Not so pretty in pink!

There was so much daunting about buying this house. One of them was the massive amount of ugly wallpaper hanging in this house. The previous owners son is a contractor and he did his best to talk me out of even trying to take the wallpaper off. His story was that it took he and a friend over 20 hours to remove the paper in one of the rooms, so I should just give up before I start. He thought I should paint over the paper, wallpaper over the paper or just leave it-none of these were acceptable options! We've going to be in this house for a very long time and this ugly crap has to go!

Streamer in hand, I got started in just about the most hideous room in the house-the room of pink bows. Please note the beautiful valance they left in the window!


Not even close to 20 hours later all the paper is down! While there is still a little glue on the walls that I have to get off and yes I have to patch up a few places (especially from where they cut the paper with a razor along the drywall instead of taking the time to measure-gee thanks), but it's all off!


It's hard not to think there's a special place in hell for people who put wallpaper up, but I guess it's a little early in the removal process to get so melodramatic. I have 2 1/2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a master bedroom left to go. Up next is the downstairs bathroom, which is pretty terrible. As my friend Jean noted, one better not have too much to drink before going in that bathroom due to the severe nausea that it induces! I will be getting started on that shortly!

What's taters?

Waaaay back in May I decided to plant some potatoes. As usual, I really didn't know what I was doing, but like that's ever stopped me! I planted about a quarter pound worth of tiny little fingerling potatoes. They are good little taters and the perfect size since I was planting them in a container so I could move it with us to the new house.

Planting taters, or I'm guessing any root veggie, is freaking nerve wracking! It's not like tomatoes where you can see exactly what's going on. Instead you just plant them, water them and hope that you have some potatoes in the end. At least a month or so later there were an actual plants growing.

Today, 5 months after planting them, I went out in the garden and the potato plants were so obviously dead. But unlike all other plants, it is a great thing when they die-it means it's time to harvest! Being incredibly optimistic, I thought we were going to get a crazy mother load of potatoes-I was thinking at least 15 pounds. Well, not so much, maybe next year! And I'm sure Fang will be as helpful next year as well!


How about 5 pounds, 5 pounds isn't bad right!? It's 5 pounds more than I ever grown before! Realistically, it will take us a while to go through that taters. I have planted more potatoes in the garden, but it seems that the gophers are throughly enjoying them, along with my rutabagas and turnips!