It's been a while since I did much with the house and figured it was time that changed, because these fixes won't do themselves.
Yesterday it was dreary all morning so didn't do much but then the sun came out so I took the chance to do some patches to the outside of the wall. It's not a job I particularly like, especially the parts that involve working up the ladder. I don't mind the height so much, it's just a nuisance to be going up and down the ladder endlessly for something or other. The main thing is the water bottle I use to dampen the surfaces before applying the cement - I need to spray water right before I put the cement on because if I spray the water and then go down the ladder to get the cement the chances are it will have largely dried by the time I get back up. But then I need somewhere to keep the bottle while I apply the cement.
The heat of the direct sunlight was great for drying out the cement but not so great for working in. By the time I was done I was sweating profusely and didn't smell particularly good.
Today I got back to stripping wallpaper. It's been six months since I did any of that - the last time was when I slipped, put the scraper into my wrist, and ended up going to the ER to have the cut stitched shut. Thankfully today's effort didn't involve injuring myself, and I got the section of wall completely stripped. Now I can put a light switch in there. It seemed like a really bad idea to connect wires to the live feed and then drip water all over everything.
I'm also trying to keep a single picture of the end goal in mind. There are a few possibilities we might develop stuff, and my mind keeps flitting between them. Both are possible, one is preferable (but quite a bit more work), and everything seems to involve multiple possibilities. Sometimes I wish it were a sensible option to just bulldoze the place and start over, or to strip everything right back to studs and start from nothing. Some friends recently bought a house and did just that, but they have the luxury (albeit an expensive one) of living in their old house while they fix up the new house. Their approach was to take two weeks to strip everything out and start over. I envy them that freedom.
