Penolition!

As you may remember I started demo'ing the bathroom while the rents were away almost TWO (2) years to the day of this now final enterprise. My parents, lying in wait for revenge however, I came home one day to find drywall on 1 ONE wall only, with an unfinished line down the middle and none of my garbage bag art on the walls and the mold, still totally there. It sat there mocking me along with a shiny toilet paper holder- of things that could be, of things that would never come. And while 700 days have passed since that time, I was ready to turn the bathroom into an art installation- mapping out its story, literally came this .-. close to doing just that... The 1948 plaster. The 1980's rehab which stopped midsentence. The various paint jobs to make light of the apparent waiting repairs- while neglect and decay set in, and the roof and toilet replaced- telling the story of the leaky roof and the doorknob missing, and of the pipebursting. But apparently it was not to be. As I got a cryptic email about drywall being put up and demolition starting (green lit me). But as mom was soon to realize all or nothing - which i totally excel at- was exactly what this bathroom needed. Can't just put up new drywall without replacing the pipes, without replacing the ceiling, without putting in new electrical and insulation. And while we're waiting for some delays to come thru with the new house- guess which house gets attention!? This one. Though obviously the fact that my brother is coming after a 6 year absence was the inital spurning on of my mom. I while try to ignore the fact that the visiting grandchild warrents such sweeping change and yet we who live here do not- but as mom says- deadline pressure. Since they're coming on the 4th. By then- new pipes, new floor, new ceiling, rehabbed counter... WOuld you believe they coated the walls, the floor, and the kitchen sink, with almost 2"inch thick crazy solid concrete? You will note i got pretty far and then just decided to fuck it and let my dads guy Salvador do the rest, plus i may have put a chip in the bathtub. Whatevs. And i definitely didn't want to suck out the nasty attic insulation. Ugh. Arms itching already everywhere. So now as i sit here the bathroom is gutted, except for the floor which is next. And the tile debate btw mom and i is the next current, which way the bathroom is going to go- although i'm totally willing to keep the poor cabinet as long as we can make it pretty again is all i'm saying. But anyway, you must stay tuned to this most exciting!! development in the history of these here enterprises. It gives me hope! It gives me enthusiasm- a certain

special something for life and living again. I just don't know. It's like - it IS a dream come true. You will note the sleeping mountain lion. I'm going to miss him along with the sleeping curled up fox in his den and the mountain sheep. Goodbye lion! I love you!

While The Rents Away #2

Well hey there. So the paint job went succesfully. The color is much better and the controversial chocolate trim was the right move. We concede that decoratively they need to get rid of the carpet, replace the bed with a woodframed one, and redesign their closet-- there's no reason to have your clothes live on a bench and an empty chest also. And I would prefer that the dresser and small bookcase have stronger and more cohesive design elements but I had other things to do like demolish the bathroom and paint the garage and I didn't want to be THAT invasive- otherwise believe me all of those changes would've occured. But well, we do what we can and hope the parents come around. But at least you don't notice the walls anymore...

While the Rents are Away....

I realize that in my rush to dismantle the room I robbed you of the full display of hideousness. The tired Ansel Adams frame- grey and unmatching. The miscellaneous pink hideous things from the 80's I can't describe. Yes, this is my parents room. . . And mom, 10 years ago used to hate it when I showed it to people... so she is really not going to like it now. I've had a few arguments with friends who signaled concern at such a bold move as repainting my parents room without their permission. They dare to side with my parents on this one- to which though I am slightly disgruntled at I am more amused and applaud them for trying to stave me off my risky course, futile though it may be. In my defense I did warn my mom to which she feebly replied, "no, don't..." which I took to mean "yes, but don't do anything crazy." Also since I've basically lived with them for a long time, and have had an equally long record of modifying my environment this should come as no surprise. I am a controlling person. Every room should be beautiful, even if it's not mine. And though it may take an even more equally long time, every room will reflect the aesthetic beauty I deserve to frequent my gaze upon... The skill my parents have developed is called "ignore" which I think robs them of their combined powers of both creativity and execution. This room has scarcely been touched in over 25+ years and I don't think this is any way to live (again controlling, this should come as no surprise)... they created this beautiful redwood planked wall to ceiling installation piece that has a timeless arch and flow to it-- this is my parents at their best. They envision something and they execute its design (like our walkway) and for whatever reason they have let the house become a reflection of what was and not what IS or what it could be... in the face of waiting for what is to come- the "new house" which in the face of 30 years was a long time coming... but I don't think you should wait (my issue) to live your life in an abundant way because you dream of being elsewhere... and just because in a year you see yourself in a new place doesn't mean that things should lay to waste as time stretches on... not necessarily their particular issue but this is a perfect illustration... don't let who you are, your beauty and your talents and your mastery lie in waste as time passes by. You deserve to live and exist in a place of beauty equal to your talents- don't neglect them. Saturday I will show you the new and improved room- same stuff (i didn't want to completely freak them out)... with maybe more opinionated suggestions of how to optimize storage and possible wall hangings.

Bored.

current conditions:

• parents officially out of town,
  
• projects list solid: paint bedroom, demolish bathroom walls, possibly paint side of garage chocolate brown. time- 3nights 2fulldays to do it...
  
• time looked at tour package:3
• debate emailing "matt" who is another co-traveler from england to say HI and talk about rafting the pacuare river in costa rica.
  
• wonder when someone else is going to sign up for the trip and find us on the forum
• officially vaccinated against typhoid
• things to plant: 5
• person ignored: 1
• waiting for emails: 2
• blogs fwd to me and that you should partake in: http://www.hifromwork.com/