Rub-A-Dub-Dub...

look at my new tub.
It's still a little rough around the edges, but it is definitely installed and working!












The tub isn't the only thing looking fresh and clean!
There was a lot of painting today. The master bedroom is painted and the office.



This is the master bedroom before...





And after.
For those of you who may be wandering, I'm not painting the trim gray. It just has gray primer on it because the trim is painted with oil based paint and has to be covered before I can paint it with the trim color.













I had some help with the office and with cleaning. Thanks Ashley and Destinee!



Painting the office














Oh those shutter doors and Winnie the Pooh border!!


I am so blessed to see the progress. It really doesn't look like the same house. Today, I put 2 drawer organizers in the kitchen. It felt good to do something that seemed "normal" for a new house. Organizing a drawer is a much lighter task than pulling up 1600 square feet of carpet or refinishing cabinets.
Tomorrow the new heater and air conditioner will be installed. My fixer-upper house is on the mend!!

Square peg in a round hole....

Today was pretty exciting and busy at the house. I had lots of helpers and big jobs were being accomplished all over the house.

The tub with a hole in it is now gone. And the new tub is almost installed. There was just a slight problem... trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The tub pieces couldn't fit through the bathroom door. So they had to cut a hole in the bedroom wall and slide the tub in. (On the plus side, when they cut the bedroom wall they cut away some of that awful Winnie the Pooh wall paper border.)


Before...











Goodbye
Tub

















My wonderful helpers got a lot of work done...


Julia and Lucy cleaned the office, including the shutter doors.











Maegan took down the weird plastic on the windows and painted.












And Raelee painted the bedroom and hallway ceiling.

House curriculum

After being at a 3 day women's conference, I returned to find my home waiting for me. I had dreamed perhaps it would come to life while I was gone and fix itself (sounds a little too much like a Disney movie) but I found it just as I had left it.

Today was a scraping day. I scraped the bedroom ceiling and scraped the paint off the bedroom windows. (There was about a 2 inch stripe around the inside of each window.) And of course, I cleaned the dreaded shutter doors. I appreciate all the support I received in my hatred of these doors. Perhaps we can start some kind of support group.

I have been a homeowner for about 2 weeks now, and I thought I would share with you a few things I have learned:
1. You can work harder than you think you can.
2. I am incapable of hammering a nail straight.
3. If you spray water on linoleum adhesive in an effort to make scraping it up easier, it does not work. It just turns the adhesive into sticky gray boogers.
4. Never buy paint in 5 gallon buckets. Trying to pour it into a paint tray is like trying to control an avalanche.
5. You can touch anything if you put on enough pairs of plastic gloves.
6. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers can clean anything.
7. Shutter doors should be outlawed! :-)

Shutter Bug...

In the midst of cleaning, scrubbing, and renovating, it has surprised me the things that have gotten under my skin the most. It has not been what I would have guessed. Today I was surprised to find that I totally lost my patience with these jewels:









Who invented these!?! What a ridiculous idea to put doors with little tiny slats to catch every piece of dirt. These are the doors to the laundry closet. FILTHY! And there is no easy way to clean them. I think I went through 3 rolls of paper towels trying. Squirt with cleaner. Wipe with paper towel. Try to shove paper towel in between the little tiny dirt traps. To add to the fun, I discovered they were painted with oil based paint which means they have to be primed before they're painted. What a shutter bug! (Did I mention these are just the first 4? This house has 16 shutter doors!)

The kitchen, however, has been a much more encouraging project. There is a new garbage disposal and pipes, the inside of every cabinet has been "kilzed". And the cabinet frames and drawers have been painted.









And there is some progress in the yard. Thanks to my Garden Fairy. (Thanks Cecile!)
Before:









After:

Did I mention the view?

Today is Monday and it was a day of professional opinions on the house. The heating and air conditioning guy came to make his estimate. And the plumber began his mysterious work on the hole-y bath tub, the hole-y garbage disposal and the water faucet that doesn't quit running.

Today was exciting because today was the first day the water was cut on. For the past week all the work at the house has been done without water. Which also means all the work has been done with out use of the "facilities'. Which can be quite inconvenient. (I have found that Walgreen's is my favorite place to visit through out the day.

