We’re having the back bedroom & kitchen floors refinished in the upstairs apartment this week.
It’s only taken 37 years!
I couldn’t be happier! They sanded & applied the first coat of finish yesterday, and there will be a couple more coats of finish today & tomorrow. They advertised “dust-free” sanding and it’s absolutely true!
You may recall that this space was listed on Airbnb for the past five years; this year, it’s been in flux. There were some bookings, then a family friend & her small family were in need of an in-between place to live for a few months, then Maddy & Viv were here…
While in this state of flux, I decided to scale back & revamp — including finally having the floors refinished in these two rooms. This was the earliest appointment I could get, and it was worth the wait! The floors look so much nicer & will be so much easier to care for, especially in the kitchen.
Instead of two bedrooms, I’m scaling back to one; moving the living room into the more spacious (and better lit) “second bedroom,” and creating more of an entry/office area in the small (cozy) space that was the living room. Eventually, I’d like to get some type of sleeper sofa in the living room (for options), but I’m not rushing in.
The plan is to get that all whipped back into shape, update all the photos, and get it back up on Airbnb by the beginning of October.
Fun fact: Years ago, when we occupied the entire house, the upstairs kitchen (minus appliances) was my Craft Room! It was the best with all that storage & a sink!
I took that photo at last year’s birthday party, so she’s a whole year older now. She had a party with friends after school on Friday, and the kids are off of school all week, so she’s going shopping with her mom today. I have off on Friday this week, so I’m nabbing her for a little more birthday shopping/whatever & a sleepover! One-on-one time with Malina — I can’t wait!
Workroom progress…
Other than a few hours of laundry & cleaning at Ann’s yesterday morning, I was housebound, and mostly home alone… and that is OK! I spent most of the daylight hours in my workroom — cleaning, tossing & organizing. I got all the tax stuff put away and threw another previous year’s tax stuff into the “shred” bag, along with a whole bunch of Ali’s/KCT paperwork that’s no longer needed (I’m still caretaker for a few more years… that file cabinet is slowly freeing up).
Here’s a weird early morning photo of my desk — new shelf unit installed at the end, still getting organized & subject to change. The main thing is that you can actually see some desktop real estate!
I spent some time “setting type”
Several years ago, Rusty gave me a box of random wood type for Christmas — after I shared a post from my Neighbor Nancy/Friendly Local Antique Dealer (i.e., strongly hinted!). NN/FLAD has occasionally had more type pop up in her feed, which I’m always eager to take off her hands (the latest, at top right with a quarter for scale — I was expecting much larger blocks but was thrilled with how small they were), even though I didn’t have a place to put it… except for in a box on the floor.
Ali gave me the old type drawer for Christmas last year and you just have to read her note — it couldn’t have been more perfect. (The “LOL Nana” reference is because, to my mom, LOL = Lots of Love, rather than Laughing Out Loud, like it does to everyone else, so it was sometimes used inappropriately and mostly hilariously!)
I had another box of old type that’s about 4″ tall (and very, very dirty… a job for another day) and it all fit perfectly into an old wood file drawer unit that Ali used to use at the coffee shop for customer punch cards — and which also originated with my mom.
This means that a bunch of stuff that’s been taking up room on the floor (including that file drawer) — for years, in some cases, is now consolidated & organized. Eventually, I’d like to hang the drawer. Last year, I built my own Provisional Press & acquired a small vintage Excelsior press (needs a little elbow grease) and got that stuff off my sewing table, too. It’s now occupying space on a cabinet that had previously been taken up by a stack of empty boxes that I don’t know why I was keeping.
The recycling truck comes tomorrow!
But that’s not all…
I found my DPNs! I sorted & organized them a while back and put them away… but I couldn’t remember where! I have a baby sweater that needs sleeves (in the round) and there’s an upcoming gnome MKAL, so I’m glad I ran across them… and now I keep checking to make sure they’re where I think they are. That’s the problem with organized chaos… I can usually put my hands on something in 2 seconds, unless it’s been moved (even if I’m the one who moved it)!
And still there’s more…
Last July, I got the “go ahead” and ordered an island range hood for our kitchen after years of wanting/needing. It’s been in the basement ever since. Now, having confirmed that the electrical wasn’t going to be a problem, and because we have a new range… it’s time.
Rusty & I hauled it up yesterday, unpacked & positioned it…
…and I’m hoping that my electrician can come soon to do the receptacle box so we can install it!! We thought we’d have to move the track lighting, but we don’t! I still want to refresh/reconfigure it, but there’s no urgency. The fan is ductless, because there’s no way to vent outside, but it’ll be better than nothing.
Oh, and early morning dreams
I don’t remember my dreams very often at all, but last night, there were two that stuck.
I was married to Maksim Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a latin ballroom dancer of Dancing With The Stars fame and currently a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. He’s super cute & a really good dancer… also married, father of two, with another on the way (I think).
There was some commotion in the street out front as I was retrieving some parcels from the front porch — in the middle of the night — and some people, presumably tenants from across the street — jumped into a beat up old minivan, which turned around in our driveway. I noticed that the hood was up, and thought they can’t see where they’re going like that… and then the van proceeded to back up, right off the end of the street, people inside yelling. And then, I thought what a PITA it’ll be to have the cops & rescue trucks/apparatus outside all night.
Y’know… weird dreamland! That second one was a little unsettling, so I think I’ll revisit the one with Maks. haha.
There's a list of them. Making the Garden Room a bit more comfortable in the colder months moved to the top and Rusty's been busy.
First, he made interior storm windows… because why buy them when you can make them yourself? (I can think of one or two reasons, but whatever…) They're not perfect, but they're in and they do seem to make a difference.
Then, he wanted to insulate the ceiling in the "new" part (the white beadboard), which is part of the old wrap-around porch. The "old" Garden Room was part of the old wrap-around at one time, too, but it was incorporated into the house and insulated long ago.
He started with foam insulation board, then some sort of paper/foil barrier; he "found" some lathe strips in the attic, and finished it all off with some bead board similar to the old stuff. The grooves aren't as deep and it's new, but it should age well.
This is classic Rusty-on-the-job. I have a few of these from over the years… sometimes with a banana or cup of coffee in hand.
The wood on the old part of the ceiling was reclaimed from a closet that used to be in the kitchen. A couple passes with some stain and varnish, and it's pretty darn close!
The plants should be happier with the cozier digs. This is one of two new amaryllis, exploding with flower buds! (The other one is biding its time.) I can't wait!
Next thing on the list is the long-overdue laundry room floor! There will be some major cleaning out & purging in that process. Stay tuned.
Oh! We have new neighbors! There's a tragic tale about the house next door, and it's been vacant since last summer — sold, flipped, and finally (I think) sold again. Looking forward to meeting them and PRAY that we got some "good ones" again.
