Hebrew Slave

I worked like a Hebrew slave for four days pulling this out of my yard--brick and concrete. Evidently the previous owner was at war with my neighbor. She built a wall. He sued. She lost. Instead of properly disposing of the trash, she had it dumped in the front and rear corners of the yard. The green herbie curbie was my wheel barrow. In the right frame of mind, you could look at it as a good work out.

Danish Oil vs. Poly for wood floors

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,1045852,00.html

I tried this and it goes on easy and looks great. Another great thing about Danish Oil is that it is the stain and the protection coat in one step.

Shower

I wanted to replace my shower in the bathroom. The lowest quote I have gotten is $13,000! Yikes. That won't be happening. I am now trying to decide whether to go with Ikea cabinets in my kitchen, or custom made. There is a guy in Monticello, GA, Benny Hart of Hartwood Cabinets, that is actually only a couple thousand dollars more than Ikea.

Attic insulation

I could not decide on whether to use fiberglass or recycled paper. I ultimatley decided on recycled paper because it was half the cost of the bats; provides more seamless coverage; has higher noise reduction, because it is more dense; and is better for the environment. (It is grade 1-A fire retardent.) My only concern is if it gets wet. But someone pointed out that if it gets wet, you have more serious problems. I was also concerned about compression, but I have read that it doesn't compress too much more than fiberglass. Once I had already bought the paper, I noticed that Home Depot sells blow in fiberglass at the same cost as the paper.

My dad helped me blow it in yesterday. I took 7 hours! for 1500 square feet. Much longer than I expected.

One step forward, one step back.

Never use a latex based primer. It peels right off. Only use an oil based primer. I am having to strip off freshly painted walls.

A vital neighborhood.

Revolution in the neighborhood:

Guerilla beltline art: Random folks are putting their artwork up at Beltline focal points.

Off the food grid:

Before photos