Assembling a Treadmill? Read the Instructions!

I bought a treadmill on Friday, after a finger wagging session with my wonderful doctor. For a number of reasons, walking outdoors (which I LOVE) is not an option most of the time. In fact, I had wanted a treadmill for a long time.

Things got silly, just trying to bring it home. We ended up with THREE vans: my van (known as the the Gramma van)  is filled with seats, a wheelchair (Mr Periwinkle — for Clive Cussler fans LOL) and a pink walker named Rosie. The dog van, and obvious choice has only front seats(so Mr. Dog can be transported) BUT the weather was 22 degrees, snowing, AND windy and the doors froze shut. Only the two front doors could be opened, and then only after much finger crossing and many warm, fuzzy thoughts!

Fortunately, my sister and her family were visiting and they had a smaller mini van. We moved stuff around, put down the rear seats and slid that puppy in!

My B-i-L and nephew carried the huge box up the porch steps and stood the box on its side in the front hall.

Saturday afternoon, I moved furniture in the extremely small TV room (I want to watch TV and walk, of course) and Jeffrey did some additional tweaking later that day. Luigi (all 175 or so pounds of him) was in seventh heaven because there was a large space in the middle of the room to arrange his bone collection (he has 7 or so beef bones to chew contemplatively) and to lie down.

That doggy joy was short lived however.

At about 1:30 PM on Sunday Jeffrey and I dragged the box into the TV room. We had to shut Mr. Dog out, so he headed to his nest in the living room, most unhappy.

With direction in hand, we unpacked the box and started assembly. With my building and drafting experience, I was Tech Director for the project. The directions were actually not too bad. They provided 1:1 scale outlines of the screws, bolts and washers, which was a wonderful help. We ended up with 2 extra parts, not mentioned in the instructions. Jeffrey wordlessly handed me the bag with the parts, the instructions, and went out to the front porch for a smoke! I had to find them in the exploded diagrams. They were cup holder related, btw.

It ended up taking us a bit over 2 1/2 hours, with no fights or arguments and only one laughing jag. Unfortunately, we were doing heavy lifting when the laughing jag started… All in all, it was a pretty easy process. It DOES take two people, both capable of lifting heavy things . I am really glad it didn’t need to happen on late on Christmas Eve.

The treadmill works well, the room is REALLY crowded and Mr. Dog is back to having limited space. I need to scooch down in my chair and look under Teddy’s console to see the TV, but I can live with that!

I got a ProForm 505 CST and I have named him, Teddy. I have already walked 1 1/2 miles and will be heading to the back of the house for lunch and a walk (on Teddy) as soon as I post this!

Yay, Teddy!

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

I get emotionally attached to some of my tools. I have my favorite straight blade screwdriver sitting in one of my pencil cups here on my desk. It went thru college, grad school, and many years of work as a designer, Technical Director, and union stage hand. It has a myriad of paint colors on the handle, because I used it to open paint cans when I worked as a scenic artist. I stole it from my dad. I didn’t like the way the Craftsman screwdrivers fit my hand, so this was the one I used most often…

In college, my parents bought me a used drafting table. it was one of the big ones — 60″– with four drawers. I spent a summer working to buy a cover, sliding straightedge and other related equipment. It has gone everywhere with me until now…

My Mom is coming home from the hospital (we hope) and needed to have a bedroom on the ground floor. My canvas painting studio was the obvious room. I had the drafting table and a large light table (home made but good LOL) and, one of them had to go. The light table is also a 60″ with drafting straightedge, so it can be used to tracing OR drafting. This meant that it is the obvious keeper.

So… the drafting table got sent to the EKU Theatre Department. It was very tough, watching it loaded into the van.

Jeffrey had unloaded its contents and I was fretting about where my proportional divider was — another tool to which I am emotionally attached. I have used the proportional divider for so many tasks over the years. Jeffrey was kind enough to find the proportional divider so now it is sitting in front of my on my desk, under the monitors.

The light table is now upstairs, and the downstairs room is almost ready for Mom, but I still keep thinking about that drafting table and all of my personal history directly related to it!

