Coolidge Crossings

Long Time, No See

2008-07-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been busy here. I'll try to catch you up on all the fixin' up that's been done to me. Paint Party USA happened in November. Yup, every room upstairs was un-wallpapered, textured, primed and painted thanks to a great group of friends who kept us motivated. Wa-who!

Beauty and the "Beast"

2007-09-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

Remember that ugly old stove that used to sit in my kitchen? Well, it's gone now and guess what has replaced it? A sleek new black stove. It did take some time to get this stove to it's final resting place as there was a "platform" that was infringing on it's ability to sit on the floor. But, Ma & Pa H have a new friend, Handyman Dave, who brought his supercool "Sawzall" (a reciprocating saw) that did the trick! He had the wooden platform out in about 20 minutes, even with the battery dying on his tool. They asked him to come back in a few weeks to help with the attic vents.

How to Save $175 Plus

2007-09-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

1. Get a "Do-it-yourself-home-wiring" book
2. Have determination and guts to cut holes in the drywall of your house
3. If the electrician tells you "no," do it anyway...

Well, that is the premise for how Pa H put in the wiring for the living room ceiling fan. Ma H didn't get too mad at the four holes that were left in the walls since they saved money on it anyway. (Except that she will have to paint the living room too, now.) And, oh yes, the electrician did come, but he had less to do thanks to Pa H's nifty new skills at home wiring. Pa H also put in a new electrical outlet in the kitchen that will be dedicated to the new space saver microwave. The electrician's estimate was 7 hours of labor and he suggested against it, due to $70/hour for his workers. But, Pa H was undetered and put in the hours himself to run a new circuit line to the kitchen. Needless to say, where there's a will, there's a way.

The electrical work is mostly done now, with new outlets in both bathrooms rounding off the improvements. The next big HIP will be the insulation that needs to be added in the attic. Pa H has been working pretty hard in my attic lately, drilling vent holes, and sealing up the cracks. Yup, this is going to be a good winter, I think. Everything good and sealed with a warm blanket of new insulation to keep my family warm.

9 Gallons of Paint, 4 Ceiling Fans and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

2007-09-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's not Christmas yet, but there sure is a lot of shopping going on. I have seen Ma and Pa H come home with stuff from Home Depot at least 3 times this week! They bought paint & primer for about half the house, ceiling fans for most of the rooms, another garage door opener, and lots of other little things. The wallpaper has come down in the master bathroom. with pink paint learking underneath. Even the wallpaper in one of the spare bedrooms is coming down and it has been on my walls since the 60's. Oh yeah, lot's of changes still to come.

Just today, I think I saw Santa Claus come through the house. Ma & Pa H are looking at getting some electrical work done, so they had a guy come in to do an estimate. He had a long white/gray beard and was a rather rotund fella, so I don't know how he will get around up in the attic, but somehow I'm sure he'll manage. Also, a young fella came and gave us an estimate on insulation for the attic. Looks like we can get up to R38 fairly easily.

Oh by the way, Ma H's camera broke, so there may not be too many pictures for a while until she gets it fixed. The End.

Houseguest

2007-09-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Surprise, surprise, Ma and Pa H had thier first houseguest come and stay with them this weekend. His name is Mr. Iba and he is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. He is visiting while his Master, Ma H's brother, is out of town this weekend. He is housebroken (thankfully) and doesn't bark too much, except for when he gets locked in his cage and left alone. He loves to run outside and play with a little orange ball. He follows Pa H all over the house and whines when he goes into the garage or somewhere little doggies shouldn't go.

One other thing you should know about Mr. Iba is that he likes to eat small metal objects. In just the past few days, Ma and Pa H have found screws, paper clips, bobbie pins, pennies and a variety of other little things in the mouth of this guy. I guess he thinks he is not getting enough iron in his diet or something.

I think this will be a good learning experience to help Ma and Pa H decided what kind of dog they want to get when things settle down a bit with all the house projects. It would be so fun to have a little friend around while the H's are gone most of the day at work. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy....

Saying Goodbye

2007-09-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

The same time that Pa H was busy with his projects at Coolidge, Ma H was scrubing down and cleaning out their previous home, a duplex on Murdock street. "This was the first home we knew as a married couple, and so it is kind of special to me. I remember when we were looking for a place to live just a few months before the wedding. This was one of the first apartment/duplexes we looked at. I knew it when we walked in that this was going to be our new home. It was very surreal and exciting all at the same time. We looked at a few other places, but nothing had quite the same charm as this little home and we snached it up right away! I think I'm going to miss it a little," Ma H said of the place. Pa H was not as sentimental and as he was already thinking ahead to all the projects to be conquered at the Coolidge home, and didn't have much to say for the place. So here is one last glimps of the Murdock duplex were good times were had over the past year and a half. Goodbye!

