Re-Building Identities

Well hello, today I want to write something a little more positive and something that brings me great joy. I have spoken about this before - I process sadness or grief through hard manual labor. I always have, probably always will. I hadn't realized that I needed to mourn the loss of my job, the loss of love I felt for research, especially the loss of identity that came with the first loss. How did I work it out? Well first I focused on my garden and made several changes to my yard and second I focused on my guest bathroom. The garden I have kept everyone up-to-date on and you all know the bad luck pictures brought but the bathroom that was another thing!



Here we go with the bathroom. What you need to know is that my bathrooms had the most horrible wallpaper in the world! First of all it was an ugly pastel rendition of a southwestern pattern from the 80's that was then painted over with an uglier beige color. What it made it absolutely horrible was the fact that it wasn't installed correctly and you could see every single panel individually, where it either wasn't matched correctly or it overlapped panels. Yeah. Blah.



Okay so again I thought that I had before pictures but once more I have remembered half way through that I wanted pictures. Well to the left there you can see the old wallpaper but you can't see the raised texture or the old pattern, I only discovered that when we removed the bathroom mirror. The whole reason I decided to get this done was because that particular faucet started leaking and I was loosing a lot of water. A previous hack job on the faucet caused that leak and they had superglued that tile square around the faucets together and I actually had to break it apart with a hammer for the tile to come off. You'll see what I mean in a bit.



Below is the back wall of the shower, behind the faucets and you can see the water damage caused by the previous hack job and probably old leak, I also tore that out. On this wall you can also see all of the glue on the walls, that was so difficult to remove! I used a 50/50 mixture of water and Downy Softener, notice I was specific of the brand because towards the end I ran out of Downy and I figured dollar store brand would work the same. It didn't. I had to use a lot more of the dollar store brand for it to remove the glue from the walls versus Downy. Don't use the special scents, just the regular old type in the original blue bottle is what you need. The Downy mixture, a scraper, and a sponge to wipe of remaining residue/mixture is all you need, plus some elbow grease. I was able to remove that in a day.



Now after all this I had to tear out walls and put up sheet rock plus primer, compound on corners and edges, plus texturing of the walls, and then paint over the texture. Yes an extremely long process, or so it sounds it took me about 4 days total including prep time. I chose a white with a blue undertone that changes a lot with lighting. I still have to paint the cabinet, replace the sink faucet, and maybe replace the counter top but I'm not sure about the last one yet. Within the shower stall I ended up removing all of the brown area because it was ripped off by the tile. Once I added texturing to the new walls I also had to prime but I suggest using an oil based primer because it will seal any glue you may have missed. If you don't use an oil based primer the glue will absorb moisture from the air and start lifting the paint and anything else you put on the walls. My preferred primer is Zinsser primers, I have to say that they are the best, the oil based primer even works on laminate surfaces.




Next come the after images and although it's not completely done, you'll see why I say that the paint changes colors with the lighting. I don't mind it, I really like it but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. However, that will be for the next post because this has gotten out of hand!

The take away from this process is the following:

1. Wallpaper glue removal involves a 50/50 Downy Softener and water mixture because it does a great job!
2. Prime your walls with an oil based primer for the best results. My personal preference is Zinsser Primer, I do not receive any money or product for this endorsement. This is based on personal use and my personal opinion.
3. I might suggest clean as you go. At the end of each day I would pick up items and sweep the floors and the day we put up the compound texturing I also mopped. This helped keep the mess localized and helped me feel more at ease with the whole process.

Honey Dew Cantaloupe

Over a month and nothing much to report here.  I am still unemployed and starting to freak out in a bad way because lets be honest I'm a control freak. I like to set goals and reach them asap, checking off items on lists is a high that is unequaled by anything else I know. And no I have never done any drugs that have not been prescribed to me, there really isn't any comparison. Thus not being able to check off "New Job" off my list is annoying to say the least. Control issues, we've discussed this before.

Otherwise life has been okay, moving along a little slow but very quickly, especially when you don't work. You never know what day it is! If it weren't for my phone I would never know if it was Monday or Saturday, never realized how tied my concept of time was to work. Although it has been nice to have vacation time, it is also nice to have that humdrum existence of 8 to 5. I am looking forward to returning to a more structured existence. The only thing that has kept me semi-sane has been my garden and the fruits of my labor can be seen to the right. It weighed in at a little over 30 lbs! It's not as sweet as I thought it would be but the heart is very sweet, as you move towards the rind its not that great. However there are about 5 more of that variety above and a different variety which I planted last year but have no idea what it is because it spontaneously popped up. Yeah I didn't collect it all last year and those that decomposed in the yard came back. I also have cantaloupe that came up the same way as my surprise watermelon. That was weird because it should have been orange on the inside but instead it was green but super sweet, like honey dew melon! Looks like regular cantaloupe but its honey dew on the inside. Still scratching my head on that one, although it feels like my life at the moment. I planted a life I thought I wanted, then ended up with something completely different and next thing I know I have to start the garden all over again. Life and real garden. If I find a job elsewhere I'm going to have to give up gardening probably or just focus on pots.

