We did a lot of fiddly work yesterday but you can't tell. Nevertheless, things are coming along and the worst of the crappy work for the renos is over with. Yesterday was all the tub and shower plumbing hookups and copper pipe work to get the new faucet and shower assembly feeds in where they need to be and all the drains for the tub hooked into the system. After much cursing and swearing on my Dad's part it is all done and all leaks have been tended to. I spent the day priming and painting the vanity. It looks great. One more coat of paint and it's done. I've also started patching the hole in the bedroom wall.
We also picked up the countertop for the vanity so I hope that is almost the last of our purchases. It seems like we've been to buy stuff every day 3 or 4 times. Lots of little things but they all add up. Like 12 tubes of tub surround adhesive for instance...sheesh. The original countertop we'd picked out at Rona a few days ago that couldn't be gotten to at that time because of renovations in the store wasn't there when we went back, even though the online system said they had them. Grrr. We panicked a bit thinking we'd have no countertop since they take 2 weeks to order in. The thought of this chaos going on indefinitely was not a good one...apparently Rona's online inventory is not to be trusted - the guy who tried to help us find it said he wouldn't rely on it. But in the end we just went to Home Depot instead. The top we ended up with from there that they had in stock was different and not exactly what we wanted (and of course about $20 more) but it is alright should look nice with everything, so we grabbed it and just decided it would be good enough. Other than a few bits of ABS pipe for the sink drain and some vanity handles I don't think we need to buy anything else...I hope I hope...
We went to visit my brother to have a shower last night. It felt good :) Hopefully after today and maybe tomorrow we'll at least be able to bathe at our place...shower by the weekend sometime again. That will be nice. I haven't worked out since monday since there's no way to rinse off and I've been up late working on things so it was better to sleep than come in to work and use the gym here...looking forward to getting back to some sweat soon. I want a few workouts in and at least one proper bath before my surgery.
On the crafty front my flapper dress looks AMAZING. I found some red silk for J and made him a cravat tie as well to go with his red and black vest so we should be quite styley for the party friday night. I've sewn on a few rows of white 5 inch fringe and just need to sew on the stripe of snazzy trim ribbon at the top of the fringe for a low waistline. I have enough sparkley trim left to add some feathers to for a headpiece, and also have a long length of silver beads to make a necklace so I'm pleased at how good this looks for so little work. Since we will definitely not be done the bathroom by friday I'm bussing back to help Dad Saturday morning and Dad will meet me at the bus depot and we can keep working together for the rest of the weekend. It's looking like it'll be monday or tuesday before we're done all this...but the end is in sight!
Today I have my preop checkup. Slowly but surely things are coming along.
Courage.
It's working!
I have a bathtub!
I also have a hole in my bedroom wall!
But I don't care because I have a bathtub!
Lots of work to do still but hot damn. A proper bathtub. A WHITE bathtub.
Giggedy.
I also have a hole in my bedroom wall!
But I don't care because I have a bathtub!
Lots of work to do still but hot damn. A proper bathtub. A WHITE bathtub.
Giggedy.
Painting ceilings is silly
So. Tired.
But look - no more pink!!!
After work I ran a bunch of errands...found a little shift dress to sew fringe on for a costume and picked up some dark paint for the vanity and ceiling paint. Then I came home and made an oreo cheesecake to take in to work today before I got down to some reno work.
After I got home I had to scrape and patch the bathroom ceiling. Our roof used to leak so there were bubbled spots all over the ceiling that I'd been ignoring for a long time that had to be fixed. I got up at 3:30 and sanded and put on a coat of paint and went back to bed. I put on a second coat when I got up again at 6:30 to come to work. The bathroom ceiling is done. Dad has the floor in now and hopes to get the tub in today. I hate painting ceilings and wanted to get it done before the tub was in because it's just a lot simpler that way.
I got a ride to work and didn't workout but today should be a better day I think. I hope my Dad doesn't go crazy putting in the tub. I gotta run. Early meeting.
Later taters.
But look - no more pink!!!
After work I ran a bunch of errands...found a little shift dress to sew fringe on for a costume and picked up some dark paint for the vanity and ceiling paint. Then I came home and made an oreo cheesecake to take in to work today before I got down to some reno work.
