1.08.2008

2008 Update

Happy New Year, everyone! To sum up our holiday season:



-- Chevy is half the man he used to be. But he got a sweet bed for Christmas. No, those aren't our hardwood floors refinished. Aunt and Uncle recently gutted and renovated their kitchen into something from the pages of Gourmet.

-- The Nutcracker and Christmas retail. Enough said.

-- I traveled to Tulsa just before Christmas for Gina and Jamin's wedding, and proceeded to get stuck in a whiteout in Kansas on my way back.

-- The holiday was great, and I was lucky enough to have a week off to get the music out of my head. I channeled the inevitable post-Tulsa homesickness into energy for working on the house.

The living and dining rooms have gotten their respective coats of "Scotch Lassie."



I promise it doesn't look like Astro-Turf (or splotchy for that matter) in real life. The "cove," or the curve at the ceilings, will stay white, and there will be moulding on that fuzzy green line below the curve and the blue tape line above it. That inner moulding will frame these:



The ceiling tiles we started to install, only to be again confronted with the crushing discovery that holding heavy and unwieldy items over one's head for extended periods of time altogether sucks. Our excuse to postpone the torture a little longer? A very welcome onslaught of Christmas gift cards to Lowe's and Home Depot made it possible for me to...start tiling the bathroom! (Angelic choirs)



Look at it! I am a tiling machine. About two minutes into this project I realized that since I wanted the tiles offset, I couldn't use the spacers we bought. Now, I understand that "eyeballing it" isn't a recognized method among true craftsmen, but I have to confess that I have long considered it a talent of mine. Let's take another look at that tub, shall we?



A thing of beauty, no? A soak in this thing will be most welcome, especially since it was at about this point that I literally felt like my somewhat temperamental spine was going to pop out of my back.



Capacity: two humans, or approximately 236 cats.

The opposite wall, where the pedestal sink and toilet will go:



Bren is responsible for the tiles that require the use of the tile saw. He did the corners, and has these cut and ready to apply with thinset. He is also responsible for...



The shower, which is anxiously awaiting it's bottom. The floor needs to be graded with cement towards the drain, and the various moisture barriers installed, before we can tile in here. Then we'll grout and seal everything, install all the knobs, the faucet and shower head, and hopefully be able to take baths before Arwen visits!

The paint is going to be a light sagey green, called "Rejuvenate." How apropos.

We're putting black and white hexagonal subway tiles on the floor, which will require special ordering, and a bit of penny-pinching. Sinks, toilets, and even towel bars are more expensive than you think they are, too. Did you know that you can spend over $300 on a toilet paper holder if you want? The ceiling needs to be drywalled, the vent and light fixtures replaced...It's a long way from done, but it's still better than THIS!



You've come a long way, baby.

4 comments:

Andrea said...

I'm impressed. We can't even paint without screwing things up.

Anonymous said...

you are officially my hero(ine?)
have you given my dad a call yet? I told him a bit about you :) Let me know if you need the number again. Hope the Projects continue to move smoothly.

Arwen Mitchell said...

you know it holds 236 cats because you put that many in there.

I will rejoice for a bath in there. if not, let us camp. :)!

(p.s. am drinking wine tonight in your honor)

Falling off the Grid said...

looks great. you guys are insane.