Miscellaneous...Part 2

Wall, bereft of wallpaper.:) 

Life has gotten real busy in the past few weeks and the blog has taken a back seat, as has the house projects but I still have plenty to write about, so here we go. First an update on the wallpaper in the vestibule. It's all gone! I continued to spray and scrape, and really struggled with the area above the the big closets, standing on my tippy toes (on the ladder!) and leaning forward. This did not allow me to get much muscle behind my scrapping but luckily the wallpaper hangers must have struggled too because there was definitely less glue back there. After all the scrapping was done, it was time to remove the leftover glue and small bits of paper. I first used a sponge and weakly soapy water, but that had little effect. Then I decided to go with a plastic pot scraper and Formula 409.  That really worked well and had the added benefit of pretty much removing the overpowering vinegar smell and replacing it with a light lemon scent. I've now started repairing the plaster beneath the paper, spackling holes and cracks. There is a deep crack in the corner by the doorway into the living room that will take a couple of spackle applications before it is properly filled. The wall has several deep brown stains so I will be using stain blocker, then perhaps primer before painting so I still have a long way to go, but at least the wallpaper is gone for good. Also plan to install a new light fixture and *gasp* more crown molding. I've picked a more simple style than in the living since I will be installing it myself. It should be easier (ha ha).

The least useful thing we moved.

We still haven't completely unpacked and I have spent spare time going through boxes and stowing my (our) stuff. We hadn't moved for 25 years before this and didn't completely think the move through so naturally we made mistakes. One of the bigger mistakes was packing things we no longer needed or wanted, only to move them to our new place and throwing them out there. We had spent time over the past few years trying to simplify our lives by sifting through our stuff. However, that's a difficult and somewhat depressing job. Going though boxes of old stuff in the attic reminds you of failed projects, misplaced friends, gained weight and lost youth. For a while, we made the commitment to throw away one full garbage bag of stuff a week. That lasted until we had picked the low hanging fruit and the decisions to keep or discard became difficult. When it became time to move, we didn't have the time to pick and choose so all of it came to the new house. Now, as we unpack, we are going through our life. Anybody want a massive boom box that uses like 8 "D" batteries and plays cassettes?

My 2006 Hemi Charger. Hanging  in there despite our
New York winters.

First Father-In-Law Gene painting the
living room last October.

The weather has finally broken and I have taken time off from house projects to try to get the winter grime off the cars, I am normally meticulous with the car detailing and care but with the new house and move I have just not had time. Well, I made time recently and it makes me happy to drive a much cleaner car. To me, nothing is more relaxing and gratifying than putting on a some music, icing a few beers, and detailing a car on sunny and warm spring day. It's really fun to drive a clean car too!

One final note: Cindy and I want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers, notes, generous gifts and offers of assistance, for Cindy's dad Gene. It's been a difficult time for us with him being so seriously ill. He continues to battle his illness and has made some slow improvement. He's not out of the woods yet but we have hope that a full recovery is in his future. Please keep him in your thoughts and give Cindy a hug if you see her.

Upcoming blogs: To ride or push, power washing, critters in the night, and that damn garage door.