How to Paint Your Floor

I totally love the floor in my office. I can't believe I did something that came out looking like that. The Jazzman deserves 90% of the credit, as he did all the prep work, after I sanded the floor, and applied the polyurethane after I did the faux finish.

More than that, as I was asphyxiating myself with the glaze, he realized what was happening and saved me from death-by-chemicals—and from myself!

I got this idea on an episode of Trading Spaces that was shot in Orlando, where one couple painted the other couple's nasty old flooring.

Here's my nasty old flooring. This is the bathroom floor. The flooring in the office was the same pattern, but in a 1930s or 1940s blue-green that was stained, tired, and needed to go buh-bye.

I sanded, then deglossed the vinyl. The Jazzman taped the trim, laid down two or three coats of primer, then a couple of base coats of beige. Then I was going to sponge a taupe glaze. I had bought a cool sponge-on-a-mitt, but couldn't figure out how to make it work. I remembered when I ragged off the glaze on Boston's nursery with Jaci nine years ago, and started doing a similar process on the wet glaze. When that dried, I touched up a few places, then Jazzman applied two coats of polyurethane and touched up the trim. What's not obvious is 24-48-72 hours curing after each coat. So the whole process took several weeks, but is totally and completely worth every bit of effort.

If you're thinking you'd like to do the same thing to one of your floors, here's the process on eHow.com.

Here's another scene of the final result.

Ta-Dah! The New Office

In May, I left my office job where I spent over two hours a day driving to and from work. My new job enabled me to work from my home.

I moved all my sewing things from the small bedroom back to the basement, and erected a folding table and small computer table in the new office, which had been painted many years ago to an institutional blue green yuck color. The heavy old double-hung windows were painted shut. A heavy metal rolling cart from the basement became the bookshelf. I sit with a view out over the vacant lot next door, which my neighbors, Jean and Marilyn, have landscaped to the hilt. As I work, I glance out and watch squirrels and birds cavorting.

My Really Good Man (RGM) decided I needed a new office if I was going to work from home and sit in this space all day every day. See if you agree:

RGM started with thinking I needed a deep, rich color for the walls, similar to the lovely deep colors my brother used in his mountain house. Then he said we should go to Star Supply and get a countertop. He started talking to Tom, an acquaintance who is a retired contractor/jack-of-all-trades. When they started talking about mitering the corner of the counter, they decided to place a large square of wood in the corner and run the counter off both sides of that wood. Then he started talking to Tom about building a bookcase at the end of the counter.

The floor was an ugly, ugly sheet vinyl, circa 1927. I watched an episode of Trading Spaces, where the homeowners painted the sheet vinyl floor. We googled "How to paint sheet vinyl" and found the instructions on eHow.com. RGM did most of the work on the floor, but I did the faux finish, while nearly asphyxiating myself on the chemicals in the glaze. RGM did all the painting—the walls, trim, bookcase, and bathroom. Look at that trimwork in the bathroom! The man is a genius!

We looked at rugs at Home Depot and Lowe's on Wednesday night, then on Thursday I went around the corner (shop local!) to a little rug store on Belmont owned by some Palestinians. There we found a beautiful rug at a very affordable price. The rug will keep the floor warmer, and will hide the inevitable cat throw-up that's sure to come its way.

The gallery of photos from travel—mostly abroad—that was in the hall downstairs will go on the wall to the right of the bathroom door. Diplomas will go in on the green wall in the corner. Once I move the rolling cart back to the basement, a comfortable guest chair will go into the space occupied by the cart.

New double-hung fiberglass windows have been ordered and will arrive in about four weeks. Two weeks later they'll be installed, and this will be the warmest room in the house.

And my new office will be done!

See what you think of the result:

The window overlooks the "garden". The basket for Angel is in place beside it.	Beautiful bookcase, custom made for the space.
Don't you just want to wrap that green around yourself?	And look at the trimwork in the bathroom!
The view from the bathroom back into the office.	The Guardian overlooking the office.
How about that floor? I love it! And don't you love the rug? Isn't it perfect for this space?	This is the gorgeous square of wood, put into place to get around a mitered corner.

