Small Talk: Chili's

[Pixel]

Glory, let me know how it goes, because we will soon be doing the same, minus demolition. It looks very uncomplicated. What I've learned from DIY and Google is that it's crucial to have a 6-7" deep base and be sure it's properly compacted using a vibrating plate contraption. Oh, and drain away from the house.

Good luck!

[Glory]

Glory, let me know how it goes, because we will soon be doing the same, minus demolition. It looks very uncomplicated. What I've learned from DIY and Google is that it's crucial to have a 6-7" deep base and be sure it's properly compacted using a vibrating plate contraption. Oh, and drain away from the house.

Good luck!

Will do! Home Depot rents the plate compactors for $72 a day - just FYI!

 

We're back on track since it didn't rain last night. Today we'll dig up the portion of the sod where we're extending the patio and then hopefully start the initial leveling of the dirt. Tomorrow is gravel and sand compactor day! Woo! 

 

Guts is pretty determined to do this right, so I'm excited. He took so many before and "progress" shots already. I can't wait to share it. Hopefully by Monday morning I'll have pictures for everyone! 

[Pixel]

I can't wait to see and hear. Obviously, I have a vested personal interest. :)

[King of Birds]

Where's the patio slide show? The public demands it!

 

Now that I've got the fitbit, I get pissed at myself when I forget to put it in my pants. (twss?) I missed out on about 3000 steps today due to forgetfulness.

[Glory]

Fuck my life.

[King of Birds]

Um.... we don't really need to see photos. Hope it gets better Glory.

[Pixel]

What happened?

[Setlist]

I hope everything is okay, Glory! (And, holy crap. I'm catching up with everything now. Drawing maps is the coolest job ever.)

 

I laughed out loud over the long awards ceremony. I graduated high school in 2002, and my Dad is still not over the fact that I chose not to attend. They don't tell the students what awards they're getting prior to, so it's pretty much just sitting on stage for hours in anticipation and fear that they'd be the one awarded the "Dunkin' Donuts Award". So in short, it's just the worst. 

 

You have all been pretty motivating with the exercise talk, too. I have gotten so, so lazy recently. We saved up for months to buy a Withings scale, which is actually pretty cool (it can sense whose on it, and send the information about your weight and body fat percentage to your phone) but I always forget to weigh myself at the same time. 

[Glory]

Okay - the patio is pretty much completed! We're missing one brick because we had to return the wet saw and forgot to cut the last piece! Bummer - but I strategically shot around it. Anyway, if you're facebook friends with me you can see the before and after. 

 

What I learned: 

1) Anyone who has ever said, "I've laid a patio before. It's easy!" Is lying their fucking face off. 

2) Don't ever do a project with your in-laws. 

3) Just hire someone.

 

All that said, it was a lot of very hard work and long days. My husband tore up the entire old patio by himself before we started on the new patio on Thursday. Here are a few "before" pictures of the old patio.

 

 

 

You can see how bad it was. They didn't edge it properly and they probably didn't sand it ever. It was bad. 

 

So Guts ripped it all up, pretty much by himself. 

 

 

But we were extending it, so we had to dig out some more sod. 

 

 

Then we had to level, weed block and then put down gravel and compact that and sand and compact that. When it was all said and done and we started laying bricks we ended up chopping about a foot off the sides (6" each side) and a foot off the back end. So we originally started with the idea of it being 18 x 25 and ended up at about 17 x 23.5.

 

Let me tell you that is a huge GD patio. We used 1800 brick pavers to do this. The laying it was pain in the ass. And making sure everything was square pretty much didn't happen when we just wanted to be done. 

 

You can see the finished product in this picture. The sand hides a lot of the wonky lines and I honestly don't mind them. The gravel and sand on the edges will be rake up a bit and then we're going to lay some sod down this week. 

 

 

All in all, it was a freaking hard project. We worked non-stop on it from Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning. I would probably not ever do this again. Once is enough to last me a lifetime! 

