Watching from the sidelines

I feel so left out. Everything is happening without me these days at the house. Very little was accomplished beyond putting away some clothes this weekend; the kiddo had a horseback riding thing (Sounds very swish, doesn't it? It was with the Girl Scouts-- I think they earned 2 badges. My Girl Scout troop didn't do anything that cool.). So we spent all day Saturday with Adam's folks while she did her Girl Scout stuff.

Anyway! I have begun the daily commute and Adam has been able to stay home and make progress toward "completion" so we can get the city off of our backs. To wit:

Lights. First, we have the easy one-- a 1950s (60s? 70s? clueless) shade to replace the crazy $4.97 shades we installed:


I'm looking at this pic and realizing now that wiping it with a dry cloth as I did isn't really cutting it. So I'll scrub it down a bit more with something more aggressive. ANYWAY. This is in the kiddo's room, and when it lights up, you can see through some of the unglazed dots so it looks like galaxies behind those big starbursts. We have a different one with metal edging and sweet little brass details that we'll put in our bedroom later. (Update: Yes, I am aware that it is a somewhat tacky shade. Whatever. I remain charmed.)

More lights. Adam had to pull out the old boxes, install newer and straighter ones and buy a new lightbulb to replace the one crushed in shipping. But the end result, is bathroom sconces that weren't Photoshopped:


Though maybe they should've been. It's still dark outside, so I'm taking this pic in the dark with the flash-- taking it with the lights on just creates glare. We may even put in lower wattage bulbs. Mind, the bathroom is still a bit of a construction zone. And the wall looks too red in that pic. Sigh. At any rate, I love them. Perfect size, and the chrome and white is marvelous. We still have to hang the wall cabinet and the shower curtain rod-- which, by the way, went even lower in price. We waited so long that by the time we got around to it, it only cost $3.

(Also, should I consider changing out the white outlets and covers on the wall with black ones? Black outlets and paint the covers to match the wall? They don't bother me a LOT...Just a little...)

Note to self: buy towel rods and vinyl film window covering to mimic old-fashioned bathroom/privacy glass TODAY.

(Yes, that is painter's tape and paper towels. Our bathroom window looks directly into the neighbor's kitchen window above their sink.)

Apparently Adam has also prepared all the trim for this sad little kitchen window:

as well as the trim for the backside of a doorway that was closed up long ago between kitchen and laundry. We drywalled completely over the hole on the kitchen side, but it's still there on the laundry side, complete with all the door trim. We'll just fill in the middle. I personally like the ghost door. It's a slight nod to the old butler's pantry that was sacrificed to the laundry/mud room.

And everyday, there's a little more walking room available within the house. He's put together the futon and desk for the office/guest room. He's set up dressers, cleaned out the pantry, set up our wireless internet, rehung most of our doors.

And this is all in addition to the plumbing. Me, I've done some laundry. Some dishes. I've cooked a few times. Maybe I'll mow this weekend.

Hey, I ordered the backsplash. I'm doing something.