My hubby and I worked today from 9:00 this morning until 7:30 tonight. I thought it was going to be an “easy” day but there were still so many little things that still had to be done. I’m hoping tomorrow will be the very last day! My body is rebelling saying, “Enough, enough!”
I do believe we can get the last few things finished.
But just to let you know…here’s what happened today in Rebecca’s bedroom…
We wanted to get that last piece of vinyl flooring in by the door, so nothing got kicked out of place or nicked. I made a paper template out of some paper I had… I just cut little pieces to fill in the area that matched the doorway. My hubby has an oscillating tool that cuts out from underneath the facings, but he only does it a little bit…then my piece usually fits perfectly… it did. I trace my template onto the plank and my hubby, “the cutter” uses his snippers and a utility knife to work wonders…
I have to tell you a funny story that happened right when he was getting ready to nail down the bar across the threshold… He had a little bag of nails that matched the bar laying on the floor. But first he decided to use the shop-vac right before he nailed things down… and whoosh… the vacuum sucked up his bag of nails. So we had to stop to look inside the shop-vac and see if we could see them… my hand wouldn’t reach into the opening of the vacuum… so he went to the garage and brought back a gadget that had a magnet on the end of it. He dropped it into the shop-vac’s bag and fished around for a little bit…and look what he found…
His bag of nails…(fortunately they weren’t aluminum!)
Then he was able to finish nailing in the bar across the door… Yay! First job checked off! :o)
I washed the windows quickly as the next job my hubby wanted to do was put up the blinds. They went up fairly easily and look nice, except I really do miss seeing just the grids on the windows! They are huge windows… 48″ wide!
Remember that little bubble that was beside the one window?
Well, you can hardly see it now…
We thought we better get going on that baseboard trim… it was laid out and positioned roughly in place, and my hubby went around and screwed it in. He had to use a screw because it was just too wavy against the walls. He tried nails but there was so much spring on the baseboards, it just pulled the nails right in. So he switched to a certain kind of screw that countersank and stayed in place.
Then he went around and caulked the tops of the baseboards.. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to do that, but who am “I” to question the “Caulk King?” He was right…it looks fantastic now!!! I really mean it!
This picture shows how the walls and trim weren’t cooperating together… you can see the gaps next to the walls.
Then he did his thing…
…I should have known… it’s really nice now…
One more spot behind the door and he was done…
Another mishap… he always has a damp rag beside him to wipe his finger on when he smoothes out the bead of caulk he’s just laid. He had just finished the last bit of caulking and was vacuuming up a few little pieces of stuff he saw on the floor… when whoosh (again) and up went his wet ran into the shop-vac again. :o)
All the baseboard looks so nice and neat now…it’s like putting the hem in a dress you make. It makes all the difference to get that final finishing touch added! :o)
The closet shelves were put in and the door was put on to see where the catch mechanism was going to have to be chiseled in.
We knew it wasn’t going to hit the same place in the old door frame. It didn’t. My hubby had to chisel a new one down lower…and the top section had to be spackled in… it’s still wet in this picture…
While we were working on the door, I filled in the mortise in the middle of the door with more spackle and will let it set and shape it to where it isn’t that cut out looking area.
Before…
…and after, but not finished…
He is still going to replace (and straighten up) these “non-white” outlets, but he put the covers back on for safety purposes till he gets some white ones.
Tomorrow I have to go over the spackled, sanded and painted once, screw holes in the baseboard, with one more coat of paint to make them look as nice as possible. I have to sand that mortised area in the door, and then finish sanding and painting the area where the door closes into the mechanism… It should be a much easier day than today.
I cleaned up my mess tonight and that in itself was a wonderful accomplishment. I was getting tired of seeing all those paint things around.