After I got home I had to scrape and patch the bathroom ceiling. Our roof used to leak so there were bubbled spots all over the ceiling that I'd been ignoring for a long time that had to be fixed. I got up at 3:30 and sanded and put on a coat of paint and went back to bed. I put on a second coat when I got up again at 6:30 to come to work. The bathroom ceiling is done. Dad has the floor in now and hopes to get the tub in today. I hate painting ceilings and wanted to get it done before the tub was in because it's just a lot simpler that way.
I got a ride to work and didn't workout but today should be a better day I think. I hope my Dad doesn't go crazy putting in the tub. I gotta run. Early meeting.
Later taters.
Just a simple job they said. It'll be easy they said...
What a long weekend. As usual, anything involving our house was not as simple as it was supposed to be. Saturday we wanted to replace the floor and toilet in the downstairs half bath so we'd have a functional bathroom to use while we ripped apart upstairs. It started out OK. We pulled out the old blue toilet and vanity and pulled up the floor and the new floor went down easy peasey. Then when we went to put the vanity back the sink ended up being rusted out almost completely. The drain actually moved around in my hand...it was a wonder it hadn't leaked previously. So we took off the faucet...which, it turns out, wasn't actually installed with a gasket, just a bunch of putty (wtf?) so we couldn't reuse it either. AND the sink was old and blue so it was too big compared to any sink we could find in town to replace it SO we also needed a new TOP for the vanity too. Ugh. Luckily we had some plywood and left over arborite from a few years ago when we did the kitchen counters so Dad and I were able to build a new countertop and face the front of it with an oak strip. Then a friend of mine happened to have a spare sink in her basement from a reno that ended up going another way - she joked to me on friday that I could have it if I wanted, but I didn't want to bother with the sink so I'd refused....but saturday I called her and went over to pick it up so we had a sink to install. Then we harvested the older taps from the upstairs bathroom and put it all together and back into place. It only cost about $30 in materials instead of a few hundred, which I'm glad for, but what a pain in the ass. After all that we could finally we put in the new toilet. At the end of yesterday we fought with installing the new sink because the piping just wouldn't line up for some stupid reason....so this morning Dad is going to finish the sink drain and then downstairs is done done. So, yeah, we accidentally ended up with a totally new bathroom down there. I'm not gonna lie - it looks great, but it put us a bit behind a day in the main bathroom. With all the stuff we did we went to Home Depot 4 times and Rona 3 times on the weekend.
Upstairs, while we had the water off for the stuff downstairs, we ripped out the old pink toilet and got the old sink and vanity out after we harvested the faucet for downstairs. The vanity was held in place by 3 inch nails. What a PITA to get it out. The old fittings and valves (of course) all leaked so we had to replace all 6 shut off valves for both toilets and sinks with new ones. BUT at the end of the day now the upstairs is ready for some more serious renos today. Dad is hoping he can get the old tub and surround out today and the floor should come up easily so we can work on getting the new stuff in. Hopefully that will go more smoothly. I feel bad that I work today and tomorrow so Dad and J are on their own today. I hope it goes OK for them. If we can just get the tub in the rest should be pretty simple.
Tonight when I get home from work I need to start painting the bathroom ceiling and prime the vanity Dad built. I'm a little annoyed at the vanity I must say. Problem is Dad built it for us so it's free...but it's totally not what I like at all (and not what I'd asked for) with big molded trim around the doors and drawers. I don't want to seem ungrateful about it so I'm just shutting up and painting it and I hope it isn't too annoying. I suppose I can take in the drawers and doors eventually and get Dad to reface them if they drive me batty after some time, but it was a bit of a disappointment... I don't want to complain to Dad because we honestly couldn't have done this without him, especially with all the "surprises" we've had. I'm learning how to do a lot and worked with Dad all weekend.
J worked all day saturday so he was away while Dad and I worked on the house and sunday he was pretty tired since he worked until 5 AM. My brother's wife in all her annoying glory thought that last night would be a perfect time to get together with all of us at their place for supper...and Oh could I bring a salad too? Cuz I'm not actually DOING anything all weekend or anything. Ugh. Oh well supper was good, although I was exhausted by the time it was all done.
