The biggest thing I got accomplished is to nearly finish stripping my mantle.
Today's big project was to do the underside. That was a bit more difficult because, for one, I didn't pre-strip it with the chemical stripper. Then, it was awkward to get up under there because of the stove being right there. I had to strip a bit, then bend over and look, then strip a bit more, then look again. It was very tedious.
But, I persevered and got it all done except this corner.
You can see it's got some sort of brace under there. I'm wondering if my entire mantle will fall apart if I take that off to clean the paint off of it. I think I might try it. I'd want to re-position it anyway, because there is only one screw on the left side, and it is at the very edge of the board where the two meet.
Well, curiosity got the better of me, so I went and pried it off. Turns out that what I thought was a screw was just a blob of paint. It didn't have any screws in the left side at all. The good news is, my mantle still seems very sturdy. That will make it a whole lot easier to get all that paint out of that corner. When I reinstall the brace, I'll be able to center it and put screws into both sides.
The top is pretty much clean except for this little bit in the corner.
As I was sanding it this afternoon, I found even more damage in that moulding. Plus, when they installed it in the first place, they didn't miter the corners or anything. They just kind of butted the two pieces up against each other. I've never been much of a DIY person, but I think I can do a better job than that.
I got an escrow refund check from my mortgage, and tomorrow after work, I'm going to go deposit it so I can give it right back to the bank on my next house payment. I'll run by and see if the hardware store has any moulding that I can replace that stuff with. And I need one of those triangle thingys, too. You know, to miter the corners and all.
I was going to hang my fall wreath on my front door, but I couldn't find my wreath hanger. I just stuck it on a hook in my wall for now.
I did drag my box of Fall decorations from the shed to the house, but that one wreath is the only thing I've put up so far. When I find my wreath hanger, I'm going to move it to the front door.
Finally, there has been knitting.
The pattern is Roundabout, and it's based on a sock pattern I found years go. The thing is, I've knit this pattern a couple of times already, and have never been happy with the way the top looks after doing the decreases. Since this will be a kid's hat, I may just put a pom pom on top to hide the wonky crown.
Now for some sad news, Navy quarterback Tago Smith is out for the season with a torn ACL. I feel so bad for him. He sat behind Keenan Reynolds for three years. This was supposed to be his year, and he's out in the first game.
I don't even know who the quarterback is now, but the song is still the same:
BEAT ARMY!!
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