Old Paint
I feel like I got a lot accomplished this weekend. The first order of business was painting the "wainscot" on the "outside" wall of the library, and it looks like new. I'm not sure what prompted us to visit the DiY this weekend, but I think it was my notion of changing the outlet and switch plates. ealdthryth and I came to a relatively swift agreement about style and color, so we bought almost all the replacements we needed and the library will look slightly more elegant without being overly formal. However, we didn't escape from DiYLand so easily. While in one of the stores, we made a pseudo-impulse buy--a new light fixture for the kitchen. We have been pondering a new light fixture for quite a while, and I guess we got tired of waiting for the perfect solution.
I installed the new fixture Sunday morning, and other than needing a gasket to help "contain" the light, it actually looks OK, and made the kitchen slightly brighter. The inside frame is unpainted and unstained natural wood, and for some reason, it makes the reflected light at the edges orange. I nearly got VERY angry with ealdthryth when she commented on how she didn't realize how black the frame was--AFTER I was done with the installation. Um. Did you not look at the display piece in the store?!!!? Did you forget I said I was worried about it matching the cabinets?!?! Grumble. Grouse. Kvetch. However, she now claims to be happy with it. Even if it isn't perfect, it is a vast improvement over the old fixture.
Sunday afternoon and evening, I painted the casework in the library. A second coat will be needed, and the places I haven't finished painting look drab and dingy in comparison to the nice new white paint. I managed to keep all the paint off of the floor and the cats out of the paint. Alas, ealdthryth still has not fulfilled her promise to deal with the baseboards, so my Grande Planne™ to have the library ready for the furniture to be moved back in this weekend shall not come to pass.
Window Fu
Apparently, I forgot the paint I'm using is NOT low-VOC. ealdthryth opened several windows to let the house air out. One of them was the kitchen window next to the stacked armchairs. AElfgifu and Ignatius were very interested in the window because there was some sort of bird in the crepe myrtle just outside that window. I could hear it chirping and rustling the tree limbs a bit. Obviously, so could the kitties.
Even Keel Fu
Apparently, the new cat litter ealdthryth was trying out on our kitties is contributing to the disharmony at Ealdercote. The new litter is not very effective at odor-absorption, so Kiera and AElf' each thought the other was making a statement. The addition of some baking soda and new odor-absorbing litter has brought the house back into kitty equilibrium. AElfgifu is no longer pretending the floor is lava.
Reboot
I watched the Munsters re-reboot. There was a reboot several years ago that attempted to capture the slapstick of the original series, but the cast chemistry just wasn't there. The latest reboot decided to take a darker turn. It was still comedic, but it was definitely darker humor. I couldn't decide whether it was trying to be a drama or be a comedy, and apparently, neither could it. I think the network decided not to adopt the series, but went ahead and showed the pilot as a Hallowe'en special. It had pretty decent special effects, though.
Done
The physical therapist has decreed that he does not need to see me again after today's session. I've got most of my mobility back, and the remaining bit just requires repeated exercise that I can manage on my own. Progress is likely to be incremental over the next couple of months, and we wouldn't be seeing any spectacular changes during that time.
Yay!
Notice
Foreign hackers got hold of our state's tax data. They aren't going to be able to do a whole lot because we've locked everything down. Given that we monitor our finances regularly and closely, anything unusual is going to get caught very quickly. The last time someone poached our credit card number, we nailed them in a hurry. Our state's tax dollars at work. :/ A couple of years ago, the DMV sells our data (causing a huge outcry by the majority of the populace), more recently, a state Medicaid worker steals a bunch of personal data (causing an uproar), and now the Department of Revenue gets hacked (causing a much more huge outcry by the populace). What is cheesing everyone off is the fact it took them so long to report that we've been hacked.
I installed the new fixture Sunday morning, and other than needing a gasket to help "contain" the light, it actually looks OK, and made the kitchen slightly brighter. The inside frame is unpainted and unstained natural wood, and for some reason, it makes the reflected light at the edges orange. I nearly got VERY angry with ealdthryth when she commented on how she didn't realize how black the frame was--AFTER I was done with the installation. Um. Did you not look at the display piece in the store?!!!? Did you forget I said I was worried about it matching the cabinets?!?! Grumble. Grouse. Kvetch. However, she now claims to be happy with it. Even if it isn't perfect, it is a vast improvement over the old fixture.
Sunday afternoon and evening, I painted the casework in the library. A second coat will be needed, and the places I haven't finished painting look drab and dingy in comparison to the nice new white paint. I managed to keep all the paint off of the floor and the cats out of the paint. Alas, ealdthryth still has not fulfilled her promise to deal with the baseboards, so my Grande Planne™ to have the library ready for the furniture to be moved back in this weekend shall not come to pass.
Window Fu
Apparently, I forgot the paint I'm using is NOT low-VOC. ealdthryth opened several windows to let the house air out. One of them was the kitchen window next to the stacked armchairs. AElfgifu and Ignatius were very interested in the window because there was some sort of bird in the crepe myrtle just outside that window. I could hear it chirping and rustling the tree limbs a bit. Obviously, so could the kitties.
Even Keel Fu
Apparently, the new cat litter ealdthryth was trying out on our kitties is contributing to the disharmony at Ealdercote. The new litter is not very effective at odor-absorption, so Kiera and AElf' each thought the other was making a statement. The addition of some baking soda and new odor-absorbing litter has brought the house back into kitty equilibrium. AElfgifu is no longer pretending the floor is lava.
Reboot
I watched the Munsters re-reboot. There was a reboot several years ago that attempted to capture the slapstick of the original series, but the cast chemistry just wasn't there. The latest reboot decided to take a darker turn. It was still comedic, but it was definitely darker humor. I couldn't decide whether it was trying to be a drama or be a comedy, and apparently, neither could it. I think the network decided not to adopt the series, but went ahead and showed the pilot as a Hallowe'en special. It had pretty decent special effects, though.
Done
The physical therapist has decreed that he does not need to see me again after today's session. I've got most of my mobility back, and the remaining bit just requires repeated exercise that I can manage on my own. Progress is likely to be incremental over the next couple of months, and we wouldn't be seeing any spectacular changes during that time.
Yay!
Notice
Foreign hackers got hold of our state's tax data. They aren't going to be able to do a whole lot because we've locked everything down. Given that we monitor our finances regularly and closely, anything unusual is going to get caught very quickly. The last time someone poached our credit card number, we nailed them in a hurry. Our state's tax dollars at work. :/ A couple of years ago, the DMV sells our data (causing a huge outcry by the majority of the populace), more recently, a state Medicaid worker steals a bunch of personal data (causing an uproar), and now the Department of Revenue gets hacked (causing a much more huge outcry by the populace). What is cheesing everyone off is the fact it took them so long to report that we've been hacked.