Shoestring Theory

Currently documenting the house that is eating our lives, we will return to regularly scheduled programming in a couple of more months

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A blast from the past – Our house in the 70s

January 9th, 2010 2 Comments

This would have been the front of the house circa 1970. The siding and several windows had changed by the time we bought the place. We got a surprise gift just after new years, a letter and pictures from the previous owner of the house. In case I haven’t mentioned this before, the house was […]

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The kitchen and DIY Copper Countertops

January 5th, 2010 18 Comments

Welcome to our kitchen! Let me introduce you to our kitchen, in it’s very nearly completed form! We took several months off from doing any serious work on the house after finally getting the lady’s office and the kitchen mostly done. But as we were hosting Christmas this year, we realized we really needed to […]

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Rebuilding my house was easier than buying a fridge

September 23rd, 2009 2 Comments

So the old refrigerator that came with our house tried to burst into flames on Monday (a Kenmore). The back of the freezer compartment was so hot that it was glowing orange and melting food. I was too freaked out to get a picture, and now I’m a little concerned about plugging it back in […]

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Don’t mess with my woman, she’s got a sledge and knows how to use it

August 12th, 2009 1 Comment

The thing that scares me most when Tam picks up a sledge is not that she will hurt me, or the house. It’s the constant sense that she is somehow about to take her own head off. But she does get in there and swing with the best of them. These videos may not be […]

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For your viewing pleasure, an actual house update!

August 8th, 2009 5 Comments

I don’t have a ton of before pictures of the back bedroom before the remodel. It’s one of the smaller rooms in the house and my camera doesn’t do hat groovy wide angle thing that lets you photograph rooms well. The kid now arguably has the best view in the house from those two windows […]

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A photo essay on the death of an American kitchen table

August 3rd, 2009 No Comments

Update: Okay, so there has been some confusion about the origin of this table. It isn’t our nice kitchen table, it’s the table that was abandoned by the previous owners. It was all ready in bad shape, and we furthered its demise by using it as a workbench and tool holder during the remodel. It […]

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Houston, we have a bathroom

May 12th, 2009 3 Comments

One last reminder about what the old bathroom looked like. Click for larger image. and the complete unit. Sexy. Click for larger image. We finally have our first room that is capable of fulfilling its destiny. The main bath now includes a bathtub, vanity with sink, toilet and hot and cold water. Yah! I’ve been […]

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Beaver!

May 7th, 2009 No Comments

This ain’t your Scott City High Beaver. I’ve been stalking this little guy for the last month trying to get a picture, finally got lucky yesterday. He either lives, or routinely scavenges, in the ravine right behind our house. I got this shot from the window of the littletheorist’s bedroom. Needless to say, she’s thrilled […]

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Ohdeargod, I’m on FIRE

May 5th, 2009 No Comments

Everybody put your hands in the air and wave them around like you’re not on fire! The warning labels on my new water heater just cracked me up. Whoever has to make these must just love their job. More to come on the new water heater later, that post will just take longer to put […]

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OMG! 2 posts 1 day…and paint

April 25th, 2009 1 Comment

Click to make the room look bigger. I can’t remember the last time I updated this place twice in one day. Anyway, it’s not an exciting picture, but it is the first room that has had any paint put on it, and that is terribly exciting! We got good work done today moving a couple […]

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