I Voted

I voted.  And you know, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain...except...

I've been good, y'all.  It hasn't been easy, but I've been good.

See, last month the city had a special election to levy a new tourism tax to they can raise revenue to build a new sports complex.  I even blogged about it.  Someone commented on the very low voter turnout for that special election.  I remarked that turnout might have been higher if they'd put it onto the general election ballot, but I strongly suspect that there is a good reason they didn't want to do that.  It might have had a completely different result.  Now everyone is saying if you didn't vote, you can't complain.

The thing about it is, this sports complex is going to be built right on the city limits.  A lot of people who live nearby, but aren't inside city limits will be affected by it.   I'm one of them.  I'm not in the city.  I'm in the county, so I couldn't even vote in that election, even though this monstrosity is going to be built a just over a mile from my house. 

As the crow flies.  It's a little longer if you go by the roads, but it's still very close. 

I was very vocal in my opposition to the new tax, but in the end, the levy passed.  Since then, I've kept my mouth shut, or rather, my keyboard quiet about it.

When someone posted about the brown water coming out of her tap, I wanted to say, "But hey!  You're getting a new sports complex!"  But I didn't.

And when someone else complained about the potholes on her road, I wanted to say, "But look on the bright side.  You're getting another sports complex!"  But I didn't.

When someone complained about the taxpayer funded wheelchair access van being broken down for months, and she couldn't get her father to his doctor appointments, I wanted to say, "But you're getting a new sports complex!"  But I didn't.


When they complain about lack of good jobs, or how bad the hospital is, or our below average school systems...I don't say anything. 

Because you know, if you don't vote, you can't complain. 

Dear Coworker

I appreciate that you need to go really badly, but can you please let me get out of the stall before you come barging in?

Thank you.

That is all. 

Busy Saturday

It's November now.  I reckon that means it's time to take my Halloween decorations down.  We're not big on Halloween here, so these were the only three things I'd put out to begin with.

That little pumpkin on the right used to have an air plant in it, but it died.  The luminaria Jack O' Lantern I've had so long, I don't even remember where I got it, and the mug in the middle was given to me by a coworker several years ago.  That's about it.  Since Cody is grown and gone, I don't even put out my fake light up Jack O' Lantern any more.  Well, I do, but I put the plain side out so it's a general Fall decoration. 

We are all ready for Thanksgiving now.  The plant usually gives us a Turkey, and I'm thinking, if Cody isn't coming home, I'll just put it into the freezer for Christmas.  I may just do gumbo or ribs in the Instant Pot for Thanksgiving.  I'll still make a pumpkin or a squash pie.  Maybe Cody can come home around Thanksgiving time, if not on Thanksgiving day itself.  Planning is half the fun, and I hate not knowing what to plan for. 

Speaking of my freezer, I got my plants all safely tucked into their winter home.

What has that got to do with my freezer?  That's where I had all my Christmas cacti -- on top of my deep freeze.  It's supposed to get really cold -- well, for the South -- next weekend, maybe even freeze, so this seemed like a good time to get them moved inside.

Next up, my project for the day.  When whoever installed this bathtub installed this bathtub, they didn't to a very good job.  The drain actually sits about 1/8" above the bottom of the tub.  Over the years, water has collected in that gap, and caused the tub to start rusting.  I put some silicone down to try to keep the water from pooling, but I didn't think it was providing much protection.  It seemed to me the water was getting under the silicone, because it wasn't stuck to the tub very well.  I guess because of the rust.  I needed to do something better.   

This morning, I got the old trusty wire brush out and scrubbed all the silicone and loose rust off.

For what it's worth, I may not be the best housekeeper in the world, but my tub isn't normally that dirty.  It's from scrubbing the rust.  Except for that hair in the drain.  It's always there.  What can I say?  It's like it grows right out of my head or something.

Also note, there are quite a few bristles missing from that brush.  I wore two of those down like that, scrubbing fireplace bricks.  So glad to be done with that. 

Anyway, as soon as it was clean and dry, I painted it with a bit of Rustoleum oil based enamel paint.

I'm going to put a second coat on tomorrow, once this one is fully dry.  The can said to wait about 24 hours to re-coat.  Since this is my only bathtub/shower, I'll shower in the AM -- after the 24 hour drying period -- then put the second coat on.  That'll also let me see how this paint will hold up.  It's supposed to be waterproof.  We shall see. 

