It Once Was Lost, But Now is Found!

Amazing! I have been looking all day for the roll of blue painter's tape. I used a small bit of it when painting my bedroom, but don't really like it. Today I had enough of laying around and decided to paint a coat of primer in the 2nd bedroom. It is small and I thought I could knock it out in about an hour. How could I have been so far off? I began about 10:30 in the morning, and with a half-hour break for lunch, I finished at 3:30 pm. In my defense I had to move a lot of boxes plus a bookshelf around while painting.

I had a ceiling light fixture to paint around which is why I've been searching for the tape. Needless to say I didn't find it until just a few minutes ago - 6:00 pm here in California. I found duct tape, I found plumbers' tape, I found electrical tape, and I know I even have some scotch tape somewhere. I just looked at the room and shook my head when I saw that light fixture. I'll put the first coat of ceiling paint on tomorrow and will definitely tape up the fixture - sort of like shutting the barn door after the horse is gone.

My back really hurts from the stretching, bending, and twisting. I didn't have to use the ladder much since I could reach the ceiling (6'4") with the long roller handle. I did use it to take down the hardware for roller window shades, which I absolutely dislike. I can never get them to stop where I want them to stop, either on the way down or on the way back up. I'm tossing the whole kit! There are sheers at the window, which may cause some concern if I happen to have an overnight guest to sleep on the sleep sofa I plan to put in that room some day. I have lace panels at my bedroom and don't worry at all. I simply dress and undress in the bathroom, or sit on the bed in which case no one can see in anyway.

I will get the paint for the walls as soon as I can, so that I can con my daughter into finishing the room if I have eye surgery before I can get it done. No word yet on that, and I don't intend to worry about it. If Judy , who must have the patience of a saint, can deal with the troubles she's been having lately, then certainly I am not to be outdone! (Judy is younger than I am and has many more years to get her fridge and other rig problems fixed than I have to get my house in order! Sometimes I'm painfully aware that I am on the downhill slope.)

I have had several readers comment about Kilz primer. Gripper was recommended to me by the woman in the paint department at Home Depot, as a product that won't chip. That is an issue with painting over laminate, and she had personal experience using it on paneling.

I think the problems I had the past few days were just a result of the anesthetic on Tuesday. I had originally planned to get nitrous, but when the dentist offered me an anesthetic I jumped at it. The nitrous is wonderful in allowing me to relax, but the novocaine shot going in can be extremely painful depending on which part of the mouth it is injected. If you can breathe the nitrous properly through the nose (hard to do with your mouth open), then it does help. I'm a wimp about pain in my old age so I took the easy way out.

No blogging for a while

I've had a really "blah" week after having two teeth pulled several days ago. It may be the residual effect of the anesthetic because I haven't had any problems at all with healing quickly, and no pain at all.

I think I'm just in a slump and can't seem to climb back out of it. I will post in the future when I have more to write about.

Dental work done

I really lucked out with the oral surgeon and his staff. They were all wonderful! The surgeon talked to me a bit first of all just to get acquainted, and I told him why I had neglected having dental work done for so long - the cost of it and my fear of the pain. He offered me an anesthetic which I happily accepted. It was administered via an IV, and I really felt no pain and don't remember anything about it, but when it was over with I was able to talk and walk, although a little unsteadily at first.

They told me I had to have someone pick me up as I couldn't drive, and I readily agreed. I called Donald, and since he was getting ready to take his Mom to the Commissary, she was also available to drive my car back. She is going to get me a couple boxes of jello, which I haven't eaten in years. I'm starving but since I can't use my partial denture for 24 hours, there is no way I can chew anything. Wouldn't you know I don't have a thing on hand I can eat. Jeannie called and said she is making butternut squash soup and will bring me some of that. She had surgery a week ago to prepare for dental implants, so she has a problem eating crunchy and chewy foods as well. The last time I was at her house I came home with some kale potato soup that was delicious, and I'm looking forward to trying this one. She doesn't cook very often as Donald is such a wonderful cook.

I was told by Maintenance that I could set my empty boxes out and they would pick them up. When we got back from the dentist, the man next door came out and told us he had taken the boxes, so I'm glad someone could use them rather than having them sent for recycling. If I had known I wouldn't have broken them down, but he can tape them back up easily enough.

I am fairly clear headed right now, but still unsteady enough I realize I can't do much of anything, nor do I feel like it. Even so I feel absolutely great! Just so I can drive tomorrow - Lady has enough food to last one more day. Maybe I should give her some chicken tenderloins I have leftover. She would think she died and went to doggy heaven, although I hate to start feeding her my food as she will begin to expect it.

Timing

Timing is everything, and it wasn't the right time last week for me to have eye surgery. I have become aware over the past couple of days that I need to see an oral surgeon and have a couple more molars pulled. I found a doctor nearby and have an appointment tomorrow, and I hope everything goes well. I hate to have to go through this as I only want to focus on one thing at a time, but it is very necessary and I hope the recovery will be as quick as it was in New York.

