Narcoleptic Squirrel

So, I was able to prime the entryway. And I was able to get two coats of delicious red paint on the walls, as well. It will for sure need one more coat in the morning, perhaps two. I am glad that we decided to do such a small area, because the rumours are true. Red is a bitch to paint.
Of course, now that the entryway is nearing completion, methinks the inside of the front door and sidelight also need to be the same shade of red. That will be fun, but that is last on my priority list right now. Especially since I don’t have enough space left to move the last of the stuff out of the kitchen to start painting it in between red coats*.
Oh well, progress is progress. As a reward, I get to level up my Tauren some more. Oh. Yeah.
*Did that make you snicker? It made me snicker. The redcoats they are a comin’.

…that I just put the last coat of spackle on all the bad spots in the entryway. I’ve been trying to be patient, but I’ve lost track of the number of coats (with appropriate sanding in between) that I’ve put on. I just want to prime the darn thing already! Especially since I know I will have to put at least three (if not more) coats of paint on it after. Of course, I don’t want it to look completely like ass when I’m done, or for the cracks and holes that I’ve patched to re-crack or look like obvious patches.
On a brighter note, we have completed the ceiling in the hallway, have the new (bright!) light fixtures installed, have put on new light switch and outlet plates, and got a new (non rusty/bent) cover for the air return. I just have to find the correct screws in my tool box to put that on. Then it’s all G getting the new flooring in (which I will probably help ’cause I wanna use the new saw…but not too much since I am the spackler/sander/painter of the house).
All I have to say is that when we’re done, this better look like the picture I have in my head. Otherwise, someone’s heads will roll.

So, I am spackling the entryway. Well, not this very minute. I mean, I was about five minutes ago. Right now, I’m waiting for what I patched to dry, so I can sand it and put another layer to blend the screeny bits in to the wall. While I am excited for it to have a new pretty coat of paint, and I know the red will be GORGEOUS, I am dreading the numerous coats of paint I will have to put on.
In the meantime, dear readers, I need some opinion action. some of you have seen our place, others have not, but either way, use your mind’s eye to picture my options, and tell me what you think our course of action should be.
Because we are in the “garden level” unit, we have a suspended ceiling. This is so that all the necessary lines can be accessed for the building, since it is a converted house. We are replacing the existing (ugly) acoustic tile with pretty faux pressed tin tiles. Originally, in the kitchen and entry way, we were going to replace the existing moulding that looks like this (only oak coloured) with simple wall angle type moulding, that would look like the rest of the grid. However, I started to think about the pain-in-the-ass factor and extra cost, and began to doubt this course of action. We are installing white cabinets with slate style porcelain floor tile and a granite coloured countertop. The kitchen walls will be white, and the entry will be red (like a Coke can). So, here are our other options, please tell me which you think is the best, if you like, why, or if you have a better solution we have not thought of, tell me!
Option A: Leave the existing moulding up as-is. Mounting the cabinets so they butt up against the bottom of the moulding, leaving about a 1″-1 1/2″ gap between the cabinet tops and the ceiling. (option A, part two, paint the moulding white–which we may have to do anyway if I can’t get the paint off where the previous peeps didn’t tape off)
Option B: Same as Option A, but add crown moulding around the tops of the cabinets that would hide said gap. We would for sure use white crown moulding, and would paint the other moulding white as well.
Option C: Remove the moulding where the cabinets will be installed, and use wall angles there. The cabinets would butt right up to the ceiling, and the edges of our existing moulding would butt against the cabinets. Again, we could paint or not, but the sloppiness of the previous owners may take this choice out of our hands.
Option D. Leave the moulding alone and hang the cabinets in the manner the old ones were up, leaving space between the cabinets and ceiling. Not enough space to be useful, but enough that a very determined cat would fit there. The cabinets would be at random heights, to spice things up. In this option we could either use a stud finder, or drill test holes until our drill hit a stud.
On second thought, just ignore option D. Actually, on third thought, ignore option B, as well. Cutting the new crown molding to fit over the existing crown molding for where the two meet would be a nightmare.
So, A or C or new-unthought of option.
Thanks kids!

