If my life was a TV show this week the story line would either be a comedy or a horror flick.
Memorial Day weekend I spent at Home Depot getting new flooring for a house so that it could be ready for new tenants. I’m thinking I am pretty smart, order it on-line then just go pick it up. The total was too big to use my debit card, so I had to break out the VISA (please remind me to pay that next week….). I realized carrying in 26 boxes of LVP was too much for this old lady, so I call in reinforcements.
I managed to drink an entire 32-ounce drink in that hour of going to Pittsburg and back, so, yes, I needed a bathroom break. The bathrooms weren’t usable at the house yet, so I had to load up and hit a store with public restrooms, all the while concerned that my reinforcements might not wait on me to get there. They did though, whew.
I had wonderful family help putting that flooring down and it is exciting to see how the new floor brightens the rooms up. Floor down, now it’s time to go back to Pittsburg , because it was a Sunday, to get 1x4s and 1x6s for baseboards, and paint for them as well as the two exterior doors. We get back Sunday afternoon and it is about 215 degrees in the garage, but we wanted to get those boards painted and ready to install. It was easy work, but the heat about knocked me down, as you know it was 230 degrees out so I had to take a sit down break midway through. Sweat was dripping in my eyes and rolling down places nothing should be rolling down. My man kept working and got them all done and secured the garage so that we could go home and fix some supper. Do not get the wrong idea, physical labor is NOT my strength anymore! I get great ideas and love to pick out finishes, but I’m paying someone to make it happen.
The next few days work continues then it is my turn to go in after work and attack a few projects, primarily preparing the exterior doors and painting them black to cover the damage done to them the past few years.
Monday, I get to the house and it is hot inside. Oh no! This house got a whole new
HVAC upgrade less than two years ago. I check the filters and they are completely full and clogged, so I change the filters. Flip the breaker, and the air begins to cool. The next day I stop by after work and it is even hotter in the house. Once again, the breaker was flipped. Thank goodness it was doing its job and shutting off so that the motor in the air conditioner didn’t burn up. I then contacted our wonderful HVAC man and he came the next day to clean the AC unit. It too was completely clogged and zero air could get through. Now that house is beautifully cool.
The next day was time to paint the doors. After doing a couple of little tasks I was ready to begin. Keep in mind this is a new gallon of black exterior paint… I struggled and struggled getting the lid loosened. For some unknown reason I had decided to do this in the middle of the room on new floor. After about 10 uses of that little bent screwdriver type paint can tool, it finally freed up and I was applying so much pressure I flip the lid 85 feet and knock the gallon of black paint all over me, a step ladder and the floor. My right foot was completely covered and it was soaking through my tennis shoe and through my sock. I scream for help because it was absolutely everywhere and I couldn’t reach for anything or I would track it even further.
After scooping up as much as I could and wiping myself and my shoes off to the best of my ability, I got in the car and rushed to Heidrick’s looking like two or three of the 101 Dalmatians! My friend hurried toward me and asked what I needed and how she could help. She calmed me down and got me product to clean it up, a bag of rags and reminded me that people our age just can’t do what we used to.
After about 18 hours, give or take 16 hours, I got it all cleaned up and started home
defeated. The next day I was so sore and exhausted I couldn’t work on the house at all. There’s always tomorrow. Well, tomorrow has arrived and new people are moving in for the next couple of days.
Wish me luck and say a few prayers. I am headed to paint those doors, but I will open the paint outside!
