Reno 97805-1280

I live in one of those neighborhoods whose homes were built in the 1950s. Homes in this established neighborhood eventually show their age and/or are in need of repair/restoration and perhaps an update. Add to the mix that the neighborhood has that Middle Class American Suburbia, keep up with the Joneses culture. Depending on the resident's budget (time, energy, disposable income), upkeep and improvement vary from lawn/yard service to full-blown renovation/remodels. The demographics can -- and have been over and over -- pretty much be drawn from there. And in the spirit of "If you [built] it [years ago], they will come," commercial enterprises both large and small are dialed into the area. Now, I'm not talking realtors, pollsters and such, but contractors, handymen, specialists. And they come like ambulance chasers. And remnants of their visits (flyers, brochures, pamphlets, business cards) adorn residents' front door, garage door, mailbox, etc., reminding us that...

The day I got him, I was buying cat food for Pip, the (then) family cat, in the Burien (WA) days. In one of the pet store bins was a splitting image of the puppy version of the Thorndike-Barnhart Junior Dictionary entry illustration -- that I recalled from second grade -- for "Spaniel". I then remembered that I always wanted a Spaniel. He had no papers, but his markings were good enough to argue that he was far from the Heinz 57 variety (a point groomers over the years had galvanized). So I was curious as to the behind-the-scenes story. The shop owner said that little guy had been the pick of the litter to carry on the legacy for the previous owner, who initially chose to keep him along with the mother. But when the previous owner's new landlord allowed only one dog, s/he had to make a concession. The puppy drew the short straw. So with the benefit of a dog with no papers and good markings, and knowing what a pedigreed dog can fetch, I figured I wouldn't pay a cen...

[Note: you may want to go ahead and defrost that Thanksgiving turkey, as it's been a wile since my last post.] OK, it was my good intention to live up to the list I shared "way back when". Specifically, the kitchen back splash job , aka the inspiration for starting this site. OK, so some things got in the way, starting with the landscape light project, which BTW was initially slated for summer '06 until the in-laws had delivered the jungle gym, unassembled, in eight boxes in my driveway. (There was also the whole thing about needing an electrical feed to the outside of the house, as featured in the 7.30.2007 post.) And the fine-tuning therein, adding lights (see 7.31.2007 ). For those of you visiting this site frequently, you saw the progression of the light arrangement in the sidebar, as I posted shots after each addition. It's pretty much stable now, so you can register the current shot to memory. What you can't see are the adjoining wires that still need ...

I did a little light blog-keeping. "A little to the left..." as the nameplate didn't quite fit, despite the multiple connotations that reflect what I see, hear or live. Plus, it was pretty much forcing me to make regular political commentary or something of the "L"-word flavor (which for me, in between presidential races, is more of a pleasure-filled reactionary thing to polar extremists who throw down the gauntlet at parties or related forums). But ever since Sept. '02, when me and the wife (to be) closed escrow on the primary residence at 1280, evenings and weekends prompted -- mostly during the commute home -- a checklist of: Which home improvement project -- kitchen, bath, basement, landscape, general interior/exterior, yackety-schmackety -- am I working on (or need to research/get up to speed on); Which rental property (mine more-so than the wife's) needs attention; What upgrade/restoration task can I provide "Jul-e-us di Arancia" (my oran...