This Little House: Before and After

After 10 long weeks, 13 pounds (mine), several gallons of sweat, but thankfully no tears, the remodeling project has finally come to an end. Phew! As promised, here are the before and after pictures. I've thrown in some during pictures as well.

The biggest change was turning this lonely unfinished laundry room -- that actually only housed the dryer, because there was no plumbing for the washer -- into the new second bathroom.


It involved demolishing the walls...


Adding lots of plumbing, relocating a bunch of electrical, and leveling the concrete floor


And Viola! The shiny second bathroom.


This is what adding all that plumbing looks like from the outside of the house



They had to tear large holes in the side of the house and jack hammer through the foundation



Then they trenched the drain around the house to the main drain



And installed a giant pump
Then they put the house back together, and I planted some plants and spread some mulch, and it looks better than ever.


Attached to the original lonely laundry room was a converted garage that we had always used as Dale's man-cave/office

We added a closet to make it a legal third bedroom, plus we installed new carpet and gave the room a paint job


And it's now a beautiful third bedroom, with it's own bathroom and a private entrance


The kitchen desperately needed a face lift, and that nook was destined to be the new fully functional laundry room


Note the washing machine, next to the fridge...



The washer gets a new home, the orange paint is gone, gone, gone, and there's new porcelain tile on the floorThe circa 1950's existing bathroom also desperately needed a do-over


We ditched the dingy gray tile, and the sea-shell wallpaper

We kept all that beautiful cabinetry, but painted it all, installed a new floor with a classic look, re-sheet rocked and the painted the walls a pretty soft shade of blue, and installed a new sink and vanity
This is the aforementioned nook as it existed in the thoroughly orange kitchen


The new plumbing is shared with the new bathroom that exists on the other side of that wall



We re-framed that doorway, and put up a new light fixture


And here it is, an actual laundry room complete with a washer and dryer that are now roommates


It was a huge project, and in addition to all these big changes, we also painted every room in the house, spruced up the landscaping, and packed a good portion of our stuff into a PODS which has already made its way to Minneapolis where it will remain in storage until we can join it. The house goes on the market tomorrow, and hopefully this time it will sell, and sell quickly.

The Remodeling Project or How I Learned to Relax and Love the Mess

When we had our 2 bedroom 1 bath house on the market this past Fall it didn't sell. It's a cute little house, but 2/1 is a tough niche, and therefore a tough sell. At the beginning of the year we decided to delay our relocation back to Minnesota by a few months and make some changes to the house.

We're currently up to our necks in those changes with the intention of putting the house back on the market this Spring. The remodel includes turning an office and laundry room into a bedroom and bathroom, making the house a 3 bedroom 2 bath, and hopefully an easier sell. We're changing the nook in the kitchen which was never really big enough to eat in, into the new laundry room. We're also updating the circa 1950 (but not cute) existing bath, putting new tile down in the kitchen, and painting every room in the house.

I've been taking lots of photos of the work in progress, but mostly they're not that dramatic or interesting to look at. I think photos like these have more effect when you can show both the before and the after. But the after doesn't exist just yet so I'll save the photos for another post.

It's a big project. Mostly it's a good learning experience, and it's even a little bit exciting despite the fact that we're not going to live here when it's finished. It's also a huge mess, and a risky investment, and a real test of my patience. But I won't complain, and I'm trying to stay positive, and learn to love the mess.

The Wall of Welcome - A Community Art Project

There's a community art project in my neighborhood - The Wall of Welcome. It's a huge mosaic project put together by local artist Jean Graham. The wall is in the Crestview/Brentwood neighborhood of Austin TX and it shelters the parking lot of the neighborhood business district - the sort of "main street" area you find in a lot of older neighbors in big cities. The little cluster of shops includes a crappy IGA grocery store, an old school barber shop, a pharmacy, and The Little Deli.


