Sad Family Weekend, my Foyer Floor, and looking ahead to Vacation Out West

Saturday was a very sad day for our family as our sisterinlaw Shirley was laid to rest.  The funeral at the church was standing room only as so many people who knew and loved her all came to share their experiences and pay their respects.  We felt so deeply for Steve's brother Mark and three daughters, Jen, Heather and Faith, their families and two sweet little grandsons.  The family had taken this photo a while back and it clearly shows the caring and love as they all prayed for the best for her as she was dealing with cancer.

What an emotional and touching family moment. 

On Sunday... we hung around the house and took it easy... well, that is, until Steveio got a bug of an idea in his brain.  (from watching too many episodes of The Rehab Addict on HGtv)  He decided to tear up "just a corner" of the carpeting in the foyer "just to look" and see the condition of the hardwood floor underneath.  We know the entire first floor of house is all maple hardwood flooring from 1913, but didn't know the condition of the actual floors underneath the wall-to-wall carpeting.  Because the carpeting is in such good shape, we have never really ripped any up yet.  (we did peek a bit around the fireplace when we pulled back the carpeting to expose the tile hearth area last spring)  

Well..... of course. like everything else in this wonderful home, 

it's in EXCELLENT CONDITION! 

I swept up the dusty layer after removing the pad as Steve pulled up the staples from the padding. Then he carefully removed the tack strips from the carpeting installation with a prybar and a piece of cardboard to pad it to avoid any more marks on the floor.  The maple hardwood was in such great shape for 100+ years old.  WHEEEEEEEEEE  

On Monday, I cleaned the floor well and let it dry.  

I had a plan in mind. 

The I carefully spread on a layer of quick drying low odor polyurethane for floors. I used a wide foam brush as kindof a pushing motion to spread the poly, rather than stroking and painting it on which would leave bubbles.  Then I shut the pocket doors and let it dry all day.  

I picked up enough lengths of hardwood quarter-round trim and stained that down in the basement. It will be cut to size and put around the edges where it had been removed to install the carpeting years ago.  The intricate cast iron grate on the cold air return easily lifted off to get the poly brushed right up to the edge.

This was SO exciting to "make it pretty" !!!

I left the house that afternoon, to run up to Oconto to babysit a couple grandtots overnight.  The floor had a good time to cure.  Steve was left a BIG HANDWRITTEN NOTE when he got home after work to not walk on it... It's a good thing we have the back servants stairs to get up to the bedrooms, or else he would have been sleeping on the couch overnight.  Tee heee.... I had the dogs with me so so we didn't have any accidental paw prints running through it either. 

I had a delightful evening up at the grandtots' house and it was first time for newly adopted Binney to be around children.  We kept her leashed and harnessed until we could observe her demeanor... which I am pleased to say was gentle and loving.  Both grandtots know how to be respectful of dogs and not mistreat or manhandle them. Soon Binney and Chelsea were best snuggle buds on the couch... and Finney was happily lapping up all the attention from Clayton. 

We did run into one problem though.... little Binney would NOT go pee or poop while on a leash in our daughter's yard.  She held it in hour after hour---- the stubborn little cuss.  I took her out on leash at least 12 times in the 24 hours we were there, and she would NOT go.  Finney did, but Binney refused.   I got her home to our own safe little fenced in potty yard and she broke the dam loose and went and went and went!   

Soooo that means with our upcoming vacation in 3 weeks,  we have some major potty lessons to learn how to go in other places rather than just her safe little fenced in potty yard!   "Pee On Demand"  Today I spent at least four different half hour sessions with her out on a leash in various parts of the far back yard.  None of the times would she relent and go.  Finally I had to let her use the fenced in yard this afternoon.

We have only had her for five weeks so far, and each time we have taken her on walks around town, we realize that she always held it till we got back home.  We never needed a doggie pickup bag for her because she just waited till she was in her secure little fenced in poop yard at home!

Some friends on my dog list suggested moving some of the leftover doggie poop from the fenced yard out to various spots in the big back yard which I did.  No difference.  Finney has repeatedly gone out there each time, but that doesn't entice her to go out there either.  

Someone suggested a training spray from Nature's Miracle that you put down where you DO want them to go, so I will get some of that on Friday when I am in Appleton.

We have about two weeks to get her past this phobia, or else this little lady is going to be holding her bladder for six weeks!  oh my....

Every dog we have had traveled easy and went on demand on the leash when we would stop for a fuel break, or a stretch break, or at the end of the day or during a walk around a campground.  I just didn't think that this would be such a problem, and should have started taking her to various spots in the yard on leash from the beginning to get her used to it, I guess.  

Our Little Binney will have to get with the program and learn how to be a Motorhoming Dog! 

As soon as I am done typing this blog, I will go out with her one more time tonight to see if she will go on the leash.  Sigh. 

We are working on our lists and plans and ideas for 6 weeks Out West.. probably try to explore more of New Mexico, because we shirked on that state last time in our rush to get to Arizona and S. California. But we don't make any real reservations or promises.  We will see where the road takes us.