My favorite funky Christmas song

Have you ever had the pleasure of hearing the 1950's "Christmas in Jail" by "The Youngsters"? Treat yourself:

Save a life - adopt a pet!

These are the "teenage pups" waiting for new homes at the Michigan Animal Rescue League in Pontiac. Brought in a babies, they are growing up in the shelter. Actually, this is a good thing - they're getting trained - easier to adapt to your home!

Seriously, when you're ready for a pet - visit a shelter. SKIP THE PET STORES. You'll get a healthier pet and save a life at the same time. KARMA!

15 Minute Lunch: Strap in, shut up and hold on. We're going back.

15 Minute Lunch: Strap in, shut up and hold on. We're going back.

I have seriously been laughing for 2 days. Not 2 days straight...... but, I'll be doing else, and then the phrase, "I love the way you junk fights against that fabric" comes to mind and I start cracking up all over again! I can't read this without laughing so hard that tears roll down my cheeks!

Happy Halloween!

Did you do anything spooky? This would scare me!

I wonder how much will end up on eBay?

Today's Detroit Free Press announced that the sale of the remains of Tiger Stadium will begin!

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/BUSINESS04/709160568

You can buy stadium seats, a urinal, the door to Ernie Harwell's broadcast booth and so much more!

I'm just glad it's not all headed to landfills.

Years ago, when we were living in Chicago, there was a "stuff" sale at Wrigley Field when they were doing some remodeling. This was about 1985 or so? We had no car or storage. We grabbed 2 attached wooden seats for $20, thinking we would *some day* hire someone to mount them to a board so they could be used. An angry cab driver agreed to someone help us get the thing home to our lakefront condo, where they went into our tiny basement locker.

Of course, "some day" never happened, and in the meantime, our condo's basement experienced a sewer backup. Raw sewage washed over our stuff, including the seats and we had to dump them.

Reading about their selling Tigers Stadium seats stirred up those old memories today. I actually thought, "we should go down there and buy some", but then I'd have another "some day we should find a carpenter to make a stand for them" situation!

Construction is over; Back to eBay!

OK, it's done. Enough complaining about construction. Back to my first love, eBay!

I just saw this on CNN - Temple Emanu-El in Miami (no, not Oak Park) is trying to auction off some seats for quite a few bucks!

Kinda silly. Nobody's gonna bid, but the predictable negative comments sure will follow! Can't blame 'em for trying though!

Done today?

Today I made the last payment on this huge remodelling project. It should have been completed 3 months ago. It began 1/22 and ran through today, 8/31. The owner never once - not once - said "I am sorry" for the delays. Not once!

This afternoon, what did I find? An enormous crack in the ceiling! YIKES!

Thinking of Remodeling? Ask for references!

I've had a contractor's sign on my lawn for over 6 months. It's finally gone. This might lead some neighbors to believe that I recommend this contractor.

****WRONG****

The interminable job has turned into the project straight from the pits of hell. Today, I actually burst into hysterical tears in my own livingroom as the contractor:

• blamed me for 2 things that were not my fault, and
• demanded more money, in advance of what the contract says... and in his twisted logic, he thinks he really is owed the money due to my "fault".

If you've seen the sign on my lawn and you're thinking of remodelling, write down that name on your list. Take a black Sharpie. Cross out the name in thick permanent ink. Keep it. If you're tempted to call them later, read it again.

I love my house and the almost-done results. I mean, I LOVE my house! But if I could turn back time, whew, I would run *s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g* when this guy shook my hand for the first time.

If you don't know who I'm talking about, I'm not gonna tell you. I don't want to hear from lawyers. But:

• If you're located in Birmingham, call the inspectors. Ask if any usually-reputable builders have dragged out jobs forever and done a sloppy job in the meantime.
• If you contact me with a list of contractors you're thinking of hiring and ask me if I recommend any of them, I'll tell you yes or no.

This builder told me that down the road, I would have "amnesia" with regards to how painful the building process was. That would be good. But I sure won't forget how bad it felt to be crying in my livingroom when the job that won't end gets worse.

June 18... it's painfully slow

Friday is our 5-month mark on construction. When will this end?

But here's some progress - the window! I have to try to take some pics when the sun is beating through it.

Here's the view when you walk into the room. How 'bout those pink walls!

Here's a straight-on shot.

We found 3 "recycled" light fixures on eBay!

Here's the hall light at the top of the stairs. The rest of the hall lights are those dumb "cans". I wanted something retro for this space though. Those are pink "Tiffany" flowers.

