Week 42, and Merry Christmas!

Adrienne & I were busy with lots of small doings this week.

First, there was Christmas. We had our usual table-top decoration, made from a discarded bough of a Christmas tree, ornaments given by family and friends, and paper decorations we made ourselves:

Under the tree (and the table), were numerous presents:

The big box in pink on the left contained a circular saw, which I have had my eye on for a few months to speed up the completion of a few of my projects around the house. Top of that list is replacing the fence/wall under Adrienne's office that separates our property from the property of our neighbors to the north. Here it is, off to a decent start:

This fence/wall is key because cats, raccoons, rats, and other assorted animals like to hang around in the 2-foot-wide space between the houses. Do you know who likes to chase animals? Pickles, that's who.

The fence/wall is made with reused scrap materials from other parts of the construction project. Eventually, it and the siding to the right of it in this photo will be covered by a panda-and-bamboo mural.

Meanwhile, Adrienne was busy this week putting up a magnetic knife rack in the kitchen:

Much better than rummaging for them in a drawer! Big improvement!

Additionally, I spent much time this week with more mouse-proofing in the kitchen (yes, again), also using materials left over from construction, and with rearranging the garage so that we can finally get all of our stuff out of storage (i.e. this giant pile under the green tarp):

What's that above the green tarp? It's Amanda's excellent birthday present, described in Week 27! I put that up this weekend, as well. Looks great up there!

Lastly, one thing that Adrienne & I share is a love for getting rid of things at the New Year. We spent Saturday combing through our bookshelves for books we want to donate to the Friends of the Library or use for art projects, and ended up clearing 8 1/2 feet of shelf space!

Next week: I should be able to finish the fence/wall project, and should also be able to make more progress in reclaiming the garage. I am hoping to schedule a week with Mr. Bunkport in mid-January to get things wrapped up and (hopefully) get the house painted, as well. Keep your fingers crossed for us that the weather holds!

Week 41

This week, we tried to make more progress on the bathroom counter & backsplash downstairs. Mr. Bunkport took the counter out of the form today:

With all the rain we've been getting, it hasn't hardened enough to sand it down and seal it yet, even after five days. So now we just wait.

Week 40

Four things this week!

First, I finished sanding and sealing the back door. Just in time for a massive rain storm! (I skipped taking photos, because you can't see a before/after difference. It looks great, though, and is similar in color to the counter.)

Second, I replaced a piece of backsplash next to the sink that came off at some point a couple months ago. Probably when that half of the kitchen came off that one time.

Before:

After:

Third, I took out this bush that mysteriously died:

And replaced it with this succulent planter, made out of red concrete garden borders that were part of the garden when we moved in (every single plant in the yard was surrounded by these things), and old clay pipe fragments that were dug up out of the pit during the excavation phase of the project:

Here's how it looks, from across the yard:

Over to you, AJ, to work your plant magic!

Speaking of plant magic, after all this rain we've been getting, that random lily that the construction workers saved from the excavation in Week 7 is very happy:

Fourth, Mr. Bunkport came over on Saturday to fabricate a concrete counter for the bathroom sink. I got to help out and learn how to build the forms and pour the concrete. Here's the counter after we finished:

And here's the counter after Zoey stepped on it:

Mr. Bunkport should be coming back sometime this week to install it in the bathroom, and then pour the backsplash. That might be all that happens for the rest of the month: Mr. Bunkport is going out of town for Christmas, and it'll be a busy couple of weeks for me, so I don't think I'll be getting to any more of my projects before January. Once January hits, I think we'll be able to wrap up the remaining big items on the to-do list, and then hopefully it will just be a matter of waiting for some paperwork to go through. Actually getting close to the end!

Week 39

Back on the ranch this weekend.

On Saturday, an HVAC guy came to replace the old transite (asbestos-cement) flue for the heater, & do some maintenance on the heater itself. Done!

On Sunday, I did a couple things on my to-do list:

Job number one was yet more mouse-proofing in the kitchen. This round involved taking a countertop off a set of cabinets to stuff more steel wool in various places. While I had the countertop off, I also fixed a drawer, and, using my brand new jig saw (!), made an improvement to the shelf I had put in The Disaster Cabinet (which, as you may recall, is not a cabinet with disaster supplies, but rather a cabinet that is a complete disaster -- see the previous post here. Shelf Version One kept falling down, leading to the return of the disaster state.).

Job number two was putting our fine fruit and veggie basket back up:

Next week: sanding and sealing the back door, and replacing a small piece of backsplash next to the sink. Maybe also doing a walkway project in the yard, while the ground is still soft after the week or so of rain we've gotten.

