Sunday, January 29, 2012

Another BIG Job....DONE!

Good Sunday morning to you!   The sun is shining, and so far no wind.  We have had some big wind lately.  I get bad headaches in the wind, so I hope it is done blowing for a while!  Yesterday morning, we had a surprise visit from all three Grands!  Our daughter Eri and her little boy Noah showed up with a pretty pink box of donuts!
At the same time, our son in law Jake arrived with Hannah and Clairey to borrow the carpet cleaner.  Perfect timing!  We all sat around the kitchen table chatting and eating donuts and sipping coffee.  Erika and Noah wanted wash her car.  So Geeps was nice enough to go out there and give her a hand, and then they all washed my car too.
While they were outside washing cars, I decided to try my hand at tackling the job of re texturing the walls in my laundry room.  This was where nightmare wallpaper removal began.  I removed the wallpaper in that room a year ago, and haven't done a thing to it since!  Embarrassing, but true.  I knew that when I was done with that room, and also the removal of paper in the guest room where I just finished, that I would have to have the walls re done.  So I didn't do any more with the laundry room because I was going to have both the rooms done at the same time with the retexturing.   This is what the walls looked like before I started.
When we moved here, there was navy blue floral wallpaper in the kitchen and attached laundry room.  They had put up plaster over the texture on the walls to make it a smooth surface. Let me tell you that removing wallpaper over this is just awful!  I tackled the kitchen several years ago, had the walls redone and then painted.  But I didn't want to redo the laundry room at that time, so I repapered it to avoid having to do anything with the walls.  So it was time!
I started in the very furthest corner of the room, so that if it didn't turn out well, it was hidden.  But as I kept going, I got better and better at it.
Then I did all of the area at the top of the walls.
I discovered just the right consistency for mixing the joint compound with water.  I found that mixing it to appear like smooth peanut butter was just about perfect to apply and then allow the mixture to form small peaks, that will later be "knocked down" for the finished look.

I learned that the giant bucket of joint compound from Walmart for 5 dollars works just as well as the tiny container of joint compound I bought at Home Depot for 5 dollars and change.
By the time I got to the last wall, the most obvious wall, the one that will be most seen, I had developed a good system for applying the texture, and was on a roll.  I was also covered in joint compound from head to toe!!!   My friend Karen at 
suggested using a plastic grocery sak for applying the texture to the wall.  I learned that tying the handles tightly around the bag, holds the bag into a nice shape and almost makes it into a sort of mitt for holding onto it. 

  All done and drying!  I will paint this week, and then begin to add some new touches to my laundry room.  I am thinking about painted the cabinets in there, and just changing things up a bit for a fresh new look.
When I was done with the laundry room, I felt I had done a much better job and decided to take the little bit of compound I had left and go redo the patch on the wall in the guest room.  So that will also need to be repainted.  
By the time I was done with all of that, Jake had returned the carpet cleaner and I got busy shampooing the carpets.  It was a perfect day to do it because it was warm and dry and windy.  So no rest for the weary, or for me, and I got busy with task number two.
Yikes...I was over do on doing this!  A couple of years ago, I was getting some quotes on having the carpet cleaned in the whole house.  It was so high, that I decided it would be money well spent to purchase this Bissell 2X Carpet Cleaner!  I paid the same amount for the machine that I would have for the job of having someone else do it for me.  And I have been able to do my carpets any time I want to now.  Also, our kids have used it on their homes, and Geeps has done the boat carpet and motor home carpet too.  It was a good investment, and it works so well!
By the time I was done with all of that, darkness was beginning to set, and Geeps came in from his work in the grove, and went out to pick up some dinner for us.   We were both exhausted!  We ended our hard day of work with watching a GREAT new series I had  heard about.  It is on PBS Master Piece Theatre.  The series is Downton Abbey.  I had seen a few people comment on how good it was on some of my favorite blogs, and it piqued my interest.  I love English authors, and historical novels and such.  I knew I would love this show.  I told Geeps about it, but we couldn't find it!  I heard that season one was finished, and season two was in session.  With the fourth episode airing tonight.  I was panicked because I wanted to tivo it.  Well, it turns out, I was calling it DownTOWN Abbey, not Downton Abbey, and this is why Geeps couldn't find it.  He was able to locate it and set it up to record, and we also downloaded the first season series and began to watch it last night.  SO good.  SO SO good!!!!!  The acting, the photography, the period costumes, EVERYTHING!  So good.  Look for it!!!  We sat up and watched two episodes last night, and finally I had to call it a night.  We are about to watch episode three in a bit here.
Lastly, I put my binding on my little hearts quilt the other day, and am in progress on another.
Go make it a great day!!!
XO  Kris

21 comments:

Nicolle said...

