows if we have more, but I will rest a a little better tonight knowing that we are getting closer.  Just in time for cold weather again and more mice to need a warm little bungalow to nestle in for the winter.

BUT HOW DO YOU TRAP MICE:
I did some extensive research and let me tell you, you can spend a lot of money. There are all kinds of options.  We opted for the old skool option, and just when I started to go crazy last week, added the posion (conceled to prevent animals & kiddos from reaching) as well as the sticky traps.
You can do:

• old skool
• poison pellets or poison conceled to keep from pets & kids eating
  

  

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• electric traps (these are supposed to be quite effective but seemed a bit much at $20+ a pop 
  

  

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• sticky traps
• electronic noise transmitters that are supposed to scare them off
  

  

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• home-made traps with a bucket
  

  

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But basically you will have the most luck by setting out multiple traps along the walls where you have seen mice, one website recommended a trap every 3-4'.  We read the baiting them up with peanut butter is best (you can also add some bird seed or crushed cereal if you want the bait to be extra enticing).
It also helps to block all exterior holes in your home.  Mice can get in through as small as a 1/4" hole in the wall.  It is recommended that if you are not going to permanently seal with a plastic material, wood or caulking, that you use steel wool-mice can easily eat through something like cardboard or insulation.  Unfortunately, we pretty much feel like it would be impossible to close all the holes in our home being it's age but we are trying. 
I hope this post is of no use to you because that would mean you don't have mice.  :)

Paint, paint, paint

Now that we are back in town, we are quickly realizing that the days are getting shorter and this awesome summer will soon come to an end.  and we still have a lot to check off our lists as far as outdoor projects go.  Would be outside painting right now but both the little ones are napping and not sure if one baby monitor will pick up both of them.  I did make a quick trip outside to do a few minutes of sanding on the garage and slapped some primer on the places I sanded.  I think I can sneak out one more time to put the first coat of green over that primer since it should be dry soon.  Just no time to start the whole second coat of paint.
Over the weekend, Steve finished all the little touch ups on the back of the house and then I did the first coat of green Saturday morning (completing the last strokes just as the sun went up over head and painting needed to stop) and the second Sunday morning.  Also got super motivated and decided that it was high time to put some green paint up on the south side of our garage (if you recall from the spring, Steve removed all the old yellow paint and primed it).  This is the part of our garage we never see as it basically comes up to the neighbor's driveway and planter bed.  Sorry, neighbors, we love you and apologize for being such slackers and this taking so long.  Just sort of put it out of our minds and left you with some ugly. 

After First coat:

All finished with the exception of some trim painting, fixing some paint on the back door and updating/fixing the electrical switch for the back deck light

guess we might want to put the dog door back together now

wow does the deck stick out like a dangerous eye sore

And some pix of the garage with boards in place to glue a couple pieces of the lap board siding back together and with the first coat of paint up

the bottom wood rotted as soil was pushed up against it.  we obviously moved the soil away but still need to figure out a way to keep the soil away from now on

And the project Steve started, or began again, after a 4 year siesta....stripping the paint from the front and rear rafters and painting them.  We don't think there will be time to start the back of the boards (which are virtually unseen), but Steve at least hopes to get the front visible portions complete before fall (and RAIN) officially begins.  This project is no fun, hence the four year siesta. Four years?  Four summers ago (our first summer in our home as we got the keys Sept 1, 2006) we spent the ENTIRE summer stripping all the paint off the lap board siding of the house and hand nailing all new shingles as the old ones had rotted under the aluminum siding.  At some point I will try to post more pictures of our process to remove the aluminum siding, strip paint and hang shingles. 

And Ben on Saturday morning...because I like him and he makes me happy :)

A little vaca done the Wright way

I have been missing from the whole blogging world for a bit because we took a family vacation to the Midwest last week.  I know, crazy, why waste a few of the last beautiful summer days in the Pacific Northwest to go on vacation in Nebraska and Kansas?  Well, we went to celebrate Steve's cousin's, Angie's, wedding to her partner Mindy.  They had their legal ceremony in Iowa the Friday before Labor Day weekend and then had their marriage celebration and reception on a beautiful garden farm property Saturday.  We were so thankful to be there and it was awesome to see Steve's family. 

Ben was a hoot at the wedding, getting his dance on in the side gazebo.  I caught a little video of it but am so sad to say that it somehow and I really have no clue how, got erased from our camera.  The rest of the pictures were taken by my sister-in-law so I have nothing else to show for the night

While in Lincoln, Nebraska we took some time to visit a couple local parks and drive the neighborhoods.  It is an adorable little town/city and there are some gorgeous old homes.  Steve's grandparents lived in Lincoln and raised Steve's dad there.
 
Steve has many fond memories from visits with his grandparents there.  We also stayed in Omaha for a night as that is where we flew in (way cheaper).  We visited the Omaha zoo which is pretty awesome, Hay street market area which has awesome old buildings and brick streets and is on the water.  Our hotel also had a water parks of sorts (more like a water features and two little slides) which was like Disneyland for Ben.

After Lincoln, Steve flew home (to bring home the bacon, you know), and I met up with my friend, Kelly in Wichita.  She moved there a couple years ago as her husband is doing his medical residency there.  They have a precious four month old little laddie named Bram. 
While hanging outs looks slightly different from grad school days (girls nights, bars and more to burping and walks), Ben & I had an awesome little visit and it was so so good to see Kelly and her fam.  Ben's first flight last year was at just 3.5 weeks old-we flew to Vegas for their wedding.  We did get in a little day trip to the Wichita Zoo.

playing at Bram's place and breaking in his toys

this pix cracks me up-Ben has developed a new fear of large animals and I couldn't keep myself from laughing

Kelly with Ben & Bram

and on one of our walks through College Park in Wichita, we were just walking, walking, walking and I was checking out all the awesome gorgeous old homes.  more like drooling over them and their prices (compared to Portland and Los Angeles where I grew up), and I am looking at this one and thinking that it reminds me of a Frank Lloyd Wright.  and then Kelly is like, oh yea, that's a Frank Lloyd Wright and I was like "stop in your tracks" drool. stop. (break out my iphone, asking Kelly a million questions)  drool more.  "Kelly, does someone live here?"  Kelly: "I don't know.  They never have cars parked in their driveway.  That driveway is blocked.  Sometimes they have cars parked on their grass.  The blinds are always pulled closed."  drool again.  Wipe drool with a million burp cloths packed.  A million thoughts run through my mind.  Tell Kelly that probably block driveway to maintain original concrete and probably pull blinds because Wright often built furniture to go with house and may be protecting it.

side view

side front

historical marker plaque

driveway to left of front house

view to left of driveway, visitors park on the grass

Another house in the neighborhood:

Anywho, of course I google "Frank Lloyd Wright Wichita" that night and I found out that it is the 1915 Allen-Lambe Frank Lloyd Wright and now it's a museum.  But (bring out the violin) you have to make a private tour reservation 10 days in advance.  Next time I visit Wichita I am so going on a tour. 

here are some pix from the link above:

And us on our way home after a long vacation....Ben was a dream on the first flight and during our layover, the second flight (where we were in the last row by the window with the lady in front of us reclining her seat) was a different story-let's just say I ordered a beer half way through.  :)  but we made it and it was a great vacation but we're so glad to be home!