Oy, what a day.

Had to work until noon, then run to a hair appt after that and wasn't finished there until around 2 PM, then checked out a big sale at one of the dept stores in the same mall but their housewares dept was crap so I didn't find anything I wanted much less needed. Then I went to Lowe's where I managed to spend only about $75 instead of the typically requisite hundred bucks.

Then I had to put gas in the car because I was practically running on fumes, then I decided to stop and get something to bring home for dinner since I hadn't eaten all day and it was almost four o'clock. Ended up getting home about half an hour after that and was dead tired.

Nevertheless I rebounded after a short rest and decided to get something, ANYTHING done. I'd decided a couple days ago that I didn't like the "full shelf" that my false floor in the pantry cupboard had created, mostly because I realized I would probably want a small step stool in there for better access to the top shelf and what I'd done to protect the water line was gonna make that impossible. :/\\!!

Resolved to cut the shelf down to a smaller size (or maybe just use the leftover piece of plywood from what I bought the first time, which is already the right width, just depends on how I feel about how shallow a shelf it would be) but that would leave part of the water line exposed which I don't want. So I put on my thinking cap and found what I think will be a solution for that, the first part of which involved cutting a larger hole for it to pass through on its way into the cupboard.

http://imageshack.us/a/img35/3875/sq3z.jpg

With that done and all the stuff pulled out of there, I decided to go ahead and paint that lower area since some of it will also be exposed if I do what I think I'm gonna do there. I didn't scrape off all the residue from where the baseboard was pulled off, because I don't really care if it looks all nice and smooth - I just don't want it to look as grimy and dirty. Also figured it would be a good way to get the hang of painting in an area that isn't as visible as other places that will need it. I need the practice, I haven't painted anything since 8th grade art class. :O:

So I spackled up any "mystery holes" (probably aborted prior attempts to run that water line through) and other spots that looked like they would benefit from a spackling. I bought some additional stuff today that is supposed to be spackle + primer in one application, which I figured would be useful if I was gonna paint over it. Plus it's not like I won't need more spackle eventually. :haha:

It was supposed to be dry and ready to paint in 30 minutes but I waited a while longer anyway and then got ready to paint.

http://imageshack.us/a/img801/5206/iabh.jpg

As you can see I went all out and splurged on the disposable tray and roller, lol. I did buy a nice little brush for spots the roller wouldn't work on. Anyhoo after doing the area down by the floor I went ahead and painted all the way up to where the supports for the first shelf are since that was a built-in cut-off point, and really the whole area below them had some stains that I couldn't scrub off so it seemed like a good idea.

It's not perfect, but I think it looks at least a little better.

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/2710/jkvu.jpg

The back part will be covered by whatever makeshift shelving I put back in there anyway so I'm not too worried about that. I'll have to see if I'm happy with the rest of it when it's dry and I pull the paper and tape out of there tomorrow.

While I was waiting to get started on the painting I decided to go ahead and fill in all the holes made by whatever the previous owner had hanging on the inside of the cupboard door:

http://imageshack.us/a/img42/70/ksub.jpg

There were a couple sets of holes on the top half and more on the bottom... filled them all in with wood filler and let them dry as well, then painted the whole inside of the door. I was reasonably careful going around the doorknob but didn't worry too much about it as it already had paint on it anyway which I haven't bothered to scrape off, plus I plan on replacing pretty much every bit of door hardware in this place eventually because it's all this yellow gold stuff which I hate hate HATE with a passion.

There was so much crap on this door that had already been painted over at least once that without taking it all down to bare wood and starting from scratch it wasn't gonna be possible to get it looking that great, I mean seriously I pulled off two strips of cellophane tape that were stuck to it and just painted over. WTF? How hard is it to pull up a piece of Scotch tape? It came right off for me as soon as I got a corner up and that was AFTER it had been painted over at least once. :nope:

Anyhoo, it IS the inside of a cupboard door, and I'll be putting little storage racks for spices and whatnot up there at some point, so again perfection wasn't the goal, just something better than a door with holes in it and pieces of tape stuck to it and painted over.

http://imageshack.us/a/img802/6168/8n5f.jpg

Having broken the paint barrier with those two jobs, I decided to try to paint over the little bit of patching I did on the wall behind the sink. I'd already put a second application of spackle on there when I first got home, so I sanded it down a bit and started painting over that. Used the brush for the bit of cabinet underframe where I had to fill the holes from the old light fixture mount, and that seems okay... but my gut feeling is that when it dries I'm gonna see that the paint I used was not the same paint that was last used for the kitchen walls. Especially looking at it in this picture... it really does NOT match up at all.

http://imageshack.us/a/img833/6953/v5l9.jpg

See, the previous owner left two cans of white paint in the storage room. They are both "pure white" or whatever, and they're both somewhere between flat and semi-gloss, and it's clear one or both of them were used in the kitchen and probably the bathrooms but I can't tell if both were used and if so which one was used for what. One can was full and the other half full, so I went with the half full one since clearly that paint must've been used for something.

But watching it dry on the bit of kitchen wall I painted (yes, I actually did spend part of my evening watching paint dry :haha: ) I really think the other paint was used on the walls and maybe that's just a full can of it that was left over or barely touched, I dunno.

I've got another tray and roller so if I have to I can crack open the full can and go over it again with that. Worst case scenario is that it doesn't match up either, in which case I'll just paint that whole section of wall with it... whatever it is, I don't think it'll be different enough from what's on the rest of the walls to be noticeable if the only place one meets the other is along one corner that will have something sitting in front of it anyway.