The main part of the wall is one large mosaic that depicts some of the history and local lore of the neighborhood. All along the top of the main mosaic and one end of the wall are smaller tiles that were created by community participants. Some were created by local businesses, some by neighbors and residences, and there is one from the elementary school and the fire house.



I first saw the wall long before I lived in the neighborhood when my book group took a little walking field trip to look at the wall while it was in progress.


When I decided to move to this neighborhood and was shopping for a house here, my Dad came to visit from MN. I took him to the wall to show him where I intended to live.


The wall is finished now, has been for a little while I think. I pass the wall frequently on my bike and when I run. I love the wall. It has always made me feel, well, welcome!


Last weekend I walked down to the wall with one of the dogs to take pictures. I thought I should photograph the wall before I leave Texas. It is one of the things I will miss in Austin.

Happy Thanksgiving

For the third year in a row The Boyfriend and I got up on Thanksgiving morning and ran the Austin Turkey Trot. A five mile run with a huge crowd - 14,000 runners this year. It's a lot of fun, the course is fairly scenic and really challenging. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite tradition here in Austin, and one of the things I will miss when we are gone.

I hope to carry on the tradition of running on Thanksgiving morning when we return to Minneapolis by participating in the Drumstick Dash at Lake Harriet.

After the run I cooked for 7 friends. Last year I cooked a turkey for 2, this year I went with a very non-traditional menu - Pumpkin soup, homemade bread, a cheese board, smoked salmon, apples, pomegranates, a beet salad, and the guests brought desserts. Everything was delicious.

And now with Thanksgiving behind us, my attention is turned back to trying to get moved and of course to Christmas gift knitting.

Happy Holidays Y'all.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

We're making decisions and slowly but surely piecing together a plan. There are still huge gaping holes in the plan, like the fact that we have no jobs, but we've definitely decided a few things.

We're definitely moving. Our house here in Austin TX will go on the market at the end of this week. And the POD has landing in the driveway. I'm pretty sure I move more than any human alive, and yet I am still always totally overwhelmed by the packing. This is especially true with this move as there is a fair amount of load lightening going on - it is our intention to move in the POD which means we'll be selling off most of our furniture and packing light.

We're headed back to Minneapolis. Mostly this is awesome. I love Minneapolis, and I've missed her while I was away. My family is in Minneapolis, as are many of my friends. Minneapolis is home for me in the truest since of the word. But Winter has already started to rear its ugly head and we probably couldn't have picked a worse time of year for our return. I guess you take the bad with the good and roll with it.

We don't have a departure date yet. We don't know if we'll rent or buy when we get there. We don't know if we'll have jobs. There is still a lot we don't know. But we know we're moving back to Minneapolis.

Moving is always a little bittersweet and this move is no different. While I'm pretty much thrilled to be going home, I have made some great friends here in Austin and they will be missed. I have been reminding myself, as consolation, that all of my friends in Minneapolis whom I left three years ago are still my friends, and that all of my friends here in Austin will also remain my friends. Sure we won't see each other as often but with a little effort and planning and the miracle of FaceBook, we'll still be friends.

And that's news.

In Search of a City

We here at the Right Out Loud Household are deep in the middle of a city search. In reality it's more of a job search because mostly we'll go wherever the job is, and more accurately still, we'll go wherever The Boyfriend's job ends up being because all I do is this knitting, teaching, designing gig and I can do that from anywhere. Although some places are better suited for a knitter for sure.

While it's true that the job search includes Austin and while it is also true that we may end up staying here, it is seeming a little less likely, and researching new cities and places to live is sort of fun. Again, we'll ultimately go where the job takes us, but there is a small but growing list of cities I would be perfectly jazzy to call home.

What does it take for me to be jazzy about a place? Seasons for one - and this is a big one. I miss Fall most of all, and I even miss Winter some. I also need a few quality yarn stores, a safe place to run, friendly folks, a thriving farmer's market, and at least one Indian restaurant. The Boyfriend needs a job.

