I *HEART* Rona!

It is my go-to store. My home renovation store. My tools and tips store. My we-need-this-so-run-and-buy-it store. They should pay me to be in one of their commercials, I tell you. Since every time I turn around that little cartoon cash register is going "Cha-Ching!", I am glad Rona is getting my money. Lordy, they even sell curtains!!!

So enough about Rona. Here's the update on the townhouse renovation. The wallpaper, except for two areas about 2.5 feet wide each, is gone. I rented a wallpaper steamer (guess where?) and Groom_Leader displayed his previously-undiscovered talent for employing said tool to remove that godawful wall covering. Over 8 hours were spent in this task yesterday. When I returned the steamer this morning, I discovered that the nice man who rented it to me yesterday was only charging me $20.00 for the day's rental. What a sweetie!

Today was "dump" day - Groom_Leader schlepped the car battery and three other boxes of old small appliances and electronics to the Eco Station for me, then we loaded both our cars and delivered all the boxes to Goodwill. Tomorrow is a day off from the reno project - I am going to go for a walk with my sweetie, then I have a meeting from noon until two. After I get home, my niece, who is student-teaching at a school not too far from my current apartment, is going to drop by and hang out until she has to return to the school for an informational open house.

Thursday is plumbing day - and while the plumber is doing his thing, my capable assistant and I will be stripping (with remover gel) the last of the wallpaper, then beginning the top-to-bottom scrubbing of the place. Friday, I hope to be able to buy the paint and start priming some of the walls. Oh, and we're going to remove the bedroom doors and store them in the shed. Since I live alone, I can wait for a month or so before buying new doors at you-know-where and having them installed. I'm thinking of buying those old-fashioned looking glass doorknobs for them.

Everything else is on track - I have carpet cleaning scheduled for the 27th, and the move-out inspection will be done at 8 p.m. on the 30th. The caretaker had arranged for tradesmen to come in on the morning of the 30th to rip up the carpets and lino and replace them - and she had no idea, at that time, of what date I was moving out. So let's see, she was going to have trades entering and working in an occupied, full apartment. I stopped that with a call to the Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board, followed by a conversation with said dimwit caretaker. The workmen have been rescheduled for the morning of the 31st, after I have handed back the keys and shaken the dust of this pesthole off my feet.

One thing that really helped get the moving stuff in hand was sitting down and writing out a timeline - day by day, task by task. I feel more in control of the process now, I have a map to follow. Funny how we can reduce our stress level by relying on old, familiar habits.

And I still *HEART* Rona.