I am so sore, I can hardly move… I didn’t think I was in “that” bad of shape, but my hubby reminded me how many times I was up and down laying all those planks yesterday. We laid 87 planks, so I was down on my knees and then up again, over and over all day long…
Well, that’s it so far… Rebecca came home from work tonight, and loved how the trim finished it all off… She’s off Thursday and can’t wait to move her stuff in. I’m hoping she’ll let me take some pictures of her stuff in there. She’s still trying to decide on a rug…she’d love to just go to a store and find one in person, but that’s not happening right now, so she’s searching the internet for one.
She’s wanting to get a queen size bed instead of her twin, and she hasn’t found a headboard she likes just yet either. But she’ll have something in her room and I’ll get some pictures…
Thanks for tagging along on this renovation project for the last 10 days or so…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
It’s been such fun to watch the progression of this renovation. Well done! It’s beautiful!!
Hi Charlotte,
I’m so glad you enjoyed my last 10 or so days of non-dolly talk and pictures… it was the perfect time during this pandemic to get it all done.
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, this will really be one for the books, as you might say! What a transformation of that room to where it is now! You are so lucky to have all the tools, expertise, and yes, “expert” in your hubby! I am in wonderment, that George did not wear any knee protectors, and was constantly on his knees! I know he has had two knee replacements, so doesn’t that hurt? I still cannot kneel very long at all, after having knee replacement 9 months ago!
I know it has been a labor of love, but you certainly have saved yourselves a bunch of $$$$! Rebecca is so lucky to have such talented parents, and she is gaining so much knowledge just working with the two of you.
The room is lovely and now you can relax a bit, really!!!
Hi Linda,
We are trying to finish up the outlets and get the closet doors hung… almost done!
George does pretty well on his knees but he mostly has to lay on his side and do work… his revision knee surgery has been pushed back to who knows when… his knee is awful by the end of the day…
It certainly is wonderful to have all the right tools… I have sewing stuff and he has handyman stuff…
I hope after today, we can let Rebecca have her way in here…I’m sure she’ll need help moving her furniture in, but after that, it’s just organizing and decorating!!
Thank you Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
I had to laugh when I saw the mismatched switches and plates. We’ve been in our house 44 years and if you look behind something or close, there are the beige switches and white plates. We have one plate that will remain forever beige as they no longer make that particular three way style. I suppose we could paint it, but paint doesn’t stick too well. Maybe I should try that stick to plastic paint. They didn’t even make that years ago. Really doesn’t bother me anymore as there are so many larger projects to complete.
Rebecca’s “new” room is so fresh and lovely. I like the blinds because they make the wall space so much more usable and still let in lots of light or dark as one prefers.
Now, a few days to recover from muscle strains and you’ll be ready to tackle those kitchen cabinets. Maybe you shouldn’t put away all of your painting materials. 🙂
Great job and well done.
Hi Joy,
My hubby is working on those outlets right now!! YAY!! I had to laugh at your story…but I was secretly laughing because my hubby “probably” has the plate cover you need. He is always picking them up..because…”you never know who might need one!”
Cindy called me this morning and was giving me a little pep talk about my kitchen cabinets…yep, they are up next…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
A big Yay! on the cabinets. 🙂
Dear Jeanne, the room looks so nice. The sun, shining through the windows, makes the paint choices “pop.” I am sure that Rebecca will find her rug and headboard in no time. I hope that she will let you take photos of her furnished room. It would be so lovely to see it.
I haven’t done a countdown in a while. There are only 15 days until May. I know that we and our dolls won’t be dancing around the Maypole this year but maybe we can dance around our houses or in our yards. This isn’t the May we planned but we are all still here and that is a blessing.
Hi Dorothy,
Thanks so much for your sweet compliments on our new room…I bet Rebecca will quickly find a bed when she starts moving the rest of her stuff in.
15 days till May? Every year it sneaks up on me! I’ll dance in my kitchen if you will!!!
Blessings, Jeanne
That room just gets better and better! You make a fabulous team!
Thank you Julia,
We do pretty well together most of the time…(except when I bring up a “new” project idea TOO soon!) :o)
Thank you,
Blessings, Jeanne
I can’t even think how tired and sore you must be, but the room looks great.
