Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

The bathroom is almost done! Now all that’s left are details and we could work on those for ages. Yesterday, Kevin again gave us his valuable help and came over to install the sink and toilet. What should have been a simple task got completely out of hand. The sink pipe was crumbling so Steve and Kevin had to go buy a new one before it could be installed. They came back with the wrong size. Then, discovered they needed a flexible pipe to get it hooked up correctly. Today we have the toilet, but not the sink. Steve has to go to Lowe’s and get the final piece. Next up, finishing the closet. I spend a couple of hours patching holes and cracks. I finally decided it would never be perfect and to just get it as nice as possible. I need to repatch the holes (the plaster cracked) and then sand and paint before installing the shelves. I hope we’re finished by this weekend!

Here’s how things look right now:

Here’s the inside of the closet that still needs painting:

Tiling is underway at the Kirks household! Here are some pics of the progress:

Here’s the floor when we were scraping off the old vinyl:

Here’s the floor after we ripped up the subfloor:

Here’s Kevin, our handyman extraordinnaire. Isn’t he a catch? Too bad he’s taken! Them overalls is sexy, baby!

Here’s the floor halfway through the tiling:

Here’s an example of a huge hole I need to fix in the closet. Also note the lovely large crack running down the corner. Ah, the joys of owning an older home!

Life is almost normal here. The electricity is on, the phone line is back and I’m full of antibiotics. I did make it to class yesterday and today and, except for a terrible cough, am feeling pretty good. My first night of welding was interesting to say the least. Soldering I understand. Fusing, no problem. Welding…well that’s another beast. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say I’m one of the slow learners. The class is mainly middle-aged men and young men looking to work in the industry. There is another woman besides Sarah and me, but she doesn’t seem outwardly friendly. After class, a couple of the guys were chatting with us about problems they had. Seems like everyone had their share so I didn’t feel too alone. Hey, if I start out this bad, I can only get better!

Now it’s time to finish that pesky bathroom floor we started. This should be a good weekend for it. No ice storm has been predicted so I don’t think we can blame acts of God if it doesn’t get done. Tomorrow, I’ll post pics of the first round of bathroom fun.

Now I’m really in a bad mood. My power is up, my cable is back (phone’s still dead, but I can deal with that), the house is warm but where am I? I’m still at Duane and Prudy’s because I woke up this morning so sick I couldn’t move. My joints ache, my head feels like it’s going to explode and my sinuses are a mess. Dammit! I’m supposed to be at school today. I should be in my newly warm house right now basking in the joys of electricity. The good news is that I called my professor, Sarah, and she reserved my locker for me and signed me up for my monitor hours. So calling in sick did allow me first choice at monitor hours. I guess that’s one good thing about all this.

Maybe after a day of rest, juice and water I’ll feel better. I can’t be sick for my first welding class tomorrow night!

That’s how long we were without electricity. Things finally came on early this evening while we were eating dinner at Duane and Prudy’s. We’re staying here tonight while the house warms up. We checked on the kitties and they are fine. I think they’ve been much happier since we took them home even though it was cold and dark.

Tomorrow I start my class at MSU and Tuesday I start my welding course at OTC. We also still have a torn up bathroom. Still, we have electricity! Despite my oncoming cold, a disaster of a house, and a busy week ahead of us, I feel better than I have in days. Thanks to everyone who called to check on us, took us to dinner, gave us a place to sleep and shower, and just loved us when things looked really grim.

In times of disaster, never ask if it will get worse. Believe me, it can and it has. Today, on day #9 without power, we lost power at Paul’s house as well. My nerves are shattered. Thankfully, we have a warm bed at Duane and Prudy’s for as long as we need it. Their accomodations are like a five star hotel. We have an incredibly comfortable bed, our own flat screen TV in the bedroom, our own bathroom and the entire downstairs to ourselves. Which is where the bar is. Coincidence? Karma? Yes. While I’m eternally grateful for their friendship, love and warm accomodations, I miss my house and my kitties. I feel like nothing will ever get back to the same even though I know it will.

The day started with so much hope. The cable guys were in our neighborhood and hooked up our cable (gee, if only we had electricity). I saw some tree trimming trucks and there were rumors of spotting City Utilities trucks as well. Alas, nothing has progressed. Now I think I’m getting sick on top of it all. Yep, I’m depressed.

