Stripper Supplies

HaHa...not that kind of stripper. But hopefully that got my google hits up a little. I just got (hopefully) everything I need to start stripping the woodwork. I wasn't sure what will work the best so I got 2 different kinds of stripper and a bunch of different tools. I already have a heat gun, mask, and glasses.

I'm going to start small though and refinish this mirror and a bookcase before I start on the woodwork in the house.
This mirror is huge. It's like 3 feet high and about 2 and a half feet wide and it came with the house. It has a stamp on the back that says the glass was plated on 9/25/59 and packed on 2/17/60. When it's done it's going to go in the living room over the couch. And anchored really, really good in case of another earthquake. I'm going to stain it dark like all the other wood in the house but maybe with a reddish tint.

I figured I'd start small so I can figure out what I'm doing and not ruin any of the original wood baseboards, doorframes, doors, or floors. I am hoping to do the mirror tomorrow and I'll post pics if I do.

And I figured out how useless people who work at Lowes are. I had a $10 off $50 purchase so I got all the stripping stuff there. They were friendly, but when I asked about something specific they led me to the area and said "there they are" and then left me to search for about 20 minutes for what I needed (it was in a box that had been pushed back on the bottom shelf). Now I see why so many people get frustrated there.

Memorial Day Weekend

Sadly our extended Memorial Day weekend has come to an end. James went back to work today, and I go back tomorrow. (I worked Sat. & Sun. though). It was great to have nothing to do for a few days. James weekend wasn't as easy though. He installed a new Mohawk wood laminate floor in his parents living room. It looks really good, but he got a little frustrated with it a few times. I didn't take an pics because I didn't have my camera, but they are doing the hall this weekend so I might have some then. Yesterday and monday we were lazy though. I didn't know that my dad was a speaker at the Memorial Day services in Mt. Carmel or we would have gone to that. I didn't know until yesterday when my mom called to tell me that he was on the front page of the Daily Republican Register (the Mt. Carmel mewspaper). Yesteray we went to see my best friends new house. It was a great hour and a half drive with the top down (well, until the rain hit about a half hour from her house). Her house is actually an old house thats already (mostly) remodeled. Its really nice and it looks like the p.o.'s did a good job on the remodel. I did notice that her stairs had been relocated at some point, which confused her. There is a flue cover in the wall on the staircase. That means that there used to be a stove or fireplace of some kind there at some point. But the stairs have also obviously been where they are now for a really long time. And James pointed out that her bathrooms were most likely originally a porch because of the low sloping ceilings. They still have a little bit of painting to do but thats really all that needs to be done, and its really nice. Makes me wish our house was already done. Speaking of which, if I can get a day with no wind I'm finally going to drag all the paneling and the ceiling tiles outside to burn them. And then I can get started playing with plaster!

Some little projects

We have actually completed some small projects here in the last few weeks. I don't know why I haven't posted about them. So here they are...
A little improvement that makes life a lot easier. I wish I had a before picture of this. This is in the laundry room/back porch. Before, this corner had a pile of brooms and mops and pet food that kept overflowing right into the doorway to the house (in the right corner). Now, as you can see, it has some order. I installed the rack in about 2 minutes and it holds all the brooms and mops, and since they are off the floor now there is actually the perfect amount of room for the food to set on the floor and out of the way.

The freshly scrubbed floors! Aren't they beautiful! Trust me, this is a HUGE improvement over what they looked like before.
The kennel has been expanded. It used to be 10'x10' and is now something like 36'x12'. I could be off there...actually, I probably am, but its huge now. Before there was only enough room for the doghouse, feeder, water trough, Clementine, and the puppy with a little room left over. Now there is room for 2 doghouses, 2 feeders, the water trough, the two dogs, and plenty of room to run. I mean seriously they run up and down it. It's so long that it had to be supported with t-posts so the sides wouldn't fall down. The doghouse sitting outside of it belongs to the dog that ran away. We are still keeping it in hopes that she may come back.

