You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round

Today, I got a new dryer. It was a very exciting day, despite the fact that the delivery people were over an hour late. But they finally showed up, and brought in my new toy:

Isn't it pretty?! And when they moved the old one out, I could clean underneath it. There are no pictures, as it was fairly disgusting, but let's just say that there were three socks underneath it that did not belong to me. They must have come from the previous owner. And I've lived in this house for five years. But it is all better now - the prehistoric socks are in the garbage, and the dryer is in its new home with a clean floor beneath.

The new dryer is very cool. I wish I had taken a picture of the old one, or video so you could hear the beastly sound it used to make, but alas, I didn't. But look at the new one - it has buttons!

And it sings a pretty little song when you turn it on! (Apologies for the sideways video)

It also chirps when you turn it on!

And best of all - look how you can watch the laundry flip around! I could watch this all day. It's almost as good as television. And you know it's awesome when I say that! (Apologies again for the sideways video.)

So yeah - if anyone is in the Frederick area and needs to dry something, you know where to go!

In 1492, Columbus Rearranged His Living Room

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, today was one of those glorious federal holidays that we get and no one else does. Since most of my local friends are either working today or had other plans, and I have to teach swim lessons tonight, I used the day to do some of the cleaning I've been procrastinating for...well, let's just say a little while.

Among the tasks completed today was the rearrangement of my living room. I'd been pondering this for awhile, but finally had the time and energy to do something about it. Below, a before and after look at the room from a few angles.

View #1, before:

View #1, after:

View #2, before:

View #2, after:

View #3, before:

View #3, after:

I'm rather pleased with the change. It seems to open up the room more, at least from the direction of my chair. The space between the ottoman and the coffee table is a bit tight, but not unreasonably so, and the doorway to outside is far more open. The TV looks a lot smaller in the vastness of the window, but that could be easily fixed by buying a bigger TV (donations accepted). And I figure if I get sick of it, I can pretend that the room is dressed up as another room for Halloween, and move it back in November :-).

More Than A Ceiling

This weekend I decided to take care of a task that I'd been procrastinating...painting ceilings. While I've painted many a wall in my time, I've never done a ceiling before. After fixing the nail pops in the ceiling to the best of my ability, I taped the walls, starting with the green bathroom,

and then the guest room. I also put dropcloths and plastic sheets on the furniture and windows.

A word of advice - use wide tape. I taped the bathroom with tape that was about an inch wide, rather than the two inch tape I used in the guest room, and it did not do such a good job protecting the walls if the roller got too close.

After I taped the walls, I took a break to finish Disc 3 of Season 4 of Supernatural so I could send it back to Netflix. This was a very important part of the process.

That being completed, I returned to the painting, starting with the edges.

A very talkative cashier in the paint department about Wal Mart had recommended the paint, which was very cool. It looked purple in the can,

but faded to regular old ceiling white as it dried.

It also faded to white when you got it spattered all over yourself. An example:

I also got paint in my hair, but luckily, it came out when I washed it. Unlike when I painted the week before Mary's wedding, and still had paint in my hair when we were getting our hair styled. Whatever that brand was, it certainly was long-lasting.

It said to let the paint dry for at least four hours before adding a second coat as needed, so I moved on to disc 4 of season 4 of Supernatural to occupy myself. I'm very good at multitasking like that. And it distracted me from watching the paint dry - I was worried that it would need a second coat, which I did NOT want to do, so it was good to go elsewhere. I also made a quick trip to Mt. Airy to feed Holly dinner while my parents were at a play in DC. By the time I returned, it was time to take the tape off of the walls and see how everything looked. And it looked pretty good - yay!
There are still a few places that aren't quite dry on the guest room ceiling, but hopefully they'll dry overnight and the color will even out. And if not, well, it still looks better than it did with the nail pops that it had. The bathroom ceiling looks great. There are a few spots on the walls that are now white, because of the roller being larger than the stupid thin tape I used, but those will be easily fixed once I did the green paint out from under the stairs.