I was going to post something all long and detailed, either about the trip or another fun story. however, I managed to get something in my eye, and so i think that means I should go to bed.
However, I do have to brag. Now, some of you might be all, “finally! Didn’t you start that like during the first Bush administration???” However, i shall rebut with a reminder that I just did a show with 16 performances in 11 days, not counting tech week. Combine that with two jobs and trying to stay reasonably sane, and a lot went on the back burner.
Anyhow, after priming a couple of days ago, I actually painted the hallway. With color!! It’s the same color as the living room. This means that as i started painting, i got alarmed all over again, because the color looks more like caution tape yellow when it first goes on, rather than the deep luscious goldenrod we selected at ye olde painte shoppe. I carefully wrapped my paint tray and roller in plastic wrap until morning, because I am sure that I will want to touch up. Thanks to my Dad’s school of painting, i am pretty anal about painting, and want the color to be as rich and vibrant and evenly distributed as humanly possible. When I don’t do this, I stare at any less-than-perfect spots on the wall, and am compelled to point them out to guests. Happily I did splatter paint on the old craptastic carpeting. That was satisfying.
Oh, and i am very happy that I primed. First off, i had lots of repair spots on the walls. Secondly, I am pretty sure that instead of paint, the walls were actually covered in a very light layer of sponge. The wonderful “paint” they used pretty much sucked that primer right up, hence i used just a bit more than I thought I would. I am pretty sure I will be fine moving into the entry and kitchen, but am slightly nervous both because they used the same high-quality stuff in the kitchen…at least where they bothered to paint. There are several places with raw drywall.
I had hoped to get some “during” photos of the process…but since I didn’t wear pants for any of the painting…I thought that would be awkward. Lets face it, the paint i got on my ass was already awkward enough.

My eyes are telling me I should get some sleep…however, my brain is saying I should sand the corner of the ceiling, tape and prime the hallway. And clear out the entryway…spackle it, maybe tape that off, too.
Well, we ordered the floor on Saturday. It should be here sometime this week. It was a chunk of change, but we are redoing the craptastic vinyl in the kitchen and entry (why, for the love of all that is good and not-so-good, would one choose flooring that looks dirty no matter how much you scrub it???) and the carpet in the hall with it. Whoooo-hooooo. If I had my way, i would tile (or linoleum…or terrazzo) the whole mother-scratching place. However, here in the midwest, people aren’t down with that, boo on them. anyhow, this stuff is pretty rocktastic, a sentiment I hope I can echo once installation has begun. I am excited because it will be way easier to clean and disinfect and will be pretty. We chose something that would look clean all the time instead of dirty, the color is called “smoky sky” and looks like slate.
We also made our first joint power tool purchase. Our other tools came previously to our merger. However, we bit the bullet, and bought a saw. We’d been either hand sawing or borrowing circular saws from friends. However, with this floor, we figured it was time to get our own. We also had to pick up some painting supplies as we somehow misplaced one of our totes of painting gear. the one with the rollers and paint trays. So, we have some new rollers, a new tray and I figured while we were at it, we may as well get a new brush for cutting in. I remembered our old one being awfully old and crappy. We also got our primer. i wasn’t going to prime originally, but looking at the marks on the walls and all the spackling, and the places where they just didn’t get paint in the kitchen, I should. At least I don’t have to worry about drop cloths, since we are ripping out the floor anyway.
I will be so freaking thrilled to get this kitchen project done. I hate having things torn up and not being able to really make my own food, and having a giant mess. Plus, our original kitchen format was probably the most inefficient use of space ever. Oh, and our faucet will have a sprayer. And we will have drawers. And a pot rack. And our cabinets will be not only the same height, but against the ceiling as well. Whoo-freaking-hoo.
What started this rambley mess?
this question:
Inspired by this question:
How do you feel about where you live? Is it just a place to hang your hat, or a Home you’ve invested yourself in with time, money and energy? How long do you see yourself living where you live? What are your thoughts on the concept of “Home”?
So, here’s my answer…then painting. for reals.
i have such mixed feelings about where I live. I mean, my kitties live here, and my sweetie, and it provides us shelter, but it also has many annoyances. There’s part of me that feels like i will want to stay here when we are done fixing it up. (next project: bathroom redo!) I mean, once I get everything situated, it’s hard for me to go. However, there are so many adventures waiting for us, there isn’t really a point in us sticking around here. I also know in my heart that we will find our home, our forever home in Chicago. That having been said, we have invested time, energy and money in our place. We’ve painted, replaced ceilings, floors, a front door. We will still be replacing windows, more floors and more ceilings. We are in the middle of redoing our kitchen. We will be gutting our main bathroom (to the studs! Some of those will be replaced! We have to add studs because the original stud installers must have been on crack! It will be fun!). We have a lot of work to do on our bedroom. I’ve put a lot of work into the garden, and have more plans for it in the spring. Yet, I look forward to getting to rent for a while. No pressure to fix up, no maintenance, just paying our rent and not causing trouble.
Our plan is to be here for one more year (give or take, there are things that are beyond our control) then our to LA, where I hope to find an apartment with ceramic tile throughout.
As for my concept of home? It’s all a feeling. When you feel at home, you are at home. I feel at home here, I feel at home at our favorite club. It’s more about the emotion than the place, really.
Okay, enough of my stalling, I am going to tape off the hallway. I am not going to prime just yet, because I don’t want to have to clean up before bed. Par tof me doesn’t know what to do once our hallway doesn’t look like part of a slum!

