More progress = no pictures

Sad to say, it's true. No pictures for today, but what a set you'll be seeing (hopefully) tomorrow! Even though I got some painting done today (can you say window surround and the rest of the background to the fireplace), I also got something major started.

You see, I had a beloved cat who had lasted me through a few marriages and several moves, but had a really bad habit. You guessed it: she peed outside of her litter box. That's partially why we never really used the front living room - because she had.

Well, folks, I'm here to tell you something. Today was the end of it all. I have ripped up the affected area carpet, pulled back the padding and torn out the carpet tack strips. This is in preparation to my 'stopgap' measure for that room.

You see, I plan on having the entire main floor done in hardwood. The only thing holding us back? That silly little commodity that is in such short supply nowadays: money. Within the next year and some months, I should be able to seek a mostly full time job with a fairly nice salary. *THEN* I will declare war on the interstellar fungus that has declared itself our carpeting for the past many years. Oh, it was subtle at first, lying low and acting all nylon and such.

Suffice it to say, the carpeting in our house was the original builder's spec carpeting with that oh-so-fabulous high squish padding (NOT) and has been subjected to almost 8 years of young kids. Heck, I'm almost completely worn out by now too.

Back to my original reason for doing this: getting rid of that smell. I am embarking on a major experiment to see if I can get rid of that smell and have my flooring look somewhat normal for the next two years.

After doing all that prep work listed above (a.k.a. annihilating everything she peed on), I am going to coat the entire area with Kilz, which is a primer that is also touted as being a pet odor eliminator. We shall see (picture me wringing my hands as I write this) . . .

After coating with Kilz, I will tack down new padding and I am using strips of the carpet that are left over from the original installation as my replacement. Yes, I heard you gasp in horror when you read that. I will say that where this carpet will be is along that wall pictured with the window and there will be a nice love seat strategically placed over that area, haha.

See, I'm nuts, but I'm not crazy. You'll see . . .

Kellacious

P.S. I'm also working in Adobe Photoshop Elements to convert some of my photos to artwork for my new, fabulous living room!