I got tired of the waiting this morning and called the surgeon's office. The doctor's scheduler told me I could have my operation on November 15th, and if there is a cancellation on Nov. 8th I can have that. I don't believe a damn word she say though - why in the world hasn't she called me by now. I know I need to get my attitude adjusted before the 15th, and I think I will, but I am royally pissed with the whole situation. If I didn't think so highly of the surgeon and trust him implicitly, I would try to find someone else. When I think of it I have gotten a lot of work done that would haven't been accomplished if I had been laid up a month ago. I think I'm ready for a rest, but I have another week that I will work on the house and then settle down and relax the week before.
I was so tired this morning and TV is the fault. I ended up staying awake way after my usual bedtime because I got engrossed in Sasquatch. Believe it or not, I think there are such creatures and really enjoy the account of this group of "'squatch hunters". Humans think they know everything on earth there is to know, but I believe (and hope) there are creatures who can successfully evade us. Even with our night vision cameras, hunting by helicopter, sonar (in the case of the search for Nessie) and all the hi-tech equipment available to us now, these "primitive" creatures still have one over on us.
Hey, I know a lot of skeptics don't believe in much of anything they can't actually see and touch, but I think it's fun to imagine "what if". And forget aliens from other worlds - I think we should leave them alone and take care of our own planet.
I didn't do a whole lot today but paint the drawers in the bedroom closets. I don't know what to do about the doors - whether the color is too strong to include the doors; I will post a picture when I have all the topcoats on, the hardware back on, and the drawers put back in place. Then maybe the readers who comment can let me know how they see it.
I'm watching two of my granddaughters tomorrow morning from about 8 to 10:00 am. That means I have to get up a little earlier than I normally do, and I don't know if I can get Lady out or not. If I don't have time I will probably take her along and let her stay out in the back yard.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A few more pictures
Following are work pictures when the guys were preparing to do the living room roll-out. They had quickly finished the other roll-out (small bedroom) and decided to do the living room at least over to the hallway today, so they could continue it all the way back. To their great surprise, the line from the living room into the hall met and meshed perfectly with the flooring at the bedroom doorway.
I sure wish I could have at least TSP'd this part of the living room so I could have begun painting it, but I'll just be sure to cover the floor well. The guys are pulling staples and nails that were missed the first time around.
This is the finished small bedroom - I will get the molding for around all the perimeters of the rooms when it is all finished.
I asked them to just leave the door un-hung as I will move it somewhere else to paint it on both sides.
These pictures have that golden glow. I know it could be fixed in Picasa or any other photo editing program, but I don't do Picasa or the others. I just don't want to spend my brainpower learning how to do it. I am a terribly curious person when it comes to certain things, I am an avid genealogist which is like working a huge jigsaw puzzle, I read a lot, and will read much more if my eyes ever cooperate, but I pick and choose what I will learn next. Photo editing will never be on my hot list! So the photos have a yellow cast.
A word about housekeeping. I know you can see the mess throughout the house, but it is a work in progress and I hope one of these days to publish photos of everything when completed and in immaculate condition. I find it easy enough to live with the clutter when I think about the ultimate rewards. Actually, I didn't photograph the worst of the clutter! What is more frustrating is knowing how much trim and touch up painting I have to do, plus all the closet fronts.
I sure wish I could have at least TSP'd this part of the living room so I could have begun painting it, but I'll just be sure to cover the floor well. The guys are pulling staples and nails that were missed the first time around.
This is the finished small bedroom - I will get the molding for around all the perimeters of the rooms when it is all finished.
I asked them to just leave the door un-hung as I will move it somewhere else to paint it on both sides.
These pictures have that golden glow. I know it could be fixed in Picasa or any other photo editing program, but I don't do Picasa or the others. I just don't want to spend my brainpower learning how to do it. I am a terribly curious person when it comes to certain things, I am an avid genealogist which is like working a huge jigsaw puzzle, I read a lot, and will read much more if my eyes ever cooperate, but I pick and choose what I will learn next. Photo editing will never be on my hot list! So the photos have a yellow cast.
