Sunday, August 29, 2010

New Identities

This is a three bedroom house, but I can only sleep in room one at a time. The upshot is the two extra bedrooms take on new roles.

Now that Reyes is in Texas, the west bedroom has become the Library. I gave the bed he used to his sister and moved most of the bookcases into the room. I would like to add a comfortable chair that converts to a twin bed. That would allow the room to still be the spare bedroom. I am still looking for the chair I want.

My original idea was to move the roll-top desk into the Library as well. Unfortunately, the desk is too wide for the door. The desk now resides in the living room. I'm starting to like it there.

The south bedroom was going to be part of the kitchen expansion. That won't be happening now. Ah! But that means I can have a sewing room! I am using the Honduran mahogany table set that came from Mama Gladys. She and Papa Blanton had the set custom made from lumber he salvaged when he worked for Chiquita Bananas in Honduras in the 1940s. (That story is a full blog in itself!)

The large section that seats four will be the cutting table. The two expansion tables that butt against the bigger table will be used to hold the sewing machine and serger. I love the versatility of this table set. We have managed to get 12-16 people around it for big family dinners. Now it has an everyday use as well.

And yes, finishing the sheet rock in this room is on the agenda. One of the last things I'll do for the house is rent a sander and refinish floors in all three bedrooms.

I see more furniture refinishing in the future as well. I refinished this set when we inherited it after Mama G. died, but that was nearly 20 years ago. It's about time to do it again.

No Lion, Witch or Wardrobe

My grandson Reyes was my foster son for most of 2009. (He now lives with his father.) Reyes used the west bedroom, which was my bedroom when I was a kid.

That bedroom has never had a closet. When this house was built in 1903, people used pieces of furniture called "wardrobes" for closets. The wardrobe that was in my room in the 1960s was a cardboard invention from World War II. It wasn't too sturdy and didn't hold much. I could get everything I owned in it. That sure wouldn't happen today!

When Reyes took the room, I asked my son, Joe, to build Reyes something to hold his clothes. Joe says he cobbled this together out of 2x4s. It's just temporary. Typical of Joe, this "temporary" solution will last for years.

I plan to stain and varnish it to match the new woodwork (when I get woodwork.)

BACK AT IT!


The divorce is final; the dust has settled and I've gotten on with my life. This summer I've continued the never ending saga of weeding three houses worth of stuff to fit one small bungalow. No matter how much I throw away, there is still TOO MUCH STUFF! (Hm.. I got rid of one husband. Does that count for housecleaning??)

The good news is I have emptied the garage enough that both cars can now be parked inside at the same time! (what a concept.) :)

I had wanted to wait until it was time to install the hardwood floors before I put flooring in the living room. Since I can't predict when that will be, I've opted for Plan B. As you can tell from the first photo, our painted floor held up pretty well for three years, but the paint is wearing off. I could repaint it, but I want a more long-term solution. I chose self-stick tile.

I started putting down self-stick tile at the beginning of August. It is half finished now and looking really good. I need to make another trip to Home Depot for more tile, then the entire living room will be done! Done! Wow!!! I will be able to mop and not leave shreds of mop fibers caught to the particle board.

It's the little things that make me happy.