Sounds like a great day, with all of your family there. I love my carpet shampooer. Same here, was going to pay someone to clean ours, but we just invested in a nice shampooer instead. Love having shampooed carpets!

ps. My house is smelling really good. Have the meat going in the crockpot. Can't wait to try it. I made cole slaw for the side. :)

Petunia Pill said...

I love productive days like that! I used to have a lot more energy to be really crazy productive on weekends after working all week...but not so much anymore! Every now and again, I'll get on a tangent...and then it hits me the next day! I need to look up the Downton Abbey show also...I'm intrigued after hearing nothing but wonderful things about it! I'll need to watch it alone because I'm betting my hubby won't like it. He's more of a gangster/mob/NCIS/Law & Order kinda guy...much to my chagrin! Have a happy Sunday, Kris! Hugs, Annette

Cheryl said...

Great job on your walls....that is not an easy thing to do and yours looks wonderful. You guys had one big productive day..I'm pooped just reading about it!!!!

Unknown said...

So glad you took on the texture job...it looks real good! Great job. Not so hard, huh? Saved a bunch!

Bethany said...

Maaaannn!!! When do you sleep? Or do you just not do that ? :)

NanaNor's said...

Hi Kris, Great job! I know it is hard work but you'll love the finished result. Yesterday hubby and I stripped the antique chest we got and sanded it down-it looks good but I can't wait til we stain it and finish it-it will be so pretty.
Hope you have a delightful Sunday.
Hugs, Noreen

Holly said...

I am just oh so ashamed of myself. I never left the couch yesterday. I never have days where i just layaround so it was wonderful, now i just feel guilty. I can't believe you did all that. I've read about Downton Abbey too and would like to see it. Not sure if Brian would go for it though. Please don't tell me that Geeps went out and picked up my favorite pizza, it will just put me right over the edge.

Kerri said...

YOur post made me tired! You sure know how to get things done! And, your skinny daughter eats donuts? So not fair!

Sam I Am...... said...

I'm a newbie here and was REALLY impressed with how much you got done in one day! Amazing! I need to hang out with you so I'll be motivated to do the same! LOL! Yeah right! I feel good ff I'm productive every other day!
Love your quilt! Did you quilt that yourself..I mean on your sewing machine or have it quilted on one of those quilting machines?
Where do you download the Downton Abbey series? PBS? I don't have cable or tivo but I do get PBS and I have my trusty pc here...I hope I can get it that way!
Love your blog and the photo at the top. I'll be following you now so maybe I can get motivated to get some REAL work done around here like you do at your house! Thanks for your blog!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

You have been busy! Now relax and watch Downton Abbey lol! We love it, too...we watched the whole first season in a couple of days on downloaded Netflix...finishing up a few days before season 2 started! And season 3 is filming now! It really is quality tv!

~Niki~ said...

Looks like you had a great day.
It's been very windy here in AZ. I think it's coming from you guys ;) We had the kids out to the skate park 2 days in a row now. they just love taking their scooters out there.
it's been 75 and beautiful here lately.
Oh, and we stopped at the hostess store on the way home. Tons of goodies for $10 bucks! LOL. like we need it ;)

Pam said...

What a busy lady you are! I'll have to check out the show - it sounds great.

The little hearts quilt is so pretty! I love the colors you used.

Whosyergurl said...

Kris, I'm exhausted reading all of this! You just work circles around me.
xo, Cheryl

Teresa Kasner said...

You are so darn amazing. I'm with the others.. you make me feel like I'm standing still in the middle of the freeway. LOL!!! We love Downton Abbey too and watched the whole 1st season on DVD. Now we're recording it and watching it the next day as we are also watching The Good Wife. We're off to see all the grandsons.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Genn said...

Wow you been busy!

My friend Jenny and her husband love Downton Abbey too. That's it, now I'm off to see if I can netflix it.

Dawn said...

Girl, I was tired just reading that post. LOL I think you need to take a rest and hit the spa for a day. You sure did accomplish a lot of hard work.

Katie said...

You have SO Much Energy!!

Gloria Baker said...

Nice post dear I admire you:))))

The Tuscan Home said...

Wow, can I bottle some of your energy? I can't believe how much you got done. I love days like those, fun, yet very productive. Kick your feet up, you deserve it! xo ~Liz

annielizabeth said...

Your laundry room is gonna look fantastic. Can't wait to see what you'll do with it. You're so ambitious! Such yummy food on your prior post esp. the lemon bars! Have a great week!

Stacey said...

Wow! Good job :) I'm tired just reading how much you got done.. I'm sure you feel so much better now that it's all our of the way :)