The painter finished up yesterday -- at least as much as he could, for the time being. It turns out the hallway wall is still too damp to paint. I guess years of saturation from that slow plumbing leak in the shower have taken their toll. The contractors are going to give it more time to see if it dries out more thoroughly. (Dave, who knows more about this building stuff than I do, thinks they need to scrape off all the old wall covering down to the lathe and then re-coat it.)
Meanwhile, at least the bathroom is done:
Check out our fancy (ha!) new extractor fan!
See what I mean about that periwinkle color? I like it. You can't quite tell from the pictures but it almost has a tiny, tiny touch of purple to it.
Just as the painter was finishing up I decided to tackle the problem of the clogged downspout by the front door. Now that we've had some rain, the ground was soft enough for me to grab a spade and dig around the base of the pipe. I did eventually locate the pipe's opening, and figured out that it merely empties into the garden and not into any kind of drain system. But the opening was a couple of inches below the surface of the soil, and the base of the pipe itself was packed with mud and debris. (Including what looked like an old Duracell battery, weirdly.)
Fortunately, the painter was still here, and he happened to have a metal saw in his truck. So he cut off the bottom three inches or so of the drainpipe, which removed the clog and elevated the opening above ground level. We tested it and now water runs through it smoothly. So I think that problem is solved.
I found that little sticker above in the front garden while doing that work -- probably discarded by the Russian мальчики (that apparently means "boys") upstairs!
Finally, here's another project I've been intending to launch. This ginger root sprouted leaves while sitting on our kitchen counter. I planted it yesterday hoping it will grow. It's kind of a gamble and no sweat if it dies, but maybe it will turn out like our avocado and be a beautiful new houseplant! It required some awkward positioning to keep both of those sprouts above ground, and the root itself is somewhat exposed, but hopefully it's surrounded by enough dirt to prosper. (And I'm thinking spicy and pungent ginger root should be a de facto squirrel deterrent, but we'll see!)
26 comments:
I love your bathroom colour. Blue and white are so fresh.
Fingers crossed the ginger continues to flourish. Does ANYTHING deter squirrels?
The bathroom looks very smart. You are very tidy!
I like the look of the bathroom. I agree with Dave about that still-damp wall. I thought the first photo was photoshopped and I wondered what you were holding in that model-quality hand. I'm excited about the ginger.
The bathroom looks great. It took time but the end of the job is a good result. The painter could have painted the hallway, job done, paid. But very professionally, he has delayed to see if there can be a better long term result.
Great new bathroom, although it seems to have taken a long time. And a productive day.
A very attractive blue!
Unfortunately, Dave is correct.....
Ginger is tropical, so might need to be a bit warmer than outside..but you are in London, so it may do well.
I grew one sitting on top of a TV once.. obviously not a flat screen TV!!
Ginger can grow very well in a pot. And you might get a little harvest, too, from the new roots.
My sister grew ginger in a pot. For the life of me, I can't remember what the plant looked like.
I LOVE that color! Yes. It is so peaceful and calming and simply lovely.
Good job on figuring out the drain problem.
And the ginger I sprouted and planted is making a gorgeous plant. I bet yours will too.
I've never seen a ginger root sprout like that. It's probably way to dry here for that to happen.
I like the bathroom color. It's a very pleasing blue.
That blue is just lovely! Good choice!
The bathroom blue color is really lovely. Now I want a blue bathroom!
It was nice of the painter to help you with that downspout drain issue. Good to get that fixed.
I love that little sticker.
Good job on figuring out the problem with the down spout. Hard to believe that it was below ground.
Your bathrrom is beautiful!
I love the color of the bathroom! I had no idea ginger would do that. I'll be interested to see what comes of your experiment!
Ooo - I like that color! And I'm glad you sorted out that clog.
That's a very pretty color for a bathroom. I'm jealous because we have to paint our main bathroom soon and the tiles are a weird grayish blue color that very few things look good with (but the tile is all but new so obviously we're not going to replace it anytime soon).
I grew a little ginger plant one time. It wasn't hard! Good luck!
your baby ginger unicorn is so cute! I would have difficulty burying it.
I do love that color of the loo! Gorgeous and soothing , which is the goal of any loo other than function. An industrial electric fan may do the job drying out the wall (?)
Gorgeous color in the bathroom, and hopefully the other walls dry out soon and won't need additional repairs.
I LOVE that color and now crave one the same shade. I could always turn my downstairs green bathroom into a blue one.
Well, I'd say that's a very productive day. And I love the color in the "new" bathroom too.
I just finished reading "South of Broad" by Pat Conroy so that smiley face brought back bad memories for me. If you haven't read it you might find it interesting.
That is a lovely blue. So happy the bathroom is done and dusted. We just finished our last big painting job and a great weight has been lifted from my virtual shoulders.
Flow On And The Best With The Ginger
Cheers
I agree with Dave about the wall. The bathroom looks great!
I hope the ginger grows and thrives.
Caro: Not really. They're persistent, ravenous little monsters.
Frances: Well, we had to move everything out for the paint job. It doesn't always look quite THAT tidy. :)
Mitchell: Ha! Well, I did wash my hands before the picture -- an old-fashioned form of Photoshop. LOL
Andrew: Yeah, it's true. They want to do the best job. I even suggested to him that he paint it and we let it dry that way, but he said the result wouldn't be as good.
Tasker: It has taken a while, largely because of the damp problem.
GZ: That's a good point, especially now that the weather has turned cooler again. I've moved the ginger inside.
Boud: Except I wouldn't want to dig it up! Unless it was butt-ugly.
Debby: I think food-grade ginger is kind of non-descript but I'll hopefully be able to show you in a couple weeks/months!
Ms Moon: I am SO relieved to have that drain issue solved.
Sharon: I've never had one sprout this vigorously. Hopefully it will continue to grow!
Ellen D: Thanks! Actually, the painter chose it -- we said light blue, and he came back with this shade, which is slightly darker than the light blue we had before. But I like it!
Robin: That sticker was such a cheerful little thing to find in an unexpected place. Like a message from the universe!
Red: Yeah, I don't quite know how it happened. I guess the soil level in the garden has built up over the years, what with leaves rotting and that kind of thing.
Pixie: Thank you! A big improvement from before!
Kelly: I will keep you posted!
Bug: I am too. It's such a relief. That was bothering more than the unpainted hallway!
Jennifer: Hmmmm...maybe a light pink or lavender? Salmon?
Linda Sue: We had one of those fans running while they were here doing the initial renovation. It gave off a lot of heat. I'd rather not have that back again!
Bob: Fingers crossed!
Margaret: I wish I could tell you exactly what shade it is! I don't even know.
Catalyst: I haven't read it, no. The only Pat Conroy I've read is "Prince of Tides."
Allison: It's SO nice to have a task completed! Especially one as disruptive as painting.
Padre: We'll see what happens!
River: Fingers crossed!
The new bathroom looks terrific! Good luck with the ginger -- wouldn't that be fun1
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