This is only a stop-gap until I can get the tub either re-finished or replaced. I really want to get all my bathroom fixtures replaced eventually, including the plumbing.  But that will be a long time coming...

I finally broke down and ordered some mounting things for my mantle.  I put it off for a long time, because I didn't really know what I'd be getting before I ordered.  I'd have much rather have seen these in person before buying them, but nobody local had anything like I wanted. 

They arrived this morning, and I find myself just a bit daunted by the prospect. 

What I'm having trouble with is drilling those big holes in my mantle.  The rest is easy.  Those posts are 6" long, so I have to drill a perfectly straight hole at least that long.  I'm going to have to buy a drill bit...and one that size won't even fit my little drill.  So, that means I buy a new drill...I may have to ask for help with this one, folks. 

Maybe I'll get my shutters painted, then hire someone to install both the mantle and shutters at the same time. That'll work.

On the bright side, a free level came with the mounting brackets.

Today is one of those days I can't seem to decide whether I'm hot or cold.  Kind of like the day itself.  It started off in the 30s, and ended up in the low 70s.  I keep opening the windows, then closing them, then putting on long sleeves, then taking them off...ad infinitum. 

However, it did stay cold enough long enough to put me in the mood to play with my new wax stamps, which also arrived today.

This one has Christmas designs.  Six of them.

If you can't see the picture, there is a Santa, a deer, a Merry Christmas, a tree, a snowman, and bells.  I spent a couple of happy hours signing and sealing Christmas cards while watching cheesy Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel.

I had fun trying different things, like marbling the wax.  I'm telling you one thing, though.  When it comes time for me to buy new wax, I'm definitely getting the beads instead of the sticks.  Trying to cut that stuff is hard!  I've also got the kind you light a wick, but I don't like those.  It takes so long to get enough wax melted that way, the first bit you've dripped onto your paper has already cooled.  Plus, the fire keeps going out, and ash from the wick sometimes drips into your pool...I just don't like that kind.   BTW, if you got a card last year, you're getting one this year, too.  If you didn't, and want one, make sure I have your address, and I'll add you to the list.

Lastly, I gave Cody what I thought was my last Jayne hat.  Turns out it wasn't, as I found another one in the closet.  But you can't have too many Jayne hats, so I cast on a new one.

The pattern I use calls for a Twisted German Cast On.  It took me three tries to get it right, then four rounds in, I decided it wasn't stretchy enough.  I ripped it all out and started over with a knitted cast on this time.

Now, if I could only figure out how to make a decent pom pom, I'd be all set. 

P.S.  I know how to do it, but mine never turn out right. 

Scrambling Eggs

I'm not sure what I ate yesterday that disagreed with me, but something sure did.  When the alarm went off way too early this morning after half a night running to the bathroom, I seriously considered staying in bed.  I mean, I didn't have to go in, because of my vacation day yesterday.  But I remembered how broke I am, so I got up and went to work. 

Just a couple of hours in, I was wondering what I was thinking -- then I thought again about how broke I was, and remembered what I was thinking.  It was only an 8 hour shift, but it seemed as long as a 12 hour shift.

Be that as it may, I made it through the day, and still have a whole weekend to look forward to, including four brand new cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  I'm going to have to figure out my DVR, and see if I can record two at the same time, because LSU plays Alabama also play at that time. 

Or, I'm sure one of the movies will be re-run, if not both. 

But that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about tonight.  See, yesterday morning before he left, Cody was looking for something for breakfast.  I was telling him what quick and easy things he could fix -- cereal, oatmeal, and the like.  The last thing I mentioned was, "Or you could scramble some eggs in the microwave."  He looked at me quizzically, and said, "You can scramble eggs in the microwave?" 

Yep.  I gave him a quick lesson, and he fixed himself some breakfast.  While he was eating, I posted the following on my Facebook feed:

I was surprised at how many people commented that they also did not know you could scramble eggs in the microwave.  In the spirit of the season, I will now present to you a quick egg scrambling lesson.

First off, crack two eggs into a microwave safe bowl.  You might be able to do larger quantities, but I've never tried it.  These instructions are for two.  Adjust your times accordingly.

OK, back to my lesson.

