The week is over and there is SO much to blog about! And I was so busy that the week flew by and I did not have any time to "Write as I went!" So to say. So now I have to post everything in a single blog post. And hopefully it will not be so long no one will want to read it. (Even I get bored over really really long blog posts... from other people! Of course....)
So first things first: Christina bailed on me at the last second for the IKEA trip. Meaning, I had to go it alone! (I'm being overly harsh with Christina... She had to work overtime.) But doing things alone is my specialty! So I jumped in my trusted Silver Bear Subie and headed to the IKEA!
I needed some furniture for my clothes. (Living out of a bag might be ok for a racoon or soldier, but not for civilized human being!) And being who I am... I wanted it to be affordable.
BOOM! IKEA comes through! Two small dressers for under $150! And they are both solid pine! I can paint them if I do not like the color, but the bare pine look works with the bed at the moment. So I'll keep it!
I found a really nice chair! It swivels! And I had to wait until Thursday for the ottoman to arrive, but it did!
I found several other items that I had to have right away and purchased them all. A couple fo the big things would have been easier to handle with a second person, but I managed to get it all in by myself. And to throw a little more stress onto the situation, it began to rain HEAVILY just as I was preparing to load things up. Good thing I had lots of time, because I simply waited the storm out while eating an Ice cream cone. (Sometimes, you have to sit back and enjoy the moment rather than fight against it....)
Did I mention that having a Subaru Forester is AWESOME! I was able to fit EVERYTHING in on the first go.... NO strapping things onto the roof and hoping they don't blow off or get wet. ( Which happened twice when we lived in Iowa) It looks like it was made for it! A perfect fit!
Now that I got things home, the long process of assembly begins. Thankfully the house was cool enough for me to regain my patience and I took my time. In fact, to keep the challenge going, I once again did not use the instructions! At all! (Well, not until the end to see if I had actually done all of the steps correctly...) 
The key to IKEA furniture is to set things up and organize. You know there are 6 drawers... so find the items that have 6 or 12 of everything and set them aside. 
It also helps to have a little spacial recognition to understand what the dimensions of the drawers should look like.
Set those aside and solve each small task one at a time. And then repeat it 6 times.
IN the end, you should have 6 drawers lined up and ready. Now just build around it.
Honestly, IKEA has actually made the items EASIER to assemble now. Back in the day, the hardware was rather confusing on which direction it should face or how it was to be inserted. But now it is a plastic mount with a groove that fits only one way. Easy! And surprisingly durable!
And so I finished the "Furniture that holds Clothes" and was able to move on to one of my next projects: Small House repairs! The hinges and locks in this building were in desperate need of attention. 
It is amazing what a little WD40 can do. The locks actually work now without breaking the key off inside them!
Also, Many of the outlets are only a 2 prong fitting. That is fine... except when you have a three prong extension cord or AC unit. Time to get those things updated!
I have done this before in our last apartment in Iowa. With a little advice from Dad the Union Electrician, you simply have to make sure the ground is properly placed and the breaker is tripped so you don't shock yourself. Easy!
The bathroom lights were also in need of attention. In fact, several things about the bathroom seemed a little "off". There is no ventilation! And the steam from the bathroom shower quickly condenses on the walls. No one wants black mold or mildew growing in their house, so it is time to figure something out.
Also, the lights were BLINDING if you turned them on. I solved this by installing a couple sections of sheet metal to deflect the light back onto the walls. It WORKS! And almost looks like it was intentional.
There are no outlets inside the bathroom, so I took one of the lights out and replaced it with a plug. From that plug, I installed a small set of fans that blow air OUTSIDE, creating a small exhaust port so the humid air can escape and not condense on the walls. So far, things are working perfectly. I know that it will have to be revisited in the winter though....
One of the things about the windows was that the sun was coming in and heating up the air faster than the AC units could cool things down. To combat this, ( and to give us a little privacy...) 
I installed some blinds that allows a little bit of filtered light through. The blinds were so easy to install! Compared to the hoops I had to jump through in the past, They now have only two brackets and they snap into place. Also... No dangly strings!
On Thursday, Cheryl came up from Grand Rapids Michigan. She had been visiting her family and getting the"Bean" Subie fixed and decided to join me afterwards in my House renovation. ( That is to say, she accompanied me to IKEA...) On this third trip to IKEA I was able to pick up my missing Ottoman for my chair and several small things for the kitchen, bathroom, and my bedroom. Most of the things were simply utensils, dishes and glasses so Dave and I will have something to eat on and drink from.... It was a fun trip and I think it was the first time we went to IKEA and had nothing to eat in the cafeteria.
We Visited the PETS beer garden and had a walk through the forest where I have my secret mushroom spots. After that serious rain on Tuesday, I figured some of the mushrooms had to be poking out.
And they WERE! Finally Chicken of the woods!
I was So EXCITED! (And a little tipsy from the Beer Garden) That I was cheering loudly. We harvested all that we could.
Not only that, but the Golden Oysters has a second blooming in a new location. I harvested what I could carry and had to leave the rest. I simply could not carry ( or deal with...) any more mushrooms.
Once we got home, we did a tick check. ( Ticks are so disgusting.! And Cheryl found a micro-Tick on her arm!) And cooked up some of the chickens.
We made sandwiches with mayo and tomato. They were awesome!
I Still have a lot left, so I might offer some to some people who have enjoyed them in the past. It is a wonderfully delicious mushroom to enjoy!
As I wrap up this post, I just wanted to say that It was a busy week and I had fun. Fun assembling the furniture and fixing the little odds and ends that needed a little attention. I think Dave should be coming back from his Alaska vacation soon, and when he does, I'm hoping he will find the place to his liking as well. He will have to work on his own room, as I do not know what he wants to spend money on at this moment in time. But I'm sure he will figure things out as each challenge comes along.
Tomorrow, I have to help out at the Firecracker 5k in Kenosha. It should be a good time as I helped out years past. This time! I get to be a crossing guard! (They specifically asked for help in this area...) So I may be there longer than I was last time. Either way, it should be fun and I think I get a Tshirt for my efforts. I'll have to take pics of that so I can blog about it.
And that is all for now. Cheryl is safely home and mentioned that she wished she could have stayed longer.
So do I....
But such is Life! And part of life is doing your best to make every second count.
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