Progress!

What a day today! First thing this morning I decided to install my first light fixture. I had a chandelier that I bought from SmartBargains a whille ago, thinking I would hang it in my room in NY until it arrived and I realized it had to be hard wired. Fortunately, I kept all the pieces together. I lost the instructions, which made things a little tricky, but I bought an electrical 101 book at Barnes and Noble. The hardest part was not the wiring, it was figuring out how to hang the stupid thing from the ceiling using the box that was already installed. (Unscrewing the old fixture: torque 3; hanging the new fixture: torque 5) I think it took me about an hour and a half to finish, and then, just as I was about to test my wiring skills, I realized I had the wrong light bulbs. How was I supposed to know there are two kinds of "G" light bulbs? I didn't even know there was one kind of "G" light bulb. I finally got the right bulbs this evening, and the light works!! Yay me! It looks great, too.

I spent the rest of the day laying floor in the kitchen. First I had to rip out the linoleum, which wasn't too difficult. I also tried to fix the squeaks in the floor by screwing the plywood down (torque 14), but it didn't seem to have any effect. Once I got the carpet and the lino up, the real work started. This laminate flooring does click together, but it is not easy. I ended up covered in sawdust (cutting by hand), wearing my rollerblading knee pads and cursing on the floor for hours. I finally got some results though. I can't WAIT to finish.



It's a little messy around the edges, which means I'll need to buy moldings to cover that all up. Also, there are two cupboard doors missing because I ran out of satin paint and keep forgetting to go to the paint store. I'd better finish that up before I get all the floors in!

Next up ... living room floor and bathroom walls.