 

The hardest part was making sure everything was level. You're supposed to level the entire surface before you put anything down at all. That way, you can then put the weed block fabric, dump the gravel, compact it, and it should remain relatively level. That didn't happen because my FIL wanted to "level as we go." I almost had a fit right there in the backyard but, ultimately, I wasn't doing a lot of the heavy lifting so no one listened to me. It would have prevented a lot of problems and made things a lot speedier to level up front. 

 

I can definitely answer any questions for those who are interested! 

 

But right now, I'm going to take a nap!

 

 

 

[King of Birds]

1) Anyone who has ever said, "I've laid a patio before. It's easy!" Is lying their fucking face off.

 

Word.  I did a small, and I mean small project here at my house- maybe 100 bricks (I cleared out an area near a gate so it could open all the way without jamming into the ground) a few years ago and I spent most of the time trying to level. What a pain in the ass.  Looks good, Glory.  And I hope you never involve your in-laws in home improvements again.

[EllieH]

Looks great Glory! I've helped with some building projects in the past too and I agree, leveling is a huge PAIN.

 

Enjoy your new patio!

[LiberryLady]

That looks great, Glory! You should feel proud!

 

I would probably not ever do this again. Once is enough to last me a lifetime!

 

 

I have a theory that DIY projects are like childbirth: you tend to forget the misery, and after awhile feel up to the challenge again. ;)

[possibilities]

I love the patio, Glory!

 

I like DIY, but it does mean sometimes getting in over my head. The house I live in is almost 200 years old and has been gutted and renovated a few times by people who followed a variety of codes (or not). I had the embarrassing experience of wanting to hang shelves on the wall and not being able to find the studs. This isn't even what I'd call a DIY project, it's just basic decorating. I finally broke down and called a carpenter and he told me that in fact there were no studs in the wall I was looking at. So I wasn't stupid. They had some elaborate rube goldbergian improv going on that held the wall up. He said it's very common in old houses, but I didn't find that particularly comforting. The only reason the carpetner was even willing to take the job of figuring it out was as a favor to a friend of mine who he knew personally. In general, it's a job too small for the pros, even if it was too big for me.

 

On the other hand, I re-glazed a window and found that to be no big deal. And I fixed m wshing machine once time, which made me feel like a superhero. I also fixed some chairs someone gave me. I'd say about half the DIY projects I take on end well and the other half end in humiliation and defeat and the calling of a professional.

Edited June 16, 2014 by possibilities

[Glory]

Thanks all! I've never been so excited to be at work and just sit!

I watched most of season 1 of the Office yesterday when we finished in a fit of nostalgia. Anyone want to do rewatch with me?

[smrou]

For King of Birds, today's XKCD.  [Make sure to read the hover text, too.]

[King of Birds]

Ha!  If BrahmaGirl ever posted here - I know, what a concept, she called ME slowpoke in signing up - she'd tell you that's issue #1 with jetpacks. The legs.  I mean, the armed forces certainly have got the engines that can adjust to be vertical/ horizontal thing pretty much developed, but they'd burn your legs to toothpicks on a jetpack device.

 

I saw Edge of Tomorrow. And I know there's a movie section here at Ptv that I should seek out, but what I don't get with futuristic movies isn't eye makeup or something silly like that, but the idea that soldiers are better off being stuck in heavy robot paraphernalia. Yeah, that's cost effective - body armor when fighting interstellar things without spines.  (none of this will spoil you) Also, it really really showed off how tiny Tom Cruise is compared to the rest of the troops.

Edited June 17, 2014 by King of Birds

[Pixel]

Glory, thanks for the pics and the tips. It looks fantastic. That looks to be a very similar size to what we want to do.  My husband is really anal about things, so the leveling shouldn't be an issue for us. Our issue is we have a 12 X 14 concrete pad that we want to pave over and then extend, so we have to make sure the height is even all throughout.  I think ours will be 14 x 22 when all is said and done, so your brick count is really helpful as well!

 

How many people were working on this? You, Guts, your FIL and anyone else?

[Glory]

@Pixel - our friend stopped by for about 3 hours on Friday to help shovel gravel and dump wheelbarrows. Other than that, it was just the three of us. 

[Pixel]

That's even more impressive, especially when you realize your FIL made things harder. :)

[possibilities]

My TV set is dying. It's an old CRT, 13" I think. It's small.

