The night tempers flared

DH and I had our first big tussle of the remodel last night. It was bound to happen sooner or later although later would have been better. We've had a few minor skirmishes along, but this was a dandy.

Hanging sheet rock on the ceiling is hard work and it's not any easier when the guy you're working with has to stop and admire each and every screw he puts in. Just get the danged things in so I can feel my arms again.

Unfortunately, tempers flared when he opened his mouth and said some pretty ugly things. I didn't make it any better when I threw the tape measure at him and hit him. Definitely not one of my finer moments. We had to go to our respective corners and calm down before continuing.

In the end we kissed, apologized to each other for being asses, and finished for the night.

The first thing I did today was call about a sheet rock lift. I picked it up and for $30 a day it's going to be a big help. DH says he's signing me up for a ball team.

We've been doing...stuff

Where were we? Oh yes, grumping about the weather.

I'm proud to say we did indeed get snow and even prouder that it stayed outside and didn't come in the house.

Thursday night DH helped me by sistering boards that needed it. We also finished insulating and changed out all of my plugs and switches. Previous owners had painted over plugs and half of them wouldn't work. Silly people. DH also hooked the thermostat back up so we could have heat. What a dear man.

Friday was a bust. I think there's only so much dirt, plaster dust, and insulation a person can breathe in before it catches up with them. That's where I was Friday. I felt lousy and didn't do a blamed thing.

Saturday we finished with the vapor barrier, cut down the fireplace a little bit, and hauled some of the stuff out of the living room so we can work.

That brings us to today. We've been to Lowe's to return insulation and pick up sheet rock. DH has been in the attic trying to figure out the saggy ceiling in the living room, but hasn't come to any conclusions. I thinks it's because it's 79 years old and well, at 79 I plan on sagging a bit too. Why would I expect any more from a piece of lumber?

Tomorrow I'm taking out the rest of the baseboards and door trim so we can get ready to hang sheet rock.

I hope everyone is having a glorious day.

I have to come clean

About the clean comments that is. I'm afraid I gave the impression that I'm a neat worker. Actually, it's just the opposite. Just look at the conditions I'm working in.

See the plaster dust, dirt, and gritty stuff on the carpet. Yuck! Wait though, it gets worse.Those buckets are full of plaster. The trashcan has plaster, tack strip, and 79 years worth of dirt that has been vacuumed out of the walls. The table is a flat spot and so is piled with all manner of junk. I have to keep the insulation off the floor or the cat tries to eat it. Please note the box of books and my black sweater that are covered in dirt.This is the treacherous side. The lathe to the left of the long white baseboards is to be put up where we need it. The pile on the right side is kindling for future fires. The dining room is tetanus waiting to happen if you're not wearing shoes. So see, I'm really not a neat-nick. I can't stand tripping over stuff and so everything gets shoved to the side I'm not working on at the time.

DH also commented on my bang-up insulation job. He thinks I should hire out and forget biology. Unfortunately, I'd end up being a gopher for a construction crew and delivering coffee isn't my idea of a career.

Dirty four-letter word

Stinking weather. They're predicting snow later this week and the only thing between me and the snow is a bunch of boards and the exterior siding. I've been busting my butt trying to get insulation up so I can use the heater if we need it. I refuse to heat the outside.

Monday we had a very loud, but much needed, thunder storm. I couldn't tell you how much rain we got because the new rain gauge is laying here next to the computer. It'll be handy if I get a sudden down pour in the office. We also celebrated our anniversary although celebrating was a stretch. DH ended up working from 1-4 AM on a lightening-struck well and nobody got much sleep.

Tuesday morning bright and early Mom and I ran to Lowe's and picked up insulation. Poor Mom had to ride home with a bag in her lap. One of these days she's going to disown me.

Anyway, here's where we are now. This is the dining room. The blank spots have been filled in and a vapor barrier installed. Mom helped until nearly 10:00 last night and I wouldn't have gotten this far without her help. Thanks Mom!Now I'm working in the living room and it's going to take forever.

We have some 2 x 4's that need sistered because of old termite damage and DH wants to work on re-routing his cable wire.I bought myself a new friend and Stanley and I are loving each other. I'd never get this done without him. He's been a big help with the insulation and vapor barrier. I'm sure we'll have a long and satisfying relationship.I don't think I'm going to introduce DH to Stanley just yet. There's the small matter of letting me use the router. DH is stingy with his toys and I'm not inclined to share until he does. We're adults after all and that's how adults act. LOL!

Away from the dust, dirt, and debris

DH came in and asked me if I knew the bush was blooming. Which bush? It's not like we only have one. So, I had to get out of here for a little bit today and see what was going on outside. He was talking about the magnolia. It has one lone bloom on it right now.The lilac bushes are blooming too and the snowball bush is beginning to put out leaves. I have paperwhites by the front door and they're beginning to bloom. This is the first time I've tried those and I love them.