I think I will bid everyone adieu because if I keep on focusing on the similarities between my garden and my life I am going to have another quarterlife crisis. How do you break those down if you've had more than one? Hope everyone has a good week!

Feelin' Good

Well hello everyone! How is everyone out there? Me well I'm OK, sort of I guess. I am still unemployed but not unhappy or even completely freaked out. I am well, actually pretty happy. Is that strange? I know had started to freak out because I have officially been unemployed for 2 months but it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Let me describe it a little.

#1 - I have enjoyed the time off, I have worked every month of the past 22 years of my life and this "break" has been a godsend. I really needed to just clear my head and truly find some peace, which I think I achieved for the most part. I'm still sort of freaking out but I've tried to not focus too much on that. Something that helped was that I had an interview 2 weeks ago and it seemed promising. It would be an amazing opportunity for me and has a lot more room for growth in the future, besides the great salary! The best part of it involves a lot of admin work but it is still in my field! I finished the interview and they did say it would take them 2 to 3 weeks to reach a decision and I'm assuming that's because they had others to interview. They may have gone in order of how the applications were received, if that was the case I may have been the first interviewee. I literally submitted my application the same day that job was posted. Yeah I was that excited.

~2 days old.

#2 - I now have a new nephew and let me tell you that those cute bundles are a great stress reliever, especially if you are not it's main source of nourishment. I feel for my sister, that is a difficult thing to do. He is a cutie pie and I love him to bits! I have not forgotten the oldest cutie pie either, I have actually made a greater effort to do things with him on a daily basis. This past weekend and most of this week I spent it helping out my sister and doing lots of babysitting. My mother had been here for the past month or so but she took a break too. I mean come on, a new baby plus a spoiled grandson? Abuelitas can only take so much. Yeah I got my fill of poopy diapers and hungry crying but I loved it too.

#3 - This is pretty important, at least I think so. I realized how sad and unhappy I was at my last job. Perhaps the situation wasn't the worst but I have to admit that it wasn't that okay either. Not even going to say close to best, because it only managed to make the OK list. It was partly the situation and partly the work itself. I think that's why #1 is still alright with me. I was decent at my work but honestly when it came down to it I just didn't see myself pipetting bacteria for the rest of my life. Not just that but I didn't have the desire or drive to continue that work. Some people are happy doing that day-in and day-out but not this Mexican. I needed something that I'm good at and that at the end of the day it ends. Yup, I really want an 8 to 5 scenario, never thought I would say that but there you go :)

Oh yeah and the garden is well, although I've stopped instagraming my photos because they were bad luck! Every single watermelon that I took a picture of or other plant for that matter - DIED!!!!! Yeah I stopped doing that and I now have 2 surviving cantaloupe plants, plus 3 large watermelons that will be ready in a few days. I hope. The front yard needs to be harvested for flower seeds and the grass is good. My "new" bathroom is also almost ready :) Oh yeah I redid the guest bath 2 weeks ago with my Dad! Pictures coming eventually.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Twice Bitten But Not Shy

The summer bug has bitten me already! I actaully spent time this weekend picking out seeds I want to plant and now I have to cut some of the players from last year. Oops. Will someone please keep me away from the gardening section. In my 20's it was shoes, in my 30's it's plants. If it weren't for the fact that spilling acid on my legs and feet were an issue, it would probably still be shoes. However, the new obsession du jour is gardening. It can be a little frustrating at first but seeing the first bloom is so satisfying or harvesting that first cantaloupe just delicious. Yeah I've been bitten.

This year I'm going to plant my pomegranate and it should do well in this zone. I also plan on planting the Pride of Barbados that I stole found seeds for in Carlsbad. This particular plant is beautiful and this one will be highlighted in the front yard! As for the front yard I'm keeping it simple this year with some wild flowers that I collected last year and this lovely specimen.

Well I hope everyone is having a good week so far :) 

Brown Thumb

I am glad I chose a different career path than that of waitress, I would have starved to death. I cannot walk and carry a cup of coffee to save my life. I'm amazed some days I can tie my own shoes but then I remember that I can purify difficult membrane proteins and I am a little more forgiving towards myself. According to the brain there must be sacrifices made, carrying a cup of coffee is not the end goal. The brain is a little full of itself most days.

Speaking of the career path, today was a good day. I like days where I have neat results with beautiful images and it all makes sense. I'm trying out some new protocols this week and I'm a little hesitant to do them. I always feel like if I mess them up I'm wasting money, mainly because I am wasting a lot of money. However, failure in science can be our best friend but not always, sometimes it's just a colossal waste of time and modest loss of money.

In other news this weekend was a good one, as I have moved some of my yard projects along! As you can see the walkway is expanding and it is looking rather spiffy if I do say so myself. I had a few rosebuds this year, a whole decade and this rose bush has produced exactly 8 buds. Eight. Buds. Yup. This year it was going to be torn out but then I noticed the rosebuds and I gave it a 10th chance. I mean come on 10 years and this is the only time it bloomed! The rest of the garden is coming along nicely thanks to some lovely rain, OK not lovely because it was rather destructive. We had a really bad storm last week on Monday but that pushed my sunflowers through the ground in record time. It takes about 14 days to germinate with constant watering but that mini-monsoon we had got them there in less than 7 days! We're expecting another mini-monsoon tomorrow so hopefully that will help the other seeds I planted in the back. Today if weather permits I'm putting down some more seed, I just got my wildflower mixes! I'm excited because a lot are perennials and the annuals self-seed after the season is over blooming all summer well into fall. As for the backyard the moon has a bunch of seeds that should really benefit from the rain and the little fruit garden has all sprouted! I have lots of corn coming up, lots of watermelon, and lots of cantaloupe sprouting. I also added to chile plants to the set because the seed I had put down did not come up. This whole black thumb is looking significantly browner, who knows by the end of the summer it may be green.

Amor & DIY

I am behind in my goals, feeling like I keep on falling behind but not so. I have actually accomplished quite a bit this year already. Truthfully I have done more than can be expected but always the perfectionist nothing is done to my liking. Anyway that is the current state of affairs, a feeling of lagging but when analyzed not so bad.

The garden is a slow go and right now a little difficult because it's been crazy weather. Freezing threats prevent me from fully believing I can put seedlings out. Some of my seeds are not cooperating and that is irksome. Otherwise it's been pretty good. I also managed to kill my rosemary. It had survived this long and then last month I thought hey let me clean up it's base. Next thing I know we had a frost and the roots were not as protected as they had been and it died. I checked the branches by pruning and it is dry as bone :( I was sad. I will go look for one this weekend, I really like rosemary and this time I will not trust warm weather!

Portulaca grandiflora

This past weekend we had a bachelorette party for a friend (guess who was volunteered to plan it?) and it was tons of fun. I had to recover on Sunday. All. Day. Sunday. I know, I know, it was also Easter but we have discussed the not so religious thing. I did go to an Easter BBQ if that counts, I know it doesn't. Anyway as a gift to all the guests, I turned some mugs into planters and put Portulaca into them! I know Portulaca does not sound good at all but let me translate for  you. My mother calls it Amor, (aka Love) and in some places here in the USA it's called Moss Rose. It's quite beautiful. It requires full sun and very little water. It produces tons of seeds so I would not recommend that it be put in the ground, keep it contained. It is a relative of common purslane, bane of my life but it is much prettier in my opinion. At the actual party the seeds were only just starting to sprout but I'm sure that if everybody takes care of it, it will do quite well. I thought it was fitting to give out a plant that is called Love :) As for the mugs I also did a little special thing there. I drilled holes in the bottoms so that it would drain properly and then I marbled them!

mycraftyspot.com

It's a simple process really. In a bowl or any container you don't mind ruining you place some warm water, not boiling just warm. Drop in a few drops of nail polish - multiple colors or one single color - and quickly dunk your mug into the area where the nail polish has spread. This is a quick process because the nail polish will begin to either dry and create a film or bead up and sink to the bottom. Using glittery nail polish is a pain, you need more than a couple of drops and it has to be layered on top of other colors or bottom, as long as that is the last polish you add to the water. Otherwise have fun with this! Also once you drop in dark colors if you don't do enough of the color it will thin out and be a very pale version of what's in the bottle. Put it somewhere to dry and in an hour or two you have a marbled mug. It is not dishwasher safe, the polish will come off in there. Also do not scrub very hard, use a soft sponge because you can rub it off with a brillo pad.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

#HomeOwner Problems

So many pinterest crafts to do and so little life to do them all. Sigh. I was scrolling through my craft board last night on Pinterest. I am so over my head on that list! I think I need a pintervention at this point. Well speaking of pinterest, I have completely removed the branches from my front yard but there is one little problem with that. I have a huge tree trunk and I refuse to pay to dispose of it, I'm trying to convince my brother in law that if we slice it in half and let it fall where it may we can turn it into a planter but he remains circumspect. I know it's very scrooge of me but I have great difficulty separating from my money for things I find superfluous. Like gym clothes. I buy clothes to specifically sweat in them and not be able to wear them anywhere else. Does anyone else find that a superfluous purchase? Anyway, that is not the point, point is that I really don't want to have to pay for removal of the trunk but I guess I will eventually cave.

Add 2 augurs, another plunger, and bottles of acid.

Something you do need to pay for - plumbing issues. Monday I caved and finally called the plumber. Oh yeah, my bathtub had a clog; just the tub. I have 2 augurs, I used both but to no avail. I tried the vinegar & baking soda trick that has worked before - nothing. I even tried chemicals, something I don't like and still nothing. I even tried to vacuum it out but nope. The guy came out on Wednesday (good thing I have a second bath) and couldn't remove the item clogging the tub so he pushed it through the main line. Hopefully I no longer have issues with that tub because I hated paying the $95.

Throwing Shade

Front yard

Well hello there! Look at this! I have chopped down (aka killed) 3 trees! Well not by myself but this still happened. All three trees were mulberry trees and yes they deserved this. You see their roots are very invasive my driveway is all cracked, along with sidewalks. The 2 trees in the back have already given me problems with my plumbing. Therefore, they joined the fishies. Metaphorically. This actually happened 2 weeks ago but I had forgotten to share. Cutting these down was also about my redoing the landscaping at my home because all the shade did not permit anything to grow under the shade. Talk about throwing shade. I am still trying to get rid of all this stuff, so far I have 1/4 of it cleaned up. Although I'll take any suggestions on how to get rid of that huge trunk you can see on the right hand side there. I have no idea how to hollow it out and I find it very irritating to have to pay to have it picked up. Thankfully some people were very interested in some of the larger logs and have picked them up themselves. Yay for people who like free firewood. I would actually keep some of it but my father spent a whole day telling me how bad this wood was for chimneys. I really don't want to deal with visits that involve him moaning about how I'm going to burn down my house with that wood. Who knows perhaps he's right and fireguards don't work and I will burn down my house. 

Back yard

This weekend I spent some time picking up branches and throwing them in the dumpster because I no longer had access to a truck. At times like this I really wish I had a truck. I also wish we had better city employees. There is a service center close to my home and the attendant is a real jack-ass. According to him I can only use the center 4X per year and that the rules were clearly stated online. I checked, that's a lie. I'm not quite sure why he lied to me but I thought it was very rude. I have a very suspicious mind and the only other thing that comes to mind is that he was helping out a business friend and didn't want me to fill up the extra-large bin. Seriously, even with all the branches you see there in the second picture it really isn't that much, they're just not placed correctly. Due to my center limitations I still have 3 piles in the front yard and all the stuff in the back yard :(

Retro New

As this year is a year of action, I have been giving my home quite a bit of thought as to what I like and I don't like. Turns out I don't like a lot and I like very little. Especially right now that my sister is searching for a house in town and I'm seeing all of these nice homes. This in turn has spurred a desire in me to update my kitchen. I thought to myself, I should keep the house in the period it was built (too much Rehab Addict). Then I looked up kitchens from 1972. I found the following:

I just can't. Full sentences could not describe the horror I felt at seeing what a 1970's kitchen was supposed to look like. See that edge above the sink in the yellow kitchen? My kitchen has that all the way around the top of the cabinets in an overhang-like thing that sticks out. Can you say ugh? I can. Ugh. I also have a yellow/white marble-like laminate counter, at least the yellow kitchen has tile instead; to say that my kitchen is retro would be a gross misuse of the word. After seeing what I'm up against if I keep the "style" (I don't think the 1970s had style or understood the word), I have decided to opt out of the 1970s. I know I was born in the decade but I am not claiming any of it! 

Instead I am going to keep a slight retro feel with some accents but I need to redo my kitchen. Besides the fact that it is truly not functional it could use a bit of plastic surgery. I have a lot of unused space because the cabinets are set into deep corners, lots of lost space because I can never reach anything back there. Also the previous owners cut into the cabinets to put in a dishwasher and it looks so ugly where they did that. Recently my father helped put in a new stove and we had to cut out part of the cabinets because my old stove was a built-in stove top/oven. Now I have ugly lines everywhere and I do not like it at all. The top cabinets can be saved and just moved but the bottom is pretty bad. The drawers stick and for some reason the rollers they are on rub on the wood so I always have little pieces of wood over everything, then I have to rinse/wash my pots/pans again to remove the wood splinters. I need to reimagine that kitchen but that is a long-term project, may not even happen this year. Who knows, it might but only if I have the time. And money. Pics of my dirty kitchen will come soon :)