Still Working…

…on some before and afters of our floors. These are just a few of the changes that I’m enjoying. I really like our new smaller TV stand and that the TV now fits tucked in nicely under the stairwell.

The stairs to the basement are a great improvement, too. The new chocolate carpet color enhances the walls and the tile in the basement.

I’m still working on the right angles of the new shots of the living room compared to the old looks. I’ll share more soon. WE are really happy with the roomier feeling we’re getting in the living room.

We have had some “oye” moments around here. The Ikea storage units we bought for our closet in the spare room were off by 3/4 of an inch so now we need to make some adjustments to have them fit in the closet. Little things like that make a big impact on your planning.

My mom is hanging in there and my mom and pop have decided that they don’t need one of my siblings spending the night at the apartment anymore. My siblings still come by during the day to clean and cook for my parents. My pop is doing a lot better with the situation and walks to the store now that is close by to replenish milk, etc.

Katie and Andrew have made it to Denver and will be in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. We’re hoping to see them here by Saturday.

So many bloggy friends are talking about Fall already and I’m so surprised to hear about kids starting school. Are you looking ahead to Fall or are you still enjoying the long days of summer?

Happy Workers…

I love workers that smile and we had 4 of them at our house yesterday.

When the workers arrived the head honcho asked me to come out to the truck and make sure the carpeting was what I ordered. I knew it would be a fun time after he tried to trick me and showed me someone else’s carpeting first. Funny guy!

They put a big tarp down on our front lawn for their cutting center. Good thing the sun was shining all day long and things are very dry around here. Mr. Shadow was smiling, too, at the crazy lady with the camera that kept snapping away.

I didn’t realize we picked carpeting that all the vacuum strokes will show up on. Oh well, at least you’ll know we vacuumed just before you arrived at our door. We also picked darker carpet than we had before with a deeper tone to it for a little contrast to the new wood floors. Or maybe we wanted the color of dirt so you wouldn’t know just how dirty the carpets are after a few years?

Do you vacuum before company arrives or after they leave? Maybe you are really organized and have a special day each week when you vacuum? Or are you like a client of mine that I had in the past that vacuumed everyday because she liked having vacuum lines on her carpet? Do tell…

So yesterday was another day that Dear and I plopped down exhausted at the end of the day with no energy left to burn. After the carpeting install, Dear and I worked very hard to get the two guest rooms set up so we could get the mattress sets out of our kitchen area and we got the master bedroom semi organized.

We also had added emotional strain with news during the day that my mom had 3 near death episodes yesterday. It was a rough day for 3 of my sisters and my pop who were at her bedside for these episodes but this is the progression that is expected. These “episodes” are expected but very hard to experience. Just wanted to give you all an update on my mom and to thank you again and again for thinking and praying for her and my pop and all of us as we wait on God’s timing for her homecoming. I love my bloggy friends!

August…

named after Augustus.

Here’s what’s happening or can be seen around this old house in the beginning of August…

This rug used to be in our living room hiding as much of the old worn carpeting we had in that room. Now that we are replacing the carpeting in the living room this area rug will not work in there. We were happy to see that it would work nicely in the eating area of our kitchen. The dining table will sit on top of it with room for the chairs, too. Until the carpeting is installed we will have to stack all our mattresses here, not the table that is living out in the garage right now. Fun times. Just to show you the reality of it all this last photo is the living room with the mattresses. This weekend we’ll move those mattresses to the kitchen…

I actually am cooking this afternoon trying a new recipe for chicken thighs. I hope to share it in the near future. My apple tree is shedding it’s apples so maybe I should cook up some apple recipes in my kitchen. That won’t be happening until after the mattresses can move back to their own rooms…

A Little Glimpse…

…and once the baseboards are all done and the carpeting is in I’ll make a proper post of the before and afters…

We are happy with the varied light, medium and darker hickory. It has character which we enjoy. The baseboard installing and finishing is taking a back seat to emptying out the rooms that are going to be re-carpeted. Dear is removing the old carpet and padding and dumping it in the back of the pickup for a trip to the Transfer Station.

I talk to my mom and pop everyday. My mom is showing some very typical signs of failing that seasoned Hospice caregivers affirm. She is starting to see people who have gone before her. She had a dream she was sitting around and having a meal with them. She has more periods of disorientation. She still has her humor and cracks us all up with some of her comebacks. One of my sister-in-laws is Mexican/American and after she told my mom that her son Tony was having cravings right along with his pregnant wife my mom raised her hands and said “Aye Dios Mio”! That’s a first for her! Last night my mom coached my brother Steve as he made a birthday meal for my sister Lana at my mom and pop’s apartment. She chose the dishes to make and was pleased with Steve’s expertise in the kitchen. He even made a chocolate mousse for dessert. Lana enjoyed her birthday dinner and then was on board for being the extra care giver last night and through the day today. I’m so thankful for my brothers and sisters and how they are pulling together and taking turns to be with my mom and pop every night. What a blessing for my parents and for them, too!