Crack two eggs into a microwave safe bowl.  Add milk, or cheese, salt and pepper, or whatever you usually add when scrambling them in a skillet, and whisk them until they are well blended.  The prep part is exactly the same as cooking them on a stove top.

Put the bowl into the microwave and cook for 30 seconds.  Gently stir the eggs, then cook for 15 seconds.  Stir, and cook for 5 more seconds.  Repeat until eggs are close to being done.  When the eggs start looking close to being done, reduce cooking time to 10 seconds between stirring.  You will want to take them out of the microwave before they are completely dry, the same as if you were cooking them in a skillet. 

Let them set a minute before eating.

There you have it.  You now know how to cook eggs in a microwave. 

Bon apetit!

November Day

The expected severe weather passed through last night, and turned out to be not as severe as expected.  Either that, or I was much more tired than expected and slept right through it.  That has been known to happen.  It has been chilly and rainy all day, but not too cold.  That is supposed to arrive sometime tonight.

In anticipation of said expected cold, I went ahead and filled up the wood box.

As soon as I had finished, my friend texted and said sub-brazers are working tomorrow.   My first thought was, "I'm not going!"  I don't have to, since I have vacation today.  Then I remembered how broke I am, and how deeply in debt I still am, and I've still got to pay for my dental work, and I've got car insurance due at the end of the month, so I decided to go in after all.  I went into the bedroom and turned my alarm on, took a shower, and went to bed. 

And realized it was only 3:30, so I got back up. 

Oh, well.  I get some overtime, and the wood box will already be full for Saturday morning, which is supposed to be even colder than tomorrow. There is an old weather folklore that says if the deer turn gray in October, it's going to be a harsh winter.  Mine have been gray for about two weeks now.  Between the deer and the spiders, I'm glad I've got a lot of firewood.  And blankets.

BTW, I do need to get a slipcover for that chair, so it won't get dirty if any wood falls out of the box and lands on it. 

In other news, Cody took his clothes, his shotgun, and his snake, and left back out to go to his new apartment.  It's weird.  Even though I didn't see the snake a whole lot, the house feels kind of empty without him. 

The good news is, Cody says he's not even through with his 90 day probationary period and they're already talking about recommending him to be the manager of the frozen foods section, provided the old manager takes the new job he's considering.  It's purely speculation at this point, but if he could get that job, he could quit Home Depot and only work one job.  So, yay for that.

The bad news is, he doesn't think he'll be able to come home for Thanksgiving, but does want to come home for Christmas.  He'll just have to see what his schedule is.  He mused, "Now, I understand why you want to move back to Texas so badly.  I can see myself moving back here eventually." 

Yep, it's where he grew up.  To him, this is home. 

Remember the hat I was knitting from the ball of mystery yarn I found?  I finished it a few days ago.

I was playing a serious game of yarn chicken with this one, and actually left out a row of decreases at the end, but it worked out.  By the time I was done, I had about three inches of yarn left over.  Yes, you read that right.  Three inches.  I was really sweating that outcome, and even thought about making it a ponytail hat, but I made it.  Barely, but I made it.

This afternoon, I cast on a new hat.

This is just a basic beanie pattern, and the yarn is Cascade 220.  It's supposed to be worsted weight, but it's very thin, almost a DK weight.  I used an 88 stitch cast on because of how thin the yarn is.  I've already knit one hat out of this ball of yarn, so I guess I'm starting another game of chicken.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Speaking of my deer, one of the fawns is a little buck.  I spotted his nubbins this evening.  The other one appears to be a doe.  I didn't get as good a look at her, but I didn't see any nubbins. 

The bad news is, antlerless primitive weapons hunting season starts Monday.  Hopefully, mine are close enough to a residential area that nobody will hunt my deer. 

Except that 2 year old spike.  He does need to be culled.   

Halloween Surprise

I got me a nice little Halloween surprise this evening.

Cody and his roommate have found a new apartment, which allows aquarium type pets, so he came home to get his snake.  And the rest of his stuff, of course.

He won't have to go back until tomorrow, so I'll just leave you with my traditional Halloween prayer,

and bid you all a good night.

Random Thoughts Of A Tuesday Evening

1.  Due to possible severe weather tomorrow, and it being church night, kids here are trick or treating tonight.  In the 24 years I've lived here, I've had exactly two trick or treaters, and none since I've moved into this house.  I bought candy anyway -- just in case.  One year, I didn't buy candy, and wouldn't you know it, that was the year I got trick or treaters.

