People magazine includes a game of sorts in each of its issues. Two nearly identical pictures are posted side by side, and the reader is asked to find ten differences between the two pics. Below is my version of that game. But, be warned, my version of the game is much more difficult than the simpleton version that People publishes... Best of luck!
We have fondly named the closet at the end of our modest hallway The Cat Closet. It is an interesting moniker, maybe telling, considering that Caren and I are both dog people. In fact, I detest cats. Perhaps that has something to do with my being deathly allergic to them... perhaps it has something to do with their not so pleasant habits of... well, potty talk may better left to second graders.
When we first purchased the place, The Cat Closet had a doggie door haphazardly installed in a hollow core door... yet another case of interesting craftsmanship. Inside the doggie door sat a kitty litter box--one that hadn't been cleaned since Lord knows when. Kitty litter had made its way out of the box, through the carpet, and into the sub floor. It was also inside the void in the hollow core door and everywhere else that kitty litter shouldn't be. Besides the kitty litter, the subfloor was urine soaked and reeking of ammonia.
The first picture, look carefully, was taken last August, shortly after we had ripped the carpet out, removed the door, and pulled the sub-flooring. Pay attention to things like paint color, trimwork, and flooring.
The second pictured was taken in December. If you are observant you will notice several changes... one thing you cannot see is the paint on the floor decking underneath the new hardwood floor... oops, did I just give away something? Caren painted the floor to seal any remaining urine scent into the decking before we put the new floor down.
Our third picture was taken three weeks ago. The pine paneling.. Oops, gave away something else... hides a return air vent for the furnace that one can just make out on the right side of the closet in the second picture... shoot, I keep giving away things. Installing the paneling involved building two false walls, one on either side, because I'm a symmetrically leaning perfectionist, to hide the mechanical workings of the heating system.
Notice any changes yet?
This, our fourth picture (I told you that my version of the game was more difficult than People's), was taken two weeks ago.
We have a fence across the back of our lot in Davis that separates the lawn from the alley. The fence is about four feet high. Redwood fence boards are sold in six foot lengths. If one planes and sands the two foot long cutoff ends of rough cut redwood fence boards, one can make nice shelving out of what could have been considered trash or firewood.
Additionally, if one waters down white ceiling paint, one can whitewash pine paneling to match what one did in the kitchen.
Editors note: the above two scenarios are hypothetical only and the reader should not interpret them as hints that might help them in solving the picture puzzle.
Again, our fifth picture was taken two weeks ago. Did you know that t&g cedar siding that Kelby salvaged from the backyard when we first bought the place in September can be made into cabinet facing, especially when Caren white washes it.
By the way, salvaged t&g cedar siding makes excellent cabinet doors.
If you are financially inclined...
salvaged redwood fence boards: $0
salvaged t&g cedar siding: $0
2x4 false walls: about $8
hinges: about $15
pine paneling: well, we won't go there
100 year old barnwood trim: PRICELESS
All told, I think I spent about $100 bucks on The Cat Closet... that and about four days worth of labor.
So, can you find at least ten differences between the photos?
Oh... in case you were wondering... the only time I ever read people magazine is when I am waiting in line for a haircut at SuperCuts. Even then, I only look at the pictures of all the "pretty" people.
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