Labor Day, Literally

One of the downsides of renovating a house is that you always think you should be working on a project. When you get four days off for a holiday weekend, instead of looking forward to cookouts and inappropriate drinking, you start contemplating all the tasks you'd like to complete by weekend's end.

You've previously complained so much about all the crap you have to get done that no one dares interrupt your forward movement with a party invitation (at least that's the way we're interpreting no invitations). And since you have so many projects uncompleted or not even started, you don't have the self-esteem to invite anyone over.

So that's where we found ourselves last Friday. So I decided to attack a project I've been wanting to get started forever: removing the wallpaper from the foyer. Based on our experience in the master bedroom, I was expecting to be done steaming all the paper from the walls within a couple of hours.

Ha! How long is it going to take me to learn that nothing is easy in this house?? First, I learned that no two wallpapers are alike. They're more like snowflakes -- really ugly, adhesive-backed, sticky snowflakes -- but each an individual.

The wall coverings in the dining room, laundry, bedroom and foyer have been VERY different. So using a removal technique from a previous room is like using last night's meatloaf recipe to make tonight's cheesecake.

But not knowing this, I proceeded removing the paper the same way we had in the bedroom. The plan was to quickly steam the top paper; then I'd apply more heat to the adhesive below. But after trying this technique on one wall, I realized that the big chunks of drywall being ripped off the walls was due to too much moisture from all that steam.

Even though I changed my game plan for the remaining walls (I started pulling off the top layer with brute force and used the steam just for the adhesive), pieces of those walls still chipped off.

So a project that was supposed to cost me a couple of hours cost me the whole weekend and is spilling over into this week. When I went to add a thin layer of drywall compound to the walls (my favorite, skim coating), the parts where the drywall had been pulled off down to the cardboard were bubbling up like champagne at a wedding toast.

Luckily, after the compound dried, Mr. Hubby was able to use his muscle to sand those parts down. But even after those repairs, I have four walls that have to be skim coated. I'm going to try and do one each day. That way, MAYBE, we can paint this weekend -- IF the drywall compound saves our walls from looking like a pockmarked teenager who has never had the benefit of Proactive.

The good news is that we only have one more room of wallpaper on the main floor! The bad news is that I'm too scared to remove it ...

Have you ever seen what's behind the top layer of drywall??

Tiny bubbles in the wall ...

Just call me "Skim Coat" LevelHead ...

Where's My Present??

It's my birthday today. Remember when the anniversary of coming into this world was the most important day of the year? We were so excited to be another year older and one year closer to ... what exactly?

We had our meals prepared and presented to us three times a day; we didn't have to work, but rather got to spend the day learning about this world AND got to play outside. We didn't have to do laundry, pay bills or fight with our spouse. Is it really worth all that to be able to set our own sleeping hours? Heck, now we'd kill for someone to put us down for a nap every afternoon.

So here I am contemplating being another year older. After my cancer scare last year, of course I'm extremely grateful that I'm here at all. But one can't help but ponder about life goals and the legacy that will be left behind one day. I haven't cured any horrible diseases, invented any life-changing products or even had a major impact on my local community.

But I have the most wonderful husband and daughter, whose love lifts me up every day. And I try to give that love back as much as I can. I also try to be a good person when I'm out in the world -- doing the right thing and being honest and caring.

I make lots of mistakes, for sure, but my intentions are almost always pure (I may have wished ill will on a contractor or two during this reno, but not very often).

So today, I want to appreciate being on this earth for another year and taking time to smell those flowers that the neighborhood deer haven't decimated.

To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes: life isn't a dress rehearsal. Here's to hoping I'm just getting started in the second act of my play ...

Next post: how I may need to toss all this life-affirming crap and kill the dog for what she's doing to our new living room rug.

A Lethagic Litany

Had a fantabulous time roaming around HomeGoods this weekend in the big city -- I had this goofy smile on my face that must have appeared as complete insanity to my fellow shoppers.

