lighting the office

Recently I did a bit of bragging about my two workspaces in the house.  Having two is wonderful for mixing it up sometimes when the writing mojo is just not flowing in one space I can head to the other. We have a designated office on the third floor that we set it up as shared space.  We built a desk that has enough surface area for the two of us to work side-by-side and there are two chairs up there, but I think I've only seen Partner work on his side of the desk once since we built it about six months ago.  My old bed is tucked in that room as well for when one of us can't sleep (generally me). But we also have a working space in our first floor guest/media room.

One day Partner was talking about the need for surface area of sorts for the guest/media room, some type of table or coffee table.  A few weeks later I found a fantastic solid oak, art-deco desk on craigslist for $20.  The $20 turned into $40 when we could not fit it in my 1998 VW Jetta TDI -- our serious workhorse of a vehicle, but the desk is a really lovely piece, works perfectly in the space, and provides additional storage and the desired surface area. I was very happy that Partner agreed and let me bring it home.  It was not quite the type of surface area he was looking for I later found out, but he really has gone out of his way to let me do things to make this place feel more like home for me too.

In December I found myself working in that first floor space more and more because the lighting down there was better.  That is an amusing statement because the office proper has three windows, while the first floor office has one tiny window which is always covered. Still, the first floor office ends up having better lighting because the ceiling in there is flat (recessed lighting) and I have a decent desk lamp.  In our shared office the ceiling is sloped in line with the pitch of the roof, which is lovely.  But the recessed lights in that room point away from the desk, and my only other desk lamp, and the only one which would have worked in that space, got broken by the movers in the move.  Yeah... at some point I should write a whole post about our lovely movers.

For a few months now I've been making do with the SAD lamp acting as a desk lamp.  I am still not sure if it has been helpful or not with the very dark days of the Seattle winter season, but I think it has been really helpful in the mornings when I first stumble into the office just after waking up. Regardless, it is not a very good desk lamp as I can't direct the beam anywhere.

When we got back from our adventures in Thailand and Cambodia I moved another lamp to the middle of the desk in hopes of brightening up that side of the room a bit more.  Still, the truth of the matter has been that I really needed an adequate desk lamp to illuminate my writing space.  Last week I finally broke down and found a really nice vintage piece on Etsy.  I do love perusing that site.

The lamp arrived two nights ago and I was super excited to see how it worked in the space.  But as I opened the otherwise really well packed box, I learned that the bulb which had been shipped in the lamp was broken.  So not only would seeing how it worked in the space have to wait, but I needed to figure out how to get the broken bulb out of the lamp.

Faced with the lightbulb that had been broken off in the socket, I recalled an episode of Mr. Wizard that I saw on Nickeloden when I was a kid.  I found it really interesting at the time because Mr. Wizard used a potato to removed a broken lightbulb from a light fixture.  I think it was the first time I had seen produce used in home repair. Thankfully we had some potatoes in the house thanks to our Full Circle CSA deliveries.

Partner was a bit curious when I wandered into the kitchen with the lamp in hand searching for a potato. Even after explaining to him that I learned the trick from Mr. Wizard he did not seem all that convinced. Still, he let me sacrifice a potato for the lamp, and probably to guarantee himself at least 10 minutes of amusement.

The potato sacrifice was totally in vain as it did not do much other than get my lamp all covered in potato gunk.  After failing with the potato it was time to get out the tools and see what I could make happen.

This kit of tools and the drill make up pretty much I that I use for tacking home projects.  

All it took was a creative use of the needle-nose pliers -- place pliers inside the socket, fully open them so that they are pressing against the wall, and hold the tension while you unscrew -- and the lamp was free of the broken, old bulb.

After freeing the lamp of the old bulb I took sometime to cleaning it of the potato gunk and juices.  I also grabbed some baking sode from the pantry and mixed that with a bit of water to polish the lamp base and arms to a nice shine.   The shade is a bit worn and muted, but I really like the look of it against the artwork in the office.

Hopefully I will find some time today while working on writing the conclusion to the dissertation to run out to Lowes to find a light bulb that will fit the lamp. Then I will get to see how it really looks in the office.

an attempt at DIY.... or just cobbling something together

A day or so before we packed up and headed of to Thailand and Cambodia, I was working in the downstairs office (yes, I am spoiled I have two workspaces in the house) when I heard a crash coming from the ensuite bathroom. Dreading what I would find upon entering (please, let it not be the artwork!), I was relieved to find that it was only the faux drawer face plate that had fallen off the vanity.

