First of all,
you need to know that I am incredibly
happy and pleased with the work our
contractor, Greg Gommels, has been doing.
I would recommend him to anyone needing
just about anything done.
He is an expert and thorough and really listens.
I am just not patient.
I want to wake up in my bedroom on these
lazy days (phhht...continue reading) of summer
with a cup of heavily creamed coffee, a cookie,
and the Today Show
with my computer on my lap,
my Ipad and my phone at my side
with the lacy (and freshly washed) curtains
wafting gently
in a soft summer breeze.
As you see, I have given a lot of thought to
this scenario.
But...
as anyone who has done any work on
their abode knows things just do not work
out as planned.
One week has turned into two and a half.
Nearly three if you count the time we spent hauling stuff out
on the rooms on the Wednesday before.
Here is a picture of what you do with 18 years of
STUFF...
Half of it goes in Sorcha's room...
The other half goes in Fionn's room!
SO we are all camping out in the living room,
the RV, or the guest bedroom...
for almost 3 WEEKS...did I mention that?
So back to the refurbish...
Our house was built in 1895.
That explains a lot!
Plus the room is HUGE!
24x16
The walls went well.
I HAVE WALLS!!!!
I am pretty excited by that!
A little history....
When Lee was a Senior he helped me tear out
the old plaster and horse hair and lath.
John insulated but we never got around
to sheet rock.
Here is a lovely patch of wallpaper we discovered in
my closet. Original? Maybe!
There is nothing under it but the original plaster.
See how bad the walls were? Gross.
The room is complicated with lots of angles.
So for 6 years I looked at the
Christmas flocking (already removed in the picture above)
we stapled over
the brown craft paper on the back
of the insulation.
Sparkly but not exactly walls.
So now you see why I am so excited!
WALLS!!!
We painted them a nice soft gray...the shade on the right.
The floor...well, that is another matter.
The original pine flooring was covered with
a shellac or lacquer and the planned
ONE
day to sand it off turned into
THREE and a HALF
plus 2 broken sanders!
YIKES!
Before....
After!!!
Wow! What a difference!
Greg has to finish sanding the perimeter
and then 2 coats of sealer.
Maybe, just maybe, we can move our stuff back in on WEDNESDAY?
So after summer school was over and my classroom
all set for the next session in August,
I went a little crazy with
sorting
organizing
throwing
donating
stuff.....
First I tackled the food storage
area in the basement.
Our mini grocery store...
all organized by category and
ALPHABETIZED!
(Told you I went a bit off the deep end)
Then I tackled the kitchen...
new shelf paper,
rearranged cupboards to make it easier
for Grandpa to access items,
and just a general purging...
Spices refilled, wiped down, and alphabetized again.
My favorite cupboard has this saying lettered on the door....
it also says "cookies are made with butter and love"
true
When we first began this adventure
John and I hauled down about dozens boxes of
childhood memories for our 6 kids.
So we (finally) purchased six 50-gallon totes
and spent an entire night
(one of two all nighters I have pulled this summer)
sorting the kids' precious memories!
And here they are...
disguised as a behind the couch table!
Couldn't forget the bathroom!
I actually spent a little money on a new shower curtain,
a teal shower mat,
and some really adorable storage totes...
it is amazing how much a family can
accumulate in just 1 year in such a
tiny little room!
(see last year's post on our bathroom adventure!)
Cute!
Yep, even the birds got a revamp...
I do believe they love their new window view!
Meanwhile, back in the living room...
I painted over an awful border I put up years ago...
yep, just painted right over it!
We do have some crown molding that
is "aging" in the shop what will eventually go over
the border area. Eventually.
In John's defense,
he did go out to the shop to cut the first piece,
however the table saw did not work.
Oh no!
We also took down the curtains and
bleached the sheers and replaced the 18 year old heavy green
curtains with light and airy mossy green ones that were
repurposed. They really look nice!
Oh, yes! I let my inner geek free and made a
DOCTOR WHO
shelf in the living room! WHOO HOO!
(bow ties are cool!)
Back in the kitchen...
more sorting...
more organizing...
more throwing....
Don't you love the little boxes from Target?
I picked them up last year not knowing what I needed
them for...mystery solved!
And FINALLY....
I made this adorable little reading corner!
I have another scenario in my mind that my sweet husband
and I will each be absorbed for HOURS in our
respective literature, snuggled up with heavily creamed coffee,
cookies, warm socks, soft lap blankets and the winter winds howling with us oblivious to the
storm as we occasionally glance up from our books to smile
at each other and whisper "I love you"
***sigh***
OK OK...I am content to have a place just to sit to take off my shoes....
But really, I couldn't have done it without John taking out
the non-functioning corn/pellet stove. Thanks, Sweetie!
Oh, yes, I also painted the inside of the closet as
years ago with the stove blocking easy access,
I knocked over a gallon of colonial maple stain.
What.A.Mess!!!!
All cleaned up now...just fancy dresses and beach bags here!
Wonder how long that will last?
So please think happy thoughts for us that we will be back
in our rooms on Wednesday.
Alright, maybe Thursday...no later than Friday.....
