This should be the last day. It's not over until it's over, but I really think this will be it. The House will finally be completely finished and I will be free! Well, actually, I will have even more time to spend on freelance. But still!
The last time I wrote was Monday, so since then, here's what's been happening:
Monday I had my tennis lesson and it was so miserably hot. With all the sweat that got in my eyes, I could barely see that evening. But there was something I just had to do freelance-wise, so I spent about an hour and a half staring at the computer screen. Which is one of the worst things one can do when one's eyes are dry and irritated. I know this is medically true because I read it somewhere. Anyway, Monday was just tons of fun.
Then Tuesday. Since I didn't have doubles (hurray!) I was able to go straight to The House after work (not so much hurray). I was there all by myself, which was kind of nice. It was quiet and peaceful. I listened to an audiobook (Killing Floor, by Lee Child) while I worked. You know, I was there for 2.5 hours and hardly accomplished a thing! It's amazing just how long it takes to do stuff.
First, in a sincere effort to procrastinate, I took up the blue painter's tape from the baseboards in the dining room. What a pain! I had to score every inch with a knife, otherwise the paint wanted to peel away. Gah! Then I removed the tape from around the window seat on the dining room front wall. Again with the scoring. Next, I removed the tape from the kitchen doorway. Score.
Finally, I could put it off no longer. I gathered up my paint supplies and went to the bathroom to touch up the cutting-in. I really hated to do it because I was now on my third time around doing that very same chore in that very same room. But at least I didn't have to re-do everything, just the spots that looked thin. Oh, and I had to paint behind the toilet, which is quite a lot of fun.
At 7:00 I left The House, stopped at Panda Express for dinner (Orange Chicken for Tom and Orange Chicken and Mushroom Chicken with Chow Mien Noodles for me) and finally made it home after quite a long day. And you know I had to get on the computer after dinner, right?
And Wednesday. Joy and I both took a half day in order to tackle the job of replacing ceiling tiles in the den. Sucky way to spend vacation time, right? Anyway, there were seven or eight tiles that had been water damaged some time ago that looked pretty bad. I was not looking forward to this task because those darned tiles are most uncooperative and an absolute pain to work with.
As it turned out, I got seriously lucky. Paul had just finished with the front porch, so he and Joy took on the task together while I painted the inside back wall of the bathroom vanity and the attic hatch door. Then I scrubbed all of the paint spots out of the kitchen sink with steel wool. I also laid down the law: no more rinsing of paint brushes and related items in the kitchen sink. Any further paint cleanup must be done outside from now on. I think that point is moot however. I do believe we are done with painting. Hallelujah!
Once Joy and Paul were finished with the ceiling tiles, I vacuumed the den really well. Joy laughed when I asked if they were all done. She knew I was just itching to get in there with the vacuum cleaner. All of the dirt and God knows what that had fallen from the ceiling was just killing me.
Family friend Lee had offered to haul away any trash that we might have, so Joy and I went around the yard, the garage, and the workshop dragging various bits and pieces and piling them up for pickup. There was a surprising amount of crap laying around in the yard and under the portable carport in the backyard. It's really great to have this offer of help. One more thing we can check off the To Do List.
Note: Regarding Paul. I have to say, when he first started working, I had my doubts about him. He was nice and polite and obviously industrious, but he was way too picky and seemed to take forever painting the kitchen. But he did a smashing job in there and it's sure to make a difference. Then, in addition to that job, he has been incredibly helpful in a million other ways. He's very intelligent and knows how to do just about anything around the house. His help has been invaluable. Joy and I couldn't have done it without him. I think I'm actually going to miss him a bit.
So Today. One thing we will be doing today, and it's not going to be easy, is putting all of the window treatments back up. The problem we're going to have is entirely Jo's fault. Surprise! She's screwed us once again! When she and Rachel took down the blinds, curtain, switch plates and outlet covers, they just threw all of the hardware into a bucket. Great, isn't it? So we have no clue what went with what and are going to have to wing it. Since everything else has been more difficult than expected, I don't see any reason why this task will be any different.
Then, we need to clean the bathroom and the kitchen. The kitchen is a bit of a disaster right now because it's been the Project Staging Area and there are all sorts of tools, equipment, cleaning supplies, painting stuff and various odds and ends scattered all over the countertops. It's been making me crazy for weeks and I am so looking forward to seeing it all squared away.
Once the house is ship-shape and in order, we will finish up by sweeping and blowing the outside storage areas. Not looking forward to that at all. I've brought grubby clothing and safety glasses, so I'm somewhat prepared.
I just wish I had kept good track of the number of hours I've spent getting the house ready to sell. Just a low estimate since Memorial Day weekend: 60 hours. And trust me, that's a low-ball estimate.