2009 Almost Gone - What Home/Property Improvements, Repairs Have You Made This Year?

[davester]

lost in space, I think that one is just a Stanley plane, nothing that fancy. I keep it ultra-sharp though so it works pretty well (as you can probably tell by that pile of curly shavings. I love using hand tools, particularly planes and chisels, though there's a lot to be said for the brute force and speed of a good power tool.

[Markintosh]

Replaced washer and dryer.
Added about $500 in trees and perennials to the yard.

Still paying off fence, sprinkler system and sod from 3 years ago.

[davester]

Oh, I almost forgot...a much bigger project that I completed earlier this year was our back terrace. Much tilework and woodworking, though we paid some guys to do the framing and stucco.

[Rick-o]

Well, I guess I wasn't the only one here digging in my wallet this past year. Most of you have done quite a bit in a short span of time!

Davester, I'm definitely not in an earthquake zone, so hopefully, she'll stay up for the rest of my lifetime. And yeah, I remember your posts awhile back with those projects. Looks like everything fell right in place and ended up A-OK. I especially like that deck, but man, if someone topples over that railing, it looks to be quite a drop.

billb, I'll take those rocks off your hands and add them to my rock garden. All you have to do is drop them off at my place, and you'll have them out of your way! :burnout:

[Buck]

Ask me again next year.

[AAA]

Put up those bright-ass lights to keep the burglars wanting to burgle my neighbors instead of me.

Began improving my yard by cutting down all the trees I have planted to improve my yard.

Other than that, this was the perfect year for me to not improve my house/yard one bit. It just went more and more downhill this year. Analog TV signals changed to low-power, third-world broadcasting. Still have 5 year old Mac. Bought but have not touched a Dell Vostro A90. Still in box. Stepped over a record number of piles of trash, and clothes my co-habitants leave laying all over. Two or three of our dining room chairs' seats (part you sit on) have broken in half. Pushed off to the side now. Previous Thanksgiving/Fall decoration pillows are now owned, used by the dog. Still have bathroom ceiling fan (exhaust) hole in ceiling since I could not figure out how to repair it three years ago. Daughter still sleeps on floor, my mother still nags me about that. (furniture is expensive). Oh, I got a new food in sink disposer because people put it in while we were away.

So, food disposal.

[davester]

AAA, that sounds like a scene from slumdog millionaire.

[lost in space]

davester wrote:
lost in space, I think that one is just a Stanley plane, nothing that fancy. I keep it ultra-sharp though so it works pretty well (as you can probably tell by that pile of curly shavings. I love using hand tools, particularly planes and chisels, though there's a lot to be said for the brute force and speed of a good power tool.

davester,
Yeah, me too. Favorites are old planes, chisels, and scrapers. Sharpening is everything ( I like to be able to read newsprint through the shavings on the finish strokes).But the noisy, messy power tools sure are easy on these creaky old shoulders.