Painting and Cutting Corners, and Making Fabuloso Memories with my Sister

My baby sister Jill and her hubby Jay just bought their first home. What a thrill to see them realize their dream, and to feel the pains that go with contracts and settlements (the pain in the backside when you realize your wallet is not as well-padded as you wished).

The house is a darling 1960s rancher in Aberdeen on a beautiful lot with a big yard and mature trees. (It's about 15 minutes from our home.) Mostly what it needs is cosmetic, not structural, and that can actually be fun for "project people" to do. Hard work, yes, but creative fun.
Knowing that Jill was on a tight schedule to get the public rooms painted before moving day, her friends and I offered to help. Gracious recipient of help, she let us. (The friends came one day, Joel and I the next.) Joel wiped down base cabinets in the kitchen and ran a Swiffer on the hardwood floors. He's got this thing for Swiffers. He begged to help paint --begged himself into trouble, if you get my drift, since he wouldn't take "no" for an answer. (Uncle Jay wanted only adults painting, understandably.) Parents sometimes need to facilitate a child's learning to take "no" for an answer.

While paint was drying, I wiped out upper kitchen cabinets and drawers with a fabulous cleaning solution I took with me. It's called Fabuloso. "It smells soooooooo good in here," Jill said every time she came in to check my progress. Fabuloso--which I found at Home Depot-- comes in a bottle that, unfortunately, looks like a jug of grape juice for kids. The shape and label should NOT be so appealing. It clearly says "Do not drink" on it, but let's be honest, can anybody who WOULD drink it be able to read? Anyway, I have made a note to self to write the company and say, " I love EVERYTHING about Fabuloso except its dangerous appeal to preschoolers. Please change the look of it." I love to put some water in the bathroom sink with a couple capfuls of Fabuloso in it and just let it sit. It gives off this aroma that gives everyone the impression you've actually been cleaning. Why work hard when you can fool people without sweating? That's my question.

When the cabinets were clean and dry, Jill had me use thin rubber matting to line them. They needed to be notched in front to accomodate the door openings, so I did that while she painted in the other room. When she came to inspect my work, she gushed (very easy to impress Jill, which is one big reason I love her, she is SO not critical). "Wow, how'd you make them fit so perfectly? " she asked. I blurted out (not thinking), "I cut corners."

Well, you'd have thought from our laughter we had been sniffing Fabuloso a little too long, but if you have a sister or close girl friend, you know it takes very little to bust a gut. Pretty soon Jill joined me making these liners. We went on and on: "Hire us. Cutting corners is our specialty, " and "Why do the job well when you can cut corners instead?"

Enough already. Here are some pictures from our fun day on her new homefront. I won't even begin to apologize for our looks. Does anyone look good in paint clothes?
(Notice I am holding the bottle of cleaner strategically in front of a paint smudge on my shirt. It's not just free advertising.)

Here's to more happy projects and great memories with Jill and Jay in their new home. (Glasses clink, filled with Fabuloso. Not.)