This morning I went to Home Depot and bought and paid for the laminate flooring. It was on sale and I didn't want to miss the sale price, but I'm going to need help bringing it home. I had originally arranged to meet Donald there tomorrow to pick it up, but will have to wait a few days until after my dental work. Damn, there is always something, and I am thankful it always works out for the best, but I wish I would get a little clue in advance.

I washed all the bed linens this morning since I was worried about the dust in the room from pulling up the carpet. I hung everything on the line, and remembered how tranquil the feeling of hanging the wash, piece by piece, and then taking it down and folding it. When my babies were young our electric dryer went out sometime in early spring, so I hung everything on the line until the weather got too cool in late fall. In those days I had cloth diapers to contend with. The hanging up and taking down of the wash had such a calming effect, and of course all the neighbors whose backyards converged were doing the same thing, so there was companionship as well.

Maintenance came by at 8:00 am with the dumpster, and I would have sworn it would have taken two loads to get it all in. They even agreed to come back and get the dumpster and to bring it back again. I got every bit of carpet, padding, and wooden strips with all the little nails into one dumpster load. One of the men even helped me lift the last two pieces of carpet for which I was so glad - it was really too heavy for me to be lifting over my head. And I'm so glad we had removed the carpet in smaller sections that were easier to handle.

Three more boxes were emptied today and I think I have about 12 to go. That's not bad out of more than 40 boxes. Never did get my clothes organized, but I can do that tomorrow afternoon if I'm feeling up to it. I'm itching to get back to painting. How is that for a switch - "hitch itch" to "itching to paint". At least it tells me I'm still alive and want to be doing something.

Some more accomplishments

Steve came today and the first thing we did was go to Home Depot to buy plumbing fixtures and supplies, as well as other miscellaneous items. I now have a new kitchen sink fixture which is really nice and doesn't leak if you turn it too far, and new handles in the tub/shower that might solve the water leakage problems in the bedroom. The bad floor in the bedroom showing the worst water damage is just behind the shower, and Steve thinks it may be because a fixture was missing that prevented water from the showerhead dripping onto the faucets and into the wall. We'll see if this does the trick.

I brought several samples of Pergo home with me and selected the one I want, so tomorrow I will go back to HD and buy it. I would prefer the guys start on the living room since that will be the most noticeable coming into the house. The guys are going on a backpacking trip next weekend, so it will be a while before I can get my work crew in to put in the flooring, which means I might have time to wash and paint the ceiling and walls of the roll-out part of the living room.

Everything is dependent on yet another thing being done first, and things seem to be in a never-ending circle right now. With all the carpeting up I need to spend a day or two getting my clothes organized and put away. I certainly have enough drawer and closet space, since I am going to use both bedrooms. But then when I finally get around to painting the drawer fronts and closet doors, I'll have to remove the clothes! Nothing is easy, it seems.

I think the smoke odor is diminishing, although my daughter-in-law could smell it immediately. There will likely be a slight odor forever, at least now and then.

I am so tired, and that seems to be an ongoing thing with me lately. I'm ok in the morning but slow down after mid-day. Could it be a sign of age?

I've had several questions I wanted to answer, but don't quite have the energy to go back and look them up. I'll try to remember some of them.

- I've also heard good things about Kilz. The lady I dealt with in the paint dept. recommended a product called "Gripper" for priming laminate wood paneling prior to painting it. I have been happy with the product so far.

- I'll just keep the gas range for now as I can't afford to buy a new one and still do the things I'd like to do. Money is an issue, of course. The flooring is covered and will be paid for tomorrow, and I'd really like to replace the formica panels in the tub area of the bathroom before getting a new range.

- The lady who lived here before didn't have pets, ever, to my knowledge, so that's not the source of water damage. I need to have the roof checked and possibly recaulked, and my youngest son, Joe, says it's right down his alley. I knew I could count on him if there is a roof to climb up on.

That's it for tonight.

When did I become a klutz?

I have poked myself with a screw driver while trying to get the new blade into a box cutter, and it's a wonder the blade itself didn't do any damage. As it was the screwdriver drew blood. Then I pricked my fingers upteen times with the little nails on the strips that hold carpet down.

Joe and Donald pulled up all the carpet today. It was a real mess, as some of the foam padding was like new whereas in traffic areas it left a fine dust. Joe and Donald pulled carpet, tacking strips, staples, etc., and I tried to keep up with sweeping the debris and dust. I am plumb wore out!

It's a real good thing I decided to pull the carpet up NOW so as to get the Pergo down sooner rather than later. I found several spots indicating leaks - at least one of which was still damp, and a couple which will require cutting out and inserting good plywood. None of this was evident from the carpet or walls, so when Steve comes over tomorrow I will see what his recommendation is - I may just need regular gutters, or recoating the roof - but I need to fix the problem before putting down any flooring.

