More Cleaning

Spent the morning with Mom cleaning the living room. I haven't touched it since Rachel moved out a few weeks ago, and there were piles of unwanted stuff everywhere. Plus dirt, plus dust, plus more olives . . . .

I should have cleaned it, but my priorities were firmly focused on the bedroom. My recent decision to paint the concrete in the bedroom has forced me to clean the living room so I have somewhere to sleep while the floor paint dries!!

I hope to get the floor ready to clean this evening and late tomorrow afternoon, and actually mop the thing to death tomorrow night. Once it's been mopped it takes about three days to dry, according to one book, which means I can start painting on Friday after class. The first coat should be simple -- roll paint on floor. After that dries (by late Saturday with any luck) I can tape off the checkerboard pattern and paint it into place. I can let the floor dry all day Sunday.

Maybe on Monday I can get a sister to help with the molding. That would be great. I could finish the entire room over Labor Day weekend. No, wait, I'm supposed to go to Charlotte's party on Labor Day. I can't reverse the order and do the trim first because I'll need time for the floor to dry. OK, maybe on Friday following labor day?

Still trying to figure out exactly what to paint on the floor. I've tentatively decided to go with a checkerboard pattern at a diagonal, in a dark green and the medium green I'm using for the trim. It's very much like the red/green floor I had originally planned, except without the metallic accents. I'm considering painting on the metallic accents anyway, after the paint dries, but I'm not sure how durable they'll be. I guess I could seal the entire floor afterwards, but one article I read said to avoid that as a worn floor actually looks better.

Guess it won't kill me to try. I can always paint over it.

Flooring, Beds, and Sofas

Drove around the Farmer's Branch furniture district today with Mom and Dad, looking mainly for a bed but also for a sofa and possibly a set of tables and chairs.

Eurway had the same kind of stuff they always seem to have. Sofas were pretty inexpensive, but not at all what I wanted. Ditto the beds.

We went to three other contemporary stores, and only one of them had a bed I liked. One store carried the complete line of Innovation futons, including one on wheels. I've been wanting wheeled furniture for a while now, but have always backed away due to the high cost and the trouble of finding anything locally I liked. I want to SEE and TEST furniture before I spend a small fortune!!

I came home and found a place that sells the frames for $249 and the mattresses for an additional $179. I would need a matterss cover, too. While it beats the other store it's still expensive. And I'm not sure I'd get a good night's sleep out of it.

Went to a different LaZBoy store trying to track down a Dexter. No luck.

Dad and I talked about my plywood floors, and he feels they won't be durable enough. We've decided to go with painted concrete instead. Now I just have to decide what to paint.

Very tired. Mom is coming over tomorrow to help me clean the living room so I can move my matterss there during the concrete-painting. Going to sleep now, and will wake up in a few hours and clean a little.

Reading and Writing

Feel terrible tonight. I'm not planning on doing anything useful, so I went to the grocery store and bought a small fortune in home design magazones. Thought I would record ideas as they come to me for safekeeping.

First off, this idea came while picking out tangelos in the store. I can't find a bed I like except for very modern beds which cost very big bucks. (There are cheaper modern beds, but I don't like them!) I could buy an old bed, but they all feel dowdy. New idea is to buy an old bed, but paint it aluminum to match the wall in the bedroom. I also like the bed in the Urban Outfitters catalog, but it looks uncomfortable.

I ♥ Danish Modern

Made it through the first week of school alive!!! To celebrate I went to lunch with Lynne (and celebrated her birthday at the same time) and then went shopping with Mom. I let her choose the destination, and we ended up at Thrift Town, which I hate because they don't have a very large selection of furniture.

Right inside the door, though, I found a cool piece of red-and-green pottery in a nice amorphous shape. It's from LA Pottery, which I've never heard of but intend to research later. Anyway, the piece had chips along the edges but it was only $1.99 so I bought it. Then I picked up a package of wrapping paper, like I need more of it! I saw some very Partridge-Family's-kitchen-ish chairs across the store, the kind that belonged in a Harvest Gold kitchen, so I wandered over to check them out.

I browsed through lamps along the way and talked myself out of a lime green glass beauty, then then went by their miscellaneous area and talked myself out of a magazine rack (the most useless piece of furniture ever invented), and finally walked past two beautiful aquariums and then ___SCRRRRREEEEEECCCCHHHHHEEEEDDDD____ to a halt.

My eyes were so shocked that it took them a few seconds to communicate to the brain without stuttering. There, in front of me, was a WAS IT SOLD? Please, no, no, it should be mine, not sold not sold THANK GOODNESS and only 49.95.

There, in the best tradition of Juhl, Wagner and Risom, was a lounge chair. With the matching ottoman. Wow. I love this style!!! I was freaking so hard I had trouble even looking at it objectively and had to call Mom over to evaluate it.

