Finishing Touches on the Exterior

 I can say I'm finished with the exterior, well as much as I can do.   Still waiting on gutters but that will be a few weeks.

Added a new push button lock.  I love these things.   They make it so easy.   I have a tendency to leave my house unlocked running next door but not any more!    Also added a new mailbox and a beautiful wreath that my friend Geri made for mom.

Porch Railing

 It may not look like much but it did really clean things up.  The porch railing was a little wobbly so I found some screws and tightened it all down.   I also used anchor concrete to help stabilize the railing.    Today I painted it and it looks really nice!

Garage is Done

 Another one to  check off the list.   It's amazing what a new door can do to improve the looks.  

Here's the

BEFORE

 

and now the AFTER!

Took the Plunge

 I've been nervous about doing this but decided to just take the plunge.  I finally cut the hole in the butcher block counter top for the sink.   

Dressing up the Door

 Finally decided on a color for the front door and I love it.   Why are decisions so hard?

Here's a closeup since you can't see it as well when the screen door is shut.  

Happy Birthday to My Babies

 Even though they are 39, they will always be my babies.  Happy Birthday Jackie and Michael.  

Fun Times

Took a little trip to New Hampshire and had a fantastic time visiting Mike and Erin.

Erin and I feeling a little crabby ;)

Mike and Jackie

Trying out Oysters!

Could not talk Jackie into trying it.

Saving Jackie from the shark!

Don't get to see my baby often enough!

Surprise Visitors

 Guess who stopped by and surprised me today!   I knew the way that they like to get in the car and just drive it would happen some day.   Greg and Diane stopped in for a surprise visit!  This is what life is all about.   Having friends so dear to you that they will drive all the way to see you.  

Beautiful Flowers from my Beautiful Children

 I was feeling a bit melancholy today.   It is Stan's birthday today and he has been on my mind.  Today I had a very pleasant surprise.   How did this gal get so lucky to get such wonderful kids?  Thank you for brightening my day.  

Roofing Done

 Thank you John and Kathy for doing the roof on the house and the garage.  This weekend we were able to finish up the roof.     We can check that off the list now.    Things are really starting to come together. 

New Countertops

 Starting to put the kitchen back together.   

Today the girls helped me put the butcher block countertop on.

Remember measure twice, cut once....or in our case, measure 4 times to make sure we get it right.

It turned out so nice.  Super excited.

Time for a Hair Cut

 Finally had a chance to trim the trees back.  They are beautiful full sycamore trees but they definitely needed a trim.   

3 huge trailer loads full of limbs.

Now I have an unobstructed view so I can keep an eye on you MOM!

Now maybe I won't have so many limbs to pick up every time I mow.

Contractor Work is Done

 The contractor finished up today.   Like I showed you yesterday he raised the floor in the laundry room.  That therefore raised the back door and instead of building a new porch I had him put in a ramp.   Looks perfect.

They also finished widening the bathroom door to accommodate a walker.

Guess it's all up to me now to get things done.  

Raising the Floor

 You've heard of raising the roof, but we are raising the floor.  Eliminating the one step out to the laundry room.  We tried to work in a ramp instead of raising the entire floor but we didn't have enough space and the ramp would have been too steep.  

Here's the floor raised and ready for new flooring.

That also included a new insulated back door......

...and a fancy new lock.

Exterior Painting

 Started working on the exterior.  Actually found someone that was reasonably priced to do the painting.  So far he has all the house scraped and the trim all painted.   Going from the dark greyish green is requiring more that one coat.   One side is painted and the color is a very very pale yellow called Pale Straw and is so much brighter.   Can't wait to see it all done.

Bountiful Crop

 I decided to try my hand at gardening this year.   I don't think you can call one cherry tomato plant a garden but it's a start.  My neighbor told me to never plant more than one cherry tomato plant.   Now I know why.   I'm sure glad I listened to him.

Here's my pickings from just the last 2 days.   I'm eating more tomatoes that I think I have my entire life.

Scraping, scraping and more scraping

 How much fun this is.  NOT!!!!  Well I got all the fascia scraped so that I can now prime and paint.  Once that's done we can have the gutters put back on.

Good thing is the paint was pretty much hanging off so it wasn't too much work.

There was one area in the front that had some wood rot.  Didn't have a clue what I was doing but that's has never stopped me before.  Why should it start now!

I first cut out the board that was rotten out to the first stud.  

Then I pieced in another board and hammered it in.   Doesn't look too bad if I say so myself.

Now I have all the fascia scraped and caulked so they are ready to go. 

Next cool day I'll be priming and painting.  

Another good thing is I don't have to do around the windows.   They will take care of that when the new windows are installed.  That's scheduled for September 28.  Can't wait. 

Oh and if you are wondering about the color,  It's the one on the far left, the lighter shade of yellow, looks almost cream.   Yellow was a little too much.  

Beautiful King Size Quilt

 I've been able to squeeze a bit of quilting in during my remodel.  I finally finished Jackie's quilt.  It turned out perfect and gifted it to her last week. The biggest challenge on this quilt was figuring out how to do the grey little line that crossed through the quilt.   1000" of bias tape, made by hand.  Now on to the next quilt which will be a surprise for someone.

She's a Natural Seamstress

 I got Ada a sewing machine for her birthday and today we finally got to sew.   Her first project was a pillow case and I gotta say, she's a natural.  She listened so well and really did a great job. 

Check out the concentration.

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

 It was finally time to let my sweet little Riley go.   She was in kidney failure and it's hard to see them suffer.  My little Ry Ry, as I liked to call her, was with me through all kinds of challenges.  From the divorce to moving 3 times.  She was always by my side driving to and from KC.  She even had her own little car seat.   Sure will miss this sweet angel.

Here she is riding in her car seat.

Love you baby girl