This week is bathroom renos plus I have to try and find time to sew some costumes for J and I to go to 1920's them party in Regina on friday. J really wants to go and it would really hurt his feeling if I don't go and he has a ride down there with people who want to stay all weekend...which I can't if the bathroom isn't done (how rude would that be to just leave Dad to himself all weekend?) so I am trying to figure out how to go down and then get back for the rest of the weekend to get some work done in the bathroom. The bus maybe? I'm hoping we get most of things done and the bus back would work...that would make it possible and less rude. Plus the people we'd be going down with are really great and I'd like to get to know them better...and I feel bad just sending J out on his own all the time. It's too complicated. It had to happen right in the middle of everything...but I'd like to go to a party where J doesn't work so I could actually hang out with him for a change. I just want simple please and for J to work out the details (and a beer). I'll make us look good. Hopefully.
So in the end, I am stressed...and if I'm honest more that a bit resentful. J is feeling a bit neglected and I am overworked. BUT I will just try to to enjoy this process and get everything done but I have a feeling this week is gonna be long and stressful and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm feeling like I'm doing too much and that anxiety I've been having isn't helping...
Deep breaths. Chill out Geo. Just chill out.
Upstairs, while we had the water off for the stuff downstairs, we ripped out the old pink toilet and got the old sink and vanity out after we harvested the faucet for downstairs. The vanity was held in place by 3 inch nails. What a PITA to get it out. The old fittings and valves (of course) all leaked so we had to replace all 6 shut off valves for both toilets and sinks with new ones. BUT at the end of the day now the upstairs is ready for some more serious renos today. Dad is hoping he can get the old tub and surround out today and the floor should come up easily so we can work on getting the new stuff in. Hopefully that will go more smoothly. I feel bad that I work today and tomorrow so Dad and J are on their own today. I hope it goes OK for them. If we can just get the tub in the rest should be pretty simple.
Tonight when I get home from work I need to start painting the bathroom ceiling and prime the vanity Dad built. I'm a little annoyed at the vanity I must say. Problem is Dad built it for us so it's free...but it's totally not what I like at all (and not what I'd asked for) with big molded trim around the doors and drawers. I don't want to seem ungrateful about it so I'm just shutting up and painting it and I hope it isn't too annoying. I suppose I can take in the drawers and doors eventually and get Dad to reface them if they drive me batty after some time, but it was a bit of a disappointment... I don't want to complain to Dad because we honestly couldn't have done this without him, especially with all the "surprises" we've had. I'm learning how to do a lot and worked with Dad all weekend.
J worked all day saturday so he was away while Dad and I worked on the house and sunday he was pretty tired since he worked until 5 AM. My brother's wife in all her annoying glory thought that last night would be a perfect time to get together with all of us at their place for supper...and Oh could I bring a salad too? Cuz I'm not actually DOING anything all weekend or anything. Ugh. Oh well supper was good, although I was exhausted by the time it was all done.
This week is bathroom renos plus I have to try and find time to sew some costumes for J and I to go to 1920's them party in Regina on friday. J really wants to go and it would really hurt his feeling if I don't go and he has a ride down there with people who want to stay all weekend...which I can't if the bathroom isn't done (how rude would that be to just leave Dad to himself all weekend?) so I am trying to figure out how to go down and then get back for the rest of the weekend to get some work done in the bathroom. The bus maybe? I'm hoping we get most of things done and the bus back would work...that would make it possible and less rude. Plus the people we'd be going down with are really great and I'd like to get to know them better...and I feel bad just sending J out on his own all the time. It's too complicated. It had to happen right in the middle of everything...but I'd like to go to a party where J doesn't work so I could actually hang out with him for a change. I just want simple please and for J to work out the details (and a beer). I'll make us look good. Hopefully.
So in the end, I am stressed...and if I'm honest more that a bit resentful. J is feeling a bit neglected and I am overworked. BUT I will just try to to enjoy this process and get everything done but I have a feeling this week is gonna be long and stressful and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm feeling like I'm doing too much and that anxiety I've been having isn't helping...
Deep breaths. Chill out Geo. Just chill out.
Adulting
Good morning! It's friday. Thank frog. SO glad the weekend is here.
