ISTG. I always forget that my mother doesn't tell my father's family anything. It's a good thing I wasn't any more specific on Facebook, because I think I played it off ok....

ION, has anyone stripped wallpaper? How long does it take? Could I figure a day a room, assuming one layer of paper and medium sized rooms, a couple of which have panels on the bottom half?

So I am watching the live stream out of Miami of Diana Nyad finishing her swim. It is very confused and I don't even know how far out she is, except pretty close.

Could I figure a day a room, assuming one layer of paper and medium sized rooms, a couple of which have panels on the bottom half?

I have no idea on time (often it may depend on how well the wallpaper was put up in the first place) but I hear renting a steamer-thing (? I'm sure someone else knows better) is a good plan.

Oh, Jesse & Burrell, I'm sorry you & your families are having such a hard time. Much support to you both.

Me, I got to have brunch with Maria & Juliana & the Zmayhems yesterday, which was great fun (although I got terribly sunburned). Today I shall go for a bike ride, do some gardening, & go to a bbq at my sister's house. It's been a busy weekend.

On Saturday I saw Ian McKellen & Patrick Stewart on stage together. They were awesome, but the play, by Harold Pinter, was far too depressing for me.

It depends on the wallpaper, Jesse. A room a day might be a little ambitious depending on how big the rooms are, and how exhausting it can be.

I think the trick we used was a fabric softener/water mix, that we sprayed on and let set for a little bit before scraping.

Jesse - my experience with wallpaper is that you never know until you dig in. I've had some rooms where you could just pull the paper down without much effort and others where you needed a steamer and tons of elbow grease.

It depends on what kind of adhesive was used, too. I've taken down wallpaper a bunch of times, and sometimes I could just grab a corner and peel off each strip in a few seconds, and other times there was a lot of steaming and scraping. (And one time, I discovered that the wallpaper was the only thing holding the wall together, as I pulled off a piece of paper and a shower of crumbled drywall came down.)

Yeah, I've gotten recs for both the steamer and the fabric softener, and am a little afraid of the steamer, because of all the wood. Maybe I'll say I'll try doing one room and see how it goes. (my mother is totally willing to hire someone, but I just feel like I can do unskilled labor myself!)

So I am watching the live stream out of Miami of Diana Nyad finishing her swim. It is very confused and I don't even know how far out she is, except pretty close.

Laura,

The last hourly news update on NPR says she's within sight of the Florida shore. The captain of her support ship is amazed that it looks like it will happen this time.

So I am watching the live stream out of Miami of Diana Nyad finishing her swim. It is very confused and I don't even know how far out she is, except pretty close.

I was watching it, too, and amused by the small dog on a surfboard. Everyone wants to cheer her on!