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

Toilet Repairs Made Easy

We have a lovely new toilet in the recently renovated bathroom in our 100 year old house. I really appreciate how much better it works than the old one it replaced. I really like how it looks, as well. It is very sculptural and appeals to my designer’s eye.

That’s why I was surprised when I flushed it this morning and it sounded different. Now, let me take a moment here to say that while I am TOTALLY unmusical, I am attuned to sounds. In fact, I once diagnosed a loose bit in a router from across a scene shop… it just didn’t sound right.

The second time I flushed the toilet this morning (actually 5 minutes ago) it REALLY didn’t sound right! I quickly backtracked and saw that something was wrong… the water streaming across the floor was my first clue, and the face full of water I got when I lifted the tank lid made it definitive! In fact, I would say that the toilet practically blew up.

I ran upstairs to the laundry to get an older towel (the towels in the bathroom are the new ones that match the renovation) and handymen, if you aren’t particularly aware, using the NEW towels is not appreciated… not pointing fingers here, just offering a woman’s perspective. In this case, I carefully chose one of the green towels that doesn’t look good in the new bathroom, leaving the green towel that DOES look good.

As the water died down I looked in the tank and could see the problem. The narrow tube that brings the water into the tank was hanging loose and squirting water EVERYWHERE. Imagine crazed hose in silly video!

Looking around I surmised that the tube (actually, the *Bowl Refill Tube*) had come unclipped but I didn’t know WHAT it needed to be clipped TO. I suspected that it need to be clipped to the vertical tube with the water level mark (called the *Overflow Tube*, as I learned shortly) but I wasn’t sure. I also didn’t know whether it needed to be clipped for the water to flow INTO the overflow tube.

I headed online (Yes, I am an information junkie and I LOVE being able to research anything in the world so quickly).

I did a quick Google. It took me a couple of tries to word my query so that I got the right information. What I needed was a clear diagram showing the relationship of the bowl refill tube and the overflow tube.

I found a great one here:

http://www.toilet-repairs.com/

I headed back into the bathroom and clipped the bowl refill tube onto the overflow tube, so that the water flowed INTO the overflow tube. Now that I have seen the side view, it is easy to understand how it all works and see that the water needs to flow into the overflow tube. In my defense, peering down into a water squirting maelstrom, it is not as obvious! LOL

Next, I put the lid back on the toilet and — pay attention here, handymen — I picked up the wet towel and carried it to the laundry room and CAREFULLY DRAPED it over the washing machine so it could dry out. Trust me on this, part of the Fix-it process is to PROPERLY disposing of the accoutrements used in the rescue!

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

Makita LXFD01CW Big Savings While Supplies Last

This is a Gold Box sale so it is only available today and while supplies last! The savings are pretty good, so if the Makita LXFD01CW has been on your wishlist, this may be the time to grab it.

OK I have to admit…

As a tool geek, June is my favorite month and Father’s Day is my favorite holiday!

Why? you may ask… after all I am not a father (and actually, to be accurate, I am not a mom either! LOL)

This is my favorite time of year because of all of you wonderful men who ARE Dads… and to Father’s Day — with all of the WONDERFUL tools sales and deals! *VeryBigGrin*

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

It is a Modern Classic and dates back to 1955.

While its appearance is simple, its construction methods are not. Incorporating technology such as pressed and formed plywood, here is a fascination video showing exactly HOW the Series 7 chair is made.

Of course, I wish that they had given a bit more detail about the actual construction methods used and a little less *ART and MUSIC*, but it is well worth watching, none the less.

Here is another video that I found with additional information. The plywood has a layer of cotton to give it additional strength… who’da thunk?

And if you are inspired afterward, check out the actual Series 7 Chair HERE

… and HERE

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

It all started with a new nickel finished faucet.

Actually, the faucet to the left isn’t the exact faucet, but it is pretty close.

As some of you may remember, the Christmas Elf spent is Christmas break re-doing our main family bath. He is a college professor so he has nice chunk of time, probably about three weeks.

In this case, he had actually started the process before the end of school. We are between cameras at the moment, so pictures will have to come later.

