Archive for August, 2009

Pesky, necessary progress

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

We’re getting much closer to the “big reveal” (apologies for the HGTV language) in the living room. Last weekend, the brother-man built a beautiful, sleek mantle to surround our fireplace hearth. Yesterday, as a follow-up, mad learned about countersinking nails. For those of you who have never installed moulding, countersinking is the process of hammering a nail below the surface of the wood. This requires a nail set, and it isn’t as easy as it sounds. However, I’m happy to report that our mantle is countersunk and completely ready to be painted. This would have been completed today except that mad joined my family to celebrate my folks’ 41st wedding anniversary. Fun was had by all, and it was totally worth taking a day off. Our window coverings should be ready by Tuesday, and as soon as they’re installed we’ll share after shots.

The aforementioned nailset; disturbingly medieval, no?

The aforementioned nailset; disturbingly medieval, no?

Wish Fulfillment

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Patience and a healthy outlook can sometimes be difficult to maintain while in the midst of a home renovation. So it’s important to take inventory of the small, unheralded victories that take place.

For example, mad scored a coup today at a certain international, Swedish-founded big-box furniture retailer that will remain nameless (Ikea). 2 contemporary, elegant ceiling lamps were procured for not all that much money after careful research, and considering other light fixtures that were several times the price. Of course, we haven’t installed these units yet, but we’re allowing ourselves to feel pretty good.

I’d also like to offer a small home repair tip to our loyal readership. If you’re unfortunate enough to find parts of your computer desk slowly disengaging themselves, a 6″ “C – clamp” and a polyurethane adhesive named after a large primate (Gorilla Glue) are very helpful. Rest assured, you’ll find yourself typing away happily and being downright giddy in no time.

Everyone can agree that a buoyant mood and a cocktail really helps the home improvement process along. CClamp

purging madly

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

mad believes in purging. It’s something we grew quite accustomed to living together in a relatively small apartment in New York. Here is San Francisco, purging is an essential skill because the folks who lived here before us did not purge. At all. And while my pops did a great job of clearing the top two levels of our home, the bottom level with the garage is still full of stuff. We’ve already taken five truckloads of stuff to the dump, but mad’s aforementioned late-night car-parking extravaganza inspired us to descend to the garage and do more purging today. The only thing better than purging is guilt-free purging. And the only thing better than guilt-free purging is cost-free purging. When it’s both guilt-free and cost-free we call that purging madly. And today, thanks to the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council’s recycling center, that’s exactly what we did. We took a bunch of mixed paper (two car loads, in fact) to the recycling center. It was easy, it was free, it was quick, it was madness.

Want to purge madly? Head to the Haight Asbury Recycling Center

Want to purge madly? Head to the Haight Asbury Recycling Center

yes, we live in San Francisco. . .

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

San Francisco is known for many things. Cable Cars, sourdough bread, beat poets, hills, liberal politics–I could go on. Of course, San Francisco is also known for challenging parking. Take a city as densely packed as New York City, throw in some wacky hills, and you have San Francisco parking. I know of no other city where at certain times and on certain streets (that I still haven’t figured out) you’re allowed to park in a lane of traffic. Despite this, Mike and I have felt pretty lucky when it comes to parking. We actually have a garage (that’s currently filled with items from the former residents) and a driveway. In addition, we don’t live in one of the more densely packed neighborhoods of San Francisco. For the last two months we’ve been able to keep one car in the driveway and park one on the street. Given that today is our two-month anniversary here in SF, it seems the fates wanted to have some fun with mad. Last night, we came home a little later than usual and there was no parking to be found. No parking on our street, the adjacent street, or even the street two blocks over. I’m happy to report that under battlefield conditions, mad performs with aplomb. We quickly cleared a little spot in our packed-to-the-gills garage so we could park the smaller of our two cars inside. This allowed us to park our second car in the driveway. Most important, it allowed mad avoid a night of sleeping in our car.

Yes, those cars are parked in a lane of traffic. Photo credit sf.streetsblog.org.

Yes, those cars are parked in a lane of traffic. Photo credit sf.streetsblog.org.

I hate to gloat. . .

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

I enjoyed seasons when I lived in New York. Fall and Spring are absolutely gorgeous, and winter is beautiful and cozy. I even enjoyed the snow–probably because I never had to shovel a driveway or sidewalk. The one season I never understood was summer, but I was always placated by the fact that it would only last a few months.

For some people, the San Francisco summers are rough. We do have the lowest average summertime temperature of any contiguous American city. For many, summer is supposed to be about wearing shorts and balmy evenings. In San Francisco, summer is about wearing layers and hoping for some afternoon sunshine.

