"It's a major award!"

And the award goes to...well, apparently us?!  Aww, shucks. We were smitten as a kitten to be awarded a place of honor on this list of Top 50 Green Construction blogs.  Thanks for thinking of us, and we hope to live up to that honor.  We have spent the past 3 years working hard to make our home a lil' greener, and it hasn't exactly been a glamourous process.  



Exhibit A: Many weekends spent looking like a DIY disaster ;]

Here's a quickie summary of some of our accomplishments so far:

• NEW attic insulation to meet Energy Star compliance
• NEW HVAC – Energy Star Certified
• NEW appliances (all Energy Star Certified)
• NEW kitchen countertops with recycled content
• NEW bathrooms with green features: water-saving shower fixtures, dual-flush toilet and a high-efficiency toilet
• NEW painted interior walls (with NO-VOC paint)
• NEW ceiling fans in every room

• NEW roof, with Energy Star Certified shingles
• NEW “Solatube” skylight installed
• NEW LOW-E windows – Energy Star Certified
• NEW exterior doors - Energy Star Certified
• NEW outdoor solar shower installed
• Backyard: Removal of invasive plants from our landscaping

Looking at this list just makes us say "Whoa! So that's what happened to our weekends for the past few years?!"  Yup, it explains so much.  We expect many more projects for 2011 (and beyond) to keep our weekends busy.  We promise to keep the posts and projects coming.  Call us crazy, but we love to share the oopsies, the ouchies, and the finished work with you.

P.S.

The post title is a quote from one of our favorite movies...we just couldn't resist.

 

Boats, B-days, & the Grinch

1st day back to work realization: Christmas 2010 was a blur.  Maybe it was that we didn't manage to get days off before Christmas Eve, or maybe it was just that life moves so quickly.   We managed to put up some holiday cheer at the last minute, both inside...

and out...

On the day of our 3rd annual backyard holiday boat parade party (say that ten times fast!), the neighborhood association announced the parade cancelled due to looming rainstorms.  Later that day, they declared the parade was back on.  Apparently, not everyone got the memo; only about a dozen boats turned out (compared to 22 last year).  But we partied on with friends and neighbors.

Christmas Eve was a quiet dinner for two, followed by a local concert and staying up past midnight for gift opening.  On December 25th, it was M's birthday, and my first gift to him was to let him sleep in as long he wanted...zzz...this resulted in having to postpone our Orlando trip until the following day.  For his birthday, I took him to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Islands of Adventure theme park.  He didn't mind the delay, even though it meant much cooler weather that day.

Actually, the only grinch on that trip was the one seen here.  Ahem, I mean the one on the left ;)

  

Elmo the teacher

On December 20, 2010, we lost a four-legged family member: Elmo.  He lived here at Pacha Mama House for many months, impishly eating our socks and fervently protecting us from the FedEx guy.  He is already very much missed.

"Life is not a race,

but a journey to be savored,

Each step of the way."

About a year ago, Elmo and I ran a 1-mile charity race known as The Jingle Run; it's a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.  Back then, I didn't know that canine Arthritis and Cancer would slowly steal Elmo from our family.  If your life has ever been touched by a dog, you know that they teach us, far more than we can teach them.  Elmo was a teacher of loyalty and joy. And we were lucky to be his students.   

Hola, Adirondacks!

"Adirondack" has many meanings: it's a mountain range, it's a park, it's even a canoe race (thanks, Wikipedia). But around here, adirondack means just one thing : the best lil' chair we could hope for. Here's a pair that recently followed us home from Home Depot.

Without much coaxing, they made themselves right at home on the canal. They like it here so much, they may never leave our dock. And we're quite alright with that ;)

Crabs for breakfast

As many mornings as possible, I try to enjoy a mini-moment of life on the bay. Sometimes, it's just a peek out the back window to catch a glimpse of the high tide. But on leisurely mornings, it's a slow stroll - coffee cup in hand - all the way down to the end of our dock. The experience is always the same and always different. This morning, I discovered someone had fresh crab for breakfast. It wasn't me.

Obviously, I'm just not this MESSY of an eater. Good to know that the birds of Tampa Bay aren't boycotting crabmeat out of the Gulf ;)

Oh, and lately, we've been blessed with visits from faraway friends & family, along with a lil' bit of house projecting...yeah! I'll be writing it up soon enough.

Summer Solstice 2010

Welcome back Summer!

We've missed you...

Your long days of sun and fun.

Guess M. couldn't wait to dive-in.

Here he is startling our local fish.

postcard: Cappuccino light

La Paz, BO – It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…actually in La Paz, Bolivia. Happy hour here translates to everyone cramming into the nearest café for a ritual caffeine fix of tea or coffee. Why did it take me so long to discover a “cappuccino light” – they are made with soymilk. Ahh, soymilk, my long lost friend. How I missed you! Oh, and a warm croissant with chocolate filling (a specialty at Alexander Coffee & Pub) makes it go down easier too.

Love, J.

postcard: Pachamama's gift

La Paz, BO: Since I'm temporarily based overseas to help my mom w/ her health, here's the 1st of some short (travel) blog posts I'm writing in a postcard format.

I couldn’t pass up a Pacha Mama movie! Pacha mama’s gift, known by it’s Spanish title El Regalo de Pachamama is an indie film that recently premiered here in La Paz, Bolivia. Japanse director Toshifumi Matsushita tells the story of a young boy, Kuntari, living in the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia – the world’s largest salt flat. Kuntari joins his father on a long and cold journey to distribute salt to people living in remote areas. Naturally, they bring a small herd of llamas to carry the salt and encounter many adventures/misadventures along the way. Don’t worry, no real llamas were harmed in the making of this movie. I suppose it’s a coming-of-age story as Kuntari has some of his first experiences with grief, love and loss. The scenery of blinding white salt dessert and cloudless blue skies left me without words (a rare occurence). Yup, I sniffled at a few parts of the movie, but I still came away smiling at the end.

