Author Archives: ellen

Tile Handyman

Posted on September 18, 2018 by ellen

When I hadn’t finished all three tasks from the final inspection list in April by the August 28th deadline I got to feeling desperate that I would never finish the building permit so I looked around for a tile installer. … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Bathrooms, Construction, Tile, Trim | Leave a comment

Hanging A Painting

Posted on September 4, 2018 by ellen

We need to get the last of the decorative items out of storage and decide what to do with them. I have always liked this serene painting that I bought at a second hand store in Indiana years ago. It … Continue reading →

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Front Entry Closet

Posted on August 29, 2018 by ellen

The front entry is spilling over with stuff. It is the staging ground for recycling boxes and recent tools and stuff going out to the RV and extra stuff from my kids move that I haven’t organized yet. Given my … Continue reading →

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Master Closet

Posted on August 26, 2018 by ellen

The master bedroom has been occupied several times since I set up the furniture in there. Our daughter and her family moved to Aachen, Germany at the end of May. They emptied their house and rented it so they needed … Continue reading →

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Storage Closet

Posted on August 24, 2018 by ellen

Sealing the gap between the walls and the floor in the storage closet has been on the to do list for some time. I emptied the closet and vacuumed the floor to access the gap on the outside walls. The … Continue reading →

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Another Radiant Cooling SetUp

Posted on August 17, 2018 by ellen

I have again set up the 1/3 HP aquarium chiller that I bought in 2016. This time outside so that the heat from the chiller is not released in the utility room. The controller is inside and the wiring and … Continue reading →

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Sun Shades

Posted on August 15, 2018 by ellen

It’s been a slow summer for home progress. A series of family visits and the passing of my dear mother have taken our time and energy. I was also hospitalized three times and I’m getting tired of it. I’m having … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Living Room, Radiant Cooling, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off on Sun Shades

Drawer Dishwasher

Posted on July 23, 2018 by ellen

Shortly after returning from Germany we went out to see our son’s family and meet his new baby girl. I decided to order a Fisher and Paykel tall tub single drawer dishwasher to install in their apartment. This will be … Continue reading →

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German Distractions

Posted on July 10, 2018 by ellen

While visiting the family in Germany I helped put together furniture that they purchased second hand through the German eBay that functioned more like Craigslist here. They bought loft beds for the kids, and Ikea like slat beds called “lattenrost”. … Continue reading →

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Germany!

Posted on July 9, 2018 by ellen

In a strange turn of events, my daughter and her family, including my two wonderful grandchildren, have moved to Germany for a few years for her husband’s job! We moved close to them when we retired and although we like … Continue reading →

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One Day, Two Mirrors

Posted on June 13, 2018 by ellen

It is past time to have moved everything that is destined for the house into the house. These mirrors needed to come in and claim their space. I had the big couch against the long wall in the living room … Continue reading →

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Cleaning out the Garage

Posted on June 12, 2018 by ellen

Unfortunately the charge cord that came with the JuiceBox is only 20 ft. long. And the 30 amp outlet is in the storage cabinet at the far end from the garage door. That means that the car has to be … Continue reading →

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Installing a JuiceBox 220v 40 Pro Charger

Posted on June 11, 2018 by ellen

I decided to upgrade to a Level 2, 220v EV charger in order to charge faster during the highest solar production time of day. After researching various options, it appeared the JuiceBox delivered the most bang for the buck. Some … Continue reading →

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Solar Powered Volt

Posted on June 11, 2018 by ellen

Way back in 2003 we bought the first model of hybrid Honda Civic sold in the US. It was the only car we would ever buy that was featured in a car show! It was a 2003 model but it … Continue reading →

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Books Unpacked

Posted on June 8, 2018 by ellen

As part of the move the kids returned a couple of large bookshelves that they had brought from our Indiana house when they moved to Colorado. I had used our enclosed bookshelves to display my mom’s china and silver and … Continue reading →

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Moved To Germany!

Posted on June 8, 2018 by ellen

We had a busy May helping our daughter and her family move to Germany for her husband’s work assignment. They had to completely empty their house to rent it as they decided to keep it while they are abroad. Dave … Continue reading →

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Tesla Solar First Month Report

Posted on May 15, 2018 by ellen

On the occasion of our first utility bill after adding solar, we found a significant reduction in the cost of the electricity we consumed from the grid. As the Tesla engineers predicted the solar provided about half of our electricity … Continue reading →

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More ERV Controls

Posted on April 21, 2018 by ellen

I spent another day on ERV controls. It is unbelievable that these controls are taking so much time. I was gratified that I finally got the variable speeds to work with the Lutron Caseta wifi dimmer and the GRX-TVI control … Continue reading →

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New Toilets

Posted on April 20, 2018 by ellen

I was tired of looking at and trying to clean the old biscuit colored toilet in the back bathroom. It flushed fine with its 1.6 gallon flush–a water saver in its day. But the tank and the bowl were stained … Continue reading →

Posted in Bathrooms, LEED Project, Plumbing | Comments Off on New Toilets

UltimateAir ERV WiFi Control

Posted on April 19, 2018 by ellen

It has been just over a year since I last tried to hook up the ERV to a WiFi dimmer. But with my son’s advice and encouragement the deed was finally accomplished. He designed a circuit for me to convert … Continue reading →

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