Frustration!!!

So I have to say that camping out in my own house is kind of an adventure - at least it's an adventure when I'm feeling well. It's a nuisance when I'm not. These last couple of days I've had either a head cold or some kind of toxic-paint-fume-induced malaise. Either way, I haven't felt like my normal spry self. Just kind of tired with a stuffy head. Not enough to do anything about, just enough to want a hot bath and chicken soup. A real bed wouldn't hurt either.

Eric came over one evening to help me sand and prime the ceilings, which was fun. Basically I was stuck three rungs up a ladder, while he stood, feet flat, and sanded the ceiling. I suppose it's easier if you're 6'4" and long-limbed. He's planted himself firmly on my list of people to call for help in high places.

Mom and Dad came in on Friday for the much-anticipated start of the bamboo flooring project. I rented a nailer that basically operates like the strong-man contest at the fair. Once you position the nailer, you whack the plunger with a rubber mallet (I kid you not) and then, like magic, your nail is secure in your board without any damage to the surface. At least that's how the tool rental guy billed it. I had hopes for one complete room of bamboo floors - those hopes were only beginning to wane when, by noon, we barely had the underlayment down. Then, when we started into the ridiculous nailing process, all hope was lost.

Basically, in the 10 or so hours my parents were here helping, we managed to secure three rows of boards. Three!! I think Aunt Lyn was right when she said she'd clear her calender in 2012 for the housewarming. The first row was naturally tedious because it's too close to the wall to use the nailer, so you have to pre-drill and nail all of the boards (naturally at awkward angles, with unnaturally thin nails). Once we got far enough away from the wall we could use the magic nailer thingy and had hopes of just speeding through the floor with ease. Ha! Not so much.

As it turns out, only a strong-man from the fair could actually use the nailer correctly - You really have to beat the hell out of the thing to get it to work, but then if you hit it too hard (not a danger for me, but my father had some trouble) then the nail mangles the board. Grrrrr. Clearly this is not the right tool for the job. I can't believe I have almost a thousand square feet to put down in bamboo... Maybe carpets aren't so bad after all.