Do Over and Over and Over Again

Another look at a bathroom do over project.
In this episode: The window that will become the linen closet door.
You first saw it in the background here.  It was salvaged from a building remodel here in Dodge City.  As in, it was discovered inside the wall during the most recent remodel.  I picked up three of them for such a time as this. You got your second look at it here.  I managed to strip off most, but not all of the existing paint.  Not to worry, because I was just going to repaint it and it was never going to be perfect.  That is, of course, part of its charm.







The next step was removing the glass panes.  This is where it was good I had three windows, because glass is fragile.

I had to clean the windows.  I took this little before and after shot to assure myself  you that the glass really is transparent.

And then I repainted the frame. The delightful thing about having the bedroom torn up during a bathroom remodel is that we have a very big workroom where I can paint late into the night (in my underwear if I so choose).
At this point we hit a little snag because I had no idea how to put the glass back in the frame.  The STP had a little idea.  As in he knew enough to buy glazing.

And then we did a little google search for methods.  And we watched a video that gave us some how to hints and told us how not to do it.  A putty knife with constant pressure?  Yes.  A putty snake?  Not so much.  In fact, one snotty glazing expert suggested that a putty snake is how a HO would do it.  It took us just a few minutes to translate that derogatory pane replacing put down to HomeOwner.

Glazing points.  Yeah the wood is a little rough.  Part of the charm, remember?

Putty knife with pressure.  Check.

At this point, I'm not embarrassed to admit, we may have made a putty snake or two.  But it will be on the inside of the closet door in the downstairs bathroom.

A few more coats of paint.  And this window door is ready.
 As the STP remarked:  Not bad for two HOs.
You'll see it again at the BIG REVEAL.

Rock On

33.  Oh yes I did.

Do Over

Let's do a few peeks at progress on the bathroom do over.  

Once upon a time I bought a mirror at a yard sale on my way to Mahaffey camp.  I think the Goob was in his car seat at the time.  I painted the mirror a creamy color, distressed it a little, and hung it above the piano that no one ever really learned to play.

When we moved I sold the piano, but kept the mirror.  I plan to use it in the bathroom makeover.

Me to the STP:  Do we have any Plaster of Paris?

STP:  You're not wearing any pants.

Me:  That's why I need you to go to the garage and see if we have any Plaster of Paris.

STP:  What are you going to do with Plaster of Paris?

This exchange was followed by a discussion about how I was going to do 'this thing I saw on Pinterest' and make my own chalk paint and paint the mirror for the bathroom.  I included such details about some lady named Annie Sloan has evidently made a fortune selling chalk paint, and how it is so in, and how some pinterest people had made their own, and how I was going to try it on the mirror.  

At this point the STP wondered aloud how we would see our faces if I painted the mirror like a chalk board.  And would we just draw our faces on the mirror.  And would he have to draw a beard on his face and then erase it off after he shaved.

At this point, I mentioned that if he was really listening he would know I was using chalk paint, not chalkboard paint, and that I was painting the mirror frame, not the mirror itself.

At this point the STP admitted he had a hard time concentrating on what I was saying when I wasn't wearing any pants and he went to get the plaster of Paris for me.  Which is as close as I am getting to Paris, France again this year.  Because we are re-doing the bathroom.

The mirror, prepped for painting.

My homemade chalk paint.  Part white charm semi-gloss paint.  Part hurricane satin paint.  Part plaster of paris.  Mixed in a cool whip tub.

Applied to the mirror frame.  One coat coverage. It is wet here, but it dried quite dull. 

And then I sanded it a little to distress it again. And then I applied a coat of wax (left over from the pretty big jenga project) and buffed it.

I didn't have to buy anything for this project, and I finished it in one evening and (in case you're still wondering) without being completely dressed.

And now it is just waiting for a bathroom wall to hang on.

Look for it in the BIG REVEAL post. 

In The Box

If you have something important to tell me, e-mail may not be the way to do it.

Kitchen Update

Today  I went to the city. And while I was fabric shopping at JoAnn's I found something that obviously belonged to the Best Granddaughter in the World. So I bought it for her. And then in StuffMart we found something that the Best Grandson in the World absolutely needed. And we put it right in the cart.

 And when I got home today, there was a package with a little something for me from the 2 BGITW.

 A little spoon rest.  Custom painted for my kitchen.

So perfect it almost made me want to cook something.
And I need some face time with those babies soon.

Sweet Hearts

The STP and I appeared in the Dodge City Gazette Valentine's Day Contest.  As our third and fourth grade selves.  The STP wearing plaid and me on the only good hair day I evidently had in grade school.  

What this really means is that we have arrived in Dodge City.  Yeehaw!
In other Valentine news, the STP and I did not exchange gifts or cards this year.  Remember how much I loved you last year?  Yeah,  I'll let you know if anything changes.

The Aroma of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

I made baked eggs today after church.  A tribute to my dad and an attempt to use up several things in the fridge.  The recipe was called a frittata, but I recognize baked eggs when I see them.  My frittata was full of fresh spinach, bacon, and cheddar cheese.  I thought it was yummy.  A cooking success.  The Goob even thought it was okay.  Based on the one bite he tried.
The Goob, however, made himself ramen for lunch.  He started it before I started the frittata, and then he had to go out for a few minutes, so I finished his ramen.  And he found it inedible.  Mushy.  Didn't smell right.(!?!)  He was disturbed I hadn't stirred it and had over cooked it.  In general he was disturbed.
I shared my motherly wisdom and a thought I picked up from Charles Stanley in Sunday School this am.  Disappointments happen, discouragement is a choice.  Ramen is cheap I told him.  Make yourself another package of ramen.  Get over it.
And then the Goob said he was not so disappointed about the noodles as he was that I, his mother, could not make ramen noodles.  The directions, he noted, are on the package back.
To which I could only reply, "Point well taken."
The Goob made himself a second package of ramen.  I've just about got this one ready to launch.

Frosty Grass

Replace Battery/Card Full

Mountains with ice falls.  The STP and I decided we will never ice climb.  Even though we live close to some of the best ice climbing spots in the world.

Searching for sheep.  See wild horses, hawks, bald eagle, geese, ducks, white tail deer, mule deer.  Manage a few pictures of mule deer.  (Because there are a million of them, and they do not fly.)

Finally see sheep.  As in 8 sheep butts.  One of these is a ram. Really.

Half an hour before sunset, we find sheep.  50 sheep. 

50 blurry sheep.  Hurry before they turn and show their butts.  Replace battery?  Really?

These are not black and white photos.  There is just not much color in this neighborhood at this time of day.

Two ewes checking out the STP. 

And a herd of elk to finish off the day.  

"Oh, you want color?" replies God Himself.

Miraculously, the battery revives for this final shot of the sunset sky.  

39

Sheep watching with friends and a thermos of hot chocolate?  I'll take that over nachos and having to see the Ravens one more time.

I Firmly Nonresolve...

Crossed four things off the 2013 nonresolution list in the month of January and have made plans and progress toward accomplishing several others.
Other things I want to mention:
1.  Do not combine a power drill, a wire brush attachment, and a t-shirt you are currently wearing at the same time.
2.  Salvaging a door will not save you much money, and will cost you much time.  Still worth it?  Not sure yet.
3.  Bathroom renovations take longer in real life than the average HGTV show is on the air.