Liver

Guitar play 35 years, favorite pastime, own two guitars. 

First: Squier 'sposedly '51 reissue though neither Squier (not 'round back then) nor parent company Fender ever made a guitar like this in '51.  In some purge sold this guitar for $100, missed, bought another for $200 only to get it home, realize it was the original guitar - 'came back' guitar.  Cheapo knock off Indonesian made modified - plays/sounds real good.  Player.

Second: no name - 'heresy' beautiful guitar lovers say 'should be Gibson, Fender' - thrasher Floyd Rose tremolo guitar, recarved headstock, rewired, repickuped: favorite guitar ever.  Player.
    Someone said Swett Lodge'd be beautiful finished.  Comfortable, practical, user friendly - not beautiful.  Liver.
 

     Doing something wrong broke trusty kitchen knife.

Similar St. Vinnie's replacement item.  Stainless, tough to dull, readily available.

     Add bolt through shovel neck locking handle.
     Mudjacking refers to leveling cement slabs by putting mud under 'em done these days with hydraulic pump. 

Want foreground slab (breaks at yellow line at right)

between curb/front walk.  Mudjack plus.

Dig out entirely 'round slab - corner keyed into front walk slab; chisel; persuade out with 20 ton jack, break 2x4 find 4x4 levers fine.

Raise/hold slab standing on 4x4, shovel dirt under slab to jack,

finally vertical.  Couple wheelbarrows driveway gravel behind garage for new car park location - lots more later.  Fetch pneumatic two wheel hand cart from Kate's.  Won't begin to heft/move 300 pound plus slab.  Return hand cart find three cylindrical fence posts.

Flop/pry slab onto fence posts on useful salvaged luan underlayment rolling course (limed side up).

Rolls pretty good.

Walk like an Egyptian.

Slab ready to 'flip' into place,  dig its hole

find paving stone

which joins backyard garage walk's queue.

Struggle, 'flip' slab using firewood 'jacks', 4X4 - another time another approach; balance slab on curb; 4x4 lever into place.

Kate 'n fambly interrupt important earth moving work sweep off to downtown bleu cheese burger lunch - mmm! 

Dirt fill cracks, ex slab hole, salt rest 'round low driveway area.

Degarage trusty $8 mower, fire up.  First balky, adjust carb, clean gas, runs fine.  Come spring change oil: it'll mow forever.

Mown lawn, gate, front walk - looking like someone cares 'bout Swett Lodge.

Couple unwanted window sashes scrap crisscrossed 1x4 nailed to roof rafter luan underlayment, quarter round molding loaded - 'lumber yard' in session.
      Feel ahead of schedule - could start sleeping in Swett Lodge - stench departed sooner than expected.  

Luck out - procure second free futon off Craigslist.  Frame needs a little work, wash mattress cover, find bedding - can sleep in garage apartment or house, guest even!
    No question looking at some of these pics why they call Eugene 'The Emerald City' specially this time of year.  Kate says peas go in the ground Valentine's Day.  Have to get garden digging.

Put these yamsters - actually sweet potatoes (?) orange flesh notwithstanding - on front window sill today hopin' for many plantable slips.  Gettin' a farm goin' here.  Spring's 'round the corner.   Enjoy.       d

Chargin'

Today: sunny, fifties.  Search early for food to break Sunday's fast settle on Jack's tacos supplementing daily fruit dose - today apple, orange, two bananas.  Day nicer as she goes - many kids/parents enjoy MLK park.  Continue humbled by abundance - what a day!
   Feel move into Swett Lodge proper imminent check SalArmy's Monday $ day come up with glass shade for replaced living area fixture - installed above, 16'x6' pleated curtain - depleated, cut into four panels; ready to install front room drapes. 

House reasonably odor free, can't refuse Earth stove much longer - holds fire 12 hours easy.  Playoffs, Earth fire, Skye call, Spud/Kate visit - sweet Sunday. 

   These guys

do everything for me.  Right - on top of course - dominant wouldn't think of hurting self, eternally abuses left still resting from scraping.  Lotion, massage muscle knots freeing tendons, roast on Earth - much better, continue gentle/idle (as best I can!) for maximum heal.  Allergic reaction to suggested ibuprofen megadose  - 4 200s x 4 over 24 hrs. - includes itchiness, small blisters, well increased blood flow to extremities.  Not all bad. 
    Shop ReStore - ReSt therapy - come up with pile of stuff for less than 13 bucks:

2"  PVC conduit - route for wire from exterior circuit box (still need opening elbow)

into house; long handle wire brush - first use: fir (piece mellow chocolate brown tongue & groove fir flooring painted white pulled from bath shelves below);

seeds - two varieties squash/radish/corn/beans, okra, rutabaga, jalapeno pepper;

crossword puzzles; hinges to replace cat piss corroded back door hinges; electrical 2"conduit connector; front porch lamp (globe/fixture my match) - to relocate ceiling lamp onto uninsulated wall (few inches vermiculite in attic only insulation in house) after porch ceiling comes down; wire nuts.  Like front porch lamp some circuits will be altered/added/refreshed - fortunately total rewire not required.  Good trip.

      Reported trading this fine tool for extension cord.  Found great local extension cord price instead add three bucks to mail order return value get deals on:

end cutter to cut nails,

chisels to spare screwdrivers,

2-1/2" Forstner bit - looking for 1/2" drill - to drill through siding etc. for electrical conduit among many uses.  In short order - usually reasonably - most necessities present themselves.  Abundance.

