Bye bye blues...

before	after

We finally did it. There is no longer aqua marine blue walls in our guest bathroom!!! It is now primer white with a hint of blue showing through. We'll fix that tonight.

A lot was accomplished over the weekend. Sand, joint compound, and sand the wall again. Where there once resided a ceramic toilet paper holder and medicine cabinet, now exists a smooth wall. Nice smooth primed wall. We also changed the hideous burgundy miniblinds in the kitchen with white ones. There's so much more light in the kitchen now. Its wonderful. Chris trimmed up some shelving for the closets along with a fresh coat of paint. Now we've got a place to hide more stuff. =) He was also successful in installing the bifold door and a transition between the tile in the master bathroom and the hardwood floor. Needs some varnish but the hard part is done. He even mowed the lawn.

We're leaving for LA on Wednesday night and on Sunday we will be returning with house guests. So our goal for the next 2 days is to do a 2nd coat of primer in the bathroom tonight and hopefully some color on the walls tomorrow. Not to mention cleaning the house from top to bottom. We'll be busy. We're still not 100% sure how long our guest(s) are staying so we're keeping our fingers crossed for a bright outlook. I need a nap.

The Master has it's Throne.

Master bathroom, that is. Chris installed the elongated toilet in the master bedroom last night. Its his first toilet. Awwww. And he did very well. I think the most challenging part was getting the wax ring in and lining up the bolts with the holes in the toilet. Well, its on there. If it leaks, I'm sure you'll hear about it. But the first few flushes didn't lead to any rivers. After a few adjustments of water level and pressure, it was fully operational. We just don't have a door to the bathroom yet. Hopefully we'll remedy that before next week. After some ceiling paint, white paint on the trim, and some baseboards, it'll be done. Oh yeah, and install the vanity. =)

Better than it was...

We've come to the conclusion that its "better than it was" is our theme with the house. So many "what the..." moments that can only be doctored to be fixed. All we can do is try to make it "better than it was."

We were out of town for the holidays and had visitors so we haven't had a chance to work on the house much. But we've had a bit of motivation to get the bathrooms finished before our visitor arrives for his extended visit.

First priority is the master bathroom. That requires the least amount of work. After the "boulder" was removed and all holes were patched, we picked out some colors and painted two walls so far. Chocolate Froth was for the master bathroom and Slate Pebble for the guest bathroom. But we might paint one wall the opposite color. While the Chocolate Froth was drying, Chris regrouted the bathroom tile. The previous guy did a sloppy job installing the tile so the heights are uneven and its just sloppy. So after Chris finished the grout we stood back and looked at it.... Its better than it was. We can't fix the tiles that are too high so we make do with what we got.

While he was doing that, I tried installing the new mini blinds in the kitchen. Yes... tried. Blinds are fairly easy to install. Just screw in two brackets on either end and slip the blinds in. That's it. But of course, it can't be that easy for us. I take off the old burgundy blinds and of course its a different bracket configuration. So I get the new bracket and screws provided and take a look at the situation. Um, the part of the window that I'd attach the bracket to is too thin. I can only get one screw in without splitting the wood (cuz its too close to the edge). Okay. So I'll do one screw in the side and one into the top. I can't fit a drill in to make a pilot hole or to use it as a screwdriver. So I have to do it by hand. I get it in, maybe 1/4 of the way and its stuck. I'm at a bad angle with bad leverage. CHRIIIIIIISSSSS!!!! I call for reinforcements. He's got the same problem I do. After an hour of swearing at the screws that don't go in, he grabs a hammer and nail to make a pilot hole. That works 75% better but the last 5 turns are still a pain. Finally its in and I remove the excess length of blinds and its so much brighter in the kitchen now. Before it had those ugly burgundy blinds that blocked out all the light. But we're so urked by the first one that we don't even attempt the second kitchen window yet. Maybe tonight.

Some other things on the agenda...

• Bifold door - the width is great now that my dad helped us trim it down but its an inch too tall, after compensating for the track hardware.
• Paint - still have the slate pebble to paint in the bathroom.
• Floor Transitions - the part between the tile and hardwood in the bathrooms and kitchen need transitions. one is purchase to see if it will work. i think we can get away with it.
• Closet shelves - we bought wood for the closet shelves. needs some primer and contact paper.
• Kitchen tile sealant - we still haven't sealed the grout yet. *sigh*
• Fix sprinkler head.

There's so much more but those are incomplete projects. New projects would be guest bathroom, basement, and anything outside.