But today... the facilities, or at least one of them was usable. I was so excited to christen (so to speak) the new toilet, but the only problem I noticed was the view...













Yes, this is the view from the bathroom in the master bedroom. There is no door on the bathroom... and no curtains on the windows... and no blinds on the wondows... ooop! Hello world! Just out that window is the street and the neighbor's house. (The one neighbor I haven't met yet -oh no!) Note to self: Take a sheet to the house tomorrow to make a bathroom door.

Today was also ceiling day. Painting the ceilings didn't turn out to be as hard as I had anticipated. I'm so thankful I have long arms. I can stand in one place on a step ladder and reach a 5 foot radius.









I am thankful for a house that is starting to show glimpses of being a home.

Work at the Ponderosa...

It was a busy Saturday at the house. This is day 5 of work, and I am so encouraged by the progress.

Today I was determined to mark a room off the list. There is so much to do in every room, that it seems like an endless task. So, I really wanted to just have one room that was clean, and done, and didn't need anything else fixed. I picked the laundry room. I started yesterday scraping up the 30 year old linoleum. And today... it was finished!!

Here's what I am most proud of - the new linoleum tiles and the quarter round. This is the first time I've ever attempted corner round. I'm not very good at it but it is finished!









I also worked in the kitchen today. The top kitchen cabinets got their first coat of paint, and I scraped the ceiling.









Scraping the ceiling is not a very fun job. I had grand ideas to smooth the stipple ceilings in the whole house and paint them all smooth, but that grand idea has gone the way of the wind. I don't think any normal person can hold their arms over their head for that long. So I came to a compromise. I decided to just scrape off some of the soot and stalactites. When I was scraping the kitchen today I didn't realize how close I was to the fan, and before I knew it my curly ponytail was covered in giant spider webs.... YUCK!! You can't turn your back on this house for a minute :-)

My favorite new toy...












The wet dry vac. It is very helpful to have around.

So, what task should I conquer tomorrow? I'll have to consult the very long list. All I can say is that this week has given me a whole new level of respect for construction workers.

Eating an elephant

What did you have for lunch today? Well, I had an elephant! (Not literally, I actually ate a salad.) But my helper of the day reminded me today of the best way to eat an elephant. One bit at a time. Fixing up this house is definitely the "Elephant". And every task completed is a bite. Some bites are harder than others.

Today I tried to tackle the laundry closet. Yesterday, I started scraping up the linoleum. What a tedious job. I picked up the scraping again this morning... and this afternoon... and tonight. But it is almost done. And I have patched holes, smoothed the ceiling a little bit, painted the ceiling and the walls, and hopefully I will have the floor completely scraped in the morning, and I can lay the new vinyl tiles and check that room off my "to do" list.
Before...









Almost after...












And check out the progress in the backyard. This was such a tough job. I am thankful for my tough helpers. (Girl Power!)
Before:












During:


















After:









Tomorrow is a new day! I am so thankful and amazed at the progress so far.

Who lives like this...

"Who lives like this?" could be the most commonly spoken phrase at the new house. When you are scrubbing who knows what off of the strangest places, we will say, "Who lives like this?" I have been totally amazed at the level of gross. On the plus side, all the new neighbors seem REALLY happy that I am moving in :-)

I have found when I am cleaning it is best to NOT try and imagine what you are scrubbing. So, I have made the mental decision to make every stain spaghetti. On the floor, in the cabinets, all over the counter... I just say to myself. "It's spaghetti. It's spaghetti. It's spaghetti." (I feel certain it is not spaghetti.)

The prize for the grossest job of the day may be a toss up between cleaning out the rotted, moldy wood under the kitchen sink or cleaning the guest bathroom. (It all depends on what you find more offensive.)









Here's a little glimpse under the sink. This picture does not do it justice. The garbage disposal is broken and has a big rusted hole in the side. It appears that the previous owners just used it anyway and let food spray all over the inside of the cabinets. "Who lives like this..."












And the second candidate for grossest job of the day... is the guest bathroom.
The 2 pictures above are the before...












And here it is clean, with the linoleum pulled up :-) Did I mention there was some kind of fern, that's right a fern type living thing, growing under the linoleum by the toilet! Amazing! Now if I could just clean away the big hole in the bath tub. Who lives like this?

