Who wants a free mailbox?

I've got a mailbox to give away to one lucky reader!  The good people at MoreMailboxes.com have supplied me with one of their Ecco small brushed stainless steel wall-mount mailboxes as part of an internet promotion, and I get to give it away.

I also get to make up the rules, so here they are:

On February 1, 2010, I will randomly choose one person from my list of followers.  To add yourself to the list, just click the "Follow" tab in the upper-right portion of this page.  Do it now!  You'll have pretty good odds at getting yourself a free stainless steel mailbox that will look good on any front porch.

A Trio of Reuse Ideas

I've been wanting to post this for a while, and since it's a new year I figured I should start blogging again, so here goes.

A good use for at least two of those flower vases that you have sitting around (because you buy your wife flowers so often...) can be put to good use.  One can become a plastic bag dispenser and the other can hold your dead batteries until you get a chance to recycle them.

You can also use an empty diaper genie container to hold strings of stuff like the bead garland from the Christmas tree.

Cash for Caulkers

I was just reading about President Obama's push for home energy efficiency tax incentives, so I decided to send the following letter to all 3 of my representatives:

As an Oregon resident, I would like to encourage you to support incentives pertaining to home energy efficiency improvements (aka "Cash for Caulkers").

Specifically, I urge you to ensure that incentives are put into place that will benefit owners of older homes who increase the energy efficiency of their original windows by installing wooden storm windows and weatherstripping. Please push for legislation that is not exclusively aimed at replacing old windows with new windows. The windows in my home are over 90 years old and will last another 90 before they need to be replaced. Adding weatherstripping and custom-made storm windows will increase their energy efficiency without adding to the local landfill. It will also create local jobs since wooden storm windows are often custom made by local craftsmen.

Thank you for your time.

If you also think it is important to incentivize old-fashioned wooden storm windows and weatherstripping, please feel free to send the same message to your congressmen. You can find your representatives here: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Update: Check out Window Wednesday for more info on saving old windows.

My Weekend Project

My daughter's preschool has a log cabin playhouse in the yard that had never been completely finished on the inside. I decided to pull together some parent and teacher volunteers and get the inside finished properly. I thought I'd share some before and after pics here on the blog.

BEFORE:
The walls were all plywood with an old layer of paint.

None of the windows or doors had any trim; they were just roughed-in openings.

AFTER:
We added some inexpensive pine trim around the windows.

We put cedar wainscotting around the entire perimeter and a sheet of vinyl flooring.

Then a fresh coat of paint and called it done! It was really nice to work on a project that went from start to finish in less than two days and made such a big difference. Instant gratification is kinda nice sometimes. ;-)

Exterior Colors Progress

Here's what the Sherwin Williams sample colors look like on some actual trim and a window sash. The trim is Roycroft Vellum, the window sash is Rookwood Red (NOT the Rookwood Dark Red that was mentioned in the previous post on this subject), and the piece of siding is Grizzle Grey. I wasn't sure at first, but as I continue to look at them at different times of day I think we may be very close to having the right colors.

These are the DOG DAYS! Did I mention it's hot?