Today we ordered the boards for my floor. Funny that in a family that includes a professional hardwood floor installer, we seem to prefer plain old 2 by 4’s and 1 by 4’s for our flooring. Or maybe not, we know how much each different type of wood flooring costs.
In a stroke of genius, Mom ordered boards 14 feet long. Why is this genius? Because my room is 12 and a half feet across at the widest. One board will cover the entire width the room. Now we won’t have to fit the boards together like a jig saw puzzle; now I will have fewer cracks to caulk; now this will be an easier installation for Dad.
This is what I keep repeating to myself, over and over again through my teeth. The genius will take effect later, I just have to get these unmanageably long boards inside without punching a hole through the door, any of the walls, furnishings, dogs or Mom. With about 7 feet of board in front of me and about the same behind, I have to choose which 7 feet I will keep an eye on. And as Elisabeth Elliot so correctly said: “A choice is a limitation.” To look ahead means I won’t hit that oil lamp…the wall back there has to fend for itself. To look behind means Mom’s computer is safe–but what about that snow globe that is, oh, seven and a half feet in front of me? Trying to keep an eye on both ends means Mom in front of me and the dog behind me will both have to scramble out of the way (if Jake had any sense, that is).
Like I said, the genius will take effect later. Hopefully we will still have a house for it to take effect in.
Painting was on my mind yesterday. Naturally, it was on everybody else’s by mid-morning…and it was on my walls by mid-afternoon!
Once home with my paint, I changed into dingy old clothes, pulled my hair back and got painting. I proved to be rather adept at it…all those years of helping Mom, I guess. Since I didn’t prime the drywall first, it just soaked up the paint. So did the ceiling, the floor and my shirt. I said I was adept at painting–not tidy.
So, two more coats and I’m on to the flooring!
I said before that I wanted my room to be a bright, sunny yellow. Well, it certainly is!
In case anyone is wondering, the color is Porter Paint’s Lazy Daizy, color code: 112-4
“Drywall is easy. It’s the taping and mudding that’s the hard part.”
This was the warning I heard from many a source. And sure enough, they were right. Taping and mudding is an involved process that requires concentration and a considerable amount of elbow grease.
It’s also very dusty. There was dust to spare: even after coating me, the floor, the walls, my mattress, the hall way floor, the erstwhile pantry (now a temporary home to my stuff) and everything in it. Despite the elbow grease and dust, and probably because of the sticky goo the mud was before drying, I thoroughly enjoyed this step in the reconstruction of my room. Also, I proved to be rather good at it.
So they say. And so, for the sake of honesty, I will freely admit that I was not entirely sure that either Dad or I would live to see the last piece of drywall hung. Nor can I blame the drywall. No, Dad and I being so very much alike and yet so very different has to take all the blame; that or two short tempers.
Despite all that, the drywall was hung in two weeks, most of the work taking place on the two Saturdays.
Pictures (once again borrowed from Mom’s blog): Here and here.
I’d get my own camera, but currently all my money is being spent on my room.
Mom asked me a question this week: What type of music do I like? I’ll admit I was somewhat surprised at the question; it never occured to me that four adults sharing the same house could keep any secrets, especially if they weren’t trying to. Once I started to think about it, it did sort of make sense. I like to sing my favorite songs…but because I’m not very good at singing and still can be shy about the oddest things, I never sing when I think somebody’s listening. So I got thinking about what kind of songs I like. Then I decided to make a list.
I tend to like simple songs with nice melodies. Ballads, musicals, folk songs, old hymns, and music from movie/TV soundtracks, are all types of music that I enjoy. Thanks to my classical education, I have an appreciation for instrumental music, but I rather prefer music with words. Opera is okay, but I like to have something to look at when I listen to it.
I may regret doing this by the time I reach #45, but here’s a list of my 100 favorite songs. The only order is the order they present their names to my memory!
My Immortal: Evanescence
These Small Hours/Little Wonders: Rob Thomas
Right In Front Of Me:April Matson
Ache: James Carrington (Though I liked it better when I thought the chorus was “Have I told you I aim for you.” It’s really “Have I told you I ache for you.”)
