Working between the rain clouds

I had to stop painting because it's raining and the kitchen is too dark to see well enough to apply the 2nd coat right now. It rained most of last night, and most of today - a torrential rain. I know we need it and I don't mind rain, but I would rather see an entire week of slow steady rain than the downpours in Sacramento. I don't think I've ever seen a gentle rain here.

I did manage to get a lot done this morning, and can re-hang 3 of the cabinet fronts tomorrow. If it lightens up enough to finish the wall I stopped on, then I can hang the curtain rod and move the table back over to the wall. It is currently in the center of the kitchen and difficult to move around.

Several people commented that my allergies might be connected to paint fumes, but I don't think so. For one thing, I've done a whole lot of painting in this house so far, with little or no trouble. When I pulled into the Home Depot parking lot yesterday I believe I saw the source of my allergies. HD has planted a tree about every 5 parking spaces throughout their ENTIRE PARKING LOT! Those trees are now flowering, which means that trees and other plants all over the city are flowering as well. I don't know why I have the bronchitis-type cough, but I'm sure it's part of the allergic reaction. I'm taking a Benadryl tablet and a tbsp. of prescription cough syrup before going to bed at night, so at least I'm sleeping fairly well.

After writing these words I had lunch, the rain stopped and the sun came out long enough for me to finish the wall I was working on. Now the heavens have opened up again, and that's a signal for me to stop and take a break - maybe even a nap.

What I've done so far looks beautiful, and will be even more so when I get the cabinets finished and re-hung. I'm not going to attempt the bottom cabinets now, although I may have a change of heart and get them done before leaving for NY. The painting is tedious enough, but it's cleaning those cabinets that is the problem. I clean them outside so I can't resume that job until a sunny day.

LATER: I finally got my registration card in the mail from the Dept. of Housing and Community Development. I paid $30 for this year's registration. I think Yvonne told me that when she bought the unit 20 yrs ago, the registration was something like $318 per year. Like auto registration, it generally goes down over the years, and I don't know if $30 is rock bottom but I'm satisfied with it, considering I won't have any kind of property tax.

Moving along

I managed to get an early start so that I could get two coats of paint on the ceiling. I also cleaned and primered a couple more of the cabinet fronts. I didn't want to have to deal with a regular screwdriver and all those screws, so I dug out my cordless drill/screwdriver and it's on the charge right now.

Tomorrow I will get a gallon of satin finish for the cabinet fronts. The hardware and screws are disgusting with all the grease they've accumulated, and I soaked some of them for the past couple of days in a solution of Pine Sol and Dawn dishwashing liquid. I couldn't believe when I pulled the screws out of the solution and started rinsing them, the blobs of hardened grease just dropped off, though I had to use a brush on the handles and hinges. Now I made some new solution in a cup and have some more hardware sitting there to soak.

I began having symptoms of allergies a few days ago, but have now developed a deep cough. This is exactly what happened to me last year a month or so after I returned from Arizona. Back then I even had a blood test to see if I had Valley Fever, but it was negative. I woke up in the middle of the night and took some cough syrup and an allergy tablet, and was able to go back to sleep. Add this to my sore muscles and I am one falling-apart woman.

I'd almost like to say I wish I hadn't ever started all this painting, but down deep I am very happy with it. I knew the kitchen would be a nightmare and it is proving to be pretty close to that. I'm working in a fairly small space while having to use the space on a daily basis for its original purpose. I'm not doing much in the way of cooking, but that's going to have to change pretty soon because I'm getting hungry! I had thought I would cook tonight, but ended up eating two tangerines instead.

What ya gonna do now, Gypsy?

To borrow a phrase from Billy Bob, "Holy Crap!"

Yesterday in the late afternoon, after climbing up and down the two steps on the ladder, reaching and stretching to reach the ceiling, I sat down with a cold Miller Hi Life. I take a long time to drink a beer, so maybe 90 minutes later when I decided to have another one, I tried to get up out of the chair when every bone and muscle in my body screamed in pain. I said to my dog Lady, "Holy Crap". She knew what I was talking about because she has a difficult enough time getting up and down, although a ladder doesn't have anything to do with it.

