Leaky Faucet

The little "hot" and "cold" labels on the tops of my bathroom sink faucets have been upside down since I moved in.  They were on the proper faucets, but irritatingly the text faced the wall.  Over the months I made a few half hearted attempts to unscrew the top thing that holds in the white porcelain round, but honestly?  I didn't try all that hard.

Also an on-going issue is that the cold water handle leaks.  I have a white pedestal sink and there was a perpetual rust colored ring around the fixture.  Before expected company arrived, I'd take the time to get out various implements like old toothbrushes and a razor blade in combination with the beloved Bon Ami; but I in no way stayed on top of it.  I mean, c'mon, it was perpetual.

I got out my home repair but it wasn't terribly helpful.   Then over this past weekend I started unscrewing anything that I could unscrew, and enlisted Red's assistance.  He was more successful at dismantling than I was, and here is what was revealed:

And I'll tell you that before those photos were taken, substantial clean up happened.  When we first lifted up the fixture to remove it, about 3 tablespoons of this black chunky water flowed out.  Ewww!  I brush my teeth right there every day!  Totally disgusting.  We dutifully took photo documentation, and headed out.  Dinner, we said, and then Home Depot. 

Well, we forgot.  We remembered dinner, of course, and then Red dropped me off at home, and I went about my evening.  Until, oh, about 12:30 a.m. when I decided to brush my teeth and hit the rack.  Which is when I flipped on the bathroom light and there it was.  Now it was dry, and crusty.  Lovely!  Fortunately we had only taken apart the cold water -- the hot still worked.

Fast forward to today.  Let's thank whomever determined that presidents deserved a day of recognition, because Red was off work all day today, and I only had to work a half day.  I called him to announce my unexpected afternoon off and was met with his muffled voice -- he was on his back under the pedestal sink.  Bless his heart. 

He had it dismantled, and we went to a locally owned plumbing supply store.  They were very helpful and knew immediately what was called for.  The downside was, it was $55 per part, per faucet, and I needed two.  Ouch.  But onward!  Upward!

Now when you come over you'll see this pristine sight:

And I'll know that there isn't any sludge hiding underneath.  Always a good thing.

They aren't new, but ...

Ultimately I want to replace the French doors in my kitchen that go outside, but it isn't currently in the budget.  I would like new doors that are wood, not painted metal, and I would like windows in them that do not have the grid-like panes in them.  Oh, and somehow I would like a screen.  I have no idea what type of door would include all of that criteria, but I know for sure that even if it does exist, it doesn't exist in my budget.

As a stop gap, I decided to paint the exterior of the doors.  For some unknown reason they were painted maroon.  Not a single other thing on the house is maroon...  And with the new steps coming day after tomorrow, immediate action was required.  I for sure didn't want to paint the doors AFTER the new steps were in:  I'd undoubtedly drip paint on the new steps.

I looked in the shed (my goodness, what a nicely organized paint shelf!) and spied what I believed to be the house trim paint can.  Score!  And also a can of interior/exterior super powered Kilz.  I scrubbed the doors down, let them dry, and painted on Kilz.  Even the blindingly white flat white was quite an improvement. 

I powered onward, with the beige-y color.  I can't tell if it isn't the same color as the house trim, or, the more likely scenario, the house trim is extremely faded and dusty.  But if I can't tell and I'm standing right in front of the door, then it seems unlikely that anyone else will notice that it isn't an exact match, either.  Score again.  And regardless -- beige is way better than maroon.  (No offense to my Aggie friends, I promise.) 

Behold!

New paint

Old paint. 
Don't be fooled; they did not match the gutters above; that's a trick of light.

Giddy

This morning I got  a phone call from Mark at the steel fabrication company.  When could he come to scope out where they will be installing the steps?  My answer?  "I am at your disposal."  He said he could be at my house in 40 minutes.

