Thursday's Breakfast

Cereal and coffee with John Zentner (bowl) and Gary Rith (mug). A great pair.

Life's been crazy. The daily struggle is finding a balance between work in the pottery studio and getting this move completed. Jeff and I have spent too much time this week wrestling with curtains. The only reason we are hanging them is because the windows are big and we need to filter some of the wonderful sunlight that comes streaming in. If we didn't, we might bake in the southern heat... and boy is hot this week. Mid to high 90's everyday.

We have a few finishing touches to complete in the kitchen. Maybe there will be photos here tomorrow. Have a great day!

We Moved...

Well, sort of. We are mostly in our new house. All the big stuff was moved on Friday. There are still some odds and ends that need to travel up the road, and still lots to do at the house. We realized it would be easier to move in and finish it while living there. Too many nights have been spent working until after 11pm, then going back to the log cabin, cooking dinner and falling into bed exhausted. Now we can tackle the house in the evening and have dinner cooking while we work.

The living room is the only room in the house that isn't filled with boxes! Sophie cat is adjusting quite well to the move. I am sure she misses playing on the spiral staircase at the cabin, but this house has so many more rooms for her to explore and hide in. Centurylink really dropped the ball with our telephone and internet move. We kept internet only at the studio until our move is complete and for some reason that made the switch over very complicated. Are we the first people to ever move phone and internet to a new location and keep internet only at the old one for an additional 30 days? They acted like we were. I spent over four hours on the phone talking to different departments and waiting on hold. Today I finally spoke to a reasonable and polite woman at our local office. It took her only an hour to get a tech out to the house and hook us up. I finally feel like we are connected to the world again. How did we ever survive back in the day?
Today we are firing the kiln. Jeff got up early and lit the first burner. He came home and we switched places so he could do some plumbing work. It's a beautiful evening to sit on the porch and wait on the kiln to climb to 1650 degrees. At that point I will put her into reduction and Jeff should arrive to finish off the firing. I am still not sure when we had time to make the pots that are in this firing.
Perhaps it was the elves.

Getting Rid of the Yuck Factor

Our kitchen had a formica back splash with aluminum trim. It was dreary looking and very stained behind the cook top. Jeff started to rip it off and as he suspected it was glued to the sheetrock wall. The formica removal took most of the paper from the sheetrock with it. 

In another life, long ago, Jeff hung sheetrock for a few years. He was able to make it all pretty and ready for paint. 

While he played in the mud, I stripped the wallpaper where the fridge goes. Behind it I found an icky, moldy mess. On the other side of this wall is the washer hook up. It must have leaked at one time, creating mold. Jeff cut the wall out on both sides to also find some rotten framing.

The framing is now replaced and last night Jeff hung the sheetrock.

I have started to tackle the pink bathroom. The wallpaper is gone. Now to scrub the glue off of the wall.

We hope to be in the house by this weekend. Everything won't be done, but the icky stuff will be gone!

While waiting for paint to dry...

I really love a freshly painted room, but I am not in love with the process of getting there. Especially when it starts with taking down wallpaper. There are so many steps that need a day to dry before you can move on. I have taken that "in between time" to clean carpets, line shelves (I have spent a small fortune on shelf liner!), and wash ceiling light fixtures. There were a few lights that we decided right away had to go. One was the "wagon wheel light" in the den. I may have already mentioned that one. Also on the list was the light in the hallway. Financially, everything can't be replaced at once. Which means they at least need to be clean. After getting up close and personal with some of these fixtures, I have decided that a couple of them are rather sweet and very retro.

This is the guest bedroom, ceiling light...

I like how it has the little holes to let out little dots of light, and it's light pink with gold flecks!

This is the hall light that I was sure was going...

It was hard to get a photo with my phone, but it compliments the bedroom light. The dot holes are actually much smaller. The glass matches the bedroom light and the can is similar, not dark like the photo. It's not a very big fixture for such a long hall, and the hall seemed dark. When I took down the light I realized that there was only one bulb in it. With two bulbs, the space is much brighter.

The painting in the main bath is complete, except for the trim and vanity. I need some advice from Jeff on that, so I am waiting for him to return home. I am hoping a friend will help me rehang the plate glass mirror today. I know I can't tackle that monster alone. The original plan was to replace the giant mirror with a framed mirror, but this is what we found when the mirror came down...

The walls are plaster, and they weren't finished on the lower half. The easiest thing to do is to rehang the monster mirror. At least it is keeping with the 60's look and a large mirror helps make a small bathroom appear bigger.
That's the latest chapter in the new house adventure. Stay tuned for updates, unless you are already bored to tears.