Was I relieved?  Well, not exactly.  I knew that I did not have time to take care of it before we were heading out of town so it was just going to have to wait until we returned.  Then we returned and there was that snow storm, so it had to wait for a few days until things in Seattle thawed out and I could head to Lowes to find the strange plastic attachment doohickey. Yup, that is the technical term!

See, how it is held on there?  Those little plastic things that allow the face plate to just pop into place? Two of them had broken off.  

Sadly, as I wrote earlier, Lowes was no help that day, which is how I ended up venturing to Goodwill and scoring the beautiful piece that is now in my entry way.  Still, the broken vanity has been annoying me since then. We don't use that bathroom all that much, but each time I venture in there I cringe at the board just lying across the basin.

For someone who loves projects as much as I do, we aren't really the home DIYers, and we certainly don't have much going on in the way of home repair tools.  Now, if you are in need of tools to work on your car - we've got those covered!  For the house, however, it is me and my trusty drill.

When I moved to Seattle from Ohio, I was the one who brought the majority of the home tools that we currently use.  Yup, that's right, me, the girl.  I used to joke that I dated men for their tools and or their music.  That's only about 5% true.  This drill, however, was purchased one morning at 6am when I was back from a summer in Vermont and needed to do some work on my apartment in Ohio.  I was totally done with the guy I had been seeing before I departed, and although he did have awesome tools and was kind enough to help me build a closet and hang a lovely door, those were not reasons to pick up a phone and dials his number ever again.  So as a declaration of my independence and total frustration I went out and bought a drill.  I probably should have spent more time researching the purchase, but I was a broke grad student at the time, it was on sale, it was cordless, and so it was coming home so that I could put holes in something! The drill and a medium sized tool kit from my grandfather are about all I've got, and they do handle a surprising number of jobs. 

In leaving Lowes and trying to determine what I would do next, I recalled that I had some wood in the house.  More specifically, I had some wood shims lying around from purchasing shims last summer to deal with one of our dressers.  So I figured I would see if I could somehow make use of that wood and just "make it work."

Yeah.... no.  This was a total fail.

I emailed a handy friend of mine a picture of the plastic piece to see if he knew what it was called so that I could find it online.  Sadly, he was of no help in that area.  I know that I don't NEED to find the exact plastic piece, but I am going to need something, something more than shims to get the vanity back together. Truthfully, at this point I think some shallow L-brackets will do, but that will require me making bit of time to head back to Lowes to see what they have so that I can get the vanity back together again.  Time is getting tight as the due date of the dissertation approaches.


Right now, I really am just frustrated each time I walk into the bathroom as it still looks like this.

I guess this is why I've been working in my other office.  Back to revising the Introduction -- home repairs will have to wait for another day or bout of procrastination. 

Veggie-tales

The snow we have right now is making me so happy.  I know, I know:  I am like one of four people in Seattle who feel that way, but I am a winter-time baby so cut me some slack.

While I am rejoicing in the snow and loving the fact that I am getting to wear my favorite winter boots, I have spring on the brain. Not spring itself, per se -- especially as I've never been through a Seattle spring before -- but spring projects.  Specifically starting a garden.

Last summer when I moved to Seattle I spent the better part of a few days ripping out our yard as I waited for the movers to arrive with my stuff.  Then I spent a few more days in the fall ripping the rest of it out, cleaning everything up, and getting it all ready for winter. Originally I intended on getting in a bit of a garden in last summer, but as overwhelmed as I was with the move, gardening did not happen. This year the garden will happen.  Still, there is a lot that must be done before then.

While we were gone I spent time looking at raised beds and going back through various design blogs to find all of the garden stuff I had run across before and really liked.

Now that we are home I want to concentrate on sketching out and pricing out a raised bed for the yard.  I also want to look into doing a DIY cold-frame.  We have some old wine crates I moved here from my old apartment, and I think one or two of those plus a trip to the Re-Store for an old window, hinges, and other materials and I might be able to pull it together with minimal help or tools beyond our drill.

In addition to the raised bed and cold frame, Partner hung some hooks on our fence so that we can have some hanging-planters of herbs.  I think I may also want some pots of herbs or lettuce on the second-floor balcony for easy access.

Once I have all of the structural things figured out for the garden, then it will be on to planning what we will plant.  I already know that kiwi berries will be on the list!

Before & After

This is a little project I've been meaning to do for a few years now.

I picked up this mid-century modern magazine rack at a garage sale a few years ago for FREE. 

Before

I had someone in mind when I found it and I have been woefully negligent in fixing it up and getting it to them.  It was totally sturdy, but rusty and faded, and I knew that with some elbow-grease it could look awesome. 

Supplies

During

During

I am not quite done with it yet.  I want to go over it again - give it another coat and make sure I have all the spots. 

Drying

Drying