I apologized profusely, and the kids were very gracious about it, but I still felt bad.  Ever since then, I've always made sure I had something to give out.  Even though I usually end up eating it all myself.

2.  Somebody at work wrote on the bathroom wall:

Every time I see it, I think, "Well, you've come to the right place."

Someone also drew a couple of pictures of male genitalia, and wrote something somewhat obscene, which I won't repeat -- this being a family friendly blog and all.  Classy, huh?  But I guess when you only pay $8/hour, you kinda have to take what you can get.

3.  I don't post about work as much as I used to.  Someone from HR has been searching my LinkedIn profile.  They're supposed to have an open door policy, but those are largely a myth anyway.  Despite what they say, they do retaliate.  They're just a bit more circumspect about it.

4.  For your PSA for today, do not, I repeat, do not chase your honey lemon cough drop with Diet Dr Pepper.  You will regret it.  Trust me on this one.

5.  I forgot what I was going to post here.

6.  I wish I could figure out how to hide the traffic stats on my blogger dashboard.  I get so discouraged sometimes.  I try not to care about the numbers, but I do.  I wonder why my hits dropped from over 100 a few days ago to around 40 these last few days.  Such a drop always makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong.  Or maybe I just got boring.

7.  BTW, I don't make $8/hour.  That's what they pay the temps.  I make a bit more than that, which I think is why they're trying so hard to get rid of us older folks -- so they can replace us with someone they only have to pay $8/hour.

8.  For the love of all that is holy, floss, people, FLOSS!!!

9.  I guess that's it for now.  Goodnight.

Spiders (No Pictures)

They say when spiders come into the house, it's a sign of a snowy winter to come.

I've killed five in three days.

Five. Spiders.

In three days.  In my house.

Take that for what it's worth, but me, I'm going to start splitting all this here firewood up.

Two More

It kind of felt weird this weekend, waking up without a home renovation project going on.  I almost didn't know what to do with myself.  It was actually kind of nice, being able to relax, and do just enough puttering to keep boredom at bay.

It isn't supposed to get cold again until next Thursday night, so I moved some of my plants back outside.   While I was doing that, I went ahead and cleaned the moss off my back porch, and pulled up all the little plants that had sprouted between the bricks.

That very last row of bricks had rolled over and had dirt and gunk built up behind them.  I cleaned all that out and got them lined back up.  I put a couple of landscape timbers there to hold them in place.  I wish I'd taken a before picture, so you can see how much better it looks now. 

Once I'd finished that, I said to myself, "Might as well get that closet door painted while I'm up, so I did.

I first put a coat of Kilz primer on it, and let me tell you, cleaning that up was a mess.  The more I washed, the more there was.  I started off with just a couple of spots on my hands.  I started washing, and it started growing, and spreading, and getting everywhere.  Before it was all over, I had both hands completely coated up past my wrists.  I scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed, and got my hands almost clean.  Then it would start growing again -- like oobleck.

I even said that at one point.  "This stuff is like oobleck,"  I said.

I was frustrated and confused, and wondering what the heck was going on, but I persevered kept scrubbing -- thankful all the while I had bought the gallon jug of mineral spirits instead of the quart--and finally got myself and my tools clean.  Well, mostly clean.  I've still got a few spots of primer on my hands and arms, but they'll wear off eventually.

It was a lot easier when I got to using the paint.  Two coats, easy clean up, and it was done.  I have a few spots to touch up, but it looks really good.  At least I think so.

Oh, and yes, as a matter of fact there are four knitting bags sitting right there.  And no, that's not the half of them.  There are many, many more knitting projects scattered throughout this house.

With my living room finally finished, I'm pretty much done with painting projects for a while, so I toted all my painting supplies out to the shop (keeping just enough out to do my shutters) and moved my furniture back into place.  And by furniture, I mean this chair and the wood box -- which isn't a box at all.

I've been debating.  When it's time to remodel the kitchen/dining/living room area,  I'm thinking about closing this door off and making this into a reading nook.

Then I would widen the door between the kitchen and living room.  The back wall of the living room is about even with where that scarecrow is hanging.