Yeah. Not so much with the productive today. There was a lot of catching up on TV (with the highlight being a Goldfrapp song featured on ER). A lot of wearing of pajamas. Some napping. More TV, this time with pizza. Finally, we got to the hallway. Yeah. Instead of ripping out baseboards, ceiling and painting, followed by ripping out carpet…it looks like the baseboards will be gone (tthe baseboards which they half glued, half nailed…meaning some were glued and some were nailed). It also looks like I will have to put on a coat of Kilz before I paint, as well. Oh, and replace a chunk of wallboard, and an insane amount of patching the walls. I wonder if the dudes who finished this place ever heard of sanding. There are some mighty weird spots on the walls. Also, I can’t figure out if they cut in with something other than what they painted with, or if they skipped the cutting in and just did their half-assed painting. There are some obvious gaps near the ceiling moulding. The crooked ceiling moulding. We decided we may as well rip that shit out and replace it while we’re at it. It also looks like the high quality moulding they used on the doors is giving out on at least one door. Does this mean we are going to have to replace all that too??? I am hoping we can just repair the one that’s bad, and the rest are okay. If we were staying here long term, we’d just replace all the crappy doors. Since we aren’t, that is an expense we don’t really need.
i so thought that the hallway would be a quick and satisfying project. Something substantial to show that we have indeed made progress on the kitchen/entry/hall remodel. I should have learned by now that everything is more difficult than it seems with this place. i am hoping at least that when we move and someone else buys the place, that they won’t have headaches with the work we’ve done, or have quite so many “what were they thinking” puzzles.
Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll get through the spackling/sanding tomorrow. *crosses fingers*

