Compost is Making Me Fat

So in my endless pursuit of greeney hipness-and frugality-I decided to start composting. Full disclosure, my mom has gardened and composted my whole life, but as with so many things, I paid no attention and needed Google to get myself informed. www.Howtocompost.org is very helpful, as is www.composting101.com. Basically, compost is a way to reduce the amount of trash you throw away, and create what garden nerds call "black gold"-super rich soil that plants love. For now I'm using a 20 gallon storage bin with a lid for the refuse. If you go this route be sure to poke lots of holes on the top, bottom and sides of your bin to allow air flow. Otherwise you'll end up with a stinky-but contained-trash pile. If you want to work on a larger scale there are all sorts of bin designs online.
Compost consists of decomposed food garbage and yard waste. Now, this does not mean that you should toss in a half eaten Big Mac. This means uncooked food (egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels, coffee ground, tea bags, etc). Yard waste means leaves, grass clippings, and other dead stuff, bear in mind if you toss in weeds that have gone to seed they may start growing in your bin, which would kind of defeat the whole purpose of pulling them in the first place. Also, pet/human hair is great for compost, and as I have 2 long hair cats-and am a long hair myself-we've got plenty of that around The Hive.
Now, I am not a patient person, and I have a tendency to be a bit overzealous when undertaking projects. This has translated into me buying-and consuming as quickly as possible-mostly compostable food. This also means I am endlessly chasing my cats around the house with a brush, not letting any of their precious fur go to waste. I am racing against the clock as spring is upon us and I need dirt!

Some reminders: *Your compost should be stirred, or turned, regularly to incorporate all the ingredients. *No one that comes over has any interest in seeing your compost pile. *Leaves, hay, and paper, so called "brown" ingredients should be mixed in with "green" grass clippings to keep pile from getting too damp. *Keep you compost vegan-no meat fish or dairy-or it'll attract critters with the smell

Interior design magazines are like fashion magazines; reinforcing stuff you will never have, places you will never go, people you will never meet and things you will never do.

Neat Freak

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work" -Gustave Flaubert

I am a neat freak. Even as a child my room was always clean. Stuffed animals carefully arrayed by color and category, bed always made without being told. It has become something of a compulsion for me. I shudder when things are out of place and attack any speck of visible dirt without mercy. Things in my house are constantly being "spruced".
My mother is a deep cleaner, believing that every surface should be clean enough to eat off of; I am a tidier, believing every surface should look good enough to eat. When I was young I imagined "what if" scenarios in which a beloved band's tour bus (typically, New Kids on the Block) would break down in front of my house, and woe to me if my room was not tidy for their arrival. As I have gotten older my interests have evolved. I now want to be prepared should the president drop by. (Which, living in southern Ohio during an election year is not outside the realm of possibility.) I mean, I wouldn't want the leader of the free world to think the citizenry unkempt. Just in case, my socks are neatly folded, closets arranged by color, and dishes always washed. I do not know why the president would look in my sock drawer, but how could I possibly discern the concerns of a person of such great importance.
This has been both a bane to partygoers at my house, as I follow them around, emptying ash trays and applying coasters on the sly. And a boon to my romantic life as it makes me appear-at least superficially-extremely domestic. I once had a boyfriend who was even neater than me. He was perpetually purging his wardrobe and apartment of any extraneous stuff that even hinted at clutter (what an aphrodisiac!) But this relentless pursuit does become a burden at times, as the realities of wear and tear-the things that make a life full-are inevitably going to bring with them some disarray. Sigh, well nothing and nobody is perfect. But I'm working on it.

Hardwood floors, the Hard Way

After pulling out the carpeting and revealing the aforementioned "muddy" floors I knew something had to be done. After brief consultation with my design team (Doug) and discussing our options-recarpeting, refinishing, house fire-we decided on refinishing. Historically I had once stripped, sanded and stained two end tables and a small desk, so I pretty much considered myself an expert. Refinishing 3 rooms of 60 year old, uncared for hardwood? No problem! After watching 2 youtube videos we were off to the races...or the tool rental, more accurately.
When we picked up the sander I was expecting an orbital sander, something like a floor buffer, which would glide quickly and smoothly acorss the floor with a pleasant hum. Uh, no, this was a 150lb drum sander. Which moves at 90 degree angles with the sandpaper rolling, like a conveyor belt. After a half hour of figuring out how to attach the sandpaper we turned the beast on; it roared to life, lawn mower loud and vibrating like a chainsaw. (wear ear protection and a breathing mask!!) The beastly thing nearly pulled us both through windows at various times, if left to sit in one place more than a minute or two I have no doubt it would have sanded right through the floor. Additionally, this is a small house so turning corners at the end of a row was also a challenge. However, we had three rooms sanded in less than 3 hours. Important to note, these big sanders will not reach the perimeter of the room, which means you will have a 3" border to contend with, using a handheld sander is inevitable.
After pausing to admire our work, and blow the sawdust out of our noses, the change was remarkable. We had sanded down to beautiful, blonde, cherry wood. It was like a pale, swedish modern, paradise. But, alas, there was no way I was living with blond floors so off to Lowe's we went...
Selecting floor stain is, thankfully, not quite as daunting as selecting paint colors. There are far fewer choices. I wanted a universal  midtone color with a red hue, a low voc stain by Minwax, something called "colonial maple" fit the bill. Something to be aware of, the color on the chip will bear little to no resemblance to your ultimate floor color, lesson learned.  I also chose a high gloss poly because I wanted the "wet" look. I love shiny stuff!
Applying the stain is simple, but messy. It's definitely a two person job. One with a rag to apply the watery, soupy stain and someone to go behind and wipe up the mess. There are sponge applicators that make the second step much simpler. Also you'll need a stain brush for the edges, which looks like a large pastry brush. This is a horribly messy project, your clothes will be ruined and your hands tinted.
After a 24 hour drying period (may take longer depending on weather, ventilation) polyurethane was next. This should be applied with brushes. It is a thin liquid, (be sure with both this and the stain you shake the can well), messy and becomes tacky. It dries into a rock hard candy like gloss after 24-48 hours. Again this stuff gives off noxious fumes so wear a mask. Gloves sound like a good idea, but as the poly dries it becomes incredibly sticky and you'll end up having to toss the gloves...of course without gloves your fingers will stick together.