A word about housekeeping. I know you can see the mess throughout the house, but it is a work in progress and I hope one of these days to publish photos of everything when completed and in immaculate condition. I find it easy enough to live with the clutter when I think about the ultimate rewards. Actually, I didn't photograph the worst of the clutter! What is more frustrating is knowing how much trim and touch up painting I have to do, plus all the closet fronts.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Work in progress
Joe came by late this morning to check out the flooring, and put the underlayment down in the small bedroom after we emptied it of all the boxes and junk. Now the boxes and junk are all stacked in my living room, but I can live with it temporarily. He and Donald returned this evening and started laying the flooring, and will be back tomorrow to work on finishing that room plus my bedroom.
The first picture is more representative of the wall color, and I don't know why it looks yellow in the later pictures.
You can see that I still have painting work to do in that room - closet sliding doors and drawers, plus to finish the basic closet front. I started painting the drawers in my bedroom and I think everything is going to go together so well when it's all finished, whenever that will be.
The first picture is more representative of the wall color, and I don't know why it looks yellow in the later pictures.
You can see that I still have painting work to do in that room - closet sliding doors and drawers, plus to finish the basic closet front. I started painting the drawers in my bedroom and I think everything is going to go together so well when it's all finished, whenever that will be.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Things are looking up
I wouldn't have said that this morning, however. When Donald and I went to Home Depot two evenings ago they couldn't find the order I had bought and paid for. There was a lot of scrambling going on, and the woman at the desk was very helpful in calling around to try to find another store that could let them have their stock. Unfortunately, most places had nearly sold out of it, but she did find a store that had 21 boxes on hand. They were going to get it yesterday and promised to call me.
I still hadn't heard anything by this morning, so I went to HD intending to cancel the order, get my money back, and go buy the same thing at Lowes. As soon as I walked up to the desk the women behind the counter recognized my situation and assured me they had the stock all along. Someone had evidently placed the 21 boxes on the high shelf above the display, sideways so that the stock ticket didn't show. Does that sound plausible? I'm not sure, but the woman sounded sincere and I certainly hope a woman wouldn't stand there and tell me a bald-faced lie.
I told her I was driving a Highlander and would try to get as much loaded in the back of it as I could, but that I would probably have problems unloading it at home so it might take me a while to come back for more. She immediately told me that they were going to deliver the order to my house because of the problems I have endured. That was right nice of them, and I accepted. A few hours later a very pleasant, very young man offloaded all 21 boxes of flooring, which weigh approx. 30# each. He carried them in two at a time and stacked them neatly. I would have died trying to get them out of the car, much less up the four or so steps and into the house.
I never could understand how their inventory system would allow them to sell the same product twice without question. I was very angry that these kinds of things seem to be happening to me constantly - I hurry up and wait. Of course, I'm not the only one who has to hurry up and wait - it seems like one after another RVer is reporting similar situations where they are promised one thing and then it falls through or is delayed. But I have my flooring on hand now and I'm hoping Joe and Donald can start on the bedrooms this weekend. That will greatly contribute to my being able to get some order out of the chaos in those rooms.
I finished the walls and ceiling of the second bedroom today and it is going to look beautiful. I picked a perfect color, a warm light green called "Water Sprout". Where do they come up with these names? It is a north facing room, and the white ceiling and light green walls brighten everything up considerably. I still need to do the closets and built in drawers in both bedrooms, and to that end I put a coat of primer on 6 drawers today, and will do the first topcoat tomorrow. I think everything is going to match beautifully.
With the carpet up I can see that I will need to find a good dust mop - not those flimsy things they have in most stores, but the big fluffy dust mop of the olden times. I will have to dust mop every floor on a daily basis to pick up the dog hair. I can't believe how much gets trapped in the carpet that is now accumulating all over the rooms.
Whatever you think about global warming, Lady's fur producing and shedding mechanism knows there is something different this year. In the 8 years I've had her I have never seen her shed so much even in spring after a cold winter, but this is fall for goodness sake! I skimmed through the 2012 edition of the Old Farmers Almanac when it first came out and I think that the west is supposed to be warmer and drier this winter. Warmer is fine, but drier could be disastrous since the agricultural industry in the state takes much of its water from snow melt in the Sierras. If there's no rain, then there is no snow. I need to double check that forecast, (if I can find the book in all this mess) but I think that's what it said.
