The most interesting part of the work was adding the entryway from the kitchen pantry into the living room. I did the initial cut on the living room side with my jigsaw. I wanted it to match the shape of the entryway on the opposite wall of the pantry, so I made a template of its curved top that I then used as an outline for my jigsaw. Then on the kitchen side I opened up the wall more, so I could add framing support around the new opening. I had to then chisel out the excess plaster on the inside of the wall cavity, so that I could fit in new 2×4s. In this case it’s a good thing modern 2×4s are actually 1 1/2 by 3 1/2. The original framing used actual full 2×4s – since the new ones are smaller, it made it possible for me to wiggle them between each side of the old lathe in the walls. I then attached every 5th piece of old lathe to the new 2×4s (with shims to make up for the slight size difference) to make sure the old plaster doesn’t come loose over time.

I wanted to do all this myself because a contractor would have started by just ripping down a big section of the wall, so as to avoid all the nuances. But the original plaster is in good shape, and I wanted to preserve its appearance as much as possible, especially in the living room.

Drywalling the inside of the curve along the top was a challenge, as drywall doesn’t bend much. I used slightly thinner drywall (3/8 inch instead of 1/2 inch) and then cut a series of slits along the back of it, about 1/2 inch apart. This allowed it to crack on the slits, but only on the back side, presenting a curve on the front side. The guys who came today messed up part of it though. When they added a corner bead they lost the curve on one side (it’d be more acceptable if it was at least symmetrically messed up!). They said that the right way to do this is with plaster, not drywall. They’re probably right, but paying a lot for someone to come do a small plaster job like this doesn’t make sense. I’m hoping I can work with them tomorrow to fix it (they did a decent job on one side, so it’s not impossible).

So here are some more pictures of the kitchen work, with detailed captions (click to see them). Pictures of the living room, sunroom, and landscaping are coming soon…

The kitchen pantry room, with the fridge already moved out and some cabinets partially disassembled03-Jul-2009 06:08 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	The other side of the kitchen pantry wall, in the living room, with the new entryway outlined on it03-Jul-2009 11:20 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	The initial cut of the entryway, shaped to match the opening on the other side of the kitchen pantry04-Jul-2009 08:00 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 120
The framing I added on the kitchen side of the opening. It looks messy as I already covered the framing with old pieces of lathe, so the drywall will match the height of the old plaster on either side06-Jul-2009 16:10 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	For the sharp curve near the top on each side of the opening, I cut a series of slits on the back of a small piece of 3/8 inch drywall07-Jul-2009 02:01 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	When attached, the drywall cracks along the slits to match the curve of the framing07-Jul-2009 02:05 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100
The new entryway with a layer of joint compound on it. The guys who did it messed up the curve on one side when they added a corner bead. I’m hoping I can get them to fix it.08-Jul-2009 14:57 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	The wall between the kitchen and dining room is gone, with a new 12 inch header along the ceiling where it was (already drywalled in this picture)08-Jul-2009 11:48 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.03333333 sec, ISO 100

Eidan in Lesser Town (Mala Strana), Prague

Eidan in Lesser Town (Mala Strana), Prague28-Jun-2009 17:27 – SONY DSC-W55, F 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100

Eidan with a pretzel at a pub in Prague

Eidan with a pretzel at a pub in Prague28-Jun-2009 17:57 – SONY DSC-W55, F 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 100

Kai at the statue of St John Nepomuk

Kai at the statue of St John Nepomuk28-Jun-2009 19:06 – SONY DSC-W55, F 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 100

Chandelier made of bones and skulls at the Sedlec Ossuary

Chandelier made of bones and skulls at the Sedlec Ossuary04-Jul-2009 15:53 – SONY DSC-W55, F 3.2, 7.2mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1000

Maria just emailed these pictures to me. They’re staying in an apartment that’s right around the corner from Charles Square. She says the apartment is spacious but rundown, and several major appliances don’t work, like the washing machine and the satellite dish for the TV. Fortunately, she brought lots of DVDs for the boys, and there’s a laundromat nearby. Her mother is there with them too – she’s there for 2 weeks and she’s helping out with the boys while Maria is with the students. Maria found a babysitter to help out for the time between when her mother leaves and I arrive at the end of July.

The boys are having a good time. Maria sounds like she’s exhausted but still enjoying it. She’s not just teaching – she created this program for Villanova and she’s managing the whole thing on her own. It’s a research seminar on entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic, so she’s been arranging various field trips for the students to businesses in the area, helping the students plan interviews, etc. She took the students to a silver mine yesterday and next week she’s taking them to a Taiwanese factory. She brings the boys on the field trips, and they love hanging out with the students, and the students seem to enjoy their antics.

I’ll post more pictures as I receive them!

