Little project - repainting bathroom light fixtures

This morning-long project came about because I noticed rust along the edges of the light fixture in my bathroom.  Rather than replace the lighting, which is up against wallpaper, I elected to spray paint it.

I did this many years ago, when I noticed the same thing.  Back then I had picked a silver color that I did not love.

Who knew it would be so hard to find the color I was looking for, but I did, then when all was said and done it appeared darker than I expected, but no way am I doing this project over from scratch.

I turned off the breaker and hauled the ladder in.  I couldn't remember how I had removed this fixture before.  I knew when the little cans were popped off, the face plate would just slip off the bulb outlets.  I finally figured it out after Googling it!

Maybe Mark helped me with that the last time?

It was super dirty up here.  Along with the bulbs being caked with sticky dust, so was the wall and the fixture.  I also took this opportunity to clean the mirror allll the way up to the top.

I am very happy for the purchase of this ladder!  That yellow clip-on tray is handy.

Here is a close-up of the rust.  It must be almost 15 years ago that I spray painted these.  (Are they outdated?  Yes, they are original to my 1993 house. Do they work anyway? Also yes.)

I vented the garage by lifting the garage door a bit, then turned on a fan after each quick coat of spray paint, pointed towards the opening.  I let each coat dry a good 30 minutes.

Then after lunch I popped everything back on and screwed in the newly cleaned bulbs.  See what I mean about it looking dark?  But it actually coordinates with the wallpaper and when I came in here later to look at it, I thought "well, that's just right!".  Its got a brownish tint to it.  I kinda love it.  I think the lighter champagne color would not have been right after all.

I rarely use these lights as it makes the bathroom too bright in the mornings.  But I am glad to have it spiffed up in general.  Next to do in this room is patch an area on the ceiling, then repaint the ceiling, and maybe stain the grout.  And none of that is urgent - just little things added onto a growing list of fix-its for my home.  Which is OK, I think, since I am learning how to do many things!

Gina

5 thing Friday - light bulbs, savings account, spray paint, yard tasks, relax

 This week feels like its been one misadventure after another.  Maybe the universe is telling me to sloooowwww down.

Thinking I was being efficient, I replaced the flood lamps out on the patio one day.  Then came out the next day to discover that one of them had exploded.  {I had ignored the little voice in my head that said the bulbs I used were not the right ones.}

these are in fact, the right ones

Usually I will take the broken/used thing I am replacing to the store with me to get the right one.  This time I had merely used what I had on hand.  Big mistake.  A trip to Lowe's to compare bulbs and buy the right ones was was what I should have done to begin with.

I did find the right ones - and the spray paint for the bathroom fixtures. Side note: Lowe's is where you should go for spray paint.  They have a huge selection, you can peruse the colors at will, and some old grumpy dude in the paint department won't have to come unlock the paint "cage" for you.

Once I was back home, I turned off the breaker to the patio, carefully carefully unscrewed the remains of the bulb, and replaced it with the right ones.  Crisis managed.

It was past time for me to deal with two old savings accounts that had minimum deposits in them, languishing and about to go into dormancy.  Closing one of them felt surreal.  Mark and I had used this account for 8 vehicle loans.  The closest branch to me was Round Rock, and was not worth the drive or the extra paperwork/memory to maintain it.  Turns out that closing an unused savings account does not impact your credit score.  The other savings account is tied to a refi we did on this house many years ago.  I could use that one as an emergency fund.  Or not.  I make the best financial decisions I can on my own, after all. 

Ok, this is the exact paint color I was searching for the re-do the lights in the master bathroom.  Its a beautiful shimmery cross between silver and gold, called Satin Nickel.

I think it will be perfect for spiffing this light fixture.  Again, I will cut off the power, pop off the light cover, spray it, then replace.  And now that I have my handy dandy ladder, I won't have to stand on the actual bathroom counter to reach it.  This might be on my short list of things to do today.

I have been doing a repertoire of spring tasks in the backyard: repotting plants, wiping down patio furniture, sweeping, replacing the garden hose, adding soil to the raised beds,

raking tons of leaves.  Yesterday during all of that I lost my one functional hearing aid, then spent a frantic 20 minutes on my knees in the lava rock section frantically going over every square inch.  Finally found it sitting atop a pile of leaves to be scooped up.

I accepted that as my nudge to stop for the day, built a firepit, then sat with my wine to decompress as dinner was cooking in the oven.  There are only so many tasks I am going to get done in one day.  Today I will clean and store the firepit and make me a spot to relax in my anti-gravity lounge chair.

My sweet potato experiment is going well.  She likes her pasta jar and spot in the window, apparently.  I will leave her here and just watch her grow.  Yesterday I potted an agave and whenever I am done with cleaning up the oak leaves and pollen out back, I will move all the plant babies back to their spring/summer homes.  But for today, the To Do list has been scaled back, and I am looking forward to some reading time in my lounge chair out on my swept patio.

Happy Friday!

Gina

Pros and cons: thinking about retirement

 I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how retirement will play out.  I am starting the process, even though I know that I'm still a couple of years out from making big changes.