Grace wanted a vintage chandelier, and we found this neat "tole" one from the sixties. Those are the original sixties bulbs, though we had it all rewired. We chose the gold on the walls to coordinate with the gold flowers! We found this on eBay and drove over to Roseville to get it.



Grace has a neat little window seat with this pretty fixture up top.


I love her room!

End of May update!

It seems interminable! This week was our 4-month "anniversary" of this danged project! Well ok, here's a progress report. There's the latest update to the "Dude Where's My Garage" post! I like the cedar shake! It's hard to see, but that's caution tape in front where they poured new cement. Gimme a few more months of this and that'll be "police scene do not cross tape" instead!

First, this is the view of our front lawn. When people come to my house, I say, "Look for the one with a PODS, dumpster and Porta-Potty on the front lawn!"

That "john" is the most popular one in Birmingham. Something about it makes guys feel the sudden urge to *go*! Twice now, I have witnessed the trash men making a quick visit between pickups!

We have our first female on the job now, a painter. I told her, "Don't even think about using that horrible thing! Use the house bathrooms." She said, "Thanks, I already used it and EWWW!"

The good news is that thing's leaving on June 11 whether the job is done or not.

See that little red/white soccer ball? It showed up one day. I wonder whose it is.

It's been hard for Sheldon to mow the lawn. The mower has been in the PODS, plus all the junk on both lawns. Our garage door has been in pieces for 4 months. Now a jungle of grass is threatening to overtake the lovely white metal panels.

The house has that 2-tone look of a 57 Chevy, doesn't it? OK, it's not quite *that* cool. But with the subject of house color looming, I have now discovered that my neighbors don't like our old smoky green. One came running over when she saw the tan siding: "Oooooooooo, you're changing the color! I LOVE IT!" Well sorry, no, I'm really not.

I ordered the new paint color. Same green. Identical. Matching what we had before. Same pink doors too.

When faced with the question, "Should you choose house paint color that you love or your neighbors love?" it was an easy answer... which reminds me - I could never be a happy person in a community where a committee gets to approve your house color. It's the effect of coming of age in the sixties, I'm sure.

There was a case a few years back where a couple in Bloomfield Township painted their house purple and the neighborhood association actually took up a collection to sue them. Really. The association rules clearly say that purple is not on the list of "acceptable" colors. In the meantime, I'm cheering for them. You love purple? God Bless America! Paint your house purple and glue on some purple rhinestones too!

Now, here's my favorite part - my balcony! It's a corner of my new bedroom. It's truly TINY but heck - the view is immense. I can't wait to sit there some morning with a cup of coffee. I wonder if I can train Shoshana go to bring the paper up?

Finally! A worker that Shoshana likes! She has bitten 5 ~ maybe 6 ~ of the guys so far. One day when I was not home and thought I had her safely locked up in the kitchen, she pinned the drywall guys upstairs as they were trying to leave.

When new guys come in, if she's not put away yet, she stands at the door in her best "police dog" stance with an "I AM WARNING YOU AND I MEAN IT" bark and and body language.

OK wait... the guys say that she doesn't actually "bite". What she does is chase them out the door and nip them on the butt. So far no blood or lawsuits!

Skeetie's in this picture too soaking up some free love. He thinks that, being a Shih Tzu, he is automatically adorable and deserving of praise and admiration. He would not even consider protecting the house for a split second. "Gonna pet me? Ok cool. Come on in and I'll show you where she keeps her jewelry!" is more like it.



Last, but not least, here is "the contraption". I wish I could figure out a way to sell it on eBay! The guys rigged up this big thing to temporarily hold the electric meters.

Lotsa complaining I know, but I'm genuinely excited about my new home!

One more "Kilo" picture!

 

One more... I just think he's too cute for words!

... MY baby with the furbaby

... And now, for equal time, here's Grace, my "baby" (age 17) with Kilo, the cutest pup in the world.

Dogsitting

Today I babysat our neighbor's little pup, "Kilo". Dang he's cute! He's about 8 weeks old. Here he is, saying hi to Shoshana!

Dude, My Garage Is Back

Nice, eh? The garage is back and my new master suite's up on top!

Here are some views of the master suite interior:

This is standing at the back (West) wall looking out front. To the left is the bathroom, right is the closet.

Here's the West wall. The big square window is where the stained glass will go. I love how the afternoon sun beats in. With the window there, the room'll be bathed in jewel tones. Outside the doorwall is my (tiny) balcony.

Shoshana has found a new place to watch squirrels!

PS - the furnace and air conditioning both sold! Even I am amazed!

Selling the impossible!

Well, I'm back posting after a long absence. 2 out of town trips for Dad, 2 memorial services (Florida and Michigan) and lots of sadness..... but things are back on track and my construction's still going!

