Monday, Monday...

The time is 8:50 a.m., and already this is proving to be a Monday.  We waited until today to call the Millwork company to see if the garage-to-house door was ready, and Rick noticed that Sonya had ordered the wrong size door.  We wanted a 36" door, and the order is for a 2/8 which is a 32" door.  Darn! We have the walls complete and the opening ready; I am not willing to reframe the opening for a smaller door. Rick is really upset about the whole thing, and he should not be.  This all was just an oversight on everyone's part. We'll get it worked out, but this is another disappointing delay.

We were hoping to get the door in today because the weather has turned cold and the only thing holding the heat in the laundry room is a heavy plastic drape that we stapled into the opening.

This past weekend we went to a huge art fair in downtown Dunedin.  (Didn't I tell you that Dunedin ALWAYS has something going on?)  This fair was great; we saw many artists that we had never seen before, and I could have spent hundreds of dollars on paintings and objects for the house.  I had to keep reminding myself that we did not have the budget to waste on wants when we had a number of needs to take care of first.  I did buy two small things: a set of notecards with fun, tropical colors, and a much needed key holder that we hung on the wall.

We originally thought that the key holder would hang in our bedroom, but when we got it home, we found that it looked better on the yellow hallway wall, so it is hanging right outside our bedroom door.  We had gotten into a habit of just throwing our keys on the dresser in the bedroom, so this location still will work well for us. The board is a wipe-off ceramic with the painted palm tree and sun on it.  I added the message today just to remind us that although we had freezing temperatures last night, we could have it much worse-- like having snow instead of just a few frosty blades of grass in the yard.

A reminder that Green Bay is supposed to have
another foot of snow this coming Thursday.
We could have it much worse!

Strangely enough, when I brought the garbage can back behind the fence after our pick-up today, I crunched on frozen grass, noting that a sole little weed that looked like a daisy was blooming in the midst of the frozen terrain. It won't survive long because our lawn service will come today to mow, but at least it showed its stamina for a little while.

Chris' sister Caroline came for a visit, so they stopped over yesterday.  Chris had made the cheeseburger soup that I made a few weeks ago, so she brought us over a big bowlful.  It was delicious and gave us a hot, quick dinner last night.  This cold weather makes me want to whip up either some beef stew in the crock-pot or some chicken soup.  Since beef is terribly expensive down here, I think a big pot of chicken soup will be my ultimate goal.

The laundry room has gone from being just a plastered together conglomeration into what looks like a real room.  I always am amazed at what a little paint can do! When we reach the paint-point on a project, I know that the work is almost complete because the paint is one of the last things done to a room.  The laundry room is a little different, though, because we still have to add tile to the floor.  We also have to remove the frame and the old kitchen door and refinish the final wall behind the door.  We cannot do that, though, until the old door is gone.

Rick applies the first coat of paint to the ceiling of the
laundry room.

Then comes the blue paint for the walls.

The paint is the same paint we used in the kitchen, but
the kitchen looks more greenish.  The difference is
the lighting of the two rooms.

While we wait for the other door before we can finish this
wall, I decided to add a little palm tree with the left-over
paint in my bucket.

This room had been a major undertaking.  I knew that moving the water heater would be a challenge, but I have to give Rick credit because he made it look relatively easy, even if it was not.  The room was more work than I ever imagined it would be, and truthfully, we also have to add the sink, countertop, and perhaps upper cabinets yet to the room.  We are to the point, though, where once again the cabinets might have to wait until a future budget.  We have always worked from the premise of save for what you want, and then do the project when you have the money to do so.  We have just about depleted the funds again, so some things will have to wait.

I guess Gladys has patiently waited all of these years for upgrades.  We have changed her underwear, massaged her old joints, bought her lots of pretty new dresses, and even added a little make-up to her.  In the future, we hope to add even more.  Steve and Chris are to the point where their inside work is done, and they have the luxury of working on their yard.  Hopefully someday we'll be able to buy flowers for Gladys too.