It's an unusual chair -- the back reclines, and the back ends of the arms had small circles cut into the wood. Behind the chair back a piece of wood spans arm to arm. This piece has pegs on the end, which fit into the holes. By moving the piece of wood from one set of holes to another you can control (to a very limited degree) the angle of the chair's back.

The original cushions were in place (at least we're pretty sure they're original -- white with orange flowers) but nothing was labeled.

Of course I bought it as quickly as I could. Thank goodness Mom drove the truck. I think we've learned our lesson on that one the time I tried to place an office chair in the back of the Toyota.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the piece. I don't have any responsibilities tomorrow, so I think I'll head over to Bocca Bargoons and buy fabric for new cushions. This closing sale of theirs has made everything so cheap that I'd be stupid not to. I'll just have to go with a color that will work in any of my planned color schemes, and not actually make the cushions until I know exactly where to place it.

So happy to have yet another piece of furniture. I'm acquiring kinda quickly, actually, but so far it's working. I'm just stumbling into things that are on my want list. Soon, any day now, I'll find a sofa. I have faith.

Paint FINISHED!!!

I am happy to announce the paint is finally finished. FINALLY. Except, of course, for the molding which I can't do by myself. I hope to get that finished this weekend, but as no one has volunteered to help me and since I'm cold stone broke it won't be happening.

Look at the before and after shots of the bathtub and French doors:




The tile looks good with these colors, right?

If I had money I'd go buy the floor tiles this Saturday. I could paint the base coats this weekend, then spend the week painting the geometric designs, and maybe lay the floor over my three-day Labor Day weekend. Not happening.

So what's left in the bedroom, aside from the flooring and the trim?

• hang all the damn doors back up
• place all covers back on outlets
• apply silver paint to the outlet Rachel painted red (OK painting not finished)
• touch up the ceiling (painting SOO not finished)
• fix electrical outlet I messed with when messing with electricity
• paint hardware for window (So sue me)
• attach window hardware
• fix French door, which came apart while painting door
• might as well paint French door hardware while it's off
• buy new handle for French door
• touch up trim around French doors one last time
• double-check all walls for touch-ups. I know of at least two spots that need it
• clean the bathroom floor
• nail the bathroom trim back into the wall
• possibly add more grout to the bathroom floor along the trim
• paint over the nails holding up the bathroom trim
• finish scraping French door glass and tiles below doors
• hang curtain rods
• clean up!! Move out tools, get rid of ugly plastic, etc.

OK, so there is a lot more to do. It never ends. Every time I try to improve something I end up repairing at least five other things.

I wonder if I could finish that list tomorrow evening?

(later)

It's funny how much this green tint I have on the walls has grown on me. Mom still thinks it should be a little greener, but to be honest I'm afraid to go that direction. I didn't really want a GREEN bedroom, just a bedroom with green accents. This more-white-than-green color is really what I needed.

I'm happy I didn't back down and paint it a different color in the face of doubt. I'm also happy I'm (so far) sticking to my floors.

Now I have to stick by my paint color in the living room, which is far more controversial. Mom keeps trying to get me to paint the wall a pale yellow or soft green. She just can't see the bold blue I'm envisioning. And it isn't even the same blue I originally envisioned!! At first I wanted what I call Whole Nine Yards blue, after the terrific kitchen in the movie of that name. But now, after leafing through Home, Cheap Home for the 400000000 time, I want something a little bolder. Something more eBay House of Style. Now I'm after a blue with a touch of green, which will contrast with the reddish tones in the tiles. It's an extremely BOLD color. It will either be a raving success or a dismal failure.

Hell, it's one wall. We're talking a gallon of paint, here. I can always repaint, right?

(much later, like 2:30 AM)

Can't sleep and have that eBay house on my mind. I found it on eBay and saved a lot of pictures, and discovered this is an annual event. So where are the archives? Where is last year's house?

A little Google-ing taught me that 2003 was the first year for the house. I ran a Google image search, and low and behold, I found a VR tour and photos from the 2003 house. Lots of fun, well worth the effort. They seem to be on the site of the people who set up the site for the first home. Who knows how long they'll be available? I downloaded all the photos for my files, and wish I could download the VR tours as well.

MUST SLEEP, even if I can't. I have a class at 8:00 AM tomorrow.

Procrastinating AGAIN

I should be in the bedroom right now covered with latex. Paint, that is. Instead I'm sitting at the computer, and can't bring myself to get up an get MOVING. Instead I'm shopping.

I can't find a sofa I like, which really isn't that big a deal as I haven't cleaned out the living room, and lack a place to put a sofa.

I want a new shower curtain. I've been looking at curtains in Home Cheap Home and on OutdoorFabrics.com, and have decided that I neeeeeeeed one. Except that I don't want one. What I want is my full-bathroom shower with weatherproof patio furniture inside. I don't want a freaking shower curtain at all.

OK, this is pathetic. I must get up and paint!!! I don't have class tomorrow, so I can stay up all night if I need to. I want to FINISH this!

