yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
Today we drove down to Home Depot and picked up some blow-in insulation for our house. While the house is built solidly (no drafts, etc.) I don’t think the insulation had been updated since the house was built. We’d saved some money for the project, having been told that it would be our best bang-for-the-buck heating home improvement.
We got the insulation (the blower was free!) and started the process this afternoon and wrapped it up at about 8. Yeah.
For me this meant climbing around the rafters while spraying insulation, all the while trying to not step off of a 2×6 in the center of the roof. Husband was willing to do it but he doesn’t fit as well on a 2×6 and was going to have to kneel and crawl the whole time.
At the last house, a similar project meant climbing a floor and a half on a ladder and squeezing through a tiny opening. Unfortunately it was also 80 degrees that day and I ROASTED. Not only that, but I was the one who ended up kneeling and crouching so I was in rough shape the next day. I don’t think the bruises on my legs faded for 2 weeks.
This house thankfully required zero kneeling. Not only that but we pretty much doubled the amount of insulation that was in the roof with no major injuries. The job required a fair amount of crouching, leaning, dangling off rafters, and lots of unnatural curvature of the spine. There were a couple of near-miss craniotomies thanks to roof nails and that one time where I got a chunk of insulation the size of a fingernail in my eye, but other than that we got the whole project wrapped up and cleaned before the pizza arrived. I’m going to be wicked sore tomorrow and I’m EXHAUSTED now.
Also weighed the replacement laptop options and have made a decision, so hopefully by this time next week I’ve got my VERY OWN computer. Husband will be relieved to get his own back.
We drove to Glenwood Springs (at an ungodly dark:30 this morning) because we thought Husband had a meeting. After we arrived, we discovered that he did not. So we drove back, with a brief stop at a consignment shop at Pier One on the way. The stop at Pier One was mostly driven by a need for tealights but they had Halloween stuff on clearance, so I bought my FINAL Halloween decoration: an 80″ spooky lighted tree. It’s made of black wire, threaded through with orange lights, and has some cobwebby looking stuff hanging off it. It was 75% off so I got it for $25! Very excited.
I also discovered an additional gallon of Bittersweet Stem in the garage, so I’m going to finish painting the bathroom and possible do something to one of the guest rooms. Because I’m a glutton for punishment.
This has the before, during, and after shots together. The project was a complete pain in the ass because the incredibly dark wood paneling required two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Plus, all the little grooves BETWEEN the panels had to be hand-painted. The walls are Bittersweet Stem and the insets are Cavern Clay, both Sherwin Williams.
The lighting is mostly from our light fixtures but there’s one I took with the flash – you can tell. The light above the pool table gives off a orangish light, which changes how the paint looks. We replaced the original fan and light in the basement and I like the new one a lot more.
The last two pictures are of the basement bedroom, our primary guest room. All the walls were the same dark paneling so I painted just the back wall in Bittersweet Stem. Directly across from the back wall is a closet with large mirrored sliding doors, so it’s a little lighter when you’re inside the room. The last picture is a close up of the mirror which is INSET INTO CORKBOARD. Who in their right mind puts a 10 foot by 3 foot stretch of corkboard in a bedroom? And CUTS OUT PANELING TO DO IT? Exactly. THAT’S why I only painted the BACK wall.
I took some pictures a while back of the bar project. I wasn’t really thrilled with the shots, so I’m not complaining that the new layout ate them. Here’s what we started with (all pics can be clicked for larger view):
Bar, before. Note the lovely wood paneling.
A similar shot, after.
The bar wasn't complete without an 'every hour is happy hour' sign.
This shot does a better job of showing most of the bar.
Standing behind the bar, looking out toward the basement.
I would say the second to last shot does the best job of showing what the paint colors in the bar look like. Sherwin Williams Bittersweet Stem is on the side walls, Sherwin Williams Lemon Verbena on the back bar.
1. Fall in the shower and break my neck. Or anything else.
2. Drop my phone in the paint.
3. Fall off of the counter/toilet and break my neck. Or anything else.
4. Step in any paint.
5. Burn myself on in EXTREMELY hot lights at the top of the vanity.
All in all, I’m pretty impressed with that list.
The bathroom paint (REALLY white) coupled with the very large and bright vanity lights always kind of hurt my eyes. I took the leftover Sherwin Williams Bittersweet Stem and painted 3 of 4 walls with it. The end result is much warmer and less shocking on the eyeballs. Of course, I didn’t remember to take before pictures but there you go. I’ll have to touch it up a bit tomorrow but then the project is done! It’s also interesting to see how much different the paint color looks upstairs compared to in the basement. All about the lighting, yo.
Now I’m sacked out in bed, watching Thursday prime time (Bones followed by Grey’s) and waiting for my delicious High Mountain Pie to arrive. Piper is curled up next to me in the Husband’s spot.
