The blasted door lock

I am still on my hunt for an appropriate privacy doorknob (aka way to keep out the lockers see Knockers and Lockers for full details) for the new bathroom.

We purchased one of these and thought we had a workable $7 solution...



Alas, the door is flush on the outside not inside.  I am sure there is some appropriate door lingo for this involving door jams and pre-hung doors, but I prefer to broadcast my ignorance of such things.  All I know is we would have to install this type of latch on the outside of the door which would be great for locking folks in the bathroom, but not so good at locking people out of the bathroom while it is in use...

[caption id="attachment_944" align="alignnone" width="225"] Inside of bathroom door- no way to have a flush latch.[/caption]

So we are back to the hook and eye solution  which we both decided was not ideal.

I have been scouring the Internet for some affordable, appropriate looking door knobs with privacy locks.  The issue I am running into currently is that I have a 1 1/4" width door.  New doors apparently are 1 3/8" and most of the knobs I am finding fit a 1 3/8" - 1 1/4" door.  My husband tells me that doors are like 2x4s which are no longer 2 inches by 4 inches.  He says a 1 3/8" door knob will fit fine.  I am skeptical about that other 1/8", but cannot get Google to confirm this.  So, I am ordering the door knob and hoping for the best...

I did find some nice door knobs made by Weslock at handlesets.com.  Of course they were all back-ordered.  So now let's just hope it arrives before party time (2 weeks, three days) and that it FITS!!!

Roof replaced check and check!

October has been a bit rainy and it has been tricky to finish up stripping and replacing the roof over the front door and the bay window on the front of the house.  I am happy to say that that project has been completed.   The old mossy shingles and metal under-layer have been scraped off.  New ice and water and shingles have been nailed down and we are ready for the winter (well as ready as we ever are...)

[caption id="attachment_934" align="alignnone" width="300"] Scraped doorway and metal roof[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_936" align="alignnone" width="225"] Man wrestles roof[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_935" align="alignnone" width="225"] one man, one sawzall [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_937" align="alignnone" width="300"] Another action shot - one that resulted in a bloody finger. Tetanus up to date?
Don't recommend trying this one at home...[/caption]

About this summer...

I know I have been remiss about posting this summer.  To be honest, not a lot on our to-do list got done.  The Husband will tell you that he has been working all summer.  By working he means...

#1 Tending to his garden.  Have you seen this monstrosity?  Just keeps growing every year...

[caption id="attachment_907" align="alignnone" width="450"] R in the jungle with the 8' tall corn[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_910" align="alignnone" width="450"] View from the backside[/caption]

#2 Mowing the Lawn.  Every time I turn around the lawn needs to be mowed again.  Honestly, I think someone likes mowing (especially on his new lawn tractor) much better than sheet rocking.

#3 Bombing me with Tomatoes.  Seriously, this has got to stop already.  I open the fridge and gag.  There is nothing grosser than rotting tomatoes, except maybe the fruit flies they attract.  I am begging, please cut back on the tomato plants next year.  100 should be plenty.  This is so out of control someone may need an intervention... It's October - here are pictures from this morning.  Apparently we have a second fridge just for the purpose of storing tomatoes.  Oh and what is in the other fridge?  three 64 oz juice containers full of sauce.

[caption id="attachment_924" align="alignnone" width="270"] Some people keep food in their freezer. We have bags of frozen tomatoes.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_925" align="alignnone" width="225"] Drawers full of tomatoes and yup! guess what is in the pot...[/caption]

Ducky takes First Prize

House progress is moving slowly...but we did have some exciting news on the agriculture/animal front...

Ducky our female mallard, won first prize in her division for size and Nibbles won a second prize ribbon for color.  Ducky went on to the next round to win a second first prize ribbon for her class.  My son was thrilled with his prize winning ducks!  My husband won Fair Champion for largest cornstalk.  Yes he did.  My youngest son took a second place ribbon for his lego creation and my daughter scored some cool prizes playing games.  Overall it was a very fun and rewarding weekend at the Sterling Fair.

[slideshow]

Night Scraping....

