Hot Water Revamp
Since buying this place we have now replaced all the water heaters twice. Backing up a bit: shortly after moving in, the unit for the…
Category: Update
Long Road to Streaming Automation
Back in spring 2020 I started messing about with PoE, RTSP-capable cameras. I set up a livestream scheduled to push a feed up to YouTube…
Sunday Panorama
From Oct 15, 2023.
Birds and Shelter
In addition to all the nest boxes and all the work to stop birds from hitting our windows, we have also installed a few simple…
Birds and Boxes
Way back in May of 2018, we installed our first round of nest boxes. I posted an update of sorts regarding their success here in…
Feeders We Do Not Like: Nectar
Continuing on from the last post (yes it’s been a while), it’s not just seed feeders, as there are a lot of poor-to-middling hummingbird feeders…
Feeders We Do Not Like: Seeds
As mentioned two posts (and months) ago, about half the bird feeders on the market are poor quality and/or unsafe for use. 1. Cheap plastic…
Monday’s Fire
Interrupting the normal flow of posts–today I was going to publish something about how we feed birds here, but then our neighbors set themselves on…
Some Better Lights
As noted in past posts, the previous owners of our house had questionable taste. Not only were the original doors mentioned in the last post…
New Doors Acquired
Since buying this place, one of the tiny, yet annoying, issues was the large gap between the front doors. The gap was unsightly, but more…
Other Small News
Carrying on from the last post…in addition to the custom puzzle over the last couple years, we’ve had fun with numerous other jigsaws. And while…
Staying Positive
Not a lot of updates this past winter as I was trying to stay positive in the face of neverending rain and wind. It wasn’t…
Third Annual Birdathon Team
It’s that time of year again, Purgatory Fans! No, not nesting season, although that is indeed underway and this year we are happy to announce…
Busy Winter: Break for Damage
We’re STILL trying to finish the pit. The weather has not been cooperating. Go figure. In the meantime we’ve had a batch of storms. I…
Yearly Year in Review
Finally had time to sit down and put together the annual year-in-review video. There was certainly a lot of destruction at the start of the…
ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG
It only took us FIVE fucking years dealing with a county that, for most of that time, continually claimed their delays were because they are…
There Be Race Cars, Part Eight: Kitty
During the height of the pandemic, Agent Smith set about planning out another race car. He picked up a former BMW team car with rather…
Sharp Exhale and Expletive
So we finally “heard back” from the county regarding the current status of the pit. And oh my is their response a doozy, but before…
Holding our Breath
A few months back I posted an update re: the pit debacle. We thought there was dirt available at a parcel up past us. Yay!…
Forgotten Orphaned Images
While organizing images for various posts, I ended up with a bunch of orphaned photos that aren’t part of a larger story nor do they…
Plant!
We made a decision early on that, instead of lots of knickknacks littering up the house (especially in the foyer and great room), we would…
Brass Update
Shortly after moving in, I tackled the huge pile of random stuff left behind in the old pole barn, including the pirate booty aka a…
More Old Tables Made New
Growing up, my parents had three tables in the living room that they purchased shortly before they got married–one long low coffee table and two…
Prettified Table Lamps
Almost two years ago, when I was off in Ohio helping tidy up my parents’ basement, I set aside a few things to have shipped…
Courtyard Landscaping, Before and After
Now that we have lived with the new foliage and pavers on the courtyard side of the house for six months, we’re pretty happy with…
Stage One Landscaping Completed
Continuing from the previous post–once the demo work was done, the crew laid in some drain pipe, while avoiding the existing electrical runs out to…
Landscaping in Stages
We finally started to make headway on revamping the tired landscaping surrounding the house; we refer to the area as the “house garden(s).” Just about…
A Bit More Outdoor Art
Last summer, a local auction house had a few interesting pieces going up on the block. I refrained from bidding on any of the many…
Another Eagle Landed
A mini-story. Back when I first started buying stuff from auction houses, I found a gorgeous steel wall sculpture. It went for more than I…
Even More Auction Finds
I’ve continued to find bits and bobs from auction houses for the house. Over the last year I picked up some great bargains. Like this…
We Forgot About Manny!
Way, way back in August of 2019, we bought another bit of kit. This time we picked up a man-lift from United Rentals. While it’s…