LukPac.org

9.27.2005

Ok, so I'm a few days behind, but...Sunday was a red letter date in the history of this blog. It was on that day that we - GASP - painted the dining room. It's only been more than a year and a half since I started working on the walls in there, so it feels good to finally have paint up. There are a few spots that need touching up, and the bedroom hall needs to be finished, but that's it. Well I need to put new moulding down, but that has to wait till...

...the floors in the dining room and master bedroom get refinished, which is happening Wednesday - Thursday - Friday. I can only say it will be a shame we won't be around to enjoy all of this.

On a sad note, Don Adams died. Did you know I was actually part of the creative team that produced Get Smart? Don't think so? Well, would you believe I watched it when it was first aired? No? Well, would you believe I saw it in re-runs as a kid in the '80s?

[12:24 PM] post a comment

9.18.2005

Barring some unforeseen problem with our moving plans, yesterday was our final party in our current house. Right now it's probably more clean and straightened up than it's ever been (since we were here), which makes leaving quite the pity. The party was enjoyable as usual, although turnout was a bit lower than we had expected. Luckily everyone seemed to get along (not that they ever don't).

Back to finishing up projects around here...

[2:32 PM] post a comment

9.07.2005

The grout was done on Sunday. However, the product instructions didn't give any specific time for how long you should let it set before wiping it off, and following the book we have meant the grout was stuck to the tile surfaces like glue by the time we began to wipe it off. Which means there's still a lot of cleanup to do and that more grout will be necessary in places. In time. At least the toilet is back.

Please tell me this isn't totally creepy. From the 10/04 National Geographic (thanks to Ryan):

It was a broiling August afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Big Easy, the City That Care Forgot. Those who ventured outside moved as if they were swimming in tupelo honey. Those inside paid silent homage to the man who invented air-conditioning as they watched TV "storm teams" warn of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing surprising there: Hurricanes in August are as much a part of life in this town as hangovers on Ash Wednesday.

But the next day the storm gathered steam and drew a bead on the city. As the whirling maelstrom approached the coast, more than a million people evacuated to higher ground. Some 200,000 remained, however�the car-less, the homeless, the aged and infirm, and those die-hard New Orleanians who look for any excuse to throw a party.

The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level�more than eight feet below in places�so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.

When did this calamity happen? It hasn't�yet. But the doomsday scenario is not far-fetched. The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.

More at the link. So much for "we had no idea this would happen".

[12:06 PM] post a comment

9.05.2005

Cementboard down. Tile cut and laid. Luke very sore and tired.

Next: grout.

[12:15 AM] post a comment

9.03.2005

A few things...

1) The bathroom floor is coming along. The rotten underlayment has been removed. Bracing has been placed under the subfloor. New underlayment is down. Tomorrow cement board goes down, followed by tile.

2) The reason this is so urgent is we're buying a new house. Well, new to us anyway. It's just off of Lakeside St., a block off John Nolen. Assuming the inspection doesn't turn up anything, of course. So now is the mad rush to fix stuff up at our current house to get it on the market.

More later.

[11:02 PM] post a comment