Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 7.

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The sink's been installed! Yay. But it looks like it takes a while for the water to go down! Boo. The plumber said to keep running water throughout to see if it fixes itself with constant use. Yay. But if it doesn't it'll require more work. Boo.

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The new air-conditioner has been installed in the bedroom. He also put new moldings around the new windows. It should look great once the whole thing has been painted, and the cracks are filled in with putty.

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On the other side of the apartment, they put in great new window sills on the other three new windows.

So we hit a work stoppage again. We're still waiting until the paperwork clears for the heating system, so no work can really be done until then, but in the meantime, PAINT!

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I picked up my first set of test paints today. I got two shades of green and two shades of brown. Again, this if for the living/dining room area.

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Of course, the dark shades are two dark. I was considering going dark in the bedroom, but I've been told that is a bad idea.

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I'm still looking for suggestions. Thoughts?

The New Apartment, Part 6.

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Work continues, slowly. While waiting for all the paperwork for the new heating system to be filed, some other work is getting done. The sink- MISSING! I found out today that the last time this bathroom was redone was when my Great-Grandparents bought the house, in 1935. I would have like to have been able to keep the sink, but it wasn't possible.

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The new sink currently sits in the kitchen, waiting for the plumber to install it tomorrow. I didn't have much of a choice, it was the only one that size that Home Depot had. Luckily, it wasn't that expensive, so I don't feel bad in case I ever redo the entire bathroom.

Also, I learned that Home Depot is fucking hell. While I was there, I went to look at the lighting fixtures. I thought I found some I sort of liked. But it wasn't going to work. Now, I got to take a trip down to the lighting district on the Bowery to find ones I like.

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New windows! They installed new windows on all six windows in the apartment.

Also, I learned something new, and strange about the apartment.

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See that thing that ran across the windows? I had them remove it because I didn't really like it.

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See the new windows? Now, see how completely uneven the two windows are? So strange. I guess it's just a quirk of living in an old house.

Work continues tomorrow, as the sink in the bathroom will be installed, and the new air conditioned will be installed in the bedroom. Also, I've decided on the colors for the living/dining room area. I'm going for lightish green, with dark brown on the molding running across the floors and the top of the wall. Above that will be the white ceiling. I'm still looking for paint ideas for the rest of the house, especially the kitchen.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Welcome To Yankee Stadium...

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My sister and I went to the Opening Game at Yankee Staidum...

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Yeah, it was a pretty horrific game, but what a great stadium...

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I loved the old place, but if you have to move, what a great place to end up...

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It even has a butcher!

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We ran into David Wells while walking through the bleachers...

Meanwhile, this was the highlight of the day...

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 5.

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The work stoppage continues. The permits have been signed, and submitted. Hopefully, the work on the heating system will begin in a week or so. I have a new air conditioner, which will be installed whenever the new windows that were ordered come in.

In other news, I have decided to keep the dresser. I'm going to take down the mirror, and use it in the dining room area.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

The Birth Of Muppet Steve.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Muppet Steve!

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Thursday, April 09, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 4.

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Hey, the stove is gone! They disconnected it, and removed it from the apartment yesterday, so that's one less thing in the apartment.

So, we're kind of at a construction standstill. The floor guy can't do the floors until the walls are painted. The walls can't be painted until the electrician fixes the wiring. The electrician can't fix the wiring until the plumber installs the heating system. And the plumber can't install heat until the the permits clear.

In the meantime, the contractor is waiting for the new windows he ordered to come in, and once they do, he'll come in and install them. I have to get a new air conditioner, which also needs to be installed, and I have to pick new light fixtures (I'm thinking about some ceiling fans), and a new bathroom sink.

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This is the bathroom. It's not that huge, but it's fine for me.

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Currently, the faucet on the left, which dispenses the hot water, doesn't work. According to the plumber, the sink is so old that he can't fix the pipe without destroying the sink. So, I have to get a new sink, which is good, because now I can get a cabinet underneath it to keep all of my toilet paper.

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The rest of the room is fine enough, it just needs some cleaning.

The other order of business is choosing colors for the paint. I have some time to think about it, which is good. I know that the paint really has to be complimentary to my furniture. So, here's what I have. It's not much.

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These are two of my Great-Grandmother's end tables. I'm considering keeping them, and using them in my bedroom. The mirror is going back in the hallway, and the recliner is going in the trash.

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This is my Great-Grandmother's sewing machine. I'm thinking about using it as an end table. The couch, however is going in the trash.

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There's this dresser. I'm thinking about keeping it, but right now, it's hanging out in the comic book room.

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As is this end table thing. I have no idea if I'm going to keep it, I just didn't want to carry it downstairs yet.

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Then there are these metal cabinets. I'm thinking about putting them in the kitchen to keep dishes. They've been painted, and can be painted again. They look really good with a fresh coat of paint.

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And then there's this dresser. It was my Great-Grandmother's, and I don't like it very much. It's already been marked for the trash, but if anyone can convince me otherwise, it could possibly stay.

As for what I'm taking with me from my current place, it's not that much, I guess. These are all old photos, because I'm too lazy to take new ones.

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There's this table. The chairs are shot, and are just going to end up in the trash.

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This bookshelf, where I keep my DVDs.

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The display case where I keep toys.

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This bookshelf.