 

Anyway, as I research TVs for what to do next, I find myself kind of overwhelmed by the idea that anything less than 2 or three times the size is considered "small."

 

How big are your TVs?

[smrou]

I think my TV is 42", which I consider very large.  And in fact when I got it I was upgrading from my 13" CRT, so it was a very big change. 

[frenchtoast]

We have a 40" in the (somewhat large) living room. And downstairs is a 65" 3D television, but we were replacing a 65". The big one was intended to be for a home theater--watch movies and tv together as a family. Sometimes we do, but most times I just flop on the upstairs living room couch and watch movies or tv there. Mostly because it's closer to bathroom and kitchen and internet. And the living room couch is a little more comfortable. I exercise with the 65" tv, and the Xbox is hooked up to it so it gets plenty of use.

 

I would say because televisions are so thin now, the larger size doesn't seem as big. We went up from a 27" in the living room to the 40" and it didn't seem that much bigger which I think is because the 27" was a flat screen, too. There are times I want a bigger television in the living room because I've had difficulty reading text from a cell phone or a note in a show and clearly a bigger tv will help with that ;) So, I think you'll get used to a larger size fairly quickly.

[Glory]

We have a 32" in our bedroom (which seems small just because the screen is so fa away) and a 55" in our living room (which seems huge because of the way our furniture is placed).

 

Our 55" was a hand-me-down from my parents. It's a flat screen, but it's still got the giant tube on the back so it sticks out about 2.5 feet into the room. If we had a true flat panel t.v. my husband wants something around 60" because he says it won't look so huge when it's back against the wall. That seems a little obsessive to me, but if he wants it, I won't say no. 

 

I'd actually like to put our 32" in our front room (the Living Room to all you non-Chicagoans) and get a 42" for our bedroom, but I'm not sure that will happen before we upgrade the 55". 

[smrou]

I would say because televisions are so thin now, the larger size doesn't seem as big.

I definitely agree.  Also, the widescreen aspect ratio makes them a little smaller (doing a quick calculation, a 4:3 ratio 13" TV has an 81 square inch screen, while a 16:9 ratio 13" TV would have a 72 square inch screen).  My family has a TV at our camp that I think is less than 20"--probably like 18" or something (I really don't know)--and I'd place it in the same general class size-wise as my old 13" CRT.  Also, while I consider that a small TV, I also think it's perfectly adequate.  We mostly watch tennis and football on it, and if I'm sitting all the way across the room I'll sometimes have trouble reading the score, but otherwise it's just fine.

 

If we had a true flat panel t.v. my husband wants something around 60" because he says it won't look so huge when it's back against the wall.

I think that's the size of my sisters' TV and it looks huge to me.  In a bigger room than their TV room it might not, but their furniture is closer to their TV than my furniture is to mine, and their TV is significantly bigger, so whenever I go over there to watch a football game or something I'm just shocked by how big it looks.  Granted, I get used to it fairly quickly once I start watching something on it.

[MichelleAK]

My current TV (flatscreen) is 37".  I'd like to upgrade it (it's a 720, not a 1080), and get one that's larger.  I have a small living room (10x12), so only want to go up to a 46-47" or 50" max.  First, I need to find a new home for my huge entertainment center, which only fits a 37" TV.  It's solid oak, so I don't want to just dump it, but I'm not sure if I can find a charity or anyone else that can use it.  

[Pixel]

My bedroom TV is way too small - it's a 42, and I'd like to get a 60'.  My living room is a 60 and is just about perfect.

[King of Birds]

My bedroom TV is way too small - it's a 42, and I'd like to get a 60'.

 

A SIXTY FOOT TV?  ;-)  You forgot the shift button there Pixel.

 

Your husband must be thrilled to hear that 42" is too small.  In other news, the "huge-ass" HDTV I bought in 2005 is 56"  I remember at the time, it was difficult to find a piece of furniture to put it on (it's a DCP, not something you hang on a wall) So, all these TVs you're talking about, you hang on the wall, or what?

 

I need to find a new home for my huge entertainment center

You ever see photos of the place in the desert where airplanes go to die? I think there's a place like that for those 80's/90's big ass entertainment centers.

