Next, I found this in my e-mail Inbox and I rushed to shower and dress to head out for what sounded like a fun day of thrifting for a good cause: animal rescue.
I've never gone to one of these. It was held on one whole floor of a storage facility.
And all the bays were filled with donated furniture, dishes, you name it...lots and lots of great stuff! There were beautiful antiques...I saw so many things I wanted to buy. It was really too crowded to take many pics. They are going to be restocking with more donated goods tomorrow. So if you live in the metro Atlanta area, go check it out. It's for a very good cause.
I lucked out and found some great steps for Mr. Max. I have been looking for some steps to help him hop up on the end of the desk where he likes to lie while I work.
The steps I found at Pet Smart a few weeks ago were ugly, molded plastic and were $40. I found some in an antique shop a few weeks ago and they were beautiful--built in a wonderful spiral design. They would have been stunning in a library one day. But they were $65 and I wasn't sure if they were really tall enough for Max to get up on the desk.
The steps I found today are going to work well, I think. They were only $10 and the treads lift up for storage underneath. The back panel slides out for storage underneath, too.
I have plans to paint them the same color as the desk furniture, so they will kind of blend in. The carpet on the treads is in excellent shape. Not bad for $10. The prices are really good at this sale.
When I left the "indoor yard sale," my car wouldn't budge from the grassy field where I had been directed to park upon arriving. The front wheels were firmly stuck in Georgia red clay. When I was directed to park in the field, my gut told me it was a mistake. It's been raining for weeks. Against my better judgement, I did as told and now I was stuck...wheels just a-spinning.
I got out and found a southern gentleman by the name of Harry. Harry got in the car, turned the wheels straight and put it in drive. He revved the engine a bit. It rocked forward. He switched to reverse and did it again. He switched back to drive and did it again. He did that about 5-6 times and out she came...out of the trenches. He told me to always keep your wheels straight when trying to get out of a muddy hole your tires have dug. I commented that he appeared to have been in this situation before since he knew that neat trick. He just nodded and smiled.
Yay, for good people who save damsels in distress. There are still gentlemen in this world. Wish I had thought to take a pic of those wheels stuck deep in that thick, gooey, "pull-you-down-to-the-depths-of-the-earth" clay. Here's what the tires looked like after a 25 minute drive home...still muddy.
When I got home, I sanded down the framing around the treads of the steps and taped over all the carpet.
I sanded the rest of the steps, in preparation for priming. When painting over a stained piece, it's best to lightly sand it just enough to remove the sheen. That helps the primer adhere better. Also, it's a good idea to use a stain blocking primer, like Kilz.
Here's how the steps looked after I had primed them with Kilz. I used the Kilz that's odorless. It still smells, but not near as strong as before they created the odorless kind.
After my adventure shopping and "2-wheeling" it in the mud...and after priming Max's new steps, I covered up everything in the office and primed three walls with Kilz. I used the Kilz again because it's also good to use over walls where you've removed wallpaper due to possible left over glue/paste residue. I locked Max up in my bedroom but he still managed to get out and come into the office for part of the time. He thinks he always has to be where I am.
Once I had all three walls primed, it was time to do what I've been dreading. :{
I said goodbye to the mural I painted when my son was in 2nd grade. It was painful sanding it down...not so much because of the work that had gone into creating it, but because it was another phase of letting go of my little boy. He's a grown man and I'm very proud of him, but I will always miss my little boy. We were close, so close, and we still are.
I remember one day Chip and I were shopping in a local Target store for Halloween candy. Chip, was around 7 or 8 years old and he was standing about 6 feet away from me in the same isle. I would never let him out of my sight in a store. Never.
Out of the blue he called out, "I love you, Mom." We told each other many times a day that we loved each other. I said, "I love you, too, Chip." A woman shopping a few feet away in the same isle overheard him. She turned and said, "Oh, enjoy that while it lasts. They don't do that when they get older."
I remember feeling sad, wondering if that were true? Will my little boy quit telling me he loves me? She was wrong, so very wrong. He never did quit and he never has. There isn't a time we speak on the phone or in person that he doesn't tell me he loves me. Don't ever listen to what people tell you when it comes to your children. Their experience doesn't have to be yours and it probably won't.
So this was hard, very hard. I sat down in a chair in his old room, now my office. I called Chip just to make sure he was ok with it. He was. He said he appreciated the mural, loved and enjoyed it for many years but it was fine now to paint over it.
I called his Dad and talked to him...just had to make sure everyone thought it was ok. And they did. His Dad just said, "Take lots of pictures." I told him I had. He said, "Take some more." So, I did.
Then I got busy sanding, sanding as fast as I could...trying to just get it over with. Next, I primed and primed, trying not to think about what I was doing...wondering if I could have just hired someone to come do this one wall.
I felt like crying a few times...it was hard. Then I remembered the man my son has become and how proud I am of him. He graduates from law school in one month, ranked 7th in a class of 161. He is so much more than this wall, now...so much more. Life is good, really good. And, after all, it is just a wall. The wall may be gone but the memories of the little boy singing out, "I love you, Mom" still live on. They are engraved in my heart forever.
So ended my roller-coaster day. And through it all, Mr. Max was here...doing what he does best. :) (To see how this room looked prior to the renovation, click HERE and HERE.)
No comments:
Post a Comment