Whew! Since we returned from our little mini-vacation a few days ago, I’ve felt like the proverbial lab rat on a treadmill going nowhere fast! Here’s a quick recap!
Wednesday was our last day in Hermann and while the sun wasn’t shining when we awoke, at least it wasn’t raining. The weather forecast looked favorable so we headed out from the trailhead at McKittrick going east to Treloar. Even though it has rained steadily for the past two days, the trail was quite accommodating to our road bikes and we had no problem riding at a good pace.
The trail was in excellent shape and being mid-week, we had the trail exclusively to ourselves most of the day. We hugged river bluffs to the north and the Missouri River to the south and so enjoyed just being out riding.
Lunch was at the Treloar Bar and since services are sparse on this area of the Katy, we were happy to encounter a place that was open with a friendly waitress and good food.
We returned to McKittrick and loaded up our bikes while wishing we could stay another day and ride more. Guess it’s proof that you always leave a reason to return and one of these days we hope to ride the Katy for the entire trail from Clinton to east of St. Charles.
Thursday began our latest episode of “Extreme Brown Home Makeover” with the “Living Room/Dining Room Edition”.
Sorry - this ugly carpet has already been sold!
We’ve moved all the living room furniture into the dining area so we pulled the living room carpet and padding along with particle board that had been placed over the sub-flooring.
I suggested we list the carpet and padding on craigslist.com and give it away. Burl insisted that no one appreciates the value of “free” any more and decided we should list it for $50. Once again, he was right! We had several calls and by yesterday afternoon, we had $50 in hand and the carpet and padding hauled away. Still have the particle board but can always donate it to the Habitat ReStore.
By Friday morning we were down to the sub-flooring and Burl decided as long as we had everything up, we may as well reinforce the floor joists.
Wow - sub-flooring and new black paper.
Since he had to go to work (i.e. he had a tee time!), he “allowed” me to use his power drill and taught me how to countersink the screws. I told some friends that I stayed home and screwed all morning while he played golf! And I did!
Friday afternoon the flooring was delivered and we were ready with clear places for all of it to go. I finished washing the walls and painting the crown molding and by Saturday I was ready to put the first coats of paint on the walls. One wall is a pale gray and will blend into the hallway that goes to the bedrooms. The other three walls will be RED!
Red Wall - in case you missed it.
So far I’ve only done one short wall and part of another one but I love the color. The jury is still out with Burl but he’s smart enough to keep quiet!
I put the second coats on tonight and will probably need to do another coat of red in the morning. I’ve also painted all the baseboards but Burl pulled them and has set up a paint station for me in the basement.
Tomorrow the real fun begins – we start laying floor as soon as Burl gets home from work! He assures me the living room with be done and furniture will be back in it by Thursday afternoon when Ralph and the girls arrive for a few days.
Then we’ll take a break, enjoy the weekend and our anniversary and finish the project which will include the dining room and the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
I’m already thinking I want a new look in the living room – only problem is, I don’t know what that look is yet. So guess I’ll move the old stuff back in there for now and then start a quest for some new pieces.
I know Burl is thinking “surely we’re done with this stuff now” but we’ll just be taking a break for the holidays and our winter vacation.
As soon as we’re back in the spring, the master bedroom and bath will not be safe from Makeover Madness. But Burl can relax – those rooms won’t require him laying flooring or installing plumbing or doing electrical work. It’s all stuff I can do.
Just to show we’re not all work and no play, we did take time today to ride the Goldwing to Branson with a group from the Shrine. We all participated in the first Toy Run of the year with a ride from Branson to Forsyth where we dropped off the toys with Santa and had lunch.
Is it really time to think about Christmas?
