It's as easy T-S-P...not really

In the beginning of January I rented out the 3rd floor apt. or to be more specific, I rented out the half with the kitchen, bathroom, lg. bedroom and lg. living room for February 15th. In preparation for me to move down to the first floor from third floor in 14 days, I have been deep in demolition, sanding, painting, cleaning patching in order to get downstairs into a place where I can camp out...yikes. I'll have to catch you up.

First thing: was to do scrub cabinets with TSP  Trisodium Phosphate Cleaner and boiling water which is pretty much the best cleaner, paint prep, scummoval  (yes, that is a word) that I've come across.  I scrubbed then scrubbed and that happened pretty much every week since I bought the house and I'm not a super clean freak...maybe, just a freak. The sight of the that red and white box brings me unexpected glee and excitement. 

Second: After the TSP I painted everything white,  and then I was to be able to stand working in the apt...

Third: Drop ceilings must go away, far away. They were happily removed to reveal 11

foot high ceilings....yay!

Kitchen Sweet Kitchen (Before Pictures)

Before Pictures of the Kitchen on First Floor...who doesn't like a nice drop ceiling (it is very modern looking and saves you so much money) broken fluorescent lights and some tastefully mo faux painted cabinets with a nice coating of nicotine. 

FACT: At 20 minutes after quitting smoking: Blood pressure decreases Pulse rate drops

At 8 hours:Carbon monoxide level drops to normal oxygen level in blood increases to normal
At 24 hours: Chance of a heart attack decreases

At 48 hours: nerve endings begin regrowth ability to smell and taste improves

FACT: dropping a ceiling by 12" will only lower a heating bill by about 1%

Riddle me this why do asbestos tiles get such a bad rap, that's so not cool.

Game over sez the Mac Daddy

I really am working on my house but I received a letter from a fellow Apple Alum that I wanted to share...
My dear,
I was thinking about what we were talking about today. About how hard it is to watch porn on the iPhone. Somewhere the back of my brain kept working after we stopped talking, and after a while I hit upon an idea. Let's say Apple could come up with some sort of device that was bigger than an iPhone, but not nearly as bulky as one of their laptops. I mean, who wants to carry around even a twelve inch laptop (with all that weight!) just so you can download and watch porn?

But something a little smaller. I don't even think you would need a keyboard, if you did it right. I mean, what good is a keyboard with porn, anyway?
I sat down and wrote a short email to Steve Jobs, remember that guy that works at Apple, and I told him what I was thinking about. I even suggested a couple of names: iPorn is soooo obvious, but iSquirt sort of gives it that pipsqueak appeal that good go a long way in the marketplace.

Well, anyway, I just pulled into my driveway when I got an email back from Steve Jobs, (thank god for Mobile Me and that push email!) and here's what he said:
"Friend, that's a good idea you have. In fact, Apple has been working on something very similar to what you described to me. Keep your eyes peeled for the next week or so."

Imagine holding that in your hands!

Your fellow Kool-aid drinker Apple Alum

Dear Maverick Genius missing Bro of Stevie,
It really is exciting...last fall I held the new model Kindle in my hands and I thought it was kinda okay and felt pretty good...but it wasn't a color screen and of course the interface wasn't Apple and the hardware wasn't designed by cousin Jonny Ive and it needed to be a tad bigger, and it had limited applications...okay none, and oh and then there was the sound to contend with...and...and...and...

Sooooo, I naturally am very excited, okay jonesing about the iSquirt announcement on the 27th...well, I mean how couldn't we be, they programmed us for life with that initiation chip on my first day at Infinite Loop...or is it Infinite Chip?

Those losers at Amazon they think upping the royalties is going to make a difference and how about announcing its first-ever software developer's kit for anyone who wants to create active content for its the Kindle....ready NEXT month...hahahhahaa ROFL
Don't worry about not having your Apple discount anymore, your stock price should swell and you'll be able to afford the spendy but how can you not afford it price tag.
Game over sez the Mac Daddy.

Way Over.

10 X 10 oh yeah!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !  

I'm back...what was I doing?  Well, a few friends and myself decided around Thanksgiving that we wanted to have 10x more fun this holiday season, so we planned and talked about it...and we did, the fun we had!  Other people started to want to get on board and join in making it, well...more fun. And because you know that energy follows energy the more fun I had the more fun I had...making it well 100x more fun.
So this year I suggest you try it you will have more fun and get so much more accomplished...don't know how that works but it does. Email in for tips!

