Day Ten

Glenn and I  get a little earlier start this morning.  It"s just the two of us today but we will still drive separate.  I need to go by the grocery store and pick up more lunch food and he needs to go to, can you make a guess here?  He forgot to pick up the paint that was mixed for us yesterday.

Sanding after wall repair

 We approach our projects in entirely different ways.  I set usually set a specific goal to accomplish.  Glenn moves from project to project depending on where it fits the list of have to's.  I know a lot of his time is spent getting things ready so there will be jobs for helpers.  He spent a big part of today grounding some outlets, the house was built in the 1950's.  To do this he made new holes in walls but now there are several experts in wall repair to fix these new holes.  Have you ever seen the movie "Holes" or "Groundhog Day"?  I feel like we are living them.  The house did seem a little cooler today after Glenn worked on the HVAC.  We had a  professional came out and give us an estimate  on doing some of the work that needs done to improve it's cooling.  Part of the problem is not the HVAC but very few of the walls are insulated. 

See I can stand in the cabinet

One bedroom finished

Today I finished painting Joshua's bedroom.  The cool cabinet needed a second coat of paint.  I needed to do a little sanding around the window and door frames before painting.  Task complete and it looks great!  Tomorrow someone can put contact paper on the shelves in the cabinet to finish that up.  We will rent a sander for all the wood floors when the painting is finished.  So until then this room is off the list.  BIG SMILE!  I will call it a day and head home with all the other rush hour commuters.

Day Nine

Thank you, my faithful followers for your encouragement. Knowing you are reading my Blog helps me to get going every morning. I did get a little earlier start today but had to run by the grocery store (since food = energy), and the Tractor Supply. Danielle met me at Moms so by 10:00 we were on our way. :) Lansen is meeting us at "the house" after taking a final for a summer school class. We all pull in around 11:00 and find Glenn hard at work. I know he appreciates all the helpers but we do keep him busy with questions.

Danielle will paint the cool cabinet in Josh's room, I will work in the same room putting up a second coat of paint. Mom will clean the floor in the utility room. We would like to put the refrigerator back. The washer and dryer are also in that room and need moved out and cleaned under and behind. No treasures were found today.

Lansen is finishing the drywall in the small bedroom and sanding the walls. Glenn is working on some electrical issues which include cutting holes in walls he already repaired. I really don't get it. That is why I prefer to clean and paint.

We did buy the sink, vanity, mirror and wall cabinet for the downstairs bathroom. Maybe by tomorrow that will be the first finished room.

By 4:00 everyone but Glenn heads for home. Papaw did my Costco shopping today so I can pick that up when I drop off Mom. I will take help in any form.

Once I'm home it's throw a load of rags in the wash and start dinner. After a good nights sleep we start again.

Day Eight

I got a late start today since I needed to do some of my normal chores. I feel like I put in a days worth of work before leaving home. This is not a good way to start the day. Thank goodness for Advil.

Glenn and I are on our own and plan to focus on painting. We put a second coat on the downstairs bathroom. Tomorrow I can do the baseboards. One of the bedrooms was ready so after washing down the walls we put one coat on the walls. My painting skills have already improved. One of my problems was putting too much paint on the brush. I got more paint on the wall than myself today. The nice thing about painting is you and everyone else can see the results of your hard work. We thought about painting the house all white but after the bathroom changed our mind. Something about all those white walls and four males did not make sense. This required a trip to Home Depot to select a new color. We decided on a coco beige color. After painting the bedroom we agreed it would work. While we were both at Home Depot we looked at bathroom vanity and sinks. I think we will go with black for the downstairs bathroom. I didn't see exactly what I had in mind so I will stop by Loews on my way home.

Well, my bed is call very loud.
Good night---------

Day Seven

I don't even know where to start today. We got woke up at 5 am with a phone call from Trinidad. Dad I am fine but me and my friends were rear ended then robed at gunpoint. My friend is in the hospital but it's nothing serious. We probably can't make our flight home. The good news is they are safe and nothing important was stolen, just money. They are staying with some of her family and will be home in a few days.

