This is going to take weeks ...

Slowly some of the projects around the condo are getting completed. I'm getting some satisfaction in the smaller ones -- like fixing the handle on the windows and cleaning out the clogged up vacuum cleaner -- and still slightly overwhelmed by others -- ripping up all the tiles in the guest bedroom, painting another two bathrooms. Joy.

But, yesterday we came one step closer to having the upstairs bathroom painted. It's a lovely deep red color. The trim certainly leaves something to be desired. But I'm not as good with the paint as I thought, and it's pretty easy to tell. Nevertheless, I'm sure a few decorative pieces here and there will provide adequate distraction.

We were thinking for a while about putting in ceramic tile in the bathroom as well. The floor is currently some nasty carpet stuff. That's right. In the bathroom. So when we were at Home Depot last night, it occurred to us that maybe vinyl tile would suffice. Thing is, I'm not the biggest fan of vinyl. But maybe because of the heinous tile that's already in the guest bedroom and the shoddy job of its installation.

But we found some stone-looking tile that had grout-looking edges to them that are pretty sharp. They're also not too shiny and have just a bit of texture to them. One fun thing about being a homeowner is being able to attack random parts of the house with a utility knife -- carpet in this case. After removing the thin layer of foam, I found a solid piece of plywood underneath. Very happy. Can't stick vinyl to particle board. But this'll work. It's also much less work and aggrevation. As much as I would have loved to mix a 50 lb bag of concrete and install backerboard ...

Other things that we've done are to remove the microwave that was over the stove, take out some ugly lights underneath the kitchen cabinets, install a washer and dryer and put up lovely curtains upstairs.

And then there's the issue of the sofas. Right, so we ordered two sofas and both of them wouldn't fit in the condo. I could understand the first not fitting as it was pretty long -- longer than a normal sofa. But the second was a sectional that could have made it in had the movers shown a little more grit. I wasn't there to witness it, but Maria said that they just kind of looked at it and said it wouldn't work. What kind of determination is that? C'mon. So after thinking about it some more, we decided finally on a futon. This way, in a few years when we move out, we can keep the futon for another room and order up a dreamy sectional.