I realize that I have been on blogging hiatus for most of the summer...more on that later.  For now, here are some pictures of one of our summer priorities relating to the house...
We call it night scraping and yes it does deserve a quiet night.

[caption id="attachment_900" align="alignnone" width="225"] Scraping off about 30 years of peeling paint down to bare wood. Hours of work with the heat gun around the intricate trim.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_901" align="alignnone" width="225"] A job best done when it cools off (ha!) at night - if the moths don't get you first from the light.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_902" align="alignnone" width="225"] Finally priming scraped areas around door...[/caption]

Knockers and Lockers

My husband has a theory that when it comes to bathrooms, people are either knockers or lockers.

The knockers do not take anything for granted.  They assume that if a door is closed, someone might be in there.  These are the more considerate people of the world.  They knock, just in case.  Although most of them probably lock, they do not assume that everyone does.  The last thing they want is to walk in on someone.

The lockers assume that everyone else is a locker.  They think that everyone should be a locker.  They are armed with the mission to walk in on people to force them into becoming lockers as well.  If there is someone in there they do not want to talk to them.  They hate when knockers knock and they have to answer them.  Try the door - if it is locked - go away and don't bother me.

Then I think there is a third group - the never-lockers.  They assume that everyone is a knocker.  They never lock a door (you are lucky if they shut it) and become quite indignant if they are walked in on.

I wasn't aware of the locker/knocker/never-locker camps until we put in a new bathroom.  T wants a door that locks.  After pricing the locking, historically accurate locking door hardware (they are called privacy knobs by the way)  I was questioning the need to lock yourself into a bathroom in your own home.  With kids it just leads to the possibility of them locking themselves in.  I was under the crazy impression that if the door was shut most people would knock.

Well, we had our first test of the new bathroom during a family party a few weeks ago.  T's Mother was happy to not have to go upstairs.  Her question after "does the plumbing work" was "does the door lock?".  I said no, but it does shut (and we do have a door)...and then I thought "so that's where he gets it from".

While she was using the bathroom, two of her grandchildren walked in on her!!!  Apparently my nieces and nephews are all lockers.  Now that we have determined that most of my husband's side of the family are lockers,  I guess we do need a lock, otherwise they will be walking in on everyone.

Still, I am thinking of a simple hook and eye or sliding bolt like Amy suggested.  Simple, cheap and should keep the lockers out.

Here is the test:

The next time you are using a bathroom facility that is not inside your own home (rules tend change at home) and the door is shut - what do you do?  If you knock, well yup you are a knocker.  If you try the knob to see if it is locked (if locked you walk away and if not you open and see if anyone yells) you are a locker.  I you never lock a bathroom door no matter where you are, you are a never-locker...

The bathroom is 98.88888% done!

I admit I have been remiss in my posting and you have missed a lot!!!

Most of the bathroom trim has been installed:

[caption id="attachment_875" align="alignnone" width="225"] Trimming out the built-in shelf[/caption]

The fixtures have been hooked up!!!!

[caption id="attachment_876" align="alignnone" width="225"] My favorite plumber in action...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_877" align="alignnone" width="225"] The long-awaited second toilet![/caption]

The wallpaper is done! My good friend Pam came over to lend her expertise. Everyone needs friend like Pam. She can do anything. She is famous for changing her own oil while pregnant and for refinishing her attic mostly by herself. She can wield a tape measure and razor knife like nobody's business. She actually volunteered to help me (phew!) and was so into it came back the next day to get me around the final corner. Don't kid yourself, the bathroom is small, but just about every piece we had to custom cut around the door, window, built-in, slanted ceiling, etc.

[caption id="attachment_878" align="alignnone" width="225"] Pammy in action. She makes it look so easy![/caption]

It looks beautiful though, doesn't it?! I love the wallpaper and think it really makes the room.

[caption id="attachment_880" align="alignnone" width="225"] Isn't it gorgeous![/caption]

We just have to finish painting the rest of the trim and then sand and paint the door. Oh and then get the electrician back to turn on the power. Sooo close to having one of the most important rooms done!