It's a good thing this place was free to me or I might be a little more upset about it. Buying something dating from 1963 is almost a guarantee of finding some sort of problems, especially when a single older woman, such as myself, lived here for 20 years. I'm not much good at maintenance, and she might have been marginally better. It may mean I will have to delay the replacement of the kitchen range, but if that's what it takes I'll just deal with it. I am still happy with the basic dwelling and can see its potential for improvement.

Poor Lady, watched her favorite resting spots being removed one by one. She likes to move around the room and go from room to room throughout the day. Joe saved a couple of decent pieces of carpet so she can go to a couple of other rooms and not have to lie on a hard plywood floor. I set her bed in front of the double doors where she loves to watch the people and dogs going by. I will be anxious to see if the smoke odor in the bedroom abates even further, as I hope it does. I think it is getting better but sometimes when I walk into the bedroom it hits me like a ton of bricks.

This turns out to be a relatively conservative neighborhood, and I don't fit in well to be begin with. Today while we were working and wanting some music, I used the TV music channels - a couple of hours of great Honky Tonk, and a couple of hours of Classic R&B. This is the R&B and goes back to the late 50's/early 60's and was my kind of music then. No one stopped to complain, but I will bet I'm being talked about somewhere in the Park. I certainly won't lose any sleep over it. We needed the music loud enough to hear in the back (the TV is in the front of the house), and I did turn it down somewhat when we got to the living room.

I don't know if I can summon the strength to fix much of a supper, but maybe another Miller High Life will give me a slight nudge in that direction. I've been drinking water by the gallons all day long - working in all the dust and around the tobacco smell does that. Maybe I'll post some pictures tomorrow but for now I'm just too tired to pick up the camera.

Back when I owned the 5th wheel I bought a small personal fan at Walmart for $5.00. I only used it once, but today I thought I'd try it since it's getting up to 88F this afternoon. Thankfully temps are predicted to drop to the 70's for most of the days left in October. The fan works fine except I had to set it up across the living room since I could plug it in there. The outlet near my recliner already has an extension cord.

You may remember I wanted to get ceiling fans for all the rooms, but that isn't a really workable idea now that I'm in here. For one thing, the two roll out rooms have a ceiling height of 76" - that's just a little over 6'. By the time you consider the drop of the fan, it would be a bad idea. The other ceilings are about 91" but none of the rooms have ceiling light fixtures and I'm not sure what is involved in accessing an electric source through this paneling.

I was just thinking about my DirecTV service. Do I like it? No, I don't. I am paying $30 a month for 12 months, and then it will go up to $60 a month for the next 12 months. There are tons of sports channels and other channels I don't watch. There are about 12 channels on which I might find something interesting once in a while, but certainly not often. There are 3 or 4 music stations that I listen to. That isn't very much for an average cost of $45 a month. But maybe I have some character flaw that prevents me from enjoying inane television programming.

I know you can modify the online guide to only show the channels you are interested in, but the instructions leave me with my mind wandering because of the way it's presented. It may be relatively easy, but then why don't they say something like: "Step 1: Do x,y,&z. Step 2: Do thus and so. Step 3: You see what I mean?"

Some companies seem to go out of their way to complicate procedures that really aren't all that difficult, but it's the instructions (if there are any at all). This applies to most items purchased any more, although some companies such as Verizon, Nikon cameras, and so on, seem to excel at giving you a booklet with clear, easy to follow instructions. I know probably most of you love online user guides, but I don't.

Back to DirecTV, or any other tv subscription service, why can't they offer 65 channels and provide them at a decent price. I had Charter Communication cable and that is exactly what I got, and it included all channels I was interested in, plus it wasn't so danged time consuming to scroll through the channels to see what was on. There are plenty of sports lovers packages - why not a sports hater package? Or a Can't Stand Movies package? Or a package without 50 religious stations.? I haven't counted them but I bet I'm close.

I did some laundry today and dried one of them in the dryer across the road; I hung the 2nd load on the line and I'd better go take it down before I forget it until tomorrow!

Just a comment on kitchen ranges. I actually prefer cooking with a gas range for many reasons. If I get a new electric range the elements will heat up pretty fast for as long as I'll be around to use them. The reason I'm so adamant on switching is that there is a greasy film on EVERYTHING in the kitchen. Even the two pull chains on the ceiling fan are sticky. That may be for more than one reason, but the main one is that gas exudes a residue which builds up if it isn't cleaned up pronto. I have tried so many products and nothing is getting the sticky film off the cabinets. I clean the entire stove top daily and it seems to be ok, but the control knobs, door handle, etc. are terrible to touch. It puts me off cooking with a gas range.