pic dump: as the renovation continues...

Here are some recent photos of the ongoing renovation project. As you'll see, Dad and Mom have been hard at work on the deck, having been conscripted by Mr. Jeong, whose contract doesn't include deck assembly. As a result, Dad has done the lion's share of joist- and post-cutting, and both he and Mom have spent hours putting in braces and learning all about Mr. Jeong's weird and wonderful power tools.

One of my favorite power tools is the pneumatic hammer, which you'll see in the photos below. You stick a nail into it so that the tip is pointing out, you press the nail onto the target surface, then let 'er rip. The loud tap-tap-tap of the hammer blats out like an immense fart, causing me no end of amusement. I wonder what the neighbors think.

Also below are pictures of the camp kitchen, which is now fully functional, though not Mom's favorite place to be. The kitchen is now well-protected from wind and weather (it survived yesterday's gusts just fine), but I don't think Mom likes crossing the distance from the house to the kitchen and back, especially when it's cold out. Can't say I blame her, but I've spent the last several months exposed to the elements, so I don't really care that much about a breezy fifteen-yard walk.

Dad, who still doesn't cook, professes amazement at what Mom and I have produced in that kitchen, but if Dad did cook he'd know that it's not a magical process at all. We're on our way to using up our enormous store of food; below, you'll see a picture of a collaborative bit of "surf n' turf" I whipped up with Mom's help: she provided the sweet potato and made the salad, while I grilled the steak and shrimp and made the salad's strawberry vinaigrette. If we weren't so tired all the time, I'd say, "Come on over and help eat us out of house and home!" We're practically "out of home" as it is!





















The pic below doesn't show it clearly, but that immense pile of books at the back of the utility room, flat against the wall where the oil tank used to be, represents all my work, one of the few tasks about which I can rightfully be proud. It took all day to move thousands of books-- some Dad's, most mine-- but it was worth it, as it helped clear out the basement. In the larger scheme of things, though, Dad and Mom are doing a lot more work than I am. They've thrown themselves into demanding tasks like carpet removal, wallpaper stripping and, as you've already seen, certain aspects of deck assembly.



One more comment about the above picture: poor Aunt Gertrude! The woman deserves better treatment. She used to hang in a place of honor in our living room, but now she's relegated to keeping watch over our water heater and furnace. One day soon, she'll be back where she belongs.







A comment about the above pic: as you can see, the kitchen wasn't completely tarped over. The dining fly, essentially a gigantic mosquito net, was still exposed on its eastern and western sides, and there was no protective covering for the northern side, i.e., the entrance. This has since been taken care of. The ridge pole at the front of the tent was also taken out to allow the tarp to droop during the rain, adding a tad bit more protection. As of this writing, the kitchen is now a true pojang-macha. There's absolutely no wind when you're inside the tent.



I think the above kitchen, built by Mom, represents her lack of enthusiasm about going outside to use the other kitchen. I asked her if she wanted me to take the camp kitchen down, but she waved her hand dismissively.



Below are shots of what Dad called "literally the first fruits of the kitchen." I made breakfast for the parents: omelettes, toast, and a fruit bowl that included a chocolate sampler (Halloween candy lying around) and a chunk of Gouda.



Actually, I served Mom and Dad before I thought to take a picture of the meal, so what you see, above and below, is my meal.





Above: deck assembly continues. What you're looking at, in this series of pictures, is the process of laying out the undergirding framework for the deck. The deck itself is a prefab, pre-ordered kit that simply requires snap-in assembly, according to Mr. Jeong. I'll be participating in that project because of the lifting it involves. The deck material won't be normal wood, but some sort of pressure-treated and chemically enhanced composite that will require little to no maintenance, and which should be easy to repair, Lego-style, should any parts get damaged over the course of time.

Below: Mom with that nifty pneumatic hammer. She accidentally shot a nail across the yard-- a scary experience for her, but amusing for us guys. No one was hurt.







The above photo was dinner two nights ago. Many thanks to Dad for starting up the grill. In case you're interested: the steak was from a Costco package of New York strips-- six to a box, or something like that. I grilled two, one for me and one for Dad. Grilling the steaks simply involved rubbing salt and pepper into them and letting Mother Nature do the rest. The shrimps were a bit different; for those, I used a combination of salt, pepper, parsley, garlic, and butter. I layered tin foil onto half of the grill to keep those little guys from falling through. Dad had said "yes" to my suggestion of sprinkling bleu cheese onto the steaks, so I put the cheese onto the grilled steaks, layered the shrimp on top of that, and voilà-- family-style surf n' turf. Mom made the salad and microwaved the sweet potato that served as a baked potato surrogate; I had made the strawberry vinaigrette about a week ago, and it was still good.

More pics to come; the main basement and the Dungeon have been drywalled, so we now have the beginnings of a solid ceiling downstairs. What happens next, though, has everyone talking in fearful whispers because the basement is about to become almost totally uninhabitable.

Apparently, the cracks between the drywall panels will need filling, as the panels don't fit together with absolute precision. Given the nature of drywall, absolute precision is nearly impossible to achieve, hence the need to fill the gaps with some sort of goo. Once the filler hardens, some of it will have begun sagging due to gravity, creating unsightly bulges that will need to be sanded down.

It's the sanding-down process that has everyone fearful, because every renovation story we've heard goes the same way: the micro-particles are so light that they just hang in the air for an eternity. You don't want to be in the area, breathing that stuff in, nor do you want those particles getting into your electronics, or your furniture, or least of all, your carpet. We were asked by Mr. Jeong whether we planned to change out our current carpet for a new one. The parents' reply was "no," given the expense. Mr. Jeong and his team gave us looks that said, "OK; it's your funeral."

So we have to start thinking about either wrapping up the items that still remain in the basement (this includes the main entertainment center) or moving them somewhere safe. The carpet will have to fend for itself. I've assured the parents that my enormous Dirt Devil carpet cleaner-- a device I'd ordered from Amazon.com while I was living in a studio apartment close to Old Town Alexandria-- would be able to handle the mess if we did several thorough cleanings. Here's hoping I'm right.

Other major tasks still lie ahead. We have to clear out the attic soon; to this end, Dad has to go out and get more cargo skids on which to place all those boxes, and we need another mess of tarps and bungee cords. None of these items is cheap; tarps, even the flimsiest ones, can be about $25 per unit, and bungee cords are a lot more expensive than a pack of M&Ms. Also, the parents will be switching their phone and computer service entirely over to Verizon; that happens at the end of this month. Cox Cable isn't going to be happy; they still don't know about the switchover. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, eh?

The kitchen is a story in itself. The parents have ordered their new cabinets; I'm not sure whether they ordered the countertops for the main kitchen and the new island. The new oven and stovetop, LG products this time around, are being held for us at Home Depot; I don't remember what the parents had said about their new fridge (our third!). The new kitchen sink has arrived; it's sitting in the old dining room area, still inside its box. No idea what's happening with the flooring.

We've begun joking about whether we'll have a house in which to celebrate Thanksgiving. Mom has already gotten an offer from one of her Korean friends, Ms. Lee, to go celebrate at her house. I think it'd be nice if we could celebrate in our own house, but October is waning, and there's still so much to be done. It's going to be a photo finish. I'd like to show you pics of us inside our new dining room, sitting around a table covered in food made in our new kitchen. Otherwise, it's gonna be photos of makeshift tables made of unused drywall paneling and apple boxes, which is what we're currently using downstairs this weekend.


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