At the top of the list of cities I've grown fond of is Portland, Oregon, followed closely by Eugene, Oregon, which I know are totally different, but for speculative city searching purposes they are sort of the same and fully merged in my mind - I say Eugene, I could just as easily mean Portland, and vice-versa. They have seasons, you can grow anything there, and they are a crafter's paradise. I could wear socks and sweaters at least part of the year, and the farmer's market looks superb. The downside; the second highest unemployment rate in the nation, and everyone of The Boyfriend's contacts seems to be saying "there are no jobs". Sad but true.


A return to Minneapolis is on my list of definite maybes. Minneapolis is a great city, and it's also home. My family is there, they've got the biggest farmer's market I've ever been to, there's a yarn store on every corner, and miles and miles of scenic safe running paths. Unfortunately, it's not high on The Boyfriend's desirable list for one reason, and one reason only; Winter. And I suppose it's true that while I miss snow and socks and sweaters it would probably only take a Winter or two before I'd be wanting out again. Minnesota Winters are extreme. Extremely extreme. And they are why we left there in the first place (that and the job, the job that brought us to Texas, the job that doesn't exist anymore).


Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico are a fiber fiend's dreamland. When I visited there the folks seemed friendly enough. And again with the mountains, and the socks, and the sweaters, and the farmer's market. But again the job market seems weak and The Boyfriend's contacts aren't all that hopeful.

Salt Lake City, Utah has made a surprise appearance near the top of our list. It has seasons, and yarn stores, and a farmer's market. It also has mountains, and green space, and according to my BFF in Mpls., Sara, the people have a nice Midwestern sensibility and attitude. Sara also says it's clean and that I should move there and that I might just feel right at home there. I trust her. There also seems to be jobs there, and so it lingers near the top of our list.

My point is this; we're searching for a city, for a new place to call home, and while it remains a little unnerving to have so much uncertainty in my life, it has also become a little fun to speculate and research and hear what other people have to say about the cities they love.

Tell me, what city do you love? I'm searching for a city.

Twitch

The uncertainty in my life still looms large and I've developed a twitch in my right eye. I'm not joking. For four days now my right eye has had an intermittent twitch that is disconcerting to say the least.

As of this moment we still have no idea which city we will be living in in the coming months. I suppose that even if there is a new job in a new city it will take a few months to get moved, and so it is safe to say we will still be in Austin for Halloween. But what of Thanksgiving? And New Year's? I just can't know for sure. I wouldn't hate a white Christmas. In fact I might love it a little bit.

But the right eye is all a flutter.

Here's a taste of what's not happening; I'm not registering for either the 3M Half Marathon or the Austin Marathon. I did 3M last year and would love to do it again -- it's a great race. Austin would be new to me, and it just so happens to be on my birthday. On October 11th I will officially start my training schedule and train as if I'm running both races. But I won't register until I know for sure that I will actually be here to run.

I'm also not applying for the Cherrywood Art Festival, which I would love love love to do again -- it's a great show with good crowds. But again, I can't say for sure if I will be around to actually do the show, so I haven't applied. Just as soon as I have even the slightest indication that I'll be around I'll apply, although the deadline is fast approaching and I may miss out all together.

And I haven't sent those queries, or scheduled those workshops, or ... or... or...

And all the while the right eye twitches and sleeping for more than 5 hours in a row eludes me.

Here's what is happening; I'm knitting some. I found solace in The Urbanity Vest by Amy Swensen -- it's straightforward and uncomplicated, and round after round of stockinette leaves my mind available for worry, which is, as I have said, what I do in times like these. This is progress.

At least some of the design work has moved beyond half-baked to just not done. I've got yarn ordered for several new projects, and have made real strides on a trio of hats. Here's the teaser: one pattern, three hats, the common thread is itty-bits of hand-spun yarn.

Again, it's progress.

I read Into the Wild -- captivating enough and more difficult than third grade. I also read Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac -- a pithy, and smart little number that every knitter should read.