I spent the rest of the evening in my recliner, got a good night's sleep, and woke up this morning without even an ache. I guess I can attribute my recovery to the medicine I took (Miller's) - I can't even remember if I ate supper or not. Meals present a real dilemma because my kitchen is in such upheaval it wouldn't be worth all the moving things around in order to cook.

I was back on the job this morning, and have primered all I'm going to primer today. Here's a look at my progress, but you have to ignore the clutter. The 2nd picture will give you an idea of what the rest of the walls will look like - that's the wall behind the stove that I painted before hanging the range hood. The hood is covered with newspaper to keep me from dripping paint on it. The next thing to do is to paint two coats of ceiling paint, and then I can get to the walls, and then I can get to the cabinet fronts and hardware and hang them back up!



The wind has died down today, but it looks like there is a chance of rain tomorrow. I don't like to paint when it's raining, but I suppose the newer formulations dry quickly enough they don't absorb moisture. I sure hope so.

On an entirely different note, I want to mention that from time to time I look at my sitemeter stats, particularly location. A couple of times I have noted a visitor from Bala Cynwyd, PA. The first time I saw it I thought what a beautiful name. I know it is a Welsh name but I'm so used to seeing the German sounding names in PA towns I was surprised. A google of Bala Cynwyd informed me that it was founded in the late 1600's by Welsh Quakers. So to the person from Bala Cynwyd, let me say I am thrilled to have you read my blog.

Why did I ever start this?

I decided I'd better seize the moment since I don't go anywhere on weekends, and would have plenty of time to get the job done. Of course I forgot to take into the equation the fact that I don't like to do too much at once, and I take frequent breaks.

First step was to take down some of the cabinet fronts. There are 17 cabinet doors with 2 hinges each (4 screws each); 11 drawers with handles (2 screws each); and handles, or pulls, on the cabinet fronts (2 screws each). This adds up to about 63 pieces of hardware, attached with 194 screws, all of which are greasy and dirty and will have to be scrubbed with a brush. I figured this stuff in my head while I was working and my math might be off, but it's close.

I might as well show some "before" pictures:



I took down 7 of the overhead cabinet fronts, and you can see them stacked in the second photo. What you might not see is the awful stuff I will have to clean before painting. Yuk! Depending on how the paint job turns out, I might end up replacing the cabinets when I get around to replacing the countertop and sinks. It all takes money.

So I switched the TV to channel 812, which is bluegrass music. Soon I was enjoying the fiddles, banjers, dobro, and the high lonesome sound of my favorite music.

I now have the ceiling ready for the first coat of primer, and I may get around to that today or maybe not. Since the light has a loose wire and isn't working at present, I'll have to get off my chair and do it now if I don't want to wait until tomorrow. I'm really hungry for lunch and wish I could enjoy fast food, but I don't, so I won't.

Shock at the fuel pump!

I haven't fueled up for several weeks; the last time I paid $3.459, and today it cost $3.959/gal. I don't believe what is reported as the reason for this kind of increase. The higher the price, the more the oil companies profit, and if there was a genuine shortage we would use less (which we are), and companies would make less. It just doesn't make sense.

I got the cleaner I need to start on my kitchen walls, ceiling and cabinets, but I need to muster up some energy. Maybe this weekend instead of sitting in front of the TV watching BookTV, I will work in the kitchen and turn the TV up enough to hear BookTV. The past two weeks I have had no energy and very little motivation, so I'm hoping a project will get me going.

