I wanted to get as much done to the bathroom that I could before Jo and Gary came to help us out.
I continued to steam off wallpaper and also pulled out the medicine cabinet, which also housed the vanity lights.
I was going to put in the new light fixture but after pulling off the cabinet, I found the electricity was not centered. Another job for Gary.
We were excited to finally get Jo and Gary up here for a visit. I had a list of things for Gary to do so he started work right away. Jo and I helped as much as we could but ended up shopping most of the time. Gary started with the bathroom door frame. He made it look so easy but I was afraid the house would fall in if I did it.
Gary then started on the sink. After looking for the perfect vanity and not having any luck, I decided to keep the one Mom had. The problem was how low it was and once I put cement board and tile on the floor, the sink would be even lower. Gary said he could add to the top to make it higher. As you can see from the following pictures, the sink ended up in the front yard.
I wanted to get a new sink and counter so I headed off to Lowes a couple of weeks before Gary came. Quartz would be too expensive but I discovered Onyx, which is a man made material that was a lot cheaper, like $700 cheaper. I ordered the sink hoping it would arrive before Gary got here. Lowes didn't think it would come in time but they did put a rush order on it. Luckily, it came a day before Gary and Jo arrived. I was worried about my measuring but it fit right in.
Gary then hooked it all up without good lighting. You can see where he added wood right below the sink to raise it up higher. I will be painting the vanity a coral color.
Gary also exchanged the almond switches and outlets to white in the bathroom and most of the kitchen as shown in the picture below with my beautiful smoothy I was making for everyone in the morning.
We took a break on Saturday because all of my sisters and two of our cousins came for lunch. We like getting together where we can to share stories and pictures. Sandy had a picture of me I didn't even know existed. I remember that dress Grandma made for me. It was one of my favorites.
They also shared an extra cool picture of their Dad, our Mom's brother, our uncle Jim.
And then here we all are, ending our day of fun, food, and stories. Jo just happened to find a perfect license plate at a garage sale that day.
This was the same day Gary and Mike put up the former kitchen cabinets in the garage. I was so busy with my sisters and cousins that I didn't take any pictures of them doing that job. This very minute as I am writing this, I ran out to take the following pictures which don't really show much, but it is too cold for me to go out and spend time in there to get a good picture. I am just excited to have a garage. This is the first one Mike and I have ever had in our years together.
As I mentioned earlier, Jo and I did a lot of shopping at thrift stores and garage sales while they were here. You can see the cats are wondering what the heck is taking their spot in front of the window.
Sherry once told me that if I ever found things to put plants in that are $1 or less, buy them and she will prepare that item with a plant in it from their greenhouse. Once I told Jo this, we both were going crazy at the sales. Sometimes I would find something really cool but I stuck to the rule of $1 or less. Jo loved that zebra so much, she couldn't stick to the $1 rule. The below picture is what we picked up during just one outing.
This is Jo after a full day of shopping. Sorry Jo, I just had to add this picture. 😊
After Jo and Gary left, I continued to work on the bathroom.
I have been making such a mess that it is starting to flow out into the hallway and bedrooms. This is embarrassing when a neighbor comes over, but they understand.
This weekend I was at a point where it was time to remove the toilet so I could pull the wallpaper behind it and start priming the walls. We decided to take the leaky toilet out of the basement and put the torn up bathroom's toilet in the basement. That way we would still have two working toilets in the house. Much to our surprise, when we pulled out the basement toilet, we found the main pipe was no longer connected to the toilet. Good thing we hadn't been using it since we moved in. I don't know how to fix this so we will be calling a plumber to come and do this.
The biggest news if you haven't already heard, I applied for a job at the local University. I wasn't going to look for a job until next year but I couldn't pass this one up. It was for a position in the Registrar's office at St. Ambrose University evaluating transfer credit, and other duties. This was the same thing I did at the University of Georgia fifteen years ago, before I became an advisor.
Right before Jo and Gary left, I received a call for an interview. After the interview, I dug out an old tee shirt Mom had given me many, many years ago, and put it on. I wore it everyday until I heard back from the Registrar that I got the job. Good thing I heard the fourth day after and not any longer!
I just finished my first week as full time. So now the bathroom remodel is in slow motion, as is with all the projects I have going on.
So, I may not be able to blog as much as I have been, but will try.