Due to time constraints we only did one coat, which I now regret as the floor is showing some wear, especially under the feet of furniture. (I may try to do another coat of poly this spring...but we'll see).

Tools 101

"Any tool can be a weapon if you hold it right" -Ani Difranco

Tools. It is said that it is important to use the right tool for the job, however, in my experience, this leads to an inordinate number of trips to Lowe's to return the thing you thought you needed but can only get store credit for because you accidentally threw the receipt away. Some tools are indispensable though, heres my top 10...
1. Duct tape I didnt deal with any ducts, but found many other uses:
straightening lampshades, patching holes, stifling dissent
2. Hammer: nail hammering, demolition, thumb smashing
3. Phillips head screw driver
4. Flathead screwdriver (see also butter knife)
5. Cordless drill
6. Electric sander (gives the illusion of actual sanding)
7. Cash: to pay pizza guy
8. Paint scraper: to scrape paint and unstick windows inadvertently
painted closed
9. Saw: to saw stuff, duh
10. Tape measure (and someone to hold the other end)

Wood Paneling and Wretchedness

A few words about wood paneling. First of all, due to its ubiquitousness in home decor from the late 50s into the 70s, one has to assume that it was either a.) very stylish or b.) very cheap. And, secondly, it must have been brilliantly marketed to convince millions of otherwise sane people to clad their walls in plastic: grooved, textured and printed to bear some vague resemblance to actual wood. Because nothing says natural and organic like printed sheets of plastic! But, I digress, given that 3 of The Hives rooms were walled with the stuff (both bedrooms and the living room/hallway)  I decided priming and painting were the path of least resistance.
I learned, after some research, that an oil based primed (Kilz and Bullseye both make them) was recommended to cover the wretched panels as quickly and thoroughly as possible. What they did not tell me is that oil based primer is sinister stuff. It smells evil, is syrupy thick, unforgiving and adheres to everything it touches, especially hands and clothes. It is definitely not eco friendly, but will definitely get you high in an unventilated room. However, the oil based primer required only two coats, water based might require 4 or more, so if time is of the essence (or if your help's vacation is almost over) oil based is definitely the way to go.
After priming, painting with a low voc water based paint was a snap; hopefully the two somehow cancel each other out. The living room/hall are painted in "rope", the guest room/office is in "apple" and the bedroom is in "pecan praline" (all Valspar brand available at Lowe's.) Each of these colors took months to select...thank goodness paint chips are free. I am thrilled with the grey in the living room, it is easy and accessible (I know grey is the beige of the moment but I wanted to keep the main living area as neutral as possible so I had more flexibility with accessories and seasonal decor), but feel both bedrooms may be a bit too specific for most people.  I find the guest room as cool as a bowl of cucumbers and the "master" (if a 12x12 space can be called that) has an exotic spicyness that I love. Keep in mind, if you paint a room and are shocked or overwhelmed by the color try living with it awhile, once your furnishings, fabrics and art are layered in the color will have dissipated.

To begin with...

My grandfather was a Virginia coal miner, but in his 20s moved to southern Ohio, met my grandmother, got married and had 2 children, the first being my father. They moved into The B's Hive in the late 1950's. "Intimate" and "rustic" would be nice euphemisms for the way they lived: 4 people, 4 rooms, 900 sq feet, no central heat, well water and nary a neighbor in sight. Little has changed in the intervening 50 years, except now there are neighbors on either side of the property-quiet, respectful neighbors-but they are there nonetheless.

I suppose at the time the decor was of the moment, stylish even, though I cannot conceive how faux wood paneling, knotty pine cabinets and green shag could have ever been considered aesthetically appealing.
My self-ordained task when taking on "The Hive" as my own was to try to maintain the charm of a tiny rural cottage, not to attempt transform it into a faux Italianate monstrosity or to pretend that is more than it is...but the, ahem, "decor" had to be undone. I wanted to do this on a less than shoestring budget and keeping things as "green" as possible. (What's the point of living in the country if you're gonna poison the air and soil with a bunch of chemicals?)
I enlisted my crew, consisting of my two younger brothers and their amiable friend, and kept them pacified with a steady diet of domestic beer and White Castle. We began with no particular end in mind, just an ill-defined notion of progress and improvement. Needless to say, when undertaking your own home improvement projects you may want to consider things like "deadlines" and "budgeting."

So out went the carpet which, mercifully, wasn't tacked down. The hardwood floor beneath was a muddy looking walnut color, but betrayed only minor damage. Then primer and paint on every bit of fake wood paneling in sight. My desire for a blank canvas was becoming something of a compulsion. This all got underway in mid fall so, as much as weather permitted, the "crew" and I worked in the yard as well. To be clear my landscaping skills consist of the ability to arrange grocery store flowers in pleasing configurations, so needless to say, there was something of a learning curve...But, with the assistance of brother Doug-who had worked as a landscaper in a past life-we managed to power wash all of the buildings (power washing is way fun but we ran the well out of water at least 5 times), stain the deck and cedar walkway, and build a raised flower bed with a red brick retaining wall. Not too bad for amateurs.