Sick Of Bricks

The weirdest thing happened to me last night.  See, I've been working on these fireplace bricks off and on all weekend.  Last night, I was laying in bed, thinking about how I was going to start stripping the base today.  You know how you can kind of see things in your mind?  I was seeing that corner of the room, and Squeaky walked through the doorway and went towards the kitchen.

Sigh, I miss my kitty.

Just one thing, I'm not one to anthropomorphize my animals.  I don't believe it was her "spirit" coming back to comfort me.  It was all in my mind.  My subconscious was wishing she were still here.  That's all.

Now, about those bricks, I'm about sick of 'em, I'm tellin' ya.  I think that paint is multiplying while I'm not looking.  Seems the more I scrub off, the more there is.  I am so ready to be finished with this project.

I don't know how well you can see, but if you look on the right side of this photo,  those things that look like hairs, that's the paint peeling out from those grooves in the bricks.  Getting all those off is what is taking so long. 

I've wondered would it look so bad if I just left them, and called it a design element.  But no, after all this effort, I want to do the job right.  I am making progress, just not as quickly as I'd hoped.  I'd wanted to get finished this weekend, but I'm not there yet.  That back corner is proving to be a problem, because it's so hard to reach.  I can't reach it with my right hand because of the angle, and I can't get good leverage with my left hand.

I have gotten to the point where I've started stripping the base.

I'm starting to think they used some sort of steel infused paint.  It took three applications of stripper and about 30 minutes with the wire brush to get these bricks this clean.  The good news is, once I get that top layer off-- you know, the one that's peeling off in large rubbery chunks -- it gets much easier to do the three underneath layers.  Yes, I said three.  Two white layers, then a black layer, then another white layer.  THAT'S why it's taking so long, and using so much stripper.

Like I said, I'll be so glad when it's over and done. 

You know, I'm starting to wonder if this whole thing was another DIY job.  It just doesn't seem like it was done by a professional bricklayer.  If you could see it in person, you'd know what I meant.

Anyway, let's talk about something a little more fun:  knitting.  I finished another hat for my friend's blessing bags, getting a head start on next year.

I started my sister in law's hat.

I'm simulating bulky weight by knitting with two strands, using a size 10 needle for the ribbing.  I'm going to do the body in size 11s, but I don't have any.  I had to order some from Knit Picks.  While I was there, I ordered some more bulky weight yarn.

It was on clearance.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.