Basement door is up

It isn't pretty and it doesn't fit properly but the original cellar door is hung. We had to trim part of the railing back with the jig saw and then sanded the threshold. Drywall mud and layers of paint prevented the door from closing. I still need to borrow my father's planer and do a little work on the door edge but at least it is on the hinges. I was pretty excited to have most of the tools that we needed to use. This was the first time I broke out my new sander. I already had one but this came in a set of power tools and has a filter on it to eliminate some of the sanding dust. Very cool.

The best laid plans

I had wonderful plans for my son this weekend. What I just didn't take into consideration is that since he and his family arrived on Thursday evening and are leaving on Sunday morning, 2 days goes by really quickly! Yesterday we spent our day in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Today they went to the Crayola Factory in Easton. That is about a 3 hour round trip driving time from my house. It takes about 3 hours to do the activities and see all that there is to see at Crayola. We are having dinner with my parents this evening so I have to cram a lot of Chad chores into about 3 hours. It is raining so the outside projects will not be attempted. I think the faucet in the bathroom has moved to the top of the priority list. Labeling the electric power box will be the only other thing that will get done. I wanted to hang the chandelier in the dining room but I really can do that myself...as soon as we figure out which switch in the panel box controls the fixture! (Silly me - I thought for the house to pass the electrical inspection the panel box would have to be labeled correctly!)

I would have gone to the Crayola Factory with the kids this morning except that I have pulled something in my back trying to wrestle a piece of furniture from the basement to the second floor. I am probably doing major damage to my stomach lining taking the number of ibuprofen tablets that I am but they do help. Now, because I am overcompensating for the pain on the right side of my back, the left side is cramping. Good grief!

What is old shall be made new again…

Remember the ugly, dirty Queen Anne side chair?  This one?

Well, my sister and I made a trade.  She needed a chair for her daughter’s apartment and I needed a tall white bookcase for the guest room.  My niece asked my sister to decorate the apartment for her.  The only thing she requested was “zebra”.  Here’s what my sister had done to the chair.

Is this gorgeous or what?  (BTW – photo was taken in my sister’s breezeway – not my niece’s apartment!)  My sister has an upholstery guy that did it for her since she just didn’t have the time to attempt it herself.  She found the fabric on sale at Joann’s and bought enough to do the chair and pillows. 

I shoulda kept the chair!!

Found the VISA receipt in a purse that I wasn't using. I KNEW I still had it...somewhere! We took the unit back to Lowe's and they gave me a refund without any problem. I really was concerned since I had bought it so many months ago. I had to wait for 3 days until the charge reversed and then I picked up another air conditioner - at a savings of 20% off! I am still driving around with it in the back of my car until I can find a man to unload it for me.

I finally painted the brass chandelier with a beautiful green paint called "Italian Olive". The chandelier looks fabulous. As soon as Chad hangs it up for me I will share photos. I wish I had thought to take a "before" photo but when you see it, you will know exactly what it looked like originally. Seems like every builder in that time frame put one in the dining room. It's ok if you live in Colonial Williamsburg or have a very traditional decor but for most of us that isn't the case. I do, however, love it painted.

The kitchen sink was fixed by my friend's husband who also moved the ceiling fan from the guest room to the living room. I have a new faucet for my bathroom that I am saving for my oldest son to install when he comes in a couple of weeks. If I can get him to do that and to hang my chandelier...and put in a dimmer switch...and help me figure out which switches in the breaker box go to which rooms...and build my deck platform...and pull the cement blocks away from the back of the house... (He will NEVER come to visit me again!!)