Reflection:Christina Aguilera
Earth Angel: the Crew-Cuts
I Walk The Line: Johnny Cash
A Boy Named Sue: Johnny Cash
Man In Black: Johnny Cash
The Man Comes Around: Johnny Cash
Flesh and Blood: Johnny Cash
That Old Wheel: Johnny Cash
Close Every Door: Joseph and the Amazing Tennicolor Dreamcoat
Any Dream Will Do: Joseph and the Amazing Tennicolor Dreamcoat
If Tomorrow Never Comes: Garth Brooks
Alabama Clay: Garth Brooks
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old): Garth Brooks
Cowboy Bill: Garth Brooks
The Night I Called The Old Man Out: Garth Brooks
The Change: Garth Brooks
She’s Every Woman: Garth Brooks
Ireland: Garth Brooks
The Beaches Of Cheyenne: Garth Brooks
It’s Midnight Cinderella: Garth Brooks
She’s Always A Woman: Billy Joel
The Downeaster “Alexa”: Billy Joel
The River Of Dreams: Billy Joel
Leningrad: Billy Joel
Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel): Billy Joel
Time After Time : Cyndi Lauper
Burn The Ships: Steven Curtis Chapman
Small Town: John Mellencamp
Scarecrow: John Mellencamp
Place In This World: Michael W. Smith
Daylight: Allison Krauss
Crazy As Me: Allison Krauss
Never Got Off The Ground: Allison Krauss
Borderline: Allison Krauss
So Much For Pretending: Bryan White
Still Life: Bryan White
Between Now and Forever: Bryan White
Walk Like A Man: Rick Springfield
The Proud One: The Osmonds
I Can’t Live A Dream: The Osmonds
Love Me For A Reason: The Osmonds
I Have A Dream: Abba
Slipping Through My Fingers: Abba
Lay All Your Love (On Me): Abba
Mama Mia: Abba
Russians: Sting
Amazing Grace
O Come O Come Emmanuel
What Child Is This?
Lord Of The Dance
A Mighty Fortress
O Holy Night
Silent Night
Psalm 23 to music
The Doxology
You’re All I Want: Lifehouse
Beauty and the Beast: Beauty and the Beast
Gaston: Beauty and the Beast
The Voice: Celtic Woman
May It Be: Enya
How Can I Keep From Singing?: Enya
Arwen’s Song/With A Sigh, You Turn Away: Liv Tyler
Pippin’s Song/All Shall Fade: The Lord Of The Rings
Into The West: Annie Lennox
Over The Rainbow: The Wizard Of Oz
Beyond The Sea: Bobby Darin
Once Upon A Dream: Sleeping Beauty
Edelwiess: The Sound Of Music
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: The Sound Of Music
The Sound of Music: The Sound of Music
Climb Every Mountain: The Sound of Music
16 Going On 17 (Reprise): The Sound of Music
Santa Fe: Newsies
NYC: Annie
You Are My Sunshine: Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell
Circle of Life: The Lion King
Just Can’t Wait To Be King: The Lion King
Can’t You Feel The Love Tonight: The Lion King
On The Street Where You Live: My Fair Lady
Sweet Home Alabama: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Keep Your Hands To Youself: The Calling
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Gordon Lightfoot
Carefree Highway: Gordon Lightfoot
Watchin’ Scotty Grow: Mac Davis
Live Like You Were Dying: Tim McGraw
Far From The Home I Love: Fiddler On The Roof
Sunrise, Sunset: Fiddler On The Roof
Jesus, Take The Wheel: Carrie Underwood. I don’t generally like pop Christian songs, but this one was different.
Mr. Mom: Lonestar
99 Red Ballons: Nena
Careless Whisper: George Michael
Rosemary’s Sister: Connie Dover (I saw this performed live at a Scottish Festival and for some reason, the memory is very special.)
Tennessee Waltz: Eva Cassidy
She Could Be You: Shawn Hlookoff
Weapon: Matthew Good
All-Star: Smash Mouth. MA, Mom, not a word!
I may regret this? Well, it was fun, time-consuming, research-requiring…If you ever are bored to tears and have a free afternoon, this would be a nice exercise.
Tuesday evening MA entertained the rest of the family with his hospital stories, which were very good. Even under loopy medicine, MA is MA, discussing sutures and mono-filaments with the doctors and nurses. I get the impression he was a dream patient, which isn’t surprising. He’s well liked where ever he goes. I got to see his wound that night when Mom cleaned it: it looked rather like a piece of beef that had been cut almost in half and then stitched back together, wrapped in human skin. I found it very fascinating and was so interested I forgot to get queasy. (All this has reminded me that I was considering taking EMS training and now I’ve decided to actually do that, after I get my driver’s license. There, incentive to drive!)
The next morning (yesterday) when Mom checked it, the thumb was swollen, the stitches straining and the skin surrounding it was white. Mom called the Emergency Room and they said to take him to a specialist.
