trashy, of the white variety

yes, if you came into my house (almost wrote apartment there) right now, you might think i was white trash. my dryer is currently sitting in the middle of my kitchen. there is a reason for the trashy-ness. after talking about it for weeks, i'm finally painting. i'm starting with the laundry room - hence dryer in the kitchen. the laundry room is a good place to start because no one will see it unless i want them to, so i can test my painting skills. this is also a good place because the last time the previous owners painted they must have forgotten the paint tape. i think that it would have killed me to leave it be for months. plus, they had tons of "built ins". not just the built in cabinets, but several home made shelves. i decided the shelves needed to go, so they went out. it was sort of fun to get to start demolishing things.

so, i spent today washing walls (amazing how filthy they were - thank you God for amonia, vinegar, and baking soda: they do wonders) and removing shelving. then i got to pull out the spackle. this was always my favorite part when i was little. between the holes from the shelves and all of the other random nails and screws, there were a lot of holes to fill. i even did a whole patch in one spot! i'm proud of my work. i started taping too, so tomorrow morning i'll finish taping and get going wtih the paint thing.

the other big problem i'm having is with the bulit in cabinets. three of them have doors. the previous owners did things the quick and easy way - they just painted over the hinges. that is a big no=-no in my book. i wanted to replace the hinges when i repain the cabinets, so i'm attempting to get them off. it is proving to be bigger trouble than expected - i can't get the doors off by pulling out the pins, and most of the screws are painted in so tightly that i can't get them out. :-( if you have any suggestions, i'm all ears. somehow i will get this done.

meanwhile daisy is loving being in the house. last night we just walked up to the stop sign and came back home. then i put her on the tie out in the back while i fired up the grill and watered the lawn. she really likes the hose. when i sprayed water in her direction she started chasing it and having a ball! one day i'll put her under the sprinkler and see what happens.

tomorrow i'll post a mid-point picture of the laundry room. for now this "before" will have to do. from the picture you can see the excellent job that they did on the trip. you can also see some of the home-made shelves that are no longe a part of this room. considering how much spackle got put up today, i think that next time the room gets done i might need to re-drywall it!