Bread making, clean up, and back at it

Natasha really enjoyed one of her Christmas presents. She
sits on it for hours watching the fire. 

Blogging has taken a back seat as has home improvement, although both are now moving back into the forefront. When I last blogged, I gave a quick Christmas summary including a list of the home improvement toys Santa brought me. Since then, much of our time was spent recovering from the holiday, including the somewhat depressing and tedious task of taking the tree down. It was a great, fresh cut tree that held it's needles well, but the right angle turn through the foyer and out the door acted a bit like a stripper and many of the needles were left there. So we pretty much exhausted a full day with the removal of ornaments, removal of tree, and vacuuming of needles of the floor. Of course, all the decorations need to be stowed in the attic so there is that too.

Much of January has been mild which made the outdoor light removal task much easier. It requires a fair amount of climbing in and around the front porch which is considerably less pleasant in the snow and cold.

Oops. A little crispy. We did 4 more that came out great. 

We made our first batch of bread at the new house, pushed our limits and tested the oven. This did result in some mistakes, but overall it turned out well. We decided to make three full matches since we were behind on our stock, which in turn caused us to really load up the oven. Well, not being used to this new gas oven in turn caused us to kind of burn some of the loaves on the bottom rack. Good news is despite a blackened crust on a few, the bread came out nicely.

Ugly gap

Gap fixed

After discussion we decided to change project priorities on the home improvement front. The ceiling repair in the den will require some research and take time so we shifted that project down the list and moved up the guest room, which is a fairly straightforward refresh project. As usual, the college students have left behind numerous holes, dents, and tape marks on the walls and ceiling which required attention. Then, there was a nasty gap between the woodwork and wall that needed caulking. Also, before the previous owner repaired the roof, water had leaked in and stained and cracked the the ceiling. So, some plaster work and application of a stain blocker was needed before I could paint. This room will have the added task of painting the doors. As you can see from the pictures, the previous painters really slopped on the paint and basically ruined the doors. I could strip the doors and leave an more natural wood grain but frankly they are in bad shape and will need to be replaced at some point. So, until then I will just paint them. Deciding on a color will be tough.

Stain and crack from leak undergoing repair.

Finally, we will install a ceiling fan in the room. It really dresses up the room and with our high ceilings they are practical and functional. I find it very pleasant sleep with a virtually silent fan moving the air about the room. The room should be finished soon and ready for visitors.

Otherwise, more mundane work continues. I have done a very amateurish but somewhat effective job of blocking the crawlway to the area under the back porch. Ridiculous amounts of cold air flow into the basement through this 20 x 30 inch hole and I've already noticed a warmer basement since my work began. I'm too embarrassed to show a picture of my work, at least at this point but will at some time especially if I improve the job. Unfortunately, some of my tugging on my panels and the pipe that passes through the gap started a leak from the sharkbite fitting on the hot water pipe. I may try to repair that myself or call back First Brother in Law Randy who did the original repair. For now, there's no hot water in the downstairs bathroom. Finally, the damn bathtub continues to leak at times, mainly when I decide to take a longer shower. I continue to narrow down and caulk suspected areas, but the struggle continues. I may lose a battle, but I'll win the war!