I throw a load of laundry in before leaving. Mamaw wants to come help today so I pick her up. We stop by the tire shop to pick Lansen up. He dropped his car off to get some new tires. We are finally on our way. Glenn stopped by (you guessed it) Home Depot and will meet us at "the house". Glenn is thankful for the extra helpers today. Both Andres and Lansen will be getting orders from him. It looks like they will do more wall repair and taking off more of the baseboards to prepare the bedrooms for painting. There is still one wall left to break down and I'm sure they would enjoy that. Breaking down walls is defiantly a man thing, it doesn't excite me at all.

Mom will work on cleaning the washer and dryer and making sure they work. I will focus on painting the bathroom downstairs. I decided that painting is not my thing. I am very messy, getting more on me and everything I touch than the walls. I should be an expert by the time "the house" is finished though. I just don't know if becoming an expert painter is my desire. Mom pulled something resembling a dead RAT out of the dryer. Yuck!! Sorry I didn't get a picture. The best find of the day goes to Lansen. Hidden behind a wall was a Gentleman's magazine from 1956. The interesting part is you can see more skin when you walking around any mall. It really is amazing and sad how our morals have declined. Something that was thought to be scandalous is now the norm.

Day Six

It is getting harder to get myself out the door and to "the house". I just can't come up with a good enough reason to stay home. Josh's girlfriend Danielle will be joining me and Glenn today. My dear mother is going to make us dinner that I can pick up on my way home. Don't you just love Mothers? I am blessed with one of the best.

Glenn is already hard at work when Danielle and I arrive. He has put up a sheet of drywall and insulation in the small bedroom. This is one of the walls they had to break down a few days ago. It reminds me of our city road crews, they just keep resurfacing the same roads. Danielle and I thought we would be painting but decided to do more cleaning in the kitchen. I started on the tile floor so the stove could be moved back where it belongs. Danielle cleans the wood railing on the stairs then moves onto the walls. We move the refrigerator out of the little back room so the tile can be taken out oh, and another wall knocked out. Glenn removes the baseboards in the bedrooms and yes more wall repair.

I think tomorrow we will start painting. We are sticking with some kind of off white for everything. Keeping it simple. Since we need all new baseboards the trim will be easy and we won't need to use the blue tape.

Day Five

Sunday the day of rest, unless you are trying to renovate a house for your sons. We begin the day at church then our tradition of going to lunch with the family. With tummy's full we go our separate ways. Glenn is off to Home Depot then on to "the house". Josh is going to work for a few hours then to "the house". Lansen, Elena and I will run by home, change clothes then head to "the house". Andreas will meet us at "the house". It should be a productive day with all the helpers



Elena will work with me in the kitchen. All the men will work with Glenn. I start by cleaning the tile and walls behind the sink. Elena will put contact paper in the cabinets and drawers. Lansen and Glenn rip out the carpet in the back room. We will really miss pretending that we don't see or know what all those gross stains are. Andreas and Josh are on wall repair duty. I know it is hard to believe so many days can be spent repairing walls but you haven't seen "the house".

Several bed rooms are almost ready to paint, they just need a little more sanding on the drywall repair. Elena taped the little bathroom so it is ready for paint. Glenn had Andreas wrapping some insulation tape around some pipe of some kind ( I don't know what that's about) but it must be important.


Heading home to eat my left overs from lunch. I sure hope everyone else saved some because they are on their own.

Day Four

When I left last night I thought about taking the day off but after a good night sleep I am ready to roll out again. Mr. B got an early start. He took our trash to the pickup site then made a stop by Home Depot. He is drawn to Home Depot like I am to a shoe store.

Preview

I pick up Mamaw and Papaw on my way to Fairfax. I am so thankful for their help for two people in their 70's they can out work anyone. I guess the saying "they don't make um like they use to" applies to people as well.

Mr. B and I discussed the plumbing and decided to call a professional. The plumber was already at work solving the mystery when my work crew arrived. Mr. B and I were encouraged by the results and were relieved that no major issues were discovered. Yea, running water and drains that work. $500.00 more than expected but worth the peace of mind and Mr. B's time can be spent on other projects.

Mamaw is tackling the stove. It says "self cleaning" and by the looks of it the other people took it literally. I don't think they wiped up any grease or spills, EVER. I will continue working on the kitchen cabinets. Papaw will work with Mr. B. They are doing more wall repairs and wall removal.



I think they enjoy the wall removal best. Mamaw worked a miracle on the stove. It looks just like new, WOW! I finally finished the cabinets and will lay contact paper tomorrow. We are all exhausted and heading home. I hope Mr. B is ok with cereal for dinner.