Picking a cold, damp and breezy day to clean the gutters
RichC | October 29, 2017
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Racking my brain to remember names from elementary school
RichC | October 25, 2017
My daughter Katelyn and I exchanged a few messages over the past couple of days that had me reminiscing and trying to remember names of a few kids when I was in grade school. It started visiting in Perrysburg last week watching Annalyn when Katelyn mentioned that a co-worker of hers and father went to […]
Weekend fence repair, wood splitting and chores update
RichC | October 24, 2017
A couple days late in posting, but the weather was ideal for jumping on a few chores before the weather turns sour. Since the lawn was still in pretty good shape, I was able to use those weekend hours to repair some of the nearly 2000 feet of 4-board fence that borders our backyard — […]
How many different kinds of critters?
RichC | October 8, 2017
While trying to keep the raccoons from “moving in” as the weather cools, I’ve been a little too successful recently. The past weeks score has been 2 raccoons, 2 opossums and a cat (second time for feral cat). This guy sure can jump! I was going to comment that we’ve seen an increase in number […]
Family weekend, a new Volkswagen and the prodigal son returns
RichC | August 29, 2017
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Key Lime Pie is a summer favorite
RichC | August 5, 2017
Ok, so the limes I’m squeezing are not truly “Key Limes,” but the the finished product is just as good. One of the “get ready” items before having the kids home for the weekend was to squeeze the limes so Brenda could make 3 Key Lime pies. It is a big favorite in our family […]
The BlueMax blue poly pipe continues to haunt #home #repairs
RichC | August 2, 2017
Once again we’re dealing with BlueMax pipe (polybutylene plumbing), this time thankfully it is not on our nickel or is due to a flooded basement. I notice water bubbling from the water meter pit in our yard yesterday and after Butler County came out to look at the meter, he knew right away it […]
TechFriday: Larger screened iPhones flipping to landscape
RichC | June 30, 2017
Switching from an iPhone 5s to an iPhone 7 Plus has a few surprising pluses and minuses that need to be address by new users. One such negative adjustment has a fix that on the surface may not be found by everyone. The annoyance: The larger iPhones (currently 6 Plus & 7 Plus) go into […]
Granite arrives: One step closer to having a usable kitchen again
RichC | April 21, 2017
Here’s a quick slideshow of photos updating the granite countertops to our kitchen remodel after they were installed this past week. Thankfully every measurement was “spot on” and the install went without a hitch (the photos make them look a lot darker than they really are). A couple photos show a sample of the new […]
Simple hack for cleaning the gutters
RichC | March 19, 2017
Although using a leaf blower may be more fun in cleaning the gutters, it can make a mess of everything below. I generally use rubber gloves, but in the end always slice them up and end up with a bare hand anyway. Here’s a great idea: Cut an anti-freeze or similar shaped plastic gallon jug […]
Pondering the last few items we still need for the kitchen project
RichC | March 8, 2017
While waiting for the new kitchen cabinets to be built and delivered, the final decisions need to be made on the under counter lighting, faucets and backsplash tiles. The latter has become quite the struggle. The kitchen designer who is helping has picked a glass tile with a tint of green, but the opinions from […]
Take two: Finally moving ahead on the kitchen project
RichC | January 28, 2017
Designer rendition Last summer we started to plan for a kitchen remodel as our "builder grade" cabinets and mishmash of appliances were in serious need of replacement. We updated our dishwasher and refrigerator already, but need to finish off the final stages once and for all. I’m currently working with a designer and close to […]
Painted and fitted the shelf storage in the laundry room
RichC | January 11, 2017
The long drawn out "laundry room upgrade" is finally finished as mentioned yesterday, but at least it improves and modernizes what we had. The old GE top-load washing machine was regularly being fixed and the dryer was long past it’s prime … but still working after the "bearing kit repair." The newer graphite color […]
Behind an American favorite TV show – Home Improvment
RichC | November 23, 2016
A little “behind the scenes” history and commentary from my family’s favorite TV show of the 1990s — Home Improvement. Of course anything that Tim Allen does is a favorite of mine. I love his current Last Man Standing show too.
Severed my final tie bringing me back to Sidney, Ohio this week
RichC | September 2, 2016
My brother and I closed our final chapter of "Our Life in Sidney, Ohio" this week after finalizing the sale of my parents home. The "young" new owners have some great plans for their first house and I’m sure will be very happy; it is a great place. They will return life back into the […]
Using Home Equity as a bank or as a credit card?