Hung out with my neighbors played parlour games
Made big movement on the house
Won a gingerbread haus contest, came in 2nd in another
Had a big fun photo shoot in the gigantic storm til 4am
Decorated Mom's Xmas tree with Za
Went to movies
Had a couple of surprise checks come in
Put a least 50 logs on the fire
Decorated my house inside and out
Made tons of Christmas cookies,  gingersnaps R us

Created flower arrangements for brother and mother

Walked on the winter beach

Met new folks

Made some of my gifts

Made music CD's, sang Christmas tunes

Danced some more

Shoveled my neighbors' sidewalks during the first snow

Laughed stayed up late many nights having fun

Shoveled my parents circular driveway after the mini blizzard (2 hours)

Found my beautiful white Christmas Tree (need to find a Vintage Pom Pom silver one)

Danced at a sexy silly dance party

Stayed at Hedgerow

Planned parties and went to parties

Gave to WRNI public radio - you should too

Made delicious mushroom pate´ recipe ask me

Let people go before me in line at the supermarket Christmas Eve

Dipped dozens of fat strawberries in dark chocolate

Gave to Salvation Army every time they asked

Wrapped presents for other people

Sent presents and cards in the mail

Gave generously to someone I was honked off at

Wore a Santa hat in public

Wore fresh flowers in my hair

Had a 100x more fun and so much more

AND the best part fell in love on a blue moon new years eve..

Now back to the house and more fun & more love!

I know why they call it a PUNCH list...yikes

• Punch list as of December 14, 2009
  
  • Recoat trough especially around outlets , east side trough  and over trough  porch
  East Side- Alley side
  
  • Remove paint drips on claps and under wire on watercourse trim. 
  • Trim on sides of 1stfloor rear window.
  • Clapboards on sides of 1^st floor rear window.
  • Repaint missed areas under 1st floor rear window on watercourse.
  • Repaint foundation wall under rear window and around basement window.
  • Clean paint drips on electrical meters
  • Remove cable boxes-scrape and paint claps.
  • Paint outside edge of metal on trough.
  • Repaint South East trough corner of fascia.
  • Remove drywall screws in downspout straps and install aluminum screw into strap holes.
  • Repaint straps and lower section of down spout
  East Side - Jog
  
  • Left side of 2nd floor window -repaint claps.
  • Left side of 1^st floor window and trim repaint trim and claps.
  • Paint both wall vents.
  • Repaint foundation.
  • Touch up claps at North east corner.
  North Side
  
  • Drain pipe straps need screws into sides of downspouts.
  • Remove drywall screws in downspout straps and install aluminum screw into strap holes.
  • Repaint straps and lower section of down spout.
  • Paint outside edge of metal on trough.
  • Remove paint drips around downspout straps.
  • Remove damaged wooden sides of door hood and paint everything the trim color.
  • Screw in light fixture.
  • Touch up claps on both sides of downspout.
  • Touch up clapboards under large 1^st floor window.  Remove drips,  scrape bubbling paint, set and paint nail heads.
  • Touch up clapboards under large 2^nd floor window.
  • Clean up back yard. – Tubes of caulk, insulation boards and blue tarp.
  • Right side of large 1^st floor window. Caulk clapboards and paint 
  West side:
  
  • Repaint stained clapboards on porch and rear area past beyond the bay. 
  West side:
  
  • Paint under side of porch railing.
  • Drain pipe straps need screws into sides of downspouts.
  • Remove drywall screws in downspout straps and install aluminum screw into strap holes.
  • Repaint straps and lower section of down spout.
  • Remove paint  drips on lower wood work on bay
  • Trim boards behind porch downspout- repaint edge and face of board.
  • Repaint trim board at corner of bay.
  • Back corner trim boards- remove paint drips and scrape loose paint behind electrical pipe.
  • Check nail holes- fill and paint.
  • Repaint sides of basement window near rear corner.
  • Caulk and fill wood work around porch drain pipe.
  • Sand porch floor area in front of door and repaint. Touch up porch middle post and post that’s nail to building.
  • Redo clapboards and trim next to post that’s nail to building.
  • Fill holes, repaint lower area of trim and clapboards on left side of porch landing.
  • Repaint trim above red paint on bay.
  • Remove red paint from clapboard next to 2^nd floor window on bay.
  • Repaint foundation next to drain pipe.
  South side:
  
