Avett Bros at the Lawn

On Sunday, I met up with the Mont crowd (Monty, Stacy, Erin, Rachel, Audra, Greg, Mike, Jerry) and we all went to the Avett Bros concert on the Lawn at White River. I am not a seasoned Avett Bros fan, but I know a couple of their songs and really enjoyed listening to them. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

We started out at Chatham Tap and had a couple of beers. Even though I thought I wouldn't drink, I drank quite a bit... I was so tired from the day before (working around the house) and that, coupled with the alcohol, made me a bit loopy. But, we had good times. Went to this party on Stacy's roof for a minute and then headed over to the concert. It was really a fun night!!

Roman Rocks

Roman and Cammie and the kids came over to help out around the house, as well as have a little fun. Roman totally rocked! He got in and got some serious shit done. He put up the vent that I was having a hard time securing. Got my mirror frame attached. AND he got all the baseboards, wall corners, and door frames put up. So happy I have great friends who love me enough to help make my home and life a little better! I love them too!

The kids were awesome all day and really only did a minimal amount of complaining. I was expecting a lot more "I'm bored" and "I wanna go home", but I think they had a lot of fun! They watched some movies, played some games, climbed the trees and the fences, talked smack to the neighbor kids, etc. :) After everything was done, the living room was clear except for the radio and we had an awesome dance party on the slick wood floors. Everybody danced; even Roman. I think I may have seen him twirl once or twice too.

Great weather and great day to spend with friends!!!

Sitting Room Update

Spent all night getting the sitting room ready for paper laying. Put a LOT of plastic wood down and also some KILZ where the dogs had been doin there business... Also used some ducttape! After getting high off plastic wood, I got ready to really get down to business. To keep myself from going insane I moved the TV into the kitchen so I would have some background going on. I spent about four or five hours on the floor and got about 1/3 of it done. Not too bad considering that includes the prep time. I think it looks pretty good and am hoping to get the rest of it finished soon. The one thing I did notice, which you will see in the pictures, is the difference in coloring between the first and second batch of glue. I used the same recipe so I'm not quite sure what happened there. Maybe I didn't leave the paper to soak long enough?...

Floor ducttaped, kilzed and plastic wooded. 

First batch of glue and a rinse bucket for my hands (totally came in handy during breaks).

First layer of paper. Looks purple with the dye.

First and second batches laid. Almost done for the night.

My arm looks diseased from all the glue and the dye. I went into the liquor store about half-way through the project and people definitely kept their distance! Might be good to use in the future for some sort of Halloween project. It just scrubbed right off too, leaving no dye behind. Sweet!

When the paper had dried, this is what it looked like:

A close-up:

I think it looks pretty cool and will definitely look even better after a few coats of polyurethane. I may need to redo a little bit of the lighter section, but I'm going to wait and see how the rest of the paper turns out. Now just to get it done!

Demolition Jenny Strikes Again

So... looks like I've found the next project for myself: the back room. Let's just start by explaining how disgusting the back room really is. The dogs have basically lived in that back room for at least two years; probably longer. It smells like dog; every kind of dog smell you can think of (wet dog, dry dog, dog pee, dog poop, dog food, dog gross). Last summer we took off the carpet because the dogs had peed on it so badly that it was smelling up the whole house. They just continued to utilize the vinyl underneath and now, apparently, the subfloor in the hallway. This is what I started with:

So.. needless to say, I want to get this room done before my slumber party in November for sure! I had repainted the wicker furniture (a previous post) with the intent of making this area a sitting/sun room. I think I have my work cut out for me. I was very surprised by the ease of removing the vinyl flooring. You can't tell it hear, but it's super uneven and coming up in places, as well as scratched, torn, dirty, etc. Whoever laid it down, laid it on top of a plywood underlayment (thank you!) and I simply removed it all in one piece. I think usually underlayments are supposed to be glued and stapled many times, but this one wasn't. There were sporadic nails holding it in place. I'm not sure how it's supposed to be done, but the way they did it made it easy for me to remove. Here's what it looked like about halfway through:

Two beers and about an hour and a half later, it was complete. This time included securing all the nails, removing bent ones, and a generally sweeping and cleaning of the area as I went along. Now, the floor looks like this:

So, now what? There are a few problems with the floor. In the far left corner the wood is kinda rotting. I think if I put some plastic wood on that it'll be okay. At least that's what I'm hoping. Also, there is a small piece of subfloor missing by the entry way. I don't think that will be a big deal either. Now I just need to research how to make the dang thing even and smooth and prepare it for the next flooring. I suppose I could use another underlayment for the new flooring, but we're thinking cheap here people! This isn't my house... So, my thoughts are to prepare the subfloor and make it nice(r) and then do the brown paper flooring that I've been researching. Looks like I have a few more things to research before I take action. I have high hopes for this room though. It's been the easiest demo so far.

I'll keep you posted.

Halloween Ideas

Okay, it's time to start thinking of Halloween ideas. AAAAH! There's just way to much on my plate! :) (I like it). My favorite idea, which will also be the most work, is Nike - Winged Victory of Samothrace.

I think this would be really flipping cool. Of course it forces me to be headless again... Another idea that stemmed off of this one was the weeping angel from Dr. Who. Looks like that one has been done before though. The blogs and websites I've seen on it could help me make the Nike structure though, so it's noteworthy.

I've also seen this angel as I was looking up images (the angel of grief):

My other idea, which I stole from pinterest some time ago, is of the Wicked Witch of the West under the house. Something along these lines:

Or....