State of the Rowhouse

It has certainly been awhile, but things are ramping back up here at DC Rowhouse. Here's a sneak peek:

I can tell you, this project is kicking my ass. From planning to inception this thing has been a little bugger.  From the photo you can see this is our bedroom.  For some reason we finished the guest room first and left our room to linger. . . for years. So, it was time to do something.  One of the pieces (the one I hoped to get done first) was the get cable upstairs. Now, I could have done it myself or called an electrician, but I needed to get the cable company out to move the line in the back so I figured I'd have them do the whole job.  This has been the worst contracting experience by far.

Let me start from the beginning. A month ago, I called Comcast (our horrible cable provider) to schedule a call for a custom installation. I explained on the phone exactly what I wanted. After being put on hold from no less than six times so the Comcast operator could ask his manager questions, they scheduled a call. I made the appointment far in advance for March 20th. On March 20th, the installer called me early in the morning to inquire about what I wanted. I explained and he said, "yeah, I don't do that". He still showed up for the appointment and told me I needed a custom installation appointment. With more than annoyance in my voice, I explained that is exactly what I booked. Well, apparently they made a mistake. Four calls later and I was set up for an appointment for the 26th, because they wouldn't do custom installs on the weekend. Fine. I just wanted to get it done.

The 26th was Friday. They were suppose to come first thing in the morning.  By 2pm, no one had showed so I phoned in to them to inquire. "oh", the operator said, "you're scheduled for tomorrow between 11 and 2". WHAT?! Even when I called comcast the automated line told me I was schedule for the 26th, the operator said the 27th. She said she would check and call me back. She never called. Fuming, I waiting impatiently for someone to show on Saturday, the 27th. At 1:30pm, they finally arrived. I showed him what I wanted to get done. After hemming and hawing he asked me when I would like to make the appointment. Um, what? This IS the appointment I replied.  No, no he said, he was out to do a survey of the site only, and would have to come back. The level of rage I now had was unhealthy.

I could spend 2-3 paragraphs on the idiotic conversation I had with Comcast guy #2, but it wouldn't provide any good. Simply put, this guy was rude and apparently a Comcast contractor.

I'll fill you in on the rest of the story when it happens.

Notes of Spring

Last week, when the temps rose above 70 on the first day of Spring, it was time to add some some color to DC Rowhouse.  Since today is rainy in much of the northeast, here are some photos of Spring decor I added to cheer up my spaces:

So, the bird thing. . . yeah, it happened

So, after the blizzards of 2010 everything went a little haywire.  As mentioned before, snow madness resulted with a bird in our house.

The morning of, I woke to a tap-tap-tapping coming from the ceiling. It sounded. . . big. There was something in the attic. At pre-7am, this is just not something you want to deal with.  I did the first thing that came to mind, panicked. Then, I called a trapping company to come and get this HUGE animal out of my attic. The guy on the phone said they would be over early afternoon and I felt slightly more at ease. I went along with the rest of my day on the first floor - staying as far away from the roaming beast in the attic.

At 10am, I went to the kitchen to make a delicious snack of an english muffin with peanut butter. Sounds good, right? I thought it would be too. So, there I am, waiting impatiently for my english muffin to toast to the crispness I desire. Then, I heard the tweeting. Oh, how lovely, I thought. Birds are finally coming back after the storm. Overall, I was having a pleasant morning. Until, the tweeting became a little louder. . .and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move.

Then a bird flew at my head. Straight at my eyes. Inside. Indoors. In my kitchen.

Next, came the screaming.

Here are some very shaky blurry photos I took of the little devil while screaming at the top of my lungs (it's like Where's Waldo, bird edition):

After about 15 minutes of the bird flying around the house and me yelling things like "THIS IS NOT A PARK", and "PLEASE LEAVE SIR", I coaxed the bird out the back door.

The trapper-guy showed later and patched up the small hole in the roof (which was a tiny sliver under some moulding or something the bird squeezed in) with some thick steel. I guess sparrows need very small spaces to squeeze in, and with the cold conditions it wasn't so unlikely.

I'll never make an english muffin the same way again.

Curtain Confession

We have yet to put proper curtains in our bedroom. It's a sad state of affairs in that room. I'm obsessing over these from Crate and Barrel.  But, we would need 3 pairs, which would be over $550. I think that's a little much for curtains . . . don't you?

A bird in the hand

I know, I haven't been posting that much lately. Life at DC Rowhouse has been a little chaotic.

First, we had the snowstorm to deal with. Scratch that, snowstorms. . .plural.  Then, a sparrow snuck it's way into the house. More on that later. Follow that up with a whopper of a flat tire and the news we needed 4 new ones. . .and you can see why the wind has been removed from my sails, and the cash from our savings.

I think I'm making some progress on plans for the upstairs. Choosing a sink for a closet-size bathroom is more time consuming than I thought. So, hang in there. . .I promise good things on the horizon.