But the nuno felting remains untouched. And the embroidery goes slow. And the house is still really clean. And there's not a speck of laundry left to do.

And the uncertainty looms large. And my right eye has a twitch.

Progress!

On How I Hate Change and Don't Deal Well with Uncertainity

As the tag line for this blog promises, I generally try to keep things mostly about knitting and crafting. Today is going to be an exception. I'm going to allow it to get personal. My life is filled with uncertainty just now. Three weeks ago The Boyfriend fell victim to a pretty huge lay-off, and as we are all well aware, the job market still pretty much sucks. This lay-off means a lot of economic uncertainty for our household, and it could also potentially mean a move out of Texas.

The bright-sunny way to spin this is as "an opportunity for change..." and "...exciting possibilities". I've tried that outlook on for size and sadly, it only sort of fits.

Mostly I don't deal well with change. I'm the kind of person who gets thrown completely off my game if my favorite brand of paper towels changes their packaging. I have a morning routine that happens in exactly the same order everyday. I have been drinking my morning coffee out of the same cup, and only that cup for close to 6 years. I like things to stay the same.

And I fair just as poorly with uncertainty. I'm a first-class worrier. I worry. I get it from my Dad, and I've always believed he is sorry he gave it to me.

The worrying makes it pretty darn near impossible for me to concentrate on anything for more than about 2 minutes. And this lack of concentration means not much knitting, a small pile of started but unfinished nuno felted projects, several half-sketched and half-baked design ideas, and the reading comprehension skills of a third grader.

It has also resulted (and this the bright side again) in a really really clean house, lots of random cooking and food preparation, and many loads of laundry.

I'd be a big fat liar if I tried to tell you or myself that I can shake the lack of concentration entirely and get on with the creative, thinking-required tasks at hand. I know that I can't. But a creative soul can not survive on laundry alone, and so today I have struggled and fought and spent the last 90 minutes wrestling these words together and this post into existence. It's a start, and it has at least kept me in one spot for better than an hour, and it feels productive in its own way. It's what I've got for now, but I'll keep you posted.

Doing My Part to Live a Little Greener

So it's been awhile since I've posted about ways in which I've been doing my part to live a little greener and love my planet a little more, but I have been making changes, some big and some small.

First the big, and really the least interesting. We've just finished upgrading the house, we did a new furnace, A/C, duct work, weatherizing, attic insulation, and a new tank-less hot water heater. The City of Austin and Texas Gas both have some great rebate programs to encourage more efficient energy use, and of course we went with the greenest choices all the way around.

I've gotten serious about the back yard compost pile also. The City of Austin does collect yard waste separately and composts on a large scale, but the kitchen compost had been going in the trash until recently. I was inspired by my neighbor who had stopped by to let the dogs have a romp while I was making a giant pot of soup. As I was about to toss the pile of scraps and peelings she asked if she could have them, stating her compost pile was a little heavy on leaves and needed the nutrients. I let her take that pile home, and have since started my own pile out back. It easy and sort of fun, and since I have every intention of putting in my vegetable garden next spring all that black gold will come in handy.

Lastly, we've made the switch to biodegradable poop bags for the dogs. It may seem small but I've always felt really horrible about the plastic bag consumption in this house. I have always justified it by telling myself that I was recycling the plastic shopping bags by using them to clean up after the dogs. Well no more! I don't accept plastic shopping bags anymore, anywhere and I buy the biodegradable bags for the poop. I feel better about it. I saw on my local news recently that the City of Austin is considering a city wide ban on plastic shopping bags. They have asked retailers to try it on a volunteer basis while they figure it out. We would apparently be the second city in the nation to institute such a ban the other being San Francisco. It's great to live in a city that at least tries to encourage it's citizens to live a little greener and do their part for the planet.

Next post - knitting content.

