Tuesday 30 March 2010

Getting It Done

I know, I know, I haven't been seen in blogland for a couple of weeks.
It's just that I've been busy.
Remember my last post, all about all the jobs I have on my TO DO list?
Well, I've been doin' 'em.
First, we moved all the furniture out of the bedrooms. I ripped up the ancient blue carpet and the underpad, hoping that the hardwood floor underneath was in good shape, but it's stained and damaged. Not totally unsalvageable, but not by me. New carpet will be going down soon.

The ceiling, previously pale yellow, is now white, and the blue walls have been primered, ready for painting.

And this room needed lots of attention, with special emphasis on the orange 1960s plush carpet.

I found a tile floor under the carpet.... not good enough to keep, so more carpet will be covering it. Again, a yellow ceiling is now white.

Why all the renovations? Because it's time.
The carpets have been there since dinosaurs walked the earth.
And I'm seriously thinking of making a move to a smaller house.
I'll keep you posted.

And now, on a completely unrelated topic, I saw a possum in my driveway yesterday! I've read that these animals are common in the southern States, but some sleepy possums have hitched rides on trains and trucks and have woken up in Southern Ontario, where they are increasing in numbers. They are North America's only marsupial, with the babies being carried in the mother's pouch until they are three months old. I've never seen one in my neighbourhood before.

13 comments:

  1. My, you are busy. You talk about the carpet being on the floor since dinosaurs walked the earth. I relate to that so well. I recently replaced my carpet upstairs with laminate flooring. The carpet in my bedroom had been there since building the house...a long time ago.

    Possums, oh my. They are interesting creatures, and, yes, we have them here in Florida. We used to "play possum" or pretend to be sleeping when we were not at all.

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  2. You are doing what I should be doing in my house. The carpet has been here since we bought the house in 1976 … do I have you beaten ? and the house was built in 1973 so it was already 3 years old. It is a lot of work, that is why we always think we’ll do it next month. But we have to do it soon. I am impressed by your stamina. And yes, we have plenty of possum around here (in GA), they come to my yard at night.

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  3. Busy, busy. I know the feeling! We're retired too, aren't we?

    Possums are native to Oz. We have them thumping over our roof every night. We put apples out on the banister and they are down in a flash nibbling on them. Are we talking the same animal?

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  4. We get a fair amount of possum in Massachusetts, a northeastern state. They're harmless, really, but some folks who aren't familiar with them think, upon first sight, that it's one of the world's largest rats :-)

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  5. It sounds like you're doing a lot of work...for someone else, Sham! But then, if it gives you a pretty penny for your house, it will be worth it, I'm sure. Take care and don't hurt yourself.

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  6. Wow! Sounds like you're doing a lot of renovation!
    Sounds that your house is beautiful! I would love to see a photo of it and of the garden too.

    Thanks for your nice comment on my bird post.

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  7. Dig that groovy carpet. bow chicka bow bow

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  8. wow, you have been a busy lady! Good for you, it looks great so far and I can't wait to see what it looks like when you've gotten everything checked off your list. We're going to replace the carpet at the hideaway, too. It's on the list. But we'll do all of the renovations 1st. you're motivating me to do an update on the bathroom remodel at the cabin, that's taking oh so very long...going into month 4, but worth it.
    Possums are abundant in California, too. The 1st time I saw one, it was a rainy night and it was peering into the house from a wall at eye level, with it's beady pink eyes, soggy and wet and it hissed at me. I do not like possums.
    When you come to San Francisco, you'll get a better tour than Flat Stanley got!

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  9. Busy, busy! Looking forward to seeing the changes.

    My sister started seeing possum about 20 years ago.. she's in Port Dover on Lake Erie. They began showing up where I am about 8 or 10 years ago. Sometime shortly after that, a young one decided to nap on my living room window ledge. He stayed there for the longest time. Somewhere I have a pre-digital days photo. They're cute in an ugly sort of way.

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  10. Quite a job you have undertaken but so wonderful when its done. Its amazing what a few coats of paint and new carpeting can do for the place and how you feel. Good for you.
    Our neighbors said they saw some possums in the backyard but I've only seen a few as roadkill.
    I think they are just too ugly and rat-like.

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  11. I can relate with the busy part. I love house renovations except for the part where I have to carry stuff in and out. Btw Happy Easter to you and to your family!

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  12. Renovations are a good thing! keeps things nice and fresh. Things look brighter and cheerier.

    we had a possum living in our back garden for quite some time (her natural habitat was destroyed by new McMansion construction nearby-- a huge woodland with a babbling brook was destroyed! ) for months after the bulldozing we saw turtles and all sorts of transient wildlife take refuge in our weedy wild garden for awhile. They may have felt safe since we have a tall fence ( with plenty of critter holes in it and tunnels under it ) but still...

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  13. Our pending visit down under has my Mom doing similar work to the hacienda.

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