a two-front battle

Well, as A. went to put up the baseboards in the bathroom so we could reinstall the toilet.... he discovered that the wall behind the toilet ALSO has water damage and needed replacing.

We stood in despair in the bathroom for several long minutes. So close to Ultimate Fruition... and so easily wrenched from our grasp.

Ah well, fortunately we have more greenboard, tape and mud. So today, our holiday, A. carefully cut out the damaged section and replaced it with fresh. He'll texture it in a while, install moulding (forget the self-stick baseboard from McLendon's Hardware, it's useless) and then I'll paint. No more "Contentment" in the bathroom---the color was too yellowey for the tile and flooring. We're going for "Sandstone." And the toilet MUST go back today. Especially since tomorrow is piano lessons and that bathroom needs to be functional!!

Yesterday we had a bit of excitement. D and S came running back to tell me "there's a bird in the house!!" Sure enough... it had flown down the chimney (where S had seen it emerge) and then sought refuge behind the piano. We turned off all the lights and opened the doors wide. It was a pretty little thing, olive and yellow with a white circle around its eye. A identified it as a warbler, but wasn't sure what kind.

Photo by Sherry Hagen, from birdweb.org

Eventually after a few frantic flappings around the living room area, it reoriented itself and headed out the front door and away. Escaping the giants. A. grabbed his Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds and identified it as a McGillivray's Warbler. He'd never seen one before, so he added it to his life list. How courteous of the bird to come to him, rather than his going to search for it!

Guinea pig arriving from Chewelah later on tonight....a surprise gift for D., whose birthday is coming up.