Well...that didn't work out .....

Bummer.

I found a glass shade on eBay for the mud room ceiling light and it was for the shade only, no fixture. This was cool because I already have a cast iron ceiling fixture that I wanted to use.  So I purchased the shade and it arrived 5 days later.  I loooooooooooovvvvvvvveeeee the shade.  It is in perfect condition and is perfect for the look I am trying to achieve.

But.........I have no idea how I let this slip by.  It is the wrong fitter size.  It's close, but as the saying goes....close but no cigar.  I was bummed because not only do I love the shade but I had already restored the fixture.  When I first bought the fixture it had a bazillion coats of paint on it....no really I counted every zillion.  You couldn't even see the egg and dart detail.  I was so pleasantly surprised after I sand blasted the fixture.  The three original brass tightening screws were present and in great condition.  I quickly primed the fixture.  You have to do this with cast iron or the item will develop surface rust right before your eyes.  I had that happen with the side rails on a brass bed that I restored (as a matter of fact...I am laying in that bed right now as I type this).  I sand blasted the rails and then realized that I did not have any primer left in the can.  I drove to the hardware store and when I returned there was the beginning of surface rust.  I'll admit....it was a humid day.

So now I am on the hunt for a new cast iron ceiling fixture with a 4 inch fitter.  There are more pressed metal fixtures available than cast iron so it might take me a month or so.  The first fixture won't go to waste.  I think I'll use it in my entry way broom closet.

The second bummer is that three days ago we went to Lowe's to buy bead board plywood paneling.  I wanted the plywood variety in pine and paint grade.  All I could find was birch in stain grade.  So we drove across the street to Home Depot.  They didn't have it, either.  We were walking away intent on going back to Lowe's to buy the birch bead board when a sales associate approached us.  We explained what we wanted and somehow he talked us into primed Masonite bead board paneling.  We loaded the truck with the 9 sheets and drove home.

We arrived home and unloaded.  By the time we had loaded the nine sheets into the truck and unloaded the 9 sheets we were already unsure.  The next day (yesterday) we spoke briefly about our doubts. Today when I woke up I knew that they were not what I wanted.  I told R that I felt we would not be happy with the results and it just wasn't what I had envisioned.  He said he was glad because he wasn't happy with them at all.  So we loaded the 9 sheets back into the truck and drove back to Home Depot. Then we unloaded the 9 sheets again and returned them.

We drove back to Lowe's to buy the birch bead board paneling.  As we walked down the aisle, I walked by the pine bead board plywood paneling and saw what I had been looking for the first time we were there.  I think what happened was someone pulled a sheet off another pile and hid what I was looking for.

So we loaded up another 9 sheets and headed to the cashier.  Then we loaded the 9 sheets into the truck and drove home.  Then we unloaded the 9 sheets and brought them into the house.  To say I am tired of loading and unloading is an understatement.  But we are both happier with these plywood panels.