I woke to be greeted with a trillion paint flecks littered across the entire surface of our floor today. And there was a film of powdery paint covering over that. And then there were the white streaks and swirls from the water that had dried up after yesterday's hand mopping. Poor Fab. All his cleaning efforts. So I grabbed a bucket and a wet cloth and set down to work on hands and knees, scrubbing away at the little dots of paint and wiping away the streaks, swirls and milky paint layer. I worked at the same area over and over and just with that tiny fraction of floor, collected a couple of buckets of murky grey-white water. And I discovered an ant infestation so tackled that too. So it was murky grey-white water with ants floating and sinking and swimming about.
I proceeded to attack another patch of floor and then another, scrubbing, wiping away, changing the water, wiping away some more. Finally, I stood up, took a step back and tilted my head to see the floor at an angle where the sun's light would reflect my performance. Turns out I had made little progress even after removing buckets of dirt and paint. It was hard to work out at that point which I wanted to do more - scream, curse the floor, cry or throw a hissy fit and give up. I settled for muttering under my breath, whinging to myself and more scrubbing and wiping. A couple of hours I had spent. Might as well get the job done. Have to admit I was pretty mad at that point though.
My neck has been so sore since this morning. Trouble with me is I hold a lot of tension around my neck and shoulders. Can't seem to do much about it. I think I'm relaxing but at the next minute I'll catch myself being all tense again. Doesn't help when I'm focused on something like at work. Even worse when my head is continually in a bent down position like with reading and all the paperwork I handle at the office or in a raised position like with yesterday's paint job as I was balancing on the ladder with container of paint in one hand and brush in the other, meticulously painting the skirting. And let's just face it. I can be quite pedantic. A little bit of a perfectionist in some areas. I kept going over my painting too, just to make sure it was smooth enough and white enough and even enough and oh my gosh I was driving myself absolutely potty. No wonder I couldn't get much fun out of it.
I think painting walls with a big brush could be fun though. I'm already envisioning putting a coat of fresh paint on our slightly damaged walls. Have to get Fab to fix up the holes and scrapes first.Was actually just going to hang things up to cover them. When we bought this place, other people had lived in it and there was another tenant before we moved in so parts of the house had probably seen better days. Main thing was the carpet and the hideous lights and rather broken and ornate ceiling fans. The carpet really had to go. Not just because it was an ugly dirty blue or bad fraying material but it had burn marks and holes and parts of it were barely able to stick to the floor anymore. There were shreds of it dangling around, thread coming loose. I don't even want to think about what the stains were made of or how much muck it contained. It just had to go. Since putting in wooden floor boards and neat little down lights we bought at a huge discount warehouse, the place has felt more like home. I love it. Actually I can live with the walls as they are but since we started this ceiling project, my mind has wandered to picture the walls looking spanking new too. Fab really has done a brilliant job with the ceiling and to be honest, I didn't do too badly myself. Was admiring the skirting earlier.
Anyhow, Fab went out and got a couple of new sponges that attach themselves to the mop stick that offers the function of squeezing out the water from the sponge as you push on the outer connecting tube. So after lunch and a meeting we had with a friend regarding some Church administration and planning, I resumed my mopping, this time with the sponge-stick contraption. Still had to go over it a few times and rinse out the sponge and change the water to get the desired effect. Now my dining and living areas are somewhat back to normal. The kitchen is pretty much at an acceptable standard but there are other areas to battle. Plus now the whole downstairs area is in shambles as Fab has been painting there. He's back there now as our friend has gone home. I'm taking a break from my mopping as I pulled a muscle around the neck region and want to give it a bit of a rest before I continue. Plus it is a bit of a strain on my lower back attempting to get the floor nice and sparkly. It'll never be perfect and that's fine. Just want to get it as clean as I possibly can. Thank you Suki for helping us with some touch-up painting after our discussion! You're welcome here any time. No, not just to paint.
Sigh. Break ends Monday. Was certainly great while it lasted. We spent time with friends; had other friends over for Christmas dinner so cooked up a storm; watched videos, some good and some we wouldn't recommend to others; went fishing with friends, where I lost my beloved hat (the wind blew it off my head so quickly I couldn't save it. I bought it in Phuket on our honeymoon); got my car serviced; finished reading two books I had started some time earlier; got good sleep; swam; drove down to Coolangatta with friends to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks; got presents to send to family. I wish it could go on for a bit longer. In serious denial about having to hear the alarm clock again and rush out to meet peak hour traffic and sit at a desk with routine administrative work. But thank God we are whole and have jobs and this home and a great life with family and friends who spur us to know God more!
