Hello laundry room!

It's fair to say I spent a good portion of my weekend debating (with myself) the color of my new laundry and powder room.... then the rest of the time prepping and painting.

The progression...

Laundry room is drywalled and texture is sprayed on. I paint a number of swatches on un-primed walls on Saturday morning, to get a feel for color. It doesn't work.

Walls and ceiling of the powder room are primed on Saturday afternoon. It's a nasty stinky job, but somebody's got to do it. Later that evening I spend time painting the powder room blue-green... then painting it again... just green!

Sunday is my day to paint the laundry room, but I run out of time and energy to complete the job. Falling into bed exhausted and speckled from head to toe, I set my alarm for dark-o'clock.

With less than minutes to spare, I finish coloring the laundry room as Eric arrives for work this morning. (Although you can't tell in the picture, the white looking walls actually have a hint of gold in them.) I have been up for hours, my hands are blistered, my head foggy with paint fumes and my stomach crying out for breakfast. Very tempted to go back to bed and at the very least could do with a hug!

Eric sets to work, fixing some kind of rock-board to the floor in preparation for the installation of cabinets and laying of tile.

Up go the cabinets. I can see I still have some painting to do!

The sink from the kitchen will be recycled in here, but because the "cabinet" it sat atop of was really not a cabinet, more of a facade, we need to engineer a base for it.

Ok, so we still have a ways to go... but trust me, it will begin to look more "normal" in the week to come!

Wing Beneath My Wings

Everyone has a bucket list. Mine's not that long.... since I'm a "why wait?" type of girl. However, learning to fly had been on my list for a good 15 years... which I realize does call into question whether I am truly a "why wait?" girl after all!

Anyway, this year Osman decided I needed a little encouragement... and booked me my first lesson, introducing me to Air West and my training plane, a Cessna 152. Cute huh?!

I have been learning for about 6 weeks now. The anxiety that comes with practicing stalls and learning to land, is for the most part, much less than a couple of weeks ago.

Meet the man responsible for this... Mark.

(Also known as Plan B, should anything go wrong while I'm in control!)



Then there is always Plan C!

Kidding! Plan B seems pretty reliable! :-)

Most importantly, I'm really enjoying my new passion, the challenges, the feeling of freedom and the connections I am making.

All my flying dreams are coming true!

Blue Sky Mining

Another gorgeous night in Boulder...

Nothing else to say.

OMG!

The question is... Did we hit rock bottom today, far as mess, chaos, destruction and kitchen mayhem go... or do I still have a little way to go???

At this point I'm not really sure. Or am I just not sure it matters anymore?

We MUST be close now.

8am:

Josh, Eric and Josh's dad turned up to work! Yep... Josh takes his dad to work when he is visiting!!! The day started out fairly efficiently but stepped up considerably as it went along, turning my house into a crazy hive of activity.

The laundry got its second and third coats of mud.

The kitchen had its insides turned outside.

More electrical and plumbing to reconfigure for a dual fuel stove, under cabinet lights.

And up came the linoleum, revealing (no surprises here) some thin and decidedly mushy plywood that needed replacing.

The cabinets arrived and spent the day enjoying the view from the driveway - until there was room inside to store them.

3:30pm: An exhausted Eric, Josh and his dad pulled away from my house. I was not long home from my own crazy day, but really glad to hear them say they would be back tomorrow. :-)

I believe we are texturing walls tomorrow... So that Saturday I can paint!

Thanks Marijke and Loki!

This evening I had the pleasure and priviledge of a sunset flight in Marijke's plane, Loki.
Fun, fun, fun!!!

We took off about 6:30pm... just as the sun set and the moon rose. Almost a full moon in fact. Large, yellow and beautiful.

I sat in back... but was allowed to touch the controls! :-)

Gorgeous colors, twinkling lights, serenity.

Thanks Marijke... for the flight and the conversation. I'm looking forward to spending more time with you. :-)

Are You Kidding Me?

Picture this...

Monday night, dark and rainy. I was doing a mad dash for dinner before my dance class.

Heading south on 30th St, I pulled to a stop behind someone turning left. All of sudden there was a loud noise and a jolt that threw my head forward... then back. Not really sure what had just happened, I waited a few minutes then pulled the car into a side street and stopped. The 4-runner that had hit me from behind, followed me.

I have to say the other driver was very nice. He made sure I was ok, then called the police and let me borrow his phone to call Osman. I waited in the car, out of the rain, nursing my sore neck and fast approaching headache.

It turns out the guy had bald tires and his brakes locked. Let's face it, it could have happened to anyone. I did feel sorry for him. Wrong place and wrong time for both of us.

