Labor Day 2012

Ah...6-day weekends. Don't we wish we could have these ALL the time? I know I sure do.

So, as you might expect, I've been busy. I got some projects done that have been on my list for months. One has been on a list for years! Let me tell ya' about them.

First up, I built an outdoor storage rack for my garbage cans.

 

When I posted this picture to Facebook over the weekend, I was asked by Ms. Tanya why people do this. I believe her thought was "why would anyone want to lift a full can up onto these things?"

If you live in La Crosse, you already know what I'm about to say. In June, the city implemented new garbage rules. All garbage had to be in a can with a lid. It's dumb. Ridiculous. Absolutely asinine. I can barely fill a 39-gallon bag half full with my weekly garbage.

Outside the service door on the garage, leading into the backyard, I have a 39-gallon can that sits with a bag in it at all times. Full "doggie bags" are deposited there upon returning from a walk. Brownie boxes, cereal boxes, and soda case boxes get deposited there when empty. On the night before pickup, I would just gather up the bag and throw it out next to my driveway. 

My house boarders an alley, but I don't use the alley. My house/garage/driveway faces the street. I would never put a garbage can out by my driveway on pickup day because I didn't want it blowing out into the street while I was at work. 

As a result of these new rules and my location, I decided to start using the alley for garbage collection instead. I also decided to buy a second garbage can so that I could leave the existing can where it is.

So, Ms. Tanya, all I do on the morning of garbage collection is throw my half-full bag into this can that never leaves the stand by the alley. I'm not sure if that makes more sense to you or not.

By the way, here is the AMAZING miter saw I borrowed from the neighbor to build this. (I sent the pic to my mom with the caption "Christmas gift idea".)

 

Project #2 - which is really #3 but it's boring, so I don't want to leave it to the end, for excitement purposes and all - was to spray paint my mailbox. 

Oddly enough, I have hated that mailbox since BEFORE I bought the house. I had these grand plans that replacing that mailbox would be the first thing I did when I moved in. I quickly learned that changing mailboxes was not at the top of a first-time homeowners list of things to do. Instead, yesterday, I painted it. It's black. It matches my shutters now. It used to be rust colored. Probably because it's rusty. You get the picture.

Finally, the big project. The one that's been on my list for YEARS.

Many of you have either been to my house or seen pictures of the novel feature in my kitchen. I refer to it as "the nook." This isn't the greatest picture, but you get the jist of it being sorta' U-shaped.

The seats/benches are hollow. They used very flimsy material to make this, and when you knock on the sides, it's quite obvious that they are hollow. I've been in this house over 4 years, and I still wonder "why on earth would you NOT build in storage to these if they are hollow?"

The reason this project has taken so long is that what I ended up doing was Plan C. Plan A was to just saw off what I refer to as the seats, put hinges on, and away we go! However, the backsplash tile was laid OVER the seats. The bottom row of tile would have had to come off. As much as I hate that flippin' tile, I didn't even want to tackle that. I wasn't sure if it would come off, would it break the following row of tile, would I have to try to retile with something close to fill a gap?

Plan B was to just cut a rectangle in the middle of the seat tops for access to the space inside. This seemed like the ultimate plan. I had it all planned out. I was all ready to start cutting Saturday afternoon. Then it dawned on me. These benches were meant to be sat on. If I cut holes out of the middle of them, no matter how much I do to secure that the "lid" stays flush and secure, those benches would never hold weight again.

(sigh)

Ironically, my neighbor stopped over Saturday afternoon and sat on one of those benches for about an hour. I knew my concern was legitimate, so I sat (no pun intended) on the project again. (NOTE: Please do not think that my neighbor's weight confirmed my suspicious. I only bring it up because rarely does anyone sit there. As soon as I question whether or not it can hold a person's weight, I actually have someone who sits there for an hour.)

If you can't pop off the tops in any way, can you get at the space from the side?

Hmmmmmmmmm

Why, yes....yes you can.

As I started drilling the starter holes for the saw, I discovered where the studs were. I had to readjust my original plan for size and spacing. That's why you can see all the shotty craftsmanship. Once I got it open, my main goal was to look for mice droppings. It's gross, I know. However, I want to store food in here. I needed to get a sense of what was going on. It was mostly just sawdust, a few pieces of scrap lumber, cobwebs, and dead spiders. Nothing that the shop vac wouldn't take care of! 

Once that was all cleaned out, I shoved as much batt insulation into the U curve from this hole that I could possible manage. I figure anything is better than nothing in regards to warmth and keeping the critters out. Once that was done, I added a piece of plywood about 10" in from the right side of the hole as a "wall" between storage and the rest of the bench. I added 1" styrofoam in between all the studs as insulation. At that point, I added a vapor barrier along the sides and the bottom. Over top of the bottom I added a piece of plywood for the floor.