I know that several readers also do genealogy, and I'm wondering if anyone out there has tested for the FamilyFinder (autosomal DNA). I've received my results and matches and don't have a clue how to use them, so please email me at: gypsy97 at gmail dot com if you have any advice or suggestions.
No word about my eye surgery yet. I've quit calling and figure they will call me when they have something to tell me. It's a good thing I have a lot of things here to keep me interested and occupied.
I still hadn't heard anything by this morning, so I went to HD intending to cancel the order, get my money back, and go buy the same thing at Lowes. As soon as I walked up to the desk the women behind the counter recognized my situation and assured me they had the stock all along. Someone had evidently placed the 21 boxes on the high shelf above the display, sideways so that the stock ticket didn't show. Does that sound plausible? I'm not sure, but the woman sounded sincere and I certainly hope a woman wouldn't stand there and tell me a bald-faced lie.
I told her I was driving a Highlander and would try to get as much loaded in the back of it as I could, but that I would probably have problems unloading it at home so it might take me a while to come back for more. She immediately told me that they were going to deliver the order to my house because of the problems I have endured. That was right nice of them, and I accepted. A few hours later a very pleasant, very young man offloaded all 21 boxes of flooring, which weigh approx. 30# each. He carried them in two at a time and stacked them neatly. I would have died trying to get them out of the car, much less up the four or so steps and into the house.
I never could understand how their inventory system would allow them to sell the same product twice without question. I was very angry that these kinds of things seem to be happening to me constantly - I hurry up and wait. Of course, I'm not the only one who has to hurry up and wait - it seems like one after another RVer is reporting similar situations where they are promised one thing and then it falls through or is delayed. But I have my flooring on hand now and I'm hoping Joe and Donald can start on the bedrooms this weekend. That will greatly contribute to my being able to get some order out of the chaos in those rooms.
I finished the walls and ceiling of the second bedroom today and it is going to look beautiful. I picked a perfect color, a warm light green called "Water Sprout". Where do they come up with these names? It is a north facing room, and the white ceiling and light green walls brighten everything up considerably. I still need to do the closets and built in drawers in both bedrooms, and to that end I put a coat of primer on 6 drawers today, and will do the first topcoat tomorrow. I think everything is going to match beautifully.
With the carpet up I can see that I will need to find a good dust mop - not those flimsy things they have in most stores, but the big fluffy dust mop of the olden times. I will have to dust mop every floor on a daily basis to pick up the dog hair. I can't believe how much gets trapped in the carpet that is now accumulating all over the rooms.
Whatever you think about global warming, Lady's fur producing and shedding mechanism knows there is something different this year. In the 8 years I've had her I have never seen her shed so much even in spring after a cold winter, but this is fall for goodness sake! I skimmed through the 2012 edition of the Old Farmers Almanac when it first came out and I think that the west is supposed to be warmer and drier this winter. Warmer is fine, but drier could be disastrous since the agricultural industry in the state takes much of its water from snow melt in the Sierras. If there's no rain, then there is no snow. I need to double check that forecast, (if I can find the book in all this mess) but I think that's what it said.
I know that several readers also do genealogy, and I'm wondering if anyone out there has tested for the FamilyFinder (autosomal DNA). I've received my results and matches and don't have a clue how to use them, so please email me at: gypsy97 at gmail dot com if you have any advice or suggestions.
No word about my eye surgery yet. I've quit calling and figure they will call me when they have something to tell me. It's a good thing I have a lot of things here to keep me interested and occupied.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Uh Oh!
I painted the ceiling this morning and started on the walls this afternoon. I should have let well enough alone and waited until tomorrow, but I was impatient to see the color on the walls. I finished the little alcove next to the closet, and the adjacent wall. I spilled copious amounts of paint, through my own carelessness and stupidity. This is why I prefer to do my own painting - when an accident happens or there is a drip that goes unnoticed until after the paint dries, I can only get mad at myself. I will let my daughter help me out because she is more of a perfectionist than I am, or I should say, than I WAS in my younger days. Now I just say "Oh Shit" and go right on.