Love, J.

WEEKS 52-56: One year down

Just over the 1-yr mark of house ownership, we are proud of what's been accomplished. As for what’s left to do...our feelings change from "it's so daunting" to "it’s so exciting." Do other homeowners have these mixed feeling too? Meanwhile, J. has recently left for Bolivia to take care of her mom for a bit, leaving M. to face an ever-growing honey-do list.

• DECISIONS: to hold-off on further projects in common areas of the house for now and focus on the two guest rooms in anticipation of upcoming houseguests


• LABOR: M. put up our house numbers; painted the hallway; created a walkway down to the seawall…and threw a first birthday party for our casa. Oh, and we put up a new manatee-caution sign…more on that later!


• MAJOR BUYS: a new patio rug (hola stripes!)

Just in time for hurricane season, a delightfully tacky flamingo-print grill cover from Two Dog Designs...

and some new plants to join the other ones on the front porch...

House [birthday] Party

Pacha Mama House is our baby…and she just turned one! J. and I celebrated by having a first birthday party and challenging our neighbors to a quiz game about some “firsts” at PMH. Let’s see how many questions y’all can get right…the answers at the end of this post:

1. Who was the FIRST to accidentally fall off the Pacha Mama House seawall and into the canal? J. or M.?
2. Who was the FIRST to need the first aid kit amid renovation projects? J. or M.? And lastly…
3. Who was the FIRST to spot a manatee from the backyard? J. or M.?

We were glad to have so many friends and neighbors join us. Hopefully, no one thought we were weird at having a birthday party for our house. Hmm…this may be the start of a Pacha Mama House tradition. As a bonus, some neighbors shared stories about the history of Pacha Mama house and its past owners. We learned our house had previously been a place for neighborly gatherings. Time will tell if PMH lives up to her legacy. In other news, J. has been dealing with some pretty challenging family issues, so postings may be meager for a while.

What’s a birthday party without cake? Oh, and it’s marble. Yum. Oh, and here’s the quiz answers: 1) M., 2). J., 3) M. So, how many did you get right? Let us know!

Our "3-hour tour"

Our little boat completed it's maiden voyage to Bahama Breeze, one of our fave waterfront restaurants in Tampa. We were nervous to go out on the open bay in our electric-pedal boat. First, we super-charged J's cell phone, placed it in a water-tight case and packed a cooler with emergency rations (sunblock and gatorade). Next, we threw the solar-panel on the back of the boat to supplement the charge on the marine battery. Finally, we asked ourselves if we were really doing this, and launched off the seawall. We began crossing a large stretch of open waters, and I was beginning to wonder would we see anything interesting, when M. began yelling "FIN! FIN!" I looked in the direction of his pointed finger and saw...nothing. Suddenly, I saw it too - a large grey curved dorsal fin in front of us! M. assured me that this was indeed a dolphin and not a shark since he had gotten a clear view of the blowhole above the head. My first thought was PHEW!; my second thought was WHOA! The dolphin was at least the size of our boat (9 ft long).

I'm kicking myself for not having my camera with me at that moment, although at other times, we've been lucky enough to photograph the Tursiops truncatus, aka. bottlenose dolphin. If you're wondering how close dolphins will actually get to boats in open water - it's closer than you think. Here's a pic from a dolphin tour we did at Clearwater Beach, FL:


We arrived at the restaurant's private dock in just over an hour total time and proceeded to celebrate with frosty beverages and live music. The ride home was less eventful and it even rained on us a while, but nothing could dampen our mood. At some point on the way home, I remembered I could take a picture with my cell phone. Sorry for the bad pic quality, but at least you can see our high-tech navigation system (wink-wink).


Arriving home, we calculated our trip had taken just over three hours. Yup, that's right: a 3-hour tour. Help! I still can't stop humming the Gilligan's theme song. Oh, and in case you forgot, here's a refresher of the famous first three verses:

Just sit right back
And you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip,
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
The Skipper brave and sure,
Five passengers set sail that day,
For a three hour tour, A three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost.
The Minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore
Of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan, The Skipper too.
The millionaire, And his wife,
The movie star, The professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligan's Isle. (Source: www.lyricsmode.com)

WEEKS 44-47: Pacha Mama or Bahama Mama?

The past few weeks have been busy around Pacha Mama House, but you might not know it to look at all the house projects still left to do. Ha! J. went on a 4-day road trip from Plattsmouth, Nebraska to Tampa Florida and came back with her sister, and canine-nephew (Elmo) and canine-niece (Zoe). The arrival of houseguests was a definite motivator to get a few more things checked off the big ol’ honey-do list. Yay! Meanwhile, this past weekend, M. & I celebrated our 4-year wedding anniversary. We honored the occasion by taking a day cruise to the Bahamas!

• DECISIONS: decided against beadboard in MBA; decided to have seawall repaired (instead of rebuilt) next month
• LABOR: we participated in neighborhood yard sale and spent many hours yardening (all that stuff that happens before you can do gardening); M. finished linen closet install and the towels are no longer homeless!; Also, M. has moved into his new shed and begun the mancave conversion; our fave contractor installed all our interiors doors; J prepped the house for our first houseguest: welcome to N., Elmo, & Zoe!
• MAJOR PURCHASES: Anderson storm door w/retractable screen; guest room ceiling fan

Here’s a pic of us 4 years ago at our Caribbean destination wedding…aww...such innocent house virgins! [before]

Here’s a pic of experienced DIYers taking a weekend off of houseprojects by taking a Caribbean cruise! [after]

J. thinks she could get used to this...

M. is such a (coco)nut in Freeport, Bahamas!