Colors Again

Today, the first official day of school for the new semester, I celebrated by taking a two-hour lunch. That might seem a little, well, expansive, but remember I was at school by 7:30, and planned on staying at school until 10:00 that evening. A two-hour lunch really wasn't all that decadent.

Mom and I spent a leisurely hour in Home Depot. We looked at wallpaper (nothing I liked), at garden hoses (next year) and at PAINT. I love paint. Choosing the colors for a room is the absolute best part of decorating. Everything else seems to happen by itself, but the paint is magical an intentional.

I'm planning on painting one wall of the living room next. I've toyed with leaving the wall white, but I just can't do it.

Every since seeing The Whole Nine Yards I've wanted a room like the movie's kitchen, with its wonderful blue. Finding the specific blue, though, is a challenge. I don't want anything too dark, as I want the room to feel full of light. I don't want a lightweight same-as blue, either. I've really been stuck for inspiration.

Today I hit on a darkish blue-green, like a very dark turquoise. A tropical turquoise. I can't really find words for it!! A beautiful color, and the green it it makes the reddish tones in the tile SING. I'm thinking (don't gasp) a pale, pale, pale pink couch. And lime green accents. (of course.) Maybe pink accents, too, but not as much as green.

Wow. It's a very odd combination, but I like it. I feel very eBay House of Style. Very Home Cheap Home. Very daring, and very mature. I've moved away from the traditional color combinations!!!

Fabric Overload

I drove to Bocca Bargoons this afternoon. I couldn't believe how much fabric was in a store that should be closing at the end of next week. Parking was unbelievable, and the selection was even more unbelievable.

The store had gotten rid of about six of its floor-to-ceiling display racks, and huge 60" rolls of fabric were everywhere. The fabric was lined up against the walls, stacked on carts, and piled on the floors. There were hundreds of bolts, thousands of bolts, and no rhyme or reason to be found anywhere.

The only way to see the fabric was to pull rolls of fabric off one cart and pile them on another. The remnant room was possibly worse -- it was a smallish room knee-deep in crumpled fabric. I went in and started throwing fabric up against one wall. I was the only person who had nerve enough the entire time I was there.

A wild 1 yard remnant I found -- had to buy it, don't know what I'll do with it!

Lots of absolutely beautiful fabrics, some as much as $90 per yard, all at 80% off. It was impossible to see everything. I spend over three hours in the store and feel like I only saw about 50% of the merchandise.

My goal was to find something for the new lounger, and if possible something lime green for my beloved Haywood-Wakefield sofa.

I fell in love with a blue-and-green upholstery fabric, and then found a nice taffeta to match. They weren't right for either piece, but I couldn't put them back. I carried them around for the longest time before realizing they were perfect for the Victorian chair Rachel gave me. I didn't have enough fabric, though, so I started looking again and eventually found another blue to complete the chair.

Still nothing for the lounger.

Must have mentally re-painted the living room a hundred times while shopping. Just couldn't make anything work. And I started second-guessing myself, always a bad sign. Does the lounger really work in the bedroom? After all I'm placing the 30s vanity in the room. Maybe I need something modern to give the room more kick.

Eventually found a rust-red and green print. It's just a crazy print, sort of Japanese inspired. I loved it, but I loved it for the sofa, which was going into the guest room. The guest room, please remember, is to be lime green/turquoise.

I really, really wanted it, though. I want to do something a little crazy with the sofa, and this was perfect. Trouble was the expense. The fabric was $4.50 per yard, and I thought I'd need at least ten yards, fifteen to be safe. While I was standing there fretting the manager started yelling out that any cotton print on a bolt was $3.00 per yard, as long as buyers took the entire roll. That decided me. I took the bolt up front for measurement. Sixteen yards, all mine, even if it was a bad decision.

So now what??? I can fit the sofa into the room easily enough, but then I have to find a new place for my fantastic Boiterra bench. And having a sofa in the bedroom is a little odd, although that's never stopped me before. And what I really wanted was a comfortable reading chair, not a sofa.

I could scrap all my plans (and everything blue) and do the entire house in reds and greens. That would work, at least as a temporary measure. (OK, had definitely been in the store too long!!!)

I paid for all my treasures -- $152 dollars, which would have been, what . . . $760 if I had paid retail?

There is one fabric I didn't get that I may go back for on Monday. It's a wonderful yellow diamond upholstery fabric with a few metallic threads running through it. I actually think it would be PERFECT for the lounger, but it doesn't really fit my color schemes!!

Went by parent's house to show Mom fabric. She doesn't appreciate the rust and green, which doesn't surprise me. She had bought me a fabulous chair for $10 at Big Daddy's Flea Market. It needs to be recovered, but she thinks we can manage it ourselves. (Come to think of it, new chair would be beautiful in that diamond yellow also.)

