Larry cleaning. Everything was gross. The blinds were fuzzy, thick with baked on dirt.
He cleaned every nook and cranny!
He cleaned every nook and cranny!
I am physically drained but surprisingly happy. We cut it close with the reno, we cleaned our last speck of dirt about a half hour before the moving truck arrived at 6:00 pm with the new tenants furniture. I was licking my thumb to erase a few last smudges as I went down the steps. The new guy seems happy with all the upgrades, new facets, shower, washer and dryer, lights, blinds and gallons of paint. There were some things we ran out of time to do. I painted the white risers but didn’t get the treads done and the hall floor needed a coat of Varathane. He’s going to let me in sometime in the next couple of weeks to do those jobs while he’s away. The floor wouldn’t have cured that quickly and the movers would have scuffed it up anyway so it was best to wait. That’ll give my poor knees time to heal.
I feel like I’m at the Oscars. I need to thank Larry The Cleaning Guy, he really came through for me in my hour of need. It took over nine hours to dung the place out Wednesday and he came back again Thursday for an hour and a half before heading to his next job. Bless that man!
I want to thank Peter the plumber/electrician. He went well beyond his responsibilities to help. Actually, I’m thinking about adopting him. He was installing and even helped with the cleanup. The washer and dryer weren’t easy to level and place. Those front loaders are heavy and the area was a tight fit to slide them into. There was a lot of sweat on the brow and we all cussed.
Of course I need to thank my son. Shane was painting as fast as I could set the nails, hole fill, sand and prime. What a team effort. Sometimes there were three of us in the bathroom, a tight fit but all doing what was necessary to get the job done. Thanks also to Luke Acker, the carpenter who did the construction for the new room. Although we had a fright when he didn't show in the morning to finish the woodwork. He showed up late and that made it tough because we had to start all over again with the hole filling and priming after we had three quarters of that job done and then there was more mess from the wood cutting. It would have been nice to do it all at once and then it wouldn’t have been so hectic that last day but all’s well that ends well. The place looks fabulous and I have the rent cheque in my hot little hand!
My hands and nails look like crap and if I really cared I’d have a manicure but it’s all a part of being a hard working gal and besides, a bucket of hand cream will go a long way. The paint will wash away after a couple of times in the dishpan. My skin is too sore to rub hard to get the paint off so I’ll shed it naturally with time. I heard the youngins groaning and moaning as they got down on their knees and tried to get back up and I’m 56 with a bad knee and moved like a sprite. It was physically taxing though, a lot of up and down on the knees, bending and reaching on a ladder and up and down those infernal stairs a hundred times a day. I want to move into this building when we retire, the staircase is the draw, opening up the two floors to show the best architectural feature of the building is a dream of mine.
There were a lot of little crappy jobs and we sometimes worked in tight spots but really, it had to be done and winners do jobs that losers won’t do, that’s one of my favourite mantras. Larry couldn’t clean the bathroom because we were always in it so I left that to the end of the day and I had my hand in the toilet that hadn’t been cleaned in a bit, well, maybe I should stop there.
I hate to admit it, I like this kind of work and wouldn’t mind doing it in a less stressful situation but I’m here to refute the load of malarkey on those TV shows that claim do it all in one day. Crap I say. Humanly impossible! Even with a hundred people working you’d get in each others way so that wouldn’t speed the process. That’s a reality TV fantasy.
When I got home last evening I should have crashed on the sofa after the pace we put in all day but I was rearing to go and had to force myself to relax. If I had paint ready to roll I might have started freshening up the kitchen. I felt pumped and I’m happy with this tempo. The best outcome of this week of though all the craziness is that it knocked my blood sugar scores to normal. They say moving keeps them regulated and I'm proof it works. I’m very happy about that little surprise!
So tomorrow I am back to my real job. I went into the shop on the way home to ring off the register for the end of the month and I had a look around with a fresh from the job critical eye. There are some sad spots that need paint and I’m thinking I should pick away at it a bit each evening after closing time, Shane said he would help as well as his dye kitchen is speckled with every colour of the rainbow from madly stirring the dye pots. We’re like witches at their cauldron and don’t worry about splashing. A half hour here and there would work wonders to brighten the place up a little. If the weather ever warms the front of the building needs a refresher too. There is never a shortage of projects .
The damage from the roof ice and water leaking inside is being fixed shortly so there will be trades people crawling around the shop, luckily it is all around the stair area so we can hang sheets to keep the wool from getting dusty. Guess I’ll get a reno fix when that’s going on. The smell of paint wafting the air......sweet perfume.
