The Bathroom -- First installment

It seems I have been waiting forever to pull up the carpet in our downstairs bathroom. In the two and half years we have lived here, one thing after another has taken priority over it. Which has included: having a hysterectomy (my apologies to those out there who think TMI), my mom's diagnosis of uterine cancer and her death last August, our second oldest falling off a balcony and breaking her elbow and all that entails. So you can see why it has not been done yet.

Well, I finally finished painting the walls a beautiful red.... Okay, the first paint I chose, once on the walls, looked more magenta; so I had to totally redo it. Then I decided to take down the over-sized cupboard that hung over the toilet, and which had only one coat of the red paint under it. So I applied two more coats to that area. Be forewarned: even with a tinted primer, it took three coats--but worth every bit of time. What I learned about me... I am impatient; therefore not only did I have to redo some parts over and over (like where the walls meet the ceiling) but I ended up wearing a LOT of paint.

Next on the list: paint the vanity (and the mirrored cabinet that hangs above it) a nice semi-gloss black. I took the doors off each, primed, and painted. Very pleased with the result. Now time to put them together. First I went with the cabinet doors. I had bought new hinges and at the store they looked very similar to what was already there. Wrong! They held the doors away from the frame. It was late and I was a little ticked at myself. I got out the old hinges (proving my parents right: don't throw anything out because you might need it some day) and spray painted them black. After they were dry and I went to assemble the doors, I couldn't find the screws! So down to the basement to dig through My Man's screw stash. I found some that would work and got everything together. But then I realized I had also lost the screws for the mirrored cabinet. Hey, I was feeling pretty good at my ability to fly by the sets of my pants and once again descended to the basement. I came back up and began to put it together. As I tightened the first screw the head came off completely. Hmmmm... I must have tightened it too hard. So when putting the other one in I was extremely careful, but it met with the same fate. Then I realized that I had grabbed the wrong type of screw. These were meant to snap below the surface so they wouldn't show or be felt. I now had to figure out how to get them out and get the right screws in.

That done, it was time to hang the cabinet back up. Trying to put it back up, we realized that the new light fixture we had put up was in the way. Totally my fault as My Man and his friend had specifically asked if I wanted it exactly where the old one was. My Man solved the problem by turning the light fixture upside down--which made the light shine up--which I actually like better. Ahh...now to put the fixture covers on. Hang the towel rod. And now to the floor....... That carpet is going to go...... Tune in later for the .... rest of the story.