TGIF

[Yes, that's a lame title. No, I don't care. Now, on to the post!]

I’ve noticed, as the time spent in our house grows, that there’s a distinct difference in the way that I acted when we lived in apartments, as opposed to now, living in a house we own. I’m much more aware of little things now, like how it bugs me that leaves are perpetually blown all over the front walk (the dryer vent in our last apartment blew directly onto our front step and left lint everywhere—I couldn’t have cared less) and how I’m extra careful to make sure my hands are clean when I go to adjust the brand-new, white blinds in the bedroom (I don’t think I’ve ever even noticed the condition of my hands in regards to blinds before, but this weird habit has developed just the same).

It’s not that I was careless or anything when it came to our apartments; Denny and I have always been very respectful of the places we lived and we always left them in better condition than they were when we first moved in. It’s just that now that we own our place, there’s this since of responsibility that wasn’t really there before. Maybe it’s just that I’ve realized that any repairs that need to be made will come directly from our checking account (and our spare time). Maybe it’s a sort of societal pressure to be neat and tidy neighbors. Maybe it’s simply that I’ve started putting pictures of our house online for the world to see (if that won’t convince me to change my slovenly ways, I don’t know what will).

In any case, where I was going with this whole story is: I have become slightly paranoid about being careful of the things in our house. For example, the new-to-us dining table and chairs that we got recently have been making this not-so-lovely screeching noise when you slide the chairs in and out from under the table. Now, I haven’t been able to detect any damage to the hardwood floors, but I’m convinced nonetheless that this noise can only mean bad things for our lovely floors.

So I went ahead and picked up these felt pads at Home Depot the other day, hoping that they’d put a stop to that insufferable screeching. The project was a small one, but relatively time consuming.

First, I flipped all of the chairs on their backs and sanded down the metal tacks underneath (see? I told you that wretched nail polish would be back for another guest appearance). They were so rusted that I probably should have just taken them out, but they were wedged in there pretty good and (since Denny was busy working on other things) I decided to just sand them down and see if the pads would stick to them like that.

I carefully centered the adhesive side of the pad onto the tack, like so…

And then sat back to survey the result.

Hmmmm…not so sure about that. In the first shot, they look perfectly fine. But as soon as I leaned down to inspect them further, I realized that the pads were anchored to the tack by only a small surface and, not only that, they stuck out pretty far, as well. However, I am nothing if not determined (or maybe just lazy), so I popped the rest of the pads onto the legs and flipped the chairs back over.

To give the pad adhesive some time to cure, I carefully tucked all the chairs back under the table and weighed them down with some heavy textbooks. While I was messing around under the table, taking these pictures, I looked up and kind of noticed that the underside of the table was rather ugly. I also realized that you could totally see it from the lower living room if you were facing the nook. See?

Maybe I’ll have to add some plans to paint or otherwise doctor-up that little eyesore (the walls are really not that yellow and those cords are now gone, by the way, although that box stubbornly refuses to move itself—the nerve!). We’ll see. Oh, and I also have no intention of keeping the upholstery the way it is now. Somehow, I just don’t see lilac faux-suede being a main element in our future dining room. Call me crazy.

Well, I’m pretty well in Friday mode right now, so I think that’ll have to conclude today’s post. Unless you want me to continue to jibber at you in nonsense terms. Eisktui? Blesheqyt! UgggggaawekeMAC!!

No? I didn’t think so.

Well, I hope you all enjoy your weekend! As mine is scheduled to include my favorite Chinese food, my favorite people, and hopefully a couple of new Project Runway episodes, I know that I will. ;)

Oh, one last thing: here’s a little teaser for what I have in store for next Monday!