Ben and Natalie's Latest News

Some of you have heard directly from Ben, but for those who haven't - The sale of their house is complete. There were some surprises and somewhat less profit than originally expected, but it is sold. They will leave Idaho early on Friday Sept. 7 and hope to be here late on the 8th.

Progress

The bathroom is all finished. The halls and living room are painted. The paint is so strange. I picked a color that goes with the sofas. It is a beige with some green in it. The trim color is the lightest shade on the same paint card. It looks cream but obviously has some green in it too. Now that it is on the walls and trim, it changes color depending on what time of day it is and what kind of light is on it. It goes from sage green to khaki to cream. It is so interesting to see what the light does to it. I think I like it, but after I live with it a while I will know better. This week we will finish cleaning out the office and paint it.

Yesterday Andrew came over and did what he has wanted to do for at least 4 years. He wiped the old computer clean - after transferring everything I need to my laptop. It was getting so that I was afraid it was going to lock up one day and not allow me back in, so for now I will use my laptop. I was mostly doing that already and just using the old computer as a storage place. I can hardly wait for my new NEAT, CLEAN office. Andrew has plans for parts of the old computer, and I have the keyboard and monitor if I ever want to use them with the laptop.

I am in the middle of cleaning out the office. A lot of it is in boxes all over the house, so there is still a lot of clutter to deal with. I am cleaning out file cabinets so I can get rid of at least one of them. I want a neat uncluttered office. I don't know how long I will be able to keep it neat, but I am looking forward to finding out.

Translation Appreciated

Thanks to Heather for the translation of "Woot". You remember in the Book of Mormon they had to take the scriptures with them so their language wouldn't be corrupted. I wonder what the English language will be like in 100 years or so after the accumulated effects of text messaging and chat shortcuts. I wonder if we would recognize it.

To change the subject, the painting is moving along. Jerry has started painting the hall, living room and office. It will take a while because the wood is 30 years old and very dry. It really sucks up the paint. The hall is much brighter already with only one coat of paint.

One Project Done

The bathroom remodel is all finished. I tried to make pictures to post, but the room defies being photographed. You can't get far enough away to get more than a small picture of anything. I did get one of the new cabinet. I finally found a nice one at K Mart and I am very happy with it. You will all just have to come see the rest.

The painting of the hallways and the living room has started. The walls are so dried out that it is soaking up a lot of paint. It took a gallon to do the 2 little halls and bedroom doors with only a first coat. This may take a few days...

XM Success

I finally have the XM working again. I found an audio place in Murfreesboro to sort out the problem and solve it. It took the installation of an fm booster module. Evidently about 6 months ago the FCC told XM and Sirius that they were sending too strong a signal, so they were forced to reduce it on all the new radios built after that time. My new radio was one of those. So to get the signal strong enough now to get to the speakers it requires a booster. It sounds like a ridiculous story, but it did solve the problem. I am just happy to have it working again, and my new radio has a little remote. Isn't that cool? I think Bryan has a remote for his Sirius. I am so spoiled, but I really like being able to listen to what I want.

I'll be able to send pictures of the new and improved bathroom pretty soon. The shower is in, most of the painting is done, the flooring is down on the newly exposed part of the floor. Still have to paint the ceiling, put up the additional border, add some molding and paint it, and rehang a towel rack. I think I found the storage cabinet I want, but I have to go see if I can find one. It is at Target and I haven't had very good luck having furniture type stuff shipped from them. Too much damage. However, the website said this piece should be in the local stores, so we will see. I think Jerry should be done with the rest of the construction and painting tomorrow or Friday at the latest.

Hooray!!

I am so excited to hear that Ben and Natalie are coming home. I really would like to get my house finished before they get here, but we'll see. Today the rest of the bathroom is going in. It will be so nice to have floors that aren't falling in or letting ants in...not to mention it will be pretty. I have worked some on cleaning out the office, but it will take days! I think if I can fill a trashcan and a box a day maybe I'll get it done. Ben and Nat have a bigger challenge. They have to sort and pack their whole house.

Dealing with Something Ugly

I am happy to report that the ugly bathtub in the guest bathroom has left the building! It was not a second too soon. (Yes, Andrew, it's what I am doing next.) The whole floor under the tub was rotted out and serving as a nest for ants and who knows what else. We also got out some mold and mildew. Maybe that will help Lisa and Natalie breathe better when they are here.

The earlier bathroom remodel took care of
half of the room and this will do the other half. I don't even feel I'm being extravagant with this one. There was a big hole in the floor under the tub not to mention the mold issues. It was a project that needed to be done for health reasons. I don't know how soon it will all be finished because some plumbing will be rerouted, but Lowes has everything we need in stock. That will help. We have to replace part of the walls, too. I had suspected that tub was leaking around the edges but I couldn't convince Dad of it.

I have also started cleaning out the office. Ugh! What a job! Yesterday we finally got the big metal desk out. One desk down and two to go. I will need a really big trash can for this project. So now you can tell I will have a lot to keep me busy for a while. I am anxious to get the office cleaned out so we can finish painting. I still want to paint the hall, living room and office. Then I hope I can sit back and just enjoy for a while.

More XM problems

I found a new XM radio for a very reasonable price at Walmart. Jerry helped me install it. It is getting power and a signal from XM. The only problem is that it is not letting the sound come through the speakers. Anyone know a place that installs audio equipment you didn't buy from them?