Sunday, January 13, 2008

Boots for Europe



Sweet! Yesterday I got me some thermal and waterproof boots on deep discout sale at Nordstrom Rack -- paid $20 a pair. I'm breaking them in now for the walking of Rome and Paris.

I guess I went on a bit of a spending spree this weekend. Yesterday I bought a sweet sounding acoustic/electric Epiphone guitar so me and Mark can jam together to the cool new learn guitar cd he got. He plays pretty good already, which is kind of amazing, considering he hasn't played for years. Yesterday he showed me how to play Blowing in the Wind. He just figured it out. He's a natural.

Then I spotted an awesome Granny rocker chair on Craigslist for $50. I've been needing my own chair for a while -- the girls sprawl on the sofa and kind of take it over. I've been sitting in a bean bag for a while. My sweet granny chair is much better.

In other reports, I've been spending the past few weeks fixing up a few little house problems. A corner of our concrete slab in the basement was crumbling, so I patched it up with some concrete patch. On more little piece to go before I'm done.





Also, there were two holes in the wall where windows used to be. The previous owners just nailed some boards over them. I installed some high-grade insulation, so now it's less chilly down there. I'm going to wallboard over this next week probably. I'm trying to decide between your basic drywall, or putting up blueboard and plastering over that. I've been intrigued by plaster, and have wanted to try working with it for a while... thoughts?


Also, I've been regrading the bottom of the driveway, which has about 3 inches of topsoil grown over it. The runoff from the driveway is spilling into the garage. So far all my regrading hasn't worked. Might have to install a French drain.


9 comments:

Mark said...

Man, what a post. You put me to shame.

In other updates, I've been sitting on my ass.

mich said...

Jeez, Michelle. Will you be my second husband?

Janice said...

I've patched plaster before but never made a plaster wall. I think the key is layers so it hardens and doesn't flow. plaster lets you round corners which is way cool.

freda said...

What is blue board and what is a French drain? wallboard is much faster and easier than plastering, and when you are finished you can use mud (plaster) to even out the join.I have plastered (the house in Virginia, not a whole wall a good size hole)and yes, the trick is layers, thin layers, and let it dry in between layers. when you are finished you can come work on my house. by the way, why do you need those awesome boots to go to Rome and Paris? It doesn't get that cold.

Michelle said...

Hey mom,

mud isn't plaster, it's mud. Plaster is another thing entirely. It's got a delicate mixing process and a limited time period during which you can apply it. It's also more soundproof and hardy than mud, and can be fashioned in more artistic ways, as Janice points out. Blue board is the form of drywall that's designed for plaster applications. And dude, I needed those awesome boots because I figure it might be snowing or raining over there. Last time we went to Italy, Mark had his waterproof boots on and I had soggy feet. I'd rather have the same dry comfort Mark kept reminding me he was enjoying, than a repeat on the soggy feet ...

Anonymous said...

Wow, Michelle. I'm exhausted! You deserve 'my kind of chair'.

Your shopping spree sounds like a lot more fun. Love the boots!

As for the 'natural' on the guitar - have him teach you his genius composition of years back called, 'Time in a Bottle'. You should take your guitars to Europe. If you run low on cash you could find a busy corner to play. Put a hat on the sidewalk.

Fun post. Sounds like a jump'n place.

freda said...

soggy feet, yes that is a bummer. those boots look like they will keep you nice and dry. OK, what is a French drain. I guess I can look it up on google.

Ronelle said...

Those boots are made for walkin...

BTW - A friend who is visiting southern Italy now reports that is has been SNOWING there. Good call on the boots.

freda said...

hey M&M, I went to the post office to pick up my mail which was on hold while I was away. My official M&M calendar was waiting for me, thank you, I love it, and the card too. love you.