Merry Christmas!

This is our tenth Christmas on Mars!

It’s been a busy year, and it’s been cold and rainy for weeks, so this year, cozy and quiet seemed like the way to go.

As always, we had many greetings from family and friends:

AJ exhibited much bravery by tackling the monster rosemary bush to make a wreath:

We put up our tree with all its finery, as usual:

Our stockings were stuffed:

We also hung our memorial stockings to Pickles, and the two mice who attempted to live with us years ago (we did not kill them; I just assume they’ve moved on to the Great Cheese Wheel in the sky by now):

On Christmas morning, we enjoyed our friend Brian’s delicious cherry-chocolate rugelach and some Irish raisin bread, and opened our presents.

Mother O’Brien sent Lorraine a lovely Christmas shirt and fuzzy blanket. She immediately fell asleep:

And stayed asleep:

Then moved to the couch and went back to sleep:

Then got up, amused herself with tearing up some cardboard boxes, and went back to sleep:

Thanks to Mother O’Brien, Lorraine officially wins the cozy award for the day.

While Lorraine slept, we watched movies, had a lovely picnic lunch of cheeses, meats, and olives, and AJ made delicious Indian food for dinner. It was a wonderful day.

We also were privileged to receive a visit from the most elusive of all magical Christmas animals, The Lorreindeer:

Merry Christmas from all of us here on Mars! And a very Happy New Year!

Todos Santos

Today we are observing Todos Santos, or All Saints Day -- the day we pause to remember and honor our dear, departed loved ones.

As we do every year, we set out pictures and mementos that represent the family and friends who have passed:

This year, we also decided to make a nice dinner on Halloween, and, echoing Celtic traditions, start our remembrance the night before.

I started off by making barmbrack, an Irish quick bread chock full of raisins, for us to nibble on throughout the day:

This is a traditional thing to make at this time of year in Ireland. Absolutely delicious buttered, with coffee.

For dinner, I made muffin tin veggie pot pies, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes with chard, and these Remembrance Cookies:

They're shortbread with rosemary (rosemary for remembrance), and shaped like people, to call to mind the people who have passed on, and the things you love about them.

We also decided to have a little fun with decorating for the occasion -- pumpkins, jack o'lanterns, and a huge pile of fake leaves scattered throughout the house, on the floors and the counter:

Our appetizer course:

Even Lorraine got into the autumnal spirit:

Our friend Susie was on her way over to join us, when her uber was hit by someone running a stop sign. We are very grateful that everyone is ok! And we are planning to take her a care package of leftovers, barmbrack, and cookies later today.

Also, on the topic of gratitude, we had an incredible storm last week, with torrential rain and winds above 30 miles per hour. It blew down this 40-foot tree in the yard next door:

Incredibly, there is no damage, either to the retaining wall on our side of the fence, or to their property. Another huge thing to be grateful for!

Happy Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween from Chief Science Officer, Lieutenant Lorraine, of the Starship Woofer Schmoofer, getting ready for a pajama party in space!

Week 5.5: Done (nearly)!

We are done! Well, except that we're waiting for windows to finally arrive in a few weeks. But for now, at least, we are done!

Last week (and one day this week) was all about the foundation, and wrapping up the odds and ends.

For the foundation, they added concrete to that soft spot in the back corner (doesn't need to be replaced outright because it's right next to the brand new foundation from 2014), put in some more bolts, and then covered the entire interior face in a plastic mesh, and put a kind of stucco over the top to stop the surface deterioration. 

Here's a section that shows the finished stucco coat, the in-progress stucco, and the mesh:

They also added a coating of stucco to the exposed exterior face of the south side of the foundation, just for good measure (all the other exterior faces are covered or are not accessible).

They patched up the big critter holes:

And they also attached long boards to the studs, to help with structural stability in an earthquake:

Then it was a couple other odds and ends, cleanup, and then good bye!

Looking forward to putting everything back together in the garage this weekend, and life getting back to normal.

Then onward to the garage door and new house numbers! 

Week 4

Slow (excruciatingly slow) but steady progress in Week 4!

Bolts are being epoxied in all around the foundation:

Uhhh:

Well, I guess we can say the foundation is sound right there, if it won't let go of that drill bit!

Meanwhile, the side is done:

And one poor guy in a little knit cap with a pom-pom toiled away on the front all week:

Finally, Friday came. The front porch still hadn't been done, but we decided we liked it like that, with just the lighter blue of the tinted primer:

Here's a picture of it in the morning, with the light on it. A little easier to see the difference:

Thanks to all who voted!

We are putting in a new garage door soon. We had been talking about a wood grain type finish to match the front door, but it might also look good to have it be the same color as the porch. Or maybe keep it the same navy as the rest of the house. Decisions, decisions!

Should be finishing up next week!

Week 3

Progress is feeling painfully slow, but, really, we're in the last mile with all this.

We think.

Siding on the front got done:

All the trim details got done. Here's a close up of how nicely they did this little step area:

Repairs were made to a small area that was missing shingles for some reason:

And then on Saturday and Sunday, the painters came. They (nearly) finished the wall between the houses. They painted this front area a dark brown, to blend with the original shingles below:

They painted the back part of the wall -- the part that abuts the neighbor's deck -- an off-white, to match up with their outdoor space:

And they finished prepping and priming the front:

The final color will be a navy blue, similar to the garage. Six passersby told the painters they liked this color -- sort of a Wedgwood blue. Sorry to disappoint, neighbors! 

And while all that work moved along (more or less) steadily, Mr. Bunkport was poking around the foundation. He thinks that, yes, the soft spot with the crack will need to be replaced (about a four foot span), but the rest is sound. He drilled some test holes for the earthquake bolts, and will be doing The Big Test next week to verify that the bolts will hold in The Big One.

