So, where do I start? Let's just say that this has been a week so far! But first, let me catch you up on my weekend. It was wonderful and I blame that for part of what has happened this week. Lol I simple could not re-enter after the holiday. It actually started last Thursday when I was sure it was Friday all that day...more about this later.
My brother and sister-in-law came on Friday afternoon and we spent some time catching up and then they wanted to know what was on "my list". I truly did not expect them to do any work this weekend but, they're not used to sitting still and I think truly love lending a hand. We kind of made a little list before enjoying the start of our 4th of July picnic and watching some TV.
Early the next morning, they were off for a holiday race that my brother not only ran in but won for his age category! Once they were home, we started on the list and really got a lot accomplished before calling it a day, having more of our holiday feast and nestling in to watch the firework display from NYC. After so many years of fireworks, I guess we're at the age where we no longer have to be on the front lines. Lol And, again, because we have done this for so long, none of us took any pictures until my sister-in-law got one of my grand dog to send over to daughter #1 and granddaughter #4 as they are in Italy.
We kept tackling the list until they left on Sunday afternoon and almost everything was off of it at that point-except some repairs on the privacy fence that required more than what we normally have to do. We had it figured out but just couldn't get some VERY LONG screws to go into the wood. I was blaming my power drill battery. No matter how hard we tried, those screws would not move. We finally called it a day with almost everything else up and running in my house again. And, honestly, I would have been OK with leaving it the way we jerry-rigged it but since grandson #2 had volunteered his help for anything I needed before he heads to UF in August, I sent him a message and when he got off work the next day, he arrived with an "impact drill"-which I had never heard of and literally in less than 30 seconds those screws were all the way in and then he grabbed another box of screws and hit all of any other slats that he could see that were loose at all! I would say it was his strength or youth but, honestly, in the case it was his knowledge of the correct tool to use! Lol
Now for my week. I think I told you I would be starting my 4th swap out on Monday-which was still the plan until early Monday morning when I flipped my calendar and saw a hair appointment for Tuesday. Of course you know that that changed all of my plans because I need to go great guns with NO interruptions. And so, I found other little things to do and figured I would now have to wait until Wednesday.
And so, I get up on Tuesday morning and head out and get to my hair appointment and my hairdresser looks at me like I'm crazy and says "I don't have you on the books for today-I think it's tomorrow"! And, yep, she was right. I go back to last week being off by a day and I guess after the holiday I was still on "Dorine time". I used my time wisely since I had gone to all the trouble to actually get dressed in "real" clothes and put on make-up and made a quick trip to Lowe's for a drop cloth. I'll fill you in on that another day.
And so now here I was with no swap out happening, almost nothing left on my "to-do" list and time on my hands. Luckily, I had just had some grout pens delivered from Lowe's and I decided to give them a try.
Many, many years ago when I was re-doing my kitchen cabinets and getting rid of everything avocado in the room including the avocado Formica countertops, I had white tile counters and back splash added. What was I thinking? It was pretty but so hard to keep clean and I found myself using straight bleach and constantly scrubbing the grout lines. And, I'm sure because of that, the grout wore down and I could not get them clean any more.
That is when I did the second hardest DIY of my life. I used a grout saw to remove every bit of remaining grout and then re-grouted the entire kitchen. I had never done anything like this before so I relied heavily on my friendly Lowe's guy in the tile department. I had read enough to know that I wanted pre-mixed grout and that I wanted the one that wouldn't stain without needing to be sealed. By the time I had gotten to the grouting stage, I was not going to add yet another step unless I had to. I was assured that what he sold me would do the trick-and, it did. For a little while. But then the grout starting staining and no matter what I did I could no longer get it back to white. I think I was just browsing somewhere when I saw mention of these pens. They look just like a paint pen and work exactly the same way...and, they are miracle workers!
They not only come with reversible nibs but also an extra with each pen which is really necessary because my grout is "sanded" so it can wear out a nib rather quickly. Just look at the difference.
I only bought 4 pens so far because they don't give you any idea of how much coverage you get so I am starting with the countertops and will get back to the backsplash at another time because, obviously, they are nowhere near as stained because there isn't anything happening on them.
Since I am just trying these, I have no idea how long the coverage will last but I can tell you, even the places where my coffee maker sends out drips every morning is covering as easily as everywhere else and I am having fun doing it. It is kind of like coloring in a coloring book-just follow the lines!
With that being said, I probably won't get it all done before tomorrow so I will push this to the side and get on with my swap-unless there's something else I'm forgetting or remembering incorrectly. Fingers crossed I will be back soon to show you the start of my late summer decor. Stay safe and stay tuned.
