Makin' Messes - It's What I Do

Tyvek-type fabric was used to protect the (dismantled) light fixtures from the mess. I didn't want to completely remove them because we'll need the light to work in this dark space.

The sky continued to fall. (It didn't really take that long at all; I just wanted to give credit where credit was due.)

Afterward it looked like a bird had pooped down the front of the linen cupboard.
 

The chair rail is now gone. The hallway was the only placed in the house with chair rail, and why? No one puts chairs in the hallway.

Popcorn was everywhere!!!

Bailey was somewhat flummoxed.

Since two of the doors that open to the hall have already been refinished, and since we discovered what a mess happened in the linen cupboard when we started this work without protecting it, we decided to wrap that cupboard and the two finished doors before proceeding. Brilliant.

So now the ball is in Steve's court. He will start sanding, mudding, sanding, mudding and sanding the ceiling and walls. I won't start the floor until that's all done and painted but I have at least one and maybe two volunteers to help with the papering. Which is vastly appreciated since my feeb self breaks for 3 days if I spend longer than about 15 minutes crouched on the ground.

What's Up... Vance and Molly

It's been over four months since I posted that I should be writing more, and the most I've written in that time is a grocery list. Sad!

Mom finally sold her house in Oregon and was packing to move in with my sister, so there was a semi-mad dash to finish some things at Cory's place to make it ready. Over three weeks, I helped  clean and paint what would become Mom's sewing room and install a shopping bag paper floor in the basement so she can make that her fortress of solitude.

Then Corbin inked a deal for a commercial space where he and Nancy are opening their new business. (Shameless plug: go to www.SacramentoCerakote.com and give them the business!!) Steve and I helped them paint and prep the space, interspersed with spilled paint disasters (thanks, Bailey!) and squirt gun fights (thanks, Nancy!). They'll be opening for business SOON!!!

I've been doing a lot of home improvementy things around my own abode. Small things. Probably not noticeable to others until I physically drag them over and say, "LOOK WHAT I DID!"

I show them the front door where I scrubbed off 20 years of cat pee and repainted and now it looks all fresh and clean.

I show them the address sign I painted but haven't yet put on the house.

I show them the other address sign I painted on the curb because I'm too adamantly DIY to pay $5 to the vagrants that come to the door and offer to paint it for me every couple of years.

I show them the bathroom we finished (finally! with a little help from our friends).

Note the exemplary paper floor.
I show them the glass lanterns I've collected and, recently spruced up by painting the insides with nail polish, hung from the patio roof.

They make kind, appropriate sounds. "Cool," say they.

Not as cool are the big patches of my w-w carpet that I've had to cut out and discard because my 15 year old grand dame

"What."
all of a sudden thinks it's much more satisfying to pee on carpet than in any of the potty boxes. I'm trying to decide what to do with those areas and when. It would be dumb to have new carpet installed, only to let her pee on that; we're wondering if we want to try staining or painting the concrete sub-floor to see if we like that as much as the floor at Nugget Market. Anyway...TBD.

Some time back I became a Verified Doobert Transporter. You can read about the organization at doobert.com, but I'll save you the trouble. It's an animal rescue thing. Once they vet you and decide you're not a cat/dog murderer, you can volunteer for any relay legs you like for a given transport. For example, earlier this month Steve and I drove to Colfax to pick up Vance, a 2 year old Treeing Walker Hound, and Molly, a 4 year old Beagle/hound mix.

We schlepped them back to Sacramento and handed them off to the next volunteer. The dogs' trip originated in Minnesota and would end in Santa Rosa, so our part was small, but they were very nice passengers, it was a very pleasant volunteer gig, and we can't wait to do it again.

Oh, also, I'm teaching Bailey to ride in a shopping cart. Because she's cool and I like taking her everywhere with me.

"Hey lady. Try the Oolong."
The kids and grand-kids are all fine, although there's always the on-again, off-again saga of who's speaking to whom and whom isn't. It seriously blows my mind that this happens in my nuclear family. I don't understand it, and it stresses me out to think about it, so I mostly don't. They're all traveling down their own individual paths and they must have a reason so I just leave it alone. When they want to talk, or visit, I figure they'll let me know / invite me. In the meantime, I just respect their privacy and love them from afar.

And in closing....today would have been my 35th wedding anniversary. For what that's worth.

Be careful what you wish for

Last Fall I got this

Now I want this

Thursday I got this

Introducing Bailey, the newest member of our family. She's a 7.5 month old German Shepherd whose favorite pastimes are opening doors, turning lights on/off, chasing the flies that swirl around her poop, singing opera, and ignoring Kashi. 

Bailey will be starting doggy school in 10 days. We are saving for college, as we want her to be professionally trained until she's able to make coffee, mow the lawn, and pick up her own poo.