March On

What I did the rest of March:

I worked.  With some diptheroids.

I baked 2 apple pies for pi day.  Because in less than 8 weeks the Goob will graduate from high school and my days of being volunteered to bake something to take to school will end.

I kept the world's cutest seven year old in the guest room 10 days while his mom went on a mission trip to Mexico.  I stepped over playmobil pirates and lego bionicals.  I walked to the elementary school.  I checked the backpack and math homework and practiced spelling words. 

I put paint on a pinewood derby car.  

I took paint off the woodwork in the hallway of the HND.

I also made two big decisions this month.

1.  I am not having any more children.

2.  I am not stripping any more woodwork.

Landscaping

These tulips are against the foundation of the house next door.  Along with three sad very old lilac bushes and a host of kochia weed they are the sum total of the landscaping.   Every spring since Shirley died, I have admired (and maybe stolen) these tulips.  I admit I have entertained the idea of taking my bucket and shovel over and moving them to my yard.  This year they are mine.  Seems a slight overkill to buy the whole house.  

Gave the House Next Door its own facebook page this weekend.  And picked some outside paint colors.  And rued the decision to strip the woodwork in the hallway.  

Remind Me Again

Why was I so anxious for Spring?  Today the weather is warmer.  The sun is shining.  The snow is melting.
The ground is muddy.  The flowerbeds need cleaned out.  I have my evacuation bag packed in case the river floods.  The back yard is knee deep in dog poop.  The thought of giving up my sweaters for shorts and tank tops makes my belly roll and the place where I should have triceps wriggle with discomfort.
Oh, Punxytawney Phil, how could six have gone by so quickly?

The Demo Begins--in the Bathroom

The Bathroom.  Before.  Not quite ready for it's close-up.  (Scroll fast if you are eating, or pregnant, or otherwise have a weak stomach.)

I wanted to save the coral wallboard, until the STP told me it was pink.  Then it lost its luster.  So we brought in the demolition crew.  And armed them with hammers and crowbars.

Something quite satisfying about smashing things with a hammer. Just sayin'.

Demo?  We got that.  Praying for someone who can put this back together. 

Did I Mention the Plumbing?

Humbug.

Ghost of Carpets Past

Electricity on.  Check.
Electricity updated?  Still on the to-do list.
Heat on.  Check.





Carpet removed.  Almost checked.

 Going along pretty smoothly until we discovered carpet over carpet.

Over tiles.

Over stubborn older tiles.

Still don't know what's ultimately under the bathroom flooring.  And we'll probably not know whats under the kitchen flooring.  Because I think it is new tiles over vinyl flooring over who know's what.

At the end of the day mere shadows of the things that have been.

That they are what they are, do not blame me.

And, yes, the sunporch is green.  I'm guessing the color of the house before the current color.  I went to the Sherwin Williams site to try new colors on the outside of the house.  (I still love to try things on.)  The outside does not need repainted except from an aesthetic point of view. And by that I mean the view from the street.  I think I could buy the paint and put it out with a sign at the curb that reads, "If you are tired of seeing this color when you drive by this house, bring a brush on Saturday and help us paint it."  Kind of a Tom Sawyer fence thing.  But, alas, I'm getting ahead of myself (and mixing works of literature.)

Cold and Dark

Darkness is cheap. (And Scrooge liked it.)
The house next door passed its first test.  The pressure test on the gas line.
Next up:  electricity and heat.

A New Chapter

Shirley was dead: to begin with.  (Ah, Charles Dickens.  Such a promising opening line.)


The Goob has been mowing the front yard of the house next door for three summers.


Why?  he asked.
Because Shirley is dead.  She can not mow her own grass.


 Have your own questions about the house next door?  Join the club.