I have to admit, I even doubted myself when it came to being able to sell a furnace and central air conditioning! You'll see by the very bareness of my listings that I didn't want to kill a bunch of time on something that might be hopeless. But guess what! Both of them have bids right now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270099934955

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270099936892

Podcast of my 2/10/07 Radio Show

If you missed hearing me live on WJR last weekend, you can hear it on this podcast: http://www.wjr.com/Sectional.asp?id=6528. My part starts at about 11 minutes. It was fun! Thanks Foster and Ed!!

Hear Think Outside the Dumpster LIVE on WJR Radio Tonight!

It's Saturday, February 10. Be sure to tune in tonight to the best computer show on radio, "The Internet Advisor" on WJR, 760AM, from 8-10pm EST. If you're not in the listening area, you can listen live online at www.wjr.com.

Tonight I'll be a quick call-in guest probably at around 8:07 or 9:07 EST. Visit the show's homepage at http://www.wjr.com//Sectional.asp?id=6427, with a link back to this blog.

On a sad note, my dear dad, Bruce MacMurray, was my biggest cheerleader in life. He especially took delight in my occasional guest visits to this radio show! Dad's been struggling with cancer for months, and has spent the last week courageously fighting. He passed peacefully last night. I know he'll be "listening" and bragging to everybody "up there", so I'll do the show with a big smile on my face for him.

Why the eagle and flag? Dad was a combat veteran in World War II, serving in the US Navy. He was an all-around good guy. He taught me all of the important things I know.

Habitat For Humanity To The Rescue!

"Thinking outside the dumpster" is not just about selling the stuff. It's also about making sure the good, usable stuff can go to a new home. Think "Tax Deduction"!

"Habitat For Humanity" accepts these materials... and more! They use what they can in their houses. To raise money, and to provide low-cost materials for other fixer-uppers, they also run "The Re-Store" with donated materials. http://www.habitatdetroit.org/


So today, "Steve" and "Mat" came out with their truck. They picked up - just their first trip so far in this project - what did not sell on eBay or Craig's List - a door, a medicine cabinet, a ceiling fan and much furniture.


I was their first stop. I snapped them while they loaded the truck.


2 lonely pieces of furniture got passed by! I lowered the prices and put them back on eBay for a last ditch effort.

Stay tuned as the progress rolls along and we salvage more stuff. Do you think I can sell my furnace?

"Dude, Where's My Garage?!"

Did you see my "Before" picture? My garage is now missing!

Well heck, don't those trees in back look lovely with the snow?

Expanded my rescuing to Craig's List

Today, "Nancy" came by in response to some furniture I was selling on eBay. She liked it and bought it... and we had to talk "business"! We're both avid eBayers!

Nancy gave me a great tip - Craigslist offers FREE For Sale listings. So, tonight I posted 5 last items there to test.

(and now, I am crossing my fingers that the remaining furniture sales get picked up. Habitat for Humanity is coming by for stuff on Tuesday!)

These are my 5 free listings!

My ceiling fan
http://detroit.craigslist.org/hsh/269455846.html

Under-window shelf
http://detroit.craigslist.org/fur/269453450.html

Tall bookcase
http://detroit.craigslist.org/fur/269451673.html

Bellini nightstand
http://detroit.craigslist.org/fur/269448029.html

Then, there's the Techline shelf that used to be nice until nailpolish (yellow!) spilled on it!
http://detroit.craigslist.org/fur/269449914.html

Yes, I admit, I have fun writing those things. Why be boring?

My new rescued antique stained glass window

"Think Outside the Dumpster" - but in reverse for me. I'm the buyer this time!

On eBay, item 270081143005, I found this shockingly-beautiful window! 100 years old, rescued before demolition from a 100-year old bank in Wisconsin!

Today, sellers AnnMarie and Juan drove all the way from Indiana to hand-deliver it! (Sorry, AnnMarie, for catching you at a funny moment!)

This summer, I hope to travel over to see them. Like me, they love old houses and can't stand to see great stuff hit the landfills. I want to go see the old mansion that Juan's restoring.

Another eBay connection!

The Sledgehammers Are Here...

... and all I can say is, "OY!!"

Think Outside The Dumpster - First Sale!

My first sale from this project was a true surprise!

I did predict that someone who just HAD TO HAVE that special vintage item that you can't find elsewhere would look on eBay... but never did I imagine that it would be this!


I had offered this sink as "pickup only". Then I heard from a buyer in NJ who just HAD TO HAVE it! She is going to use my local UPS STORE to pack and ship it. She promises to send a picture of it in its new home!