It's a feature, not a bug

It's been a while since we posted an update on our remodeling progress. Who could have expected that we would be hunkered down at home, rarely leaving, with Bill participating in lots of community meetings via video calls and me working from home since early March 2020. 

Projects that we had thought we would tackle during Summer 2020 were put on hold so we could instead expand our garden to feed ourselves (and the neighbors, it turns out, with the extra bounty). We have been dealing okay with the added stress that is the last 12+ months and feel grateful for much in our lives, including being fully vaccinated. With working at home full time, I get the opportunity to snap a photo or two of fun projects underway, and at the same time remember how far we have come. Some of those photos are posted in Instagram, @annettemboyer.

Today's project is especially fun, since it involves making lemonade out of lemons. Bill has been saving these two narrow doors for a wide closet opening next to our treadmill. He refinished the front side but could not easily strip the very old paint off the back side without using seriously icky chemicals or a *lot* of time hand sanding them (not a great option since it might be lead paint). We were out on a hike recently when we started chatting about the doors and an idea popped into my head -- why not make it a feature, not a bug? In the software business, that means that you make something that could look like a problem into an intentional engineering choice. Hey, I meant for it to turn out like that! The feature that we decided upon is to put chalkboard paint on the interior side of the doors so that when they are open, we could scribble notes about our workouts. 

This last year has been one long journey of seeking out what we are learning about our world and ourselves and finding any possible bits of light along the way. So, these doors are a metaphor for the entire COVID + social and cultural unrest/upheaval of the last 13 months. Do what we can to let go of the stress around decisions and focus on making something positive out of a lemony situation.

Welcome home

After being away helping out with the AIDS/LifeCycle, we returned to see a few beautiful things as we went to bed and as we arose this morning. Our electricians activated the lights that now illuminate our vintage address sign (see the back story here) and I can't think of a lovelier homecoming, after our pups greet us, that is.

Then, as I opened my eyes this morning, I saw beautiful blue sky and puffy little wisps through our bedroom skylight. Thanks to my sweet love for that view each day.

Answering the call of love

With all of the robocalls and fraudulent solicitations, who doesn't screen calls these days? When we used an answering machine, we would call home and leave a brief greeting, attempting to get the other's attention if they were available.

Most often, it was me calling as I left the office (when I worked further away from home than I do now) and I needed to give Bill enough time to reach the phone. So, I would give him an extended "Hey!" to allow him to get to the phone.

And, "Hey, doll..." came from the two lovely souls who married us. Throughout their lives, they referred to each other with that sweet greeting and we have carried it forward.

When we needed to clear out the recordings, we want to capture some of those brief moments, since these are far more important to us than grand gestures. Here are 41 of those greetings, just for fun.

Here's to the little things in life, the moments when you snort laugh or belly giggle.

Art you coming over?

One of our long-time motivators in getting projects done around our house is having guests over. Overnight guests get an extra few rounds of progress, but dinner guests get some benefits as well. Before last Thanksgiving (yes, I'm super behind with these blog posts!) Bill got all the cooking rolling and had a few extra minutes before we expected guests. So, he climbed up to hang a piece from his parents' home above their piano in our family room, a perfect spot.

The week before, he worked to hang our collection of fruit and vegetable labels from old San Jose canneries. These are originals (purchased on eBay, natch) that we framed ourselves many moons ago, and we have wanted them to grace our new kitchen for some time.

Who needs a ladder when you have a piano bench?

All done

There are more than this on other walls -- come visit to see them!

Bookin' it

One of the types of things that we have had in storage but missed the most are our books, our own collections plus those of our parents. The house was designed with a study that overlooks the living room (behind Bill in the first photo) and one the projects he has most looked forward to is building the bookcases in the study. And, they are *done*! Next is the organizing and arranging of all that will go on all the pretty maple shelves.

Happy carpenter, working away the day

This section is extra deep for bigger books.

Leveling the (forgot what it's called but very important thingie)

Progress!

Measure three times, cut once

A carpenter's desk

Moving an electrical box

Power tools!

Coming together!

Friday Furniture

Not our house! Catalog image...

Also not our house. Not enough color in the background!

Our house, our Hank.

Well, now. I'm a bit behind on all of the goodness that we have been adding to our house in the last few months. Some of what we have been doing is some Friday-night furniture shopping + supper out. That's hot date for us, buying a few new pieces after such a long but fun project.

Some of what we look for in new couches or chairs is the feel on our spines, an important checkpoint for two people who met in the chiropractor's office. Online shopping can take you only so far, so when buying a piece that will hold our bums, we've been visiting local stores for one room at a time.

We bought a love seat and chair + table for our front room, and we have already broken them in with Hank's help.

That time I sort of stalked an artist...

When I first moved to San Francisco, I used to admire the pen and ink drawings of Richard Stine that were published in the SF Chronicle. His art included equal parts of hope and frustration + quirkiness that resonated with me. I remember visiting his booth at an art fair in Sausalito and being truly in awe of his work. After Bill and I met, we continued together to love Stine's creative expression.

About ten years ago, I was planning a trip to the Seattle area to see a bunch of people including a friend who I have known since junior high. Or, as the kids call it today, middle school. I called her before the trip and said, "Uh, I want to go see an artist whose work I love. I asked if I could come to his studio on Bainbridge Island and he said yes." Silence on the phone. My friend has never been that person who talks easily to strangers, but it's easy for me. She couldn't believe what I was proposing and seemed a bit stunned as we boarded the ferry to go see him. Hell, yes, we're doing this.

