Ever The Eternal Optimist...

Soon after getting back from our two week camping adventure, I learned that the belated surprise 70th birthday party for my aunt Jackie (organized and funded by my aunt Terry) would be held at my house. On September 19th. That's two weeks from today. I have a lot of work ahead of me... A LOT!

Russ was also feeling very ambitious, so he agreed to help my brother Mike (Bulldog Construction), along with my son, Ande, do a roof replacement on the house of an old high school friend. This means it's just me & the puppies for the long Labor Day weekend.

I decided it would be a great idea to put the gardening and housework off until Tuesday. Three days of minis it is!

In celebration of the working loft lights, I decided to get the Sasquatch lamps out of their safely stored zip top bag and plug them in. After all of the issues I've had on this barn project, you'd think I would have expected something to go wrong. I kind of did, but ever the eternal optimist, I hoped... No. Such. Luck.

The plug on the left side of the room is having the same seating issue as so many of the other 11 plugs - by the time you drill deeply enough into the MDF, too much of the copper strip has been eaten by the drill to make good contact with the plug.

Unfortunately, it just so happens that the plug showed no sign of an issue before I installed the wood strips over the tape runs. Now the strip is covered, with the exception of the actual plug space. My only option is to try to carefully remove some of the plastic covering from the tape run under the plug. Then attempt to re-seat the plug and hope the new contact is sufficient and stable.

If this does not fix the issue, I may have to tear out some of the wood strips and try in a new area that hasn't already been excavated.

Oh Boy! Wish me luck. I'll update this post with photos and hopefully, good news later...

UPDATE

After peeling some of the plastic away and testing, there was still not enough contact with the copper/plug prongs. I was having compounded issues because:

• My dedicated mini glasses lost a nose piece pad and they hurt me too badly to wear them.
• My regular everyday glasses have wide earpieces. They do not fit well into my head strap, which I need to wear so that when I attach my 4x magnifier clip on lenses, the glasses are not pulled off of my face from the weight.
• I could not see well enough with just my glasses on. I tried the clip on, but the wall is set too far back in the loft so the clip on just made it worse.
• I turned on the flashlight feature in my iPhone, but having it and my hands in the tiny space only caused the work area to be in shadow.
• The room is really not wide enough to comfortably and effectively work on something so delicate and small.
• The barn is sitting on a table. The loft is naturally the second floor. That makes the room about 5'3" and I am only 5'5". I could not sit to perform the task. Between twisting my body to fit my hands into the space and attempting to reach the back, I experienced back spasms. I could only work for a minute or so at a time before I had to stop long enough for the spasm to subside. No progress can be made in that amount of time.
• I think I may have mooned my neighbor, as too late, I realized that in my acrobatic attempt, butt to the window, the nightie I am still wearing had ridden up exposing places that no neighbor should see. Not if you still expect to exchange pleasantries with them at the mail boxes.

At this point I just had to laugh. Once again, the barn had me by the short hairs.

Good thing I am very stubborn.

Rather than ripping out the wood strip (which I couldn't really reach very well anyway), I had an idea. What about adding some copper wire to make the brass post on the plug thicker, and therefore make better contact with the copper strip? I started stripping wire and winding it around the post. I quickly realized that today is not a good day to buy a lottery ticket, and that this idea was a bust.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I hear the long lost voice of my mini muse. "How about encasing the posts in an eyelet?"

Brilliant!

And then there was light! A real steady Freddy kind of light! And then I got excited and got all of the bedroom stuff out so that I could take a few moments and play! Oh how I love this part!

Here is the bedroom, lamps in and working! Lots of details to make and add, but man I am so relieved to have conquered the lighting issues!

Bathroom lights are hardwired in and working wonderfully!

Kitchen and stairwell lights are working! The necklace findings I found on Amazon have worked out beautifully for making pendant lights!

Garage shop lights turned out and are working great!

Entry, stairway and living room lights - check!

All lights now working, new wallpaper section is in - just have to cut out the window then reattach the window trim.

Grateful, grateful, grateful!

Now what's next...

Slow Down, Take Your Time, Learn Something

Since I'm just jumping back in to my mini world after a three week hiatus, I reasoned that I'd better sit for a bit, and reason everything through before starting. I walked through all of the steps in my head, then did what is always necessary for me in order to remember everything; I made a list!