But my excursion also made me face a Carrie Bradshaw-type revelation: how can I be so perky and energized while shopping but so easily distracted and tired when there are not-so-glamorous jobs to do at home? Like when I should be painting trim in our bedroom, I become obsessed with Facebook and cannot get my butt to move an inch off the couch.

There's only one plausible explanation: I'm lazy -- really, really lazy. I've always known that I had a tendency toward the comatose side of the energy spectrum. But when I was diagnosed with neurological problems several years ago, of which fatigue can be a symptom, I thought, "Aha, that's why I crave naps instead of exercise classes and the reason I'd much rather watch a cooking show on TV than get out the roasting pan myself.

But now I'm questioning that diagnosis -- not the medical one; rather, the excuse it gives me to sit on my bony underside way too much. If I can be so energetic doing something I like, then it's clearly not a question of feeling tired all the time. Instead, I'm self-diagnosing myself with Selective Fatigue.

Like right now, I should be emptying the dishwasher before work. But, no, I've convinced myself that this blog entry, including the ability to keep my arse right where it is, is way more important than household chores.

What can I do to change my sedentary ways when it comes to the mundane parts of renovation? I always think of that arthritis medicine commercial (I see a lot of ads during my TV marathons) that talks about a body in motion tending to stay in motion. That's so true. It's just that initial push to start the movement that I have a problem with.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. But who else is there to blame? I guess instead of sitting here, self-analyzing, which by the way doesn't involve actually doing anything, I should get over to that dishwasher.

I have a friend who says that she keeps herself going throughout the day because she knows once she sits down, it's all over. I need to adopt that attitude myself. I could also try Dr. Phil's "Fake It 'Til You Feel It" advice: in my case, if I get going as if I have energy with boring tasks, I eventually will.

So wish me luck today. I'm hoping to go to work, clean part of the house and lift weights, as well as making a renovation to-do list for the week. You know, that to-do list will allow me to keep sitting on this couch, so maybe I should start with that ...

Meet My New Baby!!

Many of you may not have known I was expecting, but Mr. Hubby and I proudly gave birth to the newest member of the LevelHeaded family last night. Boy or girl, you ask? No, it's a table! And if I do say so myself, it's about as cute as can be -- shabby chic with just enough imperfections to make it antique-y.

My gestation period was only the time it took to email with the Craig's List seller and the hours waiting to pick it up yesterday. And that pain is quickly dissipating as I admire my not-so-tiny newborn.

If you'll recall from my most recent post, the table purchased is actually a round dining table. I knew I wanted an oversized coffee table but didn't want to pay a supersized price, so I had this idea to cut off the legs of a bargain-priced piece.

And that's just what I found. Well, maybe the price wasn't as low as I was hoping; the seller just wouldn't budge. But $50 isn't too much for solid wood, is it? And who can actually put a price on a member of the family?

When we got home with our bundle, Mr. Hubby gave birth to his own bundle of energy and quickly got to work measuring the height of the existing table and cutting off legs.

What's left is just what I wanted: a mega table that's not far from any of the couch or chair seats in the room.

There's only one teensy-weensy problem: the color. It's a funky turquoise, which I think is tres cool, but there's nothing else remotely like it in the rest of the room. So my next stop may be a flea market to see if I can find a few turquoise accents.

Plus, we're going to the big city this weekend for a party, and I may be able to weasel some shopping time out of the deal. The old me would have run to the Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel stores (which are still fun for looking), but I really want to go to a HomeGoods store to see what bargains I can snatch.

FYI, we're registered at several furniture stores around town if you want to buy us a baby gift ...


We are pleased to introduce LevelHead Table (but we're going to call it LHT) ...

I Have To Be Level -- It's My Name!

First, let me admit that I'm a little distracted right now. I'm in hot negotiation for a Craig's List coffee table for the living room. It's actually a dining table -- but we (OK, Mr. Hubby) can cut off the legs to a coffee table height. That way, it can be nice and big, just the way I want it.

