Brand New Pair of Levi Blues

Yay! Yesterday was a huge and exciting day in our household, for two reasons. One, the cat had all of his teeth pulled in a last effort to cure his stomatitis. We’re hoping this does the trick, because we’d like to keep him around for a while. We’re also going to put him on a gluten free diet, and stick with tuna, sardines, raw chicken, and raw beef. He’s thrilled, as those are his favorite foods. Since he’s happy, that makes him snuggly and sweet, which is NOT his normal personality.

The second excitement was having our new (to us) washer and dryer installed, and the walls patched and primed in the laundry room. While the handy guys did the majority of the priming, they couldn’t do the baseboards, as they are too dirty, so sometime tomorrow, Ron and Aubrey will knock those out and do a second coat of priming. It takes a lot to cover florescent lime green. They guys will be back on Monday to finish up, and then I have to decide how I want to decorate it. I’ll likely chop up some IKEA white voile curtains and make them just short enough to fit the windows. Now that the dryer is properly placed (as well as it could be with the water pipe constraints), the room seems so much bigger, so there is space for a table for folding clothes. I may build a window seat, so the cat has a place to lie outside. The guys are installing some Closetmaid shelves that I have lying around, and those will go directly behind the dryer.

That still leaves plenty of wall space for either stencils or a large sticker. I may go with the sticker, as I’m trying to keep everything as neutral as possible, so that we don’t have to repaint when we go to sell.

Ron got to use the new appliances first last night, as he needed something to wear to an early morning conference today. Other than the washer needing to be leveled (not a huge surprise), he said they work really well, and have all kinds of fancy knobs. I’m going to give it a go in just a bit and wash up some fabric.

After hearing how much it cost to redo that room, including paint, supplies, labor, appliances, and delivery, it was still MUCH less than buying a new washer dryer set, and they wouldn’t have been anywhere near as snazzy. Ron asked if I really thought it was worth it. I told him I’m taking pictures of before and after to our next marriage counseling appointment, so she can tell him that YES, it desperately needed to be repainted in order to make it easier to sell.

It’s funny how just a coat of paint can change how one feels about a room. It went from being the worst, most dreaded room, to the second best. Next month, we are attacking the bathroom. After that is the kitchen, our bedroom, my office, and eventually, the outside will need to be transformed from easter egg to cape cod, although that will be last. We should have everything finished by the time our debts are paid off and Ron is finished with his CPA exams!

It feels really good to see some progress. We’ll finish eventually…

When Nights Are Long, Do You Feel Blue?

Bill and Leigh got here yesterday morning at 9am and left around 7pm, after a hard day of prepping, patching, painting, and installing a ceiling fan. While I had planned to get yellow, in one of my typical Hail Mary decorating decisions, I opted for a silvery blue after seeing a palette from Design Seeds in my email last night that had the exact sage of my sofa. I figured it was a sign. It was an excellent choice, as even Mr. I Hate Everything Decorative commented, “I really like this blue!” Bill actually got Ron to laugh several times (miraculous!). I knew they’d get along as they are so alike, in a good way.

Leigh painting, Bill installing the ceiling fan.

The gorgeous silvery blue wall. Leigh painted the closet in blue to make it “disappear.” It looks so much better than the bright white. I am madly in love with the color, and so glad I didn’t repeat the previous owner’s choice of pale yellow.

Ron has tried to be supportive, and even took off yesterday and today so he could help. Mainly he moved furniture, kept everyone supplied with food and water, and dug for our various supplies that are scattered in every room of the house, porch, and two sheds. However, if this were a movie, he would win for best supporting role.

The only design burp was the decision to gel stain several pieces of furniture. I managed to do the French doors and the threshold under it, but it was already nearing the end of the workday when I finished. My homework was to put a few more coats on by morning. Leigh lives in Connecticut, so she’s used to the cool, relatively dry air. I think she forgot to factor in the South Texas humidity from hell. Ten hours later and the doors are still tacky to the touch. I decided to put off doing the other three pieces, as having a houseful of tacky furniture for who knows how long doesn’t work with the constant level of dog hair in the air. As it is, the threshold is a disaster that will have to be sanded and done again, with the dogs locked outside and a blowdryer in hand.

Doors prepped for gel stain.

Aub spent most of the time working on her room, broken up by food runs. She had to work so she was off the hook for most of the day. She did throw the sofa cushion covers in the washer for me when she got home, which was a huge help.

I had planned to wake up at 5:45 am, shower, go to Lowes, get paint, ceiling fans, and caulk, then get coffee for Aub and me. I forgot to factor the two days of hard labor leading up to yesterday…I was awakened at 9am by Ron saying Leigh was here. I flew out of bed with a huge surge of adrenaline that didn’t wear down until the second they left for the day. I think I was passed out before the door finished closing.

Unfortunately, I have a severe sleep disorder, and if nap, that means there are no meds in my system. That translates to incredibly vivid, and in today’s case, incredibly scary dreams. Ron woke me up because I was shouting in my sleep, and I was apparently in an incoherent panic. I went and climbed in his bed and passed out again until Aubrey got home at 11pm.

What I call the infamous “Three Day Wall” has descended with a vengeance. I will have to push through it for two more days, and then I will collapse for a week, minus a few hours on Saturday for a second photo shoot of my friend for her engagement. I just hope I recover without too much misery. Fibromyalgia sucks ass, and I am so incredibly grateful to have friends who are awesome enough to spend two days of their vacation decorating my living room, as it would take me weeks to get done what they did in ten hours.

Time for more sleep, and I will post pics of the mostly completed room, although it won’t be perfect unless the humidity lets up and we can finish the furniture and doors. Fingers crossed!!!

“Could you be blue, as blue as those eyes of yours, as blue as I am, my sweet, sweet baby…”