  • Install house numbers – one on right side under door hood bracket and the 2^nd one on trim board over porch stairs.
  • Touch up lower trim at cement landing and on face boards.
  • Re-sand rough areas on  door way trim surround 
  • Repaint door trim and panels- To be done in the spring
  • Repaint trim on window next to door on 1^st floor.
  • Remove paint drips from trim.
  • Check for ladder mark next to window on claps.
  • Caulk and paint South east corner trim boards on 2^nd floor of bay.
  • Prime and Paint door jamb.
  • Weather strip door and install door sweep - brown or bronze color.
  • Remove wood block on trim over door- sand, prime and repaint.
  South side:
  
  • Remove paint from threshold and apply two coats of gray deck paint.
  • Touch up door way ceiling trim.  
  
  

Sister Ann and the Milkman

So last night driving home from the fundraiser for WRNI, "RI's NPR" which you should donate to right now  I realized the thing about voniPcreed is that you never really know how to connect the dots even if you think you do I actually believed all that happy horse do-do that they teach you in the 'regular' boring universe,


where the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, I vaguely remember something about the hypotenuse side of a right triangle. Ha!

And, according to Einstein, that gorgeous creature, (I had a huge crush) space-time is curve, so technically, the shortest distance between two points should be a curve line...OK, good, getting closer to understanding how things might work here in voniPcreed.

Then there is VoniPcreed poetry where I am coming to understand there is no equation, no balanced state, no rhyme and certainly no reason, no, no none of this in the creative capital all there is beautiful chaos – and Sister Ann and the Milkman....to be continued.

No Sir-ee Bob!

BEFORE picture of the ex-front door...mangled, purple and probably circa early 60's or 70's and I am not talking the 1800's.

As you now it has become my mission, okay, obsession to get every last vibe of the 'old administration' out of out of this house, which includes (but is not limited to) getting rid of this door and clearing out the stinky vibes. Call me Mrs. Macbeth.

However I do understand why on the night before the inauguration last January the lesbians were having a smudge party in Dupont Circle burning bundles of white sage to clear W and the rest of the criminals out the White House but did they think that was enough? Oh sure, I like a nice smudge stick just like the next one, but didn't those wacky girls know they also needed a new front door at 1600?  It's a surprise that the Salahi's crashed the State din din?? Methinks not.

     old front door = bad mojo = security breach.  Plain and simple. 

Speaking of wacky girls that social secretary, Desiree Rogers maybe looking for a new job this week instead of a new pair of shoes. Be assured folks it ain't gonna go down like that at # 7 . No Sir-ee Bob!  

I am going to sit on some silk cushions now and call forth my inner feng shui master...thank you and good night.

• An unobstructed, open flow of energy to the front door.
• A front door that is well-cared for. A front door that opens widely without squeaking, a front door that has good looking door hardware and paint. No odd looking, unused nails around the door frame, no rusty doorknobs, no worn out Christmas wreaths in June... you get the idea.  
• A front door that is in harmony with the feng shui element of its direction. Thedirection of the front door is very important in feng shui, so in order to harness the best energy it is advisable to choose a good feng shui color for your front door.
• A strong feng shui front door opens up to a smooth flow of energy in the main entry. The efforts of attracting the best feng shui energy to your house will be wasted if your main entry does not have good feng shui. You need to channel the good feng shui energy throughout your house, and it all starts in your main entry.
• A front door that "is enough", or has a good relationship with the house structure. A strong feng shui front door is a door that has good proportions in comparison to the house as a whole. This simple point is often forgotten during home renovations, so you can often see two or three story houses with tiny front doors that might have been enough when the house was initially just a small, ones story structure.






glass in - rounded moulding set

getting closer...

What would Karl Lagerfeld do?

QUESTION:

So you wanna know how to blow 33 hours and a quick 2 grand without going to sin city?

ANSWER:

Decide you want a period door to match your house that was built in 1887

...at least in Vegas you can blame it on the fact that you were hammered out of your gourd or if you were Karl Lagerfeld you could blame it on well...um...uh...