Once that was all done, I started to think that this space might get too hot/cold/damp. Since there was nothing more I could do easily to control that, I decided to just cut a hole in the space and add a vent cover. I have no idea if this idea will work or if it was dumb, but it sounded good at the time.

Getting to this point was about all my back could handle on Sunday. Plus, I picked up some cheap wallboard at Menards that I was painting white for the doors. I needed to give it a couple of coats and let it dry before I could put the handle and hinges on.

Here is the finished product. I don't think it looks too bad!

It was time to see if there was enough room to move my food from a plastic tote in the basement into this space. Here is the tote...empty. No idea how many gallons it is, but you get the picture.

It all fit!

And I added a cheesy tap light to the top!

Unfortunately, when I opened up the other side to do this same thing, I encountered something much different. I discovered the slanted studs for the stairs to the basement. I had already cut out the hole, and I had extra insulation, so I just insulated the two stud frames that were exposed.

Here is the view now with both doors attached and the table moved back into that spot. Yes, both doors actually open and clear the table legs!

Thus concludes the Labor Day 2012 project story!

Life without cable

As you might notice, I'm not a timely blogger. Ever since I replaced my laptop with a desktop - and no other device I have has more than a virtual keyboard -  I actually have to sit in one spot at the computer to type up a post.

Who has that kind of time?

I should have posted this on August 24th. That was the 6-month anniversary of when I ditched cable. I thought I should just give an update on how this has affected my life.

IT'S AWESOME!

OMG...I'm so glad I did this. I accomplish so much more without being tied to the TV. I still miss my sports. When Nascar went to cable in June, I started longing for my cable. I did not cave in, though. I can get all the races on the radio...local radio at that. I find that I can listen to the race and get other things done at the same time.

Oprah calls that multitasking.
(10 cool points!)

With the NFL starting next week, I know the shock of not getting certain games will hit me again. This whole CBS not coming in on the antenna on the main floor of the house will kill me sooner rather than later, I'm sure.

I digress.

Bottom line...I am getting so much more done in any given day. I'm reading so much more (thank you Amazon for the Kindle freebies), and finding great up-and-coming independent authors. I'm spending more time outside and hanging out with my neighbors more.

I have a Roku. I have subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. (The price of all those subscriptions together was so much cheaper than cable, and now I have everything on demand.) I may have to watch something a day, week, or year later, but I can get just about everything. I would definitely recommend cutting the cord.

P.S. I'm also finding the time to read Fifty Shades. Ugh. How awful are these books? Oh my...

Homemade dog food, Part 2

It's been about three months since I started feeding Lucky homemade dog food, so I decided it was probably time I posted an update. From what I hear, many people find this little endeavor of mine fascinating. (Not sure why...but..thanks!)

Not much really has changed in my ingredients except that I am adding in some diced hard boiled egg to each meal. See, I'm pretty sure he was losing weight by the second month, and that was one thing the vet said to watch for. Well, the cost of burger (protein) was killing me, and my freezer was full. So I went in search of other types of protein. I tried quinoa, but that stuff was awful to work with. Also, I'm pretty sure I saw almost all of what I put in the food come back out...if you know what I mean. So, the obvious thing that came to mind was egg. I did a little research in my books and online and found a 50/50 "eggs are bad" vs. "eggs are fine" argument. When in doubt, I go with any info that seems to repeat. Repeated info said that hard boiled eggs are fine, but to try to not feed more than 2 eggs/week. I boil up two eggs at a time, dice them up, and put them in a container. I usually put about 1-2 pinches in Lucky's bowl for each feeding. Since the "pinch" method is very unscientific, I usually boil two eggs about every 5-7 days. So, I'm probably pushing the "no more than 2/week" guidelines, but...meh.

Permit me to go off-track just a bit here.

Lucky had worms in the last week of June. We went to the vet, we got the meds, we killed the worms, boom. Thought it was isolated and moved on with my day. The last week of July, another reappearance of those damn parasites! Don't judge, but I was able to find the same prescription meds from June online without a prescription. I'm frugal. What can I say. Anyhoo...the meds came in the mail and we killed the worms...again. I got to thinking, though, if the homemade dog food was causing it. I'm aware of all the typical ways dogs pick up worms, and it didn't seem like it was possible. So, I started looking at the situation differently: Is Lucky getting worms because he's deficient in something with only homemade dog food in his diet? I know all the healthy/grain-free/limited-ingredient/expensive food isn't supposed to have any chemicals or preservatives or anything, but I just couldn't help wondering if this is why we suddenly have monthly parasites. I started looking at organic dewormer options. There are plenty out there, but something caught my eye: diatomaceous earth (food grade). I'll spare you the details as to what this is; I just linked to the product on Amazon. Basically, though, you can spread it on your lawn to kill parasites. It's also supposed to be amazing at getting rid of bedbugs. And consumed by a dog, it works as a dewormer. The container - which does not look like the picture on Amazon, by the way - says to give 1-2 tablespoons a day. I have erred on the side of caution and am probably only giving .5-1 tablespoons per day.  I give him this in his evening meal.

