Friday afternoon. I’m kicking back in my recliner, feet up, sipping a hard seltzer. I was going to take advantage of the first warm day of the year–it’s 67º, guys!–by hanging out on the deck. I spent 15 minutes searching for folding camp chairs and a little side table, lugged them upstairs to the deck, got everything set up…
…and the moment I did, it started to rain.
I thought it might let up after a few minutes, but no such luck. In fact, the sky is looking increasingly ominous. Oh, and this is happening right now.
Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t sign up for this when I moved to Wisconsin! Keep that shit down there, northwest Illinois!
I’m not too concerned about tornadoes. We’re not in Tornado Alley or the deep South, at least. I know they can, and do, happen here. But they also can, and do, happen in South Dakota. In the four years we lived there, I think we had Tornado Watches twice. Thankfully, nothing happened either time.
Fingers crossed for the same this evening. I think we’re in for some strong thunderstorms, judging by the radar, but those we are used to. In fact, we had a few thunderstorms overnight. ‘Tis the season.
Here’s the craziest part of all: it’s supposed to snow tomorrow morning. If you want some crazy weather, kids, move to the Midwest.
On a happier note, we finally solved our most challenging house project: the entryway. When you open the front door to Casa MarTar, you are immediately greeted by stairs–one flight going up, the other going down. Which is just about the biggest feng shui sin you can commit. This spells financial misfortune because, as the Chinese like to say, Chi moves like water, flowing from the upper floors to the lower floors thanks to pesky ol’ gravity. A common feng shui principle states, All of your money will roll down the stairs and out the front door.
But apparently you can offset this by hanging a crystal or wind chime from the ceiling halfway between the base of the stairs and the front door. This will diffuse and spread the Chi as it comes down the stairs, preventing it from rushing out the front door.
Whew. Feng shui is exhausting. The last thing in the world I want to do is chase my Chi down the block as it bolts for freedom.
Anyhoo. That entryway was covered in ugly 45 y/o wallpaper. Look, I love the ’70s even more than most people, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. Striped wallpaper is apparently it. And because the ceiling is so tall, removing it would have been a real pain in the ass. Especially over stairs. Not gonna lie: I have a small fear of heights.
While we have painted most of the rooms ourselves, we figured this was one project we’d prefer to hire a professional to do. So, I reached out to a local painting company that had stellar Google reviews. They came out, gave us a quote, and said they could get started right away.
Deal.
The painters arrived bright and early Thursday morning and immediately got to work. Luckily, the wallpaper peeled right off. They said it was actually the easiest wallpaper removal they had ever done. The main issue was the glue on the underlying walls. It was thick and resistant to sanding. They ended up doing a skim coat, added texture, and then painted. Twenty-nine hours later, we had a transformed entryway.
We just have to figure out where to hang our crystal or wind chime and we’ll be all set. Take that, bad feng shui!
Mark My Words 
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