Edited June 18, 2014 by King of Birds

[Pixel]

A SIXTY FOOT TV?  ;-)  You forgot the shift button there Pixel.

Or maybe I didn't...

[EllieH]

My current (flatscreen) TV is 32", I bought that size because it would fit best into the nook by my fireplace at my old apartment, when I replaced my old non-flatscreen TV (aka the deepest TV ever made).  Based on where i have at it at the new place I could upgrade to a much bigger one, but don't want to spend the money right now.

 

 

My bedroom TV is way too small - it's a 42, and I'd like to get a 60'.

 

Perhaps you have Barney's TV from HIMYM?

[possibilities]

I guess I would get used to a bigger screen quickly enough, though the room I want it for is pretty small. And I would love to be able to read the small print on prop phones (and other significant screen details that currently elude me). I also like the idea of having  a timer, and a headphone jack. As you can see, my old CRT had nothing but "on/off/volume" to offer. I'm super bummed about how expensive these new TVs are, though. Really not wanting to spend the money. And for sure I don't want to tangle with anything that needs to be wall-mounted in this ancient house with walls with dubious stud availability. Too bad we're thousands of miles away, Michelle! I love hardwood (TWSS) and would probably love your oak if not for the prospect of shipping!

[frenchtoast]

Our 65" is not wall mounted--we kept the base from the old television and used that and the base that it came with. Also, the 40" in the living room came with a base, too, in case you don't want to mount to the wall. Wall mounting is nice because it frees up flat surfaces, but it is not required.

 

They are kind of expensive, but I love our Samsung televisions. They're hooked up to the internet, so the "app" for our digital movie collection (VUDU) is right there. (It mangages those ultraviolet digital copy codes and for some DVDs we can pay to rip them. For Disney/Marvel movies, we have to go to a different site, but VUDU is a choice to redeem to, as it were. Considering our Blu-ray player doesn't always play nice, it's a good thing to have something that doesn't require another component.) As is Netflix and some other network apps. Other television makers do the same thing, but it is a great convenience.

[King of Birds]

Blergh. I took the dog for a walk to the park and around, etc etc and THEN remembered on the way home I didn't have my fitbit on me. So tonight it'll say I have 8k steps instead of the 12k I actually did. And, why yes, I have become addicted to figuring out how many steps a day I take.

 

Other than that, hope you made the most of the longest day of the year, Northern Hemisphere.

[LiberryLady]

Now you just have to figure out how to remember to wear the fitbit.

 

I wear an old-school pedometer, not a fitbit, and I'm pretty good about remembering to put it in my pocket, but twice I managed to forget to take one out and I ran it through the washing machine. I actually had to make a sign for the washer to remind myself to CHECK MY POCKETS. Fortunately, my pedometer was less than twenty bucks ... I'm assuming a fitbit is more.

Other than that, hope you made the most of the longest day of the year, Northern Hemisphere.

 

Oh, just regular middle-aged, middle class, white lady stuff:  gardened, quilted, blogged, practiced my ukulele. 

[Pixel]

If you get the Fitbit Flex, it's water-resistant, so it probably will survive a trip through the wash. You are also unlikely to wash it, as it's in a bracelet form you wear around your wrist.  My BodyMedia is on a strap that goes around my upper arm, so no danger of washing that thing!

[King of Birds]

I will send you a bill for my services.

LOL.  I sent a bill to my niece once for a gazillion billion dollars. STILL unpaid, by the way.

 

I read an article about larger audiences watching the World Cup- any Chilian's watching?  I have the Belgium / Russia game on now. Been trying to tune in because a lot of my friends are into it.

[EllieH]

I've watched a little of it -- mostly at work, actually!  They keep the big tv in the breakroom tuned to the games, so anytime I go in there I'll glance at it, sometimes watch for a few minutes and chat with coworkers (seems like there are folks in there watching about 95% of the time!).

 

I was excited to see a little of the England - Uruguay game this week, not because I particularly cared about either team, but because I saw a game at that stadium in Sao Paolo when I visited Brazil!  I cared way more about seeing the stadium again than any of the action taking place on the field.

