Shiny Happy Painters

Last night someone asked what color we painted the house. I just showed them the paint still on my hands. I've giving up trying to look decent until we get this thing done. I'll have a nice long soak in the new bathtub, as soon as we get the water hooked up to it.

The painting at last is coming together. When we're done, every single last part of this house inside and out, except for one section of Ikea cabinets, will have been painted with two coats and some with primer too. Now the guys at Frazee paint don't just call me by name, they call me Kiddo.

Today I painted the kitchen walls. The color started off looking like a cup of coffee with creamer. By the time night came and the lights were on, it changed to pea soup. I love coffee with creamer and I love pea soup and I love this kitchen paint. How paint can change color so drastically is beyond me, but it''ll be like having two kitchens in one. I'm trying to imagine it with the soon-to-arrive floor - I think it will look so cool.

The Moldovans showed up this afternoon to finish the kitchen cupboard painting. I went home real quickly and when I came back they had all the fronts painted with the second coat and neatly laid out drying. The color for the cupboards is like coffee creamer, and fortunately did not turn into pea soup as the evening progressed. I can handle the walls changing colors, but please just stay as you are cabinets. I keep wanting to call them cupboards, but I wonder if that sounds really old fashioned. Like when my Grandma called the refrigerator "the icebox?" It's still called a refrigerator, isn't it?

Rafaela, Galina, Tatiana and Natalya

We're getting loopy on paint fumes

Hello Sunshine!

Sunday was the perfect day to paint a house in Sacramento. It had been dry for two full days. No wind to spray the neighbor's cars. Not hot. Not cold. Sunny and nice. It just ended too soon because we ran out of daylight, so the second coat will have to go on tomorrow. My first impressions? They call it Mellow Yellow! It is a sunny happy house that I hope will be a little less sunny and happy once we get the white trim on and the shutters painted. The windows are to be replaced this week, a few more things that won't be yellow. I think I'm going to love it. I think.

Today felt like we passed some big hurdles-

House painted with just one more coat to go.
Entryway and bathroom floors installed.
Most of the baseboards are in.
All interior painting done except for kitchen and bathroom.
Steps out back finished.
Tons of boxes moved over.
Electrical almost done.
Drywall in bathroom in, waiting on bath surround.
Primer on kitchen cabinets.

We now have 168 hours to move out and get the rental house cleaned. We may have to end up taking showers in the trailer and eating sandwiches for a time. The floor in the kitchen and the shower might not be done before we move. Hello. Mellow. Yellow.

Jay Leno, Sergiu, Ernst, Marcel and The D Man

The shoe graveyard

All primed up and ready to go.

The kitchen floor - soon to be no more.

There's an oven in the living room.

All our books? I wish.

Some rules are being relaxed.

Did June Cleaver have Tuscan floors?

China may be taking over the world, but Tuscany still has a firm grip in the current home decor department. Personally, I’m Tuscaned out. I love Italy and have been there several times. But I bet even Tuscans would make some pointed Italian gestures at the current flooring choices facing a homeowner here in California.

The house we got was built in 1949, in the Sacramento Valley, far from Tuscany. It was built in a time of post war practicality - I heard the term Mid-Century Modest for the style of this house, and the description certainly fits. What kind of kitchen floor did it have back in the day? Perhaps funky and colorful real linoleum? Most likely not giant sized tile or stone or laminate or tile-like or stone-like flooring.

My oh my, the search for flooring for this little place has been so very far from fun. What I first fell in love with was Marmoleum. That is honest to goodness linoleum, made with real products, good for the health and good for the environment and warm on the tootsies in winter. I had my little heart set on 12x12 yellow and white checkerboard squares. I got my sweet Marmoleum samples, set them in our kitchen just to see, even dropped crumbs and Molly hair on them to see how they would hold up. I started calling the dog Mollyoleum.

But I was scared off for several reasons. This real deal linoleum needs a real deal installer who can seal the seams with heat and rollers. Sounded like we’d be laying a road, not flooring. Enzymes such as food stains and pet urine will stain it. While we don’t have food fights and our dog has a bladder of steel, stuff happens. It also will have uneven fade marks under throw rugs and furniture. So long Marmoleum, it would have been fun.

I think in five years, after all this giant sized tile and heavy earthy look is over, I’d find my funky 50’s flooring in no time. But now? Just walking into a flooring place and letting them know you don’t want stone or hardwood or tile gets some looks of concern. I have found myself on my knees, in the corner, back where the dorky people shop for flooring, looking for anything that doesn’t scream Italian castle. It reminded me of shopping for a tea length wedding dress in an industry pushing big ol' dresses. My life would be so much easier if I could just conform.