RichC | August 26, 2016
Using the equity in a home isn’t anything new, but I’m old enough to remember when "we" first started to tap into home equity with Home Improvement Loans. "Back in the day" IRS deductions for interest on consumer credit (car loans, revolving credit, signature loans) were being phased out for all but home mortgages. Creative […]
Great to have your kids appreciate #home
RichC | May 31, 2016
More to go … but recent evenings have been great for yardwork
RichC | April 26, 2016
Our lawn has never looked greener than this year (above, although cloudy in the photo) even if the landscaping and general cleanup leaves a lot to be desired. Which reminds me, we have a lot to do before calling it summer, but for now just getting the limbs and fallen trees cleaned up is […]
Spring weather is fickle — cold and snow or sunny and warm
RichC | April 17, 2016
What a difference a week can make come April here in Cincinnati. Last Saturday we woke up to snow (backyard photo below) and this weekend after cutting grass Friday night has the grass green and tulips blooming yesterday morning. Instead of shoveling snow that means yardwork and time to think about spring cleanup. Also wanted […]
Lost a few shingles due to high winds and a new roof
RichC | February 25, 2016
With the early springtime weather we have been having this February, and a new roof towards the end of last year, we lost a few shingles. It isn’t really a surprise since asphalt shingle need some hot sunny days in order to flex into position and tack themselves to each other. The recent winds came […]
Chimney repairs complete and it looks great too
RichC | January 9, 2016
Thankfully the weather held and the construction was able to continue on the chimney repairs. They completed the final soldering of seams on the stainless steel custom top this morning and were quick to show up and collect the check too. Although this was an expensive surprise after replacing the roof, I’m glad to have […]
The Chimney repairs continue while I play with the RPi
RichC | January 4, 2016
This post is more to test a “borrowed” wireless keypad that is set up on the Raspberry Pi — I’m not fond of the Logitech K400r. The photo to the left is part of the ongoing roof project and continuing chimney repair. In order test the Raspberry Pi’s image serving ability, I uploaded it from […]
Christmas 2015 – a family time
RichC | December 26, 2015
We had a wonderful family time on Christmas day. Taylor came after work on Christmas Eve day and Katelyn and Drew drove from Minneapolis after a half day of work (long day for them), so we were all home for Christmas morning. After our morning gift exchange, which was wonderful, although too much … we went outside and enjoyed […]
Working on the chimney chase with stone veneer
RichC | December 15, 2015
One of the issues we found when replacing our roof last month was a wobbly chimney chase for the fireplace in the house. The original fireplace has a stainless steel chimney that extends from the first floor through the second floor, the trusses and then the “chimney chase” on the roof. The builder must not […]
Fixing a skylight leak leads to replacing the roof on our home
RichC | November 16, 2015
Several of the homes in our neighborhood had some hail damage this summer … ours included. We had damage to the sky light area of our mud room and water has been seeping in when the wind is just right. Unfortunately our insurance would not pay the entire roof OR the entire repairs that we […]
Finally … we bought a new refrigerator
RichC | October 17, 2015
We waited long enough in deciding what to do with our 20+ year old KitchenAid refrigerator as the cheap paint fix can only do so much in extending the life of our old refrigerator. We opted for the Samsung that I’ve been sitting on the fence about for over a year and realized that we […]
The weather in Cincinnati this past weekend was spectacular
RichC | September 21, 2015
It was a beautiful late summer (barely) weekend to hang out around home. Brenda continued her rehab exercises while planning a mid-October return to work, while I enjoyed working around the yard. We both took one more swim in the pool for 2015, watched the Bengals win and enjoyed a gorgeous Sunday evening with a […]
Brenda continues her recovery and new trees planted
RichC | September 14, 2015
As mentioned previously, we made our annual tree purchase this weekend (Swamp White Oaks), as well as added a couple clearance Hydrangeas. Who knows, we may live long enough to see a few mature hardwood trees in our backyard? Also, I can report positively on Brenda‘s recovery … she is now walking (with cane or […]
Purchased a couple new Swamp White Oak trees for the yard
RichC | September 13, 2015
Back in 2009, I purchase eleven small year-end-clearance trees from my brother’s home nursery – NativeOhioPlants.com. We had mixed success in that our deer population enjoys both eating the new growth and “deer rubbing” the branches and bark. Unfortunately it killed or mangled more than half the trees that we planted. Since it is autumn […]
Building a Carpenter Bee Trap — Thanks Tim!