He gets a GNC "pet" multivitamin with his morning meal. I tell ya...if you have a dog and money to burn, there is something out there for everything you can think of!

The only other new thing with Lucky's food extravaganza is that I've been supplementing his homemade food with Sojos. (Again, I'll spare you all the details. Just click the link.) This is basically a freeze-dried food that you just add water to to rehydrate. They make it with meat or without. I get the one with the meat. (Refer to second paragraph where I said the cost of meat was killing me.) The ingredients are great. Most are what I feed him anyway. It's not that expensive the way I use it. He gets 3 heaping tablespoons before I leave for work in the morning or about noon on days I'm not at work.

Bottom line...he still loves this. He loves everything I've done so far. He gets excited about eating. I think his energy level is better. My neighbor thinks his coat is shinier. And, most importantly, the poops are easy to pick up.

I listed some of my resources in the previous blog. Here are a few more I checked out from the library:

• Chow Hounds
• Eco Dog

Homemade dog food

So, anyone who has known me long enough or read my Facebook statuses over the years knows that my dog, Lucky, has a sensitive stomach and is a very picky eater. Since I got him in 2004, I have switched foods pretty much on an annual basis. That was always frustrating, but it worked and life went on. This year, however, I spent A LOT of money on what I was told was high-end, "better" ingredient commercial food. He either hated it, wouldn't eat it, he got sick, or it zapped his energy level. I'll resist the urge to list some of the more expensive foods I tried so as to not sway anyone purchasing dog food; I do actually think it has more to do with him than with the food itself. However, I would keep your dog away from anything with turkey in it, but that's a whole other story!

He got sick right before Memorial Day, and I had some time off work, so I took him in. All the tests came back fine, and the vet put him on a prescription antacid and prescription food. I had been thinking of making my own food for awhile now, so I asked the vet if he could refer me to any good resources for figuring out how to do this. (Trying to find and trust information on the web when it comes to a living creature's health frightens the hell out of me.) Ironically, the vet didn't know anything. He advised me to call the local humane society, and he personally advised me against the raw diet. That was cool...the thought of handling raw meat and feeding it to the dog sounds gross to me anyway.

So, I emailed my good ole college buddy, Sue, to see if she knew anything or could help me. (She is my go-to person for all things canine.) She passed me over to her friend Ginny, who has been doing this for her dog(s) for years. Ginny and I exchanged a few emails, and it was very helpful. Turns out, what I was finding online coincided with what she was telling me. However, a lot of what she was telling me was that it's a trial and error process. And so I tried.

I ordered a book that I had seen referenced many times during my online search: "Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food" by Ann N. Martin. Now, this book appears to be loaded with info that I haven't even taken the time to read. It also looks like it would scare and gross you out immensely to know what is in commercial dog food (not all, of course). I just stuck to the chapter on homemade dog food ingredients, how to manage all the nutritional aspects of your choices, and the few recipes in the book.

And off I went.

I made a week's worth of food the first weekend. Let me tell you...I was in the kitchen for about 6 hours that Sunday. I did dishes probably 3 or 4 times. Granted...I'm not good in the kitchen (period), and I really had no idea what I was doing. My kitchen is small, I have no dishwasher, and I really only have one of any size pan. So, there was a lot of doing dishes in the middle of food prep just because I needed to use a pan again. (I did also make a batch of dog biscuits this day.) The meals are packaged in 1-cup plastic containers that I freeze.

The first weekend, his containers consisted of boiled burger, brown rice, parsley, carrots, and either sweet potato or applesauce. I threw 14 of those containers in the freezer, making sure there were 4 in the refrigerator (thawing) at all times.

Here are some pics from that long day in the kitchen and Lucky's first homemade meal:

While feeding him that first week, I realized it should be so simple to just dump out the container in the bowl and be done, but I was also adding his chewy joint care supplement to each feeding. So, when I started making up the containers for the second week, I decided to mush those supplements up into the containers. So now all of that is together, and I don't really have to think about it.

The 2nd week's menu consisted of boiled burger (we seem to enjoy that for a meaty protein, so I am sticking with it), oatmeal, parsley, either carrots or green beans, and either applesauce or pumpkin. Before I put the pumpkin in all the containers, I had him taste some. I swear that dog would have eaten all of it straight out of the can. Good to know!

