"Where ARE you?!" So it's a Mini Variety Pack Day!

Oy, goodness me, I....blblblblblblbllluurrrPP.  That's that head shake, that one where your whole face flops around like "whaaaaa??!", yeah that one.

I was expecting only minor revisions to the returning job but nope, tons o' revisions and then a Heap o' additional stuff.  Whooie!  So that's where I've been.  Lost in a sea of redlines. (<----that's actually pretty funny, the link.)

But today!  Glorious today, I have FREE!  Free to be me and house-ish!  Together again, at last, at last, ahhhh!  Well, I mean, I never left considering I work from home, but I mean, you know, ....Ok, clearly I've been sitting at a computer far too long.

So what have I done so far today?  A few things, off of a different list that I keep on my phone.  Heh.

Why I can't coordinate lists between the big overall one and the small random one, I dunno.  I think the small random phone one is more of a reminder list, wee lil' itty bitty slip-through-the-cracks-if-I-don't-write-it-down-immediately-when-I-see-it kinds of thingies.

Although, replacing the torn security/storm door screens may not necessarily qualify as an easily forgotten item, it was on the phone list.

When I had a free moment earlier in the week while awaiting information, I took a sublime, albeit brief and limited budget, Menards break.  That's when I picked up a 36x84 roll of "extra strength" screen, the little rubbery cording stuff, and that rolly screen tool.  " " as I have doubts about extra strength, heh.

I tend to avoid buying single purpose tools as, well, yeah, they serve only a single purpose then lie around, taking up valuable real estate.  But oooh ok, I'm glad I got this one as it made the job super easy, struggle-free, and fast.  Plus, since Finn already shredded the front screen so early in the season, it's pretty safe to assume I'll be using this tool again some day.  If you suspect this a one time gig for you, ask around, see if you can just borrow one.

It really is an unbelievably simple task that anyone can do.  Trust me, I shall not lead you astray.  Remove sad old floppy screen material and cording that holds it in.

Lookie at those patio pavers, made it through the winter!  Woo hoo!

Unravel the new screen over the frame leaving extra overhanging all edges.  Whip out that rubbery cording stuff, your swanky rolly tool, wedge the beginning of the cord into the frame channel,

roll with the thingie tool cramming in the cording, zip zip, zip zip zip done.  Trim the excess...

...get final approval and bam!  In less than five minutes, it's a brand new, rip-free screen!  No joke on the under five minute thing either.  It was such a quick job...

...I start looking around (danger!) the backyard and quickly re-began the woe-is-me'ing over the "concrete" at the back.

That little nubby near the top right in the mud?  A fern!  Grow baby, grow already!

Oh yes.  I was mighty tempted to start yanking it out, even nudging at spots with my toes here and there.  But.  I resisted.  Grrr.  Something would need to go in same day as removal.  Today would not be that day, alas and sigh.

Finn-related mud splatters all over the door and siding.  Neat.  Embarrassed.

So back indoors we went as I was fresh out of ways to stay outdoors.  Next on the list?

Niiiiice dresser!  Heh, there's the wood block lamp too!

Now.  You may or may not think me utterly nutso for this one but ya know how when something little just nags at you?  Kinda like the trim moulding in the kitchen....but here in the bedroom I go to bed and wake up every day looking at that return vent cover on the ceiling.

What's the big deal, you ask?  When we had a guy out with his duct camera to see if we could figure out what the dealio is/was with the lack of air coming through our second floor vents, he suggested cleaning them.  Um, ok, all right, we said.  He took that vent cover off and turned it around to the way you see above.

I see up into the return vent.  Drives me batty.  Bat-teeee.

Ok, you think I'm crazy now, yeah?

I finally turned it back around to the way it was before.  Ahhh.  I am not gonna lie, I feel Soooo much better.  I even lounged there for a few moments, admiring the duct-free view.   Ahhh!!

That's when I looked at my phone list and realized, heh, more than one list, what a dork, but hey, I checked two things off.  And erased a previously-finished third item that I hadn't yet removed -- three things total.  So, nice!!  Yeah!!  Rah!

Lookie how that dog vomit yellow in the stair just glows and glows and a-glows.  *gag*  We gotta pick a color soon or I may lose my mind.  Mike.  That's when I got up and moved onto the dining room crack.

I was hoping to get that all wrapped up today with the Goodbye Crack spray (repeat link, sorry) and stuff and junk but after sanding it I realized it needed another coat of joint compound.  So, second coat is currently drying.

Earlier in the week I did have another waiting-for-information time gap so I stripped one of those record cabinets (repeat link again??  Sorry!).  Didn't turn out so well.   The insides are inadvertently a mess.  I was too sloppy.

No doubt I was highly distracted mentally by the returning job so focus was lacking.  I dropped a door on my toes, so, yeah.  There were not enough curse words in the world to string together at peak volume when that happened.  Ouch.  (Sorry Mom.)

Painful to drop on toes.  Poorly stripped.  Head hangs low.

I'll revisit this thing next week....

ETA:  I've found the best paint stripper and it's GreenEZ.*  No fumes, soy based, water clean up, won't run, works incredibly well....buy GreenEZ's stripper.

There was paint on the handles so I did a quickie search online to find out a way to remove it.  Paint stripper is too caustic, scrapping would beget scratches....I went with this method of boiling them with a dash of baking soda as the other top listed search suggestions required a slow cooker.  No slow cooker here.  Plus this was a 15-20 minute gig rather than hours and hours.

It did get the paint off quick but it also pulled a layer of patina'ed finish as well.  No idea if the finish was original or not but since I did such a crappy job of stripping, I'm not terribly concerned.  So, I dunno, try it at your own risk?

The handles look pretty nice, despite this piss-poor photo.  Nicer than the rest of the cabinet at the moment anyway.  Ahem.

So that's where things are at around these parts.  Nothing major.  Nice to see you though!

Oh, last minute one evening I realized we had zero for dessert, aka Crime Against Humanity.  This cake is good, fast, easy, feeds a crowd, doesn't really even need frosting.  Baking time is more like 40-45 minutes, fyi.  I mixed it and popped it in the oven as Mike was commuting home, it baked while we ate dinner.  Score.  Try it.  You'll like it.

I'm going to wish for a whole slew of revisions and additions this time around on that returning job and maybe I'll get the opposite.  ;)  I'm sure they'll be sending it back for one or two things but, fingers crossed!

Mike has the whole entire weekend off, two whole wonderful days in a row which, I seriously can't even remember the last time that's happened so I'm excited.  Yay Mike time!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

*The GreenEZ stripper is a GreenEZ affiliate link.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info.