RichC | May 17, 2015
Here are instructions for a simple, but effective carpenter bee trapLINK
A dead tree, or two, or three, makes for a big expense
RichC | May 2, 2015
] It is pretty easy to tell that we had a little tree trimming done … but what is not as as easy to tell is how many dollars a few dead and dying trees cost to have cut down … $4000 plus tax! OUCH! I’m usually the ambitious sort when it comes to tree […]
Personal: We moved my dad from rehab to assisted living
RichC | April 17, 2015
I don’t think many of us are properly prepared to make the decisions that are needed to care for elderly parents. Even though my brother and I have been through medical needs, nursing and then hospice care for my mom, we were still not knowledgeable when it came to handling dad. Thankfully, if you have […]
No swimming in the pool yet as there is still snow in the forecast
RichC | March 20, 2015
One of our resident and noisy Mallard ducks woke me up early this morning. He thinks it is time for us to uncover the pool so he can take his partner for a swim as in years past (Link one and two). It’s still early since snow is still being seen across our latitude.
How to idea – Cleaning hard water stains from porcelain
RichC | January 31, 2015
The inexpensive miracle cleaner and kitchen staple known as vinegar has hundreds if not thousands of uses … but few of those uses are as helpful as cleaning and dissolving hard water calcium build up. I use a vinegar mix regularly for window washing, as a way to keep the shower and shower head free […]
Extending the life of our old refrigerator
RichC | January 6, 2015
Back in November I mentioned that I was “backpedaling” before buying a new refrigerator for our kitchen. We decided not to do anything before the holidays and so I figured rather than live with our ugly looking broken refrigerator that I could at least touch up the paint and put in a new light bulb. […]
So much for cheering on global warming. Winter has arrived.
RichC | November 17, 2014
I was hoping the global warming climate change gurus were right … and that at least those of use living in the midwest would have a little longer autumns and milder winters. Just joking, if you are planning to remind me just how serious an issue climate change is. Nevertheless, winter weather has arrived in […]
Refrigerator shopping again, this time for the house
RichC | November 13, 2014
Last year about this time (almost exactly this time) I was shopping for a refrigerator to replace the very old one down in the Florida condo. Ever since then, the aging white Kitchen Aid refrigerator in our house just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore … even though it still keeps the condiments it cool. Ok, […]
Pending Sale: Learn as you go when self-selling a home
RichC | November 6, 2014
After attempting to sell my mother-in-law’s western New York home by using a realtor this summer, the family has decided to forgo the continued “professional” listing and instead do a FSBO listing … handing it off to yours truly. What are they thinking??? I’ve taken on the project and will “learn as I go” (advice […]
Archiving Bing maps aerial photos before they are gone
RichC | October 13, 2014
Before my childhood home photos are gone from Bing’s Maps, I wanted to archive a couple aerials of the house where I grew up in a rural Curtice, Ohio on Lake Erie. Although my family moved to the “metropolis” of Sidney Ohio when I was in high school, my fondest memories were of growing […]
Our 2014 drainage repair projects are finally finished
RichC | September 21, 2014
It has been a beautiful weekend to work on a few yard projects as the weather was warm, but not hot. A new drain has been on the list for a while, but the trigger stimulated the repair was when I hit the old plastic components with the lawn mower, shattering the grate and the […]
Down the Drain – The downspout and sump drain project
RichC | September 20, 2014
Way back in May I hired a company to fix our downspout and sump pump drains that more than likely have been invaded by roots (also possible to have been crushed?) The company I hired, with a substantial deposit … I’m nicknaming them “Down the Drain” … made excuse after excuse as the summer months […]
Added a new fuel filter to our John Deere 330
RichC | August 11, 2014
One of the small projects this past weekend was to replace the plastic disposable fuel filter on my John Deere 330 a new inexpensive diesel fuel filter (less than $10). The new filter has a glass site tube and fits my modified fuel lines. The element inside this small filter is replaceable (3 for […]
Using roller casters to increase the height of and old table
RichC | July 17, 2014
When the rain came this past week, I turned to an indoor project that we’ve been tossing around: “How to aesthetically increase the height of an antique table?” After toying with a couple ideas for increasing the height of my mother-in-laws old table that we now have in our kitchen, I opted for adding ball […]
Loafing … or living a dog’s life
RichC | June 24, 2014
Our dog Tootsie is content to sleep most of her day away on the cement floor rather than patrolling the property as she did years ago. I suppose having failing eyes, being deaf and nearly 16 earns her the perquisite of spending hot summer days lazing on the cool garage floor? (she didn’t even wake […]
Family weekend and visited a “first house” project