The reason for the jungle like setting of our yard is that the lawn mower is broken :(

Randomness

The iris's finally bloomed! Of course the time they finally bloomed is about the same time Cledus decided to tear them up. He had already completely cleared them out under then window. Oh, and ignore the cable coming out of the window...that's just until we get the antenna properly wired into the house. I hate it, but I just keep telling myself it's only temporary so its ok.
Remember the absolutely adorable puppies we had? Well, this is the only one that has not found a home yet. See how big she is? At 6 months old she is huge! And has a mouth on her...she found her "big dog voice" recently and barks at everything. She's absolutely sweet and lovable, and every bit of a puppy still. We are still trying to find her a new home though.
And this makes me sad. James has finally decided that he's tired of his truck and its now for sale. It was listed on Craigslist this past weekend. I love this truck. It might be one of the most loaded trucks I have ever seen (including Bose & remote start)I will give him some credit though...he's owned and driven it for 3 years now, which is a record for him. When we first started dating, and even well before that, he averaged at least 2 vehicles a year. Just because he gets bored with them and wants something different. He's now decided that he needs a diesel.

We are getting ready to enter the next phase of the dining room. I'm just not sure if the next step should be stripping or plaster repair. I'm not sure which would be better to do first. I'm thinking maybe plaster so I don't have to worry about ruining woodwork that has just been freshly restored.

If it's not a boat its not for sale!

We have a boat for sale. We live on a highway and it sits in the front yard with a for sale sign on it. Apparently because we have a boat for sale people assume that everything we own is for sale. I've had offers for the boat, Jeep, Firebird, S10, and our house! I am seriously getting pissed about it. Its like people think that we're a freakin car lot because we own lots of cars. Today some one added a new one to the list. Look at this picture...do you see the car trailer?
You can see a little of it between the cars. It sits in our backyard and is barely visible from the highway. I just had some one stop and ask if it's for sale. No, that's why there's no sign on it and it's in the backyard! I told him the boat was for sale and he said he saw that and thought he's stop and see if the trailer was for sale too. WTF??? No, I tell him...that's why it's in the backyard with no for sale sign on it!

Maybe I just don't get the total lack of respect people have around here. Or maybe they're just curious because the cars are outside and not in the garage. Either way, I don't like it. We don't stop at random houses and ask if their stuff is for sale when it's clearly not, and as for the cars not being in the garage...well, it's our property and if we don't want them in the garage they don't have to be. Maybe I just don't understand people. I don't know. We have lots of cars because James likes them. He likes to fix them up, play with them and then sell them. But for the love of God, until one of them sits in the front yard with a "for sale" sign on it I just wish people would only stop if they're interested in the boat. Which is the only thing for sale right now.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

I read one time that old, real wood floors should only be dry mopped in high traffic areas as needed, and actually mopped in all areas no more than once per season using as little water as possible. Well, I have broken that rule. I have been (carefully) scrubbing all of our unsealed but stained wood floors in our house. That's right...I have been on my hands and knees with a scrub brush cleaning the crap out of our floors because I'm tired of them always looking dirty. No matter how many times I mop the floors they still looked dirty. The end result is that they now look clean and even have a little bit of shine to them. And I do not plan to make this a habit, but they needed it. And I learned a lesson...scrub lightly. Otherwise you remove the stain and have bare wood. Oops. And Clorox Anywhere spray will make hard swirls on the floor that have to be sanded to fix. No, I was not trying to sanitize the floors. A bottle was knocked over and spilled on the floor shortly after we moved in. There was no liquid on the floor when I discovered it so we assumed the dog drank it (which resulted in a panicked call to poison control) so I mopped over it and went on. Well, that spot is covered in hard swirls that will not go away. That sucks.

The front bedroom is almost done and ready for our guest. I'll post pictures of it soon. It's no where near done, but it's much better now.

Oh, and my second interview at K Mart lasted about 5 minutes and I have orientation tomorrow.

Frustration

Ok, so I am remembering just how much I love K Mart's weird policies. I posted the other day that I got rehired at K Mart and I start next week. Well, that's what I thought. I got a call yesterday from their HR manager that they want me to come in today for a second interview with and assistant manager to make sure that I'm qualified for the job. What??



A little back story here. I first started working for them in 2001 and was trained to work in every single department in the store. I then became a department manager a year later. I have done everything a worker in that store could possibly do. Everything. You name it and I can do it, including higher level management responsibilities. I worked there until 2006 when they fired 2,700 employees corporate wide including me. And then they closed the store I worked in. They have access to my file, so they already know everything that I can do.



I am going back to work there as a part time cashier/floor associate, working in the same department that I used to run all by myself! So the thing that I'm wondering is what exactly they need to make sure I'm qualified to do. I guess I'll find out in a couple of hours.



Sorry about that. I realize that this is has nothing to do with house stuff, but I needed to vent a little.