Pork Rinds and Diet 7-UP

Another busy and successful weekend as we tackled, and happy to say, conquered our worst nightmare in this whole house-rehab project....we scraped every inch of the walls and ceilings in both the breakfast nook and the dreaded living room from hell. The walls are the easy part...it's the ceiling that's the bear. All the ceilings are covered with this thick, wavy texture that is very difficult to remove. It takes sharp scrapers, sandpaper, a spritz of water, ladders, and lots of elbow grease to get rid of it. The living room is the largest room in the house and it was a daunting task, but we got it done. We were both covered head-to-toe with dust and debris from removing texture, and it will surely be a laundry problem down the line.

After we finished scraping the breakfast nook, Lawrence decided to get some joint compound and cover the entire ceiling with it, making a very nice, smooth surface that we will soon texture and paint. The ceiling in the living room is very high and might not need joint compound. We think just a good coat of texture and paint will cover very well.

If you remember from earlier posts, there was one wall in the living room that was covered by a hideous wallpaper mural which I successfully removed in three days time, so we both decided to go back over it with sandpaper to make sure all the little bits of leftover goop were removed. The wall looks great and it too is now ready for texture and paint.

Also in the living room, I decided to take down the existing ceiling fan since we bought a newer and nicer one that will soon take it's place. On the ceiling above the fan was a prominent accumulation of dust and dirt slung up there by the rotating blades, but not until I went up the ladder to remove the fan did I realize just how bad it was. The dust and dirt on the blades was so thick, you couldn't actually see the blade surfaces themselves. As I've been saying all along, I don't think the previous tenants cleaned anything, much less the ceilings or the fans attached to them. It was disgusting.

I have figured out that rehabbing a house is a lot like traveling across country. Meaning of course that you don't always eat right. There's a Whataburger close by for quick and yummy meals. There is also a Valero Corner Store down the street for quick purchases of beef jerky, pork rinds and diet 7-UP. Just what the weary traveler/house fixer needs, but not the waistline.

We are definitely going to need to have an electrician come out and fix a few things. The main electrical box needs replacing, and a number of wall outlets in various parts of the house don't work. Thankfully, the air conditioner works well, and we're going to need it as we get closer to the warmer months.

On one of our many trips to Home Depot, we decided to start buying, and hoarding, attic insulation rolls. We are buying a few at a time and storing them in the garage until we are ready to roll them out sometime before it gets too hot. There are some areas of the attic that have little or no insulation on them at all, but we need to run some wires across the attic for television and computer networks first.

Since we had so much rain this weekend we decided not to bring Rusty with us. The backyard was a lake, and he doesn't like to get his feet wet. He's such a diva.

Barking Dogs and Lawn Mowers

We got a lot done at the new house this weekend, and the beautiful weather really helped. Highs in the low 70's and blue skies will inspire anyone to do something outside, and it certainly did us. It also inspired all of our neighbors to do the same as we heard a lot of lawn mowers and weed eaters roaring, and of course, all the neighborhood dogs were chiming in as well.

Lawrence asked a couple of fellas from his apartment complex to help us out on Saturday, so the two of them came over early and started ripping down all the old, rusty and leaking gutters surrounding the house, and then replaced all the rotten wood. They did an excellent job, and it was desperately needed. On Sunday, Lawrence painted all the newly installed outside trim, and I helped a little. Very little. I don't think Lawrence expects much out of me, and I haven't disappointed him. I do what I can, but me and manual labor don't get along.

The front hedges needed trimming so Lawrence could reach the new trim to paint it. The shrubs were so tall they reached the roof. After the shrubs got their Brazilian, they looked like a bunch of dead sticks coming out of the ground. Lawrence assured me they will grow back. We'll see. I did most of the bagging all the limbs and debris. I guess I'm good for something.

The next major project was finishing the laundry room and installing the new LG washer and dryer. The room's walls were stripped and sanded, then textured, then painted. We installed a new light fixture to top it all off, and we were then ready for the toys! First was the dryer. New gas line, new exhaust vent, and a quick balance of the feet and it was ready. Next, the washer. New hot and cold water feeds, drain pipe installed, and balancing of the feet and we were ready. Lawrence agreed to be the first user of the machines (guinea pig), so he loaded a few items in, set the many fancy digital controls, and the machine came to life. We immediately thought there was something wrong as we didn't see any water in the front-loading window. I sat there on the floor and watched that damn machine for an hour because it was acting very unusual. After some research, we found out that was normal for this new type of machine. It uses very little water or detergent, and is very energy efficient. It's the strangest washing machine I've ever seen, and being direct drive with no belts or pulleys, it's very quiet. It also has a final spin speed of 1200rpm! When it was all over, the clothes looked and smelled clean, and they were almost dry with that kind of spin speed. Off to the dryer and more fancy digital controls, and 30 minutes later, success! Lawrence was pleased, but we're both still puzzled by that darn washer. It's just that strange.

We planned on getting Lawrence a new bicycle this weekend so he could travel back and forth between the apartment and the house, a distance of about one mile, but we never got around to it. We only have one car, and can't afford a second car at the moment, so the bicycle will have to do. Besides, it's good exercise. We were just too busy with so many projects to work on, so maybe next weekend. By that time, hopefully our very sore backs, blistered hands and every other aching appendage will be back to normal just in time to be abused again.