Many thanks to Tom for hard work and good ideas on the new office. And mega-thanks to the Jazzman, my RGM, for conceiving the idea and bringing it to fruition.

A final note about the first photo on the post. This Native American figurine is named the Guardian. He guards his family and his home, and yours too. This cool guy was a gift from Tyler and Jaci when I was again newly single in 2003 and all alone in my new house. They found him to help take care of me. And look where we are now!!

Pulling My Heartstrings

After writing yesterday about all the shows PianoLady and I had seen, I've been thinking about the songs that just wring my heart out when I hear them.

I was listening to the "On Broadway" channel on Sirius/XM when "Wheels of a Dream" from "Ragtime" came on. That music grabs me every time I hear it.

From "Light in the Piazza", I feel melancholy when I hear "Dividing Day" and melt at "Say It Somehow".

"For Good" from "Wicked" makes me think of every life-changing friend I've known, while "What Is This Feeling?" and "Popular" make me laugh out loud.

There are similar songs for me from "Les Miz" and "Phantom" and "Oliver" and "Funny Girl" and … and …. Yes, I have had a lifelong love affair with Broadway musicals.

But there are movements from classical works that affect me similarly. Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony and the Enigma Variations and the Brahms Requiem and the Fauré Requiem and ….

You get the idea. I've been a musician all my life. Before and after everything else, I am a musician. And music moves me.

Does music move you? Or what substitutes for music in your life?

On Broadway

PianoLady and I are counting the days until we meet at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan for our annual Broadway Weekend. We have now been friends and piano duet partners since 1969. That's 41 years of having a friend you could say anything to and receive unconditional acceptance in return, and one who could play a mean Primo to your Secondo. Pretty darned good.

For your humming pleasure, here's the list of shows we've attended and (mostly) loved:

(1999)

"Ragtime"

(2000)

"The Music Man"; "Kiss Me, Kate"

(2001)

"42nd Street" (We had tickets before 9/11, and PianoLady took two of her daughter's friends along in my stead.)

(2005)

"29th Annual Putnam Co. Spelling Bee";"Light in the Piazza"

(2006)

"Wicked"; "Spamalot"

(2007)

"Grease"; "The Drowsy Chaperone"

(2008)

"South Pacific"

(2009)

"Burn the Floor"; "Next to Normal"

(2010)

"Promises, Promises"; "West Side Story"

In looking back, I absolutely loved "Ragtime", "The Music Man", Spelling Bee, "Light in the Piazza", "Wicked", and "Next to Normal". I would see any of those again, except maybe "Next to Normal", which was rather intense. I have the soundtracks to Piazza and "Wicked" on my iPod and listen to them frequently. My grandchildren know all the words to all the songs in "Wicked"—I can't wait to take them for that experience!

We did not enjoy "Spamalot", and when I told that to Tyler, he said, "I could have told you you wouldn't like it." We've taken to asking him ahead of time whether we should see certain plays. We skipped "Spring Awakenings" based on his recommendation.

"Burn the Floor" was good, but I didn't love it. I want to be able to go home at the end of the weekend and brag to my friends, "You won't believe the fabulous show I saw this weekend."

"The Drowsy Chaperone" was a surprise enjoyment. We couldn't figure out what else to see, and wanted to fit in a second show, so went to that and laughed uproariously.

I've already downloaded the soundtrack to "Promises, Promises" and can't wait to see Kristin Chenoweth on stage.

Oh, the number of days? Nine!

My Life in a Quote

When single adults over, oh, fifty start spending more time together and morph from dating to a relationship, they start spending more time in each other's spaces. And they have to get used to the way each other lives.

I'm a visual person. I have to see something to be able to remember it. It only took me about fifty years to learn that about myself! I can have an object—a stapler, a favorite necklace, a ruler—in an obscure resting place, but if I've laid eyes on it in the past twelve weeks, I can lay my hands on it within three stops. It may not be your ideal organizational scheme, but it's mine.

Similarly, if I have something that I don't know what to do with, it can sit in the same spot for weeks until I no longer see it when I pass that location.