[Glory]

My husband is obsessed. He's been up until all odd hours watching games and replays and whatnot. He's watching right now. 

 

I'm grading papers. 

 

Such is life. 

[Glory]

Aaaand... I'm the death chicken. Thanks World Cup.

[King of Birds]

We all should be the Death Chicken, once in a while. King of Birds, the existentialist.

 

I forget who mentioned doing an Office re-watch. Last night after Conan they had on "Hot Girl." Caught part of it. Mmm, Amy Adams before I knew who she was. Don't we all keep a bottle of Drakkar Noir in the car, for, ya know?

[EllieH]

Bet you have a Blue Powerade in the cupholder at all times too, just in case?

[Glory]

It was me! I suggested it. And was summarily ignored.

Come on guys, there is nothing on this summer. Heroes of Cosplay is almost over and Halt and Catch Fire is boring me. I'm suffering from a lack of television.

[frenchtoast]

Sorry...but I'll pass on the rewatch. I'm doing the Sleepy Hollow re-watch and I might do a solo Agents of SHIELD just because I want to see if I missed any clues.

 

And about the World Cup--my mom is visiting and we were watching passing time until the kids got home from school. (Yes, my kids are still in school. Last day is tomorrow) I went to the powder room and all of a sudden I hear my mom exclaim, "Oh my God, he bit him! Toast, can you rewind this?!" So, Glory, your hubby is not the only one watching, though I only have a passing interest.

 

And since my mom is here, I haven't been exercising. I have been getting zits, though.

[possibilities]

I liked playing soccer when I was younger, but watching it bores me. I can't seem to catch the World Cup fever, no matter how much i'm exposed.

 

I think there's been some good summer tv, but it's been "hunt to find it." I really loved the recently finished (still hoping for a renewal) "Playing House"-- stupid off-putting name, but very funny show. Also, Orphan Black-- amazeballs. Normally, I'd recommend "Louie" but this season was a drain. Right now I'm enjoying the Brooklyn 99 and Mindy Project reruns. Gosh, what else is on my DVR? Oh, I'm playing along with the stupid old game show "Chain Reaction"-- it's dopey, I admit it. I like "Maron" on IFC. And if you can handle the teen energy, The Fosters (lesbian moms!) and Switched at Birth (signing!) or the dreaded Degrassi (this year with more gangs and video games!)-- seriously, it's not for everyone but I love The Fosters, but you have to be able to tolerate a high dose of schmaltz and soapiness. When all else fails, I look for stand up comedy and movies. Drunk History is coming back soon-- usually that's fun. I'm actually trying to watch less TV, but that's because I always manage to watch way too much. I have a library book about owls that I keep renewing, and I finally started it. The first page says: "Owls are like cats with wings." I'm pretty excited about that concept, even if it is mostly a straight up factual book and not a fantasy novel.

 

I've been trying to convert my garden to mostly native species perennials. Partly because it will be easier to maintain, and partly because it's good for the local birds, butterflies, and bees. I finally got all my baby plants into the ground (from seedlings) and now it's a constant struggle to keep them watered til they get well-established. But if it works? We should have a zillion butterflies and hummingbirds and flowers by August. I planted a lot of hibiscus, which I was really excited to discover are winter-hardy up here, and should come back all by themselves next spring-- and they get blooms 8 inches in diameter. So that would be at least as good as some of the TV I'm wasting time with. It's really hard to trust that these tiny little things will get 5 feet tall. This happens every year-- I plant something and just don't believe it will really grow, but then it does... usually. It's all the waiting ... a real exercise in patience.

[King of Birds]

Also, Orphan Black-- amazeballs.

 

I must whole-heartedly agree with this. I'm not doing a Pixel-esque OITNB binge, but I started on the S1 dvds two weeks ago, and have been watching one episode of S2 every night this week. So I will be done with S2 very soon. But it's a good show so far.

 

Glory- sorry to "summarily ignore" your suggestion. I'm not in the mood for a full rewatch of The Office. Flipping by Hot Girl was just a good flip-by. I caught part of Halt n Catch Fire - ep 3?- and was just confused. I know you're a computer freak- did you catch Silicon Valley?  After I'm done with Orphan Black I have all of TURN on the dvr, that's next.  And, as possibilities wrote- Drunk History returns soon!