I feel like I’m at the Oscars. I need to thank Larry The Cleaning Guy, he really came through for me in my hour of need. It took over nine hours to dung the place out Wednesday and he came back again Thursday for an hour and a half before heading to his next job. Bless that man!
I want to thank Peter the plumber/electrician. He went well beyond his responsibilities to help. Actually, I’m thinking about adopting him. He was installing and even helped with the cleanup. The washer and dryer weren’t easy to level and place. Those front loaders are heavy and the area was a tight fit to slide them into. There was a lot of sweat on the brow and we all cussed.
Of course I need to thank my son. Shane was painting as fast as I could set the nails, hole fill, sand and prime. What a team effort. Sometimes there were three of us in the bathroom, a tight fit but all doing what was necessary to get the job done. Thanks also to Luke Acker, the carpenter who did the construction for the new room. Although we had a fright when he didn't show in the morning to finish the woodwork. He showed up late and that made it tough because we had to start all over again with the hole filling and priming after we had three quarters of that job done and then there was more mess from the wood cutting. It would have been nice to do it all at once and then it wouldn’t have been so hectic that last day but all’s well that ends well. The place looks fabulous and I have the rent cheque in my hot little hand!
My hands and nails look like crap and if I really cared I’d have a manicure but it’s all a part of being a hard working gal and besides, a bucket of hand cream will go a long way. The paint will wash away after a couple of times in the dishpan. My skin is too sore to rub hard to get the paint off so I’ll shed it naturally with time. I heard the youngins groaning and moaning as they got down on their knees and tried to get back up and I’m 56 with a bad knee and moved like a sprite. It was physically taxing though, a lot of up and down on the knees, bending and reaching on a ladder and up and down those infernal stairs a hundred times a day. I want to move into this building when we retire, the staircase is the draw, opening up the two floors to show the best architectural feature of the building is a dream of mine.
There were a lot of little crappy jobs and we sometimes worked in tight spots but really, it had to be done and winners do jobs that losers won’t do, that’s one of my favourite mantras. Larry couldn’t clean the bathroom because we were always in it so I left that to the end of the day and I had my hand in the toilet that hadn’t been cleaned in a bit, well, maybe I should stop there.
I hate to admit it, I like this kind of work and wouldn’t mind doing it in a less stressful situation but I’m here to refute the load of malarkey on those TV shows that claim do it all in one day. Crap I say. Humanly impossible! Even with a hundred people working you’d get in each others way so that wouldn’t speed the process. That’s a reality TV fantasy.
When I got home last evening I should have crashed on the sofa after the pace we put in all day but I was rearing to go and had to force myself to relax. If I had paint ready to roll I might have started freshening up the kitchen. I felt pumped and I’m happy with this tempo. The best outcome of this week of though all the craziness is that it knocked my blood sugar scores to normal. They say moving keeps them regulated and I'm proof it works. I’m very happy about that little surprise!
So tomorrow I am back to my real job. I went into the shop on the way home to ring off the register for the end of the month and I had a look around with a fresh from the job critical eye. There are some sad spots that need paint and I’m thinking I should pick away at it a bit each evening after closing time, Shane said he would help as well as his dye kitchen is speckled with every colour of the rainbow from madly stirring the dye pots. We’re like witches at their cauldron and don’t worry about splashing. A half hour here and there would work wonders to brighten the place up a little. If the weather ever warms the front of the building needs a refresher too. There is never a shortage of projects .
The damage from the roof ice and water leaking inside is being fixed shortly so there will be trades people crawling around the shop, luckily it is all around the stair area so we can hang sheets to keep the wool from getting dusty. Guess I’ll get a reno fix when that’s going on. The smell of paint wafting the air......sweet perfume.
 Peter our plumber/electrician installing the shower door. Look's like Shane is doing a happy dance? |  Shane is the best painter you could ever meet. Better than any professional! But then again he's good at everything and he's for hire! |
Bathroom entrance from the bedroom. The door will arrive today or Monday for installation.
This is the kitchen two hours before the tenant arrived to move in. We were flying!
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The shiny new bathroom, laundry.
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I donated a wool carpet to cover the ugliness of the floor.
The tenant said he liked it so everyone's happy!
The tenant said he liked it so everyone's happy!
Kitchen, clean at last!
Hallway with a great place for an office in this little alcove.
Such a bright living room!
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