     Last summer put piece of something plastic lying around grate over what had been open crawl space hole on west side of house, covered other east side crawl space opening with plywood excluding varmints.  After washing house interior want increased air flow/drying under house replace east opening plywood with abandoned loaf cooler ('legs' flattened) - plays part well 'nuff to keep.

   Once gated couldn't resist completing 'lumber yard' close in despite hands (of course).  Recycle a few screws to secure four sheets salvaged luan underlayment to rafters left mid job by previous owner.

Temporarily (2-5 yrs ??) roofed, battened with available materials - tarpaper/linoleum/plastic/wood.

Plastic bag to keep hand clean, old door plate to spread tar which finds a way.

End up throwing away shirt was wearing, wash tar mess off left (of course) hand with power steering fluid/soap, clean jacket/pants with WD40.  But roof done.  Pretty much matches last summer's work east side garage roof (used T&G fir flooring battens before knowing).

Check August's chimney waterproofing handiwork (more tar, recycled linoleum) while on roof - holding up well.

Now: dry materials storage (note: gate corner lower left, luan limed side down).   Soon: shelves to keep things above ground.

      Want to finish front walk, begin move in - see what the week brings.  Huge abundance choices, plenty good tools, spring like weather chargin' - will record/share here.  Peace.   d

Schemes

 

Gorgeous today - mid 50's sunny.  Someone suggested 'twould be good for yard work but Swett Lodge posting's today's 'chore'.  Searched in vain for internet service downtown on bike.  Library closed, no good signal/outlets at public market came home to (hopefully!) post here.  Writing keeps me from working too hard on the house - a good thing.  Starting to feel less like a tourist here, emphasized by Swett Lodge's first overnight guest last night.  Transplanted to Portland LA neighbor above on Rose in Venice was in Eugene teaching seminar, came by for the evening.  Drove accommodations here parked in Swett Lodge's auxiliary camp/park area.

Been quiet though spent couple days washing ceilings/walls/floors

 

except for bath, front bedroom.  Drying.  Healing.  Left hand still recuperating from floor scraping - over stressed unable to form bar chords on guitar.  Fortunately visiting buddy is massage therapist specializing in repetitive muscle stress issues.  Besides treating to selection north west micro brews was good enough to revivify hand with deep tissue massage.  Angel! 

    Old walls withstood power wash in August, broom & suds last week.  House's walls are plaster & lath.  Before gypsum wall board (sheetrock) carpenters meticulously nailed lath to studs with 1/4" gaps, scratch coated with cement, skim coated with plaster.  In the midwest they put horse hair in cement for matrix/added strength - not in Swett Lodge.

Will duplicate process when finishing walls.  Front bedroom's plaster & lath so bad at one point someone sheetrocked - here with top paper layer torn off in spots - over them.  Probably will remove, repair plaster & lath.

After Tuesday house washing - dump night.  Wheel barrow load to Kate's for disposal.

Particularly good way to deal with empties - no muss, no fuss - redeemed at Freddy Meyer's for OR $.05 value.   Not Burt Bacharach - his bro Bike Back Rack. 

     Not mine to tell but for posterity's sake:  clan member owns couple of dogs one exceedingly voracious.  Over holidays had free spirited house guest carrying full measure chocolate covered zoomers.   Dog found 'em/gobbled.  Good owners took dog to vet for stomach pump - still one glassy eyed pup.  Certain more than I jealous.  It's a dog's life!

 

   Want to store lumber etc. in carport would like privacy/decorum.  Ponder gate materials won't need elsewhere.  Cupboard doors might do.

Figured to use bath shelf material with doors to make gate.  Start tearing shelves apart find are tongue & groove fir matching floor in kitchen/front room - save for floor patching.

Attempt gate layout on front room floor.

Remember more doors.

Bracing?  Minimal's fine.

Fasten doors to each other using old luan screws front and back where door rails meet,  screw door bottom rails to board from bath cabinets, recovered hardware upper hinge,

lower hinge (reshaped hook once held aerial TV cable),

render this baby ready to swing.

1"x12" chunk from kitchen cabinet tear out, cement blocks stabilize free end.

Making no cost not unattractive - specially painted after 'curing' time - 'lumber yard' gate.

Color correct (matches neighboring house trim), lends nice flow to 'skyline'.  Get huge satisfaction turning castoffs functional.  Next: finish carport roof making 'lumber yard' ready to stock - waitin' on dry day to screw saved luan underlayment to rafters, cover with excess 30 lb. felt from garage roof.  Temporary shelter.  Inside 'lumber yard'. 

Gate up hose down carport/lumber yard area eliminating stench, cob webs proceed to reorganize cement.   Mud jack - shovel, Spud's spud (17 lb. steel persuading bar)

fetched on bike from Kate's - corner slab from junction of walk east from front steps and carport walk (here: after - a mud filled hole, new gate photo top right),

amend front walk.

Will fill last 2' dirt area end front walk to curb with another mudjacked slab.  Eventually will mud jack/move all front yard cement 'cept this front walk to car park behind garage leaving sun soaked front yard dirt for grass/garden. 

     Plat book entry for Swett Lodge - star marks the spot,

lot layout - front walks lightly inked,

floor layout,

may help orient when considering Swett Lodge.  Drawing below shows current proposed remodel plan - porch/garage roof lines (peaks, valley) shown.   Garage meets back porch roof detail will improve as project nears.

Note chimney in house center (east, west), center wall on east side of chimney making west house half 14', east half closer to 12'.  Curious to find if supports in crawl space are under wall or in center of building - more as I know.   Front/back porches will be one step lower than floor - now even.  Sketches approximate.

     Native Oregonian life pace overtaking.  May slow posting.  Will continue to capture larger points.  God bless.         d