I'd take the wall out to there.  It wouldn't be completely open plan, but it would be more open than it is now. 

I don't know yet what I want to do.  I'm not a big fan of open concept, but I'm thinking resale value here, and that's all the rage.

It'll be a while before I can afford to do anything that major, so I have plenty of time to decide.

Books and Horses

When I was a little girl, books and horses were two of my very favorite things in the whole world.  My dad was also an avid reader, and frequently took us to the public library.  It was from him that I acquired my lifelong love of reading and libraries.

One of my favorite books to check out of the public library was one called Big Black Horse.  It's an abbreviated, children's version of Walter Farley's The Black Stallion.    I checked it out so much, they might as well have given it to me.  My name was just about the only one on the card.

I mentioned once that used book stores are going to be the death of me.  Well, of my budget, at least.

Yep, I found it.

I had the tracking number, and it was supposed to have arrived today.  However, the mail carrier came and went, and no book. 

"Oh, well,"  I thought.  "They'll bring it tomorrow or Monday." 

Then, along about 3:00 PM, I heard my door bell ring.  It was the mail carrier!  She'd completed her route and was headed back to the post office, when she discovered she'd overlooked a package.  She drove all the way back out here to bring it to me!  Now, that's what I call service!  I so appreciated that, I went to the local Facebook page and gave her a shout out. 

In other news, I gave in to peer pressure and bought some poison ivy medicine.  I found this:

It is Benadryl and calamine lotion combined into the same tube.  It took about half the tube to cover all my spots, but after I put it on, I ... still itched.  Sigh.  All it will take is time.

But it's been a whole week now, so we are on the down hill side.  I'm looking forward to not itching any more. 

Dear Everyone

If you would stop interrupting me every two seconds, and actually let me -- you know -- finish a sentence, you just might find I will have already answered the questions you keep interrupting me to ask.

So, please stop.  Just stop.

Interrupting, I mean. 

The world will be a better place if people would just shut up and listen once in a while.


Thank you.

That is all. 

Poison Ivy

My thanks to all of you who expressed sympathy over my plight -- or should I say my blight -- with poison ivy.

I also appreciate the suggestions from those of you who seemed to think I'd never encountered poison ivy before and was huddled in the corner whimpering and wondering what to do about it.

I got news for you.  This ain't my first rodeo.  And believe me, everything you recommended I've tried before...except for the one of you who told me to go to the hospital and get a shot.  Um, no.  I am not rushing myself to the emergency room for this:

Annoying, yes, but hardly life threatening. 

Anyway, I've been around this block before, and I know once the blisters form, there is nothing for me to do but to ride it out. 

And maybe invest in a Hazmat suit...

Finished!

After I posted yesterday, I put one more coat of paint on my bricks while watching LSU totally take down Mississippi State.  Which, oh, by the way, you are not going to beat Alabama with field goals, no matter how good your kicker is.  But I digress...

I let it dry overnight, and when I got up, I declared my fireplace renovation done!  Well, for the most part.  I've spotted a couple of touch ups I need to do, but I'll get those when I do the closet door.

I still have to get the mantle hung, but I'm going to have to order hardware for that.  The previous owners just had big 4 inch nails driven through at an angle, but I want to get the right kind of mounting brackets.  I've looked locally, and I've checked the Lowe's app to see if they had it up in Batesville.  No such luck.  The only place I found the kind I want is on Amazon.   But, other than that, and putting the trim up, it is finished.

Just in time, too, because it was down to 40' when I got up this morning.  It wasn't cold enough in the house to turn on the heater, but a little fire felt just right.

Oh, and by the way, if you ever paint your bricks behind your wood stove, be sure to take the painter's tape off your stove pipe before lighting a fire in said stove.  It will smolder and burn, and fill your house with dense, stinky smoke.  It...uh, it happened to a friend of mine...yeah...

With that first fire also came the first burn of the season.

I usually wear gloves when handling the bigger logs, but for some reason, today I didn't.  It actually looks worse than it is.  It hasn't blistered yet, so it might not even leave a scar.  I know it sounds crazy, but being a brazer, I'm kind of used to being burned.  This one doesn't even hurt any more.  Unlike my poison ivy, which still itches like crazy. 

Anyway, chilly morning...fire in the grate...it seemed a perfect day to add a few more squares to my sock yarn blanket. 