Like so many home improvement projects, this one started small – with my request for a new faucet, after the sink faucet started leaking.

He brought home a new one at some point during the summer and got it installed this fall. (The new faucet lived on the bathroom floor, in its box, for several weeks. It was tucked under the green and silver vintage chair in the corner of the bathroom so I just pretended it wasn’t there and Mom was polite enough to ignore it!)

It is brushed nickel and has two handles. My personal preference is for sink faucets with one handle because I like the way you can leave the handle in position for your preferred water temperature (which I think saves water), but I am still happy with this one.

Later in the fall, the Christmas Elf came up to me and asked me to take a look into the bathroom.

We have a HUGE, beautiful antique mirror named Coco Chanel. She has a large mirror with a wonderful frame made out of beveled and mitered and carved mirror panels backed with heavy, 1″ thick wood. The frame is mitered and beveled, as are the mirrored panels on the frame itself. She weighs 70 lbs and is a real bear to hang safely and securely.

Anyway, the Christmas Elf wanted to replace our dated mirror and light fixture with Coco Chanel and wanted to show me how she would fit.

The vanity is 48″ wide, and the mirror is wider than that. The problem is that she FILLED the space between the wall on the right and the window frame on the left. There was only about 2″ clearance TOTAL.

I looked at it and decreed it was too tight (and it was! LOL). So at that point, we shelved the idea.

Later that night, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and grabbed my handy measuring tape and headed into the bathroom.

I discovered that there was room for the mirror if we hung her vertically, rather than horizontally. She fills the space between the vanity and the ceiling visually, but there is about 6-8 inches of space, so it is practical.

Anyway, that is what we ended up doing. I’ll talk about the challenge of hanging something that big and heavy in a later post, but let me tell you, she REALLY is the centerpiece of the bathroom. Every time I look at her, I can picture Alice in Wonderland stepping thru the mirror into another world…

After we knew that we would be able to use the mirror, we headed to the paint store to look for color ideas. I have been intrigued with all of the lovely grays and grayed down colors I have been seeing, so I started there.

I found a lovely lavender and because the trim in this part of the house had already been painted multiple times, I didn’t feel bad about painting it again.

Our house is 100+ years old and the main floor has incredible dark wood trim and woodwork, including 2 full height columns  leading into the living room. I refuse to paint over the wood work on principle. Downstairs in the bathroom and kitchen, previous owners had painted the trim, so I don’t worry about repainting it… I just refuse to paint the UNpainted vintage trim elsewhere.

Anyhoo, for the bathroom, I chose a pale lavender for the walls and a crisp white for the trim. The tub alcove is a couple of shades darker on the same color card, the cabinets are the next color darker and the floor is the darkest.

While I am not personally a purple person, the grayed tones make this room lovely AND serene. Just peeking in the door calms me! LOL

Having this room so beautiful, organized, and finished is something that I think we are both enjoying!

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

Post Product Reference

If you want more information about the infamous new nickel faucet, here is a link to a similar one…

Delta Faucet 2538 Lahara Double-Handle Lavatory Faucet, Chrome (Not CA / VT Complaint)

In grad school, I had a Dremel that I used for building models of my set designs. I had *acquired* some additional bits from my Dad’s Dremel kit.

Looking back on it, I didn’t actually use my Dremel as much as I could have.

None the less, I always perk up when I see Dremel products.

This one caught my eye this Christmas season and I finally got motivated enough to check out the Dremel Trio online.

It seems important to note that the Dremel Trio uses only Trio accessories.

REPEAT – Dremel rotary tool accessories are not compatible with the Trio tool.

Now, with that out of the way, the Trio seemed to be worth investigating.

I always check out the reviews, and the Trio has a 4 1/2 star rating with over 40 reviews.

However, after reading the reviews, it looks as thought it is one of those specialty gadget that seems like a good idea… on paper.

It seems that the folks who use it for crafting like it better than the folks who are attempting to use it for more serious jobs.

There are folks who LOVE it, hence the average of 4 1/2 stars, but I recommend that you read the reviews carefully… ALL of them… and THEN decide if it will do what YOU need it to do.