The fun continues (note dripping sarcasm). We’re on day 6 of no electricity and we’re still living in Paul’s empty house, although it’s not really empty right now. The temp dropped to 29˚ in our house and the cats had to be moved. They are in our “bedroom” and have adapted well. Paul, if you’re reading this, I can assure you they are not causing any harm to your house. I reached my breaking point on Tuesday night while we were moving the cats. I burst into tears and Steve shooed me out of the house with Tidbit in a duffle bag while he attempted to corral Littles. I cried all the way back to Paul’s and continued for several minutes until I calmed down a bit. That night, we got no sleep as the cats were freaked out by the move and kept jumping on us and crying. Last night was better, except for Littles who wanted constant attention. Today is another day. I don’t hold out much hope for electricity, but who knows. I am extremely grateful for a warm house, safe cats and a daily shower. I have so much more than many people around me.

Observations on life without electricity:

• Sometimes all you really need is love. The support of family and friends has been amazing. The calmness of Steve has kept me sane.

• A warm house and an comfortable bed can cure some degree of depression.

• While I adore an extensive wardrobe, I really can live with only 2 pair of jeans. However, I don’t think I’ll be purging my closet too soon.

• I miss TV and the Internet.

• A shoulder to cry on is invaluable to my sanity.

• Emergency situations bring out my creativity.

• Living without real furniture is a drag.

• The best money I ever spent was $40 on a really good inflatable bed and $40 on a battery-powered radio that also gets TV reception.

Still no power at our house, but we’re so fortunate to have access to neighbor Paul Boulifard’s empty home. Little did he know last week, when he packed up his moving truck and left an extra key with us, that he’d end up being our saviour. We’ve spent three nights here and are figuring we’ll have to stay the week. Mick and Carrie, another neighbor couple, are our roomies through the whole thing. Luckily, we all seem to get along.

Yesterday, Steve, Carrie and I drove to Branson so Steve could visit his company’s home office. Carrie and I indulged in some retail therapy at the outlet mall where I scored a new inflatable bed at the Coleman outlet. It was the best $40 I’ve ever spent. Steve said it was much better and his neck didn’t hurt this morning. I figure it’s cheaper than a hotel and we can always use it for our nieces when they visit.

Today, Steve and Eric (another neighbor) are going to attempt to cut down the branches that are blocking our driveway. Eric called an electrician friend who is going to look at our houses to make sure nothing was damaged on the outside. City Utilities is recommending that so, when power is restored, all will reconnect smoothly. Everyone is working together and helping each other. It’s comforting to have friends and neighbors coming together to help. This is how things should be. Hope all is well with everyone reading this post. I’ll write more when I have a chance.

Oh, as of last night at 7 p.m., our house temperature was 41 degrees. The cats are not happy.

Well, things here have taken a turn for the weird. Friday, as you may recall, we were in the midst of ripping out the bathroom floor to tile it. Plans were to get it mostly done this weekend. Well, Mother Nature had other ideas. See Steve’s weblog for a detailed summary of the ice storm of 2007. Now we have no electricity, no bathroom and no way to finish the project any time soon. Luckily, our neighbor Paul has electricity and we have access to his house. Right now we’ve set up camp here and are likely to remain until power is restored to our house which could be up to a week. I just hope we don’t lose power here. Forecasters are calling for another inch of ice today and tonight and temps won’t get out of the 20s until later in the week. I’m just glad I have a place to stay, a bathroom to use, and a sane husband who understands me when I start crying.

Last night we removed the trim and the door frame on the closet in the bathroom (look for pics later). What a mess. I did discover that using a crowbar is fun! What power! Things actually went pretty fast and the decorative painting on the walls was kept mostly intact. Now I just have to decide what in the world I’m going to do with the closet. The plaster walls are a mess. Now I remember why we shoved a dresser unit in there rather than dealing with the walls. I think we’ll have to install new drywall to the sides before we can put in shelves.

This is like the Energizer bunny. It just keeps going and going and going. Tonight we’ll hopefully install the new subflooring piece so the backerboard can be done tomorrow. With any luck, we can have this tile laid late on Saturday.