Hi,

Yes, I’ve been a busy boi, I finished my Lady Palm bathroom floor and door project, not perfect, but I’m happy with it:

Lady Palm bathroom floor and door

The solid bronze cherub statue (which is very heavy) on the credenza in the library has a nut sticking out of it, since I bought it 15 years ago and I’ve finally gotten around to it.  I made a new round base that’s padded for it to sit on it.Solid bras cherub

And here’s the criminal nut:

cherub nut

Here’s the credenza finished:

credenza

Besides the scratches the cherub nut caused there was years of dirt, other scratches on the top of this beautiful piece of furniture.  What I did on the top does not match the base, but personally I like to see the grain.  OK you purists, I’m OK the top doesn’t match the base, it’s mine and I can do with it what I want. .:)

I finished the ballroom project:

Ballroom

I borrowed my friend Jeff’s pressure washer to clean the veranda and got carried away  I also cleaned the grime off the hood system for the kitchen (which I’ve tried with soap and a pot brush in the past with no good results), I did both cement benches in the courtyard, the fountain and all the brick ways in the courtyard and both sides of the parking lot.  I’ve hosed all this off in the past, but no where near the results with the pressure washer.  I’m just showing one picture of before and after in the parking lot:

dirty & clean bricks

dirty bricks

I can’t do projects like Lady Palm and the credenza in the library when I have guests due to the smell of the chemicals, i takes a long time to get the smell out.  Here’s one of next winter’s projects the top shelf over the bookcases in the library:

top of bookcase in library

I’m now on Instagram, if you’d like to follow me I’m at theparadorinn. I’ve done 11 posts and have 19 followers already!!!!  🙂

OK lets talk a little about the corona virus: I dress in all black mainly because I don’t want to worry if that pink plaid shirt matches the green slacks, an added benefit is black cloths don’t show black dog hair.  This even includes work clothes. I go to a thrift shop and pick up old black dress pants to where when I’m working with paint or very dirty things like pressure washing bricks.  To me they are an essential business.  🙂  They have been closed during this hole lock down period and didn’t even open yesterday when we went into the yellow phase.  Another issue that I find essential is green beans for my gerl.  Costco was out of their cases of a dozen cans for about $5. so Mr Flexible (me) went to Restaurant Depot to get several #10 cans of green beans to hold me over.  When I went back to Costco, still no green beans so I called them and they seem to have dropped that product line and I went back to Restaurant depot to get a case of the #10 cans and they will be out until May  26.  Shortages at this time I understand, but green beans?????  Cut me a break.  🙂

While I’m whining I voted for Governor Wolf because he was a successful businessman (not like that faux idiot “businessman” in Washington) and am very disappointed in his response to the covid19.  He just closed the state stores, restaurants figured out within days how to do take out.  It took PLCB two months and the loss of millions of dollars because we were all going to WV & OH for our booze.  Granted, the governor’s expertise was in manufacturing, but a business person needs to think outside the box and I’m very disappointed.   My other issue with the governor is the dysfunctional  unemployment system.  I’m not a politician or bureaucrat  but I knew when all this hit that the UC was going to be swamped, this lack of preparedness is unacceptable, maybe even impeachable for incompetence.  Again, granted the UC office was scheduled to upgrade their systems years ago that got dropped for budget cuts, but that doesn’t excuse the delay in moving assets to handle the onslaught.  I don’t like the shut down but understand it and am willing or work with it as best i can.live with it because we need to.

To end on a positive note, yes the Stones cancelled, CMU & Duquesne postponed their graduations, both my reunions canceled, I lost all my short term reservations, my big wedding in June seeriously  down sized and now Kenny Chesney canceled.  On the bright side, John W called me, we had spoke last year when they were planning his daughter’s wedding, but I can’t host 300+ guests here.  Since he couldn’t do a big wedding he called me to see if I could host a smaller wedding of around 20.  Yes, I could and do.    They booked just about all of my rooms.  And then  the following week, Terry & Chris also wanted do host a small wedding, they didn’t rent most of my rooms and I did get event space rental that helped out.   I’m finally getting response for my covid19 special $100+ per night weekday and $125+ weekend rates. I’ve also one a couple of financial things that’s keeping me afloat.  I’m doing much better than many of my other small businesses.

So if you want a bargain, I have less expensive rooms available through the end of June (I say less expensive, Airbnb says cheap).  🙂  Da kidz miss you.

Have a good one and keep safe,

ed