Mom And Dad Visit

or, Fix ALL THE THINGS.

So the parents came to town to spend some quality time in the warmth of the desert as they usually do for their spring break. Putting aside the fact that the days they were here proved to be cloudy and rainy with highs in the 50's and 60's, while back home in Nebraska it hit the mid-80's for a week, I think they had a pretty good time. I love it when they come to visit for many reasons. First, they're awesome. Seriously, best parents ever. Second, we get so much stuff DONE. They're not ones to just sit around with nothing to do, which means we knock out all kinds of projects I've been putting off since...well, last spring break. The list of things we accomplished in five days includes:

Let there be light:
My house has really tall ceilings. Seriously. The height of the tall ceilings you're thinking of right now? Add 8 feet. It's a little ridiculous (and I'm sure doesn't help with my hella-fun summer power bills). But the main downfall was the lighting in the kitchen. The previous owners had installed track lighting on the sloping surface, which meant when it came time to change the bulbs, I had to bust out the extend-o ladder, put it on the tallest setting, rig up a precarious scenario with the ladder sitting on the countertop (on top of some towels and scrap wood, so as not to damage the stone), just so I could baaaaarely reach the highest bulb. It was...not ideal. So when the bulbs burned out, I just ignored it. By the end of it all, I was functioning on one measly 40-watt bulb about 16 feet above my kitchen. It was like cooking in a cave. So project 1 involved some new lighting, both ceiling and under-cabinet. I got to use my DeWALT cordless drill for the first time. Now it's lit like the Las Vegas Strip up in this piece.

Begone, ye ugly fixture:
The previous owners also installed a massive, ornate chandelier thing in the dining area. It was just enormous. And not at all my taste. So down it came.

Getting centered:
Who put this window all off to the left? It made me a little stabby every time I looked at it. Solution? Curtains.

Putting down roots:
I don't do plants. They always die on me. But when I bought my house, it was surrounded by great-looking, low maintenance flora that required nothing from me other than water and the occasional trim. And then my sprinkler system crapped out in the middle of summer last year. Carnage. Luckily my mom has the greenest thumb you've ever seen, hence my yard is once again rocking some jasmine and bougainvillea and wigglewams and zipzorps.

Dry rot sounds like a good way to lose an appendage:
The shade structure on my back patio was slowly and silently getting ready to collapse and come crashing through the sloped glass windows in my sunroom. Who knew? So dad fixed it right up one day while I was at work. All I had to do was buy a circular saw and crawl up on the roof to beat the snug-fitting new section into place with a hammer. Seems like a fair trade.

Why sew blue:
My sewing machine has been sitting sad and alone in a closet for many years with no cabinet to call home. Enter: Mom. Take a boring old sewing machine cabinet, slap on some blue paint and: voila! You have a...blue sewing machine cabinet. I love it.

There were other projects, but I'll end it here. Parents are the best!