Mid week...

They call Wednesday “hump day” because it is supposed to be all downhill from there….not so fast. 

I slipped out of the house to go to the noon time art demo at Stampadoodle…relaxation, art supplies, techniques…my kind of break since I can’t really play in my own studio because it is now filled with more than art supplies.

While the cat is away the mice will play.  I call home to say I have picked up the sink and faucet and Larry broke the news that the guest bath upstairs is being taken apart, at least the part around the toilet.  Seems like the plumbers who worked on this house had as much skill as the carpenters and we have just been really lucky living here for twelve years.  The toilet was only being held down by one nut and the sub floor is substandard.  They thought maybe they could salvage the tile in the guest bathroom but Larry knew what my answer to that would be.  Why would I ever want to put blue and gold vinyl tile back down on the bathroom floor?  I will be shopping for flooring for two bathrooms now.

Oh and by the way Larry tells me that there is a small amount of dry rot in our bathroom because that toilet also was never properly installed and it had leaked.  Back into Lowes to purchase a new toilet because I think the one in that bathroom is original to the house.  The clerk looked at me as I came back through her checkout line and I smiled and said the kitchen remodel was now a kitchen and three bathrooms.  She looked totally shocked as she covered her mouth and said “I’m sorry”.  Me too but that is life.  Larry and I are “never, ever” going to buy a really, really old house and fix it up unless he should buy that elusive lottery ticket, win, and then gut it before we ever moved in.

The tile that I thought Larry would like for the guest bathroom downstairs is a twelve by thirteen with two different size linear tiles and no way to split them in half to install them without a lot of waste.  I didn’t see anything else I liked so now I am off to Home Depot.  I found a stone and marble square one inch mosaic tile that I think will work with the butcher block top.  Four sheets and I am out of the store.  I get to go home…no I forgot I need to stop at Wal-Mart again. 

Fritz is gone and he has installed temporary bulbs in all the kitchen light fixtures just so we can use them, although there isn’t any real reason to be in the bare bones kitchen.  He did a really nice job and was professional in his work ethic.  He did install the new ceiling fan in the study which is smaller, sleeker, and so much nicer than the oversized fan with scrolly, frilly, glass    shades  that hung down and made anyone over five foot ten duck their heads.  The fan/vent is installed in the downstairs guest bath and is very quiet and efficient.  The old fan in the sitting area is gone and the new light will be installed when Fritz returns to finish after the sheet rock is up, the painting is finished, and the cabinets are in.

The day is gone and we are worn out.

Thursday: Coffee, I need coffee.  I am packing boxes of items to drop off at the restore, the odd things for Goodwill and a box of usable items that I will stick aside for a friend who needs household items. 

Bob is here first to begin work in our bathroom and Bill arrived just shortly after him.  I emptied the linen closet in our bathroom so the shelves can come out and give them more room to work.  Tony arrives next to begin pumping out the water under the house so he can get to the rest of the sewer pipes to repair them.  He will also install the toilet downstairs in the open concept, no wall bathroom. 

The carpet/vinyl guy is here to measure the stairs, landing, and bathrooms.  His little yorkie in her hot pink sweater was cradled in his arm and was content to just be carried around with dad while he measured and worked, unaffected by our Springer Spaniel who is furiously barking away at two new intruders in his home.  The carpet guy will come back with samples and said the order time is short so it won’t be a problem getting materials.  He had ideas for the carpet on the stairs since we have a waterfall/bullnose lip.  We are staying fairly neutral with wall colors, tile, flooring, and using accessories and furniture for pops of color.  This means I don’t have to go out to shop for bathroom flooring.  This is a blessing.

I sent Larry off to the gym so he can get some exercise for his foot and ankle since he is no longer seeing a physical therapist.  He was doing laps around the  house and sets of stairs but with workers in the house, everywhere, it is hard to maneuver without bumping into someone and workers have the right away.  When Larry returned home from the gym I asked him if he felt good and his reply was he felt moral for going.

I need to stop at Target today to see if I can match the decorative curtain rod we have in the study.  We need to purchase new rods for the living room and the sitting area and we like the one in the study.  I keep searching the internet for ideas for drapes for the living room and sitting area but have not found anything that I just love and want to ask Larry about.  The chairs in the living room are staying so I need to work around the blue color in each chair and the loveseat with its red slipcover.  We have thought of making burlap drapes and lining them, then hanging them with decorative rings and clips.  Burlap may seem like a strange choice for drapes but it seems to be the fabric of choice for designer homes right now, along with butcher block kitchen countertops. 

I was beginning to wonder this morning how tired this crew was, there was no singing and dancing.  I think since they don’t drink coffee they just needed a little more time to wake up because soon they were singing along and you could hear the whoops and doo whops bouncing off the walls.  Looks like we will have two working toilets and a sink by the end of the day and that is a good thing because they won’t be back until Monday (unless it rains) to start the sheetrock and then the dust will fly.

The sawdust is being vacuumed up and Larry and I are removing another layer of dust from the study…not dust free but less of it.

We now have new plumbing upstairs and downstairs and just before the plumber left we found out our faucet in our bathroom is failing and to replace it, it is a special size.  Tomorrow I am looking for a vessel sink and faucet for our bathroom that will cover the hole without putting in a new counter for an old vanity that we really don’t want to replace right now.

How high’s the water mama?…six feet high and rising.  Flexibility…that is the word of the day.  What you think is going to happen, might not, and what you never thought would happen, has!