I filled a prescription this morning for eyedrops - I had been paying about $19 for 10ml of brand name drops. I received a letter from Blue Cross telling me they would pay what they did for my first refill this calendar year, but now that the coverage has changed I will have a 75% copay for non-generic prescriptions. I'm not fighting that so I switched to the generic, for $2.69 for 10ml. I have no idea what the brand name would now cost. I'm still trying to figure out how I can work in a trip across the border for meds on my way to NY, but it's so far out of my way I really hate to do it. I'd pay way more for the extra fuel, but at least I wouldn't have to jump through the hoops required to get the doctor to write the Rx to begin with.

It is an absolutely beautiful day here, reaching about 71F. It's interesting to me to see the way the track of the sun changes through the seasons. Sitting in my recliner I can now see the sunset, whereas a few weeks ago I had to get up and move a few feet to see it. As always, the sunsets here are always magnificent. I thought they were beautiful when I was in Ireland watching the sun set over the sea, but that was nothing compared to Sacramento, CA. Who woulda thunk!

I saw the eye doctor this morning, and he promised to write a prescription for glasses when I go back on March 26. That will give me time to have the glasses made before I leave for NY. It was a short trip from there to pick up the dog food, so I can relax the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow I will try to buy more TSP so I can get started working again.

This is the ceiling fixture with all the blades removed. The ones I took down today went a little easier, probably without all those other blades in the way. The other picture is a close up of the top part of the blade. It is supposed to be white, as you can sort of tell from the edges, but it hasn't been white for years!




As far as letting the person who is installing the new fixture take down the old one, it will be one of my sons or my son-in-law. They do so much for me as it is, and it isn't like I'm paying a stranger to come and get this awful thing down. So now I've done all I can, and the rest of it is sticky enough to be a distasteful job.

Today is a beautiful day except the wind is blowing something fierce. I'm thinking about a nap.

Two down, three to go

I have been trying for several days to remove the blades from my kitchen ceiling fan. It is so greasy and sticky to touch, I wanted to make it easier for the person who will take the rest of the fixture down and install the new ceiling light. It has been very difficult for me to reach the screws holding the blades in with the size screwdrivers I have, but today I actually removed two of them. My neck hurt from looking up and my arms hurt from holding them over my head, and I think something happened to my knees from the tension of standing on top of the 2-step ladder. I actually held my balance very well though. You can see the 3 remaining blades, plus the manner in which the entire fixture has moved from its original position, no doubt because everything was unbalanced.



Now, should I try to get another one this afternoon, or let well enough alone and try it tomorrow. With no accidents or near misses, I should probably count my blessings and wait until another day.

The last few days have been great - my niece from Milwaukee was in town with her husband and daughter, staying at Jeannie's house. This is the darling niece who took my dental xrays last year, which gave me the impetus to correct a few serious problems. We all had Donald's home made pizza on Sunday evening, and on Monday we met at my sister Amy's house for lasagna. Several of the Central CA relatives drove up for the day, and it was nice to get together. After gathering in large, spacious homes for two days, they came to my place with Jeanne and her family yesterday afternoon. I wasn't sure I could put together enough sitting space but managed to do it. I drove to Jeanne's house this morning to say goodbye for now, as they are leaving for a few days in the Monterey Bay area, including Santa Cruz, which I always thought was a fun, laid back place. I have no interest in going there now, however, but it's great for younger folks.

I haven't blogged for a couple of days because I haven't really felt all that great. I've been noticing an erratic heartbeat now and then, and have had a pain and some swelling in my lower leg. Don't know what it was, but it has eased now and I don't feel any pain when I'm walking.

Tomorrow holds another visit to the eye surgeon, and I hope he tells me something good. My sight is definitely getting better than it was, and I am looking forward to getting glasses to help me read close up plus street signs, which I can't see until I'm nearly past them. I've also driven after dark a couple of times in the past few days and was surprised at how easy it was. Not that I like to do it, nor would I want to drive in a lot of traffic and oncoming lights, but the conditions were just about as good as they could get.

And finally, tomorrow I will also pick up the case of dog food that I ordered. Now to figure out where to store it. Something has to go in my kitchen!