Right now, I'm adding the yarn from the mini skeins I bought at Fiber Fun In The Sip.  They have enough yarn that I can put a square in my blanket, and still have enough to add one to my sister's. 

Finally, my Christmas cactus have started budding. 

Three of them so far have buds, but these are the biggest ones.   It's going to be glorious when they all bloom.

A Monster

Years ago, I was still a kid, my mother made herself a salad one day.  She kept adding stuff to it -- lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and so forth.  When she was finally finished and sat down to eat it, she saw how big it had gotten and exclaimed, "I've created a monster!" 

I think that's what has happened to these stupid bricks.  I've created a monster. 

I was almost done.  So close I could taste the finish line.  Only, last night, I had an idea.  Whether it was a bright idea or a mistake remains to be seen.

And what was this idea I had?  Well, I'll tell you.  I got the idea that I would get my darker gray spray paint and paint my bricks with it.  Once it was dry, I'd go over the whole thing with my lighter gray brush on paint.  I was thinking this would layer the colors, and give more depth to my paint job.

Before I went to bed, I sprayed the darker gray, so it could dry well.  However, when I got up this morning and started painting with the lighter gray, it started beading up and rolling off.  I got very discouraged for a moment, thinking I had really messed up and would have to start completely over.

After backing away and catching my breath, I thought maybe I could get my belt sander out and just knock the paint off the surface of the bricks, and that would leave the darker paint in the textured parts.  That's kind of the look I was going for anyway.

I ended up having to sand it by hand, because I didn't have coarse enough sanding belts, but it didn't take too long to get it roughed up -- if you don't count the copious breaks I took.  Hey, it's my day off. 

I briefly considered just leaving it like this, but I didn't.  I put a coat of the lighter gray on it.  Oh, and I still have to paint the base.  I haven't even put one coat of the light gray on it.

I'm going to put another coat on it, probably tomorrow.  It's taking a long time to dry, because it's chilly and damp today.  It is turning out a little bit darker than I would have liked, but I think it'll be OK.

It'll have to be, because I'm not re-doing it.  After it dries for a week or so, I'm thinking of taking my sanding sponge and just very lightly scuffing the corners and edges, to give it a little bit of a distressed look.  Then I'm done with it.  No matter how it looks, I'm done.

Although, as I was typing that, I got the idea...what if I got some flat white paint and sponged over it?  Hmmm....That would lighten it up some, but the gray would still show through.  Something to consider...

Let me see what I've got out in the shop.

Remember I told you yesterday I'd gotten into some poison ivy?  Here is just one of about 5 patches of it.

This is the worst one, but not by much. 

Prime Time

Well, dang it!

I thought I was being careful yesterday when I was cleaning behind the fence.  I was trying to.  Trying to be oh, so careful, but I ended up covered in poison ivy anyway.  Sigh...I was going to get my herbicide out there today and spray it down really well, but I didn't get around to it.  Maybe I'll do it tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I'll just sit here and itch.  I have some ointment, but it doesn't seem to be working too well.  Frankly, when I get poison ivy, nothing works too well.  Yes, I'm that sensitive to it.  By the way, I once got the worst case of poison ivy Iv'e ever had through a long sleeved shirt. 

Let's talk about more pleasant things, shall we?  My bricks are all primed and ready to be painted.

Halfway through priming, I had a change of plans.  See, I was thinking that spray paint would get down into the grooves in the bricks better than brush on paint.  However, while I was priming, I saw that it wasn't working as well as I thought. 

I had to run to the store for some more primer, and on the way, I thought, "Let me just see what they have in the already mixed up, ready to use brush on paint."  Then I remembered, I have nearly a full gallon left from when I painted the trim in my living room.  It's even the right color. 

As soon as I got home from the store, I went out and got it from the shop, but by the time I'd finished priming, I decided I was done for the day.  I'm going to get it painted tomorrow, because Sunday morning, it is supposed to get down into the low 40s to upper 30s.  Perfect morning for a fire. 

While I'm at it, I might as well take that door down and get it sanded, primed, and painted, too.

Then my living room will finally be finished.

The next projects will be getting my mantle back up, and my shutters painted and hung.  After that, I'm taking a break from home renovation projects.  Oh, there's a lot left to do.  I'm just tired of doing it.

Also, I'm broke. 

So there is that...