Shopping and Building on a budget

Welcome back y’all! 🤠 After the A/C window unit install, I began to texture the walls and paint. I keep thinking about the game room / dining room project. If I can find a stopping point in this shop, I can get started on that new project. The texture turned out good. I covered all the drywall joints, screw heads, corners, edges, around the door and around the A/C unit. As I began to paint, I couldn’t stop thinking of that dining room transformation. What am I going to do with that chandelier? HEY! “Somebody STOLE my candle lightbulbs”!😮 I had candle light bulbs on this thing. Those ugly round bulbs are not mine. 😞 The kids want a ceiling fan in there. 🤔 Oh, I’m thinking….

Also, the Dining Room Set. It is a beautiful “Cherry Wood” set. It was actually one of our first major purchases when we bought our first home. Luckily we now have a giant “Grand Room” that can accommodate the Cherry Wood Dining set. 

I’ll keep thinking, but for now I’ll finish painting the office. I used some leftover white paint that I purchased at Home Depot to paint the Breakfast Nook. Glidden White semi-gloss (Interior). That was an easy project. Taking deco off the wall, wiping the wall down, taping around the door ways and on the tile floor was it. A 10’x10’ room, two door ways on two walls, 6’x7’ window on the 3rd wall (Faux wood blinds stayed in tact) and the 4th is an open counter area, leading into the kitchen. Paint it, let it quick dry, hang the deco back up and….

DONE! I knew the leftover white would not complete the job in the shop office, so I decided to buy a gallon of beige paint. Why beige? Well, I also knew I wanted to repaint the Gazebo in the back yard. This beige paint also matches the house and the shop. Mesa Beige Exterior Paint. So beige it is. 🤠 Check out my painting and A/C  below. I also hung a seven foot long conduit pipe from the ceiling. It will help to hang extra clothes.

A/C from the outside. If y’all look closely to the right bottom corner, you can see the inlet for a clean water source. The future will bring an outlet drain pipe, closest to the floor for waste water. Again, grey water only. That water will be great for the bushes on that side of the shop. 🤠 

Y’all can see where I painted the bottom portion of the room, with beige. The sealers, texture, paint, brushes, blue painters tape and rollers, I purchased from  Home Depot search painting supplies, but you can purchase painting supplies at any of my retailers like  Lowes type in painting supplies and Amazon  painting supplies. 🤠

A/C from the inside. 

Again, I hung this conduit on the right side wall, so I can hang my work clothes, extra, etc. 

Note: to get the color I wanted, I took a chip off the gazebo and had Home Depot try and match it for me. Custom paint, fyi, is non-returnable just about anywhere. Well it matches the gazebo, but it may be a little darker than I wanted. Oh well. I’ll make it work. 🤠

I cropped this picture of the door, so it looks a little funny. I wanted to show the cement floor. 

Why the cement floor? Well, remember before I built the wood frame? I used the  concrete sealer that I purchased at Home Depot . Since I’m almost done here, I want to clean up and  mop the floor and I’m thinking of “Painting” the floor. 🤔It would be that beige color. What do y’all think? 

The counter for my future sink/basin will go right where that white trash can is. Over to the right, will be my urinal. Remember, “grey water only” in this shop. I’m most likely gonna start my Dining room project. I’ll come back to the shop later.  Oh, I forgot. Instead of painting the plywood on the outside of the office, I decided to cover the walls with banners, flags, posters, brands, license plates and just a mixture of stuff that I’ve had laying around. I also started moving things into the shop.

Both of my parents have passed away now and I went home to sell the land and the house. I brought some old things home. Why??  I know, 🥹 I guess I just wanted a little bit of my parents with me. 💖

That “United We Stand” Flag, my Mom gave to me years ago after 911.😞 Lower, but not seen in the picture is a banner. This banner sat on my Moms side of the bed. It reads…“The Memory of (my brother's full name) Lives”. Sadly, two bad men murdered him back in 1982 over a pool game in a bar. 😡That was the first time and only time I ever saw my Father cry.😞 

That banner is out of view because of the old vacuum cleaners, tubs and boxes, etc. that I brought home. On top is an old Ronald McDonalds plate, Ninja Turtles lunch box, two sewing machines, Mickey and Minnie canister, and AMCO white can full of gadgets and a lot more. 🤠

It’s a little wild, some Patriotism mixed with my old t-shirts, banners, towels, license plates and just stuff that I’ve kept throughout the years, OMG, but I like it.🤠 I didn’t have to paint it and y’all know how plywood can suck up the paint.😮 Again, I’ll come back to the shop project later. 