First, I got the roof trim piece primed and painted. I explained in my Piss Poor Planning post that I'd need to hide the repair wiring behind it in order to tie the working lower level tape run into the non working strip which powers all of the loft lights.

While the roof pieces were drying (I figured why not do the right side too while I had the paint out), I made a pattern for the replacement wallpaper section in the living room. I used printer paper and blue tape to make the pattern. I will eventually need to install it, after the wiring is repaired. I kind of got a little OCD with peeling the old wallpaper off, and made a giant mess of the old paper fiber. Other than a sore finger from rubbing the paper fiber off of the wall, it went very well.

My tape run connections are completely hilarious! I literally fell out of my chair laughing when I looked at this photo! It is obvious that I attempted to connect everything using several different methods, and each one several times. 

The wires that are coming out from the wall were going to be a final Hail Mary before I came up with the roof piece idea. Now I'm just afraid to touch them! Not sure what will become of them, yet!

The funniest part is that when I get it all camouflaged up with paint and wallpaper, you'll never be able to tell. Hopefully. :0) 

The loft repair looks just as hideous! The good news is that the new connections work and that I have power through the entire tape run in the loft.

I was about to celebrate, and then two of the lights flickered off...

Deep breath... Calmly and logically figure out the problems and possible solutions. I refuse to get mad or give up, as this is just another opportunity to learn and become better. Right?

Here is where I digress for a moment. I believe we'll call this a teaching moment...

Dollhouse kits made with MDF are wonderful. They are sturdy, they go together nicely, and the surface for painting and wallpapering is ideal. However, if you are planning to use a tape wire system for lighting, it can be a bear!

MDF is extremely hard. I have broken two piercing bits trying to install brads and eyelets (the brass pieces that are used to attach tape runs together and insert lighting fixtures to). I have used the #55 bit to pre-drill the holes in the tape wire/mdf for plugs and eyelets. I have also used the brad tapping tool, all with little success.

The issue is that by the time you drill deep enough to seat the plugs, the drill bit has stripped away most of the copper, and what's left behind is not enough to get a good connection. Also, getting the plugs to seat flush to the mdf is very difficult. The little brad hammer is not aggressive enough to pound into the wood, and a bigger hammer destroys the fragile plastic and brass plugs. Trust me, I've tried everything.

What I'm finding that does work is to directly connect the fixture wires into the tape run using brads. First, I peel away a little of the plastic that covers the tape wire, wrap the fixture wires around the brads, pound them into the tape wire, then cover with electrical tape to secure.

I had originally installed several plugs and counted on just plugging in the fixtures. Now I am direct wiring in any of the fixtures that the plugs didn't work seamlessly for.

As with all mini projects, and this one in particular, you often have to adjust your plans. Usually, you learn something new, and it forces you to take a moment to reevaluate.

In my case, I get so excited about the next step and getting to the decorating part, that I tend to go too quickly. I may not take enough time to make whatever it is that I'm working on perfect. Later, I regret it and wish I had just slowed down.

I am grateful that I had this "problem" with the wiring because it forced be to replace a piece of wallpaper that was damaged in the installation, and to paint some of the wires coming from lighting fixtures to black. In the long run, I think it will look much better!

Here is a photo of my work area. Notice that the barn is upside down. I'm glad it will sit on the table like this! It makes redoing the wiring so much easier!

A New Month, A New Beginning

You know how it is when you get back from vacation? Reality, work, schedules, unpacking, laundry, paying bills... And while you're busy trying to get back in the swing you find yourself constantly daydreaming.

The beauty of the forest, the feel of a warm summer night with a light breeze and no jacket, a thousand stars, the peace and the gratitude. The nightly forest sounds your brain tries to identify, the chill and exhilaration you get when you can't place them. The best sleep you've ever had, even in the vulnerability of a tent.

For me, spending time in our beautiful Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a renewal for my soul. I feel nothing but gratitude for my life and the amazing beauty of the world we are privileged to live in. I have come back re-centered and ready to take on the challenges that are in front of me.

Today I empty coolers and wash all of the camp equipment to make it ready for the next trip out. I wash all of the bedding and clothing, I pay bills and prepare the house for our jump back into reality.

Tomorrow, I get to take on the barn wiring! I'm looking forward to the solution I know I'll find, and to seeing all of the lights lit up and working beautifully! I am grateful for all of it, in advance!