Friday 9 May 2008

Friday!

How did it become Friday so fast?? It's bonkers. You can spend a week at work and it can feel like it lasts a century, but spend a week decorating and it flies by. Perhaps I should sack this librarian lark and become a painter and decorator instead.

Even though today sees the last official day of the holiday, it sadly doesn't indicate the end of the decorating. I've put one coat on the front of the evil louvered doors but still have to do a 2nd coat plus the backs of them. My arms and shoulders are aching from sanding plus glossing 4 evil louvered doors. I needs me a good massage. Or a hot bath, which is more likely to happen :o) From my vantage point of the living room, sitting on a plastic carrier bag in case I have paint on my arse, and back up against the squidgy beanbag, I can see the kitchen walls, and they look fabby. So I know it's been worth all the effort but wow it's been hard. I feel like I deserve a pat on the back but then feel like a bit of a wuss for saying that. Perhaps I should just get on with it and stop whining eh, much better.

To completely change the subject. I got a free magazine with my copy of heat this week and it was a bit tatty but hey I'll read anything during my lunch break. And I started reading about this website which described itself as like ebay. I personally call it just a tad scary. Hell seemingly do hath no fury like a woman scorned, or even their mother! Have any of you ever seen this before? And what I want to know is, would you?

xx

Thursday 8 May 2008

Standards, slipping

It's amazing, considering how meticulous I generally am about what I wear, that for the past 4 days I've been wearing the same paint covered vest and jeans. And I haven't washed my hair for days either. Turns out, it's quite easy to let your standards slip and be a total scruff bag when the only people who see you are your ma (whose kind of required to think you're fabulous) and other nearest and dearest (who have seen me in all manner of situations now so no need to put on a show). I don't think that I smell...at least no-one has told me I do anyway, so they're either being really polite or I in fact smell the same as ever, chuckle.

I have finally put 2 coats on both the bathroom and kitchen walls. I am absolutely hearting both of them and am so glad that I picked the colours that I did. Only the dreaded louvered doors to begin glossing now. So much for that day at the beach! But the whole reason for taking the week off was to decorate so decorate I shall.

Well apart from when I had to nip out to the shops just now. Don't worry my lovely readers, I hasten to add that I got changed into something resembling a fashionable outfit and my paint smeared hair is my new look; I think I rock it quite well. The orange clashes wonderfully with the red and the black. Anyhoo I drift away. I went looking for towels. Towels could not be found. Instead came home with cushions, baskets, sheets, a mop, an oven glove, a mosaic mirror and a duckboard for the bathroom. Sheesh. Not bad for a couple of hours. But oh it's horrible out there! It's hot so people are wearing nasteee outfits, and tempers are frazzled, drivers are making sudden moves without indication...wits were needed muchly just to make it home alive.

Which of course I did. So now I've stripped off to something cooler (skirt and vest), have got Jack Johnson on the stereo, windows open to educate the street in good music, and am about to start on one of my famous thrown together pasta dishes for dins. Yum.

Laters my friends x

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Music shopping

This always happens to me. I'll be doing something where I have the radio on and there are certain songs that will forever be remembered to be part of that job. The last time I was doing big decorating it was the weekend of Glastonbury and I had Radio 1 on all weekend and the songs that came out of there were just amazing.

As I mentioned yesterday I've been listening to the fabby Xfm via my lovely digital radio. Because they are all about the fantastic choons I've just been forced to go online and buy The Kooks, One Night Only, and Vampire Weekend. Damn that pesky radio and its fantastic playlist. But ooooh roll on the new cds arriving.

Quick decorating update: first coat of gorgeous Sienna in the kitchen...and all over Dizz too. It seems virtually impossible for me to do this painting lark without getting it all over my arms...and my legs (shorts)...and my chest too rather bizarrely. And tonight I put the second coat in the bathroom. So progress good. But I'm developing muscles that I didn't even know I had, but hey beats the gym!

Anyhoo Fizz has just arrived and since we don't see her much these days due to her travelling roadshow so will sign off now and enjoy a cuppa and a chat.