Someone needs to coach me into making a meal in my own kitchen. That has gone by the wayside. What have you been enjoying from your kitchen these last few days of July?

Preview…

I will dedicate a full post of our floor projects when they are completely done but here is a small preview of some differences already.

The hard floors are 90% complete with just the stairs and a landing to be installed. We had a few glitches but that’s normal for major projects. The trim and baseboards still need to be replaced. On August 1st our new carpeting will be installed and hopefully we can breathe a big sigh of relief come August 4th after we move everything back into it’s proper place.

We are very pleased with the character of Hickory. I have to admit that this project has really taken a lot out of me and it’s not done yet. I’m looking forward to recovering in August.

What’s happening in your hood?

Nests

Not only has our nest seen some upheaval but the nest a little bird built in one of our arborvitae was upturned by something. So sad for the bird. Our upheaval will have a good result.

Our floors are stripped down to the car decking in our kitchen area.

On Thursday our wood flooring will be delivered. On Friday we’ll move the refrigerator to our living room and the island to our deck. On Saturday major prep work will be done and then next Tuesday the new floors are scheduled to go in over a 3 day period. Then we’ll move everything back in place on the wood floor areas before we have to move everything out of our bedrooms for the new carpeting. August is really going to be a lovely month of new calm with everything back in place on new floors!

So that’s life isn’t it? The calm, the storm, the recovery and on it goes…

What stage are you in?

Transformed…

…and ready to support our family and friends for many more years!

Heading out the door to the upholstery shop. Poor chairs were pretty sad looking after over 30 years of service at family dinners, many birthday parties and other celebrations.

Home again with more support, covered with leather and decorated with lots of upholstery nails.

This one is to prove the sunshine came out on Friday after we picked up the chairs! As I look back over this post I see the sun was shining brightly on the day we took them to the shop also!

We’re happy with the new look and the new feeling of comfy support and soft leather.

We had a very good experience and would recommend Doran Patrick’s Custom Upholstery LLC in Seattle on Lake City Way!

After we brought our chairs home we went out to celebrate the sunshine and the chairs. Here are some sunlit scenes we saw on our way home from dinner. It was a lot brighter on the way to dinner…

Hope the weekend is going well. I’ll be watching that big game soon are you/did you watch, too? Mostly I’m interested in seeing the commercials! As I type that I find it ironic that the commercials are usually what I fast forward through on any other show we watch…

I’m linking to:

Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden

Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

Photobucket is holding many of my photos hostage with their mark across my originals. It will take me a long time to remedy this.

Garage ~ Before and After

Through the seasons here is what our garage/shop looks like from the house.

Since it will be quite a while until we are able to re-side the garage, we decided to paint it the same color of our house. There still is 1/2 of our house that needs new siding and to be painted, too.

Last week Dear finished the side of the garage that faces my kitchen window.

On the morning of the 4th the wall was dry and ready for the new metal art to go up.

We’re enjoying the new view from our kitchen window when we look out at the garage. This weekend more painting is on the schedule and the weather is cooperating.

This Time Around…

…we decided on more coverage.

After our deck gazebo demise we’ve been considering new options for our deck and how to get protection from the afternoon sun. Here’s what we came up with…

Joshua came over to help his father and I got to lend a hand here and there. This wouldn’t have been as easy without Joshua’s help. Thank you Josh!

We are on the same wave length as the Space Needle make over for the 50th anniversary of the World’s Fair with Galaxy Gold…

We’re calling our color terracotta and that’s the color of our new deck stain.

Here are some interesting facts about the Space Needle…

When the Space Needle was built in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

The Space Needle had the second revolving restaurant in the world. The first one was in the Ala Moana shopping mall in Hawaii (now closed). There are now hundreds of turntables throughout the world.

One of the best sellers during the fair was a Needle-shaped gold charm with a light in it, selling for about $75 in 1962. Another was a 9-inch high chrome lighter in the shape of the Needle.

The center of gravity for the Space Needle is 5 feet above the ground.

The original nickname of the Space Needle was “The Space Cage.” The original name of the restaurant was “Eye of the Needle.”

We had so much fun in the sun over the weekend and we are still promised a good stretch. It was timely to get the deck structures up. Have a great week everyone!

Off With It’s Head…

…or the show and tell of the old and new roof!

The Garage/Shop

The House

We are very pleased with the new roof and the new gutters. The gutters have already gotten a good workout with several downpours over the last couple weeks. The other thing we are pleased with is a ridge vent instead of the old vents we had.

Now all we need to do is finish the siding, pour a driveway, gut the downstairs bathroom, replace all the floor coverings inside, replace the counter tops in the kitchen. Sheesh the fun just never stops!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Before and After