Odd Fellows Zoo

On Saturday night, Teddy and Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at the Odd Fellows Zoo and decided they would rather stay in their carriers then explore their new home.

On Sunday morning, tensions had eased and I found Teddy and Thomas playing in the kitchen together, but we couldn't find Eleanor. Until we checked that hole we made in the wall when we found the washer dryer hookups: 

As I yelled to Andrew that I had discovered our missing First Lady, I peeked outside to see that Grania was digging the bricks and gravel out from under the gate: 

So I left the cat in the wall and ran outside to keep the dog from escaping.

After we plugged the hole in the wall and brought the dogs inside, we went back to the apartment to hand in our keys and bring the last group of pets home:

Andrew's 4 parakeets: Martha Washington, Samuel Adams, Elbridge and Button. 

Fast forward past carrying their cage in the pouring rain, trying to fit the cage up our old twisty stairs, trying to get the birds out of the cage, to this: 

Andrew installing a french door between the kitchen and living room. This will keep the cats separate from the birds, create a cat-free zone for our guests, and give the birds the temperature control that they need without Andrew and I having to take the roof off of the house to get the cage upstairs.  

Some of you may wonder if there was an easier solution than to install a door, but to those of you who haven't had to deal with a cat in a wall, birds flying out of cages and dogs digging out from under gates in the same day, I say, don't come to my zoo and tell me how to zoo-keep!

We're so Amish right now

We can check "fence" off of our to-do list. Boy, does that feel good. 

We decided to fence half of the backyard for both a cost saving and a hassle saving measure. We want to put in a patio and get rid of a lot of the English ivy that afflicts the front of our yard, so we fenced off the back half so that the doggies can still play while we work on the other half. It cost less than $200 for the materials and we were able to put it up in one day (with the help of 2 Freds!).  

For some reason, putting up this rustic looking fence made me feel very Amish. The process was pretty straightforward: first we marked where the fence would go with string. 

Then we fitted the gate.

Dug holes for all the posts, and secured them in place with cement. 

We picked up cement at Home Depot that is made specifically for fence posts. You pour the cement powder into the hole with the post already set. Then you pour water into the hole. You don't have to mix it or anything! 20 minutes later, the cement is solid! It was $4 for a 50lb bag, which is more expensive than regular cement, but it made the process so much faster and easier (and less messy!).  We ended up using 4 bags for the entire project.

Since there is an existing chain link fence on 2 sides of the yard, we only needed to put up about 120 feet of fencing. We spaced our fence posts 8 feet apart. 

Once the posts were ready, we unrolled the galvanized steel wire fence, securing it to the posts with a fancy 2 handed staple gun maneuver by Andrew. 

Look at that teamwork!

My job at this point was to keep the 4 staple guns we used full of staples. 

And to take pictures. 

And more pictures. 

Look at those boys. 

We didn't worry about the posts being cemented in at different heights because we plan on using them to hang the dog leashes and some bird houses and feeders. 

We've got some more jazzing up to do (we plan on planting some flower beds at the base of the fence and adding privacy lattice) but for now it's sturdy and the dogs love the extra outside time they're getting. It is really starting to feel like paradise. 

A New Odd Fellow

The Odd Fellows House has a new inhabitant and protector:

Meet Grania!

Hehe, do you think we got another puppy? Not yet! That picture is of Grania in 2006. She has grown into quite a lady:

Andrew adopted Grania after she was found feral in Ohio. To pay the adoption, spay and transportation fee, he sold his iPod, a detail that I've always thought displays the kindest of dispositions and a confusing disregard towards Apple products. 

Grania is a good big sister to Thomas. He can't get enough of her! Here's a video of the two of them playing in the creek. And by playing, I mean Grania is playing and Thomas is crying and trying not to get splashed. What a baby!

Corbels corbels corbels

Here's another great then and now shot of the Odd Fellows Cemetery (and our house!).

The picture below shows the house around 1900, with some volunteer workers lined up outside ready to take care of the graves:

Can you spot our house? 

