Zeo's Thoughts and Wanderings

Tomorrow, I will have a pile of ticked-off cats.

You see, this morning, the bedframe in our bedroom broke. It was on its way; three of the four casters had already split, and this morning, the leg that still had an unbroken caster buckled. So, to remedy this situation, we took the bed from the front bedroom, the "spare bedroom," and moved it into our bedroom. Once we did that, we also rearranged some, and in the rearranging, decided to keep the front bedroom closed off for now. Since we get, on average, one visit a year that requires the spare bedroom, keeping it a full-time guest room is really an inefficient use of space. We're planning on moving the television system in there, and making it our "entertainment room," possibly getting a fold-out couch in there for that one visit a year. The living room will become the computer/sitting room.

But anyway, as to why the cats will be ticked off. The front room was sort of "their" room. No one else was using it. And now, "their" bed is gone, and the room is closed to them. For one thing, they abused their privileges. It needs a serious top-to-toe cleaning. So now, both bedrooms are closed to the cats, and we closed off the garage, too. This leaves them living room, bathroom, kitchen...and the entire freaking backyard. But I can guarantee, we're going to hear at least one of them crying at the door tonight, trying to get into either the front room or our bedroom. And when that one's not allowed in, he or she (probably she) will take it out on the other three.

And that is why all four cats will be grumpy tomorrow.

It's been a year since Matt and I left NC for AZ. In that year:

--Matt started working at 2Wire
--I started as a supervisor at OfficeMax
--We removed the popcorn ceilings and nasty orange carpet from the house.
--We painted the kitchen, living room, entranceway, hallway, floor and guest bedroom.
--We replaced the thermostat with a digital, programmable one
--We bought 2 queen beds
--I found out I was gluten intolerant
--We replaced the locks on the house
--We replaced the dishwasher
--We had new cable drops put in to replace the cable coming in through the bathroom window
--We celebrated our third anniversary
--I became a baptised Jehovah's Witness
--Matt's mom came out and stayed with us for a month
--Matt and I had our first real vacation/first cruise
--I left OfficeMax for 2Wire
--I left 2Wire for AlphaGraphics
--My Dante-cat ripped out one of his back claws, requiring $300 worth of vet bills.
--We've had a total of seven flat tires and bought six new ones

All in all, we didn't get as much work on the house done as we wanted to, Matt hasn't progressed in his job as much as he wanted to, and we've spent a lot more on the vehicles than we wanted to. But, I'm now in a job I enjoy again (all the good things about the job at OMax with none of the negative aspects), we have plans set about the house next year, we've gotten a taste of vacation and enjoyed it, and we know we can sort-of handle houseguests.

Things to do before April (when we get our next houseguests):

--paint the master bedroom, closet, and two bathrooms (colors are now picked out)
--get a bedframe and new bedding for the master bedroom
--take down the shutters and put up curtains in the master bedroom
--get ceiling fans/lights installed in the bedrooms
--curtains in the guest bedroom
--finish pulling up the linoleum in the kitchen, paint the kitchen floor

If we can get at least that much accomplished by then, I'll be happy.

Things I would LIKE to have done by April, but probably won't happen:

--FLOORING!!
--moulding and trim in the guest bedroom
--new garage door (installed properly so it WORKS)

If we can at least get those done by the end of the year, I'll be happy.

When I was in high school or thereabouts, I started getting Pfaltzgraff dishes, in a pattern I chose then, Tea Rose. Currently, I have a setting for four, a tea kettle, and a few other miscellaneous odds-and-ends. But...I'm older now, in my own house, and the Tea Rose pattern, while still pretty, isn't my favorite. It doesn't match the plans we have for the house, and I've seen other patterns that both match the house better and are more my current style.

But Pfaltzgraff dishes are expensive. I'm not sure I could get enough out of selling what I have in order to get the same amount of what I want, especially since these aren't our everyday dishes (everyday dishes are Corelle, "Rosemarie" pattern). I didn't get to have a "real" bridal shower, just a "card shower," where we got money and gift cards that were put to use surviving those first two months in NC without work. And even if we had, I probably would have gotten more Tea Rose, not knowing we were moving into this house in AZ.

The practical side of my nature says, "Suck it up and deal with it, they're just plates; as long as they keep the food off the table, no one cares." But the girly side of my nature keeps saying, "But they don't MATCH! The kitchen/dining/living area is Southwestern in look! These plates are PINK! And we don't like pink!"

Even so, it's probably a moot point, as we won't be able to get dishes until we get the house done, and the house is on hold for the moment, until we can get the closing/opening bills paid off and have some extra money for primer and a long-poled roller so we can prime the ceilings.

Quick list of what we still need to do:
-sand ceilings where they were scraped
-prime ceilings
-paint ceilings and walls
-new garage door (this one is so jury-rigged it stopped working: two car garage, and
      both are in the driveway)
-get fireplace inspected, lined
-get air ducts cleaned
-get ac unit inspected, cleaned
-get swamp cooler working
-new floors
-um, furniture would be nice...sometime this decade

Then we move on to what we WANT to do: new appliances, new cabinets and counters in the kitchen, revamped bathroom, something with the front and back yards....

Yes, this is a project house, and we knew it when we moved in.

The ceiling is coming off the front room quite well.  But Matt thinks it's going to need primer before we paint it, though.  It's worth it, though.  I hate the popcorn textured ceilings.  My parents house has them, and I remember my parents complaining about how hard they are to paint and keep clean.  

Side thought, watching the video for "Call Me When You're Sober," reminds me that on MTS2, someone made a sim of the guy in the video, calling him "Wolfie."  But if you're going for the Red Riding Hood parallel, he'd be the Woodsman, and Red is instead choosing the wolf (I'm guessing, by the scenes of her sitting, petting wolves).  

Patch has more or less figured out the cat door.  The others, not so much.  If we stick a hand through from the side they're not on, they get it, but otherwise, they still claw at the door.  Matt was amused last night; Patch was out in the backyard, came in through the cat door, used the litterbox, and went back outside.  

My hands are scuzzy from cleaning the floor and wall.  Gonna go wash them, then think about making some sort of breakfast.  Hungry.

We spent $500 today at Lowe's. Paint for the living room, kitchen, hallway, and front bedroom. Seven cans, about $30 each. Painting accoutrements, such as brushes, rollers, trays, dropclothes, spackle, putty knife, etc. A stepladder. And we special ordered a new ceiling fan for the living room.

And my throat is killing me. Naptime before worktime.