Floor: Done and Done!

At the FD project, the basement floor is installed....and every fiber of my body feels the 1200 sqf of flooring that was put down.  The Pergo Elegant Expression (in Buchanon Maple) was the perfect choice.  The floor certainly lives up to its name.  Unlike many laminate floors that I see, this one does not have the obvious 'pattern' that your eye picks up.  Perhaps it will in the photos, or when I get everything off of it!

Unlike many basements, this basement consists of a great room, a bathroom, and three other separate rooms.  It really feels integral to the house, particularly given that the stairway downstairs is visible and very open.So there were many jambs to cut.  We used the Porter Cable multi-tool which we bought for just that reason.  It has many other uses, to be sure.  However, THIS USE, cutting jambs, is not the best use (in my non-professional view).  For my next project, I'm just going to get a true jamb saw.  It will be more adequately powered and likely will smoke less blades.

The transformation of the basement space is almost complete.  I still need to get Cover Stain on the basement hallway and the remainder rooms and bathrooms, and then final painting.  The house is going to be completely brand new inside.

I learned a trick from a painter of 30 years, and I will be sure to remember it--and wanted to share it.  He counseled

When you run into walls and ceilings that are painted in a semi-gloss (as many older homes are), consider putting a primer (flat) over the walls first.  A primer will
  • hide many of the imperfections (thereby reducing work)
  • give traction to repairs if still needed (provide a surface for spackling, drywall tape etc to adhere to).

Now if you ask any dentist, doctor, attorney, tradesperson, about any 'particular' thing, you'll get more than one answer.  There's a reason for the aphorism, "there is more than one way to skin a cat".  The 'right' way is often that individual's (no matter what his/her experience and education) preferred way.

The other bit of wisdom the painter gave me was that the best teacher (in determining your preferred way) is trial and error.  Now trial and error for the sake of trial an error is about as productive as packing your parachute without any training/research/practice.  The end result is likely about as satisfying.  But finding our 'preferred' ways of doing 'stuff' is how we amass competency--provided we don't kill ourselves acquiring it!





Bullseye!

No, I wasn't playing darts or shooting targets.  Rather, I was simply looking down at the site in which I had pulled a tick.  I new that the bullseye rash was serious and required a visit to the doctor.  I went yesterday, the day of discovering the tell-tale rash which appeared one day after pulling the tick.

Ticks and sticks!  That is where I live.

Daisey, part of our trio of dogs, presented on Friday with an open wound in her side.  It was quite breathtaking to view--a large torn flap of skin exposing the tissue below.  Thank goodness my regular vet was open.  I took here there within an hour of closing.  They were going to stitch her (requiring sedation) and keep her overnight.  Within one month, each of my dogs has required medical attention--and none of it inexpensive!  However, by avoiding the emergency vet, I saved quite a bit of money.  I'm grateful that my vet is open 7 days a week.  With Ella, I found her laceration of a couple of weeks ago, beyond their office hours.  She is now all healed up.

With Ella's injury and now Daisey's, it was important to determine just what was causing such injury.  With Daisey's, I'm attributing it to a plastic insulator that has been chewed up to the point where it is sharp and ragged.  It is exactly the height of her wound, and it is right in the area that Daisey chases the mail lady.  I'm betting that Macy was her companion (as the group does this daily chase in unison) and bumped her into the connector.

Ella's injury was in a different direction--it was more of a straight slice up and down, and still cannot account for the cause which is a worry.

Daisey looks like a Frankenstein dog with her very long stitch.  She's on strict immobility--so the retractable leash is as far as she can get from me, and I'm keeping her crated while inside to prevent jumping on furniture.  The stitch is in the middle of her torso, so not subject to so much pulling as Ella's incision.

At the FD job I worked with a couple of guys to get the laminate floor down in the basement. When I wasn't fetching materials for other pieces of the project, I was working side by side with them laying floor.  Once again, I'm reminded (because my body is screaming this message to me) that our body's are made to work.  Who needs the "Brazilian Butt" videos?  Simply lay some floor--I guarantee your butt will lift!

 I finished two of the partially unfinished rooms from Saturday.  Today should bring the final completion of the back room. Getting the floors done in the basement is a huge accomplishment.  I used a Pergo Elegant Expression Buchanan Maple (discontinued) that I purchased on closeout from Wood Floor Plus.  Since Mark and I did not do all of this install, the money I saved will go toward the installation price.  I'm good with that.  Sears is bringing the appliances today....

Choices!


At my SR project, the granite countertops are installed in the kitchen as well as  the new sink and  faucet.  The countertops look very elegant with the cherry cabinets.  My dilemma (since resolved) was finding a backsplash that will look good with the granite top (sleek) and not clash with the beautiful cherry cabinets (classic). Mixing these sleek/classic elements has not been easy.  Tiles that I love against the granite do not accentuate the cherry cabinets.  The cabinets are well-crafted, and they deserve to be highlighted to showcase their construction and quality.

