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When we started, the flowerbed by the air conditioner was completely taken over by mint. It was everywhere. Think seaweed, but on land. As we started ripping it out, we found that there were 3 different varieties, plus some chives and a lily hidden inside it. We also found this little guy, which made us happy, since we are planning on putting in a small pond in a year or so.
I know he's a toad and not a frog, so we probably wouldn't see them much except at mating time, but it's still nice to know that we have amphibious critters around.
On the side of the house, we ripped out lots of coreopsis, which had really taken over. We saved only 1 patch, but I'm sure we'll get plenty back next spring. We also found some gloriosa daises and a Shasta daisy, which we separated from the coreopsis. An echinacea and an ornamental grass were also liberated. Hiding under all of the crazy plants were 8 12" patio blocks. I moved those near the water faucet, and we put the hose on them instead of in the dirt. Then we ripped out more grass and pruned the shrubs bordering our neighbor's fence. All in all, we worked for about 6 hours, so that should give you an idea of how bad things were before.
Tomorrow we'll be tackling the remaining 2 shrubs, as well as putting in a very low retaining wall. The grass is pretty aggressive, and I don't want to have to pull it out of the flowerbeds again next year. I may also weed the former vegetable garden. I'd really like to do something with the flower bed bordering our neighbor's fence, but there is too much grass and raspberry thicket to mess with it now. Maybe in the fall or next spring, when I can actually see in there to work.
As for now, I'm going to take a well-deserved (and much-needed) bath.
The miraculous adhesive-free spot, surrounded by carpet, adhesive, and Citristrip
The finished product
The reason the floor looks so blotchy is because it is various stages of drying. The light area in the middle/upper right is bare, dry wood. Oddly enough, there was no adhesive there, and the padding just came right off. There was also no finish on the wood; it looked like it had just worn away. You can see the original finish in the top photo. It's not in very good shape, but it gave us indication of what color the floor was originally (amber).
Something anyone who uses Cistrstrip should know: it will raise the grain of the wood. After repeatedly scraping a treated area, I would occasionally catch splinters of wood. Ano even now, when I run my fingers across the boards, I can clearly feel the grain. It might go down again once it is completely dry, but I wouldn't recommend using Citristrip on anything you don't plan on sanding.
It's amazing how much more tolerable the wallpaper is with a bare wood floor. The room is still pretty fugly, but it's definitely showing signs of improvement. I can't do anything else to this room for a while, though, since the next step would be removing the wallpaper and ceiling tiles. The dining room comes next, so I'm in no position to deal with crumbling plaster and faux walls.
Next step: Order some garnet shellac and get busy on the living room trim.
I've been really stressed out lately about work and the house, so I've decided to take a little time off. Next weekend my sabbatical will be over, but the R&R has helped me come to an important realization: I'm not sure that I want to work in law enforcement anymore. It's not that I don't enjoy it, because I do most of the time. I'm just tired of the stress. I'm tired of not being able to make a difference. I'm tired of seeing what drugs do to people and how they refuse to get help. I don't get enough time off, I don't get paid enough for what I have to put up with (is there such a thing?), and I'm just plain tired. And that's probably the worst of it. When I come home at night, I'm exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. I spend 8 hours keeping my guard up, and it wears on me. I know things will be different if/when I get promoted to patrol officer (the jail is an evil, life-sucking monster), but I'm not sure anymore if it's what I want. It's hard to tell when I've got a bad taste in my mouth for my current job. I'll be going through the next part of the promotion process soon, which is a ride-along/field training with an offcer, so that should give me a better idea if I'll be happy as a patrol officer. I know for sure I don't want to spend any more time than necessary working in the jail, and I loved going on ride-alongs as a police cadet, so time will tell.
If I don't do law enforcement, I have no idea what I will do. My degree is in criminal justice, and there are no programs at the local colleges that sound interesting. I like old houses. I like being outdoors. If I could just buy houses, restore them, and resell them to loving owners I'd be in heaven. But starting that process requires money, which we don't have enough of right now. Maybe if I just stay where I am for a few more years, get promoted ($10K+ per year raise) and save a massive amount of money, I can start down that road.