Monday, April 13, 2020

When This is Over, Part 2

Let's talk projects.  Being around the house so much, I keep finding things that I'd like to do but can't because I'm not going to stores for unnecessary items.  Truth be told I'm not going inside stores at all - it's online ordering only for me.  However, I do have a list that I keep adding to, for when life returns to normal.  Or our new normal, whatever that may be.

There are some things that we could be doing, if we had the supplies.  One thing is resealing our granite kitchen countertops.  It's been about two years since we got them, and while they were sealed during the renovation and still, for the most part, have water bead up on them (something I recently learned is the need for sealing test) there are areas that could use some help, especially around the faucet.  But we don't have any sealer, dang it. 

Another thing we would like to do is to spray paint our mailbox black.  Currently it's in a state of white and rust.  It's in a stone structure that matches our house, except that now our front and garage doors are black, so when we repaint it, black will make it pop.  Plus we've ordered a new address dealie from the same company (Allied Medal Hangers) who has made our medal hangers.  They do custom orders and we thought it would be really cool - and yes we are shamelessly copying one that we saw during our walks up and down allllll the streets in our neighborhood.  Only ours will be powder-coated black, which, again, will pop against the white stone.  Plus it will be rust-proof.  I can't wait for the signs to arrive - we're getting one for each side of the mailbox since people approach from both sides thanks to the grassy area in the middle of our street.  But the project will be unfinished until we can paint the mailbox, dang it.

An easy project, if I had the materials, is to repot the plant I bought for our bedroom.  It's doing great, but the pot it came in is small and it dries out really fast.  I don't want to put it directly into the ceramic container because there's no drain hole, plus I'm paranoid about moisture getting onto our new dresser.  All I need is the next size up plastic pot from a garden center, which I probably could get for a buck (or even free).  Again, not going out means no bigger pot, dang it.
It's doing so well and is even growing a little taller!
There's plenty of room in the planter for a larger pot.  I just need to get my hands on one.

Replace the pendant light in the kitchen with a can light:
It's original to the house, which makes it 20 years old...and we still like it.
We kept it during the renovation because we had plans to put our little cafe table back in the same spot.  But after having the window unblocked by furniture for a few months, we ended up liking the open feel and ended up leaving it open.

While we are used to it being there, we really don't need a pendant light; plus it'll probably look better to have a can light, which are in the other part of the kitchen ceiling.  It will be more cohesive, as the decorators would say.  I looked online at lights but because our other lights are older, we will need to work at matching them, which means an in-person trip to the hardware store, and we all know that isn't happening at the moment.

I'm sure as this quarantine goes on, we'll discover more projects that we'd like to do.  Funny thing, when we have the freedom to live life normally, we tend to put most projects off.  But now, we're itching to get some things done.  Have you guys experienced the same phenomenon?  Let me know what you want to do when this is over...maybe I'll get even more ideas!

12 comments:

  1. Our lumber yards all have online ordering and curbside pick up, so I would suggest seeing if you can find somewhere doing that and place your order. You will feel so much better getting things done.

    If curbside not available
    On the pot, measure and see what you need and ask friends, someone probably has one sitting in their garage.

    Probably you can buy spray paint and counter resealer online.

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    1. I wondered if you can buy things like spray paint and sealer online - haven't checked, though. They ID you when you buy spray paint here in town, I guess to make sure you are old enough to not graffiti places?

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  2. I was just talking to friends yesterday who also had the itch to do a bunch of projects since they are home! You are not alone! Steven is working on projects and thinking about them year round, so we don't have that going on here (nothing has changed, is what I mean). He did run out of conduit and broke his scoring tool on Saturday though so some work is on hold until he can go to Menards.

    I am excited to see your new numbers for your mailbox! And I like that area open in your kitchen too. It's nice to just have open space!

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    1. Steven has had a huge project with your garage; too bad about the broken tool and missing conduit - will he go to Menards before the pandemic is over or wait it out?

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    2. He will go this week. He's hoping if he goes midweek, midday, it won't be as busy.

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  3. I have projects in mind...but my hubs is not listening, lol! I'll just keep living vicariously through you.

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  4. The only projects I have going on is quilting, rug hooking, embroidery, and knitting. Since its warming up, I might go out and work on the bird netting to cover the chicken coop. I did buy a new staple gun. Oh, and I did paint the front portion of my fence! I might continue that in the next few days.

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    1. What color did you paint your fence? I want to see! I'm sure you are the same *ahem* as me with having enough craft supplies to make it through the duration, LOL. I picked out some yarn for new projects today; shopping in my stash and looking at it with a new view was fun.

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  5. I want to get some fencing done in my backyard, plant 2 red bud trees, and get some milkweed for the monarchs. I’m also on Team Don’t Block The Windows.

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    1. I like that team name! Sounds like your yard will look nice once you are able to do the projects. We have red bud trees around here and I've been tempted to get one...but I'd have to figure out where to plant it among our gazillion oaks and smaller trees.

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  6. I see someone already suggested the online pick up for some of those ‘essential to home improvement’ items! It’s worth a try since you have the time to complete the work!

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