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| Prepping to Paint |
The painters arrived on Thursday morning! I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and took down the altar and one or two other items I had left in place until then. At 7:30 a.m., two young men showed up with paint and brushes, and after verifying that I wanted the whole room painted, set about moving the furniture away from the walls, covering everything with sheets of plastic (I guess drop cloths are a thing of the past?) and prepping the walls.
They took down the drapes and I washed and dried them. I also hemmed one pair of drapes that I had cut off the bottom foot or so when Dancer had an accident. One really old pair of drapes shredded in the wash (which I suspected would happen). They had hung in a window that is mostly covered by the china cabinet and I didn't have a spare pair of drapes on hand for that window. Instead, I used a table cloth or bedspread that had been given to me by neighbor S's family, as a temporary drape. I really need to buy new drapes and drapery rods, but, that's another task for another day.
The walls and ceiling were painted with flat white paint (they had been painted white, earlier, too), the washed drapes were rehung, and the furniture was put back in place. They rehung the prayer and horseshoe I had hung above the front door, but, they forgot to hang the mirror over the mantelpiece and I forgot to tell them to do so until I saw the mirror after they had left. So, that is something else that needs to be done another day.
In the meantime, I have a freshly painted living room and dining area and I get to cross of another task on my Mile Long To Do List!
They finished the painting and left around 4:00 p.m.
After they left, I set the altar back up, with my daughter's help.
So far, that is the only thing I put back. I had read about "hushing a room" and "backwards decluttering" where you remove everything other than the heavy furniture from a room, leave it empty for 24 hours and then, put back just the items you want, being intentional about what you are putting back. Since the living room and dining area were "hushed" when I removed everything in order to paint the room, I want to take my time and put my decorative items back in a more intentional manner.
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| Empty Bookcase in Living Room |
Then, it was time to make a dessert to take to my cousin's for the family get-together. I decided to try a new berry cobbler recipe a friend had sent me that she had found online. I decided to substitute peaches for the berries and I think it turned out well. But, when we got to my cousin's house, everyone was asking if I had made another bread pudding, saying my cousin had been raving about it and they were looking forward to trying it! Oops!
- The painters showed up and painted!
- Getting another item crossed off my Mile Long To Do List
Good scan results--Yay!! And the fact that you didn't have to wait a week to get them is a blessing, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen we take stuff out of room for painting or otherwise, I always like the barer look before everything gets back in and looks cluttered. But most stuff we use, so I put it back. It will interesting to see if you change anything or not.
Thank you, June. Yes, the scan results and receiving them as soon as I did is a blessing. I was told the results would take about 10 days, at the time I had the scan done, and I was hoping they'd be available by the time I had my appointment with the specialist.
DeleteI am getting used to the bare look of the rooms, and I am going to leave them bare for at least a few more days. It does make the place look spacious!
Thursday was indeed a busy and productive day.
ReplyDeleteYes, Linda. It seems like I've had a several busy days this past week.
DeleteI bet your room looks bright and fresh, now that it's been painted. As you say, it's another job off your list. Very satisfying, I'm sure. I've never heard of hushing before, but I might just give it a try when I decorate the dining room in the summer.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a dissappointment for those expecting a bread pudding, but I'm sure the cobbler was delicious. And I think the House Finches would agree :)
Yay! for normal scan results - a huge relief for you. Xx
Yes, Jules; the room does look bright and fresh and clean! It's another big job off my list.
DeleteI didn't want to take another bread pudding so soon after the first, but, I hope they enjoyed the cobbler. I'm planning to make the cobbler, again, very soon; maybe I'll give the House Finches a few bites of it!
Thank you; the scan results being normal is a very big relief for me! It rules out a couple of the "worst case" scenarios for the abnormal lab test results.
Glad to hear the results of your scan.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of house hushing but it makes sense.
Have a great visit with your daughter!
Thank you, Anne.
DeleteI am not quite sure if house hushing is the way to go for me, but, I'm willing to give it a try. I will put things back in stages and see how it goes.
I'm having a lovely time with my daughter. Yesterday, we spent some time working on crafts projects (we each did our own thing, but, we were together while we did so).
Sounds like a very good day. I am pleased about your scan results. One hurdle cleared!
ReplyDeleteYou must be thrilled to have the painting done, curtains washed etc. Does this cover up the join from the earlier repair, or was that elsewhere? And the wall behind the entertainment centre (or whatever you call it), which you said needed smartening up? Enjoy re-filling the room and deciding what to display where etc. I have never intentionally hushed a room, other than when moving, but I remember Mary-Lou talking about it once, so I knew what you meant.
Hope the peach cobbler was appreciated. Kinda strange of the cousin to ask for "a dessert" if she specifically wanted bread and butter pudding. But maybe they now realise you aren't a one-track pony! When you all get together, do you tend to use your mother tongue, or only English? Does your daughter understand any Sinhalese at all?
Thank you, Lady Ella; yes, I am so relieved that the scan results were normal.
