Best Day Ever

Friday night was just terrible. I won't go into detail - but I will say that someone got very doom-and-gloom and then lashed out needlessly and pushed us all down in a hole. Anyway, it wasn't a good scene and by the time I got home, I just felt like sh*t.

Plus I had to break the news about the necessity of the washer/dryer... and man did I feel terrible about it. Just call me slave driver, cracking the whip on the sick kid.

But amazingly, Mike was in high spirits and feeling pretty good. He even offered to do everything that very second and started right away. My jaw just dropped and all I could manage to say was, "Ok!"

There was one small hole in the drywall, but rather than taping and patching and mudding and then waiting 24hrs for it to dry, Mike decided to use bondo. (An automotive body filler that hardens within minutes.) For a small patch, it was probably a pretty smart idea - though the smell of it was so strong I had to open all the windows and freeze the night away. I could even smell it a bit into the next day, but it disappated in the early afternoon.

Anyway, that hardened quickly and Mike had the closet painted before dinner. Then he pushed the washer into place and hooked it up. He even wanted to lift the dryer on top all by himself, but I stopped him there. (We wrangled our neighbor into helping lift it on Saturday morning and I successfully did a couple loads of laundry by Saturday's end!)


The next morning came and after a night of bad-Friday related dreams, I still felt off. And then there came the icing on the cake. So I was standing in the bedroom getting dressed. Our silver tabby was sitting on the bed next to my pillow when all of a sudden she just exploded - 1/2 her weight in projectile vomit - everywhere.

And I just lost it. Completely lost it. It's funny now just how upset I was. Mike cleaned it up for me and then I managed to calm down enough to go with him to the dump and then out for breakfast. I suppose I should thank the cat because it was good to get it all out... well, good for me. She, it turns out, had eaten a giant bug, which seems to have made her sick.

At breakfast we went back and forth on what to do - this was the first day in months that Mike had to spend with me and me only. No work to do - no neighbors to help - no nothing. But despite that fact, we were completely at a loss at what to do after breakfast. Finally we decided that we may as well just do the hardwood in the mudroom. Mike honestly said he wouldn't mind doing it - we already knew how to and it was an easy thing and a small room. I had no better suggestions and wanted it done, so who was I to argue?


All we had to do was hit home depot and rent the floor stapler - simple. Then we just got to work and soon enough we were back in the groove. I laid out the peices and cut them while Mike stapled. We had the whole job done within a few hours and were able to return the stapler within the 6hr minimum charge period... although they still charged me for the full 24hrs. God I was pissed but I didn't want to go back and argue at that point because we wanted to grab dinner before we went home.

The room looks amazing - so much warmer and larger. We had fun and we got something done by ourselves, just like the olden days. It felt great. Plus we had just enough hardwood, and even a little leftover.




We were going to purchase the closet doors as well, but they only had the 80" height and we needed the 78.5." Too bad - another time. Maybe this weekend?! Who knows - oh yeah, it's Friday. I keep forgetting.

My weekend goal is to put up my curtain rods and try to figure out that whole make-your-own-double-rod plan of mine. We'll see how that goes. Other than that, I'll be just doing some party related work - T-minus 7.5 days until the annual halloween party. I think for now I'll get a cheapo rug for the newly wooded mudroom (I may even steal the one from the guest room) and put the loveseat and coffee table from the guest room in there. That will complete mudroom party preparation with minimal budget requirements.

No Clothing!

It's Friday and we've officially been stepping on the new tiles since yesterday. It's great to finally be able to come in and out of the correct door, but now there's a new problem.

Mike hasn't been able to paint the closet and get the washer/dryer back in. He's come down with this terrible cold and should be home in bed right now. But no, he's been going to work for the past couple days despite feeling absolutely terrible.

Unfortunately, I'm leaving for a business trip to FL (woo-hoo warmness!) and I really need to do laundry before I go. Not mostly for me because all my warm weather gear is clean, but so Mike will have sweatshirts, socks, and underwear while I'm gone.

I'm so frustrated because I'd love to just paint the closet. I keep thinking, well what if I wear a respirator and open both windows and both doors... but I know that's just stupid. I can see myself with the doctor now...

Dr. - Well, these birth defects could have been caused by exposure to dangerous toxins!
Me - But I wore a respirator and opened both windows and both doors!
Dr. - Well, it just wasn't enough.

This is why all this stupid stuff just needs to get done ASAP - it all gets so frustrating when your body is so susceptible to, well, everything! Ah I remember the good ol days, vacuuming up bat sh*t and taking a hammer to horse hair plaster.... then there was the cutting of insulation to fit in the non-standard wall holes, burning of old wood in the back yard, taking down of the asbestos siding, digging out the basement, tarring the foundation, painting everything, demo-ing the old chimney, inhaling all that drywall dust.

When I start to think about it - nothing is really safe.

Anyway, I'll have to see how Mike feels tonight and tomorrow. I was hoping we could just chill out all tomorrow... but the whole laundry thing is just out of control at this point.