Well, looking into the dining room, the biggest part of this project is moving the Cherry Wood dining set out. I don’t think the China Cabinet has been moved since we bought this house 30 years ago. 🤔The Grand Room is the center of the house. See my sketch below. If I move the Baby Grand Piano to the center of the room, it can be the divider between the living room set and the dining room set. THAT is how big the Grand Room is. Plenty of room! 🤠

My dream came true. All the boys got together and helped me move the couch, loveseat, Baby Grand Piano and then we moved the Dining Room set into the Grand Room to its place, per my sketch. It works! Plenty of room! 

Now I’ll get my tools needed for the dining room project. . I’ll first drill a hole for the ethernet cables.    I'll get out my handy, dandy drill . Now, remember, my oldest son bought me this drill some time ago. It does not have all the attachments pictured in the link. It’s a Black+Decker drill that has the saw, sander and air pump options only.  🤠

Not pretty, but it worked. I stuffed some steel wool in the hole and made the cables snug. Now they can connect their own electronics after I’m out of the way.

My next job is to remove the Chandelier. Easy to do. Just make sure to turn off the power to that room. Remember, Safety First. Some rooms have two switches. One at each door entrance, so it's safer if you turn the main breaker off. Detach the plate, pull out the wires. Most likely you will see colored wire nuts to unscrew. Separate the wires. Black is usually HOT, the White is neutral and green, brown or bare copper are usually ground wires. Chandelier is down. It's so bulky and its crystal. I have to” hang it” somewhere. The Gazebo. 🤔Yes! The Gazebo. There is a hook in the center of the Gazebo. 🤠 Viola! I’ll send y'all a picture later. Now for the installation of the new  Home Depot Ceiling fan. Pretty easy. Just follow the instructions. Making sure the power stays off is the most important. A screw driver, regular and a Phillips head. Have both in case. A pair of pliers, wire cutters and a good pair of glasses. To protect your eyes? You ask? No! To read the instructions, silly. 🤣  LOL!   Not really, safety glasses are always good to have. Safety First. If you have new wire nuts use them. If not, you should be able to use the old wire nuts. No problem. The fan is wired correctly, up she goes and straddles the hook. Now comes the cover plate. Done! Let's turn on the power and make sure everything works. Viola! Success!

The paint in this room is not bad, but I’m gonna use some texture, plaster to fill holes of previous picture frames, etc. I’ll need another can of white paint. Why mix? I’ll just run down to my “Go To” place at the  Home Depot  for white Glidden.  Of course y’all can always shop  Lowes. Search Paint supplies.  or  Amazon paint supplies.  I can't remember if Walmart carries paint. If they do and you have a Gift Card or something, go for it. Walmart, search paint supplies or gallon paint. . Get all your supplies, paint, brushes, tape, tools and even the ceiling fan at any of these retailers. 

Now comes the clean up. Since the room is currently empty, it may be a good time to shampoo and or deep clean the carpet. I first vacuumed then I pulled out the shampooer. I believe Maria Elena bought this cleaner at Target.  I’m sure any and all my other retailers also carry a good shampooer. It’s just that FREE is the best.🤠 I received this Hoover Smartwash+ Cleaner as a gift from her. Y’all say, “well that ain’t Free cause she's your wife.”

 “She GAVE IT to ME, so it is FREE to ME.” 😂🤠🤣🤣  I just had to say that!   

Join me next time for more updates of my projects at the DURON RANCH. Don’t forget to click on my LINKS to save time and money. Tap the LIKE button👍, send feedback, ask questions and definitely SUBSCRIBE by placing your email on the home page, to receive a notice of NEW Chapters at the DURON RANCH. Until next time, stay safe, make good choices and we'll see y’all soon!!!  🤠