DeleteI am definitely happy to have the room painted and the chance to wash the drapes, too. This does cover up the earlier repair which was painted over and which showed the difference in color between the new paint and the old paint. Now everything is the same bright white paint and one or two other damaged areas of the walls have also been scraped, patched, and painted.
The wall behind the old entertainment center/shelving unit is in the family room and has not been painted, yet. I told the painters that the family room is the next room on the agenda. I need to talk to my neighbor about getting that room done, next. It has not been painted since it was first built over 25 years ago.
Yes, I, too, first read about the house/room hushing on Mary-Lou's blog. I haven't done any room hushing, myself, but, emptying the room to have it painted has created the opportunity to do so.
Well, I had offered to bring a dessert, but, my cousin didn't say to bring a bread pudding. It was another cousin who asked if I had brought the bread pudding that cousin V had been raving about. I had already taken a bread pudding to one that cousin's gatherings, although that was several years ago, and that got rave reviews, too, with someone telling me that they've never had a bread pudding as tasty since their mother died.
When we get together, we speak in English, which these cousins consider as their mother tongue having grown up speaking English at home and at school; they consider Sinhalese as a second language. I am the only one in the group who grew up speaking Sinhalese at home and was educated in Sinhalese with English as a second language. My daughter understands a little Sinhalese. I taught her the alphabet and she could read and write in Sinhala (which is a phonetical language) but, she didn't always understand what she was reading. She considers Japanese as her second language; she was the designated translator on her recent trip to Japan with her group of friends. :D
I agree that your Thursday was a very good and blessed day, to have good news of your health, get a major house job completed, and to have a lovely social visit.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of "house hushing" or "backwards decluttering, but I can see how it is worth considering how and what you want, while putting things back again.
Thank you, Bushlady. I'm very pleased with how Thursday turned out. :)
DeleteI am not sure if I would go through the effort of removing everything from a room to declutter it, but, since I had to do it for the painting, I thought it was a good opportunity to really think about what I am putting back, instead of doing so automatically. We shall see how it works out. :)
So glad your results were all normal!
ReplyDeleteWe got some good news about my BIL. His scans still came back cancer free! Such a relief! He could certainly use a bit of good news.
So glad the painting got done. I haven't heard of reverse decluttering, but it does sound like a good thing!
I was thinking of taking down some of the knick-knacks when Baby A comes to visit. Perhaps I'll try it then before I put them back!
Thank you, Sharon. So glad that your BIL's scans came back cancer free! I continue to wish him well.
DeleteGetting the living room and dining area painted was a big task crossed off my list. I'm hoping to have the family room done, next. Good idea to take a few items down when Baby A visits and then, you can decide if you want to put them back up after she leaves or if you prefer how the room looks without them. :)
Yay on the scan results! Such a relief, I'm sure. Also good that the painters came and worked so fast. I did the backwards decluttering when I had my bedroom painted earlier this year, although I'd not heard of the term then nor hushing a room. I love peach cobbler so I'd be very happy with your dessert choice!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. Yes, a big relief about the scan results.
DeleteI'm so happy that the living room and dining area have been painted. You did well to declutter when you put things back after your bedroom was painted. I baked another peach cobbler, tonight, for my daughter and I to enjoy. It turned out quite well.
Yay for fresh paint! I know it looks great! I have never heard of hushing a room, but it sounds great! I need to try that myself! I'm so glad your scans came back good. That is a big blessing! Hope you and Dancer and your daughter had a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mandy. I am so happy to have the rooms painted. Everything looks fresh and clean. We've had a good weekend, thank you. Hope your weekend was good, too.
DeleteYes, Thursday sure was a good day.
ReplyDeleteA freshly painted living room, a nice family event with good food and a good scan result.
All good things.
How was the new cobbler recipe?
I like the idea of waiting to return all your things to a newly emptied room.
I've also seen a decluttering approach where you empty your room, say your kitchen, and only bring back into the room things as you need to use them. After a month you look at what you've brought back into the room and used versus what is still packed up.
Interesting results I'm sure.
It was a good day, wasn't it? All the stars aligned! :D
DeleteThe new cobbler recipe was good; I made a second one, later. It's called a "lazy cobbler"; if you do a search for it, you'll find several recipes pop up. :) I think it's a bit like a dump cake, but, you make the batter from scratch.
I've seen that decluttering method, too, bringing things back only as you need them. It might work better in a kitchen setting or, even a bedroom, but, I'm not sure about the living room - after all, other than chairs for sitting in, a side table or two, a couple of lamps if you don't have overhead lighting, and maybe drapes for the windows in you want the privacy, what more do you absolutely NEED in a living room? Well, I will need my altar, but, that's a personal choice. Everything else is a want, isn't it? I've lived in an apartment where we didn't have any furniture other than a table and chairs that the landlady gave us. My parents had newly immigrated and we didn't have money for furniture. Very ironic because we had given up custom designed and built furniture...