Best Laid Plans. . .

 Life loves to throw curve balls at us weekend warriors!  Last weekend we had great plans.  We were going to install a board in our kitchen that finishes the little pantry area, caulk and paint it. We were going to install the window sill in the bathroom and caulk and paint. We were going to do tile work in the bathroom.  We  were going to install and paint the header board for the barn door we are going to build for the closet. We were going to have my wife's birthday party.   Alas. . . real life in the form of a severe stomach bug claimed the weekend.  

My wife woke on early Saturday morning violently ill.  She was so sick she was unable to do the dog sitting gig she had agreed to do so I had to fill in for that.  She was so sick she could not do her regular weekend cleaning gig and I had to do that as well.  In between times, I was trying to take care of her.  By Sunday she needed a trip to urgent care and eventually to the ER for fluids.

In short, aside from about 10 peaceful minutes sanding a reclaimed board that I want to use for the window sill, there was exactly zero reno work done.  There was no birthday party.  There was just a very ill wife and a slightly crazed spouse.  I am not a good nurse.  Part of that is because on those occasions when I am sick, I just want you to leave me alone. I figure I'll get better real quick with rest and people popping in going "how are you" when you are dozing off drive.me.nuts.  My wife wants you popping in and balancing that with taking care of all her contracts, and ultimately getting her more sophisticated care pretty much stressed me out.  Sunday my son even bought me supper because he said I was a rock star and running ragged.  Love that boy!

This past weekend she was better but truthfully she was still building her strength back.  So we made it a punch list weekend and I am glad we did.  One of the things that annoys me is when people do a big job but they leave that little finishing touch undone.  The base board not attached or painted.  The caulking not done.  Little things.  My father was famous for leaving those things undone.  I don't know if there were so many things claiming his attention he lost track or if they did not matter to him.  They matter to me and thankfully, they also matter to my wife.

We put the trim around the backsplash in the kitchen.  The board that finishes the entryway to the kitchen alleyway was installed, caulked and painted. The new header board for our closet barn door was installed and painted.  The bathroom window was trimmed out, caulked and painted. We started installing drywall around the shower wall area. We installed the trim in the closet in the bathroom.  Little things that make a boatload of difference in eye appeal.  My father in law and sister in law stopped by Monday and when they walked in, they could not believe the difference.  I texted a picture of the backsplash all finished to the corian guy who helped us cut the counter when we began the kitchen reno.  I figured he saw us looking like we were destroying the kitchen. He ought to see it looking the way it does now.  Still not fully finished, but way more pulled together.  He texted back on how nice it looked and that it looked "expensive."  High praise from a counter pro.  I really want the things we do to not look like a homeowner just tried to make something.  Hence so much research IRL with friends and on Youtube with a number of renovation people who make videos that help me puzzle things out well.

We also bought the subway tile and hopefully this weekend we may have time to tile the walls above the shower installation.  Definately progress!

 

It's a back splash baby!

 Figuring out the kitchen back splash was a very challenging part of our renovations.  Actually AGREEING on a back splash was a challenging part of the renovation.  We tried so many different styles out (buying just one 12 inch square) and could not agree.  Finally we did agree and bought the requisite squares needed.  

But things kept happening to delay the install.  My wife picked up a bunch of weekend shifts.  We needed to use a wet saw and had to learn how to use it and have it not be too crazy cold for using something with water.

I was set to order tile adhesive and found a new product called Musselbound that I researched and then decided to buy.  The order was slightly delayed.

We had to agree on grout.  Same challenge as agreeing on tile.

My wife got sick.

Just stuff.  However this past weekend was installation!  Actually my wife had a very rare Friday off and she put up the musselbound and the tiles that day.  Musselbound for those who may wonder is fabulous.  It holds tiles securely but lets you reposition until you push them down hard.  It is far less messy than traditional methods for those of us with less than superior troweling skills.  Saturday she grouted it--til we ran out of grout.  We were using a premixed grout from the big box store.  We went to the app and discovered there was none of left within 100 miles of us.  Amazon to the rescue.  Our order came in on Sunday, so while we waited . . .

We installed the FRP around our toilet.  Our toilet is fairly close to the closet wall in our bathroom.  I plan to install a small barn door on the closet and did not want to eat clearance space with tile.  So FRP to the rescue.  Basically this is waterproof, clean and neat looking and will also be used on the side wall by the washer. (in case someone spills bleach or detergent, I don't want damage to drywall.)  FRP is really inexpensive.  It has inside corner pieces and outside corner pieces and a top cap so the look is finished neatly.  You put it on with adhesive and use a heavy roller to make sure it is well adhesed to the wall.  It really looks great.  

Sunday the rest of the grout order came in and the grouting was completed on the kitchen back splash.

Doesn't it look finished and neat?

And here's the back splash.  Looking at it you would never know that we had to fill a niche and hang new drywall.  It also ties in with the Corian counter really well.  There are hints of copper in some of the tiles and I love that. My grandmother used to adore copper and had a lot of copper bottomed pans and copper accent pieces in the kitchen when I was a child.  This is a bit of a nod to that with our own spin on it.

There is tiling to do in the bathroom next. That will be subway tile so we will be using spacers for the first time.  I have a laser level which should also help.  We also have an accent tile and I want a bull nose tile on the very top. But it is not a lot of area to tile. Basically it is the sink wall and above the shower. However this weekend my wife has a shift to work so it probably won't happen til a week or so from now.  But there is definately progress being made.

Much more snow!

 It has been almost a month since I have had a chance to write!  How did things get so busy?  Especially since Covid is still making life so complicated.  Part of the craziness has been weather related.  Last weekend we had a very large snow event.  This came at a time that my maintenance superintendent was out due to Covid.  My other maintenance man is still learning the ropes and not one I would leave to help my plow guy supervise snow removal for a large storm.  

The reports called for heavy snowfall and blowing and drifting.  I planned to be at the site early Sunday morning to help with the moving of cars so that the lots could be properly cleaned.  My wife told me Friday night that I might not be able to drive in to work on Sunday morning. We live 30 minutes away from my new job and that was something I had not considered.  My brain still defaults to the 3 minute commute I had for so many years.  

So I packed a small bag, grabbed a sleeping bag and spent the weekend at the property.  It wasn't really roughing it. While I was sleeping on the floor there was a rug and a full kitchen and a full bath available to  me.  I was honestly very comfortable.  The plow guy was surprised that I was there, but also very happy to find this out.  

The configuration of the site makes the logistics of plowing a big storm very challenging.  Having management there to make sure residents and their guests cooperated with the plow policy was very helpful.  His crew worked  21 hours straight before they stopped for rest.  Then we were back at it the next day.  But the end result was that the site looked great, the lots were safe for my residents and out of all the vehicles that needed to be moved I only  had to tow three cars.  Which is really good. And they were not resident cars which is even better.

I missed being with my family but thanks to the internet and cell phones we texted and chatted regularly.  When I was not helping the plow team, I found jobs in the office to help pass the time.  It was a good call and I am glad I did it.  My maintenance super is now back at work so hopefully should there be another storm, I can sleep in my own bed!