So, a few years ago, G’s parents got us a stove for Christmas. Actually, they gave us a picture of a stove, and told us we could pick one out. Well, for whatever reasons, we just got it. It’s pretty and stainless steel, and matches our fridge and dishwasher. However, once it was put in, it furthered the necessity of a new kitchen.
See, our current kitchen is not only ugly, it isn’t very functional. I also am pretty sure that the guys who finished our condo were drunk, or high, or lazy, or some combination of those. For instance, the wall which houses our fridge and stove has a base cabinet and three wall cabinets. The first wall cabinet is full size and hung over the base cabinet. The second is a short cabinet above the stove. It is not attached to the first cabinet, nor is there anything to hide the gap between the two. It is not hung so that the tops of those two cabinets line up. The third cabinet above the fridge is another shortie and is not attached to the second cabinet, the gap is visible, and it is hung so that it neither lines up with the second cabinet, nor the first. They are all hung just a few inches from the ceiling. Not enough space for storage, or anything, just enough to be annoying. The base cabinets have one shelf each. These shelves are only half as deep as the cupboards, for reasons unbeknownst to me. We have four tiny drawers. They only fit a few things in each, so storage for things like linens is an impossibility. I wound up buying a little wooden cabinet for the purpose. The countertops are formica that is supposed to look like butcher block, but is really just ugly.
Since we want to move, I had thought about just painting the cabinets, and letting the next owners deal with it. But, since I just got a bonus discount at work, and since we have interest-free employee credit, we decided just to go for the gold. We measured, and planned, and ordered new cabinets! They are pretty, and white. Some detail, but not fussy…simple, clean. A GORGEOUS sink. It’s beautiful and white, and spacious. A kick ass faucet that the head detaches for a cool showery deal (something I’ve desperately wanted!), a laminate counter that is like a charcoal grey stone look. It’s pretty. It should also look nice with all of our stainless appliances. We also figured out a place for a column of three drawers. A regular drawer, and two deep drawers…so I will have a place for things like potholders, and towels! We also are putting in this cool pull out dude, where we will be able to keep things like cleaning supplies and garbage bags, and won’t have to dig. They will be easily accesible and visible. We will also hang the cabinets up against the ceiling. Crazy, but isn’t it so crazy, it just might work???? The cabinets should also fit up against each other, so it will actually look like maybe we planned it that way. Another crazy idea, I know. Ooh…and I got a pot rack. For pots and pans…get your mind out of the gutter!
The cabinets are at the store, so I shall go first thing in the morn and arrange for them to be delivered. G and I are going to pick ot tile for the floor tomorrow. We are going to do the kitchen/entryway, and the hallway. The hallway is easily the highest traffic part of our house, and the carpeting looks crappy there as a result. We thought about doing laminate floors like we did in our living/dining room, but decided that it would look better continuity-wise for us to do tile. Plus the tile is more heavy duty. We will have to rip out the carpet and subfloor in the hallway, and put in new subfloor, due to water damage from our (next to be remodeled) bathroom. I would love to just have tile through our whole house, but in MN that’s just not what the masses want, so we will wind up with laminate in the two bedrooms. It’s funny, I grew up with hardwood floors in my room. I always wondered why I didn’t have carpet like everyone else. Now, that I’ve lived on my own for a while, and have lived with both…I have grown to despise carpeting. It is basically jsut a breeding ground for dirt and living things. I probably run our home steamer more than I am supposed to, but no matter what (especially with pets) it always seems dirty. However, with a hard floor surface, you sweep or vaccuum, you mop and disinfect, and you are good to go. something spills, you wipe it up and don’t panic at how it will come out. I am super amped to rip out yet mroe carpet in our place, and replace it.
Anyhow, I digress. I could actually wet myself, I am so excited. I know it will be a lot of work, but I am looking forward to having a pretty and functional kitchen. Oh, and having a party to celebrate when it’s done. The only drawback is using paper plates and plastic cups while we paint and put in the floor, but I can deal with that, ’cause we’ll have a new and improved place to wash our dishes and cups when we are all done. Hurrah!!

Ha. An actual post. Due to our remodeling efforts, I haven’t been able to get to the real computer. But, I have my temporary setup worked out for now, so here’s a little somethin’ somethin’.
So, we need to have this remodeling project done tomorrow. This will allow us to move furniture back in the room and all that jazz, just in time for the Alliecat family to occupy. This project started out pretty simple. Mending the wall damage, cleaning the carpet. Well, it was brought up by a certain someone that we should replace the ceiling tiles while we were at it. In ripping out the old tiles, it was discovered that the people who put up the ceiling in the first place were obviously high. At least I hope they were high. Maybe they ate paint chips as children. Anyhow, we discovered that we needed to rip out what we can only assume is some sort of insulation (it could have easily been some sort of alien being). We also needed to rip off the old crown molding, as it was poorly installed, and warped. So, we now need to reinsulate the ceiling, hang molding, and install new tiles. Oh, and did I mention light fixtures? The old ones were scary at best, and didn’t give off much light. So, tomorrow, I pick up the new lights. The paint should be dry (the second coat, that is) fully tomorrow for chalk lining, and ceiling installation.
Then, some serious vacuuming, and carpet cleaning. Since we are cleaning that carpet, we may as well clean the hall carpeting. And the carpet in the bedroom.
Oh, and now that the room is painted, I can’t decide if we should leave the woodwork alone, or paint it white. The woodwork darkens the room (i think). However, it matches most of the wood furniture. I also wanted to hang white shelves. I can’t decide if I should just go wood-colored there, or if white shelves would be okay with the wood-colored woodwork, or if I should just screw it all and do a little more painting. Hmmm…
I can’t wait for the kitchen project. I was all psyched, but after this little number, I am afraid…very afraid.