learn-about-termite-damage

There we were, Harvey the electrician and I were happily making progress on the kitchen renovation. Harvey was just finishing up on the last row of outlets when his hand disappeared into the wall. “Ummm, Ms. Bailey, I think there’s something wrong with this stud.” I looked over to see him pulling wood shavings out of the hole he had cut for the outlet. “What the…..?” (I repressed my urge to curse.) Within five minutes of his discovery, we had pulled down the sheetrock around the suspicious stud and were glaring at a poor excuse for two framing members and the wall’s bottom plate.

termite_damaged_studs

The two studs were so brittle and destroyed that I was able to poke my entire finger through them. (Let’s see you do that to a solid 2×4, Mr. Houdini!)

finger_through_termite_damage

Not good…not good at all. I had to make the unfortunate call to Pretty Handsome Guy to tell him the bad news. But, I broke it to him lightly, “Honey, what is the one home disaster we HAVEN’T had to deal with yet?” He guessed tornado (Shoot, forgot about that one.) “No, Termites! But, the good news is that there is no live infestation.” See, it always helps to temper the bad with some good news. 😉

The next few days were fraught with nail biting, lightly walking around that wall (for fear it might topple over), and multiple phone calls to the termite company, our building inspector and a structural engineer. To make this long story short, the structural engineer was the most helpful and advised us to fur out our walls to carry the wall load over the remaining perfectly good rim joist. If that sounds Greek to you — no worries — I really want to share with you what I’ve learned about TERMITES instead! Read more

seriously_what_else_can_go_wrong

That’s what I was thinking today. Ever have one of those days, where you feel like life sucker punched you in the gut. And then when you started to stand up it pulled the rug right out from underneath you? Well, sometimes that’s how my past few months have felt. But, in the grand scheme of things, it could be MUCH worse (as my plumber said after telling me a horrendous story about a couple that hired a house sitter who proceeded to burn the house to burn to the ground.)

But, let’s back up a bit to recap some happenings with our kitchen saga. And we’ll focus on some positive kitchen progress (so I can ignore the negative for a brief moment.)

First, can I get a little applause for my success in getting a building permit for our renovation? I was so nervous, but it was really no big deal and it only took about 20 minutes of palm wringing and nervous leg shaking (as I wondered if they’d kick me out of the office because I’m not a “professional” contractor.)  Plus, I was also able to interview the director of Building and Planning of Wake County and asked him a ton of questions about permits. I’ll be sharing his answers to my inquiries soon. Read more

I love a functional gift that will last beyond the holidays! These stenciled table runners are just the ticket for anybody who likes to host parties or just make their table look festive.


Read more


Happy Wednesday! A while ago I told you about my friend Colleen who lost her husband and was trying to make ends meet. I really appreciate your outpouring of support for her. As promised, I have a thank you gift for one lucky donor! I’ve been collecting these fantastic DIY and craft items for that one special person. Colleen will be picking one lucky donor at random after midnight EST, Saturday, November 10th. And that person will get these amazing gifts you see here.

Let’s get a closer look, shall we?

A Box filled with:

  • Plaid Martha Stewart Crafts flower stencils
  • Autographed copy of the Woman’s Day magazine I was featured in
  • Pur Mineral Clear Water Filter
  • Purdy Paint Brush
  • KILZ Paint Brush
  • Pink Watering Can
  • Pink Tomboy Tools Tool Box
  • Pink Hammer
  • Ear Plugs
  • Mini-Level
  • Tape Measure
  • Mike Holmes Safety Glasses
  • Pick Your Plum goodies
  • Craft-a-Day for a full year book
  • Comet Stainless Steel cleaners
  • Scented Hand Lotions
  • Head Lamp and flashlight
  • Glade air freshener
  • Rustoleum comfort grip spray paint handle
  • Painter’s Markers
  • Illy Coffee and….
  • a Kreg Jig!!!

Please consider making a donation to help Colleen. She’s currently living with her mother and her mother’s house is about to go into foreclosure ;-(. Every dollar helps. Click on the button below to be taken to the fundraising page:

Just a little reminder that I’ll be giving a LIVE demonstration on making the fall flag you see above with my friend Sandra of Sawdust & Paper Scraps tomorrow, Thursday, November 8th at 10am PST (1pm EST.) The video will stream live here on the blog. Just go to the home page and you should be able to click the play button on the video screen. I hope you’ll join us for the fun!

If you miss the LIVE stream, the video will be available at your convenience anytime after the Hangout has ended. The video player should still be visible on the blog, so join me anytime. As Tom Bodett says, “We’ll leave the light on for you.”

 


20121013-231015.jpg

Thank you all for your comments about my post on polybutylene pipes. Since that post my life has been squished into a duffle bag and rolled down a big hill. I’m not sure whether we are coming or going. On Wednesday night we all slept in the house, but we were getting headaches (either from the mold or the gigantic HEPA filters running full blast all over our house. It must be what it’s like to live in the turbine engine of a plane. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?”)

By Thursday morning we were anxious to get the mold remediation on it’s way. But, then we got some bad news. Under our linoleum kitchen floor was another layer of vinyl flooring…a suspiciously older layer of flooring. The disaster team had to send a sample to the lab for asbestos. I seriously never would have thought it would come back positive, but guess what?! …it did. 🙁

20121013-231246.jpg

At that point we packed all our bags and got the heck of out the house. Lucky for us, we have family that lives close by, so we’re hunkering down with the in laws. (I don’t know what we’d do without them.) I’m a little concerned about how long we’ll be staying here. My mother-in-law better be prepared for when I get stir crazy and start going a little “pretty handy girl” on her home ;-D.

In the midst of our adventures living out of suitcases, the Southern Bloggers Conference started here in Raleigh. I don’t think the timing could have been more perfect to help take my mind off of this musty mess. I’ve been enjoying being surrounded by other creative bloggers. I have more pictures, but can’t download them off my camera until I can get a little time back home.

20121013-231321.jpg

Rhoda from Southern Hospitality Blog

AND NOW….I’ve been dying to Rock Your World!!!!! A bunch of my DIY friends and I decided we wanted to put together a HUGE giveaway! One that will truly rock your socks off. Get ready for three days of amazing prizes! Each day will have almost $5K worth of goodies from our favorite companies.

Are you ready? Limber up your mouse and your index finger….because you are going to want to enter to win every single day!!!

Coming up on Monday:

20121013-231351.jpg

Seriously, we tried to fill everything plus a kitchen sink into this giveaway!

Followed by:

The Pin-acle of all Giveaways

And Finally:

Shut the Front Door {To Keep the Goodness In} Giveaway

 

I’m really excited and truly hope that you win! So be sure to be here Monday morning when I can reveal all the prizes!