My CL obsession has gotten so intense that I now look at catalogs and think, "how boring; anyone can just BUY a table'' -- how much more exciting to purchase it from an individual who may or may not want to kill you. Plus, you can get it at a great price and have an interesting story to tell (well, that is, if you survive the transaction -- if not, it's one heck of a funeral parlor tale for your loved ones).

But back to current projects: The Hubster has begun to hang a chair rail in the dining room. It's looking pretty sharp. Plus, he put up the first wall decoration in the new space. It's a mirror surrounded by driftwood that I bought from a catalog a few years ago. I know, how passé, but I did get it on clearance after drooling over it at full price for months.

But after hanging it, Mr. H and I were at odds. I said it was crooked (and how embarrassing for someone named LevelHead). Hubby said it was level; he claimed double-checking the mounting screws several times before drilling. Slowly, both of us started remembering the hanging of this mirror in the old house -- turns out the driftwood is not all the same length, so it appears to be off kilter when hung.

So now, how do we get it to appear level? Our first idea is to wrap tape around one of the screws so it sits just slightly higher on one side. We'll attempt this brainstorm tomorrow, if time allows. Mr. H is about to start teaching next week, so my live-in handyman is about to go all academic on me. But he can't leave me hanging on this one (haha -- this renovation humor kills!).

On another note, I put on two more coats of spray paint on the shower pan -- it's looking better and better. I think one additional coat should do it, although the toxicity of the application (man, it stinks to high heaven, which is awfully close to the ozone layer it's depleting) may be taking years away from our planet's life span.

Next, I'd like to pick out a color for the foyer. Mr. Hubby also had the idea of painting pinstripes of white in the space. Genius!! Either I or HGTV is wearing off on him, and I couldn't be prouder ...

The dining room chair rail looks great. But can I get an amen on the mirror not looking level?

The shower pan is almost ready for its close-up.

We're Singin' the Blues ...

Cyndi Lauper had a song back in the day about showing your true colors, and boy, could we relate as we began painting the kitchen.

We decided to use the same color as we did in the living room -- "Ice Rink Blue'' -- which looks great. But when we painted one of the kitchen walls yesterday, it came out an entirely different color -- this weird neon version of itself. Only when the sun went down did it return to its true blue.

I guess three big windows and a skylight are enough to transform a sweet color to the zombie realm.

What to do?

Mr. Hubby, sexy painter boy toy, and I put our heads together -- partly to blind ourselves from the neon sign that was our kitchen wall -- but also to come up with a solution, which we did: stripes. We thought that adding the darker color that we used in the dining room might bring down the intensity a few decibels.

And it did. Plus, it added some interest to the plain wall, which was an added bonus.

So we thought we had learned from our mistake and painted the other kitchen wall the darker color. But I'll be danged if the skylight didn't turn THAT wall into an even crazier color.

So we're going to paint it white -- pretty boring, especially with the white cabinets, but we'd rather have blah than AHHHHH!

Today I need to make my to-do list for the weekend, which will include finding a new spray paint for the shower pan I started last weekend ...

Here are the stripes. Where are the stars??

He's Got Mad Skills

While I was diffusing toxic spray paint fumes around the ozone this past weekend, Mr. Hubby was on a painting roll (that's renovation humor, people).

After buying only four paint samples (which isn't really too bad for me), I chose the colors: a pale gray/blue for the living room and a darker version for the dining area. The Hubster then got to work.

We decided that a separate primer would be worth the effort on the walls that formerly had wallpaper, and it was a good decision. The paint went on much more smoothly than it had in the master bedroom.

There's not too much more to say, other than that Mr. Hubby has a back-up career if his teaching gig doesn't work out. He's a fabulous painter, and he's even learning to put drop cloths down on the floor --  which avoided the speckled abstract art he created on the laundry room floor after painting the doors.

Soon I want to transform the dining room table, which I got free from my former next-door neighbor. I'm hoping to make it look like an antique with some strategic painting and sanding. More on that to come.

Here are some pictures of the dining and living rooms, before and after ''the blues.''