Yes, and I can sit down on a white piece of paper and work because I don't believe too much into inspiration, only I'm waiting for inspiration, work and then inspiration may come. It's a little too easy to say that.   Karl Lagerfeld 

Today switched the direction of the door, changed the lock set, took out the mortise, put in the lock, put on the handle, put in the mail slot...primed with oil based paint, sanded filled with wood putty and bondo , painted the interior side, let it dry sanded it again, primed a second time, flipped it sanded the interior side....

I need some fabulous gay from one of the House and Garden shows to come and do a make-over on the rest of this house and then I could just take a spa holiday up in Gstaad or St. Moritz or anywhere in the Swiss alps. 

I could have a Moroccan facial and Tibetan honey massage or I could try a Cleopatra wrap where you are slathered in goat’s milk and oils or a Wallis hay bath or I could be exfoliated with salt, lie suspended in dry flotation beds, get wrapped in clay, horsetail, dandelion and arnica or I could lie in the Infinity Pool, where the natural materials and organic forms of the waterfalls cascading over pebbles make it feel as though the mountain has followed me inside or I could indulge in a unique hammam experience, a sensory odyssey that lasts twelve hours and travels through seven rooms OR I could get my fanny in bed to meet the electrician at 6:30a.

  

wicked-good

Nothing happened on the house today, except for wonderful wicked good SNOW!! Instead, I had a field trip to hear a lecture/slide show given by the ever enchanting  wicked-good Dr. R. Tripp Evans Professor of Art History at Wheaton College, sponsored by the Providence Preservation Society. The title was "Federal, Unreserved: Union Trust and the Vertical American Renaissance." which of course is a mouthful but it was just fantastic. Tripp spoke about the architects, client, and historical context of this building and it was fascinating, funny and anecdotal wicked-good on its significance as a marker of the city's unique wicked-good banking (I'll say!) and design history.

 voniPcreeds's own Union Trust Company Building (1901) is both a model of American Renaissance design and an important  wicked-good example of Rhode Island's contribution to the evolution of skyscraper style. Check it out next time you are hanging out at Haven Brothers at 2am having a delicious wicked-good murder burger.

'splain it to me!

Someone sent me a comment and said that my tag line for this blog should be "rearranging Providence interior and exterior" instead of "rearranging Providence inside and exterior."

I appreciate the attention to detail dear reader, and the reason I choose the words inside and exterior is this, I am referring to:

 rearranging my providence (or inner self )

and

 rearranging (or renovating) in Providence. 

It is a huge transition in my life from being on the West Coast for over 20 years in the film business and Apple to this giant rehab/house project in Providence. It was my intention to come here, get this house and pursue and produce my own creative projects instead of making it happen for other people and company's BUT not so fast little doggie. So many things happened that I couldn't have forseen, the delayed closing for 6 months, the economy, the break-up, the sellers that wouldn't leave the house that I had to evict with a sheriff and a drill, the listing realtor that won't give me my 10K deposit back and this mixed-up (trying not to swear) state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

So I decided that if I started to blog about it, the blog would be would become my public journal/creative project/private gps combining writing, photography along with the rehab jive I am doing. As try to figure out, unscramble, decipher and interpret providence and Providence maybe all of this mishegas would make itself clear...thus the blog title:

Divine Vonipcreed 

an anagram for Providence, hmmm, maybe Vonipcreed should appear like this

Divine voniPcreed 

Should the people decide? leave a comment if you like.

In the meantime some portraits of some of my Brighton Street guys...

Prentice painter and everything guy

                                                    Fernando neighbor and gardener guru guy

Tom  Providence Revolving Fund guy      

Regino Painting Contractor guy

What would Jane Austen do?

OK, no one wants to hear this, especially since all I keep hearing on the streets of Vonipcreed is what a mild fall we have had...well maybe true, but I am freezing. While we had a semi-decent day weather wise today, at 45 degree's I was freezing all day. What the heck?! I wore 4 layers of clothes...to work inside.
1. a silk thermal shirt
2. another long sleeved ski shirt
3. a cashmere sweater
4  a hooded thick fleece
Not to whine BUT I also had to add a scarf and look for the winter hat box. I might as well face it, I am totally hosed for a winter in New England. When will my thyroid realize I am not in California any more....ok, I'll stop.

