Repairs

Balcony Deck Project

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All of the bedrooms — whether first or second floor — have private decks.

The deck for primary bedroom is on the second floor, far right.

The deck outside the primary bedroom needed a little upgrade before it can be regularly used as an outdoor space.

The deck off the primary bedroom needed an upgrade starting with a good cleaning. (Before)

First I washed the deck with housewash and a jet spray nozzle.

All the balconies need cleaning and staining — primary bedroom is first.

The pressure washer helped get the last bits of moss off the edges.

Then, when we finally got the pressure washer working, I hit it again.

Even cleaned, the deck doesn’t look very good.

I had ordered the stain in January but when I opened it I found that I had received basic untinted stain.  I returned to Lowe’s (a hassle) to have the requested “Foothills” color added.

In some areas there was very little finish left — especially on the drip line under the eaves.

As it dries the finish doesn’t look as splotchy.

The deck has many surfaces so staining took a good while.

“Foothills” over the old brown is very much like the downstairs deck made from composite. (Seen at right of photo)

Covering all the dark brown on the outside of the house will be a challenge.

A nice shady spot to have morning coffee overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.

Two more decks to go plus all the dark exterior wood trim.  Ugh!

Jo

Garage Door Upgrade-ish

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We have a vintage wooden double garage door on the northeast side of the house.

The garage door was scruffy brown.

It gets very little sun but lots of wind and weather.

The garage door is now navy blue.

The first thing I did was to stain the dark brown door navy blue (actually Cabot Newburyport Blue Solid Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer in One ).

Charlie muscled the old weatherstrip off the bottom of the garage door.

This sealer was nailed along the bottom edge of the door.

Then we ripped off the old bottom weatherstrip and replaced it with the Frost King product in the above picture.

We used the nails that came with the rubber strip and applied them in a zigzag pattern.

Next we replaced the stationary garage door seal on the top and sides of the opening with 40 feet of  Elvone Universal TPE Weather Stripping.

We attached the sides before attempting the top span.

Of course we pulled the old stuff off first then cleaned the area very well.  We had planned to stick on the weatherstripping which has an adhesive backing but it would NOT stick to the wood.

Charlie drove in the screws that came with attached black caps (matching the weatherstip) which we did not close until we were certain the garage door would ride up and down.

Instead I started holes about a foot apart with roofing nails which we then pulled out and replaced with the provided screws.

I laid out the floor strip and marked both sides on the floor with pencil.

Finally (and my favorite) we added VEVOR Garage Door Threshold Seal Strip.

Two tubes of adhesive were included in the kit.

Charlie ran adhesive inside the lines according to the instructions in the package.

I held the unglued end of the strip so it wouldn’t get stuck down prematurely.

Then he carefully laid the threshold strip between the marked lines onto the adhesive.

I waited 24 hours before driving over the strip.

We’re hoping these new measures with help keep water, wind, and weather out of our attached garage.

In spring I plan to touch-up parts of the door that are now unpainted.

When everything is closed up the new installments are unnoticeable.

Jo

December, 2025: Aims

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December is a wonderful month to look back and dream forward. We’re working diligently this December on dismantling the kitchen.  We haven’t had to live without a kitchen at Christmas since 2013.

The kitchen is in the far corner behind the post.

In the meantime we’re still trying to enjoy the season and get to know new people.

In December I’d like to:

  1. Celebrate Christmas.

    The polar bears are protecting the scaled-down Christmas tree.

  2. Work on an inside project from my 101 in 1001 list.  Could be writing notes to friends (#4), scanning  the  Mommie photos (#11), old Christmas decorations that no longer suit us (#27),  and/or work on studio/office in back bedroom (#63) — so many choices, so little time.
  3.  Continue packing up kitchen items, removing cabinets, patching holes, and maybe even painting.  The painting will depend on how far we get with the tearing apart.  Much of the wall will not show when the kitchen is finished but I would like it to be fresh and clean before the cabinets are installed.

    The living room in Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster.

    I’ve chosen the color Alabaster like the living room.

  4. Get rid of a pile of clutter from the master bedroom.

    Most of the stuff on the left has got to GOOOOO.

  5. Choose new appliances: Stove and exhaust fan.

    This dinosaur has outlived its era.

  6. Make a dermatologist appointment.
  7.  Read a book.
  8.  Get a COVID booster.

    Glad we no longer are required to mask up.

  9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: MARVEL.
  10.  Write a Do-it list for January, 2026.

Jo

November, 2025: Score

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By November the setting sun has moved from the west to the southwest so we get really stunning sunsets over the water.

The sun goes down in an orange ball then fires up the sky when it sinks below the horizon.

In addition to the numbered list below I (we):

  • went birding at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge with 3 experts. Apparently we saw over 48 different species of birds.  I learned a thing or two but (unfortunately) not much more than that.  Happily I will have more opportunities in the future.

    We saw many bald eagles — one of our companions with a real camera took fabulous photos.

  • watched the 1957 film Funny Face starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.
  • had our outdoor TV antenna upgraded.

    There’s a man at the top of our antenna tower pulling up the antenna on a seriously windy day.

  • witnessed the Northern Lights across the marsh — an unusual sight in Maryland.

    Not only is the Aurora visible but I can also see Orion’s Belt, Taurus, and the Pleiades.  I’m learning!

  • donated the first 4 Thursday Murder Club books to my local library since they do not own them.

    I’ve donated 1-4 and am still waiting for #5.

  • saw bright shooting star during the Leonid Meteor Shower.
  • bought 2 cords of seasoned oak for the wood stove.

    2 cords — some need stacking; other need splitting and stacking.

  • began an Advent study at a local church.
  • had Thanksgiving dinner on Tilghman Island at a local crab shack.

