Long overdue update

Wow. It's been over a month. OK, I agree that's unacceptable. Actually, a lot has been going on (more the reason for frequent posts) but both Erin and I keep passing the buck to post something. "You, no you, no it's your turn." (Actually, Erin is WAY behind on posting, so really...)

Baby update: Somewhere around 36 weeks. All is well. Approximately 6 pounds in utero with long legs (doctor's words). Don't know where those came from. Maybe the dog? Another ultrasound next week so hopefully Erin can put up another pic. She must now push the coffee table away from her when getting up from the couch. Quite humorous. I'm thinking of installing a hoist.
Room(s) update: Well, there was a problem with the flooring. We had the old carpet and vinyl garbage ripped up in hopes that the underlying pine could be salvaged. Turns out that more than half of it was damaged beyond repair. So, new plywood was laid and horizontal carbonized bamboo was installed. It looks fantastic, but cost more than we planned (isn't that always the case?).

The parasite's room is DONE. Well, mostly. After the floors were finished I painted the baseboards, finalized some touch up painting, re-installed the closet doors and replaced door hardware. I previously replaced the ceiling fan and light fixture. After much nagging, I finally allowed Erin to start cluttering up the room with parasite paraphernalia. It looked so nice all empty and airy... Now the only things left to install are a closet organizer system (maybe next week.) and window blinds. Oh, and a parasite to take it all for granted.


The front soon-to-be-office room is also coming along, albeit at a slower pace than the parasite's room. I laid the track for the multipass doors, so that it is flush with the new flooring. Looks great! The baseboards are in but I haven't yet painted them. I just got some track lighting and will try to install it this weekend. I replaced all the receptacles and switches with decora versions and stainless steel switch plates. I never realized how cool the stainless looks. Such a great accent. I'm going to use them for future projects. Still have a lot left to do in there but it's mostly the boring aesthetic stuff like painting, blinds, etc. Not difficult but time consuming.

One sort of drawback... now that the flooring has gone in, it looks like it's time to fix up the adjacent dining room. SIGH. One room leads to another. So that project will be tackled sooner than planned. Which will in turn lead to the kitchen...

That's all for now. I'm going to nag Erin to post soon, since she's much further behind than I am. And since most of you care more about her and the parasite than my adventures. She's got a good story to tell about her baby shower and other misadventures.

Toodles.

Parasite room almost finished

I finished painting over the weekend. Also replaced the ceiling fan and another light fixture at the entry to the room. Just about done replacing the out-dated (and in some cases, fire hazardy) receptacles and switches (and plates). All that's left is to get the flooring under the carpet refinished. Hopefully within a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll shift gears back to the soon-to-be multifunctional office/spare guest room. Sorry, no pics at this time. Maybe later in the week.

Brian sanding, Erin napping

Well, the drywall work is FINALLY done. It's as good as it's going to get with 80 year old crooked and uneven walls. Or, at least as good as an easily bored amateur is going to get it. On Sunday I rented a power wall sander with built-in vacuum. AWESOME! Makes quick work of the final prep phase, prior to texturing the walls.

Meanwhile, in the soon-to-be-office, my mother cleaned up the molding that had gotten beat up a bit in earlier weeks.

What was Erin doing this whole time, you ask? When she wasn't painting her toes or primping her hair, she was doing what she does best.

In pregnancy related news, apparently for the past few weeks, the little parasite has been kicking and flipping around and doing whatever it is that parasite larvae do before they're hatched. Every time I've tried to feel it, it stops, as if playing hide and seek. ("Shh, don't move, he'll find us.") This past week Erin had me feel her belly during its most active time. Holy crap! I thought it was going to jump out and try to eat me. Remember the chestburster scene from Alien? Yeah, this one will give me nightmares, too.