I worked on the exterior door yesterday I completed taking off 4 layers of paint with a heat gun and a scraper. Today I went in with the sander and a dremel for the finishing of the painting prep. I went to RI Glass and got the glass from Norman, then went to Adler's and bought decorative hardware what that means besides large sheckles is: I got an oil rubbed bra$$ mail $lot and ordered two decent looking period doorbell$. Tomorrow we reverse the lock mechanism to the other side, trim the door, glaze the windows, fill the holes and then will oil prime. Yay...

...but all I really want to do is play parlour games...don't you? Didn't Jane?

some rocks and a round thing

Happy Thanksgiving wherever you might find yourself in the stack.

All is well, exceedingly well.

Didn't waste my time at Apple

So with lots of time to think, I begin to wonder about these people that switch deeds back and forth especially the guy Karl Aziz that now holds the deed to this house that I have basically uprooted my life in California for.  I grab hold of my trusty MBP as we lovingly referred to it on ye olde Infinite Loop in Cupertino...(ok yes, I drank the Kool Aid long ago but at least I got paid for it) and start to dig for information on this guy.

Hmmmm, well didn't have to look too far....2nd entry on Google


http://www.ri.gov/press/view/8090

Press Releases

Lijncoln Woods Barracks

At 12:10 P.M., Trooper arrested Khaled Gabr AKA Karl Aziz, age 39,of 52 Columbus Avenue, Pawtucket, RI for 1) Fraudulent Checks over $1000, 2) Fraudulent Checks over $1000 and 3) Fourth Division District Court warrant for failure to appear to pay fines on an unknown original charge out of the Wickford Barracks. The arrest was the result of an initial complaint at the Barracks and subsequent investigation. The subject was transported to the Lincoln Woods Barracks where he was processed and later released after being arraigned by JP Finnegan.

OK, besides that Mrs. Lijncoln, did you enjoy the play?

Don't you just love that a press release from the RI government can actually publish the name of one of it's towns LIJNCOLN incorrectly and let it sit uncorrected for over a year...Oh wait....the state of RI still hasn't corrected the felony that occurred when my 10K deposit was basically stolen from me for over a year now also. The state of Rhode Island could learn a thing or 200 from the PR machine at Apple – do you think El Jobso would let this happen?  I think not, the crookedest littlest has an image problem for starters.
Oh and one more thing...Is moron the highest form of mental deficiency or is it imbecile?

Over the hill and through the morass...

How fitting an article in the Projo should come out today practically a year to the date that I was packing the last of my stuff to move from Half Moon Bay, CA back to Providence,  (Vonipcreed) RI to close on a house.

Here's the story from the beginning I had sent in a check for $10,000 in earnest money with my offer in October 2008, and had a signed Purchase and Sales agreement to close for December 1st. I had always wanted my own home but prices in California eluded me by, well..a huge margin. Los Angeles has nutty amounts of Hollywood sheckles and Silicon Valley has ten thousand sexdecillion children under 22 making bushels of money so it wasn't happening there. I realized I wanted to be back on the east coast closer to my family, so finding this house was a dream come true...well not quite.

Two days before Thanksgiving last year I received a phone call from Jane my wonderful realtor that she had just discovered that Kathryn who signed the sales agreement did not actually hold the deed to the house but was assured by the listing broker Christine Adams. it could be switched over – no problem.  I was told not to worry by my brother that short sales could be a little complicated but not to worry. My attorney was now further looking into the title issues but all would be well. OK, good all is on track...All I had to do was drive cross country and fly home from the road if necessary to close on the house.
So I hit  the road...

Well, I was going to wait until the house was entirely painted but the people have spoken and they want to know the final house colors, OK, fair enough especially after I have drug you through my "process."

I have chosen a green/sage C2 color (STREAM) for the body of the house, a blue gray Benjamin Moore color (STONYBROOK) for the trim but matched it to C2 paint.  I also used another C2 color (INFRARED) for the accent. Christine the high priestess of paint at Adler's suggested she tweak it a bit to get a deeper, better covering red. She gave it the name INFRARED - MADNESS which of course was perfect. Christine also turned me on to 'Perfect Porch Ceiling Blue" yep, you guessed it for the porch ceiling. The deck and doors will be a midnight blue color C2 ESPIONAGE chosen mostly for the name, I also judge a book by its cover.