I've done my morning workout and am feeling confident and pretty in a new (to me) pair of skinny jeans and a short belted dress and boots. It's gonna be a good day. I have a few meetings and it's always nice to go into them feeling confident...I can definitely adult today :)
I'm a bit tired from a long day yesterday but it was a good one. I finished the general cleaning around the house and did some laundry to get the guest room ready for Dad today. I also cleared out the cabinets in the bathroom so it's nearly ready to go for renos. All that is left is the stuff we actually are still using - I can throw that in a box in a few minutes. I made a run to pick up painting supplies and stopped in at Value Village - came home with a few pairs of skinny jeans, 2 long shirt/dresses to go with them and a pair of earrings...all for $33. I love getting jeans there...they're preshrunk and usually <$10 a pair. :) I even made it to the brew store and picked up some Starsan sterilizer concentrate, more corks and wine clarifier for bottling my crabapple wine along with some other random stuff I'll need to start my cherry wine up. Not sure when that'll be but since I was there and I had some birthday $$ I figured what the hell. They had a nice Gewurztraminer kit there I was tempted by but I think I'll leave that until January when I'll have less going on and will likely be able to do all the bottling and whatnot.
I am SO excited to start everything in the house with Dad. Tonight he'll get here and we'll unload all his tools and visit and have a nice supper and plan our destruction for the next while.
Meep!!! :D
I've done my morning workout and am feeling confident and pretty in a new (to me) pair of skinny jeans and a short belted dress and boots. It's gonna be a good day. I have a few meetings and it's always nice to go into them feeling confident...I can definitely adult today :)
I'm a bit tired from a long day yesterday but it was a good one. I finished the general cleaning around the house and did some laundry to get the guest room ready for Dad today. I also cleared out the cabinets in the bathroom so it's nearly ready to go for renos. All that is left is the stuff we actually are still using - I can throw that in a box in a few minutes. I made a run to pick up painting supplies and stopped in at Value Village - came home with a few pairs of skinny jeans, 2 long shirt/dresses to go with them and a pair of earrings...all for $33. I love getting jeans there...they're preshrunk and usually <$10 a pair. :) I even made it to the brew store and picked up some Starsan sterilizer concentrate, more corks and wine clarifier for bottling my crabapple wine along with some other random stuff I'll need to start my cherry wine up. Not sure when that'll be but since I was there and I had some birthday $$ I figured what the hell. They had a nice Gewurztraminer kit there I was tempted by but I think I'll leave that until January when I'll have less going on and will likely be able to do all the bottling and whatnot.
I am SO excited to start everything in the house with Dad. Tonight he'll get here and we'll unload all his tools and visit and have a nice supper and plan our destruction for the next while.
The great purge of 2015
Did my Insanity workout again this morning. Feel really good. It's a cold misty day, but I think it's gonna be a good one. I have one last day to tidy up before my Dad comes to visit for a few weeks to help us reno the bathroom. I'm so excited about that.
I'm also excited about what J's been doing in the house all week. He was determined to organize the tool room in the basement and pretty much the entire lower level. He's purged an insane amount of junk from the house, as well as organizing the camp gear, tools and other things down there. There are areas down there that have been full of random junk that accumulated slowly for YEARS (I'm not joking...) and stuff was all over the place after a minor basement flood years ago and now they're clear AND what is left is organized. It's incredible. We recycled a crazy amount of boxes. There is still a lot of organizing to do in other rooms but it sure is inspiring to see a huge difference in there. There is space for Dad to work now, we can get at all our tools and the workbench is free to use. I'm no longer embarrassed at how unorganized it was down there. The positive physical reaction I have when I enter that space now is so refreshing :) I kept going down there and just grinning last night. It's good to purge. I want to do other spaces too.
We also went out and found the bathroom flooring yesterday along with 2 handles for the vanity in record time. I was prepared for a long frustrating consumer experience but we lucked out. First place we went to was a local shop and we found some awesome vinyl tile that requires no grout or adhesive - it just clicks together with a rubber mallet and forms a waterproof floor. It's easy to cut and should be super simple to put down - crazy easy to install. We both looked at it and said "yup I like that" (kinda rare). It was even on sale plus no a tax incentive this month! It is a warm darker grey marble sort of pattern that will work in both bathrooms. We are ready to reno!