 I've been looking online and getting samples of this and that.  I was at Lowe's yesterday, to fetch tile mud and corner bead.  I was browsing through the glass tile mosaics, and  I found a graphite glass and slate strip mosaic. I bought one sheet of it to take it to the house. However, after looking at it against my own cabinets, I knew it would be perfect. I have black-flecked Corian and alderwood cabinets--I was very pleased with how this looked.  I ordered it on-line and will pick it up this a.m.  It appears to my eye to be a perfect mix of color and texture which I believe will 'marry' the floor, the countertop and the cabinets:



  • the graphite and white glass picks up the black/silver from the granite
  • the gray slate in the mosaic picks up the gray from the floor
  • and the rust colored slate pulls in the pretty reddish brown from the cherry cabinets.

Another big plus....I plan to keep the hammered copper, colonial hardware. 

I've been avoiding the 'big box stores' for my sourcing, but frankly, this was right there to see, get a sample and then pick up.  I guess I was just being a sourcing snob.  I'm glad to put this decision behind me, and find that I agonize over just the right products (paint, lighting, flooring, countertops, plumbing fixtures).  My designer friend helps keep me tethered in my decision making--however she's in Japan, so I'm floating around impatien

With some kitchen lighting (both under cabinet and overhead), I can brighten up the space considerably.  My husband is telling me that the under cabinet lighting is a "job" (and I know that from our own installation). However, it is a nice amenity, and provides welcome task lighting.  I bought this light to the left to go in the kitchen.  It will add a nice touch plus it will illuminate the space, which is now quite dark.


For the front door, I bought a pair of lights that were quite large. They look terrific from the street, and adding visual interest to the plain front of this door is important.  But the boxes need to be shorn up--a brick chisel to get the old box out and a couple of hours of labor each (ugh, for my husband), will mount them nicely.

The master bath is a mess. The previous owners, as part of the rehab before sale,  cobbled together two vanities in an effort to cover a hole in the floor.  I will have to get this fixed--and I believe that I have to demo the entire bathroom and start over. 

More choices. . . .

Church of the Traveling Setters

Someone e-mailed me today at 9:00 a.m. and wanted me to look at something on TV.  Then they said, "or maybe you are at church."

Well, I was at church today, the Church of the Traveling Setters.  Last evening I hosted two perfect English Setter ladies, Annabelle and Sadie.  I drove from my home down to Rocky Mount yesterday, stopping in Roanoke Rapids to pick up Annabelle who was traveling from Hertford, NC.  She was going to Baltimore, MD and Sadie, whose day started in Auburn, GA was going to New Jersey.  Sadie is to the left.  I'd give you a pick of Annabelle, but she didn't stay still long enough.

Annabelle had the benefit of staying in a temporary foster situation.  She was clean, healthy, and rambunctious.  Sadie was dirty, with fleas and severely underweight.  With her being in foster, she will quickly come back to health--she will be a Cinderella dog!

After I had picked up Annabelle, and I was waiting in Dortches, NC for Sadie.. .


 a man approached (he was driving a wrecker).  He was concerned that I was broken down.  I said no, and told him what I was up to.

He went inside, and then came out to chat a bit more.  He told me that he had rescued two horses from a neighbor.  He had spied them, and they were starved.  He took his neighbor to court, and he was awarded custody.  The horses after many $ in meds were finally putting on weight.  It was wonderful talking to the man about a shared objective of lending a hand where needed.

Isn't that the spirit of volunteerism--lending a hand where needed?  With the Mega-Millions hoopla, I saw interviews of what people were going to do with their winnings--many to include charitable acts. I would merely point out that the thought of doing a charitable act with LOTS of money pales in comparison to the real act of doing a charitable act.  So why wait until you win the lottery?  Small dollars or commitments of time add up to a big impact in the life of someone or something in need.

We arrived home at about 10:45 p.m.  I was tired.  The girls slept quietly in the back.  Once we got home, they were fed and watered and put in their respective crates.  I draped sheets over them to give them some sense of space and comfort.  They quickly started 'crying'.  I went in and took them out of their crates, and cuddled with them both on the sofa for just a bit.  I was bushed, and needed to head for bed.  That seemed to be enough for them, as I didn't hear a peep out of them.

In the morning, I was greeted to synchronized tail thumping.  We took a long walk to get business done.  Annabelle was too distracted by all of the 'stuff'--sights, sounds, smells. Sadie did her business--one and two.  Annabelle waited until she came inside.  Oh well....

We were quickly off to meet the first leg of today's run that delivered these sweet girls to their final destination.

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My FD project now has the tile-setter on site.  These last two days have seen the blossoming of inchworms. Hundreds of these little guys (they started out little and all green, now they have brown on them) are everywhere.  It is a Hitchcokian drama.  They are hanging from the trees, attached to the house, their poop grains are all over the deck, and worse, they are in my hair, stuck to my clothes and inside my clothes.  I laughed at my tile setter--I said, "I'm going to come back and find you and your son wrapped up in cocoons!" 

Setters and inch worms... a combination that I would have never dreamed of.