Rested for a little bit by playing on eBay. Did a search for "lime green," which I've never tried before. Very interesting. Bid on "Over 50 Lime Green Christmas Ornaments," but was outbid instantly. It's at $9.49 now, and I'm unsure how high I want to go. If I paid .50 cents an ornament it would be $25.00. That should probably be my high bid. Mom has a vintage silver Christmas tree she says I can have. Can you imagine how cool that would look??

We decided to go to the LaZBoy store and check out all the Todd Oldham furniture. They didn't have the Dexter, which is the sofa I want. Instead we looked at the Snap (still don't like it) and the Viva sectional. I wasn't too hot about the sectional, but Mom liked it and said it would look good in my living room. She's right, too. It would look great. Of course the sectional was over $3000 dollars, so it's about $2000 more than I'm willing to pay. I'm also not sure I would have enough room to walk behind it.

Mom liked a red leather sofa at the front of the store. It's great, I agree, but I really want a sofa in a show-stopper color, even though conventional wisdom says buy neurtal. The red just wasn't red enough to make me happy.

After dinner we went to two fabric stores, and found a few nice prints. Also picked up a sample of a nice tan gauze with red and green stripes. It's at 50% off this week, and I think I've finally found the perfect curtains for my bedroom.

We also went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond (a name that makes me wonder) and looked at bedspreads, curtains, and other things. I found one bedspread in the adult bedding, a quilt with every shade of green in it. Very nice, and only $80. I'm having as much trouble finding a bedspread as I am a bed!

On the way home I started thinking a Gee's Bend -style quilt would be wonderful, but I don't want to sew one. And I certainly can't afford one!

Going to Trader's Village with Mom and Dad tomorrow, so I must quit THINKING and sleep.

Home Design Software

OK, I've been a little stupid. I'm completely broke, but I went out and bought some Home Design software.

I picked up Individual's Total 3D Home & Landscape first. Overall very easy to use once I had spent a few hours with it. Drafting a room was pretty easy, and so was adding furniture.

On the minus side the 3D furniture selection is very limited; and I couldn't make it import any of my JPEGs into the room I created. Also the textures I could apply to surfaces were very limited. For instance, there was a wonderful metallic silver, perfect for my Rustoleum wall, but I couldn't apply that texture to my wall. I could only apply it to things that are supposed to be metal, like bathroom faucets.

Next I bought (on sale) Punch's 5 in 1 Home Designer. I bough it because it has a "Furniture Workshop," and at the very least I thought I could make my own furniture. I couldn't even make a stupid lamp. And the textures were even more limited! I didn't care for the home layout, either, I felt it was much less intuitive than the Individual program.

I have one more product sitting on my study floor, but I think I'll return it untested. Borderbund's 3D Home Architect is in version 6, but Target only had up to version 5. This older version is all over eBay for $5, so I can't see spending $35 on it the way I did.

The best thing about all these products has been the wealth of pictures available. I've saved them into a central folder on my hard drive so I can import them into CorelDRAW as needed. (So far Corel is still my favorite home layout program, even without all the 3D stuff.) Corel can make my wall metallic, just watch.



There is one more product I want to try -- the Better Homes and Garden software is supposed to be the best on the market. It will have to wait until after payday, though. I can't afford an $89.00 program right now.

(later)

Spackled everything, but probably will not have time to paint tonight. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Drove to Target and bought another curtain rod, this one for the French doors. I've pretty well decided to order the panels from Urban Outfitters once I get paid.

Sunny Sunday

No, it isn't sunny. It's actually rather gloomy, but I don'tcare because I'll be PAINTING tomorrow. I haven't touched the room all week due to work, but I have this evening and about half of tomorrow to finish all the doors. I don't have much to do -- another coat on a few doors, plus some touch-up. Tomorrow I have to buy metal primer (Mom bought poly wood sealer instead of primer!) and finish the hardware.

I can't wait. Everything will look fantastic.

Once school gets going (and once I have a paycheck) I'll start on the floors. Labor day is coming up, which would be a great time to lay and varnish. Maybe tomorrow I can take out a parental loan (payable on payday) and get enough lumber to at least prime all the squares.

Once the floors are finished I can worry about the hundreds of other little things, like the switchplates, the molding (another weekend job), the curtains, and finally the furniture.

Can't wait. I want to finish by Labor Day (yeah, right) so I can start on the living room, which honestly doesn't need much work.

(11:55 PM)

Nothing is going right. I finally got all the remaning hinges off the doors only to discover I'm out of spackle. Guess I'll go to Home Depot early tomorrow, so I can work when it's still a little cool.

Homesick

I want to be at home painting but instead I'm up at school working the phone bank. I'm a little bummed -- the guys who were supposed to help didn't. Jerry shadowed me until I told him to get lost, and the other guy didn't show up at all. Jerry did have a class, but he could have answered the phones in the little time he was up here!

So anyway I'm getting tons of calls about financial aide and people wanting the bookstore's phone number, and all I want to do is go home and PAINT. I want to finish touching up all the bedroom doors. I want to paint the door hardware. I want to reassemble the doors, and get everything back together where it belongs!!

