Spiders and earwigs and termites, oh my!
A few months back we discovered a termite funnel emanating from the electrical outlet above the washer and dryer. With much trepidation we called Planet…
Author: stega
Water, Water Everywhere, Part 4: Pooling Resources
One of the things we’ve done a lot of maintenance on, and learned a lot about, is the pool at Purgatory. It was put in…
In the bedroom
As mentioned in the previous post, we didn’t have much furniture when we moved in to Purgatory and we have been very slow in buying…
Our lack of a Chesterfield Sofa
Shortly after we took possession of Purgatory, it became apparent that we were going to need more furniture. Going from one master bedroom, two offices,…
“Whatever happened to the kittens?”
A few folks have asked “what happened to the kittens from May?” Well, we got a call from HSSV (the shelter we took the kittens to) about…
A tale of four kitties
It’s late spring at Purgatory and wildlife activity has been in high gear. Now that Momma cat has been spayed, we see her often. I…
The merits of Craigslist
Since taking ownership of Purgatory, we have used Craigslist to rid ourselves of many things left by the previous owners or things we didn’t need.…
The Hiatus Explained
Things got super busy here at Purgatory over the last few weeks. Immediately after the feral kitten saga, we had house guests for a week,…
Dear House/Ranch/Awesome Abode…
It was one year ago today that we closed and got the keys. Happy anniversary! This is a song we have been humming quite a…
The Cave of Stega
I’ve had a lot of people ask me for better images of my office, so a while back I took a few panoramics with my…
Expanding Borrowed Time
Our wireless network here was adequate but not ideal. Reception in some areas was spotty, so we picked up a few more Ubiquity access points…
Of Mice and Hoarding
A few months back I opened a drawer on my desk and discovered a large pile of bird food. (Think dried dog food, as the boys…
More pretty flowers
Here are more samples of the things that flower here at Purgatory.
Always something in bloom
One of the things we enjoy about Purgatory–and that we should actually thank the POs for–is that the exterior landscaping immediately around the house is…
Pool Tile It!
When we moved in, six tiles on the pool balcony were loose and the previous owners had left them for us. With everything else going…
Historic House Images
We really enjoy finding odd tidbits of information about our house and land. Recently, when looking a house nearby for sale, I discovered something rather…
New Project: Utility Closet
As we work our way down the list of things we need to address, the projects have become less dire and more detail-oriented. Instead of…
Water, Water Everywhere, Part 3: And Some to Drink
Carrying on from the last post about water here at Purgatory–because we use a sodium-based water softener, our normal tap water tastes a tad salty.…
Feral cats > rattlesnakes.
So I took momma to a vet clinic as planned last Thursday and she was successfully spayed. The kittens were dropped off at a shelter…
Momma and Kitten Update
Wednesday marked the third full day we’d been taking care of the feral mother and kittens and thankfully, if things go as planned, it will…
Revisiting First Impressions, Addendum
In addition to the spare bedroom, alcove space and my office, the south wing of the house includes a couple of bathrooms off the linen…
Purgatory Feral Kitten Update
We made a couple of quick, unscheduled posts last night regarding the feral kittens we apprehended. One of the BDR guys here to work on the…
Success! We have the whole family.
A bit of salami, and we got the mother in the trap. The brood is now safely sequestered in the studio. Mother ate all the luncheon…
So we have a problem…
We caught them today. They’re currently bait as we try to catch their mother, who’s become a nuisance, so we need to sort out what to…
Revisiting First Impressions, Part 6: North Wing
The south wing of the house includes a couple of bathrooms off the linen hallway, a spare bedroom, the boys’ space and my office. First,…
Revisiting First Impressions, Part 5: Foyer and Master Bedroom
Then-and-now photos of the foyer and master suite. While the before photos are usually retouched, the now photos are not. The foyer as it was.…
Revisiting First Impressions, Part 4: Kitchen and Great Room
Then-and-now photos of the kitchen and great room. Keep in mind the now photos are unretouched. Kitchen: a few changes in color and a different fridge, and…
Revisiting First Impressions, Part 3: South Wing Interior
Then-and-now shots of Agent Smith’s office, the guest suite, and studio (which is a separate building from the main house). South office (formerly an extra…
Water, Water Everywhere, Part 2: Softening the Water
Because our water comes from a hole in the ground, it is very hard–specifically, our calcium hardness rating on regular pool water tests puts us at…
Preparedness: We now have it.
When we lived in San Francisco, we had a small collection of items put together as our “just in case/disaster preparedness kit.” Basically it was…
Water, Water Everywhere, Part 1: The Well
One of the critical inspections we had done prior to buying Purgatory was a test of the well. We’re up high enough on the hillside…
Revisiting First Impressions, Part 2: Back Exterior
Here are the back exterior before and now shots. Sports court Pool from east Pool from west Great room exterior Observation deck East “lawn” Hot tub