HIP #2 and #3

2007-09-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after Ma and Pa H moved in, they noticed that the shower heads were not quite adequate. In the master bathroom, the shower just drip, drip, dripped. Not so much fun to shower under. The other shower head spewed water out around the shower head, not through it. So, yes, the next project (HIP #2) was to fix the showerheads so Ma and Pa H could get a real good cleanin'. The master bath showerhead was a really simple replacement. Unscrew the old one, screw on the new one. Easy as pie. The second showerhead was not to easy. It was originally just a bath that had been converted to a shower, so there was a pipe that ran from the faucet up to the place where the showerhead comes out. Unscrewed the old one, but this time the threads came out of the pipe too. Uh-ohh. Now what? So, Pa H spent some time trying to figure out what replacement was needed. Lukily, the handy hardware store, Sutherlands, is only a short 5 minute bike ride away. Sutherlands had a complete shower fixture replacement, including a new showerhead, faucet and pipe...not exactly what Pa H was looking for. Ma H had a really great idea though to just replace the end piece with a threaded adapter. They found the right piece, used a little plumber's epoxy... and walla, the new showerhead is now working. Yeah!!

In the meantime, Pa H did a fantastic job on HIP #3, the garage door opener. Ma H was really impressed with her husband's skills at installing a gararge door opener. It took several hours, but Pa H said the instructions were very straightforward and easy to follow. And now, the North garage door opens with a push of the button! The South garage door already has an opener, installed in the 70's, they think. It will be the focus of a future project to remove it and replace it with one similar to the other side.

Home Improvement Project (HIP) #1

2007-08-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

What do a dishwasher, a copper pipe and a blow torch have in common? Home Improvement Project (HIP) #1: Replacing the dishwasher. So, Ma and Pa H decided the appliances I came with were the wrong color and they would like to "upgrade." Well, I sensed this could mean something terrible for me, but I let them do it anyway. The beautiful new Kenmore refridgerator arrived and was easily able to slide into place. The plan for the new Whirlpool dishwasher was to let Pa H install it. Well, on Sunday, Pa decided to get the dishwasher job done. After about 8 hours, 5 tries to hook up the water line, 3 trips to the hardware store and lots of frustration later, the dishwasher was finally "installed." My hardwood trim did get a knick from the repeated in and out of the dishwasher, but I didn't complain much. So, Pa said the first thing to do was to push a button. Button pushed, check. Dishwasher: nothing. "What is going on here?" they thought. Electrical, check. Water line, check. Okay, try again. Push button. Dishwasher: nothing. "Hummm....." Pa H says, "I'm going to bed now." The next morning, another check of the electrical connection revealed a lose spot that got reconnected. (I disconnected it to play a little trick on them. Hehe. ) Okay, one more time. Push button. Dishwasher: light comes on. "Yeah, it's working!" they shout. Okay, now let's run a cycle. Push "rinse." Dishwasher: no water rushing sound. "Hummmm...." Pa H says, "I'm going to work." Later, it was discovered that the copper water line was kinked and so that's why the water wasn't coming out. Pa H had done some research at work and had a brilliant idea. "I'm going to the hardware store." Okay, now he's got it figured out! Pa H comes back with a blow torch, a new valve, new piping, plumbing sandpaper, and this really cool flame resistant material. I'm starting to think Pa H knows what he is doing. He looks like a man with a plan and a purpose. About an hour later, the dishwasher is really "installed" this time with a brand new water line and valve. Push button. Dishwasher: lights up. Push "rinse" cycle: Water begins to fill the basin. Oh yes, Pa H has learned how to master the dishwasher installation! Ma H is now very happy that her dishwasher works and that her husband has done such a good job. What will the next HIP be for the Hardy House? Stay tuned for more adventures in home ownership.

Moving Day!

2007-08-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, a big orange truck pulled up on my driveway. It was filled with all kinds of wonders: furniture, books, boxes of rocks, and even a few big bouncy balls (for exercise.)

Then a bunch of sweaty people moved boxes into my rooms. Ma and Pa H sure do have a bunch of fantastic friends who helped them out.

The moving only took about 3 hours total because there were about a dozen people. The moving process was slightly interrupted when a wasp's nest was found above the front door. Our quick thinking hero, Mr. Sz, took care of those little pests in no time and saved the day!

After the stuff was all moved in, the rich aroma of pizza filled the air. Oh yes, the traditional moving lunch had arrived! It's amazing how a free lunch will bring on a crowd.

It was so great to have people and things inside my walls again. Ma H says, "It all fit." And Pa H says, "Cox is coming on Monday."

The First House of Hardy

2007-08-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi there! On Friday, August 10th, I got some new caretakers. When they entered my doors, it did not take long for Ma and Pa H to realize that I was a good fit for them. First of all, let me give you a little history. I was born in 1963 as a part of the Riverlawn edition in this northwest part of Wichita. We were on the outskirts of Wichita then, but it has grown so much over the years. My first family, the Custers, raised their kids here and always had wonderful meals made in my special GE range.

But times have changed, and my new caretakers are planning to give me a facelift in my little kitchen! I am so excited to see what colors they will choose. They said I could get new countertops and new floors too! Ma and Pa H have so many ideas on how they are planning to "fix me up." Of course, when the inspector checked me out they found out what a solid house I am. My roof was just redone last year after that nasty hailstorm. My foundation has no little cracks in it, but is solid as a rock. And, I have thus far avoided those pesky little termites. Ma and Pa H said I was a blessing to them.

On Sunday night, my new family set off this really stinky stuff in the house. They said they wanted to get rid of spiders or other creepy-crawlies. Last night, Ma H vaccuumed my floors all over. It felt good after being trampled on by so many would-be home buyers. But, my new caretakers have decided to be good stewards with me, to take care of me, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other homes until moving do we part.

Stay tuned. I will keep you updated on the progress of my little family and of my "facelift."