The room is going to look beautiful when it is finished and furnished. This will mainly be my office space, as I am going to set both printers up in the room, plus that is where my desk and supplies will be. I will need to find a smaller bookshelf to hold my genealogical records. I plan to get back into genealogical research, and have found a distant cousin in Atlanta with whom I'm corresponding and trading info. She mentioned someone from Sidney, Australia she just came into contact with, and I recognized the person immediately because I corresponded with her when I lived in Asheville. It's a small world, and especially when you start tracing ancestors back a couple hundred years and more.
Time to walk Lady, and then try to get some of the paint off me before I meet Donald this evening at Home Depot. I need to clear a place to set all the boxes of Pergo, 21 of them in all, plus underlayment.
I didn't think I would have any hummingbirds at my feeder this year but I put sugar water out anyway. I have at least one of them visiting me, and I'm thrilled to see him (or her). There are birds outside my kitchen window, probably in the crape myrtle, that have the most beautiful and melodious birdsong. I wish I could get a glimpse of them to try to figure out what they are. I have a guide to western birds, but spotting one in the first place is my problem.
I forgot to mention that when I was buying some more paint at Home Depot I chatted with the woman who was helping me. The lady I really liked retired, so I'm looking for a new, knowledgeable source. The young guy who was in the department didn't have the knowledge that I need, but the woman came along and filled my paint order, and we talked about the grease problem in my kitchen. She said that I should wash everything with TSP and do what I can to get rid of as much grease and grime as I can, and then to paint everything with Gripper, which is the primer I'm using on the paneling. Then I can go ahead with the painting. The kitchen will be the last room I do, but I was beginning to despair of finding a way to deal with the surfaces. This gives me hope.
I have a long hard way to go before the house is to my liking, but I love it and am putting love into every improvement I make to it. I know I won't be sorry, as it is going to be a fine dwelling, perfectly suited to me. I am so grateful to have found it, or maybe it found me.
I will never be able to wash all the paint off my arms and hands!
The room is going to look beautiful when it is finished and furnished. This will mainly be my office space, as I am going to set both printers up in the room, plus that is where my desk and supplies will be. I will need to find a smaller bookshelf to hold my genealogical records. I plan to get back into genealogical research, and have found a distant cousin in Atlanta with whom I'm corresponding and trading info. She mentioned someone from Sidney, Australia she just came into contact with, and I recognized the person immediately because I corresponded with her when I lived in Asheville. It's a small world, and especially when you start tracing ancestors back a couple hundred years and more.
Time to walk Lady, and then try to get some of the paint off me before I meet Donald this evening at Home Depot. I need to clear a place to set all the boxes of Pergo, 21 of them in all, plus underlayment.
I didn't think I would have any hummingbirds at my feeder this year but I put sugar water out anyway. I have at least one of them visiting me, and I'm thrilled to see him (or her). There are birds outside my kitchen window, probably in the crape myrtle, that have the most beautiful and melodious birdsong. I wish I could get a glimpse of them to try to figure out what they are. I have a guide to western birds, but spotting one in the first place is my problem.
I forgot to mention that when I was buying some more paint at Home Depot I chatted with the woman who was helping me. The lady I really liked retired, so I'm looking for a new, knowledgeable source. The young guy who was in the department didn't have the knowledge that I need, but the woman came along and filled my paint order, and we talked about the grease problem in my kitchen. She said that I should wash everything with TSP and do what I can to get rid of as much grease and grime as I can, and then to paint everything with Gripper, which is the primer I'm using on the paneling. Then I can go ahead with the painting. The kitchen will be the last room I do, but I was beginning to despair of finding a way to deal with the surfaces. This gives me hope.
I have a long hard way to go before the house is to my liking, but I love it and am putting love into every improvement I make to it. I know I won't be sorry, as it is going to be a fine dwelling, perfectly suited to me. I am so grateful to have found it, or maybe it found me.
I will never be able to wash all the paint off my arms and hands!
Monday, October 24, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
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.
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.
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