Long Time No Blog

It feels like it's been ages since I've had a new entry here on the blog. It has in fact been over a week. I had a house full of visitors from Minneapolis. My sister, my niece, and the three little people were here for just over a week. I'm not usually one for having house guests, in fact the last time members of my family visited I put them a hotel. It's not that I don't love them, I do, I just don't like house guests. Incidentally, I also dislike being a house guest. This time a hotel just wasn't feasible, so they stayed in my little house. Despite that, I was able to enjoy the time with them very much, we played, we ate ice cream, we hit some thrift stores, and in general had a great time. But I just couldn't get anything else like blogging, done.

Until yesterday it was almost a week since I'd done any knitting also. Unheard of I know, but I had a minor injury. I was hanging out in the yard doing a little yard work with the mutts. The mutts were having a fast and furious game of chase and headed in my direction. I could see what was going to happen next, but I couldn't do a thing to stop it. Little Layla deeked just at the last possible second, and Big Mike barreled right into me. I fell, heard my shoulder make several strange popping sounds, felt an amazing amount of pain, yelled out, tried to lift my hanging arm, heard several different strange popping sounds, felt a little less pain, and pulled myself together. The dogs had stopped to stare. My sister says she heard or read somewhere recently that orthopedic surgeons are seeing as many rotator cuff injuries from knitters as they are from athletes. I wondered how many they see from knitters with very large, very fast, and not at all graceful dogs named Mike. After a week the shoulder still aches, and I still can't hook my own bra, but as of yesterday knitting was possible again. Thank goodness!

In celebration I went to my Tuesday afternoon sit and knit at the LYS. I had missed last week, because of the bum wing, and the house full of guests. Only this week I didn't knit. Instead I learned some basic crochet techniques. I've been doing a lot of free-form, make-it-up- as-you-go-along knitting lately. Mostly it's taking the form of skinny scarves, lariats, necklets, and necklaces. They're nice little diversions from the progress I'm making on "Sizzle" and the Branching Out Lace Scarf. When I get tired of following the patterns, I make a lariat. I wanted to be able to mix it up a bit with some crochet. And so yesterday I learned how to make baubles, and loops, and few other basics that will allow me to improvise with a crochet hook.

I also added to the stash, just a little. I've been absolutely fascinated with Habu Textiles Yarns lately. I fondle them, and smell them every time I'm at the LYS. I love , love, love the textures, and the amazing earthy colors. They were the perfect thing for me to continue to improvise with. I promise to post photos of the finished objects soon. I should be posting progress photos of Sizzle and the Lace soon also, I'm a mere few rows from having the back complete on Sizzle, and more than half done with the lace. Now that the shoulder is allowing knitting again, and the house is deplete of guests, it should be soon.

A Space of Your Own

As I've been in the process of moving I've been thinking a lot about home, and setting up the space were we live. As crafters, artists, and folks who work from home I believe these are especially important considerations and that it's key to have a space of your own - a functional and pleasing space designated for and designed to accommodate your specific needs.

It seems like it would be an obvious thing when settling into the place where you live that you would spend some time thinking about how you actually live and create an environment suited specifically for yourself and the people you live with. What are the things you do in your daily life? What restraints do you have? Do you have guests, do you feed them, and do they stay the night? Do you prefer to eat your meals at a table with family, or standing at the kitchen sink gazing out the window? It would seem that the answers to these sorts of questions would determine how we create our homes, although I suspect that too often people don't consider their own lifestyles and instead abide by a set of assumptions like "couch in front of TV, table in kitchen, and clothes in closet".

While knee deep in the physical nature of moving I've focused a lot of my mental attention to just those sorts of questions and considerations. One thing was clear as day - I needed a "craft room". It can go by many names; office, studio, craft room, crap room. And it can take on many arrangements. The point is to have a space, some area of your living environment that is devoted to and fully functional for what you do. While the whole house is reaping the benefits of this meditation, my craft room, I feel has benefited the most.