That is why in the end I let Ernst pick the floor. Yes, my color challenged husband has picked the floor for our kitchen. The man who doesn’t know that reds come in bluish and orangish and who thinks all greens are green. Silly man. But I just couldn’t look at one more website or store. Enough was enough, it’s just the stuff you stand on while you make food, right? So what did we pick? Fake Italian mosaic VCT tiles!!! Call it Venetian, call it Roman, you can even call it Sicilian. Just don’t call it Tuscan.

Here is just a little hint of the color of this non-Tuscan floor from Karndean. As my brother said, whatever you install, it’ll look really dumb in 15 years anyway. Go bold or go home, that is the theme here. 

Ready for The Beaver to come home from school!

Funky Fifties Fabulous - or Forever Feeling Foolish - we will see

 
An update on the new blue floors that I love, they always look clean, always!
Ditchin' the old kitchen

My trip to Ikea went smashingly

The first time we went to an Ikea we were in Germany on vacation. We loved it. We had all the time in the world to browse, meander, peruse and gawk. I ended up buying two bags of finger puppets to give to kids at the international convention. Ikea was fun, fresh and we were in no danger of walking away with a cupboard named Klwuaoij or a lamp called Frucntwj. Ikea on vacation - it's the way to go.

Going to Ikea with something specific in mind is not such a pleasure trip. First, wear your track shoes. Second, bring a GPS or at least leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Third, be sure to check out the bargain barn before you head in there. You may just find that Klwuaoij cupboard already put together for a third of the price. How well put together? Check out the bag of unused screws to get a clue.

My trip today included an open shelved cabinet to match the ones on the Ikea side of our kitchen. There is one sad little oddly placed cabinet just hanging on the wall, just screaming for a little cupboard buddy. I figured an open shelved contraption would do, less screws and nuts to find later unused. It's named Perfekt with a K, that sounds about how our remodel is going so far.

Drawer pulls were next. We're trying to make the two parts of the kitchen kiss and make up and sing Kumbaya. That involves paint and door pulls and some unifying counter tops.

Next was plinth. Not Plinth as in an Ikea item named plinth, that is what it's actually called. The toe stop you install under Ikea cabinets to fake out a more custom look. Plinth - what a great new Scrabble word.

Last was some of the unifying counter top, the Why can't we all just get along Formica called Pragel. My dream job would be to sit around and think up good names for Ikea products. But first I would get them to sell vegan meatballs in the cafeteria.

I got it all paid for and loaded gingerly in my still semi-new please don't scratch up the interior, please don't let the plinth come careening through the front seats into the dashboard vehicle. All was great as I drove past my old stomping grounds in Broderick. Past the old motorcycle shop where there was the giant plastic gorilla on top. It was always fun to tell people looking for our apartment - turn left at the giant gorilla and you're almost there.

Then it was onto the ugly yet hardworking I Street Bridge. Separated by another car, there was a big semi truck going over the bridge. Since when do semi-trucks go over that poor little pathetic drawbridge? BAM! He hit the side with two tires and got a double blow out! Chunks of asphalt came flying at me. Then, I swear, pieces of the bridge were falling in the road. From above. Pieces of bridge! I couldn't slam on the brakes lest the plinth go through the window. A piece of something big fell right in front, but I didn't get hit in the windshield. I just had chunks of stuff on my hood. Stop, Breathe. OK, that was exciting.

I blew my horn like mad so the driver knew something happened behind him. He pulled off on Jiboom Street, but I told him a better place to park. I was taking pictures in case he decided to race away, but I think a semi with two blown tires was not a huge flight risk. I called the police and reported the fact that stuff was falling off the I Street Bridge, got all the insurance information and then headed home with my plinth. I hope they don't blame it on the gorilla.

So close to a broken windshield

How's my driving? Well, buddy, not so hot.

Snowmageddon versus Frankenstorm

With the inquiries about my family back East, thought a little update was in order.

Unlike last year when the crazy out-of-season snow storm hit them so hard, for Hurricane Sandy they were prepared. Paper plates, wet wipes, canned food, drinking water, flashlights, batteries, cell phone chargers for the cars, and flushing water, they were all set. Connecticut got hit pretty hard on the coast, but my mom's house is inland. They did lose a few trees way out back. In New England, the trees are plentiful, so I don't think they'll miss them too much.

The thing they did lose is power and it's still out. Since the house is on a well, electricity is needed for all things involving water, as in flushing a certain porcelain fixture. That's what did my sister in last year during the prolonged outage following "Snowmageddon". She had to trudge down in the snow to the creek behind the house to get water to flush the toilets. That and the cold was too much, they decided to drive down to the ferry in Bridgeport and escape to Jo's Long Island condo.