Sunday update: After more scrubbing last night, the floor is decent. I can see slight streaks left by the mop but it's enough. I am done. My body is aching badly. I'm going to focus on other things. Thank God the laundry will be done and everything can start afresh tomorrow.
I proceeded to attack another patch of floor and then another, scrubbing, wiping away, changing the water, wiping away some more. Finally, I stood up, took a step back and tilted my head to see the floor at an angle where the sun's light would reflect my performance. Turns out I had made little progress even after removing buckets of dirt and paint. It was hard to work out at that point which I wanted to do more - scream, curse the floor, cry or throw a hissy fit and give up. I settled for muttering under my breath, whinging to myself and more scrubbing and wiping. A couple of hours I had spent. Might as well get the job done. Have to admit I was pretty mad at that point though.
My neck has been so sore since this morning. Trouble with me is I hold a lot of tension around my neck and shoulders. Can't seem to do much about it. I think I'm relaxing but at the next minute I'll catch myself being all tense again. Doesn't help when I'm focused on something like at work. Even worse when my head is continually in a bent down position like with reading and all the paperwork I handle at the office or in a raised position like with yesterday's paint job as I was balancing on the ladder with container of paint in one hand and brush in the other, meticulously painting the skirting. And let's just face it. I can be quite pedantic. A little bit of a perfectionist in some areas. I kept going over my painting too, just to make sure it was smooth enough and white enough and even enough and oh my gosh I was driving myself absolutely potty. No wonder I couldn't get much fun out of it.
I think painting walls with a big brush could be fun though. I'm already envisioning putting a coat of fresh paint on our slightly damaged walls. Have to get Fab to fix up the holes and scrapes first.Was actually just going to hang things up to cover them. When we bought this place, other people had lived in it and there was another tenant before we moved in so parts of the house had probably seen better days. Main thing was the carpet and the hideous lights and rather broken and ornate ceiling fans. The carpet really had to go. Not just because it was an ugly dirty blue or bad fraying material but it had burn marks and holes and parts of it were barely able to stick to the floor anymore. There were shreds of it dangling around, thread coming loose. I don't even want to think about what the stains were made of or how much muck it contained. It just had to go. Since putting in wooden floor boards and neat little down lights we bought at a huge discount warehouse, the place has felt more like home. I love it. Actually I can live with the walls as they are but since we started this ceiling project, my mind has wandered to picture the walls looking spanking new too. Fab really has done a brilliant job with the ceiling and to be honest, I didn't do too badly myself. Was admiring the skirting earlier.
Anyhow, Fab went out and got a couple of new sponges that attach themselves to the mop stick that offers the function of squeezing out the water from the sponge as you push on the outer connecting tube. So after lunch and a meeting we had with a friend regarding some Church administration and planning, I resumed my mopping, this time with the sponge-stick contraption. Still had to go over it a few times and rinse out the sponge and change the water to get the desired effect. Now my dining and living areas are somewhat back to normal. The kitchen is pretty much at an acceptable standard but there are other areas to battle. Plus now the whole downstairs area is in shambles as Fab has been painting there. He's back there now as our friend has gone home. I'm taking a break from my mopping as I pulled a muscle around the neck region and want to give it a bit of a rest before I continue. Plus it is a bit of a strain on my lower back attempting to get the floor nice and sparkly. It'll never be perfect and that's fine. Just want to get it as clean as I possibly can. Thank you Suki for helping us with some touch-up painting after our discussion! You're welcome here any time. No, not just to paint.
Sigh. Break ends Monday. Was certainly great while it lasted. We spent time with friends; had other friends over for Christmas dinner so cooked up a storm; watched videos, some good and some we wouldn't recommend to others; went fishing with friends, where I lost my beloved hat (the wind blew it off my head so quickly I couldn't save it. I bought it in Phuket on our honeymoon); got my car serviced; finished reading two books I had started some time earlier; got good sleep; swam; drove down to Coolangatta with friends to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks; got presents to send to family. I wish it could go on for a bit longer. In serious denial about having to hear the alarm clock again and rush out to meet peak hour traffic and sit at a desk with routine administrative work. But thank God we are whole and have jobs and this home and a great life with family and friends who spur us to know God more!
Sunday update: After more scrubbing last night, the floor is decent. I can see slight streaks left by the mop but it's enough. I am done. My body is aching badly. I'm going to focus on other things. Thank God the laundry will be done and everything can start afresh tomorrow.
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