Oh, and I also want to call the dumpster service to pick up their overflowing dumpster and buy a curtain rod. Those can wait, though. The paint is the thing.

(And the syllabi, of course, and the class calendars and everything else I've left until the last minute.)

Damn Doors, Part One

Wow, what a busy day. And it isn’t over yet.

Mom and Dad called about 11:30 saying they were on their way. I got them to stop at Home Depot for spray primer. I also asked them to pick up an interior door, but they couldn’t find one to suit. Guess I’ll make do with the door I have. Just can’t afford to spend anything else.

Mom called to let me know Dad was in a terrible mood, so I didn’t even ask him to deal with the stripped screws. I just didn’t feel like pussycatting around a mood today, so I thought it would be better for everyone if he had some time to himself.

When they arrived I put Mom to work taping off the French doors so they could be painted. Dad left, and I got on the Internet and found out I could buy a special drill bit that would remove stripped screws. Ran to Sears and bought a set for $40.

I got a few of the screws out, but not all. The ones in the French doors just refused to budge. I did some more reading on the Net and discovered I needed to drill out the screw until the screw head popped off, then use pliers to work the screw loose. OK. We tried that. It took FOREVER, and once we finished the little nubbin left wasn’t big enough to grasp with pliers!!! It was out of the way, though. We could go ahead and paint the doors. We started, and Mom correctly decided we didn’t have enough paint. Another trip to Home Depot. I bought hardware for the French doors, so now I’m out another $44.

Came home and quickly painted the doors and remaining trim. Then we had to call Dad to rescue me from my stripped-screw delimma. He arrived on the scene, took out the bad screws, and hung the doors. We weren’t really ready to hang the doors (they need another coat of paint) but I’m not about to argue with Dad today.

Photo of me with wet hair and some of the damn doors in the background

Ate dinner at the Olive Garden, and then ran to Target. I needed a stapler and a ream of paper for my presentation tomorrow, but while there I picked up a curtain rod ($22.95) and shower curtain hooks ($9.99) so I can hang the bedroom curtain. I’m not crazy about the curtain rod – it has ugly swirly things on the end – but it was the only one in silver. I’m pretty sure I’ll return it this week. So sure that I left it in the car so I don’t have to struggle with finding it again later.

Also bought a 3D home design and landscape program. Target had two – one by a company called Punch and one by Individual Software. I went with the one from Individual Software because it lets meimport pictures, although the one from Punch looked more fun. It had a furniture lab where I could design my own furniture. Maybe next week, or the week after. And there’s always the Sierra title. I like Sierra’s programs, but I don’t like the price.

Wow, just did a search in Amazon. No one is pleased with the landscaping programs. It looks like I can pick up a bunch of them used for under retail. OK, now I have something to do until Spring.

I’m going to play for an hour, then start working on my presentation.

Possibly Freaking Out

Pretty much stopped working after I writing yesterday. I sat down on the bed for just a minute, to try to remember where my screw driver was, and fell asleep.

So today’s plans are:

• Fix egg sandwich
• Paint bathroom and one bedroom wall with Skipping Stone
• Go to Home Depot and buy metal primer and cool corner paint masks, possibly buy hardware for French door
• Spray-paint door hardware w/primer
• Remove French doors
• Paint French doors w/ Stepping Stone, touch up other doors as needed
• Spray-paint door hardware aluminum
• Eat dinner
• Paint all trim w/ Christopher Robin’s Swing

Yeah, right. It’s good to have plans, even if I don’t carry them out.

I’ve made a timeline (yeah, right) for decorating the rest of the house. Note the timeline does not include buying furniture. It also doesn’t take the yard into account, and I plan to start tearing out the yard in late September.

• August – master bedroom
• September – living room area
• October – workroom
• November – guest bedroom
• December – bathroom
• January – kitchen

I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick with this, especially since the kitchen and bathroom will be expensive.

(short time later)

Left the house to go buy Dr. Pepper and fries to have with egg sandwich, and discovered my dumpster was full. Jim and Mary woke up and started cutting back all the bushes while I was still asleep. When I came out they were filling the last bag with stuff. I have to think of something nice to do for them.

I’m waiting on my fries to cook (McDonald’s never gets them as crisp as I like) so I thought I’d brainstorm a little about the yard. It’s a BIG front yard, for starters. R has placed raised beds in it using railway ties, some of which are falling out of place. Lucky me. It’s very overgrown at this point, and I really want to pull it all out and start over.

So what do I want in the front yard?

• Flowers (duh)
• Grasses
• Pathways
• Seating Area with SHADE as the front yard is almost unbearable at sunset. Maybe one of those Mexican ovens?
• Nice ornamentation
• VERY LITTLE maintenance!!!!

Actually R has one area in the front that I’m not touching, except to control it some. The side garden between my house and the Christiansons’ is fantastic. I love the flowers she’s chosen, and the walkway, and especially the duck sculpture.