Tribute to Jack in the local paper

The day after the funeral, we got a call from the Schools reporter for the Lowell Sun. She had seen Jack's obituary, and noting how he had dedicated his career to the schools in Lowell, wanted to do a piece on him. It appeared today:


Generations of kids knew he cared
Firm and funny, 'Jack' O'Brien left impact on students, colleagues at Lowell High

By Amelia Pak-Harvey

John "Jack" O'Brien, a city native, was

a leader at Lowell High for decades, 

serving as housemaster for 25 years before 

being named master in 1992. He died on 

Nov. 21 at 74 after a battle with cancer.

LOWELL -- Former Lowell High School administrator John "Jack" O'Brien was a fair but firm educator who stood his ground.

That's how City Councilor William Samaras, a former Lowell High headmaster, remembers the high school's former master.

When disciplining students, O'Brien would still listen well, Samaras said.

"Even if he were to administer a punishment for the student, they would basically thank him," he said. "They never left the office angry, they knew why they were being punished."

O'Brien died at 74 on Nov. 21 after a courageous two-year battle with cancer, but his legacy lives on in all the students he affected.

"He was there for them, I think as a teacher, administrator, educator in general," Samaras said. "You can't ask for any more than that."

Former Lowell High Master John
"Jack" O'Brien at a party for his retirement
in 1994. After retiring, he took a position as
a staff representative for the United Teachers
of Lowell.

Raised in Lowell's Centralville section, O'Brien taught for a few years in Fitchburg before returning to Lowell High, where he was chosen as a housemaster in 1967 and for the higher position of master in 1992.

He met his wife, Linda, at a staff party in 1989 while she was teaching at the school.

"He was fair and he was funny, and you just loved to see him coming because he always had this big smile," she said, holding up a picture of O'Brien smiling into the camera.

She remembers finding a former student almost everywhere the couple went.

"So many times we'd go somewhere and bump into a guy in his 40s and 50s," she said. "He'd say 'Oh Mr. O'Brien, you were tough but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have graduated.'"

But O'Brien also stood up for teachers. After retiring from Lowell High, he took a position as a staff representative for the United Teachers of Lowell.

"His sense of fairness and commitment to the community, the kids and the educators was phenomenal," said UTL President Paul Georges.

As a staff representative, O'Brien helped provide services for teachers and other members of the union.

"He wasn't afraid to communicate that he cared about you," Georges said. "Particularly with students, and particularly with us as a group."

O'Brien still worked with the union two days a week before he died, working with Michael Earle as he transitioned as the new full-time representative.

For Earle, O'Brien was the person who convinced him to go into education.

"When I got out of college in 1969, it was Jack that said, 'You ought to try teaching,' " Earle said. "He was at the high school and he became my first boss."

Earle remembers O'Brien as a teacher, mentor and dear friend.

"He just was so dedicated not only as a teacher and a master at the high school, but also as a union leader," he said. "He worked so hard to make sure that all the people that he represented had just a better life in their job."

But O'Brien also wasn't afraid to say how he felt, and sometimes threw in a little humor too.

During his time as master at Lowell High, O'Brien used to make coffee for the whole office, brewing one pot of decaf for Samaras.

Samaras recalled a time when the two had reached a disagreement. The next day at work, Samaras said, they both went about their jobs without speaking to each other.

But Samaras was talking rapidly and feeling a bit jumpy.

When he faced O'Brien to make amends over the disagreement, O'Brien agreed to clear the air.

"By the way," he asked Samaras, "how many cups of coffee did you have today?"

Samaras thought he had six cups of decaf.

"He said, 'No you didn't,' " Samaras recalled, laughing. "'You had regular coffee. As a matter of fact, I put extra coffee in there.' "

Both of them had fun together, Samaras said, finding the funniest part of a conflict as well as a way to break it down.

"One time we were laughing so loud my secretary thought one of us was hurt and came running in the office, opened the door and said, 'What happened?'" Samaras said. "She just turned around, she was so mad at us for scaring her and we laughed even more."

O'Brien's sense of calm and clear guidance carried through even to his last days.

While being prepped for surgery for the last time, a young anesthesiologist couldn't get the needle in after trying twice, his wife said.

The young man started to get nervous, and O'Brien asked for his name -- it was David.

"He said, 'David, just relax, you're going to get it,' " she remembers her husband saying. "'I'm fine.'"

Happy Thanksgiving!

While AJ & I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving -- full of great food, delicious homemade wine, and warm thoughts of Jack -- with my family, Susie & Paul were keeping the home fires burning on Mars:

Caramel apple pie, with a gingerbread layer (and a fierce game of Bananagrams)

Homemade apple cider

Feast!

Pickles, meanwhile, celebrated spending a contented week with friends in the way that best expresses her happiness -- snoozing:

Photo courtesy of Amanda, who probably got pushed out of the bed by the dog at least once this week.

We are very, very thankful for the love and support of our friends and families, particularly during this difficult time. Thank you all so much!