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

The right tool for the job becomes a treasured friend

I have been thinking a lot about my favorite hand tools… and the emotional attachment I have to a handful of them.

This has been prompted by the Christmas Elf’s project this year — a re-do of our downstairs bathroom.

The Christmas Elf has been doing all of the work and I have contributed a little bit in the way of consultation. I picked out the colors, figured out how to get the HUGE and beautiful antique mirror to fit, and offered a suggestion on attaching the new vanity top, but not much more than that.

We decided to keep the existing vanity and just paint it, in part due to the cost of new vanities, but actually more because we couldn’t find a new one that offered as much storage.

While the painting is going on, the vanity drawer faces have been removed and I dug out my favorite straight blade screwdriver — needed to pry open the frontless drawers when they get pushed too far back.

I have had her (the favorite straight blade screwdriver) since college. I actually don’t remember exactly when or where I acquired her. I have been thinking about it as I work on this post and I think that I probably swiped her from my Dad. LOL

Her handle is covered with paint from years — literally — of opening paint cans. She isn’t a Craftsman because I found the Craftsman screwdriver handles uncomfortable to use.

She, my 25 foot Craftsman Brake n Lock tape measure, my 20 ounce blue handled Estwing, and my old oyster knife (used for removing staples), are the hand tools that I keep nearby, just not always on the bathroom counter! *VeryBigGrin*

They represent many wonderful hours of work, many wonderful people that I worked alongside, and many beautiful stage productions.

Isn’t interesting how supposedly inanimate objects can develop personalities over the years…

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

Armchair Organizers – Nest in your favorite chair AND work?

I am getting ready to move away from the computer and settle in for a couple of hours of planning… all while curled up in a quilt on the couch.

Tink Note – This is a CHILLY 100+ year old house. Even Herc, my English Mastiff, is on his warm nest AND under HIS blankie, directly in front of the couch!

Lately, due to the cold weather and Herc’s location directly in front of the couch (see note above) there isn’t room to place the stool in front of the couch with all of my stuff on it.

Today, my stuff will consist of my ever present collection of favorite color coded pens and a couple of highlighters, a pad of Post-Its in whatever color I happen to grab, one large notebook containing all 500+ pages of the Tiger Software Builder Help files — even printed 2 to a page, this puppy is HEFTY– my planning notebook, a pad of graph paper, and a mug of hot broth.

This week, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, is my time to hammer out my plans for 2011…

I have a lot of thoughts running thru my tiny doggy mind and want to get them down on paper, first in rough format, and then into my planning notebook for future reference.

The Tiger Software Builder manual is there because I need to bone up on the latest version and because I need to create some tracking / planning software for myself and for some upcoming projects.

Unfortunately, due to Herc’s position in the front of the couch, getting all of my oh-so-important-stuff within reach will be a challenge!

This got me thinking about Armchair Organizers and I got curious, so I did what any info junkie does, I started Google-ing…

There seem to be a variety of different kinds available. The one that looks most likely for my needs is the Smartworks 6 Pocket Sofa, Couch, Arm Rest Organizer, although I am not sure that it will sit securely on the broad soft arm of my sofa…

Oh wee, I am going to sign off here, head to the kitchen to make my broth, grab all of the important stuff I need, wrap up in the quilt and…

Get To WORK!

Keep warm and safe, wherever you are!

Tink (and Herc)

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…

Killer Deal – DEWALT 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hammer-Drill Kit

Hi guys! This deal is for today, Dec 22, 2010, ONLY

The DEWALT 18-volt lithium-ion hammer drill kit is the featured Deal of the Day at Amazon.com. This offer is valid today only, December 22, 2010, and while supplies last.

The Deal of the Day price is just $159.99–over 63% off the list price of $440. Plus get an extra $25 off at checkout for a total deal price of $134.99.

Deal of the Day – DEWALT 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Hammer-Drill Kit

EDITED – Just double checked and this is already SOLD OUT!

Ouch! Sorry about that!

Tink

When I dream…
All my shelves are level and my walls are plumb…