You Light Up My Life.

And it only cost $4.88, originally $74.98.





Debbie Boone did it first, but I like this one better.



The forms are caulked. More paint has been applied to the hallway trim and ceiling. One more coat on the "crown molding" before bed. It's still 86 degrees. No rain, yet.

The Hallway.

The hallway in this house is only about 30 square feet, but I've spent almost all day painting the trim. When I bought the house, I had to remove a lot of the wood trim around the existing doors. It looked as though someone had walked through with a chainsaw banging it against every door and jamb. I have a feeling a dog was the culprit. It probably didn't care to be shut up in the house while the tenant was away. A padlock on the largest bedroom door had been installed right through the doorstop. I've still got to replace that and the doors. Only the bathroom doors have been done so far. I think they help class up the joint a bit.

The work in the hallway began in late 2007. A spackle texture and many coats of paint had to be scraped from the original wallpaper that was peeling and hiding cracks. It was a dirty job.





Not long after, I removed the trim that was damaged and replaced it. Since then, I have been living with a mix of MDF and pine trim. Today, I got at least 1 coat of paint on everything, including the walls.

Looking from the living room. The kitchen is to the left. The bright green bedroom that is my office is behind the closed door. I didn't feel like cleaning off my desk.



Standing in the bedroom door looking towards the living room, the bathroom has a six panel door and black hardware.



The door straight ahead opens to a small (very small) closet. The door on the right is the small bedroom.



The bathroom door represents what I want the finished product to look like. I think it looks updated, but still maintains the feel of the old house.



Coming out of the bathroom, the kitchen and several shades of green can be seen. I like green.



Before painting, I had to install toe moulding and finish the baseboards where the kitchen meets the hallway. All these corners are driving me crazy.



When this space is finished, I'll move on to the two bedrooms. I need to work on window trim and baseboards. It all needs to match what I did in the rest of the house. Eventually, I'll be finished and have the floors redone. Until then, a good cleaning and some liquid acrylic floor shine will have to do.

It's 95 degrees outside. I walked out a few minutes ago to refill the birdbaths. I'm exhausted now. I might do some more this evening, but for now, I have a test to study for.

Making my own history.

The digging for answers has ended for the day, but I'm working on doing some things of my own in the house as it rains outside. It's 37 degrees.

In 2007/8, the bathroom was remodeled. Laura and I had done some temporary work in the fall of 2007. It turned out to be less of a fix than I had hoped for. So in 2008, I ripped nearly everything out and replaced the old tub with a new fiberglass unit and ceramic tile surround. This is the only room that has new doors thus far. I'll replace the rest in the future as funds are available. Winter is the best time to work inside.







Then the living room was redone in December of 2008. It was a three day job with all the paint scraping, sanding, new baseboards, new paint, and cleaning the floors.



In February of 2009, I finished the dining room. There was snow on the ground as I painted and sorted seeds for my first seed swap.



In August of 2009, I painted my bedroom. The paint was a mixture of several half gallons left over from other rooms. I think it turned out serene.





I've been working on the kitchen since October. It's been a much larger undertaking than I want to admit, but I do love the results so far. The countertop laminate has been laying on the dining room floor for months. Next week, I'll be receiving a gift card from Lowe's as a prize in a contest we won. That will be used to purchase the MDF countertop base I need to glue my laminate to. I can't wait to say goodbye to these waferboard counters. I've still got more painting to do this evening. I missed a few areas when I was caulking. The white primer really makes them stand out. I've got to wait until it's dry to caulk. Maybe I'll head to the grocery store in the meantime.

I really like the green now.







I still need to do one more coat on the other side of the kitchen. I'm hoping my last coat can be done in one day. Until then, the walls will have to live with a little masking tape. A hair dryer from Carla will make it easy to remove.

Next winter, the hallway. Some work has already been done. It's mostly caulk and paint that needs to be finished. I sure don't miss that hot pink bedroom.

The house needs attention.

With so many things happening in the garden, I've ignored the house for way too long. Today I plan to caulk the exterior doors I had installed last summer. I'd like to paint the trim and doors themselves, but it's probably too wet for that.

Inside, the hall trim still needs to be painted. The bathroom door has developed issues since the humidity of spring arrived. I've got the original doors downstairs. I may finish stripping the 60 years of paint and rehang them if I have time.

The screen door off the kitchen needs attention too. I'll scrape and sand it this afternoon when the thunderstorms roll in. I want to replace the existing door with a 15-lite metal door, but funds are currently lacking. Perhaps if I hadn't spent so much money on plants.... ;)

It should be a full day of catching up on these minor chores. It's currently cloudy and misting with a temperature of 70 degrees. No gardening today though I will probably pull a few more weeds when I take my morning stroll. Where's my coffee?