Here's the first hole -- goes through the mud sill (the piece of wood sitting on the foundation that the rest of the house is attached to) straight into the concrete:

Fingers crossed!

Week 2

Another week complete!

There was an issue with the order for the siding on the front, so we weren't able to make much progress there. The workers put up everything they had left on the porch, and moved on to the side of the house.

The space is very narrow -- just about 2 feet apart. Too narrow to get ladders in there, but too wide for them to be able to stand on the neighbors' roof to work. So they built this scaffolding:

The view from our bedroom window:

We got some unusually hot weather last week, and the house got very stuffy inside. In the evening, when we opened the windows to let in the cool nighttime air, the scaffold came in very handy:

The work proceeded quickly after that. First the moisture barrier:

Then the siding, over the course of two days. 

Next week, we should have the front done and painted, and after a test of how well the bolts will hold in different parts of the foundation, we should know more about what needs to be done there. Mr. Bunkport began the week feeling pessimistic about the extent of foundation repair needed (the words "candidate for replacement" was uttered...YIKES) but he ended the week saying very optimistic things. Fingers crossed the test is successful!

Here We Go Again (aka Week 1)

Well, the time has come. It's time to launch The Final Project.

This project represents the final things that need to be done to bring the house up to current standards.

There are two parts: 

1. Remove the 30 year old vinyl siding on the front and side, and replace two old windows
2. Bolting the front part of house to the foundation, to prevent the house from slipping off the foundation in a big earthquake

So simple! Should be so straightforward!

Readers of this blog know these are famous last words around here. We are prepared for the unexpected!

"I defy you."

Preparation

First things first, we spent a weekend moving everything in the garage away from the walls, so that Mr. Bunkport (yes, he's back!) and his workers can access the foundation.

Jumble #1

Jumble #2

Jumble #3

Here's a closer look at the current state of the foundation:

That crumbling is actually not scary -- it's the normal process of the salts in the concrete coming out. And there is a lot of salt. When the city was rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake, they didn't have enough fresh water for all the concrete needed for all the new foundations, so they started using water from the bay. 

Lots of salt.

So, this is a very common issue here, and believe it or not, no one gets too worked up about it. They just put new concrete over the top of it to hold it in place. 

What's going on here is less good:

The crack isn't a concern, but (skipping ahead in the story a little) it sounds like there is water damage under there, and that section will probably need to be replaced. 

SURPRISE!

Hopefully that will go well (and the scope of the damage will be very, very limited). 

We are also going to be raising the level of the foundation on the other side (the uphill side) to be 6 inches above the ground level, to avoid more moisture and insect damage to the walls.

Now, drum roll, please...

WHAT LIES BENEATH

Well, what lies beneath vinyl siding is styrofoam.

But what about under that?!

On the front of the house, it turns out to be bright yellow asbestos shingles. 

SURPRISE!

Choices, choices. We could either remove the shingles (and in so doing, double our costs with special permits and special mitigation measures and special disposal fees and and and...) or we could do like everyone else around here, and just seal them in under new siding.

Ok, decision made!

On the side of the house, we found the original redwood shingles. We expected this, because the other side of the house, where it's too narrow for siding to have gone in, also has redwood shingles.

The bottom half of the house is in great shape:

The top half, not so much:

Seems like we are going to have to strip those off and put something new up. This is an area that no one can see, so we're going to go cheap and cheerful.

If you looked closely at that photo, you have seen something more surprising than damaged shingles. 

Recall the Big Project in 2014, and how this house (like most houses around here) are, as Neighbor Jonny says, "boxes on boxes on boxes." Back in the day, if you wanted a porch, you would get your uncles and cousins to come over and build it. Then you would eventually close that in to make a room, and then, naturally, add on a new porch. And so on. Our kitchen is actually three porches that were closed in and made into separate rooms over time -- what we did in 2014 was open those up into one big room, add a, you know, foundation, and fix all kinds of structural damage from moisture and insects.

Part of the outside of the kitchen stayed under the vinyl siding. So, I shouldn't say it's surprising that it's...crazy under there. Here's that area from a different angle:

So, yeah, piece of plywood, and a couple of boards across the studs.

SURPRISE!

With the siding gone, we can feel the wind coming through the area around electrical socket. Happy for fair weather!

In the garage, the workers had to pull off two feet of that decorative lath (there was no plaster; seems like someone's art project) around the foundation to get ready for the bolting.

Good news -- it's not terrible in there!

The north side of the house is very tidy and orderly under its shingles.

The south side (which is the side that had the vinyl) is a little crazy. Shingles nailed into random boards across the studs:

But that's ok. We're leaving all that in place, so no problem.

There were a couple of big holes in places -- plenty of room for critters of all shapes and sizes to get in --  but really only a couple, and not hard to repair. Good news!

Additionally, the neighbors have been very accommodating and understanding of the noise and disruption. While talking to them about how the workers would access the space between the houses, which sits behind a three or four foot-high fence, they mentioned wanting to put in a gate someday so they can access the plants in that little space more easily. To thank them in advance for their patience (...and, frankly, also to prevent damage from three big guys hopping over the fence multiple times a day for two weeks), we worked with Mr. Bunkport to put in this little gate for them (and the three big dudes). 

Lastly, when the workers opened up the wall, they found these things inside: 

That's a license plate from 1921, and that little bottle with the orange label was advertised in the early 20s. I need to go find my notes, but I think the people who lived here in the 20s and 30s were an immigrant Portuguese family whose Americanized name was Velvet. Maybe the lath was their project.

I don't doubt that more surprises are on the way, but that's all (and plenty) for Week One. 

On to progress!

And that's where the week ended. Week Two should see the front finished, and the side done or close to done. And then on to the foundation!