Team Savoy

I recently redid our 1/2 bath downstairs. I knew I wanted to try out a textured look on the walls, so we got some drywall scraps and I tried out a few different colors and methods. I decided to use a rag instead of a sponge and selected 3 different colors for the project. For the base coat, I used the color bagel (by Behr), which is also the color of our front room. After D helped me pull everything off the walls and dismantle the toilet, I got to work applying the base coat using your standard rolling method:

Now, I figured I would crank this project out in no time since the 1/2 bath is the smallest room in the house. I had never painted a bathroom before, so I didn’t know about all of the nooks and crannies involved. I practically had to stand on my head a couple of times to get the job done. And… okay, I probably whined a little throughout the process too. After the base coat dried, I mixed the color caramelized orange (again by Behr) with their glaze base and then applied it by scrunching up a rag and dabbing it on the wall. I’m not sure if my method was considered ragging or colorwashing, but whatever it was, it took awhile:

Things were looking pretty orange in there after I was finished and I almost panicked that I would have an Illini themed bathroom, which is not what I was going for. The next day after everything had dried and I had given my poor claw-like hands a rest, I went back to work and applied the final Behr color, crispy gingersnap, which had also been mixed with the glaze, using the same rag method. I’ll be honest, this color looked a little unappealing on its own, but it really helped tone down the orange I had already used. Here is the final result:

The color ended up being a little more intense than I had originally envisioned, but I really like the end result. Which is a good thing, because I won’t be doing any more painting for a long time.

I really do have a college degree. However, I’m not as mechanically inclined as I’d like to be. I have no delusions of rebuilding an engine, but I’d like to think I am able to keep up with general household tasks. So the following story is a little dismaying, but altogether not too surprising.

A few years ago, I was mowing the lawn and hit the water main in the front yard. The lawn stayed dry, but the mower blade was horribly twisted. After giving Lowe’s some money, I got a new blade, installed it, and finished mowing the lawn. Remember, this was years ago. This past week, I took a close look at my grass and saw that the tips weren’t neatly chopped. These frayed grass tips definitely make the lawn look a little dry. I figured that the blade wasn’t sharp and needed to be tuned up.

I took the blade down to the workshop and ground the cutting edge down until it was sharp. I thought it was weird that there was no paint missing off the cutting edge and it didn’t really look that dull. Whatever. While I was putting it back on, I made sure to put the blade on exactly as it had been before. Then, I dragged K out to take a look at the blade while I pulled the cord to make sure it was going clockwise (the direction of the cutting edge).

“No. It’s going the other direction.”

“Counter-clockwise?”

“Yep.”

-silence-

I had put the blade on upside down years ago. For years I’ve not been cutting the grass, I’ve been blunting it to death. No wonder the grass had frayed ends. After turning the blade right-side up, I gave it a test cut and immediately noticed a difference. And then…..

BANG!!!

Something hit the blade. I turned the mower upside down and found that a piece of metal that connects the blade to the deck had broken off and hit the spinning blade - and nicked it in the process. Now I need to get a new part AND resharpen the blade. Oh, well. At least it’s spinning in the right direction now.