Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

Republicans don’t trust women.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The words do not have to be perfect.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Two Projects Down

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117Comments

  3. 3.

    trollhattan

    Looking good, and the sunshade lends a nice glow. I could see hanging out there. You’ll sit for seven minutes then see a project.

  5. 5.

    Ladyraxterinok

    Shelves are great! What are the supports? Did you buy them ready made or did you put them together?

    Always in need of more bookcases!

  9. 9.

    J R in WV

    What kinda cloth is that shade awning? Just canvas? What’ll the wind do to it?

    Looking good, though!!!

  14. 14.

    ola azul

    A home, unlike a mere house, should ideally be both cozy and beautiful. You’re well on yer way. Pergola looks fantastic, and shelves is jim-dandy as well. Coupla hummingbird feeders placed at strategic viewing areas is the only immediate addition that springs to mind. (Gotta buddy who is a retired fisherman who blanched at the idea outta pure why-bother crustiness, so I busybodily bought him a couple, made up the sugar-water solution and hung ’em outside his windows; he now admits his life would be some poorer w/o his daily sightings of hummingbirds helicoptering in for a belt at the juice bar.)

    (I also had the same concern as J R re: wind on the canopy, but you prolly already made accommodations for that.)

  15. 15.

    SFAW

    Looks great, John.

    Listen, next time your up in MA: a pergola would look nice on my back deck, so please remember to bring your tools.

  16. 16.

    hells littlest angel

    Pergola looks really nice! And if those shelves aren’t in reality wildly crooked and uneven, then you are a brilliantly terrible photographer

  18. 18.

    raven

    The boss lady bought a wicker set in Asheville last weekend, painted them Monday and the paint still stinks!

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    It’s beautiful. What a wonderful place to hang out with pets, a cold or hot drink, and a book.

    Turned out quite well.

  20. 20.

    trollhattan

    @ola azul:
    Keep a feeder on the front porch going on four years and a few are so used to me when I walk out there instead of fleeing they’ll hover in front of my face waiting for me to am-scray. I will never tire of the little scrapping jewels.

  22. 22.

    Aleta

    @ola azul: Great gift to do for a retired friend. I bought one when our local hw store went out of business (after 90 years. Thanks, mall!); haven’t hung it yet. I just read something last week about cleaning them frequently (to make sure the sugar water doesn’t develop any mold to harm birds, but also can’t use bleach) so I gotta wait til things settle down here for us to be reliable.

    Spent the weekend with some people from Kty and Ind who’d never been this far. I like going around with people who’re seeing this landscape for the first time. I never get used to the beauty, but my eyes get used to the parts that are unusual about it, and fresh eyes wake that up again. Also one of the farmers had never had lobster and was all excited about it. We got some way-above-average-looking lobster rolls. … (Giant pieces of lobster meat)

    Now I’m hoping he won’t be too let down if the next ones don’t come close. Can a relationship with a lobster roll become like ‘we’ll always have Paris” ….

  23. 23.

    ola azul

    @raven:

    Hey Raven, allus good to see your nym. Hadda prolonged absence the deets of which I won’t bore anyone with, but busy, busy, busy. Crew arrived Mon. last (Ivy-leaguer, no less; young kid, just graduated, looking for adventure, like him a lot; solid human and *thoughful* no less; he knew I like Ta-Nahesi Coates, n he fwded., unbidden, a fiction piece Coates done to me).

    King opener coming July 1st, boat projects, cash-flow going wrong direx presently, waiting for tide-change. Gotta go out n make some mun so’s I can bitch on the internets!

    Heading to Fairweather Grounds, a remote seamount some 40-80 miles offshore, so double-checking all systems (redundancy and regular maintenance is the watchwords onna boat, course). Friend of mine wrote a short account of a ling-cod trip here if innerested. (There’s a link innit to highest wave height ever recorded — like to quiz folks with a guess as to how high the wave was cuz it occurred under purty particular circumstances, and the wave is far, far, FAR taller than anyone ever guesses.)

    How’z by you?

  24. 24.

    Mary G

    Looks like a great cozy place to relax. The shelves are beautiful. Your home is really coming along and I LOLed at finding the wicker chairs in your parents’ basement.

  25. 25.

    A Ghost To Most

    I sat down to watch the France-Brazil match, but all I could find was a diving tournament.

  27. 27.

    JPL

    It looks great.

    BTW I just found out that a bobcat has been hanging out at my next door neighbor. One of the pics she showed me, it appeared to be a pregnant female. Although I have a chain link fence, I’m hoping that if I keep the area clean of food she’ll stay on the other side. Google says an air horn or a tambourine will scare them away.

  28. 28.

    funlady75

    @SFAW:
    Yes, John come on up to MA……I’ll even cook you some baked stuffed scallops, creamy chowder, & some stuffed quahogs, OK? Tools are here…..(smile)

  29. 29.

