What did I do while I wasn't wrapping Amanda's gift in 100% recycled paper? I know, I love that wrapping too. I cleaned the place. For being in such good shape, I had really let it go. Particularly the kitchen which was a zoo. The kitchen didn't actually get cleaned until today. Amanda was using my computer so I really didn't have a whole lot else to do. After Amanda left, I actually organized my closet/recycling station and my tupperware cabinet. They were both a little out of hand (read: total chaos). I had to clean up the rest of the house so I could empty my room in anticipation of painting it a color other than pasty-white. I do mean pasty.
While cleaning out my room, I found lots of treasures. One of the things I do is I have a "pile of lonely socks" in hopes they might one day be reunited with their mates. No such luck for these sad socks. Yes, there are three different black socks in that pile that do not match. The sports socks don't match either. I just can't bring myself to wear mismatched socks, even gym socks. I threw them all away.
Is there anyone reading this blog who can identify this set of keys. I think I don't actually have keys to Kelly's house anymore, and I know these are not the keys to Amanda's. I know I gave my old keys back to Joyce when I moved out. I remember walking up there in the 90* heat. Maybe they go to something here.
After ignoring the keys and throwing away the socks, it was time to start emptying the room and moving stuff around. Most of my clothes and blankets landed in my living room in an amazing pile. I really should have been an architect. (Although stacking big piles may be a skill like getting everything in the dishwasher that doesn't really translate to better spatial relations in any other part of my life.)
A lot of things had to go into the storage closet. A couple of things have made a permanent home there. The new residents of the storage closet I feel most guilty about: the guitars. Those are hard to let go of. I think I might need to put the amp in the closet too. The biggest issue is I have all these boxes in the storage closet that probably need to get broken down or tossed. After all the moves I've been through in the past couple of years (my own and ones I've witnessed) I feel this compulsion to collect boxes because I know they come in handy. Although, I'm not moving anytime soon, and neither is anyone else I know really. (These are the random parts of OCD that you wouldn't know about unless I told you.)
My clothes ate the back of the bathroom door for breakfast. I could barely get in that door with all those clothes there. Maybe this is another odd thing, but I try to keep all my clothes hung up like that until laundry day. Most of them are worn once but not really dirty. I find it gross to dig them out and wear them after they've been in the laundry basket with things that really are dirty.
I took the bed off the risers and pushed it into the middle of the room. I pushed the chair over too. Anything I didn't want to move (anything that would fit really) I put in a pile on the bed. Now you see why I couldn't sleep on it for a little while. Thank goodness the aerobed is so nice. I also realized that I used to lay in bed and watch TV and I don't do that anymore because there's no tv in the bedroom and there won't be because there's no cable hookup in there. It was like old times to fall asleep on the aerobed in the living room.
I got to the important task of removing things from the wall. It was when I started taking the plates off the wall that I discovered the old paint color of the room. See why I hate the pasty white? The lazy bums who painted this place last didn't even take off the switch covers. They painted around them. And then I looked in my closet and realized the closet was not pasty-white. It was in fact, the color of that little bit of wall. I'd lived here over two years and had no idea my closet was not the same color as my walls. I thought that was really funny.
Here's the color of the freshly painted (one coat, everything else got two) closet. It's now the same color as the rest of the room. Another funny thing about the closet? That bottom shelf doesn't come out. I think I need someone with a PhD in mathematics or someone with a big saw to remove it. I painted around it and called it good.
A big pile of newspaper can only mean one thing: I'm done painting and ready to start cleaning up the mess I made. Altogether, it only took me a few hours. I started painting around 10:00 and took a break about 12:30 for lunch. I stopped painting just after 2pm and was at the gym by 3:15. I couldn't believe I got all the painting done. Obivously I didn't move anything back into the room but I was still really pleased the painting was complete. And I got to take the tape off the walls. For some reason, that's my favorite part of any painting job. Maybe that's why I was so into the stripes.
Given the accomplishment of getting that room painted and that project completed in about 24 hours, I thought it would be fun to review the other home improvement projects I've undertaken at this condo. My first home improvement project here ever was with Kelly and involved a doorknob that simply didn't want to be part of the door. That was actually the doorknob to the storage closet. I'll never forget when Kelly shut the door to the storage closet (while she was inside of it) before the doorknob was installed on the outside. I had visions of having to call the fire department to get her out of there. The issue with doorknobs in this building? The hole where the barrel/latching device fits is about 1/8" smaller than standard doorknobs are now made. Did we know this when we bought the doorknob? No. Did we have the proper tool to correct the problem? No again. Are we two smart girls who will try pretty much anything in a home improvement project? (Need I remind you she tried to lock herself in a closet?) So we used a really small drill bit to "sand" the hole to the proper size. This is actually a picture of my bathroom doorknob. I had the same issue with it, but at least I was expecting it that time and knew not to freak out.
Then there's the bathroom itself. Kelly helped edge and paint the walls. The vanity was all me. Although I swear part of Kelly's drill bit is still lodged into the vanity behind one of the hinges. That thing was hard work, especially painting all the different parts. Who knows why I thought that would be a good idea. I like the way it turned out. I also like the fact that I was able to re-hang all four doors so they open and close properly. I had to take a couple of tries on one of them, I think the middle ones or the one on the side by the wall, but I got them all working in the end. (That was one of those times Dad just told me how hard the job was and offered no help or support.)
Of course there's the hallway. Another time Dad just told me how hard the job was and how much work it was and how he'd never do it. Although the whole time he complained he had a paintbrush in his hand and was edging. I'm calling that progress. Kelly also helped painting the hallway. I just realized my bedroom may be the first room I've painted entirely on my own. (Although Kelly still picked the color for me. I'm not totally independent yet.)
What project awaits me? That's right, the kitchen. And these stupid cabinets will finally be history. I cannot wait for that to happen. I think my sink might get moved about six inches to the right as well. I've always thought in my head that I'll know I'm done with the painting and decorating when my kitchen is redone and I can paint my living room. And when I paint my living room, I will need your help again Kelly. I'm saying Kelly because Amanda has made her feelings about the engineering of this piece of furniture quite clear. Amanda, you'd be great at the painting. You come and do that. Or cooking, come cook in my new kitchen while Kelly and I disassemble shelving.
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