A Whole Lot of Painting Going On!

 

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.  

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!  

I enjoyed the evening at my cousin's house.  She had prepared a Sri Lankan meal of rice and curries and appa (hoppers) which she made as people ate as hoppers must be eaten while the edges are still crisp and they get soft if you make them ahead.  There were two types of Thai desserts and a cheesecake (all purchased) and my homemade peach cobbler for dessert.  

Also on Thursday, I received an email from my primary care doctor with the results of the ultra sound I had done on Wednesday.  The scan results showed that everything was normal, which was a big relief and an answer to my prayers!  I still have the appointment with the specialist scheduled for next Wednesday to discuss the lab test results which showed some cause for concern, but, at least we can rule out some of the possible causes with the scan results being normal.  

I think I can say that Thursday was a very good and blessed day.

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- The good scan results and my doctor forwarding me the results as soon as she received them
- The painters showed up and painted!
- Getting another item crossed off my Mile Long To Do List 

- A lovely evening spent with my family at cousin V's house

- A safe drive there and back

Thursday's joyful activities included getting my living room and dining area painted and getting together with family and spending a lovely evening, chatting, laughing, and enjoying a delicious meal.  

How was your Thursday?  Have you heard of house hushing? Have you tried it? 

No Painters on Tuesday

 

Waiting is Tiring

I was up early on Tuesday morning.  By 6:30 a.m., I had the last few items including the plant stands and piano stool removed from the living room, the front door opened, and the back gate unlocked, waiting for neighbor E and his painter to arrive.  And Dancer and I waited and waited and waited, all day.  I said my morning prayers, swept the living room and dining area, brought in the emptied trash cans, picked blueberries and peaches, cleaned the kitchen a little bit, and watched my neighbor's truck leave his driveway.  I wondered if he was going to buy the paint or pick up the painter, but, the truck didn't return. Then, I wondered if he would show up in the afternoon, but, he didn't.  I honestly think he either forgot or he meant a different day, although he said Tuesday.  Or, perhaps the painter was not free.  I don't have his phone number to call him to find out what happened.  So, I will wait until I see him again.  Maybe we can reschedule the painting for another day.  I just hope he and the painter don't show up on Wednesday morning, instead, as I have my scan appointment to go to!

I am happy that I didn't take down the altar. 

In the afternoon, I started on another sewing project.  I am using fabric I have in my stash and I'll post pictures once I have completed the project.   

I spoke with aunt C in the evening and with friend R.  Later, I chatted with my daughter.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Blueberries and peaches from the garden
- Leftovers for brunch and dinner
- Chats with family and friends and emails with friends
- Projects to work on while waiting for the painter to show up
- My fabric stash

My joyful activity was sewing.

Wednesday's To Do List:

- Scan appointment
- Order and pick up groceries
- Leave a note for gardener M in case he arrives before I return from the scan
- Cook something for dinner
- Remake daughter's bed with fresh bedding
- Pick up daughter from the airport

I am also planning to wake up early on Wednesday morning, just in case my neighbor and the painter show up!  I'm not sure how long it'll take to paint the ceiling, but, there might be enough time to get a coat of paint on before I have to leave for my scan appointment.

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

One More Project Completed

 

Just Starting

I have an on-going "Mile Long To Do List" and, at one time, I used to post it once a month with any updates.  I stopped doing that after about a year or so because I wasn't making much progress on some of the items.  But, I kept the list going and I last updated it in 2024 when the retractable garage door opener mechanism was replaced.  I am happy to say that, on Friday, one other item that had been on that list for years was completed:

• Repair water damage to kitchen ceiling and wall - DONE May 2, 2025!

The roof had leaked one year and caused some damage to the kitchen ceiling and part of the ceiling collapsed, leaving a hole in the ceiling.  It was behind the cabinet above the refrigerator and while the hole wasn't visible, I knew it was there and there was some visible water damage to the ceiling just in front of the cabinet and to the wall behind.  I had wanted to get it repaired, but, I didn't do anything about it for one reason or another.  

Eventually, I showed it to my neighbor E (he does construction work) and asked him to give me an estimate.  He didn't get back to me for months, and I thought that he had either forgotten about it, or wasn't interested in accepting the project.  But, on Thursday evening, he knocked at my door and said he could get one of his crew to work on my kitchen ceiling the next day!  He will be here at 7:30 a.m.

So, Friday morning, I woke up at 6:45 a.m. (after going to bed at 3:00 a.m.), showered, dressed, had a cup of tea, and was ready when neighbor E and his assistant R showed up at 7:30 a.m.

I forgot to take any "before" pictures, but, I took the above picture after R removed the upper molding/trim from the cabinet.