    RAVEN

    @ola azul: Not bad, we did the gulf last month to avoid the crowds. I was pissed because the feds shut down AJ season and I had my heart set on a reef donkey. Surf fished for 8 days and NEVER had better luck. I big bull red, a dozen slots, pomp, whiting and a nice blue that was great eating right out of the water. I’m down to 70 days to retirement so I got that going for me!

  31. 31.

    chris

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    What are the supports?

    Looks like pipe and fittings you can buy at the hardware store. I suspect you would have to get someone to cut the pipe to length and thread the ends unless, of course, you have those tools handy ;-)

  32. 32.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Wow, I love those shelves. The back porch looks soooo inviting. Can’t believe you found the wicker you wanted in your parents’ basement. Guess it’s good you hung up on the Trumper and their set.

  33. 33.

    ola azul

    @trollhattan:

    Am agreed. Them cheerful marvels just make life even better in every way. Joy to seeum. Gotta little feeder on the boat that I hang when fishing inside waters for keta. When at anchor come a gloaming eve, they a-times will swoop in for a pre-perch aperitif and enrich my life as they nourish themselves.

    Had one land on my tattle-tale spring once (indicator there’sa fish on), and what turnt out to be a king yawned the spring half-again its normal size while the hummer was perched onnit. Give him or her quite a start! Musta thought the Cascade Fault give way!

  34. 34.

    NeenerNeener

    @Aleta: Yeah, if I remember correctly you need to wash out the hummingbird feeder and refresh the sugar water every week if the temps are in the 70s, every few days if the temps are in the 80s and daily if 90s or higher. Or if the birds drain the feeder, of course.

    I keep a large Pyrex measuring cup of sugar water in my fridge all summer. I wonder if hummingbirds can get “brain freeze” from drinking cold sugar water straight out of the fridge.

  39. 39.

    ola azul

    @raven:

    Gonna get back to work, so gotta go (installing a third wash-down/emergency bilge, n gotta locate, route hoses, wire, test, etc.).

    Will try’n read the account when got more time, but tx. for referral. Sea stories is kinda like ghost stories, except more viscerally real (for me). I ain’t religious, but “there but for the grace of God — and hopefully proper maintenance and forethought — go I” is ever-present in my mind.

    The sinking of the Le Conte on the Fairweather Grounds is another harrowing tale. Know a guy whose brother was a survivor. (Know quite a number of folks whose boats have gone down; and a handful who didn’t make er, too.)

    In the Jaws of the Storm is a WaPo account of the Le Conte, if innerested.

  40. 40.

    chris

    Paraphrasing something I heard a long time ago.

    “When I was young I wanted a Porsche, now I just want a porch to sit on.”

    Good job, John Cole.

  42. 42.

    Aleta

    @RAVEN: my partner just got forced into taking retirement right now (for refusing assignments by new director). In one year we’re down to 1/2 a paid job between us, plus volunteering, my search and his unpaid research. I was worried about him, the lucky kind who loved his work so was likely to stay forever. But he says the death of our close friend in April from unexpected pancreatic cancer completely changed his attitude about not retiring. It’s also good news for the dog who believes the pack is best off staying together as nature intended.

  46. 46.

    raven

    @Aleta: Yea, I’m going to be 70 in November. I hung for an extra year for a number of reasons and I’m trying to get prepared. I was talking to a buddy the other night, he runs a men’s group for old motherfuckers like me, and I was telling him I may be interested. I’ve worked from home for 15 years and I don’t have strong connections via work that people who work in other settings have, BJ is actually one of my main places for social interaction, so I’m thinking I’m going to need to forge more f2f stuff.

  48. 48.

    currants

    @SFAW: And I’ll get in line behind you! I mean, if he’s already in MA, it’s more efficient and all, right?

  49. 49.

    MaryRC

    It all looks great, congratulations. I can’t see what kind of shape the wicker chairs are in, but I like their color the way it is — it blends perfectly with the shutters and looks good against the yellow walls.

  50. 50.

    JPL

    @jeffreyw: I was a tad concerned clicking on it, because I thought it was one clip Baby deer are on the bobcats approved diet.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    @mrmoshpotato: You all jest, but my neighbor was concerned about hiring a wild life company to set a trap because it appears the mom is pregnant. The neighbor was concerned that if the cat was dumped in the mountains it would become prey for another animal and the babies would die. With my serious face, I mentioned she could wait until the babies were born. Bobcats are territorial so it lives in the area so why not have more baby bobcats.

  55. 55.

    JPL

    @jeffreyw: I did google what do bobcats eat. Finch is eighteen pounds so I think he’s safe, but I’ll make sure to go out with him.

  57. 57.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    Reminds me of when Canada geese nested about two feet from my front door. I looked out one day and saw a neighbor tossing bread to them, and I yelled out the window that she was not permitted to feed the geese unless she intended to take them home with her. Never saw her doing that again.

  60. 60.

    Steve in the ATL

    @A Ghost To Most:

    I sat down to watch the France-Brazil match, but all I could find was a diving tournament.

