Enter At Your Own Risk

We have had our morning session already. Will see if I can get one this afternoon, lol. I gotta say, the first time she did that, trotting towards me with those two balls side by side in her mouth, I thought, "OMG! It's testicles!"
 

MarciKS said:
My dad would get so irritated with the cats cuz they would always push their toys behind the stove. He's in his 80s and on oxygen so moving the stove was a real pain.
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Thank doG the ball won't fit very far under the fridge. I have one of those long handled grabber thingies, comes in real hand.
 
Play with these little dogs is lots of fun. They are so different! The shih tzu has never been much of a player; also, he will only go after the soft fuzzy toys with lamb chop being his favorite. He won't touch the balls. But the spaniel is fast and if I throw lamb chop for him, she will race past him, take it, and get up on the recliner where he can't get it. So, I throw one LC in one direction, the other LC in another direction. She will play fetch for ages, he will go for it maybe three times, then he stops at my feet and waits for his treat.

When they play chase with each other, he stands in one place in the middle of the room and she races all around him. He makes her do all the work, lol. Smart for a one-eyed shih tzu.
 
Hallway update: Above the stairwell, cut into the wall, was a hatch door that I thought was attic access. It was poorly fitted and very difficult to reach so I decided it had to go. There are other attic access doors. Contractor came over, removed the door, cleaned up behind it, replaced the insulation. It seems that at one time, a second roof was built above an older one, higher with a greater slant. Not an attic access. Anyway, since the drywall I have was 1/2" and the drywall above the door was 3/8", he ended up replacing the entire wall's drywall. Always something.

The drywall guy is coming on Monday to do those walls. Nothing fancy, just simple and plain. I need to call the electrician today with a question that will effect the drywall work. Argh! I hope he answers; he usually does.

Once that is done, probably mid-next week, it will be carpet time. Then baseboards and other trim. Electrician for new outlets and light fixtures which have all arrived and look like they'll do well for what is needed. I really hope to get this all done by end of Dec or mid Jan. Not looking forward to the carpet installation; there is furniture to be moved and not many places to move it to. Hopefully, they can just do part of the room at a time. IDK.

Best news of All! Contractor said he can come a week from today to relocate the mailbox! That will reduce snow shoveling by almost 75%! Woo Hoo!
 
Oops! I realized yesterday that the dog groomer appointment is Monday mid-day; I texted the dry wall guy that he could work here while I am gone if that's okay with him. He said he will come on Tuesday instead.

According to the electrician, what I wanted to do may come back to haunt me later down the road. The issue is that on the hallway wall, there is a junction box ?, like the one with all of the circuit breakers in it, except this one doesn't have anything in it. There are connected wires behind it, though. I think maybe it used to be the main box, which was moved to another place when an addition was built.

Anyway, now there is this metal door thingy on the wall that is just ugly, with several coats of now peeling paint on it. I wanted to remove it and just patch the drywall but he said that some day, access to those connections may be needed. "Your house, do what you want but..." Before Tuesday, I will remove that, sand it, give it a new coat of paint, and put it back up. Then hang a picture or something over it to hide it.

About an inch of new snow last night.
 
The drywall guy should finish today. It takes time to do this; skim coat, let it dry overnight. Texture coat, let it dry overnight. Prime and paint, let it dry overnight. Then a second paint coat which will be done today. Just a few hours each day of work, then all that dry time. Anyway, today is the finish coat day. Hooray!

Now I need to go to town to the flooring place and make an appointment for them to come out and measure. I have to go in on Tuesday for the second dog's grooming so maybe then. I also need to go into the city to Home Depot and get the materials for the baseboards and trims. I have some but not enough.

The mailbox should be moved today. And tomorrow is a meeting I must attend (long story), which I dread. Thankfully, it is just once a year.
 
The hallway walls are finished and it is amazing how much of a difference it makes. It isn't something one would consciously notice, as in "Wow! I love these walls and that texture." It's very subtle but to me, very noticeable since I know what it felt like before. Originally I intended to have it painted white, to reflect light. However, I noticed when the white primer was applied that it made the ceiling (which doesn't need painting) look more yellowed, so I decided to use the same sage green used in the adjoining rooms. Was worried about it making the hall too dark but no, it turned out great.

My contractor guy moved the mailbox (two hours of digging in rocky ground, ugh) to a location where, hopefully, I won't have to shovel such a large area for the mail delivery person to reach it without getting stuck. The risk with that is it is closer to the pavement and who knows what the snowplow may do. Fingers crossed on that. The USPS had a diagram with measurements on it regarding height, etc., and we went by that. Luckily, while we were out there the mail person came by and I explained to her what we were doing. She was very thankful.

While he was here, we reviewed removing a cabinet in the living room. He said his work is slowing down and he will get to it next week. The timing on this can be beneficial if we remove it before the carpet is installed. It will mean installing more of the tile flooring where the cabinet is now; luckily I have enough left over tiles to match the newish floor around it. It will probably be about two weeks before carpet is done and they can do the tiling when they come to install the carpet elsewhere. Meanwhile, I need to remove all the stuff in that cabinet and purge and find new homes for whatever gets kept.