At any rate I know in my gut that the reason what I used today won't match up is that I went to Lowe's and didn't spend a hundred dollars. I broke the rule and now I'm paying for it. :O:

Also not happy with Lowe's in general right now as they are indeed having another sale on major appliances for the upcoming holiday, and the one I want is on sale at a significant discount, but ONLY IN STAINLESS STEEL. I want a white one, dammit. This is the second time they've run a major sale on appliances but only the stainless steel models. And it's a big discount - the one on sale is marked down by 900 DOLLARS for Pete's sake, but the white model is still the same price as always which is $800 more than the sale price on the stainless steel one. :stare:

Are they worried that stainless steel is going out of style and so they're trying to unload as much of it as possible? Seriously, it's about all they keep in stock, almost anything white has to be special ordered. I must be the only person in the universe who isn't ga-ga over stainless steel appliances.

So now I have to decide how much I *really* want a white refrigerator. Or maybe I can talk to my bro-in-law about how likely it is they would cut me some kind of deal on the white model. I'm almost sure it was cheaper at one of their local competitors the last time I checked, but I really don't want to deal with them. Maybe I can print out some of the other local ads where it's cheaper (if it still is) and take those in as a bargaining chip. I do have a 10% discount card I was going to use which would knock off about $250 from the regular price, but that hardly makes up for the fact that the white one is 800 DOLLARS more due to not being included in the sale.

The biggest issue will be whether or not my fridge magnets will stick to that model in the stainless steel version. I've heard that some "stainless steel" appliances don't really use steel for the doors and so magnets won't stick to them. And I'm not giving up my fridge magnets. :nope:

We have a Stainless Steel Refrigerator. :hmmm:

Magnets have never stuck and they most likely won't change their minds. :03: We used to have all kinds of stuff on our old fridge but we got rid of it all when we got the new one.

True stainless steel is non ferrous. Magnet no sticky. But, there are lower grades of stainless that are ferrous. Magnet do sticky. I'd advise taking a little fridge magnet with you when you go appliance shopping just to quickly check it before you drop a dime on it. OOps, you're wanting the high maintenance goods. never mind.
I guess stainless is the rage these days because white gets dirty and it shows.
It used to be that stainless was the expensive option. Now white porcelain costs more. A flip flop of grand proportion. Go figure.:nope:

^ Yup.

The grade of stainless is determined by the amount of chromium in the steel. The more chromium, the less magnetic it is.

I know stainless welds up real nice, but isn't good for magnets.

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!!


Probably just the opposite. Everybody wants a white one and nobody wants the stainless ones. They're on sale just to get rid of them and they can easily get full price for the white ones.

Mrs buna is starting to look at this thread more often of late and I think I can guess what she is thinking regarding odd jobs around the buna house :o

I notice we have the same taste in tomato ketchup :cool:

RUN!

RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN! :har:

I couldn't run for a bus right atm :-?

Why? What's wrong with the mighty Jim? :hmmm:

You could always drive... :salute:

Drive her mad...now that's an idea :hmmm:

I had no part of this.... :)

These are some seriously awesome repairs you're making Frau. I know people who make very good money making similar repairs on other peoples homes. Ever consider going into business for yourself? :yep:

Got quite a bit done today!

Remember when I said I'd decided to redo the "accommodations" for the water line in the pantry cupboard? Well, the reason for the bigger hole was that I decided I would use a cable/wire raceway for it and turn the hole in the cupboard into a proper outlet.

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/9002/syjc.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img543/4363/5m2b.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/9469/m4kn.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/4806/te76.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img40/3227/by8s.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img507/7827/fi44.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img832/3912/h2y9.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/2317/9rex.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img18/6707/2mj7.jpg

With that taken care of, it was just a matter of rebuilding a smaller little shelf than the one I had before.

http://imageshack.us/a/img28/2846/ci8s.jpg

This also meant cutting the original shelf down from 20+ inches to about a foot deep total.

http://imageshack.us/a/img580/3817/f7md.jpg

If you want to know how long it takes to cut through 20+ inches of plywood with a little utility blade like that, the answer is: probably not as long as you'd think, but a damn sight longer than you'd like. I'd give you an exact number but I think I blacked out somewhere in the middle of it and just lost track of time. :O: But it was worth it, as I like the new arrangement a whole lot better:

http://imageshack.us/a/img19/514/t2p7.jpg

With that job done, I set about repainting the wall behind the sink, since what I did yesterday didn't match up any better with the older paint this morning than it did last night. This time I just bit the bullet and painted the whole wall down to the corner; it's not much more area to cover anyway, so it didn't take very long.

http://imageshack.us/a/img834/4772/l7rg.jpg

(to be continued...)

Then, since it had cooled off some and - miracle of miracles - wasn't raining as a result, it was time for the Showdown At The FK Corral.

*cue dramatic music*

http://imageshack.us/a/img16/1382/k7a5.jpg

One big honkin' tub of Roundup, vs.

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/184/977m.jpg

the Patio Weed Gang. (I call the big one in the back corner "Ike." :O:)

So, yeah, I sprayed 'em. I sprayed 'em real good.

http://imageshack.us/a/img221/7889/se66.jpg

Then I went and did laundry and took a shower and ate some dinner and other boring stuff. Afterwards, since the wall I'd painted and made all pretty and new looking seemed dry enough, I decided it was high time to start poking holes in it again. Like the stuff over the stove, I think it turned out really well.

http://imageshack.us/a/img22/4673/zpjn.jpg

Meanwhile, out at the FK Corral...

http://imageshack.us/a/img33/422/ku6a.jpg3

...Ike doesn't look so good. :D

I am in awe. I like to think there was a time when I had that kind of energy and drive. I'm pretty sure I did, but I can't remember exactly when. Maybe another lifetime. :dead: