Decade

We have lived here for ten years. It doesn't feel that long, and it feels like we've always been here. Such amazing good fortune, such a marvelous decision. All our big decisions have proven to be good solid choices. Not perfect, perfection is neither possible nor desirable. But we have a good house, a good car, a good sofa, terrific cats, and we still adore each other after over 30 years together. 

I've been writing a page longhand in the Tibia notebook nearly every day.  Although it's been nice for my general state of mind, it feels like digging the moat - which has not started to fill up with creativity yet. Or at least not in terms of words enough to write here regularly. 

There is time. However rapidly it whizzes by. 

Happy Houseaversary, House!

Yellows

Ok, now I'm kinda wishing I hadn't put on the yellow paint. Because it now feels like an extra layer I'll have to strip off...

Still, I love seeing the wood.

Can't find a photo of before, but this shows all the black paint in the hallway.

Door

Clear 100°F. 38°C

Humidity 14%
Wind Speed N 9 MPH
Barometer 30.01 in (1016.26 mb)
Dewpoint 43°F (6°C)
Visibility 9.00 mi
Heat Index 96°F (36°C)
Last update 19 Aug 03:55 PM MDT


I painted the inside bathroom door frame, because the hideous grey was getting to me. The hall was not the last of it.  The door has been tapping me on the shoulder, after waiting patiently so long, saying "me too?"  So, I put the paper screen in front of the door, because we are not the type to use a to use a toilet with no door given half a chance.  I originally planned to pin up fabric, but this seemed a more workable solution. 

And beautiful one side, grey inside door was lifted off hinges and carried outside to be cleaned of ancient paint.  Despite the forecast.  This morning, it wasn't too bad, except that I wore long pants and sleeves, mask, hat, gloves and safety glasses. Gave up at 1100.  We got sandpaper, and tomorrow will clear off the stubborn stuff. 

We chatted with Oregon and California friends last night. In the middle of it, the cats were having a wrestle by the screen, it went down, they scampered, there were entertaining sounds for our friends. 

Sleepy

Eleanor crashed out in the garden, among the bricks and catnip. 

Got called off twice this week, and I don't really mind. Patched some of the concrete near the north foundation. It's sort of fun, really. Mudding.

Zeppo has everything he needs here, it was the first place he found to hide. He's taken up the spot again. We've been doing this puzzle, too. Not as hot this week, but enough to mostly stay inside.

Kibosh

I was terrified of piranhas as a kid. Recurring nightmares of my toes in shallow water, bitten off by fish, specifically piranhas. Turns out, I need not have worried.

Got to work this morning, and the full, four room schedule, 16-20 cases, had evaporated to two cases total. Our disinfecting wipes were stolen over the weekend. So, to reserve supplies, only urgent cases will be done. Fractures, injuries that would inflict lasting damage or pain, that sort of thing. I checked my accrued time off, and should be fine.




So, got home, ate my lunch, and decided to do the paint wash on the red (before us painted brick), like I wanted to do last fall. My wrist snapping put the kibosh on that plan. Today, I got on it. I'm pleased, but it's very different, and I have to get used to it. It's not completed, I've learned when to quit for the day. Need to trim back the bush before I do the last corner.


I find myself in semi-permanent waiting for trauma case mode. A kind of prep-and-be-still, open a fresh empty page, breathe quietly. In Basic, the drill sergeants hammered into us not to anticipate. Wait for the order, specifically in drill, react when 'forward march' is given, and not before. I wait for green lights with the same sense of mind. Or for the patient to roll in, or the surgeon to answer the question I asked an hour before. Not knowing what my role will be in the current events, only that I will be doing something, has me feeling blank.

Late

Nine days after Housiversary. It's been eight years. This is going to get harder as the years go on. I missed it completely this year, and I feel a bit bad.

House is still beloved.

Always.

Clutter

Found the real estate photos for House. It's changed a bit. More clutter, but a lot less ikkeah.

Gold

Last week, still grey. But a useful photo, so Dylan could re-set his set-up.



The first week in the House, when de-Ikkea-ing.








Still have to de-grey the hall, but it'll happen.



It's odd, this house seems to want different colors than I ever would have imagined surrounded by. My mother had dark green carpets and either pale green or blue walls. I do love blues and purples. But this house was greens and reds, and now greens and oranges and pinks. Maybe my heart is opened up to more color. I seem to crave more color, especially after the grey and dull blues of the precious owners. It's not just that I'm thoroughly sick of eggshell walls and beige carpets of all our apartments, although that's certainly part of it. The colors here before were painfully tasteful, overly designer-y, too dark and muddy for the space. House seems to come alive with more intense, clear and saturated colors. I have hesitated every time, as though to ask "are you sure?" And every time, I proceed, and feel the light enter joyfully.