Week 37

Last week, instead of working on the house, we flew back to Massachusetts to help celebrate the life of a true giant of a man, Jack O'Brien.

Senior portrait, 1957

There were more than 200 people at his wake (same thing as what's called a "viewing" in other places). He is much loved, and will be missed by many. He was a wonderful partner to my mother, and a wonderful father to me, for the 25 years we had the great fortune to know him.

Here's his obituary, from the Lowell Sun, for those who weren't able to meet him:

John F. "Jack" O'Brien
Obituary

John F. 'Jack' O'Brien
Retired Lowell High School Master
1940 - 2014

CHELMSFORD -- John F. "Jack" O'Brien, 74, a Chelmsford resident and former Lowell resident, died Friday November 21, 2014, following a period of declining health. He was the loving husband of Linda M (Pereira)(Desrosiers) O'Brien of Chelmsford to whom he was married for 17 years.

Born in Lowell on February 12, 1940, he was a son of the late William P. and Beatrice (Ready) O'Brien. Jack was a 1957 graduate of Lowell High School. He attended Salem State College earning a bachelor's degree in Education in 1961. Continuing his education at Salem State, he earned a master's degree in Education in 1967.

He began his career as a teacher at Fitchburg High School from 1961 until 1963. In 1964, he became a teacher at Lowell High School where he would remain and excel for the duration of his career. Jack became a Housemaster at LHS in 1967. In 1992, he was promoted to Master and remained so until his retirement in 1994. Post retirement, he became a staff representative for the United Teachers of Lowell where he currently held a position. Jack was a distinguished educator and his legacy will continue for many years to come.

In his spare time, Jack enjoyed biking, golf, hockey games, and walking his beloved dog, Obie.

In addition to his wife, Jack is survived by his stepdaughter, Christine Desrosiers and her partner, Adrienne Johnstone of San Francisco, CA; as well as brothers and sisters-in-law, Mary and Michael Hubin of Boynton Beach, FL, Roberta and Ronald Martin of Chelmsford, Robert and Marie Pereira of Lowell, Lionel Bolduc of Lakeland, FL; several nieces and nephews, Mary Lou Bolduc and Ron, Linda Krkuc and Michael, Darlene Ballou and David, Robert Bolduc and Joanne, Kurt Knowlton and Cynthia, Dr. Jeffrey Martin and Cindy, Jaclyn Martin, Julie Gray and Jason, Ryan Pereira, Tony Pereira, Brandi Zeitz and Dan. He also will be missed by his beloved canine companion, Obie. He was the brother of the late William F. O'Brien and Maureen C. Bolduc.

Week 36

More progress this week!

Roofer!

It's hard to see in this photo, but there is now a strip of flashing all around the top of the wall, finishing off the last of the roofing work:

Bathroom! Not yet. Mr. Bunkport was going to come by to work on the bathroom, but the baby has a fever, so he stayed home to help out.

Instead, I took another crack at clearing out the yard. This pile of stuff was becoming home to some sort of critter(s) that Pickles is now barking at every night:

After:

Still waiting for Mr. Bunkport to take some stuff out of the garage before we can get everything back to normal in there, so these items remain. The tire will someday be a practice taiko drum for AJ. The wooden box on top of the metal shelf is this large planter (slightly taken apart) that we are going to put at the entrance to the yard, alongside the steps that lead down into the downstairs room. It will be planted with something tall that will act like a screen to give us some privacy when we're sitting on the deck outside that room.

In other news, the random yard-invading lily that the construction guys tried to save for us in Week 7 is actually coming back:

Lastly, preparations for Thanksgiving are beginning. Susie is getting a head start on some delicious cider. Here it is, staying comfortable under a towel:

Next week: Bathroom! Also, the mice found another way into the kitchen, so I'll be working on that, in addition to finishing up the back door.

Week 35

Roofer! Bathroom! No! That all fell through this week, so the project was not able to get much closer to being fully complete. I continued with my tiny-things-I-am-able-to-do list, however.

I put a threshold down between the kitchen & living room floors:

This is the slightly-worse-for-wear brass one that was here when we moved in. I have been meaning to buy a nicer wood one, but hey, at this point, let's just cut to the chase.

We've given up the ghost on Mr. Bunkport's being able to make time to rewire the broken front porch light during this project. When we take the 25 year-old vinyl siding off the front of the house (someday), we can ask him to do it then. We really only need the porch light for food delivery people anyway, so that they know we're actually home -- having no light is not a safety issue because there is a steel gate preventing lurkers, as my mother calls them, from sneaking around the front door. I took a tiny battery-operated LED light that I had lying around & put it up inside the doorframe:

That should illuminate the front door nicely.