Hi Judi Kaye,
I am definitely more sore than tired…I must have used every muscle in my body getting up and down laying those planks!!
I’d take a hot bath, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get out of the tub!!! :o,)
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful transformation. I thought of George having been scheduled for surgery while watching all this! Take it easy from now on! How long would it have taken for contractors to do this job. I hate to think! Congratulations 🎊!
I have a suggestion for Linda: Search on the Home Depot website for motion-activated closet lights. They are battery operated so need no outlets. Some just stick to the wall with no fancy installation. The lights are also available for under baseboards in kitchens or bathrooms.
I’m still awaiting elastic so I can finish the 72 masks 🎠I’ve made. Joann’s has a line around the corner of the store to get in with only a certain number of people admitted at one time. Just a knock on the door and they brought my on-line order to me with no line at all, but it took a week to arrive. Snow on the Southern California mountains down to about 6,000 feet, visible from where I live 70 miles away. Strange for mid-April.
HI Susette,
My hubby was supposed to have his knee revision surgery sometime in April, then it was May, and then finally they said June… Who knows when it will be when it happens now.
He is freshest in the mornings and as long as he’s not on it too much in the afternoon, he can survive on Tylenol… He spent most of today on his side working on outlets…fortunately they were close to the floor and he could reach them easily.
Hurrah for you on making so many masks… The first thing I thought of when you mentioned Joann’s canceled your cotton lining order, was to use cotton sheets. You’d get a lot for your money using them. (I see that’s what Joy says below too!)
Snow… I’m ready for more sunshine… it’s been on the chilly side around here the last few days…
Blessings to you Susette,
~ Jeanne
One mustn’t get too excited; Joann’s just cancelled my order I placed for white lining fabric for masks 15 minutes ago. Can’t find any white cotton fabric in stock on the Internet. Frustrating!😷😢
Susette, last time I went into Joann’s before all of this, I was looking for batiste and white cotton lining. Finally, was able to snag a worker I know for help. They don’t have batiste anymore. I even tried online at Joann’s. And in the lining section, no white cotton lining. The worker finally found something in the shirting section that was like white cotton lining and not expensive. Wish I could remember what it was called, but it was not easy to find and I’m sure a lot of the workers would never find it. Still on a hunt for batiste, I went to ebay and found some for sale there. Only place I’ve been able to find it. I wonder if they still have cheap white cotton single sheets? I used to use that for lining. And I tried to get elastic online at Joann’s, but none was available or if it was it was out of stock at the store. I don’t think you can find elastic anywhere right now. Other person here said he wanted elastic on his mask and said he had some on some old boxers. Sure, old stretched out wide elastic. Perfect. 🙂 I made mine with ties and his too. Now, going to see about changing them to a different configuration since as of Friday this week, everyone going anywhere has to wear one. I’ll probably stick to my cowboy neck scarf bandito mask. Works perfectly for me. 🙂
Since I was thinking of sheets, I checked out Target and they have white twin cotton sheets. Some stores have in stock depending. And so did JC Penney’s. About $12.00 for a sheet I think. Lots of lining there. 🙂
Hi Joy,
We think alike… my first thought for Susette was to use a cotton sheet… I’ve used them for quilt backings too. It should work just fine.
You cracked me up with the line about using the elastic in the boxer shorts! It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything in my mouth when I read that! :o)
We still have some masks from when George had Chemo…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
My first thought was sheets also but when I looked in the closet the only white ones were Egyptian cotton 360 count. I’m not cutting up that set, the only ones I have that are that kind. I finally did find some white cotton fabric at a place in Iowa! I also finished a little tutorial for Suemae’s friend who will be making masks for residents of a senior home. I learned that a picture is, indeed, worth a thousand words. Still waiting for elastic which is only made in China now.
Wow Rebecca’s room looks lovely. I think you all work awesome together. You must be so proud