Feo

Yup, more ugly paint on the basement, where it belongs. Lighter though, so I rolled a bit on the darker ugly color. Another can of paint I can dry out and throw in the trash. And not have to take to the dump.

Not that I'm driving anywhere today.

The bathroom faucet pulled apart a bit, got it back together. Afraid that will need replacing as well. Not surprising, it's always been a bit iffy, and after seven years, it's not any better.

Went to vacuum, and that was clogged. Cleaned it out, after dismantling the vacuum, drying it now. At least that won't need replacing.

Faucet

I've been worried about Moby. He's been stuck to the heating pad all week, not eating much, slow bowels, looking old and not interested in going outside. Today, he clearly wanted out, ate grass, covered a fair amount of area for him these days, and now sitting close to Eleanor. It's not that cold out, but the wind cuts through, dew point of 29˚F, and he still stayed out a good while. For him, these days. He's ok, for now. We watch, and treasure every day with him.

More basement progress, although I promised no more painting this weekend. The latex is not good for my lungs, as I have a mild allergy. As many in my line of work do. I figure I have four weeks to clear the basement, paint, sort, and empty the Combo. Calling it that now. The spare, back, work, guest, Room. Combination. Combo.



Yeah, kinda like that.



We got our new kitchen faucet, since the old one is leaky and becoming non-functional. The handyman will fit us in when he can, which works for us. He's been good to us, and we can wait. Once we know when, I'll clear the counters and scrape the silicone from around the sink. It's a bit stylish, mostly it just does everything we want, and it's a better, durable, brand. Handyman warned us against the cheaper ones, so we listen. An extra up front cost of less than $100 spread out over 20-30 years... Yeah, getting over poor people habits. We're hardly rich, but we have enough to get more durable stuff that will wind up costing less. I still feel slightly guilty about this.

Looks like this.



We are NOT installing the soap dispenser, that's just silly.

Corner

Half dozen cans of paint down, a half dozen or so to go.



Some already essentially empty, dried to a solid. Some nearly full, all hideous colors. I splashed down the first, just for the fun of it. Only got a little on my face. They've worried me from the first, seven years ago. I had to take a car full of pesticides out to the dump the first few months, which was unpleasant enough. No room for all the paint cans left behind. Neither the sort of thing ideally left in large amounts sitting around the house.

I have used some of it outside, on the garage.

The basement has always been a mess, from the first broken drain and faulty water valve, absent workable hookups for laundry, mice, asbestos tape, half working lights, leftover crap, and our own stuff with nowhere else to be. Our plan to make a functional workspace in the back room upstairs, means we need a place to shift everything out, so I can cover the ubiquitous dark paint, and we can organize properly. The basement is not a clean space, the shelf surface is largely dirt, and the concrete hardly clean. It obviously has some much older, light colored paint, in places.


So, I'm using up the leftovers, of whatever colors, as sealant. And a good time to use it up, dry out the remnants, and clear out the old cans. Finally. Some of the cans have dates on the receipts, 2007. Not sure if that was Previous Owners, or the owners they bought from, who chose all the ugly, painfully tasteful, dark designer hues. POs definitely bought at the top of the market at a high interest rate, though. Given how much ikkea-crap they inflicted on our Beloved Old Girl, I'm not feeling sorry for them.

Paint is going to take a long time to dry, which is fine. I'm not in a hurry.

Painting my way OUT of a corner.

Drowsy

A long sleep, luxuriating in drowsy. A five day respite from all the running.

We cleaned the music room, took up the green, yardsale rag rug that has lain there for perhaps five years. Six? Got it for $20, maybe less, we remember it differently. Vacuumed it, and around it, and considered shifting floor coverings about. Still not settled. But I made the executive decision that I knew Dylan would not like, to try it in the dining room. Not forever, but as an experiment.



He sort of likes it now, although we may replace it later.

Shallot sprouting.



Moby's stairway to his waterkettle.



The grey rug is for taking the piss.





Getting the balance between the beauty of wood floors and the warmth of rugs, echoes and dust and catfur everywhere, the cost of decent rugs, and Moby's propensity for using non-wool ones as urinals, is tricky. We are looking at vinyl floorcloths, which are reasonable in the smaller sizes, but get prohibitive as they get larger.



At any rate, much of the dustfur is now discarded.


Moving very slowly this morning. In no hurry to end my break.

Snazzy

Hummingbird Trumpets blooming madly.



She’s feeling snazzy today.




Found a neighbor with lots of restoration and handyman experience. He did this in 3 days, scraped, primed and painted. Responded, showed up, did the job well, asked a fair price. We have a handyman!

Angles

Changes

Last night, we didn't feel the need to put on all the lights. The apricot tinged white felt more like cleaning the wall than changing the color.

Off to physical therappy in a couple of hours. All the painting may not have been especially wise, considering.