228 Hours

That is how long I have until I have to be back at work. I am officially on vacation. Well, if you can call long days of hard work and no travel or relaxation a vacation? Then, yes, I am on vacation. Perhaps we should come up with another word for DIY house owners who work on thier house when they are not working at their real job. Maybe “Homeation” or “Slaveation”. It would be much easier. I’ve stopped telling some people that I’m going on “Vacation”. This brings up the inevitable question: “Where are you going?” When asked, I answer the question this way.

“Oh, I’m going to this charming little seaside resort town in Northern California. The weather is to-die-for and the scenery is eye-popping. {I pause here for a second and watch their eye’s widen} The little town is called Eureka, CA. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

I then get a look that says: “Yea, right – Eureka!”

A lot of locals don’t like this town. I tell them to move someplace else for a few years and you’ll realize how nice it is here. This place has it’s problems, there is no question about it, but I’ve lived in much, much worse.

I’ve gotten a lot done the last few days. There are always those little things that need to be done near the end of a project that I’ve been working on. One of the things I did was put in the slate that will go under the big honkin’ cast iron stove. Originally the idea was to lay the slate and then build the floor up to it and around it. I chickened out on this. The design of the kitchen was still somewhat in flux and I was afraid to commit myself to the slate. Instead I laid the floor and then put the slate on top. To make it seem like it “belonged” I then ran the quarter round base cap around the slate. It looks fine, I think, and future home owners will be able to remove the slate and have the floor underneath.

The quarter round didn’t come out as well as I had liked. I bought fir quarter round but it is much different than the fir floor. It is not a good match. So now, I’m thinking about painting it to match the trim. The problem is, it is already installed. While not impossible, it will be a delicate procedure.

I also put on valves and flanges for gas and water lines. I wanted old looking “cross point” valves for the water valves under the sink. I found reproductions on-line for $35 a piece!! Instead, I bought the standard 5/8th inch compression angle valves at the hardware store for about $6 each, and then got a pair of antique, nickel plated cross point handles on Ebay for $9.00. Add handles to valve and Bob’s Your Uncle, I have antique compression, cross point valves under the sink.

Also, the blinds arrived from Smith+Noble. They came yesterday and I haven’t even opened the box. I’m going to go open it now and install them tonight. After that I’ll give the floor one more good shellacking and call it a night.