Appliances

I finally got around to installing the gas stove that we bought on Black Friday. I had to convert it from natural gas to propane, which involved changing out the orifices on the stove burners and adjusting the burners in the oven.

Now we're going to get the old one cleaned up and try to sell it on craigslist.











Our washing machine, which we bought used on craigslist, made a horrible screeching sound sometimes while running. I figured out how to take off the front panel so I could look in there and see what was causing it. I expected it to be a motor or belt or something expensive. But it turned out that when it had a heavy load, it weighed down the wash basin and caused a piece of metal at the bottom of the wash basin to scrape against a piece of metal on the bottom of the washer. I just bent the piece of metal with some pliers so it wouldn't scrape the bottom anymore. No more screeching!

Deer

This wasn't our first deer sighting - just the first time we were able to get a picture. Hillary took this picture from our back porch shortly before they ran off. I'm not sure if they were mule deer or whitetail.

Hillary has seen deer and javelina eating out of our compost pile, so we've covered it with a wood pallet. That seems to have solved it for now. But soon we're going to have to figure out a way to keep them out of our garden too.

Doors

Our doors were in pretty bad shape. Our front door was sun damaged and warped. You can see the daylight through the crack in the picture, and you could also see daylight around the edges of the door where it didn't seal properly. You could feel the outside air coming in through these cracks. I sealed the crack in the door with some wood filler, and used a wood marker to make it less noticeable.

For the edges of the door, I tried replacing the weatherstripping, but that didn't solve the problem. I finally realized that the door was hanging a little crooked, and that was why the edges didn't seal. I ended up putting some cereal box cardboard between the bottom hinge and the door frame to make the door seal properly around the edges. I also adjusted strike plates and deadbolt plates on this door and a couple other doors because they were very hard to lock without pressing your weight against the door.

Great Room

Here are a few new pieces we have bought for the house. We bought the lamp at Pier 1 and the buffet at a local furniture place in Tucson. It is called "Mexican Rustic" and made from reclaimed wood in India. It is very colorful and adds some interest to the room.

Haddie's Room

Our latest project has been finishing up Haddie's room. Christmas brought lots of stuff and we need to get this baby organized!! We finished painting and also bought her a new book shelf. It has really come together!

Vinegaroon

I saw this close to Murphy's dog house late one afternoon. I killed it, because I thought it was a huge scorpion. Turned out it was just a vinegaroon. They look like a giant black scorpion but they are actually harmless. When agitated they spray something that smells like vinegar. I wish I hadn't killed it because they eat roaches and crickets.

Leaky ceiling

Last time it rained, we had water dripping from the ceiling in the master bedroom. I think it was coming through a crack in the stucco on the ledge shown in the picture. I used some stucco patching to fill in the crack. If it doesn't leak when it rains again, then the next step will be to tear out the damaged part of the ceiling in the master bedroom and patch it.