There are several reasons why you should designate a part of your home specifically for your crafting: The first applies most specifically to the folks, like myself, that work from home - having a space where you do most of your work helps in making that mental transition from taking a break to play with the dogs to getting your work done and that work has value even though you're still in the company of the dogs. Another reason to have an area devoted to your craft is the stuff, the stash. The word "stash" implies a hiding place, a secret stash. And for some of us crafters our space is just exactly that - a place to hide our mess. For me personally I want my stash stashed from the rest of the world but available to me for inspiration. On any given day I fondly a lot of yarn, and glance at lots of books, and it's important to have those books and that yarn handy.

Depending on where you live, and your budget, and how many people you live with, your space can take on any number of arrangements. I'm lucky in that I have an extra bedroom to make my own, and the only thing I have to share this space with is a futon for overnight guests, which we have fairly frequently. My craft room serves and functions in all the ways our lifestyle needs it to. You may have the luxury of an entire studio outside your house. Or you may be limited to a dresser full of yarn and a favorite chair with perfect light. Whatever the limitations and opportunities the point is to make a space that works for you and the way you live.

I've mostly settled into my new home and my craft room. I've got a desk for the computer as I spend a fair amount of time on the Internet blogging and maintaining my ETSY shops. I've got an old kitchen table where I can set up the sewing machine or the swift and ball winder. I've got good light. I've got a dog bed in the corner because the dogs tend to want to be near me, lucky me. I've got the necessary futon for those overnight guests. I've painted the walls a color that soothes me (two colors actually, divided by a chair rail). And most importantly I am filling the space with things that inspire and delight me - my orchids (which are blooming), art I love, books I read, curtains I'll sew (nothing says home like curtains you sew yourself), and of course my stash.

Do yourself a favor spend some time thinking about where you live, and how you live, and apply some creativity to making your space, whatever space you have, a space of your own.

Welcoming Myself Home

Long time, no post, I know. Haven't been knitting either. I've been moving into my new home. The move was anything but smooth - the sellers hadn't actually moved out, the moving truck full of our stuff went to a warehouse in Pflugerville, and we slept on yoga mats on the floor. But in time the furniture was delivered, Mark the fence guy built our fence, the fridge arrived and I filled it with food, and the sellers got the rest of their crap out.

So despite the fact that my stash looks like this ...

And my work space looks like this...

I feel like I'm actually winning the battle of the boxes, and I have painted all but the trim in what will be my craft room (more on that in future post). So I'm back on the blog and back on the needles.

Last night I heaved a sigh of exhaustion, mixed myself a drink, cast on, and sat knitting in a chair. I've started the Tank Top in One Skein. I'm knitting it with Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy. I'm expecting it to be lovely and drapey and soft. It's also orange.

More progress photos will be posted to soon.

I have to say that despite the unfinished projects, and the maze of boxes, while I sat knitting the house really did feel like home. I felt comfortable, and calm. I was able to enjoy the progress made and not feel freaked out that I was knitting instead of a zillion other things on the list. It felt good, damn good.

On the Move, In 10 Days

I'm moving. Moving sucks. Moving means packing all your things in boxes and not knowing where anything is, and not being able to get the things you love.

Besides yarn, I love books. I have a LOT of books. So to begin the moving process I start by packing books. The last time I moved I had 33 book boxes of books. I am quite sure that this time around I will have even more.

I packed the knitting library, except for 3 or so books I knew I'd want to look at, for one reason or another. Packed the rest. I have now opened that box no less than 3 times. At the third un-taping of said box I got smart. I un-packed all books related to knitting and fiber. On moving day they will ride on the front seat of my car. Right next to my yarn which I have made no pretense of packing.

Moving also means a moratorium on buying yarn. Mostly. I admit I did sneak in one last trip to the LYS and made two small purchases off ETSY. But no more! I resolve to not buy any yarn until I am moved, and settled, ok maybe just moved, to the new house.

In the meantime, to sooth my knittin' jones, I've been reading knitting blogs, surfing Knitty for patterns, working on the 10 or so felted bags for a consignment order, and packing and unpacking the fiber arts library.

10 days, just 10 more days...