Projects and Progress

Waiting isn't so bad!

Summertime and vacations are often synonymous, as are road trips and say, ummm, whining.  Of course, I'm not talking about my beautiful, wonderful, perfect and never (ever) whiny children!  ;-)  Oh no, I'm not talking about them, especially since two of them were away at camp last week and I really missed them.


 I am talking about me, yes, I know that probably surprises you.  I know how to whine and throw a fit and pout and all of that lovely stuff that grown women should not ever, ever do.  But, since I endeavor to be honest with you, I will tell you that the past week or so has seen my 'not so nice' side.  I've had to realize that sometimes, things take longer than I expect them to.  Sometimes, things don't look the way that I planned and sometimes, I just need to stop and take a breath before I turn blue.  I'm talking about learning how to enjoy the ride, stop and smell the roses, not sweat the small stuff; you know, all of those cliches that you can think of that equate to taking a chill pill (not literally, people.)  So, what I'm trying to tell you is that I haven't had much to show you lately, simply because we have many irons in the fire but nothing quite finished.  There isn't a single room in the house that we can proudly say is finished.  That's not to say that they aren't almost finished, but none that are complete.  While I'm taking in the fact that it really won't be much longer before we get to move in, how about some pictures of progress?

My children call this room the ketchup and mustard room.
Please take note of the fireplace on the left.

I decided to strip and stain our fireplace mantle, all by myself.  I have refinished some furniture, but none ever had as many coats of paint as this.  But that's okay, I like a challenge!  I have been using an environmentally safe paint stripper and surprisingly it does work.  One kind soul advised me to try using airplane stripper but I haven't resorted to that yet.  So far, I can tell that the mantle was once a beautiful oak mantle.  I'm not done yet, but there is hope!

Ta Da!  About a quarter of the way through...

Can you see the grain of the wood?  It will be very purty, very soon!

Okay, so next project please.  By the way, I think I've decided that you can't really call yourself a multi-tasker if you never actually complete any of the tasks... However, we will actually need a bathtub, so I will actually finish this one!  


We found this beauty on Craigslist for a great price.  I think it is really cool that the tub came from an even older farmhouse than ours not too far from us!  The date on the bottom is 1913, so it totally fits with the age of our house.  




Obviously, it needs a new paint job.   I started by removing the feet with the help of a screw driver and some nice workers at the house with a fancy schmancy tool that actually worked.

See the original ball and claw feet?

I used lots of sandpaper to sand away the rust that had formed on the bottom side.  I then cleaned the outside of the tub with mineral spirits.

No more feet

After I taped the edges of the tub so that I wouldn't damage the porcelain, I painted  the outside of the tub with a coat of  primer.  My next step will be to sand the primer and then coat the tub with enamel paint.  Also, I am planning to strip the paint from the feet and then paint them as well.  I know it will be beautiful once it is finished!

She's looking better already!

These are my projects and I can't wait to show you how they look once they are finished.  It really won't be that long!  My hubby has been working very hard on the outside of the house and the work on the interior is so close!


While I really wanted to be moved into the house by now, I am trying to enjoy the process.  It will be so worth the wait in the end.  So, this summer vacation is definitely a trip and yes, we really are "almost there!"


I'm grateful for the opportunity to challenge myself today and every day.  There are so many times I think that I can't possibly do 'whatever it is' and each time I reach beyond what I think I am capable of, I learn something new!  It's a good lesson.

Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use. 

- Earl Nightingale