Lastly, I moved some more things from the yard into the garage. Pile of crap, before:

From another angle:

After: crap now in the garage, leaving just the pile of ancient foundation stones and other assorted rocks that were dug up when the guys were digging the pit that is now the new room & foundation:

This pile of rocks will be turned into a big succulent planter -- where the stones get stacked in some sort of attractive way & succulents are planted in the gaps -- maybe ringing that bush on the far left. Maybe we'll do that next week. And maybe if we do it right, it won't also turn into mouse condominiums.

Next up: sanding and sealing the back door. Maybe also putting a backsplash on the end of the kitchen counter, if I get around to buying a jig saw this week. And maybe towards the end of the week, Mr. Bunkport will come to work a little magic.

Oh, lastly, we've heard some concerns from a few people that the blog will stop when the project stops. First, there appears to be no danger of the project ever stopping. Second, we keep this blog as a way to share what's happening around the house with far-flung family & friends -- given what a putterer I am, this place will always be a work in progress, so even though posts will become less frequent when the project ends, there's no chance they'll stop forever!

Dia de los muertos!

Today we welcomed the memories of some of those we have loved and lost. We also brought in the memories of some we never knew, but who were killed at the hands of police this past year, including our neighbor Alex Nieto, Bernal Heights born and raised and murdered in a hail of 14 bullets in the park at the top of our hill while having his lunch one March afternoon before he was off to work. You can learn more about his story here: http://justice4alexnieto.org/alex-story/

Kevin, Rebecca, Alex Nieto, Mike Brown, VonDerritt Meyers, Grammy, Grandfather, Vovo, Auntie Beckee, Uncle Joe, Granpa, Joaquina all the people feeling broken and lost...presente!

Week 34

This week, I took a doorknob off one of the doors in the yard & put it on the closet door in the bedroom, which had no doorknob.

Everyone can rest easy now that the closet door has a doorknob.

And I swept the garage. Pickles thought the push broom was an exciting new toy. Then we played soccer in there.

Next week: roofer! bathroom! yes!

Happy Halloween!

Gruff Halloween greetings from Sal Pickles of Pickles' Saloon!

This is one bar you don't want to start trouble in.

Week 33

Thank you, AJ, for your exciting post last week!

This week another thing was completed: electrical!

The electrician came on Thursday, and installed the light over the medicine cabinet:

He also added the little plastic box that keeps the outdoor outlet dry:

And replaced two light sockets in the garage that had been destroyed by other subcontractors:

We no longer need a flashlight to get around in the garage at night!

Lastly, he passed the final inspection:

What a relief to have another thing fully completed!

In other news, I discovered this week that we are being invaded by mice again. You may recall the Great Mouse Hunt of 2013, that involved a weekend of extensive mouse-proofing in the kitchen and back porch, and resulted in the live capture of an invader in the bedroom, thanks to the assistance of Sergeant Pickles of the Rodent Roundup:

This time, I discovered the intruders myself. I got up early for work and was standing in the kitchen, drinking my coffee, when I realized I wasn't alone: I saw a little brown mouse scurry from under the big blue chair into an open space under the cabinets, and then I also heard one right next to me, rustling in some plastic bags on a counter. Even though the construction sealed all the openings to the outside under the kitchen, it seems that they are still able to get up into the walls of the main part of the house and infiltrate the kitchen that way. Diabolical! That afternoon, while re-mouse-proofing (some of my stuff from last year had been removed when the new tile was installed), I investigated around the rest of the house to see if they have also been exploring beyond the kitchen. Indeed they have, including behind the bookshelf in the bedroom, presumably while we all slept not three feet away. Nice work, Pickles! Demotion! Busted back down to Private!

Next up: more bathroom work at the end of next week, and maybe the roofer will finish up.

Week 32

Hello everyone! It's your lucky day. Christine's out of town and I'm your guest blogger for the week. I've got my supplies for this task:

$5 is the for the delivery of my dinner. I can't cook AND blog.

And now for the part where I show you all the pictures Christine took of this week's progress. Folks came by and put this translucent sheeting over our staircase. You probably can't see it in this picture cuz, uh, it's translucent. This way we can stay dry from the rain that never falls here while we walk down to our awesome new room.

Also, the dudes put in the cabinet that Christine lovingly restored. It looks so nice with the repurposed wood that frames the tub. Can we please, please, please get water to come out of these things soon?

Also this week: Christine busted her butt to make things look even nicer around here. She sanded and stained our front door so it's freshened up and also matches more closely the windows and counter in the kitchen.

She stained the windows in the kitchen where Pickles likes to sit and watch her nemesis.

Here is said nemesis:

We're a bit short on progress this week (week 32,,,,aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh!!!) so I thought some photos of yard invading squirrels were the least I could do. In other major news, I turned the dog bed sideways. WHAT! Exciting. Note the portrait of the siamese cat that graces the head of Zoe's bed. She loves cats (and by love I mean she would really love to kill one).

That's about all I've got for you. Tomorrow's Monday morning. Ugh, here's what I think about that: