Scrub Scrub Scrub Scrub Scrub

Three days of staring at dull, glue covered, poorly painted gold walls can have an effect on one's psychological well-being. Especially when the ultimate goal is to remove 30 year-old gunky white glue covering the dull gold paint, which was obviously hastily applied. To remove said glue, I probably went through about 30 gallons of water, hauling three buckets at a time to and from the basement, then delicately scrubbing at the glue until it turned into a milky white paste, and sponged it off. With three buckets of water, I could clean a two foot wide area from ceiling to floor, however, by the time I got halfway down the wall, the water was saturated with glue, making it more difficult to sponge off the glue, and making my efforts seem more like I was chasing goop around the wall.
As I scrubbed at the glue, it sprayed all over my face and hair. Even now, my arm hair is matted and crusty, and my face is speckled. But today, I conquered the glue. I finished wiping every last square inch of glue off the walls, and I am glad to say that I feel a sense of self-satisfaction at having done so without help.
While I sponged and cursed my marigold prison, Tony spent his time in the basement removing the ceiling and enduring a shower of mouse turds without complaint. It seems the mice no longer inhabit our home, but at one time had been making the space between the basement and first floor into a mice city of sorts. We are lucky they didn't do much more damage than pissing and defecating everywhere-- they could have chewed through live wires... although then the little bastards would have gotten what they deserved. Although Tony was skeptical about the aesthetics of the basement once the ceiling was removed, I am glad to have the feces and mold out of the house for good.
Tony finished removing the ceiling yesterday evening, which was in record time, since he had to remove a number of wooden boards, and came in contact with live wires which were not capped off at the ends. I was amazed at how quickly he moved through the whole process, and it was quite amusing to come downstairs and watch him in his industrial looking respirator and goggles, covered in sweat. Not once did he curse the mouse droppings or complain that his job was disgusting. I can't say I would have completed the task with such grace.
This morning when I arrived with two cases of beer, ham and rolls, and some candy, Tony and his barber, Nick, had removed most of the kitchen cabinets. Nick wanted to use them to put in his garage for storage. His wife was there too, holding her (huge- not fat, just rather large) one year-old son. Once Nick and his family left, Tony began pounding through walls. I got a few hits in too, and I must say the experience was exhilarating.
I'll spare you the details of the rest of the demolition, except to say that I am proud of Tony and I and our progress-- we got an incredible amount of work done. It was amazing. We did run into a problem, however. One of our walls may be a load-bearing wall. We're not sure, and there's no sense in speculating. Tony will find out tomorrow, so I'll be sure to update, since that may have a significant effect on our plans.
For tonight, I need to go to bed early. We're back at it again bright and early tomorrow.