house log.

Merrystar and I have this huge framed poster hanging in our living room that we know nothing about. She picked it up in the Netherlands sometime in the late nineties. We don’t know the artist, or the name of the print, but would dearly love to find other works by this person.

If you know anything about this picture, please drop me a note or leave a comment on the linked Flickr page. Thanks!

Via Jeff: Repair Clinic.

Sweeeeet!

Icemaker’s broken. Refrigerator is a year and a half old.

Foxtrot!

• Christmas tree is up.
• Old (3 years) lights blown, replaced with fancy LEDs which I now adore.
• Older (30 years) lights safely stored away for future color matching and tales about the tough old days of Christmas past.
• Dining room rearranged.
• Kitchen rearranged.
• TV moved.

And, no surprise:

• My back is not very happy with me.

Guess what I get to read up on today? Prevention of woodpecker damage!

Tip: Owls don’t work. Use hawks.

Siding’s fixed. Actually, it was fixed about a month and a half ago, but I didn’t think to mention it because…

…well, because it’s siding, frankly, and once it was fixed I moved on to painting the master bedroom. Which was a fiasco. Duron changed their base non-VOC paint, so the colors were different, and I cut in with an old paint can…

Did I mention the vaulted ceiling, too? I really enjoyed cutting that in twice.

Then the closets got painted.

And the trim.

Then the bathroom got recaulked, desk got repainted, etc., etc., etc..

And now it’s time for gardening!

(The to-do list never, ever ends, does it?)

Uh oh.

Anyone know a good siding repair contractor in the DC area?

(I will not say: ‘I’m beside myself.’ No matter how tempting it is.)

After months of no progress, I can finally check off another room from my to-paint list. And it was a doozy - our bookroom. I did one wall last weekend to test out the color (“Candlebark”) so Merrystar and I could decide we actually liked it. My father-in-law came up this weekend and we polished off the remaining walls - unfortunately, those were the ones with all the bookcases against them. (Ow, my back, by the way.) Why couldn’t we collect feathers or something a little lighter?

Remaining on the list - master suite (cathedral ceiling, ick), two bathrooms, my office, and some closets. Oh, and optionally the garage. Not so long a list as we had a year ago, and a good thing too. Going to have to start making up the nursery soon enough…

Termites. In the front garden bed.

Ugh.

GardenWeb.com

The Onion | IKEA Claims Another 10,000 Lifestyles:

ATLANTA--IKEA, the rapidly growing Swedish retailer of inexpensive home furnishings, claimed another 10,000 American lifestyles in 2003, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Interior Design Control.

“This epidemic of self-assembled, clean-lined modernist furniture is still largely contained to densely populated urban areas, but the danger exists that it will spread to other regions throughout America,” CIDC spokesman Chris Greeves said Tuesday. “At the rate it’s moving, our nation could suffer European levels of Scandinavian design within a decade.”

Wasps all gone. Carpenter bee relocated.

Thanks, Beekeepers (800-496-2337)! (They may only be in the Washington DC area.)

Oh dear.

Welcome to Sandhill Industries, 100% Recycled Glass Tiles.

I think they might be paper wasps - they’ve got really long bodies, and some are orange and some are yellow. There don’t seem to be any short, stubby yellowjackets.

I thought paper wasps didn’t nest inside walls, though?

• Google Answers: Bee’s, wasp or hornet’s nest removal
• Yellowjackets and Other Social Wasp Management Guidelines
• School Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Wasps and Bees
• WASP AND BEE CONTROL
• Paper wasp - Wikipedia

Yesterday, while performing the annual spring ritual of washing and waxing both YAH and YJM, I noticed that we have a lot of wasps and yellowjackets interested in my house. A lot of wasps.

So I spent a bit of time watching them this morning, as they flew in and around my second-story window, investigating drain pipes, occasionally flying off towards the woods behind our house. I then sat at that window from the inside until I figured out that they’ve moved into the exterior walls of my home. It’s only a matter of time before they figure a way inside, which means they have to die.

I’m willing to live and let live with just about anything so long as they stay out of my home. But once they cross that line, that’s it. If I can’t shoo them out, they have to go. I made my first wasp trap this morning; I just hope I don’t turn into Bill Murray’s character in Caddyshack trying to get rid of these bastards.

There’s another one! Brazenly flying up to my window and crawling into the wall, where do you think you’re going?

Natural wasp control has been added to the honeydo list, somewhere near the top:

You may be able to locate the nest by observing the flight patterns of the wasps: if they are flying in a straight line, they’re likely on a flight path to or from the nest. Wasps flying directly in and out of a single location may be entering and leaving their nest.

Before approaching the nest, be sure to wear protective clothing that covers the whole body, including gloves and a veil which covers the face, ears and neck. Wear several layers of shirts and pants. Tape clothing cuffs at wrists and ankles close to your body. Check carefully to ensure there are no exposed parts of the body; wasps may target even the smallest exposed areas.

Wait until well after dark before removing the nest. Wasps are drowsy and slower to react during the night, but you should still exercise caution during the nest removal process. Use a headlamp if you have one, otherwise have a helper to hold a flashlight for you. You’ll need both hands free. Filter the flashlight by wrapping the lens with red cellophane or thin red cloth, as wasps are attracted by yellow light. Step lightly and try not to talk when approaching the nest; wasps are sensitive to vibrations.

New Flotsam: home improvement pictures! With rabbits!

Ooo. Recycled glass pavers.

Next big project: flooring.