I think the task I am most proud of is the progress on the kitchen floor. I tried to add up in my head how many hours have been spent scrubbing that floor. I think about 20... most of those spent on my knees. Here's the latest floor improvements...









And we have also said good bye to all the wallpaper (or at least almost all the wallpaper) Some went more gracefully than others. That Winnie the Pooh border is pretty wicked stuff.













So how did they live this ... I have no idea. I have thought about it a lot as I frustrating-ly cleaned off stains using razor blades and every cleaner I own. Why didn't they just clean it as they went along? How can they just spill food on the floor and leave it there for 10 years?
In the midst of my cleaning it occurred to me that I'm not that different from the previous owners of this house. No, I do not have food sprayed all over the inside of my cabinets, but there are some things in my life that I tend to put off, ignore, or let accumulate. Some are small things like laundry or mopping, but some of my delays involve more important things, like sharing about Christ with a neighbor, or writing a note to a friend I know is struggling. I think from now on when I am tempted to put off 'til tomorrow what I know the Lord intended for today I will remember all those "spaghetti" stains. And I will remember that no one was meant to live like this... delayed obedience is disobedience (a common quote from my pastor). But today I would add to that, delaying obedience, makes obedience much harder! What are you supposed to be doing today that you have put off?

Oh, and I cannot end the daily blog without thanking my amazing helpers from today, Marcia and Joan. What a blessing they were! In I John it says that the world will know we are followers of Christ by our love for one another. I certainly felt that love today. I know these ladies love the Lord and I am so thankful that the overflow of that looked like love spilling out on me today.

What has happened in "Renovation World"? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here's the run-down...

1. Cleaned kitchen cabinets and removed hardware. Here is a little sample of the "leftovers" stuck to the cabinets.
This one is actually pretty good compared with some... Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to the rescue.


















2. Scrubbed the master bathroom and pulled up the linoleum. Thanks Julia!













3. Marcia cleaned cabinets. (Did I mention the cabinets were really dirty?!) Thanks Marcia!












4. French doors are in... don't they look great. Jack did such a wonderful job.
Here's a before and after...



















5. And cleaning the kitchen tiles again. Oh my, they were so disgusting. This most recent round of cleaning was done on hands and knees using a razor blade, Windex and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (I felt a little like I was washing an elephant with a q-tip.) That Spanish tile is hard on the knees, but it's actually starting to look like a kitchen floor. (And we wiped down all the walls - good bye soot.)











6. And to round out our list, the half wall room divider. It is going to look great. Here it is almost finished...
Before and NOW!












I think we're doing great, especially since I've only owned the house for 2 1/2 days :-)
Who knows what amazing things will happen tomorrow. I'm so thankful to have such sweet friends who are willing to climb in this mess with me. Thank you!

Oh my! Today was a busy day. The morning started with a trip to Columbus with 2 of my favorites folks, the Morgan's . We visited a salvage yard to look for doors, but ended up leaving with 4 light fixtures and super cool tin tiles that used to be on a roof (maybe a Victorian house). They have an embossed design that reminds me of a stain glass window. I hope to use them for a back splash behind the stove and for a little something on the front door.









And then, back to the cleaning. Some sweet friends cleaned the soot on the fireplace. That was a gross and frustrating job. (Thanks Jan and Marie!) It's like the stones just soak up the dirt. Here's a little before and after.












Dirty... Cleaner!

And then there was the floor in the kitchen. I just have one word for you GROSS!!! I have been to third world countries, and I think this floor ranks as the dirtiest thing I have ever seen. Scrubbing, scrubbing and scrubbing some more. I think every cleaning product made has been tried on this floor. It's looking better but still needs some work. I can tell you that cleaning Spanish tile is hard on the knees. (Thanks so much for the help Ashley!)












Dirty... Cleaner
(Am I the only one who thinks the floor changed colors!)

And then there were the french doors. I don't know if any of you have ever bought and installed french doors, but they are quite the challenge. Hoping we could get them to the house in one piece made me so nervous. (I think renovating a house is improving my prayer life!)
Here they are transit:

And here they are installed. Doesn't it look great! (Thanks Jack and Terri Leigh!) Did I mention french doors are also very heavy and the most awkward things to try and pick up and move.









Here are the 1970's broken sliding glass doors... new french door!

So tomorrow is a new day... Let the cleaning begin!!!