The Cable Guy

I was surprised to learn from Rob last week that one of our punch list items -- "Install cable/phone/Internet jacks" -- is not something that SAI does. I had to talk them into installing the wiring several months ago, but once they agreed to do that, I mistakenly assumed they'd put in the jacks as well. No such luck. I wish they had explained that at the time, because Verizon is coming Thursday afternoon to set up our phone/TV/Internet FiOS service. Josh and I spent a good part of Saturday visiting various home improvement stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, Radio Shack) to get all the supplies he needs to take a crack at it himself. He watched some online tutorials last night, and went over to the house this morning to give it a shot. There were several different boxes in the family room.
And even more in my office! (Note the can of "Japan Drier" in the bottom right corner. I looked it up -- it's an additive that makes oil-based paints and varnishes dry faster.)
I had my own projects to work on. I went through the pile of window blinds that were salvaged from the house to see if we could reuse any of them. I was happy to find that all the wooden venetian blinds from the "Indian Room" (the front bedroom downstairs) seem to fit in the new windows. Sadly, the nice white matchstick blinds we had in the living room are no longer the right size for the windows in that room, but the two smaller ones will work in the laundry room. The white venetian blinds from my office don't fit anywhere, and the roman shades from our old bedroom aren't worth saving. Looks like we'll have to get a lot of new window treatments!

I also stained the base of the birdhouse with "Early American" which is the color of our hardwood floors. Yesterday, I added another coat of whitewash to the sides and under the eaves. Even though I taped it carefully, some of the whitewash bled under the tape onto the base. I hope the birds don't mind.
There should be lots of activity at the house tomorrow. I'll try to get over there in the afternoon and see how things are going.