In the ghetto

I mentioned yesterday that Yummy has a new apartment.

At age 32 she has never lived alone. There has always been a parent or roommate or something. Since I've known her she's lived in her parents' basement. It's a nice basement, to be sure. Bedroom, bathroom, full kitchen, living room, office, and storage. Even a separate entrance. But lots of little reasons to move out have been building for years. Some related to the landlords, but many weren't. It was just time.

Yummy loves Baltimore. She's been wanting to live there for years. She found a place she likes, at an affordable rate, where the neighborhood doesn't suck. It's a converted row house near the main Johns Hopkins campus. Close enough that much of her shopping and hangouts will be primarily used by the students. The Barnes and Noble's second floor, for example, has textbooks and dorm room supplies. The apartment has wood floors, an exposed brick wall, plenty of sunlight, shutters for the front windows that fold into the wall, a one butt kitchen, and a bedroom that won't allow much besides the bed. And all this on the third floor so Weight Watchers meetings should go very well.

Sunday was the house painting party. Parents and siblings and uncles and coworkers and friends showed up with their arsenal of painting and cleaning supplies. Each room developed it's own odor from the fumes of whatever was being used. Two gallons of paint managed to paint the living room and bedroom, but it got a bit thin in places. The kitchen was scrubbed thoroughly clean. The bathroom ... oy, the bathroom.

First thing to know about bathtubs is that they shouldn't be painted. Nope. Never. Particularly not with latex paint. Why? Because it comes away in long strips when you use it or clean it and you come off looking like an idiot. When the caulk is black with mildew you're supposed to remove it and recaulk. Painting over it is not the same thing. The soap tray on the wall was broken so they tried to replace it. The caulk that should have been used on the tub was instead used to try to glue the new soap tray in place. We'll be having to put the tray back up ourselves.

There were also shelves over the toilet. Yummy has her own thing to put over the toilet. I took down the shelves, but one of the screws spun freely rather than come out. I had to yank the anchor out, too. Then I mudded things so they could be painted later. But between the hole and the several layers of missing paint it was hard to get it even. I wound up leaving it thick so I could go back with a wet sponge to smooth it back down. Then comes a new paint job for that room. We need something that goes well with the tile. What goes well with masking tape yellow?

The movers are supposed to come this coming Saturday. They're sounding iffy so far. We may have another story for you next week.