    Thanksgiving buffet was loaded with seafood specialties. I enjoyed short rib Wellington after baked oysters.

In November I had planned to:

  1.  Continue to take apart kitchen.

    We started taking down cabinets from right to left — one by one.

    The upper cabinets are mostly down and removed from the kitchen.  Charlie is planning to use them in the shed.

  2.   Bring down Christmas decorations to go with this year’s theme — Wildlife: whales, ponies, polar bears, birds.  The theme highlights this year’s travels.

    I inherited this little bird sculpture.

  3.   Work on new appliances for kitchen renovation.  I ordered a new dishwasher, sink, and faucet.

    I’m sticking with a champagne bronze finish for the fixtures.

  4.   Order backsplash tile.

    Enough fish scale tile for the backsplash.

    I came up against a little issue where I had to visit more than one Lowe’s store to get the full amount we’ll need.  Done and done.

  5.   Wrap, pack up, and mail Christmas gifts.

    All wrapped up — no peeking.

  6.   Read a book.  I’m working on the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. Just read the 4th in the series: The Last Devil to Die.  I’m waiting for The Impossible Fortune (5th installment) to become available digitally through my library card.
  7.  Work on contractor possibilities for kitchen remodel. I have contacted 4 possibilities by email with photos of the project.

    I’ve decided on a 2-tone kitchen — blue (Upwards) on bottom, cream (Sandhill Crane) on top.

  8.  Work on a paint/stain project.  Charlie continues to stain the exterior of the house while I spray painted dead olive trees for some outdoor Christmas decoration.

    Spray painted silver/bronze.

  9.   Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: ENJOY.
  10.   Write a goal list for December, 2025.

Jo

November, 2025: Aims

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Wow! This year has flown by! Already November and we still haven’t finished staining the entire exterior of the house which we started in June.

A lone great white egret studies his reflection in the marsh.

More recently I have been exploring the local area with some experts in birding.

In November I plan to:

  1.  Continue to take apart kitchen.

    Here’s a preliminary plan for the renovated kitchen.

  2.   Bring down Christmas decorations to go with this year’s theme — Wildlife: whales, ponies, polar bears.

    My polar bears made the trip to our new house unscathed.

  3.   Work on new appliances for kitchen renovation.
  4.   Order backsplash tile.

    Multi-toned blue fish scales in my first choice for the backsplash.

  5.   Wrap, pack up, and mail Christmas gifts.
  6.   Read a book.  I’m working on the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series.

    Just finished this one.

  7.  Work on contractor possibilities for kitchen remodel.
  8.  Work on a paint/stain project.
  9.   Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: ENJOY.
  10.   Write a goal list for December, 2025.

Jo

 

New Hydrant

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I’ve never before had a house that had a hydrant.

When we lived in the woods there was a fire hydrant very close to our property.

The only hydrants I knew about were fire hydrants maintained by the fire department.

The hydrant is circled in turquoise.

When we came to The Landing we had a hydrant about halfway down the dock but it didn’t work.

Simmons 802LF hydrant meets Federal Safe Drinking Water Acts and requirements — we could drink water from it if we were really thirsty.

Turns out that it needed to be replaced.  Of course it did.

The crew dug out the old pipe which had totally disintegrated and replaced it with a new system that comes in one piece..

While the plumber was here for the bathroom remodel he got a new one and had his crew replace the broken one.

The water is fed by a hose under the dock that comes from the house.

It’s possible to lock it an an on or off position as well as hook a hose to the threaded faucet.

I suppose I’ll have to find a dedicated hose that reaches at least to the end of the dock.

We’ll be using it to clean the dock, our boats, our feet, and our little dog when he gets back from his island visits full of sandy debris.

Jo

My Spare Tire

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When I last had my car’s oil changed I was informed that I needed new tires.

Tire World is efficient and friendly.

I took my car to a local tire shop where they usually only take drop offs but made an exception in my case.

I had avocado toast and a cortado at the nearby coffee shop while I waited.

When the car had 4 new tires I went in the office to make payment.  At the same time Charlie called the technician and asked him to check my spare tire.

Good thing I never had to use this spare tire.

The tire tech found it under the car.  When he pulled it out to give it some air he was afraid to pump it up because it was in atrocious condition — rusted, dry rotted, and just in bad shape.

My order from Ebay came within a week.

The tire shop does not carry spare tire assemblies so I ordered one from Ebay.

The original tire assembly on top, new one on the bottom.

I never thought of checking my spare tire. Duh!

The old tire has been sent to the dump.

Charlie replaced the old tire with the new one in the rack under the car.

The tire in its rack under the car.

I couldn’t lift either of them so if I get a flat I’ll be calling  AAA.

Jo

A Few Necessary Repairs

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I could have called this post: It’s Only Money.

Charlie noticed some frozen water on the outside of the house which turned out to be a leak in the kitchen.

While we do many repairs ourselves some things we leave to the experts.

The plumber replaced the broken gray lines with updated red and blue pipes.

A leak in the kitchen went behind both the refrigerator and the dishwasher.  Sadly we found out that the water lines, in the kitchen at least, are of an outdated type because they tend to burst.  Hoping the rest of them hold until we remodel the kitchen. Hundreds of dollars.

The whole heat pump contraption looks complicated to me.

Also on those very cold days one of our furnaces would not kick on so we called an HVAC company since we have electric heat pumps. The technician discovered we needed a new 3-ton heat pump.  Great! Thousands of dollars.

Charlie found a brand new flange among our supplies.

I discovered the final issue:  cold air coming under the door from the garage.

The door had weatherstripping around 3 sides and a new flange at the bottom.

Charlie attached a rubber door flange on the garage side of the door to block the incoming air.  It looked like there had formerly been something there which was gone. This totally fixed the issue. Zero dollars.  Whew!

Jo