RichC | March 24, 2014
It was a whirlwind week ending visit for Taylor as he was home from North Dakota for a visit with his friends in Cincinnati, Oxford (Miami University) and Cleveland. He also found time for family and picked up sister Katelyn in Columbus on his return from Cleveland. He drove her home for the weekend as […]
Spring as sprung and flowers are blossoming everywhere
RichC | April 22, 2013
Although we were hoping the tulips would be in bloom for Katelyn and Drew’s wedding (tulips for the “Dutch” Oostra … not that it mattered), they didn’t quite start blossoming until the other day. In fact everything is now blooming and the smells are fantastic. Even the less desirable “flowers!” (below)
Repaired a long overdue dripping faucet this past weekend
RichC | March 11, 2013
After 30 years of replacing seats, springs and stems in Delta style faucets, I had my first Moen cartridge repair this weekend. Ours has been dripping for about a year now (hot side only) and after the basement flooding I’ve decided it was time to finally fix this kitchen faucet too. The all in one […]
Home repair and wedding projects continue this weekend
RichC | February 23, 2013
Although I’m not really accomplishing much this Saturday morning, I am working on a few projects. Little things like setting the type and printing the dinner menus (PDF) for Katelyn and Drew’s wedding and creating the type mask for a sign project are going ok, but without the basement workshop being back together, it is […]
They don’t make them like they used to: Electric clothes dryers
RichC | February 18, 2013
When we were first married, we had an old hand-me-down clothes dryer from my in-laws … along with an electric “Maytag ringer washer” that came with our first house. The dryer was about 20 years old when we first started using it and lasted another 15 years or so and could be easily self-repaired. When […]
My depressing and nonstop day going through wet boxes
RichC | February 9, 2013
If you have ever experience a flooded basement, you know what I’m doing today … well this entire weekend and well into next week! It has been a busy, nonstop day hauling up soggy boxes and one of the few days that I’m sure Brenda is glad to be working! I’m kicking myself for the […]
Basement woes – we should just get a big dumpster
RichC | February 8, 2013
What a mess! As we continue the “dry out” process for the basement after the failed BlueMax water pipe, our piles of basement stored possessions is making me rethink the material lifestyle we live. From Barbie dolls to “antique” computer gear … why did we buy so much and why are we packing up […]
A failed BlueMax water pipe and a basement full of water
RichC | February 7, 2013
Well I probably shouldn’t say "a basement FULL of water," but when coming home from a week vacation and finding water covering the floor makes it feel like the basement was FULL of water! We stumbled in last night after a day of travel pretty much ready for bed, only to find "water, water, everywhere" […]
Birds often sit on our roof, but rarely Great Blue Herons
RichC | November 6, 2012
Our resident Great Blue Heron has decided to take up a new perch which irritates our dog Tootsie to no end. I’m not particularly happy with the dropping on the roof either, but having a large bird like this sitting on one’s roof does make for an impressive sight when driving up the driveway (unlike […]
Sticky paint and trying to take advantage of our Indian summer
RichC | October 27, 2012
This past week offered up the last of Indian summer unless something in the forecast changes and Brenda and I have appreciated the warmer weather, beautiful sunsets (driving by VOA park above) and evenings to work on projects. Besides finishing the downspout and sump pump drain lines, I’ve also replaced and grouted the broken […]
Weekend round up and a Bengal loss to the Steelers … again
RichC | October 22, 2012
I planned visiting my mom and home projects (and football watching) perfectly around the weather this past weekend. Saturday was a bit gloomy with a few sprinkles for my nursing home visit with my mom. She is doing pretty well considering she is being turned every couple hours and bedridden. Her mind is sharp and […]
Sealed the rear driveway and admired the fall colors
RichC | October 18, 2012
Projects are getting done one at a time before winter arrives, but seems as soon as I can check one off the list, two more need to be done. I’ve been repairing the tiles on the pool before closing for the season and on Wednesday evening sealed the new front porch pavers since I’m in […]
Needed maintenance has me really wanting improvements
RichC | September 18, 2012
An article on “do-it-yourself” home improvement ideas for empty-nesters caught my eye since we’re at a place where updates and repairs are on my mind. I currently need to work on the pool tiles before closing, painting is an ongoing update and I know our AC and furnace are showing signs of age … unfortunately […]
Archiving a few late summer photo over the last few days
RichC | September 5, 2012
I’m on the road today day and adding this as a filler post for Wednesday … but I wanted to archive a few recent photos (maybe the last few with my Palm Pre?). First, the drought across the country has had a serious impact on corn as well as other crops. Here in Ohio the […]
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.