So as the Jazzman started spending more time in my house, he would ask me for a measuring tape or a screwdriver. When I pointed him to the bottom drawer in the dining room or the top drawer in the breakfront, he would look at me like I was absolutely crazy. He'd ask why I stored something in that odd location, and I'd just shrug.

When I saw today's Daily Thought from Real Simple magazine, I knew I had to share it.

“One person’s mess is merely another person’s filing system.”

― Margo Kaurman

Postscript: I will confess that the Jazzman is moving in one t-shirt at a time. And as he accumulates more of his possessions over here, he brings more organization to the space. He's actually quite amazing in his ability to leave order in his wake. I may give up my most unique filing system in favor of his organizational abilities!

Tote that Score, Lift that Voice

Last night was the first rehearsal of the new season for the full Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. What a thrill to sit down again with these talented musicians, many of whom have become friends over the past year.

This is the beginning of my second season with the chorus, and I love every minute of the experience: every minute of driving 75 or so miles to get to rehearsal; every minute of sitting totally focused for almost three hours; and especially the result: every minute standing on stage in the magnificent Severance Hall.

For me, singing under the baton of Robert Porco is a singular experience. (Pun not intended! "Singular" is defined as "remarkable". But in this case, it does have to do with singing!)

I sang for many years with one of the premier choruses in Washington, DC. Then, after some personal trauma, I switched to a different chorus. I lasted three rehearsals before I had to quit. One of the conductors would rehearse the chorus until they couldn't sing the work wrong. The other conductor would rehearse the chorus until they could do it right. Doing something right once or twice is nothing like being unable to do it wrong. On the social aspect, rehearsals with one chorus were likened to attending a weekly Polish wedding. The other was known as a somber no-nonsense let's-get-back-to-the-music organization.

Now I'm not going to identify which of those choruses was which on either the music or the sociability. But—to me—Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is the best of both worlds. Every member I've met has been warm and open and welcoming. And Porco strives to rehearse us until we can't "do it" wrong.

What an honor to be accepted into this organization, and to keep learning and growing as a musician.

If you're in Youngstown, come to Powers this Saturday night to hear us sing with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. I know there's been a slight overdose of Carmina Burana lately, but this chorus's performance will be unlike any you heard earlier this year.

Hope to see you there.


Photo credit: Cleveland.com

Garage Sale as Social Media

I had a garage sale today.

I had a garage sale once before. The previous garage sale was in 1999. Tyler and Jaci had moved in with me after my husband died; nine months had passed, and we were getting ready to move to new abodes. We posted signs, set our stuff on tables in the front yard, and watched as the sky opened up. It poured! We quickly moved all our stuff to the small front porch, where shoppers had to suck their respective guts in to get around each other while viewing our valuable goodies without getting soaked by the rain.

Shortly after I set up my wares, I was hit with a migraine. A big, full aura, pain dripping out my ears migraine. My girlfriend had come over to check out the goods for sale, bringing her three-year-old nonstop-movement daughter. I sat in a dark room, listening while she chatted, and holding my aching head in my hands.

Tyler and Jaci held down the fort on the front porch, answering questions and taking money. All I wanted was to be left alone.

"What are these?" "How to you use this?" "How much do you want for these sunglasses?"

They carefully answered all the questions as well as they could given the fact that they were monitoring my goods as well as their own.

After a couple of hours, my girlfriend took her young daughter and prepared to leave. She looked around, dug through her purse, and asked, "Where are my Prada sunglasses?" After retracing her steps through the house, she decided she just had to go without her sunglasses. I promised to return them as soon as I found them.

A few days later, Tyler and Jaci looked at me during dinner and said, "You remember those glasses your friend was looking for?" I nodded. They laughed self-conciously and said, "We sold them. We didn't know they were hers. Someone wanted them and we sold them."

We've been laughing about those sunglasses for years now!

Today the garage sale became a good opportunity for me to meet neighbors I had never met in the 21 months I've been living here.

I do hate garage sales, but I welcomed the opportunity to make some new friends today.