Making Lemonade Out of Particle Board and Sawdust

There's a hole in my floor, where there wasn't before...

What is a DIY blogger to do now....??

The fence that was up...is now down on the ground...

What will this blogger do now??

Well...

She better get busy and start some repairs.... that's what.

I am sure you've been right there... right?
 Standing where I am ...
 in the midst of a few...
ahem... or some might say... many... unfinished....
unresolved, sorta-started projects...  and a few are doozies...

This is a quick update on the latest DIY projects...or How I'm making lemons into lemonade....



They said... "paint your sub-floors".... "It will be easy..."

That's what Pinterest told me... and I believed it.

What possibly could go wrong??

...And if circumstances were slightly different I would be revealing to you a gorgeous painted and stenciled .... and totally amazing sub-floor project...right about.... now:  (I can imagine it...)

(Sigh... isn't it just beautiful.....)

But... this is not the DIY story for today... 

no big reveal...

...just a giant  heap of "Umm, What now...?"

Well, like all good home improvement stories, 

it sometimes isn't quite as straight forward as one might have hoped. 

 The path from point A to point B... 

is often curvy and there are 

always few extra pit stops along the way.   

... So I'm trying my best to stay the course and embrace the challenges...

(lemons...)

I'm not sweating the small stuff...sweating, yes... just not the small stuff...

  (that's my mantra... I will not be flustered...)

Just before Easter (Yes, that's right... just before a holiday I was hosting...a genius move...I know...)
I decided to take up the carpet (the unattractive colonial blue carpet I have never liked) in the front room.  Our sub-floor ended up having a layer of particle board from the 1970's.... and the particle must have gotten wet sometime in the past 40 years... I'm guessing from a Christmas tree or a potted plant... with a leak...

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.  

And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer."

  -Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Something I learned...  When particle board come into contact with water, it disintegrates.  Yes, there is a hole in the floor...  Totally repairable, but an obstacle nonetheless.   And there may or may not be a few of these holes in this room... so a few obstacles for good measure...

So we are at a DIY crossroads... Now scrapping my original painting and stenciling project for a "what do we do now" project.  I think we are leaning toward having hardwood floors installed... but that leads to trying to match our front entryway...  No worries, we have a hardwood flooring "expert" coming tomorrow... who will no doubt have a solution for all of my concerns.... At least that's the plan.

So... moving to the outside.... We had some Kentucky split rail fencing to repair... and in doing so we took down a section of fencing along the front of our house.  I've been painting and digging fence post holes.... and painting some more... and hopefully in a few days... I'll have something to show for all my many trips to the hardware store!!

Can you guess what this project might be??

Here's a hint.

I'm certain that this will all work out..and at some point, hopefully sooner than later I will have some amazing projects to share:  One hardwood floor update and one fence.

That's the plan...   The lemonade is just around the corner...I just know it...