Thursday, June 28, 2012

It's Miller Time ... Paint

After selecting our paint colors at Miller Paint we started the next phase of our remodel. We picked out Weaver's Tool for the living room, hallway and entry and a Devine color, Chicken for the dining/kitchen area. Our first step was to prime the new ceiling and walls. While that was drying I started in the living room Sunday. Monday and Tuesday I moved down our long hallway, and yesterday I painted the entire kitchen and dining area. Some days I had a paint brush in hand for 8 hours. The one thing that has kept me motivated: listening to audiobooks. I listened to The Litigators by John Grisham and I am several disks into Death Benefit by Robin Cook. These books by two of my favorite authors made the painting process fly by.
I love the new colors and I am now in the process of cleaning shreetrock dust off of everything and putting our living room and hallway back in place. It will be nice to see a semblance of "order" before moving on to the next phase: installing cabinetry. This will reveal the reality of a new kitchen! We are moving closer to our goal!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Surviving in "Chaos"

Hard to believe but we are rapidly moving forward with our remodel. The sheetrockers have one more session and then we can prime and paint both rooms. At this point there is not one "sane" room in our home. Even the playroom for the grandkids has a toilet in the middle of their play space. They are quite intrigued with this and we teasingly made sure they knew it was not a working fixture : )
The home chaos was o.k. when I went to work each day but now that I am on summer break the entire house disorder can start to wear on you. I think once we clean up the sheetrock dust and put a few rooms back together life will be a bit more orderly. This has got to be the toughest part of the remodel. Things will really be moving forward from this point on!
One good thing about the chaos is that it has forced me to read, relax, putter in the garden and get out for a walk each day. There's nothing to organize and "busy" myself with inside our home.
Maybe you've experienced this ... it's kind of strange when you change a pattern in life. I can't tell you how many times I've carried groceries or mail up to put on the kitchen counter ... that is no longer there. I remember years ago we had to switch our kitchen garbage can and recycle bin when we put in a new sink. It took years to switch my brain to open the correct door. I hope I am not alone in this : )
Well, I'm off to look at paint samples ... so many choices!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Father's Day Giving and Receiving

This will always be a Father's Day to remember! The guys and gals decided to give Dad a hand with our construction project.
First we enjoyed a tasty lunch prepared and provided by the kids. Of course, as always, our meal included much fun and laughter ... great stories around the patio!


Toolbelts, gloves, crowbars, hammers and goggles soon equipped our construction crew and it wasn't long before they had the dining room sub floor torn up, the sheetrock installed between the kitchen and bath, and the vanity pulled out and removed -- blue tile and all : ) Even Calleigh lent a hand to pulling out the staples left behind from the floor demo.
I can't think of a better day to be with family and how much was accomplished. Thanks to all of you for providing us with great food, fun, support and "muscle" in moving this project forward. It was truly the best gift you could give Dad!
Hopefully you are not too sore today from such backbreaking hard labor!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Three Months ...

Oh, my! It's been three months since my last post. I bet you have been quite bored looking at that lemon cake every time you stop by : ) Life has been in the fast lane with work, our home, our calendar ...
Today was my last day of work until September. While driving home I felt a huge burden lifted --the skies are blue, the sun is shining. I am ready for summer break!
On the home front ... or what's left of it ... we are making progress on our remodel which now includes 3 rooms and a long hallway. Melney has nicknamed our project for us, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie." It seems like one thing leads to another; one purchase leads to another bank transaction; one demolished area leads to another "brilliant" idea. It's like living one of those HGTV episodes ... while this is torn up we might as well do this and that! Craziness! But the end result will be so worth the time, energy, and $$$. Attempting this at our age should come with a warning: Consult physician before proceeding with heavy demolition. I am amazed at what I can do with a crowbar and hammer : )
Every thing is coming together. We have completed the plumber/mechanical and electrician portion of the project and we are now in the sheetrocking phase. Our cabinetry arrived this week and our garage is filled to the brim. Each phase takes time but it's hard not to get impatient to see the finished product.
You'll now be hearing more from me. As I unwind, I feel more like writing. It's good to feel like "me" again. : )