Here's a shot taken by Andrew this morning:

Finding old pictures has helped us get an idea for the original look and feel of the house. In the old photograph above, you can see that the porch most likely had 8 corbels, or Victorian gingerbread brackets, on it. 

When we bought the house, the porch only had 2 corbels (reproductions, unfortunately). Here's another recent shot of the front porch (taken before we moved in):

This started a search for the *perfect* corbels. Was there a way to get a carpenter to recreate the ones in the picture? Could we find a better shot of what they used to look like? Surely this warranted being a top priority. Forget the water in the basement and the lack of a working shower. I must have those corbels!

I told Andrew I was going to learn woodworking and make the corbels myself. He explained that it was very intricate work, and continued to handle practical concerns, like purchasing the floor supports we would need to keep the living room floor from caving in. 

As I developed plans for the shed I would need (to build, of course) for my woodworking, I discovered unopened boxes of corbels in the closet of our master bedroom. 

I guess Thomas will never get to be an elf in my workshop.    

A look back

I've been feeling a bit under the weather so not much progress has been made at the house, but I thought you all may find these pictures fun. 

Rear view of the entrance to the Odd Fellows Cemetery in 1889:

2013: 

Andrew and I had fun researching the area and finding old pictures of the cemetery and our house. We'll share them in the coming weeks, along with present day photos.

But for now, that's all folks! 

I've got all my fingers

Yesterday was an exciting day at the Odd Fellows House. At the crack of dawn (8am!!! on my day off!!) we had a home energy audit, where they installed a fan in our front door and traced all of the leaks. 

It isn't surprising to find that we've got more holes in this house than a box of munchkins. We are working with a great company and taking advantage of some rebates so hopefully we can plug this place up on the government's dime. Hey, they've been reading all of my email, the least they can do is help me get my house in shape for the winter. 

And because I love to meet men I met on the internet in parking lots, I picked up a brand new kitchen faucet for $60 off of ye olde Craigslist. Winning!

Of course, there was more tiling to be done and this time I got to join in. Using the diamond tip on the drill to cut out tile for the faucets felt shamelessly fabulous, I'm so rich, diamonds work for me!

At one point, the drill slipped off of the tile I was cutting and headed towards Andrew and I's limbs. Andrew's response, "Good job taking your finger off" caused me to look at my hands, show them to him in a jazz-hand-like fashion and say, "Nope, I've got them all."

"Your finger off the trigger," he explained. "Otherwise the drill would have kept going."

This is one of those learning moments for a newly married couple. It is so good to know that, well first, he knows intrinsically whether or not I have all 10 fingers and second that if/when we have a home improvement accident, my husband won't dryly congratulate me for losing a digit. 

And because it's semi-related and fully cute, here is a picture of Thomas claiming that his paw is hurt. He likes to limp and try to get sympathy when he doesn't get his way. Where did he learn that?

The Good Life

Everyday folks ask me, Gina, what is life like at the Odd Fellows House? 

Well, Andrew is not just the tile-man. He's also the grill-man. Check out last night's steak!

And because I know my audience, here's a video featuring the always popular Thomas Jefferson. 

I took this on our walk this morning. You can see where Odd Fellows Cemetery ends and the Rancocas creek and surrounding park begins. It is so quiet and peaceful. And makes for a very happy pup!

I think its a very good life, what about you?

He's a tiling fool!

I love getting picture updates from Andrew throughout the day. While I am helping patrons with their Kindle Fires, Andrew is on fire. He's a tiling fool.  Look at that shower!!

In other tile news, I am in love with the floor tile we've picked out:

It's called Cairoo and it is from Home Depot, of all places. This bathroom is starting to get so fancy we'll have to start calling it a powder room and hire Thomas to stand in it and offer fresh towels. 

Fresh towel, sir?

I promise I'll have more updates soon that are not tile related. Right now the focus is on emptying our storage unit so that our stuff doesn't end up on STORAGE WARS.