I'm Excited

Tomorrow at 3 p.m., my fall break begins. One of the things I intend to do over the four-day weekend (in addition to cleaning my sadly-neglected home and working on my second novel) is read. As is my habit, I've been reading a little every night before I go to sleep, but this time I'm going to be indulgent and just sit in a CHAIR and READ.

One of the books I've been meaning to read is John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (I'll explain why some other time). I found it today in our university library, and when I got it back to my office, I flipped to the first page and began reading, just to see if it had an interesting beginning. Within the first two pages, I had a feeling I'm going to like this book. I'm not exactly sure why; I found myself wondering (as I was reading) what the author did that hooked me so fast. I'll have to go back and examine it closely.

I hope it really IS a good read, and that I'm not just desperate for something fictional since I'm coming off reading a rather dry, research-based book that my new boss suggested (and gave me a copy). If you'll excuse me, I'm off to find out.

By the way, the renovation is coming along nicely....I finished painting the last room on Saturday. Now we just have all the trim work and the kitchen to finish, and I need to grout the tile in the shower (but I'm waiting to do it at the same time I do a backsplash on the kitchen). It's looking good.....

The Moment of Truth

The first time we walked in to the little house in town, one of the features we noticed that made us interested in buying it was that it had hardwood floors in its main rooms. Of course, that floor was covered in yucky carpet and spattered with white drywall compound.

Last week, we finally reached the point of being able to sand the floors and remove all that junk. The wood underneath was perfect (see the last post). Only one problem remained: the horrible smell of pet urine in what will become the master bedroom. The people who owned the house just before us apparently had six dogs living inside. Most of the "mistakes" were soaked up by the carpet, I guess, because the only room that stinks is the one room that didn't have carpet.

We consulted the Google about what can be done to remove urine odor, and we elected to try the remedy of using hydrogen peroxide. We bought probably every bottle of peroxide in Clarksville (you think I'm joking....), soaked paper towels, and laid them on the floor. It was truly gross (and yet fascinating in a way) to see the urine pulled up from the floor into the paper towels. We did this treatment three times, and it's definitely helped--the odor doesn't punch you in the face as you walk in the door, at least. Last night, I had moments of discouragement because I thought I could still smell it faintly. When the weather turns humid again, I'm afraid the odor will be back full-force. If so, that room CAN'T be a bedroom; any clothing or bedding stored in that room would absorb the smell. I figured we needed to just give up on hardwood floor in the bedroom, rip it up, and put down (cheap) laminate. But my husband said we should put the finish on the floor and see if it seals in the smell. If so, we have beautiful floors; if not, we rip it out and replace it.

So we began last night to apply the polyurethane sealer, and that was the payoff for the gamble we made when we bought the house. With only a single coat of the sealer on, the floors are such a beautiful, rich color. Simply gorgeous....

We'll need to add a second coat tonight, and then the last major job for the house should be finished. Unless, of course, we have to rip out the floor in that bedroom - our moment of truth will come this evening....will the bedroom smell like pet pee? Stay tuned.....