An electrician from their congregation brought over a generator today and they are loving it. Three hours in the morning, three hours at night and it makes a huge difference. Joanne even got back to work and she said things are feeling a bit normal again. They've been meeting friends at the mall for lunch and keeping their spirits up. If you're clean and warm and the toilets are flushed - life is good.

Our own preparations for a disaster are not quite so well organized. A few years back I got our "Go Bag" all stocked and ready in the trunk of the car. And then life happened. We were stranded late one night at an RBC project and we got into the food stash. The first aid kit has been used and not replaced.  Long ago I drank the emergency water and didn't restock. All our paperwork and documents? Only the dog knows for sure. Once we get into the new house, getting the Go Bag ready to go will be on the list of things to do. Unlike Superstorm Sandy, Frankenquake won't give us any warning.

Scenes from a remodel

You know you're in the middle of a remodel when:

• You have no time to dye your roots but the paint in your hair is helping to take the attention away.
• The guys at Frazee Paint greet you by name.
• Emigh Hardware is on your speed dial.
• The contents of your purse one day include a screwdriver, a tape measure and a roll of toilet paper.
• You walk up to the houses of perfect strangers with exterior paint chips in hand.
• Your dog has paint on her snout.
• Your blisters are getting blisters.
• You fear a trip to the emergency room lest they suspect your bruised legs are not self-inflicted ladder wounds.
• You have been wearing the same pants for four days in a row, and that is fine with you.
• You visit someone who is recuperating from a hospital stay and you are silently wondering if they are happy with their choice of floor covering in the kitchen.This visit was made in paint covered clothing.
• A conversation at the closest pizza parlor goes like this - "You mean to say if I order the sale priced $10 extra large pepperoni with cheese on just one side and mushrooms instead of pepperoni on that side - that somehow makes it a $20 two-topping pizza? But I'm saving you money on the cheese." You realize you are arguing with the Pizza Police with paint in your hair and four day old pants on. You are grateful there is no longer toilet paper in your purse.

Somehow, with all the things we had to do with the new house, I was in denial. I didn't imagine it to have that Quick Build vibe, but I feel like I should slap my name badge on when I get there. We even have various departments set up inside and out: the paint station, the paint cleaning up station, the safety items, the woodworking tools, the list goes on. We are too deep into it to see the light at the end of the Home Depot aisle, but we have made lots of progress in just two weeks.

New roof
New water heater
Attic insulation
Dry rot and yuck out of the bathroom walls
New tub installed
New window in bathroom
Paint almost finished in interior - trim and doors are next
Hole in wall patched and floor repaired where old heater used to be

There is more, but paint fumes are a known eater-upper of brain cells. I have just begun packing up the old house. The other day I was walking Molly down to the new place and she was getting antsy to get there once she saw it. I said, "Let's get you home, Little Girl." That was the first time I called it home. I used to always say Home is where your clothes are, but now I guess that changes to Home is where your power tools are.



Command Central




No longer a doggie door




Not quite ready for Mr. Bubbles




Hanging out in the California sunshine



It's all fun and games until someone pressure shoots paint in their eyes

Painting Party. Now there's a self-cancelling phrase if ever there was one.

Here were the guidelines for getting the new house - No painting to be done by either of us. None. The plan was to hire professionals - those people who know what they're doing, have all the equipment, know what they're doing, know what they're doing...

When the price came back too high, (or was it?) we figured we'd just have to do it ourselves. This meant paint every wall and every ceiling and 1/2 the cabinets and what else, what else? Oh yes, the outside. Some of our Moldovan friends came over and another very helpful family in charge of taping. The taping went like gang busters, these guys paint cars and they whipped out the taping in no time.

Then came the spraying. Anyone know how to work this thing? We need a dump bucket (that phrase scared me) and another priming bucket and of course the 5 gallon bucket of ceiling paint. It went on - it did. A little thick but it went on. But halfway through something got clogged. I think all the various buckets got confused and the whole spraying came to a halt.

We all went outside with the hose to figure out what was going on. It was a very good thing Ernst insisted all wore safety glasses, because before we knew it Igor got a face full of flat white ceiling paint. By then we were all laughing, even Igor. Did I mention there was pizza and Moldovan wine - homemade Moldovan wine? I did have the brilliant idea, I must say, to turn the bathtub we tore out of the house into a temporary paint washing station. All the stuff is going into the scary hole in the yard that's tied into the sewer system, or so we have been told.

The ceilings look great. I've been rolling the old fashioned way for 2 days now, that sprayer thing was just way too scary. They're at it again tonight. I decided to skip the fun and take the night off from painting. Maybe with all my extra time I'll whip up some of these paint-themed treats for when we spray the exterior? Maybe I've been breathing too many paint fumes?