The police came... as did an ambulance and fire truck! Yes, I was THAT person, clogging the road, holding up traffic. It's quite the ordeal to refuse transport to a hospital, but after signing the appropriate documents and waiting for the police report, Osman drove me to get checked out at the ER... just in case.

Three hours and half a dozen x-rays later, I was cleared to leave, Vicodin bottle in hand. The Doc assured me I would feel worse tomorrow... and she was right!

:-(

Honestly though... it could have been a lot worse. I'm a lucky girl!

The Lexus did it's job - and possibly made the ultimate sacrifice. :-)

Stepping Out

The weather forecast called for clear skies and a balmy 70-something. Yeah...Not!

With low visibility and high humidity, I cancelled plans to head to higher altitude to hike today. Marley and I set off to South Boulder Trail Head instead.

It has been quite a while since I hiked this trail and had NO Flatiron view.

We stopped briefly to take pics and admire the wildflowers - although they are nearing the end, I could almost see them smiling as the mist enveloped them. Then it was time for a rest on a flat rock. Just a minute or two to listen to the cricket-song and give the mandatory doggie hug. (FYI: Hugging a decidedly damp golden retriever is not as cute as it sounds!)

It was a good way to start the weekend though. Now for Home Depot and an afternoon of painting, followed by flight study. With a mug of hot tea, I call it an almost perfect day!

Running on Fumes

Today (Day 2 of head cold) I formulated the brilliant plan to mix Sudafed with paint fumes, to clear the sinuses. Not only did it work, but I found myself to be amazingly productive. Well, at least compared to yesterday, when I sat on the sofa most of the day!!!

That would be me... sitting on the kitchen floor, spraying TSP all over the place, wiping off years of grime and filth in order to paint our kitchen cabinets a serene shade of sage green. But believe it or not, I do find it therapeutic.

Yes... I'm the photographer too and it only took a dozen shots to get myself somewhat in focus! Meanwhile, my paintbrush was drying out and I was having difficulty keeping the paint off myself.... such is life.

Where is Osman again??

No going back now

Who would have thought that our heavy wooden cabinets were attached to the wall by two screws and a couple of nails? Not me!

And while it's not something I would ever attempt again, for 55 years these cupboards have been jam-packed with plates, glasses and cookware...And I'm pretty sure we are not the only household to stack all manner of over-sized item on top of them either.

Today I spent way too long unpacking them and boxing the contents, preparing for the task of cabinetry removal.

Eric arrived at 3pm to aid in the actual removal. They are too heavy for just little old me to pull down - and luckily he had done this before.

Apparently the last time this cheery apple green paint had seen the light of day was indeed 1955. Since then at least 3 other colors had found their way into the kitchen - but never behind the cabinets, just around them.

Now all that is required is a decent shower in TSP to loosen the grime and grease of a thousand dirty hands, a very disposable rag to wipe them clean.

Tomorrow I paint!

These cabinets are being recycled to the new laundry... but that's going to be another post.

Fleeting Beauty

This little guy has been visiting us in the morning and late afternoon all summer.

The bright red and pink bell shaped flowers are his favorite.

I love to hear his shrill whistle as he breezes through.

Smokey Joe loves to snooze at the base of the plants. The hummingbird seems to enjoy flirting with him.... Even following Smokey Joe under the eaves of the house when the rain set in and hovering just inches from him!

It's like camping... except colder and dirtier!

Hmm.... Where do I begin?

Remember when I said there were some smaller projects that had to be dealt with before we could really begin the kitchen?

Small Project #3

Our 1955 house still exhibits it's original windows - single paned and metal framed. Aside from being horrible little heat sinks, they are NOT pretty. At some point (soon, I hope) we will endeavor to replace them all. For now we are content to "learn" good window replacement technique, guided by neighborhood wisdom and a whole lot of experimentation. It's a process that might resemble tearing, gouging and smashing out the kitchen window to the untrained eye!

Before we begin...

The little cuts you already see in the frame allowed Osman to accurately measure the "window hole" for ordering the new window. Thanks for the tip Ned!

The theory being that taping the glass first would result in less spraying of shards...

But alas, shortly after this picture and even more shortly after I almost lost an eye, we taped sheaths of cotton sheet over the window too. Safety first! (Or at least a close second)

And once the frame for the actual glass was removed, it was just a matter of grappling with a powered saw until the steel frame was successfully cut open enough to allow a pry-bar in!

And presto! A gaping hole in the house that timed itself perfectly with overnight lows close to 50 degrees last night.

Like I said....Just like camping, only colder... and dirtier!