I was born and raised in San Francisco. So for me, moving back to San Francisco in the summer was smart–because immediately there are no regrets. We’ve had one day when the temperature rose above 85 degrees, and by the evening it had dropped to the typical high 50’s-low 60’s. And of course, there was no sticky wet-warm-sponge-like humidity to contend with. This evening I was a little warm–so I opened a window and was immediately greeted by a cool, refreshing breeze. This led me to go to weather.com to see what my NY brethren were dealing with. I have compassion. I have empathy. But I am happy to be here.

If you're there, I'm sorry. I'll see you when the leaves change.

If you're there, I'm sorry. I'll see you when the leaves change.

our own magic carpet

Monday, August 17th, 2009

I didn’t realize how much I would miss having any rugs in my home until we went for almost two months with only wood and linoleum under foot. Today, for our recently painted living room we got our rug cleaned. And now, it is lying wonderfully on the living room floor. And just like Bruce Willis in the first Die Hard, I was able to take off my socks and make fists with my toes (which really does work). While we’re not ready to reveal the living room (it’s not quite done), I’m happy to report that the room looks much warmer and more cozy than before. And just like Bruce, I feel much better.

Our rug, in our old living room-it looks just as good here in SF

Our rug in our old living room-it looks just as good here in SF

Happy to be friends

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

It’s ironic that the day after mad unpacked some of our books we removed a ton of books from the house. My family members who lived in the house before us had a bunch of books that are not valuable to mad. Rather than simply throw all of these books away, we found a good cause to donate them to–the friends of the San Francisco Public Library. We’re frequent users of the SFPL, so in addition to being thrilled that we weren’t throwing these books into a landfill, we’re happy they’re helping an institution we believe in. The fact that their facility made it so easy to drop off over 12 boxes of books was a nice bonus. The friends of the library host regular book sales to help fund the library system, so we’re hopeful that someone will appreciate the books that we donated. We’re now a little bit closer to removing all the old belongings out of the garage–and a little bit closer to our house being 100% mad maison.

It's easy to be friends of the SFPL

It's easy to be friends of the SFPL

another small step. . .

Friday, August 14th, 2009

mad is a household that loves books. A love of reading and literature is one of the cornerstones of mad, and together we’ve rediscovered the libraries in both New York City and San Francisco. I knew I was falling for Mike on a Sunday back in ’06 when we were able to discuss the Canterbury tales (that and the fact that we ended the day with a ridiculously wonderful Isaac Hayes movie).While our living room isn’t completely done, we are at the point where we’re able to introduce our belongings into the room.  So today, after work, I actually unpacked some of our books and put them away. More than our rug (which is going to be cleaned on Monday), pictures, or tschotkes, our books help us feel at home. They immediately make us feel grounded and comfortable. Plus, they give us something other than painting and blog updates to do. . .

Cozy, no?

Cozy, no?

one of those light moments

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Yes, there’s plenty of work associated with renovating an old family home. We spend most of our time here at mad maison discussing those various challenges. Of course, there are warm and fuzzy moments as well. For example, imagine you’re working on a beautiful Saturday afternoon painting your living room. You’re working in front of the window that you’ve opened to ensure quick drying time. As you gaze out the window for a moment you notice something in the driveway of your neighbor. You notice your father’s name carved into the pavement. And you know, many decades ago, long before you were a twinkle in his eye, your young pops was enjoying the same streets and the same home you now occupy. While most of the time I discuss the price of living in a house that has been occupied by my family for over 60 years, there are moments that make me smile and remind there are benefits as well.

My dad's name in the pavement of the driveway next door. Coincidence? I think not.

My dad's name in the pavement of the driveway next door. Coincidence? I think not.

We’re moving in. . .

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

. . .to the living room. Yes, you know what that means–we’re done painting the living room. I’ve never been so excited to move furniture and unpack boxes in my life. There are still many things to be done in the living room–but those things don’t conflict with uncovering the couch from its plastic shell and moving the TV out of the dining room. What other things, you ask? Here’s what I can think of off the top of my head:

1. Install molding around the fireplace hearth
2. Replace the less-than-charming light fixture.
3. Replace the less-than charming window coverings.
4. Repair the windows. They look good from afar–but two out of the three don’t open and all are in need of help.
5. Patch areas of the doorway where the hinges used to be.
6. Get our area rug cleaned

Tomorrow, however, we won’t do any of those things. Instead, Mike will be uncovering our couch and moving the rest of our living room furniture into the room. Wahoo!

Many living room tasks remain, but the painting is done.

Many living room tasks remain, but the painting is done.

Yup, the ceilings and molding are painted as well

Yup, the ceilings and molding are painted as well

I can see the light. . .

