Upside Down House

I'm dealing this week with the aftermath of one of Lynda's brainstorms. Which isn't entirely a bad thing; it's just more to do within an already busy schedule.

Lynda's brother had a quantity of hardwood for sale at a great price and he also has time off work in which to install it. Bingo - the project is on. Our neighbour happened to be outside when Lynda got home and they got talking about it. He is a recently retired GM guy who has always had a second career going as a painter; he comes in, has a look around and offers her a great price to finish the room. Saves us the trouble and some money. He has an electrician friend who will install a crossbar in the attic for a fan to hang from; extend an electrical line to the centre of the ceiling and put up a fan. Beautiful.

So yesterday, out of the blue, was spent clearing one of the bedrooms and finding a spot for all the contents. Not an easy task when you don't have a great deal of space to work with. Tearing up carpet and carting it outside. Today I get to pull all the staples left from the carpet and sweep and vacuum all the fine gritty dirt that had sifted through the carpet over the years.

There has been a problem developing over at the townhouse. Stepson #3 noticed an audible noise and heat coming from the electrical panel in the basement. I had my old friend and neighbour Terry in to have a look - he's a licenced electrician. We've arranged for him to replace it ASAP because the panel has run well beyond it's expected lifespan. Terry has killed a couple of circuits to reduce the load and keep it safe until he can get to it. It better be soon cuz SS#3 is nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.

I've spent a couple of hours at Mom's each day waiting for a contractor to show up and cost a job she wants done. So far, three no shows in a row. It's been nice having a chance to visit with the old doll though.

That is how my week off is shaping up; nothing exciting but a little busier than I had hoped. Maybe I can squeeze in a doctor's appointment to see about this lingering cough.

Reno update

For anyone who happens to care - the kitchen is coming together at last. The floor is complete; the painting done except a few touch-ups. It's been a trial because with the layout of this house, the kitchen really is the heart of things. You enter the house and are immediately in the kitchen; you get into the living room thru either of two doors from, you guessed it, the kitchen. Off the kitchen into a hall to the two mainfloor bedrooms and the stairwell leading to the basement. You literally can't get anywhere except by walking through it.

So we've had a large pantry, refrigerator and the stove all hunkered down in the living room taking up most of the space - looming over us as we try to watch TV. Poor Lynda has consumed more than a few bottles of wine and a couple of rum through this endevour. I'm still sober but sometimes wonder how -Arrrggghh!

Now it's a matter of sorting what stays and what goes; and cleaning room by room straight through the house the 1/4 inch of plaster dust that has filtered throughout. Dust bunnys galore!

If you care to see the project in progress, the fellow who did the floor has pictures on his website, on the projects 2 tab, Norm & Lynda's kitchen. It includes a pic of our cat, Buddy, who took a shine to Gord the contractor. It's at www.hunnydoo.ca/.

On the homefront

It must be at least 3 weeks ago that Lynda and I started reworking the kitchen; we're still mired in chaos and disorder. She and I managed to get the lighting fixtures down and the ceiling repainted. That damn near killed us - left us weary and aching. I got one of the new fixtures up so we had some light. Then we and stepson #3 scraped the tiles off the floor and got that all bagged up. We called in a pro for the new floor - ceramic - and he's to finish grouting it Saturday. Friends of #3 are supposed to re-mud the walls , patching up all the dings and then paint. I know it should have been done before the floor but..........
It'll be sooooo nice when it's all done, things are back to normal and we can look back on this and laugh or groan. And all because we wanted to freshen up the place; it was looking dingy. Lord, give us strength (and maybe a lotto win). Amen.