The Forgotten Project

It seems virtually unimaginable with all that I’ve already got going on that there could possibly be another project in need of doing, something that was on the roster for last year even. It only came to the forefront while we were cleaning the shed Saturday.

One of the very early jobs Lawrence and I did together was to put scallop siding along the eaves on both sides of the house. (He later did the front on his own after I’d gone back to work.) Here's an after shot of one of the sides from 2007. You'll notice how bad the old paint job was, too.

When we repainted the house six months later, I fully appreciated this project as I didn’t have to dangle from the ladder to paint all the way to the top.

It turned out that we had more shingles than we needed. Rather than discard the extras (which would be sinful as these are special order and not cheap) it was decided that we could put at least some of them on the front and back of the shed. That was going to happen last summer. Then we got Lawrence busy with some other projects and he went back to the laborer job he can hold for so many hours a year without messing up his retirement. So, time had run out. And, in the midst of all the other crazy things we’ve been doing the past few months, we forgot about it.

So I’ve added it to the Lawrence list I now have going. (Right now, my lists have lists.) I had already cued him when he was last here to plan on a day or two at the end of the month. Now, I need to call him and solidify the plan. I think I’m going to have him come next Saturday and Monday. I’ve not told the mother that I’m planning to have him do that so that should be a nice surprise.

I’m still trying to devise a plan of attack for finishing the kitchen and bathroom. I think I’ll start with the cabinets. I need to gather some boxes during the next week and I will tackle the cabinets a little at a time. I’ll clear out, clean and paint the cabinet boxes. Then I’ll paint the doors. (Or maybe I’ll do the doors first so they’ll have more time to dry. And then, I can have Lawrence put all the doors back on.)

In between cabinets, I’ll work on the floors so that they have time to dry and set up for grouting. I’ll want Lawrence to help me get both the stove and refrigerator into their final positions so that means the floor has to be done by Monday.

And it’s really important that the bathroom floor gets done while the mother’s gone. That means I have GOT to get the bathroom to a point where the wallpaper is either started or done by next week. Work has been a bear lately, but I’m hoping that my evenings will be just my own very soon. That could give me some time to work on the house!

I’ve not mentioned that I’ll be doing all this while also devoting several hours a day to the care of the creatures as I’ll be sole caretaker.

Looking at all this, it’s very tempting to not just pack a bag and disappear myself.