Saturday, December 08, 2007

Improvements.....

A week and a half ago I finally tackled the dark stairway from hell. If you haven't visited, you can't appreciate how dark and miserable the stairs from the first floor to the second floor were. It became even worse when the 100 watt bulb blew out and I was forced to replace it with the only bulb available: 60 watts. The stairwell was so dim you were putting your life at risk trying to get down them.

I was about to go rummage for another light bulb, but I figured I might as well finally paint the stairs to brighten them up. The steps were tile red, and the walls were unpainted.

Huh! It's amazing what a little paint will do! You can actually see where you are stepping now. Those you of who have visited or volunteered before may not even believe it's the same stair:




The dog and cat prints on the wall are from a dollar store.

Then I had these nice cages. The one on the right I had ordered with a stand . The one on the left I had ordered without a stand, to save money. I ended up having to crawl around on the floor to clean it. I gave in and ordered a stand for it....oh, months ago, and it has kicked around, begging to be assembled. Finally, while I was waiting for stair paint to dry, I assembled it, tipped the cage over on its side (sans kittens, of course) and got it on. What an improvement! They both look better side by side now that they are the same height. And the cage is now so much easier to clean. The kittens really like being at eye level.



Click on the photo to get a better look at the cages. I wouldn't mind one more. This one would be cool. Or this one. Some day. I'm not in a hurry. They are expensive (about $600 with shipping and the powder coated wire). One was purchased with a work bonus, and the other was purchased with a very generous donation from an adopter.

However the wire dog cages work the best for feral cats, so I would never want to replace all my cages with this type.

What else can I fix? There is still so much painting to do.

If we ever move, some kid is going to have one heck of a clubhouse.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

WOW! The stairway from hell now looks like the stairway to heaven! Great job Susan! I'm happy to help paint - just give me a couple hours notice and I'll be over. Sorry to have been AWOL the last couple of weeks. I need a cat fix soon, so I'll be over sometime this coming week.