I See Progress

Again the day started with a little shopping for supplies but not before unlatching the large gate to the back yard to load the trunk of my car with the chop saw and a jig saw.

The daughter is busy sanding and staining the wood trim that will be placed around each door for facings. Three coats of stain with a bit of sanding between each coat leave me with time to do a few other things and there is plenty to do. I patched rough places in that bathroom wall we are working on. I'll have to wait until that coat of spackling dries before I place another coat. I scrubbed the whole room down with warm bleach water and then moved on to pull the old trim off the doors. We are on a mission to bring this home up to  the standards when first built. Hopefully the new sink and faucets will be placed this weekend. I'm anxious to finish up this room and move on to the living room. Working on the common areas is my first concern. 

Carrie's room just needs to have some trim finish work done while Ted's room needs a bit more attention. Ceilings to be painted and chair rail around the living room should finish up the work there. 

The last project will be the daughter's bedroom and bathroom. A new garden tub and walls in the bathroom and some paint and new flooring in her bedroom will bring us to the finish line on the inside. I'm sure there will be a few other odds and ends like a new back door and an 8x12 back deck will be in the plans. I try to not look too far ahead as there seems to be a lot of work remaining. I need to pace myself and not expect it to be done in a short time period. I tend to want to be compulsive when I'm involved in any project while the daughter works at a much more leisurely pace.

I have been on the move since early this morning and once again I'm looking forward to some bed time. The husband made it home around 2200 hrs and was on his way to Ozonia, Texas at 0600 this morning. He will be gone another 10 days. I can only imagine how thrilled the daughter will be when she hears that I can be at her house for 10 more days of "fixin up" the place.

 

How bad is one's life when a new sink and faucet causes a surge of gleeful anticipation?  I might need to go job hunting?

The List

I had a list of things I wanted to get done much to the dismay of the daughter. I'm guessing sleep was on her list and the list I was intent on finishing was at her house. Most of the things got done or at least as done as I could get them. I will be making another trip tomorrow to put the finish coat on the bedroom door that today got a coat of Kilz. 

 

By the time 1700 hrs rolled around, Carrie and I grouped together on the sofa to watch some You Tube videos. I wanted to go to Home Depot but just didn't have the "get up and go" part in order to get it done. After I drop Carrie off at the bus stop tomorrow I'll make that trip.

 

As I sit hear typing this I'm listening to the first Presidential debate. It's much like all the postings on Facebook (a social network in the event this is read 20 yrs from now). I'm a bit burnt on this election that seems to have started 2 yrs ago. I hear each side make the same comments and my brain wanders. I think I'm too tired right now to even concentrate so I'm going to slap down the lid on this laptop and take myself off to bed. As sleepy as I am right now I know I'll have to swallow an Ambien before I put on that nasal mask and turn on that CPAP.

I Sat down and now I can't Move

Things were going along swimmingly until I stopped moving. I'm exhausted. It has been a non stop day.

 

The little lawn mower was left at April's house a few days ago before the rains started. I forgot about it so today I made a trip there to encourage the daughter to mow her yard so I could load the little mower up and return it to it's home in my shed. The daughter was feeling under the weather so I started mowing. Things were going well until I mowed over a heavy piece of metal. The little lawn mower died. She just laid down and died on me but not before she burped up a huge amount of oil. The oil poured over the body and dripped onto the ground. When I pulled on the started cord, black smoke belched forth and she remained quiet. I left her to cool off and headed to my home to get a quart of oil. By the time I returned she had cooled off. I added some oil and pulled the starter cord again. She roared to life belching black smoke again. After the air cleared, the little lawn mower was once again healthy and ready to perform.

 

A few minutes pass and the granddaughter calls to tell me she had locked her keys in her car and wanted to know if I would drive over and bring my spare.  I dropped the top on the roadster and decided to enjoy the drive.

 

The remainder of the day was spent on home repairs; the daughters. I have a list of things I want to get done and I work on this list when the husband is out of town. Mirrors to be hung, doors to be Kilzed and painted, a door knob to replace and a window blind to be hung and my list for this week will be completed.

 

My daughter accuses me of being OCD. I beg to differ. I can't stand seeing anything broke or not working correctly. It doesn't bother the daughter though. I drive her around the bend with my compulsion to "fix" things.

 

I'm exhausted and hungry. I'm more exhausted then hungry so I'm headed for the bed. I can schedule a breakfast tomorrow morning.

Thankfully it's not mine

My friend Pat who lives down the block and around the corner started a project and this has kept me busy. 2 acres of undeveloped property lies but a mear 1/2 mile from our houses; Pat bought both acres. Then she bought an 18X80 mobile home to put on this acreage with the intent of moving her son out of his apartment and into this house with axles. Sounded really easy to her but little did she realize what had to happen to realize this goal. She had to clear the property of old trailors, cars and debris. A well needed to be drilled and a septic tank installed. Unfortunately the spot where she wanted to install this home was already occupied by a huge oak tree. The tree had to go. The tree was felled, the stump ground up and removed. Rain and a few other obstacles prevented the movement of the mobile home from it's rental lot to it's new home on the 2 acres. Stress mounted with all the problems that had to be dealt with and money was leaving her bank account  faster then a speeding train. I was along for the ride.

 

A dirt pad was finally ready and the rain stopped.  The trailor was moved barely in time to miss having to pay another months lot rental. 30 days from the time this home was moved onto it's new location, it was ready for her son to move into today. The water well was drilled, the septic was in and the electric line was run.

One thing remained that needed to be done right away; a deck had to be built and she hired a carpenter. After watching this man work for two days, she came to realize that measuring and cutting wood accurately was not his forte.  The deck was a mess, slivers of wood bit into one's hand from the railing, patched wood areas where miscalculations in measuring, a cobbled mess stood on concrete piers that leaned crookely on unleveled ground. She was appalled. I was along for the ride but now it was evident that someone needed to step in and take control of this disaster.

 

The daughter and I had just finished a 10 X 12 deck; a deck that was a great learning project for both of us.

 

We had him remove the  railings  and redo them. The hand rails and the posts on the deck were also removed. I showed the carpenter ( I use that word loosely) where to set the posts and where to attach the rails going down the steps. A level would have been a tool that one would take for granted being used. Apparently this man didn't feel the need to use one.

 

At the end, the little 6X6 deck cost roughly 1700.00 with all the lumber wasted and the rental of a generator for 2 1/2 days. This does not include labor.

 I should go into the deck building business. This man won't be doing the bigger deck that will span the front of this home. If you don't look too closely, this little deck serves the purpose but will never win any prizes for skill or beauty or even being level.

 

I'm spending my day at home tomorrow. I have some of my own "home" work to attend. Right now, I'm off to my king size bed. Carrie is spending the night at her house and the husband is out of town so I have the big bed all to myself. A treat!