Soap dish and paint and patch and and and....

Hey!

Hey guys!  What's up?

I know, I haven't been here in a while.  Things have been busy at work, Sirens season two.  (Oh, and there's a new trailer out for Jupiter Ascending that I worked on last summer, cool!)

As such with the busy-ness, by the time the weekend rolls around, you know, that time better known as time-to-catch-up-on-cleaning-the-house-doing-the-laundry-going-to-the-grocery-store-running-errands-catching-up-on-mail-and-emails-and-bills-from-the-week-etc.-etc.-etc.-oh-and-etc., there's just not a lot of time left to check things off my ever-expanding list around the house.

That doesn't mean the hamster wheels aren't turning, nor that I can't get anything done at all.  Things have to be quicker, smaller projects that fit within a limited time frame is all.

It had been two whole weeks since I had been to Menards.  The shakes were bad I tell ya, the cold sweats intolerable, the agitation building -- the withdrawal is always arduous.  So I went on Saturday.

The fine folks working there were all so friendly and helpful.  They typically are anyway but for some reason they seemed conspicuously more so.

Probably because THIS!  To make up for THIS!

Back side of Christmas display.  I couldn't bring myself to look at it full on.

Seriously, come on!  It's September, guys!  Stop it!  Sheesh.  Really.

Despite the horror show, it was a productive excursion.

I picked up some sand mix concrete, on the advice of the friendly employee in that particular department.  At least he didn't laugh at me too loudly on the outside when I said I was making a soap dish.

The concrete purchase was two-fold though:  soap dish and patching a long crack I discovered out front the other day.  'Tis almost the season, as Menards ever-so-kindly points out, of snow and ice and I didn't want any of that messing about in our foundation.

Ultimately I'd love to take out that concrete because as you can see, one chunk really really settled.  But, our cool woodworking friend Scott suggested building an extended porch over it, so, it would be hidden, so that's on the brain.

Mix-y mix-y, I made another soap dish attempt,

then patched up the crack out front.

One of my better patching jobs, if I do say so myself.  Insert applause.  A few congratulatory back pats there, thank you.

I also got the crazy hole we made in the wall for the sound bar during our wildly successful wire hiding adventure sorta kinda plugged up.  (Remember:  it's against code and a potential fire hazard to run power cords behind a wall.  Find a better way.)

Well.  At least cold air won't come racing through nor will the hole be sucking all our heat out, considering there's no insulation in this wall either.

Menards had an itty foam pipe wrap elbow, so I tore it in half, wrapped the wires and pushed it into the hole.  It's not a Super Official Problem Solved kind of solution, but it works for now and for less than two dollars.

Foam pipe wrap elbow, missing it's 90 degree arm, poor thing.  :(

I also painted a wall in our master bedroom.  I know, you're thinking, what?!  You just up and painted a wall?  I know.  For many folks painting is an event; I completely understand.  For me though, I've been painting things pretty well all my life, plus painted my fair share of theatrical scenery, plus many many Many a room so painting is like breathing to me.  I just do it.

The darker blue is Granite Falls, a smokier, chalkier, grayer blue.  Great color; due justice not done by the photo.

So much so that now Mike finds it decidedly commonplace that I randomly paint things unannounced.  He didn't notice this when he got home.  Not even the paint smell.  Seriously.  I stared at him funny for a good while standing in the room together then eventually had to point it out.

It's amazing what "normal" is sometimes, huh?  ;)

But the plan for the master bedroom is starting to gel in my head which is excellent, hence the newly painted wall.  Once I sort a few ideas through the mental sifter and whittle it down, I'll next get anxious and squirrelly to get it complete, or mostly so, or the three major elements in my head anyway.

Oh but right, that soap dish.

Not the best end result but I learned from it.  Now realize I need to hunker down and make an actual for real true mould out of silicone to get what I want.  The sand mix concrete was definitely the way to go.  I'll still seal this up, put some felt on the bottom and make use of it though.

And lastly, in case you're wondering, no, I'm not doing all that well about Hailey.  Pete the Sweeper (that link has the very last photo I took of her, as it turns out) came by while I was in the front yard and he asked about her, not knowing.  The look on his face when I told him, I can't even describe it.  So that was difficult.  Then again, anything and everything sets off my eruptive water works at any given moment.  I'm finding laundry and vacuuming are the.absolute.worst.things.ever.  Each wash, each dry, each pass of the vacuum is less and less fur on our clothes, our blankets, the furniture, less fur in the house.  It's unmerciful.  It's the pits.  I'm a wreck.  I feel terrible.  All the time.

I recently saw this about grieving, how to help people you know.  I found it notable and meaningful.

So, anyway, that's where things are at these days.  Sorry to drop out on a sad note.  I'll keep you posted should I get more projects going.  Thanks for coming by!