Having my own desk at work feels unusual for me but I kinda love it

Over 30 years, more or less, I have worked hard to get to get to where I am right now with a great shift (Saturday through Monday), a boss who values me, an easier workday, increased pay, and maximized benefits.  And work provides me with intangibles, too, like socialization and a sense of purpose.  My weekends bookend my days off, which are easier traffic-wise and in setting appointments. Those four days off provide me with lots of rest, free time to work on my hobbies or my home, and time to meet up with friends and family.  There are several reasons for me to keep working, and not one I can think of right now to stop.

This was an epiphany of sorts to me.

I can plan for retirement in the future, but I will continue working this job and this schedule until I am ready to pull back.  A lot of what feels unlikeable about my day-to-day living is like burnout, and I can take steps to improve that.  In every job, no matter how much you love or value it, there are going to be challenges.

Anyway, that's where my head is today.  The week ahead holds a book club meeting, starting a new book (The Frozen River), continuing the photo project, getting my desk organized, and doing a bit of yardwork.  Missing from the list will be worrying about the future!

Gina

5 thing Friday - bathroom spiff, paint storage, keychain, going out, Spring

I didn't spend a lot of time feeling sad this week - too busy with things here and there.  I feel like this week's To Do list will not get completely done - and that's OK.  We are "springing forward" this weekend and I want to make sure I get a nap in today!

The light fixtures in my bathroom, repainted by me many years ago, are showing their age and a bit of rust on the corners.  So I will be spiffing them up with a little spray paint in this pretty silvery champagne color.  Which encouraged me to do a bathroom refresh all around.

I took everything off the vanity, cleaned it up, put back only the things I wanted sitting out, added a couple of faux plants.  I also stored all of the personal care things that were sitting on the ledge around the tub and added a pretty 3-wick candle (not shown). 

 A calm and clean uncluttered space was just what I was after.  Even faux plants can soothe!

I don't know if I ever showed the method I have for saving touch-up paint from those big painting projects.  These screw top plastic containers work well to organize the bit of paint with product info in case I need to buy more.  Each container has a small stainless steel mixing ball inside, too.

I had one more to add from the last big paint job.  They all live in the cleaning closet just off the kitchen.  Hopefully, they will stay fresher in here than their original can in a hot garage.  {every time I open this closet I am newly pleased with the fact that it isn't stuffed full of crap I don't want!}

I pulled out my clear crossbody purse to go to a show downtown and I found this silver keychain clipped onto it.  I polished it up and discovered "Jim" engraved on the back.  I had picked this up when we cleared Mom's house - I don't remember if she ever told me where it came from, but I suspect she bought it for him as a gift.  It lived in a small dish in her office for years.

With my '60 penny and a silver "evil eye" charm, it made the perfect talisman to navigate an evening out at the Paramount Theater to see the Vitamin String Quartet.

I found parking nearby, walked alone to the venue, found my seat, and enjoyed a show.  The music was all contemporary and the show was high energy.  Music of  Bridgerton, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and more - a varied mix with some music I did not recognize.  These solo dates have been a lot of fun, but I think I will change them up.  I have one more symphony to attend, then will look for things closer to North Austin that are budget friendly.

Beer and talk time with a friend at Meanwhile yesterday.  The weather has been unreasonably pretty with average temps in the low 80s.  Everything, and I mean everything, is blooming.  March winds are knocking all of the oak leaves and pollen out of the trees, so pretty soon it will be time for me to re-rake and clean the yards.  But not today.  The rest of the day I have:

*a meeting with retirement team to talk pre-planning

*lunch with Grayson (peep #4)

*pick up a few filler groceries and meal prep for three days at work

*get gas, do light housework, change out two floodlamps on the deck

*nap

Happy Friday!

Gina 

Chocolate Chip cookie dough to keep on hand

I had forgotten about this particular recipe card for cookies until I had a sweet tooth attack lately.  Its a hybrid recipe - created by me from a couple of other recipes.  It might be my favorite cookie - crisp chewie and so buttery. They should be famous!  This time I was out of my favorite dark chocolate chips, so I used a mix of white chips and semi-sweet chunks.

Gina's Famous Chocolate Chippers (ha!)

1 1/2 sticks butter - melted, slightly browned, and cooled

3/4 c. each white sugar and brown sugar

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 egg

Mix all of that together and add:

2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

then

1 c. chocolate chips of your choice

(the beauty of this recipe is no mixer is involved, you can mix these up by hand, and the dough isn't sticky so it releases from your scooper easily)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Chill the dough for 20 minutes, NOT LONGER. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet (I use a Silpat) and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

I use a 1/8 c. measuring cup and make dough balls to freeze on a plate.  When they are frozen I pop them into a gallon size ziploc and store in the freezer.  From frozen, they take a couple minutes longer to cook.  When you take them from the oven, slam the cookie sheet down a couple of times gently and the cookies will settle and look perfect. (see above!)

I took some over to The Girl, warm from the oven, and told her they were from a new place called G's Treats.  Located in the suburbs, the woman only has one oven.  They were a hit!

Gina