Loving our new Nomad carpet! What a long, hot tiring day it was, though. It just had to be nearly 100° out. The rats and I were melting. I still prefer heat to cold, though. 

The installers were supposed to arrive between 8:00 and 10:00 and work for 2-4 hours. Instead, they arrived at noon and worked for 6 hours. The original installer’s van broke down, as our shit luck would have it. Thank goodness we didn’t have to reschedule altogether. That really would’ve pissed us off having to put back all the shit we moved, take time off from work, then move the shit all over again. 

The guys did a great job and what I saw of the process was interesting and educational. You don’t realize just how much work goes into it! It’s not just a matter of yanking out old carpet and then just tossing the new carpet down. There’s so much prep work involved as well. 

We watched from the carport looking into the dining room window as the guy started in the living room while his son started in the master bedroom. They used what looked like skinny spatulas with long handles to gouge up the carpet. First the guy brought up the old metal strips at the edges of the carpet by the front door, then he pulled it up with one hand while cutting strips with the other hand to make it easier to roll up and carry out the old, worn diarrhea brown carpet. The dust it kicked up was like – yuck! The padding beneath was damn near disintegrated. It’s a good thing we had the AC off since we didn’t want to suck all that dust into it. Besides, the guy said it was easier to stretch the new carpet in higher temps anyway and he was used to working in the heat. The house was at 90° by the time they left. 

I was right in assuming the carpet was the original that was installed 31 years ago when the house was built. It just seemed way too worn for just 15 years, which is how long the previous owners lived here unless they had a shitload of company in and out every single day. The guy said horsehair was on the back of the carpet and they stopped using that over 15 years ago. 

At first I was confused as to why there’d be linoleum until I remembered the fascinating way modular homes are built. We were given a tour of the factory that built our Maricopa home in 1999. They’re built from the bottom up similar to on-site homes. First thing that goes down on the metal frame is the floorboards. Then the flooring is laid, and they usually just slap a huge sheet down that is bigger than the space it’s intended for. Then the walls are erected and then a giant crane picks up and sets the roof down on top. Like most stick homes, it won’t last hundreds and hundreds of years and will collapse in another 75-100 years. We won’t be here, LOL, but I’m sure they’ll yank this thing out of here before it goes down on whoever is. 

Anyway, it’s beautiful. *looks upward* Let’s see you try to take this one away from us. I love the beach sand color and am glad for how perfect it looks. I was a bit worried at first that I went too dark. I’m glad I didn’t go with the crème color I originally considered, though. This Nomad we’ve got brightens up the room without clashing with the wall colors. 

After they hauled out the carpet and what was left of the padding, they swept the floors. We’ll need to touch up some paint that got scuffed up a bit, but at least they were nice enough to tell us about it. And to vacuum up the loose fibers when they were done. They didn’t even have the decency to do that in Maricopa after installing the denim blue carpet that was supposed to be champagne pink. 

They cut the carpet in the street, LOL. It’s a good thing that street isn’t very busy, but they could go around it if they had to. I’m glad the streets are kept clean too, by those annoying blowers. When they were done a scattering of fibers remained in the street, but the wind and blowers will take care of them. 

Fortunately, they finished the master bedroom first and we could start pulling things out of the master bath, including a dresser, fan and the bed. That way I could lay on it with the fan blowing on me even though it still felt pretty hot. 

I watched the guy melt the seams. They put this strip of adhesive or glue or whatever it is down, then use an iron of sorts to melt them down. He then uses a roller to press them down, then sets these heavy tiles on the area till it sets. 

Not sure I like the gold carpet edging cuz it’s slightly raised. At first I thought the floor beneath it was bowed or something, but nope. It’s the style of the strips. We can change that easily enough if we want to, though they haven’t been a problem so far. Nobody’s tripped on them or anything. 

Later… 

Due to being busy yesterday I didn’t proofread any of my story or do the 30-Day Writing Challenge I’ve been doing. Maybe later. 

The new carpet makes the floors feel more solid, and I had to remember to sort of step up onto it when leaving the kitchen. The old carpet was so worn that it was even with the floors. There was a musty smell present that I attributed to the rats, but maybe part of it was the years of shit being spilled on the carpet. When they lifted a section from the dining room, I could see a huge stain on the underside of it. After 10 months and 2 weeks with the old shit, I’m glad to see it go! 

We got a few extra scraps of carpet and I have one piece under the rats’ cage. I moved my desk across the room to the other front corner of the living room. Now maybe the attention whores won’t be begging so much for food and attention if I’m 24’ away. I mostly moved because we wanted to separate my office from what will be a traditional living room set up once we get new furniture. 

I’m now wireless like Tom and so far there haven’t been any issues cutting out. I’m closer to next door where I am, but I can still hear their SUV doors on the other side of the room anyway. I was hesitant at first with the way they come and go so many times each day, but most of the time they’re quiet about it and I wouldn’t even know they were coming and going if I didn’t look out and see them. They had company the last couple of days, but they were quiet, too. 

There’s a house for sale about 3 houses away going for 90k. The economy is getting better, all right, and I’m sure our place would now cost twice as much if it were for sale now instead of last year. 

Anyway, Tom had to saw the bottom of the sliding closet doors in the hallway because they would no longer fit with the carpet being plusher. 

I put up some of the decorative wall stickers and they look pretty cool. Tom had to help me with the ivy vines sprouting out of bricks. Not only did he have to hold the sheet while I peeled them off, but I wanted them close to the ceiling and wasn’t tall enough to reach that area. 

I’ve got butterflies in the hallway and some flowers, too. Today I intend to put giant pink flowers in the bedroom, and then pink tulips will eventually adorn the base of the master bathroom. That room still needs to be painted, so it will be a while yet. Gotta paint the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room still, plus redo the floors. I’m glad the bulk of the home improvements are over! The only thing I would change if I were starting over is I’d make the second bedroom pink and the hallway lavender instead of the other way around. 

Later… 

Ok, now I see that Molly does have another way into my blog without the group home name as the host. But it doesn’t say they’ve got a Mac, and they only went to LiveJournal where she usually goes. So whoever went to Prosebox with a Mac probably still wasn’t connected to her or else she’d be going there every time she went to LiveJournal. 

First she appeared under her usual visitor ID, then she came back with another one, but it’s got to be her for sure. Same blog, same operating system, same time frame. Why is she coming around more and more lately? I mean, I knew the cat would eventually be let out of the bag, but still… And how long before she and her twisted mother contact me? They can only do so on Facebook that I know of. Except for on Prosebox, I keep all commenting disabled on other blogs like LiveJournal, Blogger and whatnot. I’m not using my-diary and she shouldn’t know where my Ask account is.