Progress Looks Like Polka Dots

The room is coming right along, and progress does indeed look like a bunch of polka dots. There are so many tiny imperfections on the walls from the wallpaper scorer, the scrapers and places where sections of paint flaked off. All of these need just a little bit of patch and an overall sanding with a medium grit sandpaper. We are officially in the mind-numbing portion of this renovation. I keep thinking that no one wants to see pictures of or read about wall prep, right? Yet, Thursday rolls around, and I post about it again.

Andy admitted to me last weekend: This is the part of the job when I just want to paint the walls, but you keep telling me that we need to do more prep, and I can’t see anything else that needs to be done. He is definitely a big picture kind of guy, and I focus on the details. I know he will appreciate the flawless surface later, but thank you is not what I am hearing him mutter under his breath as we are working.

I have started to do some short videos on Periscope. If you are unfamiliar with Periscope, it is an app for your phone or tablet that allows you to create or view live-stream video broadcasts. I have used it to make some short tutorials (5 minutes or less) about how to test for lead paint using 3M swabs, and how to fix a large corner gap in plaster. We do occasionally put videos up on Vimeo, but I am finding that Periscope is more user-friendly for quick video. A great feature of Periscope is that it allows people to join the live-stream via a chat feature. Viewers can ask questions and interact with us in real-time. Video can also be watched later on replay. One drawback is that the video is not extremely high quality. In other words, it could not be mistaken for an HGTV show. I am working on ways to make the quality better, but for now, there is a distinct Blair Witch Project quality to Periscope video. I hope that observation does not date me.

If you would like to connect with us on Periscope, you will need to download the app for IOS or Android. Our handle is @BlakeHillHouse. You can replay our past videos, and I will announce live streaming on either Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. If you are not into that, we will eventually upload our Periscope video to our Vimeo channel.

In other news, I am almost ready to take M’s quilt to the quilter! I did end that sentence with an exclamation point because it is very exciting. I ask that you keep your expectations set to a reasonable level. I never expected to get the quilt top finished, much less have it turned into an actual quilt. Once I get it back, I will describe the process of idea-to-quilt as a first-timer. I certainly made my share of mistakes, and I peppered my mom with questions every time we talked on the phone.

My motto for this year is:

That’s exactly what we are doing as we work on M’s room and plan two other projects, one of which is h u g e. I am crossing my fingers for more photogenic room updates next week. Thanks for keeping us company during the ugly and thankless portion of this project.