[Glory]

Silicon Valley started slow and then culminated with what is probably the best dick joke in the history of ever. Totally awesome.

Plus, Martin Starr. My favorite!

Halt and Catch Fire started with promise but I'm not sure I actually like it. I might just be bored.

[smrou]

I have a fair amount of TV from the past season still waiting on my DVR to be viewed, so I'm not really in the hunt for new viewing.  Although if there's anything anyone can recommend binging on...I usually like to do that with something new (to me) in the couple of days after I get out of work for the year, which means now since today was my last day.  I'd thought I might hold off on Orange is the New Black, but no, I watched all of season 2 in a less-than-24-hour timespan the weekend it was released.  Another one I wanted to catch up on was Masters of Sex, but I burned through all of that over one weekend a couple of weeks ago.  So now I'm kind of at a loss.  

 

I've already watched (or am already watching) nearly everything possibilities mentioned (Orphan Black, The Fosters, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Mindy Project, Playing House).  I could do a good Degrassi binge.  I haven't watched the last couple of seasons at least, maybe even more.  I have a tendency with that show to forget about it for a year or two (or three) at a time and then decide to catch up and just burn through everything I've missed.  Although...gangs and video games?  Maybe not what will pull me back in.  

 

 

 

Silicon Valley started slow and then culminated with what is probably the best dick joke in the history of ever. Totally awesome.

Yeah, that was a truly epic dick joke.  I really liked Silicon Valley from the beginning and thought it ended really strong.  It has such fun characters.  I'm looking forward to the next season.

Edited June 25, 2014 by smrou

[possibilities]

I randomly tuned into the last episode of Silicon Valley, never having even heard of the show before, and thus I was treated to the dick joke, as well.

 

RE Degrassi, I think this season is better than the previous two, because it's not 100% about teen romance. The gang story actually is pretty good. There's a kid who joins a gang for protection, then gets sucked into criminal activity and thrown out of the house by his parents. He's homeless for a while, then taken in by another student's family. Now he's trying to get out of the gang and figure out how to do something legal with his life and he's worried about whether his family will forgive him because his previous affiliations led them to be terrorized and robbed at gunpoint. I know this sounds really intense, but they somehow make it seem mormal within the context of their clean and shiny school. And I like it a lot better than seeing kids fight over crushes or have petty squabbles over minor slights.

 

The video game involved a character you'd never think it would involve, and it's part of another larger story where she's looking for escape because her family situation is rough. She turned in her brother for sexual assault of another student, and now her parents are basically shunning her. So she starts playing this video game and acting out in ways her family would disapprove of from inside the game. It's not a shoot-em-up type story, it's more about reality vs fantasy, and what to do when you prefer one to the other.

 

They seem to be focusing on the older kids right now, so it's stuff about what they are going to do with their lives, and how they take responsibility in difficult situations, or what about when their parents are assholes. It feels less squee-based than it used to. I almost stopped watching it because I thought I for sure outgrew it. But this season I've kind of appreciated the moral complexity and strange bedfellows in some of the stories.

[LiberryLady]

It was me! I suggested it. And was summarily ignored.

 

Sorry, Glory.  I kept meaning to respond and then forgetting to.

 

I ... don't know about an Office rewatch.  There was so much that went on in my life during that time that was so fraught, that I feel like a rewatch will bring back bad memories. Does that make sense?

 

But I want to second the vote for Playing House (love it!) and yaaaay, Drunk History!  That show is a de-light. The LiberryLord and I have been quoting teary Jen Kirkman from her episode since last year, so it's definitely must-see TV.

[Pixel]

I love Drunk History. Have they put out any new episodes?

 

I've been rewatching True Blood because my DVR caught the marathon last weekend.

[King of Birds]

Who knows? I clicked on several of the links from the breitbart page, and it all seems like too much "press release" stuff. It just seems like it'll be a one lane elevated "rail" for only 2 people.  Now COULD it be cooler than a jetpack? Maybe. Still a far way from the Jetson-mobile.