Tonight I have some general house tidying to do and I need to run around to pick up some stuff so I can bottle my crabapple wine before my surgery. I also have a bunch of junk to leave at Value Village from the great purge. J has an overnight job out of town today so I'm gonna relax and enjoy some me time.
I hope you're having a good week too :)
I'm also excited about what J's been doing in the house all week. He was determined to organize the tool room in the basement and pretty much the entire lower level. He's purged an insane amount of junk from the house, as well as organizing the camp gear, tools and other things down there. There are areas down there that have been full of random junk that accumulated slowly for YEARS (I'm not joking...) and stuff was all over the place after a minor basement flood years ago and now they're clear AND what is left is organized. It's incredible. We recycled a crazy amount of boxes. There is still a lot of organizing to do in other rooms but it sure is inspiring to see a huge difference in there. There is space for Dad to work now, we can get at all our tools and the workbench is free to use. I'm no longer embarrassed at how unorganized it was down there. The positive physical reaction I have when I enter that space now is so refreshing :) I kept going down there and just grinning last night. It's good to purge. I want to do other spaces too.
We also went out and found the bathroom flooring yesterday along with 2 handles for the vanity in record time. I was prepared for a long frustrating consumer experience but we lucked out. First place we went to was a local shop and we found some awesome vinyl tile that requires no grout or adhesive - it just clicks together with a rubber mallet and forms a waterproof floor. It's easy to cut and should be super simple to put down - crazy easy to install. We both looked at it and said "yup I like that" (kinda rare). It was even on sale plus no a tax incentive this month! It is a warm darker grey marble sort of pattern that will work in both bathrooms. We are ready to reno!
Tonight I have some general house tidying to do and I need to run around to pick up some stuff so I can bottle my crabapple wine before my surgery. I also have a bunch of junk to leave at Value Village from the great purge. J has an overnight job out of town today so I'm gonna relax and enjoy some me time.
I hope you're having a good week too :)
Hump day
Done the Insanity workout for the day. I can do more today. It felt good. This morning was cool but beautiful. It was a nice walk to work along the river. It's pretty dark now in the mornings and the sun comes up when I'm almost at work. It's been cloudy lately so the sky just sort of lightens aup and glows and the sunlight sort of sneaks up on you until you realise it's daytime.I just drank my tea and listened to the Vinyl Cafe podcast and enjoyed it all. Any day now the snow could come so I'm walking every day I can.
Today after work we're going to find some flooring for the bathroom. Ooh aah. Dad comes in 2 days. Then we start. Meep. J is working desperately to organize our basement and all our tools and storage so that we can easily access what we need to work...we're decluttering a bit and there is much more to do, but it really has made a huge difference. Give that man caffeine and he can really go :) He has an overnight job tomorrow so I'll have to take over and do some cleaning then too.
Hope you're all doing well on this hump day. So far so good! Here we go again! :)
Here's a little hump day earworm for you to get your day started, with muppets to make it even better.
You're welcome ;)
Today after work we're going to find some flooring for the bathroom. Ooh aah. Dad comes in 2 days. Then we start. Meep. J is working desperately to organize our basement and all our tools and storage so that we can easily access what we need to work...we're decluttering a bit and there is much more to do, but it really has made a huge difference. Give that man caffeine and he can really go :) He has an overnight job tomorrow so I'll have to take over and do some cleaning then too.
Hope you're all doing well on this hump day. So far so good! Here we go again! :)
Here's a little hump day earworm for you to get your day started, with muppets to make it even better.
You're welcome ;)
Crimson Peak
Last night I went out with Heather and Lisa for our spooky halloween movie just a bit late -Crimson Peak. Creepy ghosts and a very good period piece - the costumes and sets were phenomenal. Not the best most original story ever, but hey...it was spooky. Like a classic ghost murder story from that time period and the ghosts were very creepy. (and it had Tom Hiddleston's bum in it, so hey...)
This morning was another round of the core cardio and balance workout for the week between the months of Insanity. Done son.
Must dash. Lots to do. Just popping in to log my workout. Later taters...