Later alligator xx

Tuesday 6 May 2008

Al fresco blogging

It's 1.05pm, I've finished the ceiling in the kitchen and am now sat in my yard enjoying yet another ham butty and a cheese scone. May seem like a lot but a gal's got to keep her energy up when she's painting up a storm.

May I say how incredibly fabby it is to be able to blog from my yard! Who'd have thunk it? My house might be falling down around my ears with its ever expanding cracks, mysterious hairy substance growing on the outer wall, and a crack that could split the house in half in the airing cupboard, but dang I can get a good signal for broadband! Mind you, both my phones are totally dead. And the microwave had to go to the recycling centre cos it broke. And my hairdryer only operates on the single temperature of scorching. Who really cares though when the sun is shining :o)

Had a bit of a moment earlier. I should explain. I really really hate painting ceilings. They totally stress me out. You're on top of a ladder all bent at funny angles, you can't see where you've been cos you're painting white on white, throw in the odd dizzy ooops nearly fell off the ladder moment there and you've got all the ingredients for a bit of an emotional Dizz. So I'm stood on the top of the ladder doing all of the above remembering my sis telling me last night that her hubby paints the ceilings cos she hates them, mind you he's like 6'4'' so probably just has to extend his arm and he's there. And I'm all like, oh woe is me where's my husband to paint the ceiling....sheesh. What's a girl to do? Well, I had a serious word with myself, danced along to a cracking good choon and carried on painting the effing ceiling. And now look. It's all done. And without any sniff of a husband. Yay! Husbands? Pah! Told you, it was a moment....

Have been enjoying the most fabby Xfm all day. They're basically dedicated to indie and alternative, the djs hardly chit-chat cos they're all about the choons, it's the BEST! I actually did almost fall off the ladder earlier as I strutted my stuff to The Wombats.

So there you have it. What a morning! It is literally so hot I have to go in and get suntan lotion. Woohoo, bring on the summer!

Laters xx

Monday 5 May 2008

The week in paint

I finished work on Friday to cries of delight as I was heading into a week's holiday. Then again, I am using said holiday to decorate my kitchen and bathroom so it's not really what you would call a holiday, more a kind of deco-day? Does that work...?

First things first: preparation. I started this on Sunday. Emptied out the kitchen, emptied out the bathroom. These two rooms now occupy most of the other rooms in the house. Then the cleaning. Boy. Tops of cupboards? Eeeek! Seriously, is there anyone out there who cleans such things regularly? But I have to admit I was kinda ashamed by how dirty they were. But now they're all lovely and clean and smell of bleach.

Well they did until I started glossing today. Now everything just smells of gloss. But it's all shiny white. Wavey came and helped me pull up my carpet in the kitchen as I am a girl all on her lonesome and my dad was busy and there was no way I was going to be able to lift up washing machines on my own. Turned out to be not as hard as I thought. Not for me anyway as I pretty much stood around and ate my ham butty whilst Wavey unplugged washing machines and fridges etc and lifted them whilst I pulled up carpets and avoided the spider webs that looked more like old lady hair. Yet again with the eek-ing. But no spiders. Weird. Where did they go? They must have heard I was going to be shifting their homes and have de-camped to nicer venues. I did make Wavey a cup of tea. And gave him half my Galaxy Ripple (almost half...) and then my ma appeared with Magnum Maya something or other's so he was well paid in food :o)

Glossing is now complete. Who knew the wood could be that white? Lovely. Tomorrow is the kitchen ceiling. And then start on the evil louvered doors from the bathroom cupboard. Much as I would love to be rid of these doors they kinda come with the cupboard so have to be done. They're currently green. And the bathroom is going to be blue so...gloss them too. It's gloss-tastic!

I'll post a few photos up once I've made some progress. But as everywhere currently looks like a bombsite I think I'll save the before images for just me and those nearest and dearest.

Oh wasn't today gorgeous? Sunshine! Hot sunshine. Lovely. I did briefly consider jacking it all in and just going to enjoy ice cold beer in the sunshine but I diligently stuck by my glossing instead, what a hero :o)

Laters xx