In addition to that, the baseboard heaters will have to be removed (they are attached to the cabinet) and reinstalled. The electrician said he can't make it until next week or later, which will also work. We can easily remove the heater but I will have him reinstall it. He can do that when he comes to finish the rest of the new outlets in the ex-hot tub room. So it all seems to be coming together. Hooray!
 
Spent most of the day yesterday running errands. Dog to groomer, bank, WalMart, carpet store, post office. Sent off Christmas cards (with cash gifts) so that's done. Yay! Bought a plant, Norfolk Pine. I am not much of a plant person but about seven years ago, a friend sent me one for Christmas. Over five years, that small tree grew so large, up to the ceiling and about four feet wide, that when I moved to this small house, I had to re-home it. We shall see how this one does.

Today, I will go back to town. Ran out of time yesterday to do everything that needed doing. Today will, however, be to the little local town, not the larger one farther away, hooray! Hardware store and Dollar General.

The electrician scheduled his work here for Dec. 30, which actually works best for me, too.

The last few days have been emotionally difficult. Suffice it to say that my "friend" here is no longer my friend. Done.
 
A man from the carpet store is coming today to measure.

One of the items I bought at the hardware store yesterday is the wrong one. I will return it and get the right one. Sigh.
 
Yesterday, I spent the entire day cleaning the mess left by the drywall work. Dust everywhere! And lots of it. Patched a small hole in the acoustic tile ceiling. I then cleared out the contents of the cabinet that is to be removed soon in the living area; got rid of some of it, reorganized and found new homes for the rest. Today, I will clean the rest of the house. Maybe do some laundry. On a roll, lol.

While sorting through dvd's/cd's, decided to play some Christmas music. The cd player on the old Bose doesn't work -- Oh No!! Switched to the one in the CPU; couldn't get it to work due to user ignorance. Finally got it playing on the separate dvd/cd player, which uses the TV speakers which are mediocre. Sigh. Get a new Bose? Separate speakers? IDK. Anyway, hearing the music was a little sad; memories from long past holidays. Everything but the Christmas music is on the iPod, which I plug into the Bose (that does work). Once all of the work on the house is finished, I may upgrade some of the electronics for better sound.
 
Well, at least I did get the laundry done yesterday. Have had my head in the book "Texas" for the last few days. Born and raised there, spent most of my adult life there. Moved here seven years ago. I miss Texas, although I do not miss the tornadoes, snakes, fleas, chiggers, flash floods, hot hot summers and the high property taxes. Who knows? Maybe some day I will relocate back there. Every time I think about that, I remember those hot summers and say, "Nope." I'll keep the snowy winters over that.

Today, I will head into town and finalize the order for the carpet. Hopefully, they will get it installed in the next week or two. Have not heard from the guy who was going to remove that cabinet; it needs to be done before the floors. If he can't do it by then, I will do it myself. I have three reciprocating saws and a couple of pry bars. How hard can it be? My only concern is what kind of damage will it do to the walls, etc., to which it is attached.

That and removing the baseboard heaters attached to it. I will turn off the power to them, of course. But this also has to be done before the electrician on the 30th, who will reinstall them. I do hope I don't regret doing this, lol.
 
Well, the carpet I have chosen is not immediately available. Can you say "back order"? The manufacturer states it is scheduled to be made on January 17, maybe before then? Anyway, it looks like it will be the last week in January before it is installed. Oh, well. I don't live in that part of the house so no big deal.

My goal is to have this project completed by March/April, at which time we will start back up on the exterior. Fencing, the last of the siding, replacing fascia and soffit, maybe even extending the overhanging eave in one section. And windows, argh! And a new footbridge over the creek, which may have to wait until summer 2027. We shall see. Sigh.
 
I have heard nothing from the guy who said he would tear out that cabinet last week. So, today, I am going to do it myself. Probably. Maybe. And if the wall behind it is a mess, then I will have the dry wall guy come and fix it. So there.

I have become so lazy these past couple of months. Time to get off my duff and get busy again.
 
HA! The cabinet is in pieces, leaning up against the garage wall. Got 'er dun! Without getting shocked, scraped, or injured. It was actually pretty easy, took about an hour. Of course, there was water damage on the wall behind it, all near the bottom, and LOTS of old mouse poop. If for no other reason than to get that cleaned up, I am glad to have that cabinet removed. Where the 220V wire for the heaters comes through the wall is a great entry point for mice, if they manage to get in from outside which is pretty well sealed up, I think. I have some of that spray foam stuff; that'll be fixed.

Now, the wall material, AC plywood, needs replacing before Tuesday when the electrician is coming to reinstall those heaters. So I called the dry wall guy and he said he will come Friday and work the weekend if necessary to be ready for the electrician on Tuesday. Managed to get to the lumber yard this morning and purchase the materials. Most likely, some, if not all, of the insulation in that wall will need replacing, too.

The hard part is getting rid of the old lumber from the cabinet. Left a message with the trash company to ask if they will take it. I can cut it up into smaller pieces and maybe bag it? IDK. We shall see.
 

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