A short time later, it looked like this:

Removing the Damaged Ceiling Area

You could see all the way up to the rafters:

Rafters 

Then, the ceiling was patched and painted (R painted the whole ceiling because the new white paint he used was a different white than the existing white on the ceiling and he said it didn't look nice).

After Patching, but, Before Painting

The wall on the other side (hallway side) where the paint was cracked and starting to peel due to the water damage, was also scraped and patched:

Hallway Wall - During

And painted with paint that I had stored in the garage:

After

The paint wasn't an exact match after being stored in the garage for over 10 years, and R wasn't very happy about it, but, I didn't mind.  One day, I will have the remnants of the wallpaper border that's up along the top of the walls in the hallway removed and repaint the hallway.  It's the only area of the house that is painted in a color other than white and I might go back to white or stay with the lilac color.

R also went ahead and painted the wall area around the wall heater which was never painted after the heater was replaced a couple of years ago:

The paint color changes with the amount of light
(You can clearly see the missing wallpaper border)

The hallway ceiling too, was repaired:

Hallway Ceiling Repair

And a crack in the ceiling between the living room and dining area was also patched up:

Dining Area Ceiling Patch

R painted over the patch, but, the new white paint he used was whiter than the rest of the ceiling and he told me I should get the whole ceiling painted (just as he did with the kitchen ceiling).  Yes, actually, I want to get the whole house painted, but, that's a project for another day.  For now, I am glad that these repairs were done. 

Before he left for the day, R also fixed new hinges to a bathroom cabinet door that had fallen off (daughter had fixed it, earlier, but, it came off, again) and the towel railing in my bathroom that had come off the wall.  What a blessing to have all those repairs done!

I am so grateful for:
- Neighbor E helping me with this project
- R for all the work he did
- Finally getting this repair project done and crossed off my list!

Now, to tackle the rest of the 101 projects on my Mile Long To Do List!  

Do you, too, have a Mile Long To Do List?

Shopping on Monday

Dollar Store Haul

On Monday, I went back to the pharmacy to pick up another medication that was ready for pick up and this time, I decided that I will look around the newly opened dollar store which replaced the old dollar store that went out of business.  I saw that they had frozen foods  (I bought a hot pocket and a big burrito for $1.25 each),  candy and other snacks (I bought a package of one of my favorite candies), canned and other shelf stable foods (didn't buy any), lots of kitchen ware and baking supplies (I bought a set of paper muffin/cupcake liners) and, in their crafts supplies aisle, yarn!

100% acrylic, no-brand name yarn, in 50 gram balls for $1.25 each.  Which is approximately what I would pay for an equal amount (by weight) of store brand yarn at the big crafts supplies store and a little less than an equal amount of name brand yarn.   At first, I passed the yarn section without buying anything, but, then, I went back and bought 15 balls of yarn!  Three each of grey, blue, and white, and six of purple "eggplant"!  I had been telling my daughter, just the other day, that I wanted to get more yarn for another blanket.  Besides, I wanted to support this dollar store, after the other one went out of business.

My bill came to $25.65 with tax.

After I came home, I had half of the burrito for a very late lunch (I had the other half for dinner).

When I got home, my new neighbor E (who bought neighbor T's house) came over.  About a couple of weeks ago, I had asked him if he could fix or replace my automatic garage door opener, which had been broken for years (it was last repaired in November 2019, then broke shortly after that and I've been opening and closing it manually since then).  I told him I could buy a new unit if he could install it for me.  He told me he could try to get a replacement part (he does construction work).  Well, today, he told me that one of the guys he works with will bring the part over and they can install it, later in the evening.  Around 6:00 p.m., he and two other guys showed up with a replacement unit!  They took down my old unit, installed the replacement unit, and adjusted the mechanism that moved the door up and down to their satisfaction.  It took them over one hour but the door works beautifully, now!  At the end of it, E handed me the new remote and had me open and close the door.  I asked him how much I owed him for parts and labor and he brushed it aside and said, 'Nothing"!  I was overwhelmed!  That was a lot of work for nothing!  I thanked him and his assistants and, of course, I will take over a thank you gift, later in the week.  But, that was such a blessing!  One more item crossed off my mile-long to do list!  

I have many more repairs to be done around the house.  I will ask E to give me an estimate to do those, though, and insist on paying him!  

I watered the back yard while they were fixing the garage door.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- My medication was available at the pharmacy
- A safe drive to the pharmacy and stores and back
- Neighbor E was able to replace my garage door opener
- He very generously didn't charge me for the work!
- A working garage door

Today's joyful activity was shopping!  LOL.