New Light / Blanket Binding

I was talking with Scott the other day giving him the news I had just shipped off the last of my old train set hoard. I lamented in how those old trains were played with hard which brought down the price of what pristine mint stuff would bring. Scott told me he was glad I enjoyed those trains when I did. That old rolling stock was wrapped in newspaper from 1974. Once again I was giving thanks to my mom and dad for letting me live out my childhood and not being helicopter parents.

I had heard through the grapevine there had been a few double bookings on the local Air B&B scene for graduation weekend. There is nothing available last minute for 50 miles on major university event weekends. I let the head of the hospitality network know that I had my space available for any overflow emergency. That got a fire under my butt for more upstairs improvement.

This is the picture of the area I sent off to the head of the local hospitality network which gives a pretty good idea of the rental space. The front porch and back yard are also available. I’m out of the loop for being a “legal” rental but wanted to help out if needed for this overbooked weekend.

The lighting in my upstairs leaves a lot to be desired. I figured a wall sconce would be the perfect solution to brighten up a dark area. The weather was pretty unsettled all weekend which gave me the perfect excuse to work inside.

On the other side of this wall where this light will go is the upstairs bathroom. There is an access door to the workings of the whirlpool tub which makes everything so accessible. This should be an easy job.

I found a compact fixture at Blowe’s that looked nice and was very affordable. I also found the perfect switch which had a 3-way for the top switch and single pole switch on the bottom. This will replace the single 3 way switch for the stairwell. There was no room to gang two work boxes together for two separate switches.

The first rumblings of this will be a pain was when I made the initial hole in the wall for the light. I hit something. I knew it not a water pipe or a stud. It was a plastic soil stack. The hole was shifted over a bit and work continued.

I had just enough Romex 12/2 wire to complete this job. Wire has gotten so expensive I just buy it as needed. My days of doing extensive rewiring here at the house are pretty much in the past.

The work in progress.

I planned on enlarging the single outlet box to a double ganged box to allow ample room for the extra wiring. I had to special order the double outlet cover for one receptacle outlet and the rest solid. This is the beauty of the internet. I was able to special order this on line and it will be available for pick up at Homo Depot in a few days.

This old single outlet was housed in a plastic work box nailed to a stud. I was able to break it apart and remove it in pieces. New metal workboxes will be that replacement. As I was working on enlarging this hole I saw a furry little face behind the wall. It was Holly! She must have gotten in from that access door and was now free to explore around the bathtub. I told her she found her way in she can find her way out. She was fine exploring all around and eventually joined me.

The original hole in the drywall was too large to hold the metal workboxes I would be using. DAMN. There is no practical way to do a repair using drywall that would hold up. I found a section of aluminum stock that fit the bill perfectly to support the lower edge of the workbox. This wall will need a bit of patching up. Once the drywall is fixed up I’ll just give this entire wall a fresh coat of paint.

Returning home from my Yoga class I found a package in the mailbox. It was my blanket binding fabric. I needed a break from the construction. Some sewing will be a perfect respite.
I’m so pleased in the match of “Brown spice” to the original binding color to this blanket.

At first I thought I’d just cover over the old binding when I heard my dad’s voice, “If you can’t do the job right don’t do it at all.”

I did the tedious job of cutting out the old stitching before supper.

I was not lonely as Holly had the best time making a nest in this wool blanket as I worked.

Holly has claimed this blanket as her own. Last night she spent the entire night curled up in it.