Day 4: On the evening of day 4, last Monday, Eddie and I finished cleaning the basement. Well, finished for now. We left a handful of hallway cabinets to be cleaned, but really, under a technicality they're in the hallway leading to the basement, not actually in the basement, so the basement is D-O-N-E (being cleaned). The vintage GE refrigerator was delivered with the help of Eddie's workmate, Greg. It is a beauty!

Day 5: Lani came over, and after some delicious Pho, the three of us got to work. Lani and I began scrubbing the walls on the main floor, while Eddie got to work in the "Master" bedroom (pretty tiny to be a Master, but it does have the most awesome closet, so Master it shall be). We scrubbed, rinsed, and wiped the walls until nearly midnight, then I returned Lani home to Emily's house.



Day 6: Tidied up a bit, continued to prep the Master bedroom, brought home a gas stove and the bowling alley lane, both from Craigslist. Geoffrey helped us unload and truck-in both finds. We're going to use the bowling lane to make our main-floor kitchen countertops.

Day 7: Rich and Eddie showed the Master bedroom wall paper who was boss. Wall paper: 0, Eddie & Rich: 1. I pulled a strip or two, but primarily prepped the the bedroom closet for painting, and spackle the holes in the living/dining room walls. Per Lani's advice, we saved a strip of wall paper to make something out of it, in memory of Zara, the former homeowner. Zara lived in the house nearly her whole life. It was her parent's house before it was hers. She passed away this past March at age 94. R.I.P. Zara, we love your home and will take very good care of it.

Day 8: Let the painting commence! With Lani, some snacks, some ELO and some adult beverages, we prepped the heck out of our living room and Master bedroom. It took a good four or five hours to do, but was rather enjoyable. Thankfully Molly and Geoffrey lent us the mother of all inventions--an electric paint sprayer, so we were able to prime both rooms in about 45 minutes! On the evening of Day 8 we had our first impromptu get together. Laura, Sam & their pup, Cuba, joined the three of us, plus Geoffrey and Arthur, and then later, Emily and Matt (another friend in town from Phoenix) for a game of Apples to Apples, and some pizza. Turns out most were feeling pretty literal, so I didn't do so hot.

Day 9: After some much welcomed Acupuncture with Lani & Kim, I met Eddie, Rich and Itzo EZ at the house to paint trim. By the time I arrived, Eddie had already painted the living room and Master bedroom with the first coat of the real colors: Gold Metal (bedroom) and Mexican Spirit (living room)! Ez and I painted trim and picture rail, while Eddie and Rich sprayed the day away. We listened to our wedding playlist, to which every song I squealed "ooooh, I love this song!" Ez and Rich left in the early evening and Eddie and I continued painting trim and the closet until 1 or so in a.m., when we finally ripped up the bedroom carpet, high-fived and headed back to M&G's house.

Day 10: Eddie and I painted all day. Cherry Lipsmacker came by for a bit and helped with the trim; it was really nice to see her (and EZ the day before), as I haven't seen many derby folks since our last game in June. She filled me in on injuries and her critters, which include three chickens and a sick kitty. Eddie and I took a break for take-out from the Delta. It was delicious, as was the view of the night sky from our backyard. We took some time to enjoy the view, the smells, the feel of the air, and then got back to work until midnight, when we closed out the day by pulling up the carpet in the living room! Yeeeehaw!!

Day 11: Wood floors, how you warm my heart.

Another week's past at Parker Manor, a week filled with scrubbing, mopping, scrapping, removing, ripping, prying, hammering, spackle-ing, sanding, prepping and painting. We've finally pulled up the carpet to discover beautiful Oak wood floors.