Today began with a vet visit. King, for his Adequan shot, and Gaby for a physical exam and annual vax. Herself was so patient–she licked the vet’s face during the exam, and didn’t flinch when she got her shots.
As for King, vet and I talked. At the end of the month, we’ll retest his liver function to see if there’s any improvement. In three months, we’ll redo the ultrasound to check that &^%$# spot on his spleen. Fingers already crossed that it stays the same size or even maybe hey disappears.
Home stuff. I’m having some repair work done on the garage this week–new side door, siding replaced–which means that I needed to buy paint. The house was painted way back in 2001, and I recalled that the painter had left extra paint behind. I didn’t think I still had it given that I had actually cleaned out the garage a couple of times over the years, but I hunted around and found three full gallons of exterior acrylic low-lustre on a bottom shelf. Unfortunately, 1) they were only the main color, not the trim, and 2) paint that has been sitting in a garage for 11 years is paint that is well past its sell-by date.
The paint brand wasn’t one I had ever seen before. I hunted for it online, and wasn’t all that surprised to find that it no longer existed. Not only that, but the paint store that had mixed the stuff closed this past spring. I managed to chip bits of both colors off the siding and door, and went to one hardware big box to see if they could color match. Got a perfect match for the trim color, but not for the main shade–do you have any idea how many shades of cream/off-white there are out there? And “low-lustre”–what the hell is that? It’s a bit glossier than “eggshell,” which is in turn a bit glossier than flat. Neither, however, is as glossy as satin, which in turn is not as glossy as semi-gloss. Of course, it depends on the brand, because some paints have low-lustre but not eggshell, while others have low-lustre and eggshell, while still others don’t have either but go straight from flat to satin to semi-gloss.
So, after three failed attempts to mix the right shade of off-white, I came home. Peeled another paint chip off the garage, then searched around for a paint brand that had a low-lustre finish. Found one. Went to big box that sold that brand. Perfect match.
The garage needs repair–the siding is flaking and the door veneer is peeling off. I’m glad it’s getting done, but it has inspired thoughts of repairs that I would actually enjoy. Like a bathroom revamp. Or new countertops and backsplash in the kitchen. Refinished cupboards.
Rained today. Three-tenths of an inch. We needed it.
I just got notice from the city that I have to paint my garage door. The door that will fall off if I try to open it one more time. I’m going to get a spray paint that matches the underlying wood so that when chunks fall off, you won’t be able to tell. I am SO not spending money on a garage that will be demolished as soon as I can swing it.
Luckily, my garage door is fine, a metal front with bonded paint. It’s the side entry door that’s shameful.
I am looking forward to getting the garage squared away, but. I found a vanity/sink/mirror set that I really liked while hunting down paint this past weekend, and it triggered the desire to get the bathroom redone. I may buy the thing just to have it on hand. And if the handyman who is going to fix the garage also does bathrooms, I’m going to ask him to give me a price. I know how much I think it may cost, but I’m prepared to be shocked and dismayed.
I just finished a bathroom re-do. It cost about 20k, and that’s with doing at least 1/2 myself. Of course, you may not need to take it down to the studs/joists and beyond (the side of my house was rotting). Or replace all the copper pipe almost to the street. I also spent a little more making sure that I would Never. Have. To. Do. This. Again.
But…totally worth it. I added 2 awning windows (and replaced a third leaky one) plus a frosted glass paned door so the room is just full of light. I have a claw-footed tub now (although acrylic instead of cast iron) and a rain shower head with separate controls from the hand-held sprayer. I moved the doorway into what used to be the laundry room and turned the old doorway into shelves for the bathroom and a pantry for the kitchen. And of course all the mold is gone.
After the garage and fence are done, then I will move onto the kitchen. I need something other than peel-and-stick tiles on my floor at the very least. Not a huge fan of the drop ceiling either. And a tall person must have hung the cabinets because they are at least 6″ more above the counter than anyone else’s. I am not tall, so I have a step stool that I keep out all the time. And this, and that…
My bathroom doesn’t need that much…unless horrible surprises lurk behind the tile. Room is small, about 8×5. I’ll keep the tub and toilet, but the tub may need refinishing. I want a new vanity, wall tile, and flooring. The walls need some work–drywall replacement, cosmetic touch-up. Painting. I would like new hardware in the tub–drain, shower head. And new lighting.
Yes, the kitchen, which still has the original real-wood cabinets…which the installer stained green. 70s green, with a leetle too much avocado for comfort–I would like them refinished, with new hardware. New countertops and backsplash. New sink, lighting. Painting. Again, no major structural changes, which I think is where the co$t$ really start to sky.
Hardwood floors needs refinishing.
Then there’s the deck, that needs to be rehabbed or replaced. The front steps. The driveway. Some work needs to be done around the window wells to keep them from filling during storms and leaking into the basement.
Oh yes, fence. Would like to replace chain-link fence with pretty stockade fencing.
And I don’t even want to stay in this house for more than a couple of years. But even if I want to sell, I think all this needs doing. I feel a little discouraged when I think about it.
Oh, gosh yes. My hardwood looks like someone ran a motorcycle over it. There was carpet laid on top of nasty carpet, which I ripped out a few years ago because of the stench. No finish is left on the wood at all…but it is solid all the way through (no veneer), so should do nicely with patching between the gaps, sanding, staining, and finishing. I’m going to do the stairs myself, but will have to hire the front and middle first floor rooms done since it requires using large machinery.
I have to do repairs on the wooden steps going down from the backdoor this weekend. Another thing I’m hoping to keep limping along until the garage situation is addressed. When I replace the stairs, I want them to go down into the new garage.
And fence. I built a 8 foot tall fence around some of the property 4-5 years ago to keep the dogs where they belong. The bottom 2 feet are solid, while the top is basically an extremely large picket-type arrangement. I got rolls of that green plastic coated wire fencing and put it up between the up-and-down slats and the cross-bars for the purpose of training vines up it. Works well. I still need to do the part of the property that faces the alley (and leads to the asphalt parking area) because I wasn’t quite sure how to handle rebuilding a gate that is close to 16 feet across. I’ve got some ideas now though.
I, too, would love to move in a few years. I want 5 acres of land. But with opening the new practice, I doubt I will be able to afford to move anytime soon, so that may have to be a retirement dream.