He had two homes right next to each other. One was his home with his lovely wife, and one was his workspace. Richard left us in his studio to look at piles of artwork, including an unfinished book that told the story of a family member's journey with aging. It was funny, touching, sweet, just what I would expect from his work.

Since that visit, I have had my eye on one of Richard's paintings for our home, and we finally purchased a print of House By The River. Ever since we designed our home, we have been holding a special spot in reserve for this print. And, as another friend said recently, it's so appropriate that a vibrant image of a house is the first thing you see as you now enter our home.

Richard and I have kept in touch over the years and he now lives in New Zealand, one of our favorite places on earth. Perhaps we will have to visit (but not stalk) him there, too. :-)

One of Stine's drawings from the San Francisco Chronicle that I tucked away years ago.

Looking trim (or, What's that fir?)

Bill has saved a lot of the original wood from the old framing and has planed it down for use as window and door trim. He is using the original house's reclaimed red fir for trim in the original footprint and new/old redwood for the new sections. Beautiful!

*DO* fence me in

Way back in the day in our area, detached garages were built right on property lines and over time, some of them became a pseudo fence. This means that a fence could be built starting at the street, and travel back towards a detached garage. At that point, the side wall of the garage became the stand-in for the fence and the actual fence continued behind it.

Years ago, when we tore down our old detached garage (we wanted to take it down before it fell on its own), we left the side wall as a part of the fence and his most recent project has been to re-build the fence including replacing the garage side wall.

The wood from the old garage wall and old fence will be planed and used for interior trim. Can't waste any redwood or fir!

The stucco first has to be peeled back from the garage wall.

Vintage fir

Some of the planed wood, ready to be used as interior trim

The new fence is almost done

Comin' out swinging

For a bit of time, like since 1999, our gate has been barely functional. In the last few months, Bill has wanted to open it as little as possible. To open it on those rare occasions, he had to have a helper on one side while he was on the other side with a hand truck to lift up the sagging, large gate and scoot it open or closed. The gate literally has not swung freely for many years, and now it does.

We've been counting the days until our new gates (one on each side of the house) are ready for installation. Today was the day! The crew from Professional Iron Works came in and installed what they had constructed in their warehouse and we are quite excited!

The old gate in the driveway was the only remaining portion of the old house, but it is redwood and will live on as interior trim after milling.

I'm sure the neighbors are just as happy as we are!

Our manual gate opener

The opposite of putting lipstick on a pig -- the old gates

Redwood and iron

The new driveway gate is installed while the old one is dismantled for milling.

The dogs don't have access to these gates yet since we have some surface adjustments to make.

Puppy ports

Big excitement! An actual key!

A first-rate gate!

Work is beginning on our new gates, and we could not be more excited! The design includes pup-holes (rather than portholes :-) for the dogs to see out and hopefully only bark at nefarious types rather than everyone.

Our old gate is the only remaining piece from our original house except for our address and a lot of reclaimed wood that will be repurposed as interior trim. The gate will be iron and redwood, with Bill choosing the wood to be used.

This gate's time has come, let the process begin for a beautiful new entry. #squeeeeee

No, it will not be curved. Just the paper is curved. :-)

Bringing color and energy to smooth out a rough week

Let's face it, adulting can be tough sometimes. Some weeks at the office and in the news are tougher than others. In the midst of a rough one, our new couch arrived. Seems like a small thing in the overall scheme of our world, but it feels like it already is a place of refuge that is comfortable and comforting. The splashes of color that we chose are just perky enough to help us reset when we need it. And, coincidentally, the little desk that my dad built for me eons ago fits right in, and Kyro loves her new nesting spot in the morning sun. We may never leave the house again, HA!

Nailed it

This last week, we were so happy to host our friends Mardi and Jon all the way from Maine. Jon is a master carpenter with an amazingly eye-popping shop where he creates cabinets, furniture, and more.

On their last evening with us, Bill and Jon brainstormed a bit on the design for our dining table that Bill will be building. The design includes a live edge down the middle that folds over to create a more narrow table for everyday use. When we have guests, we would fold it out for more seating. With the live edge down the middle, the boys wanted to think through how the hinging would work and what the legs would need to accommodate with the table both folded and unfolded. Math, geometry, and physics, oh BOY! All play a role in carpentry.

The kraft paper covering our temporary table makes a perfect sketching area!

Enduring inspiration

Yesterday, we had a lovely visit with our friend and Bill's client, Maria. Many years ago, Bill helped to build her home in Palo Alto and has returned many times to help with adjustments and repairs. As we walked around her home to talk about possible future projects, I immediately saw some things that have inspired Bill's decisions for our home, including the metal facing on the stair risers. We will have something similar but different on our stairs. Since he sees her much more frequently than I do,  I don't remember the details of her house, and it's fun for me to walk around and discover the seeds of his ideas for us.

Maria is an amazing painter and is now learning carpentry so that she can do more of her home projects herself. She is taking classes and learning to use power tools to create cool stuff. Lifelong learning is so inspiring.

The three of us (plus Riley the Dog!) also visited a stone place in Palo Alto to look for materials for our respective bathrooms. We didn't find what we need, especially since all of the dramatic slabs that we saw won't work for small-ish bathroom vanities. They do draw us in, though!

The metal facing on the stair risers

The texture that was created for the metal risers

Stunning, but not right for a small-scale application

Sequential slabs must be tracked carefully.

Wow.

Whoa.

Drama!

We'll be the judge of that.

Yowza.

I found a ducky!

Incredibly beautiful blues, grays, and more. These are individual pieces affixed together somehow and sliced. Unique!