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

. . . and for the first time in a couple weeks, I’m thinking it might not be an oncoming train. mad made great progress on the living room paint project. We’ve completed two coats of the ceiling paint and one coat of the living room walls. We’re very happy with the color. Tomorrow we’ll complete the second and final coat on the walls. Which means we’re another day closer to actually using our living room.

sweet progress. No that isn't green trim--it's painter's tape.

sweet progress. No that isn't green trim--it's painter's tape.

In other happy mad news, today we received our official SF residential street parking permits. This permit allows us to leave the mad cars on the streets of our neighborhood for long stretches of time without having to move them. Our streets have this restriction because of our proximity to public transit, so mad it pretty happy with the trade off. We’re even happier that Mike doesn’t have to run out of the house like a fireman every weekday at 1pm to move the cars.

bona fide

bona fide

let the painting begin!

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

mad is officially DONE priming the living room. To sum up, here’s what we’ve done so far:

1. Laid plastic on the floor.
2. Scraped 1,000 year old, painted over wallpaper off the walls.
3. Removed the old (though not antique), hollow, huge mantle from the fireplace hearth (increasing the width of the room by what feels like five feet).
4. Scrubbed the walls, baseboards, ceiling, and moldings with water/tsp.
5. Re-plastered the wiggly walls to the lath.
6. Spackled the cracks from the wiggly walls and the holes we created to fix the wiggles.
7. Painted the first coat of primer.
8. Spackled all the spots we missed.
9. Sanded all the spackling.
10. Removed the sand-covered plastic.
11. Laid fresh plastic (sans sand) on the floor.
12. Painted the second coat of primer.

So it’s with great excitement that we move on to the painting phase. mad has decided to go for a subtle light brown/taupe for the walls. We’ll make a final decision at the store tomorrow, but there are a few colors that are in the running. It’s hard to not allow the name of the color influence our decision. For while Mike thinks “Broken Arrow” might be a little too pink for his taste, how can one resist painting your walls the same name as a bad John Travolta action movie?

It might be too pink for Mike, but can I really go for "Clay" over "Broken Arrow"?

It might be too pink for Mike, but can I really go for "Clay" over "Broken Arrow"?

Dorothy was right

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

I loved living in New York. The people, the pace, everything. I loved all the positive stereotypes (the tempo, the intensity) and experienced none of the negative stereotypes (rudeness, pushiness). I even enjoyed the seasons (except on the really humid days of summer). I’ve always been proud of the fact that I’m a Bay Area girl, perhaps with a dash of New York sensibility for a variety of reasons (including a mom from Brooklyn). I was born and raised in San Francisco, and have lived in four of the counties that comprise the Bay Area. But when I moved to New York five years ago, I honestly thought I would live there indefinitely. I even found myself a New York guy to cement the deal.

Then life handed mad this opportunity to return to California and we took it, because we knew that mad would be mad no matter where we lived. Over the last week or so, I’ve really started to feel like I’m home again. First, I went on a business trip and for the first time in what feels like forever, I flew into SFO not as a visitor, but as a resident. Then, mad socialized with some long-lost friends last weekend and tonight. And all of that was done without any pressure. No concern that we have to fit every bit of information into this visit because we don’t know when the next one will be. No conflict that I’m taking precious time away from my family on this visit. No worries about not being able to do everything we want to in the Bay Area during this particular stretch of time. And of course, most importantly, because last week I flew into San Francisco and came home to Mike. Of course, more than anything, being “home” means that you’re where you belong. So while I’ve felt like I’ve been back for over a month now, and there are certainly people and places back in NY that I miss, I’m starting to feel like I’m home.

mad in SF back in 2007; we've been here before, but now we're home

mad in SF back in 2007; we've been here before, but now we're home

don’t ever forget. . .

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

that with spackling, there is sanding. And when there’s a lot of spackle, there’s a lot of sanding. Today’s post honors Mike, who finished sanding the living room today. And he did it just so mad could have a home with a living room. With this kind of dedication, we may sit on our couch before September!

Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur

It’s prime time

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Ahh, sweet progress. This weekend mad applied the first coat of primer to the living room. I know what you’re thinking–first coat? Well, these walls are in pretty rough shape–priming them was the best way to tell what additional spackling needed to be done. Regardless, it does feel less depressing to walk into the room and see white rather than a combination of yellow, green, and don’t even ask. Take a look at the before and (slightly posed) during shots to see for yourself. We have a little more spackling to do (please send your thoughts to Mike who will have to spackle part of the ceiling, yikes), one more coat of primer, and then the painting can begin!

Post Wally's, pre-primer corner of living room

Post Wally's, pre-primer corner of living room

Mike during the prime process; fun was had

Mike during the prime process; fun was had