Summore Floor!

Dadoo came early early Saturday morning to start on the mudroom tile. Mike had borrowed a tile saw from a friend of ours, and my dad brought the rest of the tools and materials, so after moving the washer, dryer, and everything else, he could start right away. And he didn't want any help, which was fine because Mike had to head over to TJ's place anyway to finish up his driveway. Me? I set upon the task of getting out all the Halloween stuff out of the attic and pulling out a few select decorations.

Here's a shot from around the middle of the day. We went with three rows of tile by the door - so you can get a good couple steps in on tile. The laundry closet would be completely tiled. (On the right hand side of the picture - but you can't see inside the closet from this angle.

Because we're transitioning from tile to hardwood, we were very conscientious about the meeting point between wood and tile. We wanted to make it as smooth as possible without having to use a threshold piece. So my dad picked out a tile adhesive as opposed to the traditional grout, which can be very thick. And it seemed to work, the tiles laid pretty flat as far as I could tell.

Despite the small amount of tile area, it took all day to get it down - till about 5. We locked the french doors to prevent accidental entry through that door - before grouting between the tiles, the adhesive would have to dry all of Sunday and Monday at the least, especially in these colder temperatures. (No, I haven't turned on my heat yet - I'm really trying to grin and bear it until it's freezing.) But at least the pitter patter of cat feet weren't enough to upset the tile, because it's always impossible to keep those two away from the action.

(We call Kamikaze "The Inspector" because he always has to survey all home improvements carefully.)

Here's the inside of the closet, all completed. Notice how the tile comes to the center of the closet frame, this way, when the bi-fold doors are on, they will completely conceal the tile when closed. Coo, huh?

Also, and I hated to admit it with Mike being as busy as he is, but the closet needs a coat of paint before the washer and dryer go back in... and I can't paint right now. (Which is so frustrating because it would be so easy for me to paint some night this week!) Anyway, we have a limited time before our clean clothes run out, so unfortunately for him, it needs to be done ASAP. You can even see in the picture all the scuff marks and lint grossness from moving stuff around in there so much.

I can't even tell you how many times we've moved the washer and dryer since renovating this house. I bought the set before we even had walls up and they sat in the kitchen in their boxes for months. Then they were finally installed only to be removed several months later when we lifted the house and they sat in the kitchen for months again until we finally got a floor in the mudroom. Then we had to add another layer of subfloor - so the washer dryer needed to be moved in and out - again! And now we had to move them for the tile.... so you can see why we'd like not to have to move them again.

Here's the finished part at the door. I decided to carry the tile all the way to the left wall instead of cutting in with wood just because there's no room to cut in with wood on the other side of the french door - the closet comes right up to the edge of the door. So I figured it would have looked lopsided to only have it on one side. I was nervous about that decision, but now I'm really happy about it - I think it's going to look good.

And I love the tile itself. Mike told me initially that it looked like "old people tile." But when you put it up against the blue of the walls and the white of the doors - it really coordinates perfectly. Plus it will be a great contrast to the cherry hardwood.

Speaking of which:

Look how close the matchup is. The wood is still a little teeny bit taller, but may not be once it's nailed down. As is, I don't think we're going to need the threshold.

Mike and I went last night to buy the grout and caulk, which will be used at the junction of tile and wood and tile and french door flashing. (Allowing for expansion and contraction, whereas grout in these areas would crack.) My dad will be over this afternoon after work to grout. Then after another period of drying - we'll be ready to rock on paint and wood and everything else needed to finish up this room.

Speaking of which, we had an extra extra box of tile leftover on Saturday. (I kept one box of tile in case of broken tiles, and still had one leftover.) So I brought that back to Lowes on Sunday morning. And would you believe, lo and behold, Linens 'n Things was going out of business. I couldn't resist. I high tailed it over there and went straight to the curtain section - where I had been eyeing these cool string curtains for months. They were still in stock, so I grabbed a couple. Then I went to the hardware section and grabbed some rods. I would have gotten the other curtains I needed too, but they were already sold out of the size I needed in the color I wanted.

It was so exciting, and pathetic. But now I had my mudroom curtains and rods! One thing I couldn't find was the double rod kit that I needed... You know, allowing you to hang two sets of curtains on one window with a rod behind a rod. So while Mike and I were at home depot I picked up a couple of cheap brackets and rods for the back rods. I've got an idea of how I can make them work without having to buy a more expensive double rod kit. We'll see how that goes. I can't even attempt it until the tile is finished - the washer and dryer are currently in the way of the windows. But I couldn't resist, I was just so excited after getting the curtains I had been wanting - at a discount!

And the Halloween decorating? That was fun. I got all the lights on the farmer's porch and most of the ones around the living room, kitchen, and hallway. Plus some of my favorite pieces.

The Microwave

The Kitchen Window Sill

The Hallway (Looks like it's on fire!)