In the evenings after work I’ve been dismantling one side of the kitchen, piece by piece. We’re taking down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and replacing it with a bar counter. So I’ve been taking down the cabinets, packing away all the dishes, food, and appliances, and removing all the electrical wires from the wall. Today a contractor came to start taking the wall down. He’ll also put in proper structural support to make sure the 2nd floor doesn’t come crashing down on us . It doesn’t seem to be a load bearing all, but the house was constructed in an …unusual… way, so he’s playing it safe (the 1st floor ceiling joists are parallel to the wall, but then there’s a wall above it on the 2nd floor, offset by about a foot, and the 2nd floor ceiling joists run in the opposite direction; I’ve never seen anything like that before, and neither has my contractor).

I’ll use the 3 day weekend to do a little demolition of my own – I’m adding a doorway on another side of the kitchen, leading into the living room. With all the changes to the walls, I also need to re-configure most of the electrical wiring in the kitchen.

The kitchen is actually one of two projects I’ve got going. The other is remodeling our sunroom. Pictures of that coming soon.

The dining room wall, on the eve of its destruction30-Jun-2009 12:52 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	The kitchen side of the wall, with oen base cabinet and one wall cabinet already removed30-Jun-2009 12:53 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	The cabinets and various kitchen items in their temporary basement home. There are also lots of dishes, etc. in boxes in the living room01-Jul-2009 16:26 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160
The kitchen wall, with the gas line capped, and all cabinets and wiring in the walls removed01-Jul-2009 17:43 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160	All the lathe and plaster is removed – the framing will come out next02-Jul-2009 11:19 – SONY DSC-T1, F 3.5, 6.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160

I waited so long because, at least for me, I didn’t see the point. I don’t think the world is particularly interested in what I ate for lunch, or that I just vacuumed the staircase. But I think it might be useful for sharing thoughts that don’t really call for a full blog post. We’ll see what happens.

I’m using Alex King’s Twitter Tools WordPress plugin to share my tweets in my blog sidebar, and to automatically collect my Tweets weekly into an blog post.

Gundam statue in Odaiba, from pinktentacle.com Gundam statue in Odaiba, from pinktentacle.com12-Jun-2009 15:40 – Canon Canon EOS Kiss X2, F 10, 24mm, 10 sec, ISO 100

Gundam statue in Odaiba, from pinktentacle.com Gundam statue in Odaiba, from pinktentacle.com12-Jun-2009 14:30 – Canon Canon EOS Kiss X2, F 8, 46mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 200

Kai with a giant Gundam, at a toy store in Ebisu, Tokyo

Kai with a giant Gundam, at a toy store in Ebisu, Tokyo16-Feb-2007 22:17 – Canon Canon PowerShot S230, F 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO

These are photos of the recently completed Gundam statue, measuring 60 feet tall and weighing 35 tons. It’s in Odaiba, one of my favorite places in Tokyo. When we were living in Tokyo, Kai was crazy for Gundam, along with at least half of Japan’s male population. We spent many evenings building and gluing model Gundam sets, and we filled a suitcase with them for our trip home. Japanese toy stores – as well as electronics stores like Yodabashi Camera – typically have multiple aisles dedicated to Gundam merchandise.

Many toys and anime from Japan have been successful in the US. It surprises me that the massive, decades-long popularity of Gundam in Japan has not spilled over to the US at all.

The photos above are from this Pink Tentacle post. They also have pictures from last month, partway through its construction.

It’s also fascinating to see the online battle between the protesters and the Iranian government, with the government shutting down cell phone networks and blocking access to services like Twitter and Facebook. Their goal is to disrupt communication between the protesters, as well as stifle their communication with the outside world. In response, people inside and outside Iran are swarming to set up proxy servers to get around the blocks. CNET News has a good explanation of what’s happening in laymen’s terms.

Kai’s classmates signed the board congratulating him for his winning entry in the Young Authors’ Project15-Jun-2009 19:05 – SONY DSC-W55, F 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 320

Kai with his 2nd grade teacher and the school principal, holding his certificate for the Young Authors’ Project15-Jun-2009 19:07 – SONY DSC-W55, F 3.2, 8.2mm, 0.06666667 sec, ISO 320

Kai and his classmates looking at the Young Authors’ Project book15-Jun-2009 19:10 – SONY DSC-W55, F 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.06666667 sec, ISO 320

Yesterday, on Kai’s second-to-last day of 2nd grade, he was awarded a certificate for his winning entry in this year’s Young Authors’ Project. He wrote a story that was one of 97 selected from over 1,000 stories submitted by 1st-8th graders in Delaware County. The winning stories were collected into a book, and Kai was given a copy. His story was one he wrote for a class assignment about manatees:

Manny the Manatee

Have you ever seen me in the shallow rivers of Florida? If not, I’d like to tell you about me.

I’m gray or brown in color, cute and chubby with a paddle shaped tail. If you guessed a manatee, you’re right. I like to sleep and eat almost all day. Uh oh, I hear a motor boat! Let’s hope they see my Manatee Crossing sign!

Now back to my story. If someone is in my river, I like going up to inspect them. Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. I’m very gentle. I have to live in water that is sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. I love to eat a lot of different types of grass. They are so tasty! You really need to try them. Speaking of food, it is lunchtime. We’ll see you later.

But, next time you come to Florida, make sure you visit a river. You might get to say “hi” to one of my manatee friends.