Honey-Doings: Part I

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At 9:30 AM the first Honey-Do item of the Honey-Do vacation was studied. You'd think that a room where so much activity involves water, that it would be a clean room, relatively speaking. Not so, in fact far from it. Working for elderly services, I know, so I won't dispense any details.
~~Coffee being this former sailor's spinach, like Popeye, I went to work. First things first, I had to remove and box all the various sundries; toiletries from the top of the medicine cabinet, the tub rim, the window, and of course the water closet. Next, I had to take down the shower curtain and liner, much easier to remove the rod you will agree.
~~Removing old wallpaper is not very high on my favorite activities list, it is right down there just ahead of Dental appointments. The last time I had undertaken that chore, we had to use a combination of steam and hot water just to soften up the dried paste underneath. This was followed by painstaking scraping.
The wallpaper that had been hung the last time was pre-pasted and guaranteed to "just peel off" when we were ready to replace it. Remembering the experience of removing paper, I was skeptical to say he least. Comparable to removing a band-aid from a "boo-boo," I began with the slow agonizing tugs, fearful at first of one quick yank.
~~Strip after strip, like the removal of banana skin, the wallpaper yielded without protest. Strip after strip, a smooth was revealed. Relocating the toiletries had taken twice as long to accomplish. In scarcely ten minutes the wallpaper was bagged and taken to the garage, its date with the trash truck assured.
~~A short break was followed by gathering some "tools of the trade." The check list for these tools included paint scraper, putty knives, screw drivers (Phillips and flat), a dust brush and pan, and of course a pair of safety goggles. I took down the curtains from the window, rod and all, followed by the window blind. Employing both screwdrivers, I removed the mini-blinds as well as the hardware that held them. (Apparently I had used different screws when I put them up originally, hence the need for two screw drivers.) Lastly, I removed an old unused holder for a non-existent hand-held shower. I daresay, it will not be put back.
~~It was time for the "fun" part of the job. Goggles on and scraper in hand, I began attacking the chipped and cracked paint on the window above the bath tub. I had decided to forgo plastic sheeting to catch the falling chips, opting instead to let the chips fall where they may. (Pardon that cliched pun.)
~~At 11:30 I stopped scraping to take a breather. After I had brushed up the paint chips and disposed of them, I fetched the vacuum cleaner and sucked up those in the window sill and atop the inner window. A study of the window revealed that there was more scraping to be done. Arms tired, and my stomach reminding me it required some attention.
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Stay tuned, if you dare, because the continuing saga of Honey-Doings has only just begun to unfold. In part two you can expect to read about scraping a window and a door, as well as the daunting task of scraping a ceiling.
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No.207