Paint Fumes? Or Pure Joy?

I can't tell if I'm feeling deliriously happy because I've been sniffing paint, or because I'm watching our new house turn into OUR new house.

Today was day three of home-ownership in Nevada (let's not forget we are still homeowners in California). I began day three by walking to the new house around 6:30 a.m. to shop-vac wallpaper scraps and climb a ladder in the downstairs bathroom to scrape MORE wallpaper border off the ceiling. It sucked. I'm sore. But it's done, hallelujah.

The nicest painters in the world appeared at 7:22 a.m. and went right to work. I am glad to report that the once-golden-barfish-brown loft is now a pleasing Rustic Taupe. And the lighthouse-border bathroom, stripped of its lighthouses, is Alaskan Skies. Our master bedroom, devoid of the burgundy chair rail, is Magical Mauve.

After some price-comparing that put a lot of miles on our car and minutes on our phones over the past weeks, we chose our carpet/tile company and put a deposit on the flooring this afternoon. Plus Kevin spent a little time online researching his "school room" vinyl floor project which has to happen early next week before the new carpet arrives. I'll take photos of that for sure.

To conclude, some progress photos of the plaster.
First, the "before" photo:

Next, I photographed a little of the mess. I do mean a little. It was much larger, but I had to sweep frequently so the little blobs of damp plaster didn't stick to the wood floor. I was using a squirt bottle, a wood chisel, and a rag to scrape this stuff off. You can see, if you look closely, how badly I gouged the drywall. I am relying on the expertise of my formerly drywalling husband and the skills of the painters to cover up my violence. All the damage running horizontally beneath the pattern is where I tore off the chair rail.

Finally, I enlisted Kristi's help toward the end of my job. I should have hired her MUCH sooner. This photo makes it look almost pleasant and fellowshipy to chisel plaster. I assure you, it isn't. I should have had Kevin take a picture when my forearms, pants and shoes were covered in white dust.

More tomorrow! I feel like HGTV, and that's pretty fun.