This morning was another round of the core cardio and balance workout for the week between the months of Insanity. Done son.
Must dash. Lots to do. Just popping in to log my workout. Later taters...
Happy birthday to me
What a great weekend.
Friday was fun. Woke up on my birthday to workout and then we headed to Edmonton. We managed to have time to pick up some lights for J and also head through Ikea (!!!) and get some things for the bathroom renos and visit a friend for an hour so J could help him with some lighting tech stuff. We managed to get a nice visit in with Troy and Cindi and her kids and the Welcome to Nightvale live show was great. J dressed as a hooded figure and there were a lot of people in costume. There was a man in the tan jacket, a number of Carlos's and Joseph Finks and a few hooded figures. It was a great experience...I love to support live theater like this. If they ever come back we'll definitely try and come again. We even got in more visiting and an awesome breakfast with Troy and Cindi before we had to head back home.
J was doing lasers at a great 2 room Halloween party. He kicked ass and impressed some people who will likely be able to get him more gigs which is great. I got in free and pulled out my Leela costume I've had around for a while but never worn. Comfiest costume ever! I had a lot of fun. I love Halloween and costume parties....mind you I don't really need any excuse to wear a costume :)
Yesterday was a lazy day. A free extra day was what if felt like...we slept in and made luxurious breakfast. I did a little painting but other than that we relaxed together, ordered in Thai food and dug out our old 2 person bean bag chair from storage to snuggled up to watch a few movies. I put on my bat onesie and made a Desert Pear Cosmopolitans...I finally picked up the last ingredient (Absolut Pear) when we were in Edmonton. It was the signature drink at the resort I was at in Arizona and I pestered the bartender to give me the recipe. We also drank the last bottle of apple malomel I made a few years ago and it was even better with age... I feel refreshed and happy about a great birthday weekend.
This week in Insanity is the recovery week before month 2 starts. There's a Cardio Recovery workout to do every day all week. It's not too hard...but I think I'm gonna get bored before the end of the week...maybe bust out for a run half way through to break it up. We'll see. I skipped my saturday workout because we were out and about so maybe I can do whatever that was supposed ot be on wednesday or something. Who knows. I'm working to find balance...I was able to rock skinny jeans for my Leela costume on saturday so I know I'm doing alright whatever I'm doing. Consistency and getting back to it...that's the key. A few days of indulgence here and there just make life more fun :)
Friday was fun. Woke up on my birthday to workout and then we headed to Edmonton. We managed to have time to pick up some lights for J and also head through Ikea (!!!) and get some things for the bathroom renos and visit a friend for an hour so J could help him with some lighting tech stuff. We managed to get a nice visit in with Troy and Cindi and her kids and the Welcome to Nightvale live show was great. J dressed as a hooded figure and there were a lot of people in costume. There was a man in the tan jacket, a number of Carlos's and Joseph Finks and a few hooded figures. It was a great experience...I love to support live theater like this. If they ever come back we'll definitely try and come again. We even got in more visiting and an awesome breakfast with Troy and Cindi before we had to head back home.
Yesterday was a lazy day. A free extra day was what if felt like...we slept in and made luxurious breakfast. I did a little painting but other than that we relaxed together, ordered in Thai food and dug out our old 2 person bean bag chair from storage to snuggled up to watch a few movies. I put on my bat onesie and made a Desert Pear Cosmopolitans...I finally picked up the last ingredient (Absolut Pear) when we were in Edmonton. It was the signature drink at the resort I was at in Arizona and I pestered the bartender to give me the recipe. We also drank the last bottle of apple malomel I made a few years ago and it was even better with age... I feel refreshed and happy about a great birthday weekend.
This week in Insanity is the recovery week before month 2 starts. There's a Cardio Recovery workout to do every day all week. It's not too hard...but I think I'm gonna get bored before the end of the week...maybe bust out for a run half way through to break it up. We'll see. I skipped my saturday workout because we were out and about so maybe I can do whatever that was supposed ot be on wednesday or something. Who knows. I'm working to find balance...I was able to rock skinny jeans for my Leela costume on saturday so I know I'm doing alright whatever I'm doing. Consistency and getting back to it...that's the key. A few days of indulgence here and there just make life more fun :)
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