$25 Well Spent

After my handy-guy, Rick, pull the office door off the hinges for me, I set about stripping wall paper off the door. My mother and husband had glued on the door a fantasy picture of what I think was an artist’s concept of Rivendell. Beautiful but overpowering.  My darling Paul enjoyed the oohs and ahs of visitors admiring the poster. His contribution to the décor of our home.

Wheelchair scrapes mark the lower side of the picture with the edges peeled back from the top corners closest to the heater vent. Without the dungeon master of role playing around to create excitement for the print, the door looked sad and damaged. I determined to remove it.

As in any project I endeavor, I have been thinking about how to do it for several months. Really. That is what I do. Over think e v e r y t h i n g…

I popped the door on two facing counter stools and scored the face with a box cutter in long X patterns.  With each cut, I prayed that my dearly departed was not fashioning lightning bolts to hurl down from heaven. I prayed he understood or at least forgave me for the desecration.  

Next I pulled out the Shark Steamer.

Three years ago, I managed to drag Mom out at 3:00 A.M. for the Black Friday Sale. You know the day after Thanksgiving. We stood in a long line in Macy's surrounded by stacks of electronic kitchen gadgets that included cake donut makers and George Foreman Grills. Crowds of the bargain hunters chatted about their quest for the ultimate deal.

I clutched my brand new Shark Steamer that usually costs $75. That morning I got the prize for only $25 and a small case of sleep deprivation. Totally worth it.

Now I could use this handy appliance not only on the kitchen floor but on the office door. As the machine does not work vertically, it was necessary to set the door flat. And as I sold our four saw stands when we moved from Fremont, thinking we would never need them again, the two counter stools had to do as supports. That did make the height of the horizontal door about four feet off the ground. So when I steamed a spot, moved it over, and then scraped the wallpaper in the ninety degree weather, my face received a good steaming from my Shark. Sweat dripped from my nose rewetting the area and eating through the glue. Despite that challenges the whole process took less than an hour with clean up.

Next morning the door got painted its boring white and hung. I could hear Paul’s “tsk-tsk” through the ceiling.

I do think he likes my choice in bedroom decor.

Today’s Menu:

Breakfast: ½ c Raisin Bran w/almond milk.  Coffee with agave syrup and almond milk.

Snack: Carrots.

Lunch: Belgium pretzel with mustard and side salad at The Fat Rabbit Public House, Folsom California. Great little pub.

Snack: Cantaloupe

Dinner: Burritos with soy taco meat, soy cheese, avocado, salsa, lettuce, and black olives

Snack: Dark chocolate covered Acai and Blueberries