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This bookshelf.

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And this bookshelf.

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And then there's this couch. It's an Ikea Ektorp, which means that I can change the color of it by just buying a new slipcover.

Which is good, because the current slipcover is pretty messed up.

I also need a new bed. I'm thinking about this one, but I'm not 100% sold on it.

So, that's my furniture situation. Now, does anyone have any paint suggestions?

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 3.

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Day 3. They wall where there used to be a wall has been finished. Also, the molding now goes all around the room. I'm also planning on replacing the two light fixtures with one or two ceiling fans.

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We've also moved almost all of the furniture out, in preparation for for the refinishing of the floors. It looks like the floor guy will be able to get all of the original hard wood floors back to great condition. That should look amazing.

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I need to start thinking about paint ideas. I'm not sure what I exactly want to do.

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The refrigerator went today, and the stove goes tomorrow. The plumbers coming to take a look at all the plumbing. Things were a little backed up today in the kitchen sink. Hopefully, he's able to work with everything I have, because I really want to keep the sinks.

Anyway, like I said, I need paint ideas. Little help, please.

Monday, April 06, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 2.

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It's started.

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As you look down the hallway, you can see the floor is stripped to it's original hard wood floor. It's a bit of a mess, but the floors of the entire apartment are going to be redone.

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The current state of the kitchen. Currently, the refrigerator is hanging out in the dining room.

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The wall is gone!

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It really opens up the room. I decided that I want to keep the molding running around the walls of the room.

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The view from the other side of the room. I also think I am going to go with two ceiling fans in these two rooms, since they do need new lighting fixtures.

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The closets are gone. Yay.

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In the other rooms, the doorway between the two rooms has been opened up.

Yes, I do realize I just turned this six room apartment into basically two rooms. If I ever need more rooms, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Tomorrow, the work continues...

Sunday, April 05, 2009

The New Apartment, Part 1.

So, I'm moving. Slowly.

A month ago, my room mate John informed me that when our lease is up, he's going to get a place with his girlfriend. So, this means, that at the end of June, my home of three years is basically done. Which is fine with me, it was a great apartment, perfect for what it was.

So, I'm moving back home. Kinda. Recently, my Mom was laid off from her job of 42 years, and has no plans to go back to work anytime soon, so I'd like to help them out if they need it if things get rough. Now, my parents own two homes in Brooklyn, right next door to each other, and two blocks away from where I live now. Both of them are two family homes, attached to each other. My parents live in one, with family friends as tenants. Next door, my grandmother lives in the other one, and until last week, the other one was filled with my Dad's baseball book collection (Photos here).

Now, it's not.

This is the house my great grandparents settled in after they came over from Italy in the early party of the last century. They lived in the now vacant apartment. It's where my grandmother was raised, and eventually, she moved into the first floor apartment, and where my Mom was raised. My parents eventually moved into the house next door, and it's where I was raised. When my great grandmother passed away ten years ago, my family decided to leave that apartment empty, because they didn't want strangers moving in, and they didn't need the income or hassle that would come with it. So my Dad moved his collection in there, and it became a baseball museum.

Now, here's the tricky part. The house has no heat.

When my great grandparents bought this house, every house in the neighborhood, was heated by a wood-burning stove in the basement. When heating systems were installed in the other houses in the neighborhood, my Grandfather declined, since he made his own wine in the basement, and the heat would have screwed with his wine. Now, all we have is a rotten old wine press in the basement, and no heat in the house. My Grandmother has lived that way all her life, and is fine with just the wood burning stove, and a bunch of space heaters, but I want heat.

So, along with heat there's a bunch more work to be done. New windows. new floors, new appliances, a wall I want taken down.

And that all starts this Monday.

Here's how the place currently looks:

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This is stairs up there. I am so keeping the stair chair.

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The hallway.

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The way in, there's a bathroom on the left.

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The fridge and the stove are going since no one has used them since 1997.

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The kitchen opens up into the dining room, which I'm doing major changes to.

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The wall on the right? Going. Monday, the wall comes down and the ugly yellow floor goes with it. The plan is to open up the two rooms, and make a giant living/dining room.

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The other side of the room will be getting new windows, and whatever that thing above the windows is, well, it's going too.

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Bye, bye wall.

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These closets on the other side of the wall are going as well.

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Beyond what will be the giant living/dining room are two other rooms, the farthest one will be my bedroom. The other will be my library. Right now, it's filled with furniture that used to occupy the baseball museum that either needs to be thrown out or placed somewhere else.

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I'm planning on filling it with bookshelves.

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My new bedroom. I'm planning on taking down the doors that will separate my bedroom from eventual library. Also, this furniture needs to be either redistributed or thrown away.

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Located off the bedroom is another small room, which already houses something awesome.

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34 long boxes of comics. This room will be my comic room. Well, it's not like the other rooms also won't be filled with comics. But this will at least be a great place to stick my singles.

Now, where did all the baseball stuff go?

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Well, it's scattered between my parents place and my Grandma's place.

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Baseball legends great you from the rafters as you enter my eventual house.

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Photos line the hallway, and the closet is now full of books.

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But most of the good stuff ended up in this room in my Grandma's place that my Dad was allowed to decorate. It's kinda nuts, but I love it.

So, like I said, it all starts Monday. I'll keep you updated.