I think the front yard is going to have to be art/eclectic, or Classic American. I don’t think I can pull off anything too fancy, especially since I don’t want to spend my summers grubbing around in the dirt and dying of heat exhaustion.

Maybe I need to nail the features I want a little better, then move on from there.

(5:00 PM)

Burned the fries, so I had a Dr. Pepper for lunch and am now close to starving. Spent time today working on a drawing of the house and yard. I want to take pictures of the house, but everything is so overgrown I can’t see the house to photograph!

Painted just about everything that needs Skipping Stone except for the doors. I haven’t made it to Home Depot yet, but plan to go in a few minutes.

Considering revising plan some, so that I don’t paint doors until tomorrow when Dad can take them completely off their hinges for me. It’ll be much easier then – I can paint them FLAT instead of vertically.

If I revise the plan that leaves me with not-much to do tonight. I guess I can work on the electricity issue.

(a little later)

Actually, I have to work on a presentation I’m giving Monday. I need to finalize a flyer and a PowerPoint, plus download some music and fade it out, and download our video and cut off the points we need so we don’t have to fumble with DVDs.

I can make a menu in Windows Media Player to organize everything. Guess I’ll be too busy to work on anything else.

(9:00 PM)

I finally opened up a receptacle to see what’s behind it. Luckily I have copper wire, not ancient aluminum. Not-so-luckily the box doesn’t seem to be grounded. I’ve been doing some reading and I think I can replace the box with a GFCI, but I’m not 100% sure. I guess the only way to be sure is to hire an electrician. I don’t want to go through the expense, but I need to find out my options before I invest in paint for another room.

Wonder if there are decent plugs in the living room? Now that we’ve moved the furniture I should be able to check.

(10:30 PM)

I found a document with my old paint colors while I was looking for a file on my hard drive. It has my old bedroom colors, orange/yellow/green/pink. What happened?? At some point I migrated to the “ballroom blue” color that’s so hot right now. I can’t even remember why, unless it was in response to the fantastic plywood floor. Then I dumped the blue scheme because it didn’t look good with the bathroom tile, and went to my now-painted aluminum/red/greens. I completely forgot about the first scheme, which would have been interesting with the tile at the very least. I can just see the olive tile against a stippled orange wall.

Mom and Dad are coming over tomorrow. Dad is going to help with the stripped screws in the damn doors then disappear. Mom will stay longer. She’s dying to clean the house, I can just feel it. I’d rather have help hanging the molding, but I’ll take what I can get. The molding will have to wait.

I’m fixing to paint more trim. I can think of things I’d rather do, but the trim needs to be painted and it’s not like I have anything better to do.

Wish I had cash – I could go buy plywood for my floors. I’m thinking about taking a loan from R’s garage sale money, which is sitting in my bedroom. I won’t see her again until the second week of September; and by that time I can pay her back.

(12:42 AM)

Why does painting trim depress me?

I’m way in the depths now, bemoaning my entire plan for the bedroom. Is this what I really wanted?

I had planned a fun, teenage-like room with lots of color and visual excitement. Instead I’m ending up with something more grown-up, with a very adult colorway. I have a few cool elements – the floor, the aluminum wall – but the overall effect is starting to bore me.

I shouldn’t be such a baby. How many people get to move into their dream house, and get to decorate it however they want?

Busy Weekend

Woke up on time for a change, and only procrastinated by staying in bed for an extra thirty minutes. (Very good for summer!)

I’ve been firecrackering since then. So far:

• Went to school, helped a student, solved a problem, discovered two new problems.


• Went to Home Depot and (finally) bought another quart of Skipping Stone along with a spray can of aluminum Rust-Oleum and six aluminum-colored door hinges.


• Drove by Chipotle’s and bought dinner.
  
• Came home, ate for about half an hour, and took all hardware off doors.
  
• Set up work space in front driveway and proceeded to take the paint off the door hardware and window hardware using spray-on metal stripper of R’s I found. TOXIC STUFF!!! I got some on my leg, and had to run to the bathroom while trying to pull off my pants so I could douse my leg in water. Eventually got most of the paint off, and then had to rinse all the parts to remove residue.
  
• Had conversation with neighbors Jim and Mary about my overgrown yard, and how it’s making it hard for neighbors to see when backing out of driveway. We’re going to work together this weekend to get at least some of the foliage back. This will be a good weekend since I still have the dumpster sitting in the front yard.

Right now I’m taking a break. In a few minutes I’m going to go paint more trim, and (if I’m not completely wiped out) play with the electricity and figure out what I need to fix these sockets. Dad looked once, but he didn’t check if the box is grounded. I’m not sure he realizes that’s possible!

I’d love to get the damn trim finished tonight. Heck, in a perfect world I’d get all the paint finished tonight, but I just don’t think that will happen.