How about some flower pictures? Red tulips in the front bed.Orange tulips in the same bed.The Redbud tree is just about to pop.Housewise, here's where we're at. This is the dining room window. The lathe is gone. Well, for the most part. If I can talk Mom into pulling nails tomorrow while I take down the rest of the living room lathe maybe we can go get insulation on Tuesday and get it put up on Wednesday. This has been the fast part of the process. It's a whole lot easier to tear stuff up than it is to put it back together.

Hey, Honey!

I need the truck. Please come home soon.

All of the plaster is down that's coming down at this point. Other than a few little spots along I'm ready to start taking down lathe. I just need to get this plaster out of here and for that I need the truck.

The walls are coming down.

Remember this wall?
This is what it looks like now.Today I'm tearing out the lathe and plaster so we can insulate the outside walls. None of the walls are insulated, but being built in 1930, I don't expect many homes were at that time.

If you don't hear from me for a day or two I'm probably laying under a pile of plaster somewhere.

Have a great weekend. :)

Day 2 of remuddling

I love poor construction. It's a piece of cake to rip out.

This is the first wall I un-paneled in the dining room. There once was a window. Poor window. We won't put it back because the view into the garage would kill your appetite.This is the wall next to the kitchen. There once was a swinging door between the dining room and kitchen. I'm looking for a replacement. This is the west wall, the one with double windows. Notice the lack of glue on the walls. They just nailed up the paneling. Thank goodness!
There are poopy dots on my living room ceiling. Ick!Oh sorry! Those aren't poopy dots, they're really dried out glue that's not doing a very good job of holding up Styrofoam ceiling tiles.
Notice the lack of glue on the walls in places. They used it all on the ceiling.This is how it looks now. I'm standing by the fireplace.

I have muscles

Yes I do. I might add that they are super sore today. Ouch! That tells me I've been lazy.

The questionable ceiling tiles are bagged and waiting for testing before disposal.

I'm taking the nails and staples out of the lumber to be reused later on. I have a special plan for it. It's hard to find a place to store 12 foot lumber.

We're having second thoughts on tearing out the plaster ceiling. More news on that later.

If all goes well and I get my lumber pile de-nailed, I'll have more demolition pictures later.

All in a day's work

Let me start by saying this is a one man, one woman, one mom remodel. You're not going to see anything like a certain very popular lodge remodel that took place earlier in this fine state. We're doing it all and have the bumps, bruises, and cobwebs in our hair to prove it.

See that little tile in the corner. That's where I'm starting. Say good-bye to the drop ceiling.The only thing I'm missing is a hard hat and it might have been a good idea to have one.
What's this? Another ceiling? Hmmm. Interlocking tiles that were stapled to 1 x 4's. Down it comes.
Wanna see a dust goober? This is a healthy one.
The absolute best find of the day...The Daily Oklahoman from July 15, 1959.
Two kinds of ceiling tiles stacked on the floor. Heaven help me. Now I've got to get rid of them.
Here's DH knocking down one of the beams. Go DH! Knock them all down.
More dust goobers. These are kind of spooky.
All of the nonsense has been removed. The plaster is next to come down, but that's a job for tomorrow. I kind of hate to see the pink plaster go, but it's in sad, sad shape.
Here's what the dining room looks like right now. What a mess.Day one is done.

The buffet

Mom bought this at a garage sale years ago for something like $20. I always admired it and told her if she ever wanted to get rid of it to let me know. Well, when we were moving here from NM she sent it with me. I've loved it and enjoyed it very much these last five years.We decided to move this to the kitchen and take the kitchen table to storage because on the Hernia Scale of 1 to 10, the buffet is a 12.

The dining room is empty and with any luck at all I'll have demolition pictures soon.

Moving out the furniture

Firstly, I want to thank you for the well-wishes on the job front. I do appreciate it. You folks are the best. :)

On to the nitty-gritty. So far Mom and I took two loads of furniture to storage. It doesn't sound like much until you unload 8 dining chairs, a sofa table, a little bench, and an ottoman. I even unloaded a bookcase on my mom. So far so good. We still have the recliner, rocker, dining table, sofa, entertainment center and TV to move. Rather than wrestle the buffet, we're shoving it into the kitchen and moving the kitchen table. Trust me, the table is lighter.

Annie wanted pictures so here are a couple of old ones. Unfortunately, this is the biggest I can find. I'm sure somewhere I have the originals, but not handy. These were taken while we were moving in.

