Some Before, Some In Between, and Some After

So, as you may have noticed, we started a major project this weekend. It seems that the people who built this house decided not to seal the faucets in the shower before tiling the wall. This laziness resulted in rotten drywall halfway up and all the way around the shower. We ripped out the tile and drywall. I wanted to do tile again. Lowes didn't have the matching tile in stock (350 of them!). I absolutely did not want a vinyl shower insert. I just don't like them. Well, turns out, I don't mind the textured ones so much. Especially when they've been discontinued and they cost $10! Yep, $10 vs. $300+. Guess what won that battle?

We're not quite done. We have to still sand down the walls where the old tile used to be, but the new insert doesn't cover. Then I'm going to paint, then put up the towel racks, toilet paper holder, and curtains. Oh, and a new light fixture. So, there are no after pictures. Those are a while out still. But there are "in between" pictures of the new tub fixtures, insert, and sink fixture.
Drywall going in.
New tub fixtures going in. Or maybe old ones coming out. I'm really not sure.
Look at that lovely new shower!
And those fixtures!
Yep, they're sealed this time.

Dave also tackled the new sink fixtures tonight.
Notice there's not even a plug.


And now ...



And the fun part of owning a home, is that this is just the beginning. We also have a new back door to install.



And kitchen cabinets to paint. Doors now. Cabinet faces later. Then walls, then new tile floor, then new countertops and sink.


And a new bannister.

And a new upstairs back door.

And then we turn the enclosed garage into a real garage.

And we need a new lawnmower.

I could go on all night. I practically have, so I'll stop here. I know why people decide on townhomes and apartments, though. Or build new houses out in the sticks.

Working for the weekend

Kids, this is what becomes necessary when you those who came before you don't seal the wall behind the faucets in a shower...

Good for them

So, there are a couple of recent columns, articles, whatever that put me in the "it's about time somebody on their side said it" state of mind.

Many liberals, in their blind hatred of George W. Bush (not reasoned disagreement with his policies or actions, but blind hatred), do indeed have their heads in the sand about the threat of Muslim extremism. They'll bitch over here in the US (rightfully) about the ridiculous prudishness of the FCC, but the equivocate when extremists murder and kidnap in the name of Islam. Well, Sam Harris, a professed liberal, has said it in the LA Times. Maybe some people are listening. But I doubt it.

And then there are faculty members of the Al Qasemi College, and "institute of Islamic higher education in Israel." Some of the faculty have come to the US to discuss the need for openness and liberalism in the Islamic world. There are a couple of interesting things at play here, in my mind. 1) There is an Islamic College in Israel, and 2) They have come to the US to discuss the need for the greater Islamic world to come into the 21st century with the rest of us. Imagine a Jewish University in an Islamic country. Imagine these Muslim faculty voicing these ideas in an Islamic country such as Syria, Lebanon, or Iran. I'm glad they're spreading these ideas, though. It has to start somewhere, and hopefully their ideas will grow within their own culture.

Both stories are courtesy of the Wall Street Journal Best of the Web.

And, by the way, there is a lot that I want to blog, and there's a lot going on in my little corner of the world. But it just takes forever to formulate the thoughts, and usually Blogger eats them (as The Big C would say) a couple of times, first.