Friday, December 04, 2009

Home Improvement

I think that term is a little misleading. It suggests that the home would be improved with whatever work is being done. I'm still working on the dining room and at this moment there is no improvement. In fact, it seems to be going quickly down hill.

I finally got all the wallpaper off, but there was a lot of gummy stuff left so I tried to wash it off. That just made it stickier so I tried to sand it off. Meh. I patched the holes and then sanded again and then washed again. These were some clean walls! Once they dried there was no more gumminess so I was ready for the next step.

Priming. What a pain in the rear. I don't like priming. That stuff is oily and icky and even the "odorless" primer is odorful, just not as bad as the odery stuff. That's not really a problem, though, because I like the smell. I also like the smell of markers and glue and even diesel and cigar smoke mixed together. Now that I think about it, this strange fondness for certain chemical smells explains a lot about my brain. But I digress.

I finished priming both the top and the bottom of the dining room this afternoon. Next I was going to start painting the woodwork and there's a lot of it: crown molding; chair rail; baseboards; a fairly large window; and two doorways. I was thrilled the other day when I found the leftover trim paint in the basement. But when I opened it at 5:50 or so I discovered very old paint with crumbly bits of black rusty stuff mixed in it. That left me a little disheartened, but at least I have the color recipe. Unfortunately Sherwin Williams closes at 6:00. Looks like no more work in the dining room until I can get the trim paint tomorrow. Guess I'll just hang with three-fourths of the family instead.

It now appears that I won't be actually painting until next weekend. Then maybe I can get the rest of the dining room furniture out of the living room and make the house look a little like Christmas. And maybe then my home will be improved.

Labels: home improvement

Mused by Jenster :: 6:04 PM :: 5 People musing:

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