Once there, MA lost 3 stitches and they discovered that he was allergic to two of the medicines…including the painkiller they gave him. That would explain a few things!
MA is doing tremendously better since they took him off the medicine he’s allergic to. The swelling is down, and he’s sleeping soundly now. The specialist did give us a list of 5 things to pray for:
That the nerve endings and blood vessels heal properly and well.
That he doesn’t lose any more stitches.
That the wound will scar tightly. As odd as this sound, we need an ugly scar.
That the antibiotics will keep the bacteria levels low. Since it was an old table saw, there’s a lot of “stuff” in his thumb that there shouldn’t be.
That the pain will be manageable.
She also said this type of injury is very similar to if he cut himself with a running chainsaw; only because it’s a smaller area it is a little harder to work on.
Today has been fairly uneventful. Thank you Lord! This morning I amused my brother greatly with my yoga attempts; I always knew that being a klutz with a sharp tongue would come in handy one of these days!
The rest of us are doing pretty well. I’ve only had one freak-out: yesterday morning after Mom and MA left I started scrubbing the kitchen floor with way too much bleach, chattering to myself like a mad woman–which I think I temporally turned into. It was an unusual and possibly hysterical (I’ll leave the definition of “hysterical” to you) way to blow off steam…but at least we have a clean floor!
Sorry if this is a bit random and disjointed. Sometimes you’re eloquent, sometimes you’re just plain not.
I found this on Elenatintil and just had to share it. It’s a side-splitter for sure.
EDIT: If nothing else, it did get both MA and Mom laughing really hard when I showed it to them. Considering they had just spent about 5 hours in an Emergency Room, that’s quite a feat!
While MA (my older and only brother) has a great deal of experience in hospitals and around doctors due to his asthma and allergies, the blood ‘n’ bones type of injury is extremely rare for him. I was always the one with broken limbs and gushing blood–and I was the one copying what he did! Today, however, the one who never gets hurt got hurt…and did it pretty spectacularly.
This morning at 9:15 MA’s boss called to let us know that MA had gashed his thumb pretty badly and that he was taking him to the Emergency Room. His boss went on to describe the injury as “It’s major-but it’s not major.” Mom was at the hospital by 10:00 and, considering that the hospital is 30-45 minutes away, that’s pretty fast! MA was in surgery from 12:30 to 1:30–for he didn’t gash his thumb so much as slice it wide open. With a table saw. Mom said that even the nurses told her it was pretty gross. It was also painful and very deep: MA had at least 40 stitches; but at least he didn’t have to go to a specialist.
What most upset MA, though, was that he’ll be unable to work for the rest of the week. He absolutely loves his job and really hates to miss work. Poor guy. I hope we all survive the week.
Get well soon Brub and I hope this post cheers you up some. Though, I must say, that if this is how you do blood ‘n’ bones, I wish you’d leave it to me.
I usually go with Mom to do her shopping. Friday, I had a lot of shopping to do myself: I wanted to get a new notebook (preferably a Paperblank), a shake mix I drink and a few clothes.
We went to the mall to get the notebook…and my utter delight they had more Paperblanks!! I was absorbed in choosing just one and Mom went to look at her new favorite type of book–vegan cookbooks. In the end I choose a huge, fat one called “Embossed”.
Then we got on with the rest of our shopping. In Meijer I abandoned Mom to go price their mirrors; and it’s a good thing too. I found the perfect mirror for my room. It was $50…for 50% off! Needless to say, I got a cart. You’ll get a picture of that–mirror, not cart–when my room is done and it’s on the wall. I was so excited about my find that I almost forgot the clothes I needed; and when I did head over to get them, I found a pretty white tunic/shirt thing. I thought to myself: “If that was blue and a Small, I’d get that.” What did I find a little bit farther down? A blue Small one!
The next stop was a Rainbow Blossom to get the shake mix, and with no unexpected purchases there (the cookie doesn’t count), my shopping and Mom’s were completed. Oh, and I drove home–safely and very well!
The only problem with hanging clothes outside is that sometimes we get the wayward bee or lost wasp in them. Most of the time, Mom shakes them out, kills or ejects them from the house and life continues with barely enough of an interruption to catch our attention.
However–
Not every insect will follow these strict rules of conduct (make your presence known, then sit still and gracefully accept whatever Mom deals out). Some are smart. Some will hide. Some will not sit still but will instead deal out their own judgment. Yesterday we had one of those in the house…specifically, we had one of those in Mom’s yoga shorts. It’s presence was completely unsuspected until Mom put the shorts on. Then there was no doubt.
