Room Completed

The magic happened, somehow. Replacing the flooring, while a bit pricey, was actually easier than fixing the walls.

The floor only required laying down an underlayer, measuring the planks, cutting it (with my sweet new circular saw), gluing it, and keeping everything tight with a rubber mallet. We actually completed the floor more-or-less by accident on Easter. We purchased the supplies the day before and were going to do the flooring the following weekend; however, at around 3:00pm on Sunday we decided to do a row or two of flooring in order to see if there was anything we needed before doing the job in earnest. 7 hours later, we were done. We hadn't eaten all day and were very sore from bending over and moving materials, but we were done.

I ended up spending more than I wanted to on the flooring, but I think it was worth it. Instead of getting laminate or particle board with veneer, I got 15mm solid maple flooring. The best part is that you can stand on it with bare feet and your feet don't go numb. The wood give warmth back much better than laminate. And it looks better.

Behold:

What it looked like the day I bought it.

What it looked like after the walls were finished and the carpet was out.

What it looked like once the floor was done.

What it looks like with our 1930's bedroom set picked up at the auction. (Could have gone with the furniture from the 1800's, but it was more expensive and pretty chewed up).

It feels really good to have finished. I wish I would have taken pictures of what the walls looked like after we got the wallpaper off. They were cracked up and covered in mold and multiple blotches of different colors. Besides the obvious health concerns of sleeping in a room with moldy walls and a nasty carpet, I think that living in a room that doesn't have silly decorations is also good for your mental health.

In other news, I have started shaving with a straight razor. For years I have been debating getting a straight razor set up and diving in, but I have always balked at the cost. I recently had a birthday and Kate got me a sweet Dovo straight razor with all the necessary accoutrements.

Unfortunately for my face and blood supply, it takes a while to learn how to do things correctly. All of the websites I have gone to have talked about how everything straight razor shaving related is an 'art.' Ever since I got a C- on an art assignment in 4th grade for painting a bird with legs that bent like a humans (bird knees bend the other way!), I have not had much of an affinity for art. My first try:

There wasn't too much blood and it was a really close shave, as you can see. I've since gotten better at bleeding less (only 2 cuts this morning), but I think that my lack of artfulness has prematurely dulled the blade. It sometimes feels like I am scraping the hair off of my face instead of cutting it. Soon I will have to either get a wet stone and try to hone the blade (which may result in destroying it) or I will have to hire someone to hone the blade once more. I am failing in the hanging hair test.

Other than that, not much new. The weather is s l o w l y getting warmer. We have been eating 'in the garden' more often. Hopefully we will have some exciting trips to report on soon, but both Kate and my passports are in the hands of the embassies for renewal. Mine is because I expire soon and Kate's is because of an entirely different reason.