My wonderful fabric from Bocca Bargoons isn’t so wonderful after all. It has blue in it, and the blue just doesn’t work with the red/green combination I’ve grudgingly come to accept. I think that’s part of the reason I keep buying inappropriate things for the room – I’ve basically forced myself into a color scheme I don’t want. I can live with it, I think I’ll even like it, but it’s really too mature for the room I had planned.

In the next few weeks I need to start thinking seriously about the yard. I can do most of the tear-out in the fall when the weather is nice, then start re-planting in early Spring. I have a few ideas, but everything needs time to simmer. Mom found a great book on gardens at 75% Off Books called “Ornamentation for the Small Garden” which is delightful. I’m hoping to buy a copy this weekend if I drive in that direction.

R. found a copy of the blueprint for the yard. I’ll start by scanning it in and playing in Corel.

OK, I really want to buy 3D Landscape Software now. Please, can I??? It’s only $50 or $78 depending on what I order. How completely wasteful, especially when I have no money to waste!

MOVING DAY!!!

Fabulous day. Absolutely fabulous.

R. and I woke up at 5:45 and started work. We pitched a few things in the dumpster, boxed some things, and generally got ready for the movers, who arrived at 8:00 AM.

The movers, three guys from Firehouse Movers, were wonderful. They moved all the boxes out of the guest room inside half an hour, then moved the boxes in the hall closet and then started in on the most difficult room – the living room area. They helped pitch things into the dumpster, helped box, and took directions wonderfully. We could not have done it without them!

I was afraid the dumpster was too large, but we filled it without any problems. I’m going to keep it through the weekend and call on Monday to have it removed. There is still a little room – I can fit in the carpet from the guest bedroom, all the Roman window shades, and anything else I can think to fit in.

I’d say R is about 83% moved at this point. She still has two closets to go through, and the bookcases in the living room. We just ran out of time and energy! We agreed R would be back over on Friday during the second week of school. We’ll finish the bookcases then, or at least one of the two remaining closets.

We also have the entire garage left. R really wanted to move it, but realized she just wouldn’t have the space. She honestly considered just throwing everything into the dumpster, but we discussed the issues and decided it would be better for me to go through everything and hold a second garage sale once the weather improves.

We finished about noon. After R left I took a quick shower and went over to Mom’s. I probably should have stayed and cleaned the floors, but I just needed to escape for a while!

Lunch at La Madeline, then across the street to the upholstery fabric store Bocca Bargoons. The store is closing, and is having an 80% off sale. I found a beautifully subtle batik print to use for bedroom curtains. I’m thinking about going back tomorrow and finding something for the kitchen and living room curtains as well. I also need something for the chair pad on the Bertoia bench, and also for the Haywood-Wakefield sofa.

First, though, I need to make a “cash inventory.” I’m on a tight leash financially right now. I’ve paid all the bills this month, and I have $1K in the bank, but I’m waiting for a mortgage payment ($1K) to go through. I’m also waiting for a $500 travel advance check from the school to go through, so I can buy groceries. I’m living off the cash in my purse until that happens.

Anyway, after the fabric store we went to the Salvation Army, where I picked up a metal utility table, all the rage this season.

I’m about to paint some trim in the bedroom, then get some sleep. I have to meet a student at noon tomorrow, so I really want to get up around 10:00 AM and be at school by 11:00. To manage that I need to sleep.

Movers Tomorrow

Major procrastination the past few days, in form of family duties and R . This is my last day to work before the movers come. I need to get some sleep, then work on the floor tiles.

Painting has been going VERY slowly. I finally took out a brush tonight and did a little, but not I’ve run out of paint. Today I’ll order another quart of Stepping Stone at Home Depot and finish up the trouble spots, the bathroom, and the French doors. Then all I’ll have left is the green trim, which I can do on Friday or Saturday.

In a few minutes I’m putting the first coat of primer on the floor tiles. My fingers are crossed. This is certainly the most controversial part of my design plan, and I hope I can get it to work.

The dumpster arrived this afternoon. It’s a mammoth 12x10x10 foot monster. The guy positioned it as best he could, but we might have trouble moving around it. I honestly don’t foresee much trouble – most of R’s furniture is pretty small – but the possibility of trouble does exist.

(much, much later)

The tiles are wonderful. I’ve put primer on about six tiles, and actually painted a design in acrylic on one. Very nice. I like the way the slight metallic on the floor is reinforcing the aluminum wall. And the red and black checkerboard is fantastic with the green paint. I love it when the designs start to come together. I feel somehow vindicated, which is silly. I know I know how to design. Why is proof-of-concept so important to me?

No way I’ll be done with the room by Monday. I’m settling for getting all the painting finished at this point. Maybe in a few weeks I can have a tile-painting party or something.

I didn’t get much of anything done today, mainly because I have so much difficulty working during the day. Now that I finally feel awake and functional I can’t do much, because R is sleeping in the next room. She’s spending the night so she can wake up early and get some work one before our friends the movers arrive.