And he was.  He was a great guy and basically told me not to worry about anything and that they would be at my house at 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning if that was okay.  Okay?  Is it okay?  Um, yes.  I am very okay with Wednesday morning.

He is a little concerned about my overhead power lines in my backyard and how they will get under them.  And he said he isn't sure the 18-wheeler that will deliver one of these

will even fit down my street.  He said they may have to park the truck somewhere nearby and drive the Sky Trak to my house.  Amusing.

Lumber is being delivered Wednesday. 

Vic and The Magic Van will be at my house Thursday morning for lumber installation.

I'll probably barely sleep Tuesday night.

THIS WEEK!!!

My back steps are going to be installed  t h i s  w e e k.  THIS.  WEEK.  I'll find out today which day that will be.  As soon as I hear, I'll call and arrange for my ipe' lumber to be delivered, and line up Vic and The Magic Van for lumber installation.

Also this weekend I used wooden stakes and string to outline my 3 yoga platforms, and the decking outside my workshop.  I want to have a few days to look at the outlines and consider the new layout before I make them permanent.

GOAL:  To have at least one yoga platform built before my sister arrives March 5th.  It will be a push, but it might happen.  You've gotta have goals!

Things are happening, folks, things are happening.

Upgrade...

When I had the party at my house a few weeks ago, a neighbor loaned me her backyard patio furniture to put on my porch for the weekend.  Until that time, I had consistently said I didn't want furniture out there -- I wanted a wide open space with a big rug on it because I am a floor person.  I just love sitting on the floor.   But her wicker loveseat was just so cozy... and cushion-y... and, well...  I'm apparently not quite as much of a floor person as I thought, because that 48 hour period changed my mind.

The hunt was on last week for inexpensive furniture.  Inexpensive, because I'm not totally sure it's not going to get stolen off my porch...  the shrubs sort of hide it from full on view, and I think I'm going to loosely tether it down just to make it a little more difficult to cart away.

There was a matching table available at the store too, but it was rectangular, and a little too large.  And it was more expensive than the love seat!  So my two tree stumps are once again repurposed, and now they are earthy ottomans.  Perfect!

After unloading the truck, unwrapping the furniture and cutting off approximately 200 paper tags, my neighbors and I immediately began lounging yesterday afternoon -- we sat out there laughed and carried on while we admired our shopping skills.*  And then another neighbor showed up with home made finger sandwiches, scones, and this marvelous fig spread (she was all set up for a small person tea party and had extra sandwiches -- divine --and how generous!)  And then a while later Red stopped by and as he put his feet up, he gave his whole-hearted approval of the new set up.  I'm just going to say... it is amazingly comfortable.  I'm going to be living out there.

* And by skills, I include a strong cardio-vascular system.  I bought the set at Garden Ridge (which my neighbor constantly calls "Garden City" so appropriate that it makes me laugh -- a store I normally steer clear of because it is just too huge -- and wow -- let's talk about store organization: 

The patio furniture and the cushions are sold separately -- not even the display set of the furniture had cushions on it -- and they are separated by about a quarter of a mile of mass produced merchandise.  Aisle after aisle after aisle of a craptastic (to borrow a favorite phrase from a friend of mine) extravaganza.   

Once we were through making a cushion selection, we could have added a couple of miles to our daily cardio tally.**    I'll give Garden Ridge snaps because there was a plethora of fabrics and shapes to choose from.  When we were done, several discarded cushions were on the display set and golly gee, if people weren't stopping and trying them out!  Seems like we should get some type of commission for their upcoming sales, don't you think?

** Additionally, to help the cashier at checkout, and to prevent a mass revolt by all the people in line behind us, at one point I ran the full length of the store carrying a wicker chair over my head.  Considering that I was dressed for weeding in my yard and not shopping in public, undoubtedly that was a sight to behold.  I wish I could say that explains why my fellow shoppers cleared a path for me, but they were completely oblivious to what was happening around them.