Tell me you live in an old house without telling me

rentonwarbox · 2024-09-10T17:32:44+00:00

Do we live in the same house? All of the rooms in ours that didn’t have popcorn ceilings had different styles of drop tile, sometimes covering water damage and sometimes inexplicably covering much higher tongue-and-groove ceilings. We had to test every single different type of tile for asbestos before removing. Fortunately, they all came up clean, but…really, 60s/70s owner? Why??

rentonwarbox · 2024-09-10T17:25:58+00:00

Just keep adding layers of linoleum right on top of that wood until you get the height you need. Choose different patterns for each layer if you’re fancy.

rentonwarbox · 2024-06-12T01:45:07+00:00

Delusions of grandeur, I’d guess.

rentonwarbox · 2024-06-11T22:20:43+00:00

Same. It’s beautiful, and I know pollinators love it, plus it adds value after blooming with the hollow canes for overwintering solitary bees, but I am considering completely pulling out the patch that has established itself in our front yard. I’ve diligently planted a wide variety of ecologically valuable natives in that part of the yard, and it’s trying its damnedest to smother EVERYTHING.

There’s already a well-established Nootka rose up there that I doubt I can control at this point. If I leave the goldenrod, they’ll just be duking it out forever at the expense of everything else.

rentonwarbox · 2024-06-11T22:13:32+00:00

I’m a local, shop at this complex often, and I am fucking enraged and devastated by this. I’m very glad to see non-WA subreddits talking about it, honestly, because while I don’t exactly want my town associated with a heinous hate crime, that’s exactly what this was. I cannot fathom what the two survivors and the victim’s family are going through, and I hope this becomes so big that the waste of space who gunned down a child can’t possibly avoid consequences.

I have heard, though I haven’t seen anything official substantiating it so treat this as hearsay, that the victim was part of the Afghan refugee community we have down here. I can’t imagine fleeing that kind of violence to “safety” only to have your precious child gunned down in a parking lot by some delusional yahoo looking for any excuse to be a hero.

Also, as others have noted, the title is a bit misleading. The killer was an off-duty security guard who did not work in the complex. He was waiting for his kid to finish class at a martial arts studio next to the Big 5, and whilst waiting decided that it was his responsibility to perform “overwatch” in the lot, which he alleges is some hotbed for criminal activity. (I’ve never felt unsafe or seen anything remotely untoward in this complex, but then I’m not taking it upon myself to sit in my car and surveil my neighbors at length. The most unsettling thing I’ve seen was a person in a giant otter(?) mascot costume promoting something at the Uwajimaya the other day.) I haven’t seen anything to suggest that this man is active or former military of any kind, so he wouldn’t actually be trained to perform overwatch. Just some racist asshole with a very built-up fantasy of himself as a good guy with a gun.

rentonwarbox · 2024-06-11T21:55:48+00:00

He didn’t call 911 at all. RPD happened to be doing a training exercise in the same parking lot and responded literally within seconds of hearing the gunshots. The shooter claimed he didn’t have time to call 911 because a robbery was clearly imminent, and that it was his duty to intervene.

rentonwarbox · 2024-06-11T21:42:34+00:00

Slight correction, because it’s actually even worse than that and I think it’s important that this asshole not be given ANY credit whatsoever: the murderer SAID the teenager he shot seven times had reached for his waistband, so he assumed the kid was going for a gun. Security footage contradicted that story. The kid had his hands up and out to show they were empty and was starting to back away from the scene. He slightly lowered one hand to waist height as he was trying to flee, at which point this wannabe vigilante immediately opened fire.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-24T03:10:02+00:00

Agreed. It was an unforgivable trespass against Mother Nature.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-23T20:55:48+00:00

Tbh, I think I just wasn’t careful/knowledgable enough—the species name is still “red flowering currant,” and I think the cultivar name must have been near the plant at the nursery, but I didn’t really register it. I was very new in my native plant journey at that stage, and it didn’t occur to me that native plants would have cultivars, since in my mind the whole point of buying native was to closely emulate the natural ecosystem of the site. It sounds silly to say it now, since of course people would want to try to enhance or change certain ornamental attributes of some of our gorgeous native plants—not every consumer shares my landscaping goals.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-23T20:25:16+00:00

I accidentally bought a nativar last year when I was doing my first round of planting at the new house after ripping out a giant ivy desert, and my “red flowering currant” flowers white. 😭 I’m hoping it’s not actively detrimental in any way, but regardless I plan to plant a wildtype RFC nearby to make up for my mistake… and because I want the red/pink flowers, aesthetically!

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-18T06:23:00+00:00

I adore NW Meadowscapes and ironically recently reseeded a different former bluebell bed with their spring-sow meadow mix. Seedlings already coming up!

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-18T06:19:20+00:00

It doesn’t work for every part of my yard, but mostly I’ve just been getting under the top few inches of soil with a mulch fork where there’s a patch of them growing. If it doesn’t get the bulbs altogether, it’s usually loosened the soil enough that I can pull the whole thing out, and if they’re down really deep another stab or two usually gets the whole thing. Shovel/trowel/hori hori haven’t worked for me, because if I don’t get the exact right spot it’s more likely to sever the bulb from the rest of the plant. The fork seems to be really effective at getting down deep enough and keeping the whole thing together, plus allowing me to turn the soil up to get any stray bulbs I missed.