But would they pair well with Moldovan wine?

In reality there are way more drips.

Here are suggestions from the Internet on How to Host a Painting Party. I think the only one we followed was the pizza rule.

• Send out cute invites. Evites are the easiest, but if you go the mail route, you could write the invite on real paint chip sheets.
• Have lots of food and beverages on hand. For lunch or dinner, order pizza. During the day, have snacks flowing to keep the gang energized.
• Be sure to snap pics along the way; you'll want before and after shots.
• Have a plan of attack. To prevent things from getting chaotic, let everyone know the order baseboards, ceiling, walls, and doors need to be painted.
• Be prepared with enough supplies, including paint, primer, brushes, rollers, drop cloths, and tape. Ask friends to bring spare tools they may have.

For the rest of the tips, read more.

• When everyone gets there, brief the group on painting basics so that everyone is on the same page.
• If it's a big project, start early so you're not painting in the dark!
• For a competitive bunch working on multiple rooms, have a contest for the best room!
• Keep everyone pumped up with some tunes.
• At the end of the day, plan to end the event with a rented movie and glass of wine or a trip out of the fumes.

photo credit - projectnursery.com

A roof over our heads

When the closing of the house was delayed, two of the big concerns were:

The Roof
The Weather

Usually by this time of year I would be hoping for rain, lots of rain. I can't get enough precipitation and should really live in Seattle. A Moldovan friend calls me "Bobocela' - that's little duckling in Romanian. The nickname came from my bright yellow rain coat I love to wear on dreary (or as I like to say wonderful) winter days, but the water-loving description fits well too.

Little did we know that the weather we'd be running up against would be a late season heat wave. Our roofers were sweating bullets as they tore off the old and installed the new one. I should have brought them large ice chests full of cold sodas, but it was just too hot to think straight. After only four days of construction, we were already beat.

The roofing contractor was so hot and tired by Friday evening, he said they would have to come back on Saturday to finish. Ernst, speaking from fatigue, told him he was welcome to take a dump in our pool. Wait, he said, I meant a leak. No, a leap or a dunk, those are the words he was shooting for.  It's going to be great to get this finished and get our brains back.

The roof is done, and we're relieved since the forecast for Monday is a nice rainy storm. All is good. Winter you can come now. Well, not in full force, we still need to paint the exterior. It should look so much better painted the proposed colors - lime green with purple trim.

Did I just make you spit coffee all over your screen? Actually, the outside color will remain a surprise. If it looks bad, well at this point it's water off a duck's back.

before

during

still during - didn't get a good after picture and my camera is dead

Hmm, all that money and from the pictures it looks just the same! That represents years and years of new cute outfits. And the shoes - don't get me started on the shoes.

The Beast and the Beauty

 There's Fungus Among Us!

We knew it wouldn't be pretty, but it's still shocking to see the innards of a house. Mold, mildew and some dry rot just for fun, here is the look behind the bathtub. It actually looked really cool when they ripped out that big window - a nice view right out to the pool. But we'll be getting a bit more privacy with a smaller window.

It just needs some bubble bath and soft lighting.

Too pretty to slice up.

There's Yeast Among Us

We were invited to dinner at our Moldovan friend's house. A nice respite after all that mold. They sent us home with this nice gift. I've never baked anything quite so beautiful for a major celebration, let alone for a ordinary old weeknight. And then to just hand it out while we were parting as if it were a Tupperware full of leftovers? I would have beat a drum or yelled "I created bread!" But she just gave it to us - ho hum, here's some bread. Am I sure that I'm gluten sensitive, really?

"Cut into it you fool!"

House Whoas

As in Whoa! But I'm sure the woes will come soon enough.

Well, that certainly was stressful. We knew buying a house could be a wild ride, but we weren’t expecting a roller coaster without seat belts.

Our short sale, with an FHA 203K construction loan added on just for fun, had to close 45 days after our offer was accepted. After the 45 days, if the loan wasn’t funded, it would at that point turn into a foreclosure rather than a short sale. The deadline? Monday at 2:30. The time the loan funded? Monday at 1:00. Our stomachs have just stopped churning.

So now the fun starts - a little remodel. Just “piddly stuff” as our contractor says. I’m glad he thinks so. Here are some before pictures. 

Here it is! Just kidding, that's the little pool house.

The Back Forty

The Redwood Grove

The front, soon to have a new roof and exterior color

Self explanatory

Scary piddly stuff

The soon-to-be not a doggy door

The good part of the kitchen

The 80's side of the kitchen. It's having an identity crisis.

If there isn't a bright pink wall, it's just not nearly as much fun.