I just finished the full 2nd week, and the only thing I did different was I bought some sunflower oil to mix in for each feeding. The book I referenced earlier says that certain kinds of oils can be good for their coat and digestive system. Since I use a spoon to pour out and mix up the contents of the containers in his bowl each time, I just pour about a teaspoon of the oil in. I can't really tell that it has a smell (so maybe no real taste), and he doesn't seem to be phased by it. So, we continue on with that plan.

I just finished making another week's worth, and they all contain some menu combination from Week 1 or 2.

That first week, I also made three different kinds of treats: a crunchy kind, a softer kind, and a chewy kind. All of those recipes came from "MacPherson's K-9 Cookbook" by Mary MacPherson. I shared a smattering of those with my fellow dog owners, and those seemed to go over well with the audience. I have those either in the fridge or the freezer where I'm told they should last at least 3 weeks. So far so good!

I checked out a few more books from the library that I haven't really had a chance to go through yet. Once I do, and if I find any good info, I'll post those titles for all.

Hello 2012!

Woah! It's been a long time since I've posted to the blog. I was really excited to have this last year when I started, and then I just abandoned it. Not really sure why. I see Google changed the look and feel of this since I was last here, so we'll see if I can remember how to do this. Originally I didn't want there to be any way for people to comment on my posts. No offense...I sometimes like to speak from my heart and don't really want a response of any kind. I'm hopeful that that functionality carries through with the Google upgrade.

That said...

I'm back, and there is a lot going on! I started making my own dog food, so I want to be sure to blog about that. Other people might find it informative. Since a friend of a friend helped me get started, maybe I can help someone else who is in the same boat as I was. Also, the basement is almost done. I put up the finishing trim today but undercut one of my pieces. So, I have to buy another piece, paint it, cut it, blah blah blah. I'm excited for that to be finished (for obvious reasons). That has been a 4-year work in progress. I'm excited to go back through ALL my pictures of the basement over the years and post pictures that will create a timeline.

Now...let's see when I'll have time to write that first post of 2012.

Fence project #2

So, the 2nd fence project is complete. It didn't really take very long, but I did encounter problems (big shocker).

Here is the fence I had "propped up" since I moved in in 2008.


And here is what the new fence looks like.



The panels that I bought were advertised at 60x72 (or, 5' tall by 6' wide). Stupid me did not actually measure the pieces once I got them home. I'll take the blame for this, but seriously...You wouldn't think that when you bought 72"-wide panels that they'd actually be 67 INCHES! Yep, realized this after the posts had already been sunk and concreted. So, Home Improvement Heather had to punt.

There were really only two sections that were affected: the two pieces that go from the front to the back. The other section had the gate (which I DID measure) and a piece that I was going to have to cut short anyway. So...I decided that the middle post was where I needed to concentrate my "fix."


I went to Menards and bought two more posts (at $35 a piece). I cut them so they were a little taller, and sorta mounted them to the concreted post. I have a bungee around all three right now because there is some vinyl glue holding the panels along with some screws. Considering I installed this all in a day-long drizzle, I've opted to leave the bungee for awhile during some nicer weather.

The post sitting alone between the sidewalk and the garage didn't cure very well in yesterday's weather. The gate was a fairly tight fit between the posts, so I took the opportunity to use some spare pieces and extra concrete to try to get that post as close to the garage as possible. So, there are some boards and such currently pushing that post while the concrete cures. Haven't used the gate at all since installation, and I figure I'll leave it through tomorrow night. Hopefully after a nice day today and tomorrow, that concrete will be solid, and that post will be exactly where I want it. That is why in some of the pics, you can see the grill in the way of the gate. Just trying to keep the dog from jumping on it.

Finally, the best part of this whole project. Since I had to short-cut the one piece, I had figured I'd have just enough leftover to put in a small spot that had been lattice. Sure enough, it was the perfect size!



Once I paint the picket fence white, it will look very fluid.

Fence project 1

So, project #1 of 2011 is now complete. Yesterday I completed installation of the picket fence. It took almost 5 hours just to get the cross pieces up, so I had given up all hope of finishing the project in a day. However, once I started nailing the pickets, it went really fast. I was done just in time for the neighbor's happy hour on the deck at 4pm.

My neighbors who "share" the fence with me are...lazy homeowners. I informed them I was going to do this project about a month ago, and I saw one of them Thursday night and Friday morning during the process. They seemed to have no opinion about it at all. Nevertheless, I have this weird feeling that they are going to complain about it. Not really sure why I think that, especially since they don't seem to care about their house or yard at all. Whatevs...

Project #2 for 2011 is to put up vinyl fencing on the other side of the yard. That has been selected and ordered; I'm just waiting for it to arrive. Fencing the yard is all about the dog (obviously), but I really think both fence projects will add significant curb appeal to the property. And since my house was just reassessed at a significant decrease in value, I can use all the help I can get for that day I decide to sell.