Since I had officially pronounced last week the WORST WEEK EVER, following my terror-stricken trip down the mountain and a DayFromHell at the office on Friday, I did what I usually do when I have been stressed to the max. I filled every waking hour, Saturday-Sunday, with work. Work I like.
The dogs and I took two good, long walks, plus a few short walks. One was even in the snow, although Bernie and I were the only members of the group who enjoyed that one.
I moved furniture and ripped up all the carpeting, padding and tack boards in the living room. Then I took my needle-nosed pliers and pulled each and every staple out of the floor. All 60,000 of them. Then I took my cordless drill/screwdriver and tightened every last screw - and pounded every last nail in flush with the surface. Then I cut the carpeting and padding into manageable pieces and hauled them to the transfer station.
Then Bernie had a meltdown because it was just TOO different. Then she got over it. Then I started a fire in the fireplace and we had another meltdown. Then she got over it. Then I took down the folding screen between living room and kitchen, and moved it between dining room and kitchen. Then Bernie gave up. She was a good girl, given all of the upheaval and change, alot of it right around her feeding station.
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| Cats ALWAYS have to be the first on anything. |
Speaking of change, I put down the first five rows of tiles on the living room floor - many more to go, but this is a pay-as-you-go project. The transformation of the room is quite remarkable. Of course, so is the noise level, which prompted me to do some canine pedicures. And, even as careful as I am, I managed to nick the quick on one of Scrappy's nails. It's amazing how much blood can be produced by one little nick. I stuck his paw in some styptic powder while he got all faint and dramatic. He doesn't need much prompting. I even showed him the dime-sized piece of skin I had worn off my finger. I wasn't all whining and moaning. He wasn't impressed and demanded extra treats for mental and emotional anguish.
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| Hand ground spelt flour, cheddar, garlic, yumminess. |
I also managed to get feed, get gas, worm a cat (fun), worm the goats, worm ONE sheep, do laundry (twice, thanks to blood stains on the sofa cover), go to the dairy farm, and bake a GF coffee cake (FAIL - it was, on one hand, gummy and, on the other hand, gritty). I also did a lot of knitting and cleaning. The only downside to the weekend were persistent computer problems. It's off to the computer doctor, hoping for some magic. By Sunday night, I was exhausted and happy and had almost forgotten about the dreaded job. It's always very satisfying to check a lot of things off the lists.
15 comments:
I'm sorry you had yet another craptastic week. But the floor does look GREAT! Don't worry, you'll get used to the "click-click-click, click-click-click" of the toenails. In five or six months.
Susan,
Nothing like keeping busy and your mind off a bad week.
I love your floor, the tile is beautiful. Maybe you can place a throw rug down where the critters keep walking (the natural hallway, around front door)? This will help keep the noise down.
The clicking noise never goes away!!!! You do eventually get used to it :-)
We have wood floors and two dogs and humans that apparently don't know how to walk lightly. We hear everything!!!
Wow, that looks fantastic. What a project.....good for you! Did you honestly count the staples?
Ha, yes I guess it would be much louder in there. It looks great. So much easier to clean. And crap..I forgot about the cats! Sophie's head is going to explode.
I simply don't know how you fit ALL THAT into one little weekend. Are you related to those people (what country are they from?) who are Whirling Dervishes??
The tile you chose is gorgeous . . . and isn't going to show any dirt at all. (Not that you ever have any dirt tracked into your house.) Papa Pea and I may be slobs but there's no way we could exist with carpeting in our house. When I think of shag carpeting (which is coming back, by the way) of years gone by, I cringe.
I'll bet your dogs would never touch a Milk Bone after having those homemade treats you so lovingly make/bake for them. Lucky pups!
Hope this week is going much, much, much better for you.
The floor looks great despite your trials and tribulations. Hugs.
Carolyn - Well, that makes me feel better! Only six months to go! I think it will be slightly better once the tile is down. Maybe.
Sandy - I am working on a rag rug that will cover a larger area in front of the door. That should help (a bit). I am already starting to filter out the clicking, although it still wakes me up at night during wild cat antics!
Sylvie - I can't wait until it's finished! The living room has truly been transformed. And yes, I did count them ... "one, one-thousand, two, one thousand, fifty, thousand..." :)
Jane - I hope Sophie can survive all the 'stimulation'! The cats never go out and two of the three have strong survival instincts and hide until they are sure the coast is clear. The third? Small but stoopid. We'll survive... :)
Mama Pea - I just get up and go! I don't exactly whirl - it's more of a barely controlled stagger. And where ARE they from? I vaguely remember an article about them in National Geographic...
That's what I'm hoping for. Since there is only outside and inside (no mud room, darn it) the outside usually ends up all over the inside. And don't tell me that shag carpeting is coming back! I'm cringing right along with you...
Kristina - Thank you! And thank you for the hug - I sure can use it! :)
I'm REALLY liking the new floor!! I hear our cats at night on the kitchen floor, still wakes me up when they are racing back and forth. And don't EVEN talk to me about outside ending up inside! Grrrr...
Been there done that with removing nails, and tack strip, ugh. Nice tile!
Carpeting is awful stuff, you will love that new floor! I NEED to know what you are taking to get all that done! Your animals will get used to the floor in time LOL...
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