how is it already saturday and i haven’t created a post for last weekend?
(left) this is what mathew’s thursday night looked like. (right) this is friday morning.
(left) at first we’re always amazed by how great the plaster instantly looks after weeks of cracked plaster, plaster washers and mesh tape. and then we immediately forget how bad it used to look and we take it for granted as just another wall. remember all the hours spent chipping paint, steaming wall paper, attaching plaster washers, mesh tape and plaster weld paint? (right) mathew demonstrating how smooth and reflective this plaster is. he says this was the most satisfying wall in this room. or maybe he said it was the most satisfying wall of his entire plaster career.
(left) saturday, the last wall to plaster, it gave him some pain. even though i think he’s really skilled with the plaster, there’s still more to learn.
i visited my grandmother with my parents that afternoon. she has been in a really good mood lately. my mom thinks she’s happy about having decided she will live with us,… again. but i still wonder if she will change her mind,… again.
(right) picture rail i’m stripping by chipping the paint with a putty knife. i’ve found that this is the best way to preserve the trim with all of its victorian details. the heat gun seems to melt the details right off and chemical stripping is just plain gross and evil. i should take some close up photos so you can see what i’m staring at for hours at a time…
on sunday my parents came by to help. they’ve decided to devote their weekends to the house until it’s done. since they are both retired they say they can work hard for two days then rest for five. (left) my dad is removing all of the kitchen cabinet doors and labeling them so we know which ones go where. (right) my mom and i are putting one more coat of paint on the bathroom ceiling, walls and wainscotting. although we look like we’re just standing around talking…
(left) mathew’s sister eva dropped by to help too! she walked in sipping a fragrant mug of philz coffee (an extremely popular coffee shop nearby.) she has just moved back to california from minnesota. we’re happy to have her help and we’re happy to have her back in the bay area! here she is sanding the old vanity drawers that will be repainted and put back into the bathroom. (right) my dad happily cleaning dozens and dozens of kitchen cabinet doors, removing years of someone else’s cooking grease.
(left) when mathew wasn’t taking photos or managing all of our projects he was running up and down between the garage and bedroom to re-fit the window trim to the new window. (right) eva in the garage priming the vanity after sanding it.
(left) my mom sweeping up little bits of paint that i keep making as i chip away layers on the picture rail. (right) mathew’s window trim in place. it was a bit tricky because the new window is slightly different in size than the old one, so replacing the trim involved some piecing and extending. this trim has been paint stripped with a heat gun and will be sanded and painted again.
i’ll do my best to get this weekend’s post up before next weekend rolls around!
hope everyone is having a good summer.