There are two of these, one on either side. Rough cut lumber must be cheap because they used it for everything. The shelves face the dining room. These are leaving. Bye! Bye!There is a 9-foot ceiling hiding under this in the dining room. Again, rough cut lumber. Adios!This is taken from the living room looking towards the dining room. Now you can see the shelf things. Be gone!This is looking toward the south wall of the living room. At one point there was a real fireplace and probably bookcases on either side. Now a very large fake fireplace and the windows are all that remain. The fireplace stays, but is getting a facelift. DH is having a small stroke over it, but he'll be okay. These rooms together measure 33-1/2 feet long x 13 feet wide.

Right now the plan is to get the rest of the furniture out tonight and tomorrow. Thursday I'll start gathering my tools of destruction and get DH settled into the man-den. I'd really like to inflict my first wound on Friday.

Are you interested in during pictures or just after pictures?

Okey Dokey

I had my interview this morning. I have to admit I was intimidated to be seated across from two chemist and an engineer. I think I did okay. There are 13 other people wanting this job. I'll either get a letter or a phone call. It's not in my hands.

I dropped by the permits office to see about a remodel permit. We don't need one. Hooray!

We decided to save money and forget the dumpster. It's crazy. $65 to set it, $2 a day, and $365 to dump it assuming it doesn't weigh more than 5 tons. No thanks. Our other option is load it up in the pickup and take it to the dump and pay by weight.

I rented a storage unit and DH is going to help me get the furniture moved out before Thursday so he can go fishing this weekend.

While he's fishing, I'm tearing down the house.

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for the rain we received earlier. Today, I'm thankful for the snow.I'm also thankful that this pretty little cardinal sat still long enough for me to take her picture.And as always, I'm thankful for all of my blogging buddies.

Living in limbo

I'm between things right now and it's driving me nuts. I have a job interview on Monday (cross your fingers) and the next 5 days feel like an eternity in the making.

In the meantime we're seriously thinking about starting the remodel on the living and dining rooms. The only downside is that it has to be finished by Memorial Day weekend because the kids are coming up.

We could probably get it finished if I'm home and can work on it. It's going to be a stretch if I'm working and gone from 6AM to 7 PM five days a week.

Murphy's Law says that the best way for me to get a job is to get involved in something else that will throw life as we know it into total chaos. That's just how Murphy's Law works.

So, I'm in limbo. I think I'll go call on a remodeling permit and see about a dumpster.

A better me - week 8 of this diet thing

Well, I managed to drop an even pound. That makes my total lost 11.2 pounds.

I find it hard when I'm away from home and eating out every stinking meal. I get so tired of it. I'm glad I packed sandwich fixings when I went down on Tuesday. Sandwiches and Fiber One pop tarts surely saved me.

I hope everyone is doing well on their diet. Hang in there.

Glad to be home again

Gosh, it feels good to be home. Even with the mess around here it's nice to be around my mess. I don't plan on going anywhere for a while.

Driving back to NM on Friday, we ran into a little storm this side of the Texas Travel Center. We got to see actual rain and it smelled so good. The hail was okay too. It amazes me how people think they can still drive 70 mph when you can't see a thing.

We visited with the folks at the nursing home and they seem to be settling in okay. Everybody seems happy with the situation and is doing well. MIL couldn't remember my name half the time and so didn't have anything ugly to say.

We spent a good part of the day Saturday with the baby and naturally I forgot the camera at daughter #2's house.

I swear, she's growing like a weed. She sure can yawn big for such a little thing.She likes to listen to Peepaw talk.Unfortunately it was time to come home. She's worn out from being passed back and forth between us.We missed getting a picture of her upchucking down the front of my shirt. LOL! Somehow she got her fist inside the neck and used my shirt front as a barf bag. Peepaw thought it was funny. Meemaw, not so much.

I'm fresh out of cheeks

I'm home again, but just until tonight. We got the in-laws settled into the nursing home. He'll be 83 in July and she'll be 85 in November.

Here they are in all their glory. FIL is tickled pink to finally be out of the hospital after 11 days. MIL is trying to come up with the next ugly thing to say. Hence, the I'm out of cheeks title. I've turned the other cheek so much that my neck hurts and my cheeks are chapped. She's enough to break your spirit and make you give up.So to soothe my wounded cheeks I stopped at Hobby Lobby. A lot. Many times over the course of three days. My cheeks now feel better and my pocket book isn't terribly broke. Let's just say I love their 80% off decorative accessories aisle. Did you know they have all garden stuff 50% off as well? Just thought you'd like to know.

Here's what Spring in Eastern New Mexico looks like.If the 50 mph wind wasn't bad enough, the sand and dirt blowing around just makes it that much better. At one point you couldn't see across the road the dirt was so thick. I don't miss this a bit.The only good thing about the wind was my gas mileage coming home. I averaged 56 miles per gallon until Shamrock.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and with luck I'll see you Monday.