This morning I found Hazel-rah, our Chief (and for a while now our only) rabbit dead. Poor guy was 5 years old, a ripe old age for his kind. As is my new tradition for deceased pets, here is his life story:
He was born here all of 5 years ago, one of I can’t remember how many. He quickly distinguished himself by being the spunkiest bunny of the bunch, so he was awarded with a name (which means he would be allowed to live as long as he liked): Hazel-rah, after the character in Watership Down. When he reached six months of age, Hazel was given as a gift to AS/Squeaky, who adored him. Unfortunately, Hazel’s common sense was somewhat lacking in his youth: he kept escaping from his cage, tending to wander in areas that were patroled by dogs. Fearing for his safety, AS regretfully returned him.
Hazel next left home to become Peter Rabbit, the main breeding male for some friends of ours. There, he fathered a multitude and grew quite fat. When the family decided to thin the ranks of their rabbits, we took him back. He resumed his original name and position of King of the Rabbits–er, I mean Homestead– (“rah” means “king” or “prince” in Watership Down Lapine); and we inherited the rabbit-population problems that apparently were Hazel’s fault. I don’t think even Abraham (my first rabbit buck) sired as many children! Rabbits came and rabbits went in the years following his return, but Hazel was the undisputed king of them all.
We shall definately miss our bossy, demanding, yet utterly loveable king!
When I was little and we first moved into our house, Mom decorated my room in an ocean theme: light blue walls, blue curtains and the cutest fish border that was at waist-height. Well, it used to be at head-height, but it sort of shrank as I got older. It was a perfect room for the little girl known as me; combining my favorite color with my favorite element.
When I was 14, I decided that I wanted something different, more grown-up. The fish border was the first thing to be removed. Mom had read on-line that if you put a hot iron to wall paper, it would come off but leave the drywall intact. I’ll never forget her face when it did no such thing. To hide the gaping inner drywall, we put up paneling. So my room went from blue ocean themed to white walls, tan faux wood paneling and grayish-tan/coffee-with-a-lot-of-cream colored chair railing. The pink carpet (which, by the way came with the house and covered all the floors but the bathroom and kitchen) was also removed and faux wood vinyl tiles put in it’s place. It was a nice room.
When I was 18 almost 19, I decided that I wanted my room to be a little more “me” than it was. A French Country style with bright yellow walls, white trim with splashes of pastel blue, white washed wood floor–perfect for the young woman known as me; combining style with quirkiness. There was, however, a slight problem: I didn’t want paneling in this ”new” room. So…
Off with the drywall!!
Pictures can be seen here, here and here. Oh, and that’s me in the first picture.
I had something going on every single night last week. Whew! For a girl whose evenings are quiet, laidback affairs, that was a change.
Monday through Thursday saw me at a local church at VBS. The churches around here are all small, so three of them (including my church) have developed a lovely tradition of combining forces for Vacation Bible School. This past week saw the fulfilment of a month of planning, meetings. It was great. We didn’t have a huge crowd–about 20 to 25 kids tops–but it was very well planned, went off smoothly and everybody (kids and adults alike) had a great time. I directed the 7 and 8 year-olds crafts. My group was small as well; 5 kids one night, 4 the rest of the time. Two girls were helping me too, so this meant that there was a lot of one-on-one attention that could be given to each kid. And hey, I didn’t get mono!
Friday night I watched my neighbor’s children (the same ones from this post). In addition to the normal 4, there was also their two cousins and baby K got to stay this time…and boy, did she make her presence known! The poor girl was teething and prefered screaming to sleeping. I know I could have…and maybe should have…just left her in her crib to scream it out, but she was distraught over her mother’s absence and the other kids were happily engaged in watching Facing the Giants so I rocked her and sang lullabies to her. Apparently, she and I share a fondness for the song I have a dream by Abba. We were eventually joined by B, a cousin, and H who were eager to help me soothe poor K. My arms were about to fall off, my ears full and my throat sore when she finally went to sleep, but I don’t think I’d have traded that hour for anything.
Saturday night my family and I went to a 4th of July celebration at church, and had a simply splendid time: good food (lots of it), singing and loud, cheery conversations with those who live around us. In a way, it was almost more of a celebration of our little community than of the nation, but I think that it added to the specialness of the night.
And in keeping with the rest of the week: yes, there were children present…including one little boy whose qualms about performing in public were considerably less than non-existent.
Quote of the Week
“Of course, thinking of two things is rather useless if both trains of thought are dumb.” ~ Orson Scott Card, Children of the Mind
