I knew the guy who was going to clean my chimney was coming sometime between 10 am and noon today, so i decided to get started back in the basement again around 9 am, this time armed with a can of insulating foam spray to plug up gaps around plumbing pipes, etc.

I wasn't at it long when my chimney sweep arrived. I casually asked him if the estimate he gave me a year ago to install a chimney liner was still good. Surprisingly, he said it was, and that's what made me decide, somewhat impulsively, to get the liner. I had just planned on the chimney cleaning, which i do every year, for safety reasons, but it's an old chimney and i knew that a liner would improve performance of my furnace and is also a safetey consideration, as creosote can't build up as much on a stainless steel liner.

So i gave him a $400 deposit and will pay the $800 balance when he's done. Since then, i've been reading up online about chimney liners to confirm my initial opinion this would be a good investment. I also learned of the importance of insulating the liner, so i will have to ask him if he plans to do that.

After he left, i continued with the very messy job of using up a can of the foam spray. It's messy cus the foam is very sticky and oozes slowly out of the 5 inch long tube thingy. Problem is, most of the many holes are in the basement ceiling, and these holes are so large that when you spray the foam, it has nothing to hold onto and gravity kept dropping it down into a goopy mess. I was able to seal up around where plumbing pipes and heat vents go through the basement ceiling to the rest of the house. Whoever cut the holes did a real hatchet job. I guess in those days (circa 1930), they didn't have power tools to cut a nice, round hole? Every hole looks gouged out.

So i ripped out a fair amount of mouse-icky insulation, and stuffed 3 large trash bags with it. I needed to let the foam spray cure overnight, so tomorrow i'll be putting in new insulation. It would be nice to think it will remain pristine, but sadly, i don't think all my work in the basement has done much to keep mice out.

It's frustrating. I hate having to deal with disgusting mouse traps all winter long. I did increase the number of traps down there becus i don't want untold numbers of mice living down there indefinitely.

I've come across alot of torn off areas of the basement ceiling, which is a wood sub-floor that lies underneath the first-floor floor. It's all torn at the very ends, I don't know why, which is very difficult to reach through a roughly 4 inch wide gap between the top of my foundation wall and the sub-floor.

So some of the holes are too big for the foam, which drops out. I didn't have much luck hammering tin flashing cut to cover the holes becus of the narrow space i had to swing the hammer. I did a number of holes, but it took like 1 hour per hole and a head full of spider webs. Sure, i can just put back all the insulation i had there, but the idea was to start plugging up barriers to prevent mice from running around down there. I still don't really know WHERE exactly they are coming in. If anyone has any other suggestions, i sure would be glad to hear them.

So after i'd had my fill of dirty basement work, i went upstairs and immediately set to work to continue to scrape the paper backing off my downstairs bathroom walls, a job long delayed over the summer. The wallpaper itself came off easily, but whoever put the paper on took a shortcut and DID NOT USE wallpaper primer, which makes it SO much easier to remove the wallpaper and the backing intact. I know, they figured they wouldn't likely be living in the house by the time the paper needed replacement. I, however, won't go that route. But anyway, i was scraping, scraping, scraping for hours, alternately using a wet sponge to soften the paper up.

I did make significant progress. Compared to the basement work, this was rather straightforward. I'd say I'm 65-70% done with scraping the paper backing. After that, I'll have to lightly sand the walls to get the remaining glue and little bits of paper off. I saw a few spots also that will require some wall repair in terms of joint compound/spackle.

After that, I'll have to go to the store and pick out the paint i have in mind, basically an ivory, which will cover the crown moldings, the baseboard, trim and the cabinet, all of which are painted a shade of royal blue i never cared for and which won't, in any event, go with the new wallpaper i bought, which is basically in the tan/ivory family.

So this project is a long way from being finished. One person working alone means slow going. But i've learned from experience that if you rush through the "prep," it will really show in the end, so i'm gonna do it right.

I broke for lunch around 2 pm and heated up some Turkey Meatloaf Surprise (the surprise being the hard-boiled egg inside, thanks Grandma) along with some leftover Kashi 7-grain rice mix and brussel sprouts. Then back to work.

An hour later, i decided to break again to walk down to the mailbox, around 3 pm. It was so nice outside and i'd been working inside all day, so i sat on my front stoop to breathe in some fresh air and enjoy the view of my yard. Then, Mr. McGregor, the neighbor's poor, neglected cat, came running up. He's such a mush and is always starved for attention, not to mention his long gray hair always has thick mats and knots. They make him stay outside all year long, even during the coldest part of winter, and he is on the thin side, so i brought him a plate of Iams dry food which he wolfed down. He's getting old, and i'd take him in myself if it wasn't for my own, very jealous cat. So we shared 15 minutes together enjoying a late autumn day.

I think after that is when i mowed the back lawn. I like mowing now becus the mower's very good at sucking up fallen leaves in addition to cutting the grass, and in my opinion, pushing the mower's easier than endless raking, then raking into a tarp and hauling to the back somewhere to dump it out. I will still have to rake later, but not as much. i finally called it quits around 5 pm when i collapsed in bed to watch the news. I had some more turkey meatloaf and here i am. Achy sore.

I'm hoping to drop off all the dirty insulation at the dump tomorrow after putting the replacement insulation back in. On the way back from the dump i can stop at Stop N Shop and get my .39 a pound bananas. I saw them at Shop Rite for .70 a pound.

My mostly retired friend wanted to see a movie with me today cus she knew i had the day off, but i didn't commit to anything cus i had the chimney guy coming. My friend is older and does nothing, really, to take care of her house and it's really in disrepair, on the exterior. She doesn't have the $ anyway. I gave her contact info and application for Americares, which sends volunteers to do odd jobs, etc. So she always likes to do things like shopping or movies when we get together, but so much of my free time i feel i need to take care of this house. I do whatever i can. I feel it's important. Some day, i'll sell this place, and i want to have all the big things taken care of when i do.

So I've been living like i earn minimum wage this past month, so i can blow $1200 on a chimney liner. That's where all my spare money goes, my house. The only $ i spent this month, aside from the mortgage and utilities was on 1. gas to get to work and 2. food. That's it. No eating out. No clothing or trinkets of any kind. But i'm doing ok. I feel like i have my priorties lined up right and, at the finish line, the goal is financial freedom for the rest of my life. If you've read this far down into my post, I'm amazed, but thank you.