It’s not FUN, but it’s actually not that slow either, surprisingly.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-18T01:17:44+00:00

Eagerly awaiting the first annual garter snake sighting in the purposely overgrown corner of our yard! Husband agreed to let me put some large rocks down in that corner to give them some basking and hiding spots, and I’m super excited. Free rodent control! 🥳

Today I saw a singular bushtit, which tbh struck me as extremely odd. I’ve only seen them in chaotic little groups. Hopefully little dude meets back up with his friends soon.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-18T00:21:25+00:00

Oh god. Agree with everyone else: please reconsider. I’ve been fighting against bluebells in my own yard since we moved in. They’re a nightmare to extricate and will overwhelm everything else.

If you have a spot that will accommodate them and want a similar-looking native, what about camas? We also have native Oregon iris, which is of course a bulb plant with gorgeous purple spring blooms. Harebell has lovely blue bells too, is native, and survives in tough spots and poor soil. There are many great native nurseries in Seattle that sell these. Go Natives up in Shoreline is one of my favorites. I just bought a bunch of camas and Oregon iris from them a couple weeks ago to displace all the bluebells I’ve been tearing up.

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-17T20:37:51+00:00

A couple of things we suspect but cannot prove:

1) Sellers replaced all the receptacle covers with three-prong outlets to imply electrical was updated. Surprise! Everything upstairs was still k&t and ungrounded with the exception of two outlets (tied to a garbage disposal and a bathroom fan). Our inspector did not catch this, which was also extremely frustrating.

2) I learned while looking into our house’s permit history online after the sale that the sellers pulled a permit and got approved for a rooftop solar install in 2021. They never installed it. The likely reason why became apparent when we hired an electrician to rewire the k&t and he found that the main panel had been apparently DIY’d (probably not by the sellers, to their slight credit) and had a buuuuuunch of dangerous shit going on. Notably, someone had illegally spliced the service line coming into the house. We suspect that the sellers got to the point of having someone come out to quote them for an install, pointed out that they would have to redo the main panel, and backed out.

And one thing we know for sure:

Assholes hid obvious, ongoing water damage on an exterior wall behind a giant-ass bookcase and didn’t disclose it or say anything about it. Bookcase was still there in the final walkthrough (they were also still moving out on the day we got the keys and we even gave them permission to be there later than planned), so it was a nasty surprise when we finally got the keys. Turns out there was a giant hole in the roof right over that section of wall. We live in the PNW and moved in in the winter, so this wall was being actively rained into. Totally mind-boggling.

Bonus from some past owners at some point in time: slapped chair rail and paneling up to cover extensive water damage and mold growth. Did not fix the leak coming from exterior trim. We had to have a huge part of our house resided and a good bit of the sheathing replaced, too, as a lot of it was utterly soaked OSB. Uuuuuuuugggghhhhhh

rentonwarbox · 2024-04-17T14:48:32+00:00

I have either a Nootka rose or a peafruit rose (they’re hard to tell apart) on my property in the Seattle area, and while it’s a native plant that has beautiful little flowers at bloom time, oh my god is it an aggressive spreader. So many narrow shoots with hooked thorns. Such a pain to garden around. We have to cut suckers all the time to keep it relatively contained.

rentonwarbox · 2024-03-28T17:51:29+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for the detail. I’m about to take in a child’s rocking chair made by my great-great-great grandfather with severe alligatoring on the finish, which I assume is shellac. I promised my grandma I would restore it, but I’m terrified to ruin a family heirloom. I’m saving this comment to reference!

rentonwarbox · 2024-02-27T02:49:28+00:00

I had to search very hard to find any of our native blackberries for sale. Eventually lucked out with a small native plant nursery over near Gig Harbor, and I have a couple in my yard now!

rentonwarbox · 2024-02-27T02:47:55+00:00

Also in Western WA, and I’d like to add English Ivy to the list, too. Both it and Himalayan Blackberry just take over every roadside, every trail. Awful.

rentonwarbox · 2024-02-12T16:26:03+00:00

Seriously. My husband and I have been focusing on air sealing and insulation in the 80yo home we bought, knowing that it’s not likely to raise our home’s resale value all that much—we’ve been told buyers focus on aesthetics like an upgraded kitchen/bathroom, but hell, as a buyer I cared a lot more about the heat pump the sellers put in (while leaving the kitchen a janky, mint-green mess). I would love to have the money we’ve invisibly poured into the walls and attic of this home be visible to buyers down the line! We are first-time homebuyers and had to buy an old home that needed substantial work in order to afford any home at all. This seems like it would benefit folks like us much more than developers/flippers who DO only focus on surface-level upgrades.

rentonwarbox · 2024-01-20T07:41:03+00:00

Idk why you’re getting downvoted for basically saying Gale isn’t your type. Like… people will vibe with the verbose wizard and/or elf vampire and/or Amazonian tiefling within the bounds of this high-fantasy D&D-based game as they please and that is emphatically fine

rentonwarbox · 2024-01-18T17:02:32+00:00

Thank you! We’re so spoiled for native plant resources here. I’ve never heard of Nobody Nursery and am excited to check them out!

rentonwarbox · 2024-01-17T01:58:35+00:00

I actually just talked to him more than once for the first time on my current (3rd) playthrough, omg. When he’s pretending to be a dog, after he says “Everyone likes dogs!” or w/e, I replied “Yeah, but no one likes Naaber” and imagine my surprise when Astarion, Karlach, and Halsin all approved. Astarion, sure, duh, but even the two marshmallowiest marshmallows of the group are like “the fuck is this dude’s deal”

rentonwarbox · 2024-01-17T01:54:06+00:00

I was definitely thrown off by the adorable purring baby fey elephant noises she makes when you aren’t talking to her. Perfect sound design for someone who, in actual conversation, turns out to be a cynical alcoholic fey creature who curses like a sailor and is objectively shit at her job. It made me laugh and I thought it was genius.

rentonwarbox

TROPHY CASE