I was talking to my neighbour yesterday telling him about my plans to parquet over my downstairs floor. He made what I thought was a valid point that my flooring is actually pretty nice so why didn't I just try cleaning it up! To be honest, the living room/dining room area isn't too bad but due to a dishwasher having leaked all over my kitchen floor some time ago the kitchen looks pretty naff. So this morning I tried scrubbing it with soda crystals, bicarb, bleach, soap - you name it - but nothing made much difference. An indoor pressure spray hardly made a dent in it either so I think I'm pretty resigned to getting a new floor (eventually). To be honest, what I've seen for the kitchen is (I think) pretty nice anyway but it will involve more expense and more hassle, getting all the stuff downstairs moved out the way. Still, it won't be for quite some time, so with that in mind I looked up the DIY classes that they have on offer at Leroy Merlin (a big DIY place here) and guess what? They do fairly frequent "lay your own parquet flooring courses", so I've signed up for one in October!!! Now I'm not sure I will go ahead and do it myself but who knows. I've also signed up for a course on how to "relook" furniture in September, which could be pretty interesting as I have a few pieces of furniture I wouldn't mind giving a new lease of life to! We'll see how it goes I suppose, but I honestly don't think "Tim the Tool Man" has much to worry about just yet (loved that programme)!
And today, my friend and I decided to go out to our first vide-grenier in a while. She ended up buying a very old wicker sunbed - you know, the kind you can just imagine Hercule Poirot lying on - and we were lucky enough to be able to get it in my car (we don't always think these things through properly)! There was also a chap there with a large table full of second-hand tools for sale, so since I don't have a crowbar and have often thought I could use one I picked up one for €7
and a rather nice hammer for €5 which was just the right weight for me and which I will be able to use to re-set the flower borders in my back garden! As I was putting them in my bag the guy's friend walked over and asked if I was planning to go on a burglary spree! Tee hee, I hadn't thought of that! Cat Burglar Annie here we come!
If the burglary goes well, you wont need to DIY the floor!
ReplyDeleteNever thought of that! Good thinking Batwoman!
DeleteYour next profession? lol. I wonder if there are any companies that could come clean your floor professionally that might work.
ReplyDeleteActually that was my first thought - until I talked to Max. I will give the "floor guy" a call anyway to see how it would work out.
DeleteI have to ask on what occasions you thought to yourself 'gosh I wish I had a crowbar handy'!! I will be honest and say in all my a few more than 60 years I don't believe those words or even thoughts have ever occured to me! lol.x
ReplyDeleteOh boy am I getting some stick for the crowbar (not least of all from my sister). Actually I used my neighbours last week as we were trying to lift a flap on our composter but that thing was stuck solid. In any case, if you do ever need one, it's better to pay a couple of euros rather than however much they cost new. I guess the other thing is, being on my own sometimes you need a "helping hand" to get something moved that might not be necessary if I had a husband, although renting a husband would have been cheaper than marrying one! Failing that I can stick it behind the door in my bedroom. Oh right, that won't be necessary, that's where the baseball bat is (seriously)!
DeleteCongratulations on becoming two tools richer! Having a shed full of tools makes me feel very competent, I sometimes even use them! I feel constrained though, to point out that what you have is actually a wrecking bar, not a crow bar. Wrecking bars are far more useful in my opinion, as you have already mentioned, both for burglary purposes, and prying heavy things open. Have you thought of resanding your floors, if they are timber? That often resolves water stain issues..
ReplyDeleteYep 2 tools richer. AND I plan to learn how to use them!!! My floors are actually terracotta and I asked again today at another DIY place and they said it wouldn't work either!! So it looks like a new floor it will be!
DeleteI just looked up 'crow bar' and guess what - that tool is called both a crow bar and a wrecking bar, also a pry bar. The long straight, heavy bar that i call a crow bar is also called a crow bar and a wrecking bar. How on earth do the tool men ever work out what tool they need??
DeleteHow exciting though, that both tools seem destined to be used soon!!
I've only ever known it as a crowbar but then what would I know!
DeleteI once did House Removals as a student summer job, where such tools were known as 'Blunt Objects'.
ReplyDeleteThat's about the extent of my vocabulary also (it's even worse in French - everything is a "thingy"!!!)
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