Nothing tossed. Lots gained.

My eyes feel gritty and like they're full of sawdust, even though I was using goggles like a good girl when we were using the table saw downstairs today. I wore a mask, too. No sense in breathing in minute particles of MDF boards.

We were able to install the rest of the crown moulding today. Feeling very good about that! We have gaps in a couple of places, because we didn't do mitered corners. Instead, we bought little corner blocks like these, because we were too intimidated to try to cut the right angles and such. The blocks we used were like the ones in the bottom two pictures. In retrospect, I think we could probably have done it, but we really like the look of the corners the way they are, so we're happy this was the route we chose.

The thought would be that we'd only have to make a straight cut, and push the moulding up to the edges of the blocks so we didn't have to do any intricate cuts. The only problem with this logic is that our walls and ceiling are so not square! As a result there are gaps between the wall and the boxes in a few corners and a few more rather large gaps between the crown moulding and the corner blocks. We'd measure. We'd measure again. We'd cut. It wouldn't fit. The piece would be too long. So we'd shave a little off only to end up with a gap in the end. We realized after most all of it was installed that it had to do with the corners being out of square, and if we slid them in at an angle we could have them match almost perfectly.

At least we figured out how to patch the gaps today. It took several cuts to get the right width, but we just cut some slivers of crown moulding until we got the right size to stick in place. Once it was smoothed over with a little wood putty and painted, you can't even tell where it was patched. Finishing things up with a little bit of caulking, and the crown moulding looks like it's been there since the house was built. Well...about a 10' section of it does. Can you guess what I'll be working on this week?

Our oldest came over today and helped out. She took the Christmas tree down and put the decorations away. The corner of the living room looks bare, though. It's the first it's been empty in 16 months. No. Between the flooding basement, sewer problems and illnesses I'm ashamed to admit that we had not taken the Christmas tree down in over a year. I am beyond thrilled that it's down now, though!

While we didn't get quite as much done as we were hoping for (the treadmill and the pull-up machine are still where they were when I blogged last night), I'm satisfied with what we got done. I'm actually quite motivated. I know I'll be able to finish up filling the holes with wood putty and the caulking this week on my own. If I can also stain the door before Saturday, we should be able to get that installed and finish the baseboards next weekend. We have to wait for the final cuts on some of the baseboards until the door is installed and the trim is up, but it's finally starting to look somewhat finished. We even hid the cable for the television behind the crown moulding and in a channel coming down the wall. I'll paint it the same color as the wall, and it won't be nearly as noticeable as an ugly black cable would have been.

I know it's supposedly a no-no to put crown moulding in a basement. It supposedly makes the room look shorter, but we don't see that at all. Our basement is only 7.5' tall to begin with, and somehow the crown moulding seems to draw the eyes up, and the ceiling doesn't feel as short. It's also supposedly a no-no to put anything but the short 2.5" baseboards in a basement. We say pshaw! We went with the 5", and it looks great! I'll try to post pictures when we're finished.

No. I didn't get the last few papers filed from the empty box. I was distracted by the work we were getting done downstairs. I will do it tomorrow for sure when I'm taking a break and getting reacquainted with my heating pad.

Please make sure to ask me, if I actually got them done tomorrow! I need the accountability! :)

I loves me a heating pad!

So today was good.

Got a couple loads of laundry done, the dishes done, and most importantly, we got the rest of the crown moulding put up in the workout room downstairs. (It's back spasming work, I tell ya!) We also finished getting the treadmill put together. At this point, we'll be able to use the treadmill, even though the rest of the room isn't quite finished. That will be nice.

Tomorrow, we have a big day planned. It doesn't sound like much, but it seems to take forever! We'll be filling all the little nail holes in the crown moulding and baseboards, caulk around the edges, and paint any part of them that needs it, so the patches don't show. Then we're going to get the mat down under the treadmill and put it in place, and clean up hubby's pull up machine thing that's out on the back porch and bring it downstairs. We're also going to try to cut some extra shelves for a thing we got for him to use as a bookshelf. I don't know, if we'll get to the point of rewiring the outlets and putting up the light fixture or not, but we'll have plenty to do, and we'll have a room that will be ready to use! We're both really looking forward to it!

I asked my husband, if he would mind me sharing this, before I started writing...

This morning when I went in to wake my husband up I decided to count the books he has on the dresser. He said he realized he feels like he needs to have his books around him-that he doesn't know when he'll need the knowledge contained in the books, and he wants to have it at his fingertips. There were 56 books on the dresser. He also keeps books in his work truck, on his work desk and in his locker at work. We're both hoping that having a floor to ceiling area to keep his books will help. And I'm thankful beyond thankful that books are his vice, instead of alcohol, drugs, porn or other women. :)

We're now going to spend some time together relaxing.

Me with my trusty heating pad.

Him with the remote control ... and a book. :)

The box is empty!

So the box I worked on for 4.5 hours yesterday and another 4 today is empty. FINALLY! I have a handful of things to file yet, but the box is empty, and the filing cabinet is ready for use. It will make things much easier as I clean off the desk, the top of the filing cabinet, and go through more boxes of paperwork. Did I mention the box is empty?

I realized that I labeled some files that I'm not going to need, and there are more files that I'm going to have to label. Right now they just have little stickers folded over for tabs, because I have no idea where the little plastic doodads are that are supposed to be the tabs. I'm hoping to find them, as I get through everything in the study.

I had 5, count them FIVE bags of shredables spring forth from the box. "What are shreadables?" you may ask. To which I would reply, "Why they are papers that are bound for the shredder of course!" They take up much less space before shredding than they do after shredding, and the bags are somewhat heavy. I can get quite a few papers in a grocery bag! They are then carted off to be commercially shredded, because I honestly don't have the time to shred them all myself.

To keep myself from wanting any of the things back out of the shredables bag, I tear whatever paper it is in half or quarters. Not only does it make it less likely for me to get it out to try and save it (the taxes I spoke of yesterday are an exception), but it makes it easy to see at a glance that it's shredables and not trash. Some might say I'm on the verge of paranoid about identity theft. I resemble that remark.

I'm going to attempt to file the last little bit of the box tonight, but I'll be okay, if I don't get to it. Sleep is important, too, and I will get it filed tomorrow. No. Matter. What.

We'll be working in the basement tomorrow and Sunday trying to finish up, but we probably won't get it all done. We have to hang the rest of the crown moulding, patch any nail holes and paint over the patches, and caulk them. We still have to get trim for around the windows and paint and install it. We have to use the router on the doors, so we can install the hinges and get the doorknobs installed, and we have to put the final coat of paint on them.

Half of the basement used to be one room. We now have 2 rooms. The smaller one has 2 of the 3 windows that exist on that half of the basement. We decided to get a door with glass panels in it to let the natural light through the rest of the basement when the door is closed to that room. We still have to stain and install that door.

We also have to re-wire several of the outlets and put extenders on them, so they will reach the edges of the walls. Before the basement flooded last year, there was paneling on the walls. We put up drywall instead, and it's amazing how much thicker it is! So yeah. We have to make a few accommodations. After that, all we'll have left is to install the light fixtures.

Yep. We won't finish this weekend, but that's okay. We'll be making a major dent in things, and it will help towards dehoarding in the long run.

Yeah. I think I'll finish filing that handful of papers tomorrow. I've got a long weekend ahead of me, and I need all the sleep I can get!

Besides. The box is empty. :)