"While You Were Out" Part X - Jeezus, aren't you done yet???

No. As a matter of fact, I'm not!!!

But I am about 50% done with the cut-work, at least!!!

Couple of Tips for you Do-It-Yourself Types out there: 1 mil plastic drop-cloth crap really *is* crap. There's a reason you can buy a freakin' acres-worth for under two bucks! It SUCKS!!! It sticks to your feet (even if you're wearing socks), and the ladder *loves* to grab hold of it, drag it around and punch holes in it. Basically, it simply refuses to STAY near the edges of the wall - which kinda defeats the purpose.

I didn't want to spring for the $30-40 for a "real" canvas drop-cloth. I went with some $8.00-ish in-between crap instead. It's sorta papery on one side and plasticy on the other (definitely "disposable" so probably not "GREEN" - but f**k it!!!). At least it stays put!!!

And I spent a whopping $5.97 for the Shur-Line Edger "Pro" (No "Amateur" stuff for me! Nuh UH!!!). It does a "pretty okay" job of edging, but there's obviously some sorta "technique" that needs to be perfected in order to keep the paint off of the edger-border-wheelie things. Yes, on the "Pro" model, you can hit a button and the edger-border-wheelie things pop "up" - supposedly out of the way of the paint. But I've yet to master the technique! Consequently, my fingertips are fully covered with paint b/c every time I plunk the thing in the "Edger Tray" paint dispenser, I end up having to rub off the excess paint.

But I'm not b*tching TOO vehemently - b/c it's kept me from having to climb a ladder and apply masking tape along the ceiling!!!

BTW - The Non-"Pro" model did not have a threaded hole thingie for putting it on a pole. The "Pro" model does. And I'm using a telescoping boat-hook to reach the ceiling.

It's doing a pretty okay job, I think - so I'd recommend it IF you have pretty straight walls. If you're in an 80 yr-old building, I suspect the results would be less-than-spectacular.

So my goal, for tonight, is to finish the cut-work (what the hey - I'm gonna do the might-be-an-"Accent Wall" as well - just in case I choose NOT to darken it). After that, all that's left is roller-work which should go *very* quickly.

I'm starting to stress-out, a bit, over getting this done before Rog comes home. And the door and trim are starting to look less-and-less likely - but we'll see...

Didn't get as much done as I would have liked, today. A) Work got to be a bit busier than I'd anticipated (got a couple of new, convoluted projects going...), and B) Home Depot was supposed to send some Sales Reps out to give me a bid on getting the kitchen re-faced...

While I was looking for TSP, over the weekend, I was approached by a non-orange-apron-wearing Home Depot employee offering to "help." I should've been suspicious from the get-go, right? (But I *have* experienced rare-moments when Home Depot personnel HAVE been willingly helpful!) He helped me find the TSP then asked if I'd heard of their latest promotion (Ut Oh!!! "Timeshare Salesman Alert!!!").

Turns out he was from their "Home Services" Dept and was pitching Kitchen Remodels, right? Would I like a No-Cost, No-Obligation yada yada blah-blah for kitchen remodeling?

"Well, yeah, I'd like to get a Quote for cabinet re-facing - but last time I looked into it, you refused to send anyone out unless my husband was there..."

(Sidebar: There's a REASON for this whole "While You Were Out" approach! Rog is an Electronics Engineer and prefers to have everything in his world pretty "orderly" [Ha! He married the wrong woman for THAT!]. He resists change [although once it's complete - he acknowledges and actually appreciates the improvement!]. Any disruption to his daily routine, however, TOTALLY throws him out-of-whack. Ergo, if he were to come home and see the living room as it looks right now - it would totally put him into a tailspin... Plus, he is aggressively opposed to parting with any capital!!! So these Home Improvement Projects are funded by yours-truly and are ALWAYS completed when he is miles away!!! So by the time he returns, he only has to deal with [and ENJOY] the End-Result - without experiencing any of the Trials/Tribulations of "Getting There!")

So anyway, I expressed a bit of trepidation at the HD Guy's Sales Approach - but then he assured me that he'd be more than happy to arrange to have someone come out and give me a bid. Okay, fine.

So he gets on the phone and schedules an appointment. Simple, right?

So the appt was originally scheduled for 1:00pm, this afternoon. I did get the "scheduler's" phone# - just in case. And that was a good thing b/c as it turned out, 1:00pm didn't work (I had a Client Call scheduled at that time). So I called to reschedule. 5:00pm it is. Cool.

"Someone will call you Monday morning to confirm." Okay...

Well, nobody called. So then I was all nervous that someone would show up at 1:00pm (while I'm in the middle of a client call). Didn't happen...

Okay....

I spent about half-an-hour straightening the kitchen - so they'd have space to do their measuring and stuff, right? (No big-deal - except for the fact that the living room "overflow" has oozed into the kitchen - while I'm in the midst of my painting project)....

4:30 rolls around and I lock the dogs up. Don't need yapping dogs underfoot while I get my bid, right?

5:00 comes and goes. No sign of anybody!

Now, mind you, I'd wrapped up "work-work" by about 3:30pm. I *could* have been painting all that time - but Noooooo!!!!

Well, now it's after 7:00 and NOTHING! No Sales Rep. No Phone Call. No Nuthin'!

So THAT kinda p*sses me off!!!

Seems to me that if they were THAT eager to offer me a Kitchen Remodel, the Sales Rep could've at least shown up, right??? Or at LEAST the courtesy of a freakin' phone call!!!

"Oh, well!"

I really can't afford it right now anyway...... But it would've been nice to get a rough idea of what kinda $$$ we're talking about here!

Okay, enough kvetching about that. I've got a couple more walls to "edge" then I'll be All-Set for rolling and FINISHING this freakin' paint-project!!!!!!!!!!!!!