Do You Measure Up?

We thought we had measured the inside of our closet well before I headed to Ikea to buy some new storage pieces for our T.V. and a 2nd closet in the guest room.

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The T.V. stand is working perfectly and just how we planned. The storage units for the closet were another matter. I picked up this large square piece and another section that was narrower and taller to put on one end.

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Seems our measurements were 3/4 of an inch off. I knew my handy dandy Dear would figure something out or we’d just stick the tall unit in the basement. The figuring someway to squeeze it in was the more favorable option because I wanted to maximize the storage in this closet. The solution was to take the support for the upper shelf completely out. See that white upper board at the end of the closet with the hole in it that was a hanger bar?  Of course that also meant we had to take the entire upper shelf out during the process, too. We still had to partially disassemble the tall unit to get it in and then to lift the unit while it was in it’s place to tighten the screws. Are you confused yet? Too bad I didn’t YouTube the process.

Ikea storage 002It’s quite the feeling of accomplishment when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and know you conquered assemble yourself furniture! That is one snug fit let me tell you. Oh my aching back…

I’m also quite pleased that I have some empty cubbies to add things to in the future. Have you had fun projects go south on you?

My mom and pop are doing well being left alone at night. My mom has had some tough days with her heart feeling very heavy. When I talked to my pop this past week one day he told me my brother had made homilets for them for breakfast. On Tuesday he said my sister Kathy had made something Mexican for them with beans… saucekitos or something. My family loves to document what we call “Moisiisms”.

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My mother and father have never had lobster, scallops or shrimp so my brother Steve made lobster and scallops for them last week and my sister Lana made a shrimp dish for them to try on another evening. My mother really enjoyed the lobster and left the scallops for my brother to enjoy.  I forgot to ask how she liked the shrimp. I really can’t remember having much fish growing up. Maybe once when my pop went deep sea fishing and caught Yellowtail. I do remember camping at San Clemente Beach in California when the Grunion were running and catching some and running up to the campsite to cook them fresh. The Grunion running experience was a great one for me. “The grunion are running, the grunion are running, was chanted down the beach after waiting in the dark for them to appear. You could see little silvery fish emerge from the waves onto the beach and they would start digging into the sand to lay eggs. Wow this post has really gotten away from me.

Here’s a short explanation from Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, “Spend a night sitting on Southern California’s sandy shore waiting for the “grunion run.” Grunion are small sardine-size fish of the silversides family, which are among the few species of fish that actually come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches. They are found from Southern California south to Baja California and arrive at night after the high tide around the new moon and full moon. Cabrillo Beach is one of the better places to observe the fish.”

So you see if you don’t measure properly you will find your mind being random and scattered and full of fond memories of carefree days…

Here’s that Yellowtail I mentioned earlier. This was taken in our backyard in Montebello Gardens (Pico Rivera). That’s me and my brother Tim watching my pop clean the fish.

028_28-001Hope you have a perfectly random day!

Still Working…

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…on some before and afters of our floors. These are just a few of the changes that I’m enjoying. I really like our new smaller TV stand and that the TV now fits tucked in nicely under the stairwell.

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The stairs to the basement are a great improvement, too. The new chocolate carpet color enhances the walls and the tile in the basement.

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I’m still working on the right angles of the new shots of the living room compared to the old looks. I’ll share more soon. WE are really happy with the roomier feeling we’re getting in the living room.

We have had some “oye” moments around here. The Ikea storage units we bought for our closet in the spare room were off by 3/4 of an inch so now we need to make some adjustments to have them fit in the closet. Little things like that make a big impact on your planning.

My mom is hanging in there and my mom and pop have decided that they don’t need one of my siblings spending the night at the apartment anymore. My siblings still come by during the day to clean and cook for my parents. My pop is doing a lot better with the situation and walks to the store now that is close by to replenish milk, etc.

Katie and Andrew have made it to Denver and will be in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. We’re hoping to see them here by Saturday.

So many bloggy friends are talking about Fall already and I’m so surprised to hear about kids starting school. Are you looking ahead to Fall or are you still enjoying the long days of summer?

Almost Hare…

…I mean we’re almost there! Wednesday the carpeting is being installed! Woohoo. All the floors will be new in this old house at the end of the day except for our two bathrooms. I again will be a prisoner in my own home while the installers go in and out with the padding and carpeting.

In the meantime here’s a little visitor to my yard…

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At least on this visit he/she decided to eat the clover instead of my pansy. Pretty sure this is a rabbit and not a hare. It was interesting to read up on the differences between the two.

I’m looking forward to my kitchen area being back to normal instead of being a storage area for our spare room mattress sets.

Chicken 010What do you think?

I was out and about on Tuesday and was amazed at the number of traffic accidents and melt downs there were on my routes. One of the accidents I was behind led to a 3 mile back up on the freeway. My main destination was Ikea. I always enjoy shopping there once I get there. We needed a new shelving unit to put in one of our spare rooms and a new TV stand. We didn’t want anything fancy or expensive so Ikea was a good choice. I’ll point out the items I bought when I post my before and after post.

We again are in a dry warm spell here in the Great Northwest. Perfect weather for our carpet installation since they’ll be doing the cutting out on our deck. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods…