Never look a gift horse in the mouth!

I haven't heard anyone else say that for a long time, although I say it once in a while. As most readers know that how I came into possession of the dwelling I'm in is an instance of pure serendipity. I realized there were a lot of things that needed to be done to make the place livable, and a few more to make it somewhat attractive, so I jumped at the chance to improve a shabby 1963 mobile home.

Many things weren't obvious when I first saw it although the owner alerted me to a leak in the roof that was built over what was intended to be a side entrance. That room is now an enclosed porch, and its saving feature is that is contains a decent washing machine. Even at that, I'd like to tear the whole thing down and give away the washer, but my son says there are a few things I should do to the room and it will then be ok.

As we pulled up the carpet we noticed several places where the flooring had obvious water damage. One spot in my bedroom was from the shower, and that has been fixed at least until I can tear out the horrible formica wall panels and install ceramic tile. An area of the old flooring had been cut out all along the living room wall and replacement flooring installed. There is a large window in the center of that wall, and when I took down the curtain rod to paint I saw that there had been/is water damage around the window. That means the whole wall is probably bad, but I'm not going to rebuild this place and spend a lot of money, so I am hoping the boys can paint and recaulk the roof before long. It has been one of my longer-term objectives to replace the windows, one by one, and it is this window that I will start with.

I can't complain about this "gift horse", and I'm not complaining even though it may sound a bit like I am. I am grateful to have a very good place to live and projects that will keep me occupied at least as long as my money lasts.

Today I painted the ceiling and walls with primer, so tomorrow I will try to get started early with the first coat of ceiling paint. If possible I might even be able to do the second coat - I still have to get to Home Depot for the wall paint but that shouldn't take long. As I've noticed with the rooms I've already done, that primer coat is really a good indication of how bright and cheery it can look, and how drab all that paneling is. Actually the paneling is just a case of overkill, but the color of it doesn't suit my tastes so I want it all covered up. Right now just about everything except the dog is crowded into one side of the room, and I hate to think of living like this for the next few days, but at least I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

I can't find my camera in all this chaotic mess, but if I do I will post some pictures of the work in progress.

Well, I found the camera! The first picture is one I've posted around the time the guys were doing the flooring in the living room. The second one is the same area, only now it's primered. The third picture is the window in question (that's the screen leaning against the wall).