    95 minutes into it and Brazil is still flopping! Good to see that there is equality between the sexes down there.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    @jeffreyw: We have coyotes. The area is becoming more populated and I’m not seeing many deer anymore. You used to see them run behind my fence.
    Coyotes are protected but you can hunt bobcats during the hunting season. Not in the city limits though.

  62. 62.

    Steve in the ATL

    @jeffreyw: I live about 4-5 miles from JPL and haven’t seen a coyote in at least ten years. Not sure what happened to them, but my cats and our neighborhood deer have been safe since. Had one cat wounded by a coyote but was too fast to get himself killed.

  63. 63.

    mrmoshpotato

    @JPL: What feasts on bobcats? And what’s the plan besides the bobcat-scaring drum circle? (Couldn’t resist.)

  65. 65.

    jeffreyw

    @JPL:
    I’m not sure coyotes are significant threats to deer populations but they would take a baby deer if they came across one. We have lots of deer and coyotes hereabouts.

  71. 71.

    JPL

    @mrmoshpotato: Google says it about the fur, which sickens me. I know there are fewer and fewer places for animals to roam, and that makes me sad. It would make me furious if a coyote or bobcat injured my dog though.

  72. 72.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steve in the ATL: I have a friend in the Boston area who posted a picture on FB of a coyote in his backyard. I made a roadrunner joke and it just whooshed past people’s heads.

  73. 73.

    JPL

    This is a picture of the cat
    It’s a relative of Jeffrey’ s
    I sent the pic to one of my son’s and said this cat has been hanging out in ……’s backyard. Phone rings five seconds later saying mom that’s not a house cat. Getting old sucks because your son takes you literally.

  74. 74.

    Steve in the ATL

    @mrmoshpotato: you know that crater in Turkmenistan known as the “door to hell” that has been burning since 1971? There’s a drum circle in golden gate park like that.

  76. 76.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @jeffreyw: There was a spot on the local news here last night of a coyote getting into a house(they left the sliding glass door open so the dogs could get out and take care of business) and killing a yorkie. If I’m out at night, I close the doggie door before I leave.

  86. 86.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Omnes Omnibus: have you watched any LPGA lately? We should have a photo thread for those tournaments!

    And this has been a fun game to watch—two good teams battling hard.

  87. 87.

    JPL

    @Raven: Do you see a lot of bobcats? I’ve seen foxes, coyotes and deer but it’s just recently that I’ve seen bobcats. Last year there was a bear up the street at Starbucks.

  92. 92.

    suezboo

    Personally, I think Thurston is eyeing those chairs for peeing purposes. I could be wrong but …

  96. 96.

    satby

    The race is on to see if the guy who mows down my tall grass will get here before the next series of storms does. It’s not looking good for the mowing. ?

  97. 97.

    mrmoshpotato

    @The Lodger:

    Someone set fire to a drum circle?
    Impressive…

    One could argue that the drum circle was so good it was on fire.

    I’ll see myself out.

  99. 99.

    mitzimuffin

    Hey John, If you remove the white plastic hanger from the lovely flower pots and replace it w/fishing filament, they will look sooo much better. Place looks great!

  100. 100.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Steve in the ATL: I’m guessing he hasn’t. Football, real and Amerikansicher, I can see Omnes watching. Golf – I just can’t.

    I’m still waiting on a difficult question. Of course, now I have to read down to see if I was right. If not, you both have my apologies.

  101. 101.

    debbie

    A couple of foxes have moved into the neighborhood. They better leave the bunnies alone.

  104. 104.

    Steve in the ATL

    @debbie:

    A couple of foxes have moved into the neighborhood

    That’s what I was trying to tell Omnes about the LPGA!

  109. 109.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Omnes Omnibus: a couple of days ago while shopping, I asked her if buying pink Himalayan salt was the whitest thing ever. She said to ask her a difficult question.

    ETA: and the answer to your question is “a pint bottle of Taaka gin”

  111. 111.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    1. I’m right; and
    2. There’s no need to feel ashamed—you’re among friends here. We’re not judging you. In fact, I myself drank a *2005* Chateauneuf-du-Pape this evening. 2005!

  113. 113.

    Ruckus

    John Cole.
    Saw your pic with Tammy on the twitter feed.
    How in the hell did you get that thing through the hatch of a tank?
    And have you apologized to your mom at least once since you were born? My head is weird shaped so unless everything was just right this could have been an issue for my mom but damn my hat size isn’t anywhere near all that…..

  116. 116.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @ola azul: Take care, and while I realize you intend to stay out of trouble, I do hope trouble doesn’t manage to find you on its own.
    Reading your comments is like listening to some of my relatives but with more salt water.

  117. 117.

    sherparick1

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I love birds, but I would not put a bird feeder on my deck for the reason that what goes in one way, comes out the other. About 10 to 20 feet from the deck near some plants that like the fertilization. Exception would be a humming bird feeder and you can also plant large pots with lantana camara , which is just a beautiful flower. I am jealous of that pergola and would like one for my patio:-)

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