R. was very complimentary about the floor and the Bertioa bench. I also asked her for a “find” I made when cleaning her house. She had a print in the bathroom that I leaned against my bedroom wall for a second, and when I took a step back I realized it looked like I had painted the room around the print! It’s of a vase of red lilies. The vase has water in it (colored the same green as my walls), and is embellished with fish. The red/green colors are a perfect match for what I’m doing to the room. R and I couldn’t believe it. Of course she said I could have it.

It’s been very difficult to move R out. I keep finding things I like. It would be very easy to furnish my entire house from R’s castoffs, but then I wouldn’t have the fun of finding my own things.

Charlotte and Mom, bless them, have volunteered to come over and clean the house next week while I’m at school. They know how stressful the next three weeks will be, and how I won’t have time to breath let alone do anything with my house. Need to grocery shop this weekend, and possibly wash laundry for the next two weeks.

I think the thing that would most help me now would be to clean off my desk and the table behind it so I can FIND things instead of drifting through piles of crap. I think that’s what I’ll try to do tonight before going to sleep. I’ll at least do a little of it, since procrastinating yet again isn’t helping at all.

Turtle Speed

Procrastinating again. How did it get to be Sunday so quickly?

The painting isn’t done. I could have finished it last night, but I started a stupid book instead. I’ve decided to limit my reading to academic books to make sure I don’t get trapped by words again.

I’m going to east a quick breakfast, finish the damn paint, excepting the trim, and then go to Home Depot. If I can talk Mom or Dad into meeting me I’ll buy trim, if not I’ll play with my electricity problem and buy electric stuff. I’d love to get the trim finished tonight, but I don’t see how that’s possible. Think I’ll settle for the electric work, which I think I can do myself.

Chaos -- Scheduled

Oh damn. The new IKEA catalog is out. I’m trying to convince myself I’m too old for a loft bed.

I think I found a cabinet in their store that will work for the bookcases I want, a mere $59 per cabinet. I can do that! Maybe Mom and I can drive to Houston on Friday. I could buy the cases, a chair, and possibly a bed.

I’m going to FINISH the bedroom this week, except for all the accessories. The schedule:
All the painting tonight and tomorrow
Work on electricity tomorrow morning, buy and install new parts that day
Purchase and deal with the trim on Monday and Tuesday while simultaneously painting all my floor squares
Lay the floor on Wednesday
Varnish it late on Thursday
Drive to Houston on Friday.

Pizza is on its way now. After I’ve eaten I’ll start working like a mad thing.

(later)

I have more self-confidence now. I painted the trim on the window, a really bitchy task as the window has a TON of wood trim. Now that the trim is on the wall color doesn’t look quite as goulish. I think molding around the top of the room will finish the effect.

Dad fixed the Bertoia-like bench I bought in Austin, had it sandblasted, and then painted it. It’s lovely. I can’t believe how nice it is. He wouldn’t tell me the cost, so I’m sure it was over $200, which means I really paid too much for the bench. I love it, though. Mom is going to make a seat cushion out of the green chenille fabric I purchased when I bought the chair. I’ve been researching Bertioa, and I’m still not convinced the piece is a knockoff, although I can’t find a piece like it anywhere on the web. It doesn’t matter much anyway, Dad had to replace the trademark clamps when he fixed the bench. A serious collector wouldn’t look twice at it now.

Going to buy ice, a lime, and some Tostitos then come back and paint. When I’m finished I can have guacamole as a reward.

(Yes, I’ve given up on nonfat rewards.)

Good News

Can’t decide if I like the green or not. I’m painting the trim on a window this evening, and I’m planning to start on a few squares for my plywood tile floor, too. My original concept was to go with red and green, but now I’m afraid the floor will overpower the walls. I don’t know which way to jump with this.

R. moved out a truckload of books on Tuesday, and will be back for more books soon. She had an epiphany in the living room, though, and as a result I have wonderful news:

The movers will be here on August 12!

So excited about this. R finally decided she had to just move everything, and damn the garage sale. I can’t wait.

This next week I’m working on moving all of my belongings out of the front rooms and back into the bedrooms so nothing of mine gets moved in the move

I have a week off before the new semester starts. I know I should make calendars and be responsible, but I really want to do something restful, like go to the beach. Only I can’t go anywhere because of the move.

Maybe I need a series of non-fat rewards to get me through the days. And I don’t mean books, which are tedious and take too much time. I need a fun, quick way to relax so I can get back to the important stuff, like stripping the floors in the hallway. Maybe a movie a day, complete with popcorn. Or a visit to the stylist.

Painting Begins In Earnest

I’ve started slinging paint. The light green I’ve picked for the bedroom is nice and subdued by day, but at night, under lighting, it’s the same color as glow-in-the-dark plastic toy. Not the glowing effect, mind you, but the color of the toy under normal lighting. I’m not sure I can live with this.

Tomorrow R comes over to move out her books. My goal is to be in bed by 4:00 AM so I can get plenty of sleep. Lucky me.