Oh, and also? Painting ceilings is hard work. My arms hurt now. And it's not nearly as fun as painting walls a color. White is boring (although the purple helped).

At least it was a productive day - two ceilings done, and am almost caught up on Supernatural enough to watch it in real time this season. A win-win-win situation, as Michael Scott would say!

Holy Picture Choosing, Batman!

So, in all of my brilliance this weekend, I decided to hang a couple of tiny, decorative shelves in my living room to the left of the couch. This did not prove to be a good idea - between my inability to hang anything like that in a straight line, and the fact that the shelves were tiny and dwarfed by the giant picture that hung next to them, and also was in a frame that didn't match nearly as well as I had hoped, it just didn't end well. So I took the wretched things down, and they are now in a bag in the kitchen. However, in order to hang one, I had to make two giant holes in my wall for the screw brackets. This was not a wise decision. So, internet, I prevail upon thee to aid me in my decision of what to do with the holes in my wall. I will likely be filling them in with spackle and repainting them whenever I get around to repainting that wall; however, at the rate I go with painting, that will be...oh, about a quarter to never. So...


Option 1: Leave them there uncovered. Ew.


Option 2: Cover them with tiny framed pictures that have hanging-type things on the back. This is my current method of hole-covering, as I didn't have to make new holes or buy anything new to make it happen. The wall currently looks like this:



A close-up of the two pictures, chosen mainly for their frame color:
Option 2a: Leave the wall like this. Might be kind of odd, though, as the pictures are kind of tiny next to the bigger print.

Option 2b: Add more pictures. This could be problematic, though - I bought both of these frames over a year ago, and probably couldn't find matching ones to add. I could add some others from around the house, thus making more of a mosaic effect of frames, but that would involve lots more holes.


Option 3: Move this picture from over the DVD shelves across the room, and hang it so that it covers the holes. This might be OK - and the two large prints will create more of a balance that will detract from the fact that the couch isn't centered on the wall. Also, they're both Hood prints, so that would be thematic. However, I'd have to put more holes in the wall, both for this picture and when I move the other one so they're centered. Also, the green with which this print is matted does not match the green of the print that is currently on the wall, nor does it match the slipcover on the couch. Hard to tell from the picture, but if you've been in my living room, you know what I mean.

Option 4: Buy a frame for this poster that coordinates with the frame on the print that is already on the wall. Hang this one so that it covers the holes. This print has colors that match the room very well, and wouldn't need to be matted or custom framed or anything. I should be able to get a frame for 30 or 40 bucks at Michael's. The only problem is that then I have to buy said frame (although I was going to have to do so eventually anyway). And again, I would also have to put more holes in the wall and move the other picture so they're both centered.

Option 5: Buy another French memo board like this one and hang it sideways. This is a viable option, and likely cheaper than a new frame for the White House picture. However, it may well look uneven in size with the picture that is already there. There is also the matter of color - a green one like this would probably be too much green along that wall. I was thinking cream, if I went with this option.

There is also the danger of the thing getting so covered with pictures that you can't tell what's underneath. Case in point - the two red ones around the closet door. The vast majority of you who are reading this blog are represented on this thing - and if you're not, then I clearly need to take more pictures with you! Bonus points if you find yourself (or your spawn or pet) in one of the pictures.
Option 6: Hang my brother's photography. For instance, the cherry blossom pictures from a few seasons ago. This could work, except I'd have to reframe them if I used these three - the frames are far too light and cheap-looking to hang next to the one that's there. An alternative would be for David to take more pictures for me. Get on that, Dave. You can go to Hood this spring and make that happen. Oh, and if I move these, I'll have to get a replacement picture to hang in their place in the second floor hallway.

Option 7: I cover the holes - and the rest of the wall - with pictures of cool people emulating the Dudez-a-Plenti:

and Olive from Little Miss Sunshine. If this choice wins, you all will be recruited to model.

So, thoughts? Discuss amongst yourselves. Gold star for whoever's idea wins!