Fall/Winter Projects Continued!

Stormy, I was typing when you posted - I'm hoping my GoGo lasts a lifetime! LOL

Good luck with the tiles, and keeping my fingers crossed that the roads will be clear that you can get the cutting done. I have not checked the weather maps and forecast for tomorrow. I go to Weather Underground and check their weekly predictions. If things don't change overnight I'll be at work tomarrow. Roads are just wet today.

Ric was working in the barn on molding when I got home. It sure is pretty.
RCN, Many of the people at my HGHA said that they keep their GH's fairly cold. Many of them germinate their seeds on top of the refrigerator a couple of flats at a time and then move them to the cooler GH to grow. Seems to me they said the GH are in the 50's at least at night. Holly

Holly, thanks - another vote of confidence for a set up in the basement - I'm going to do it! Looks like I'll have just enough time to get to Lowes today to get my tiles cut before the storm heads in our direction. Now...let's just hope I didn't make any mistakes measuring for the cuts! I'm having a little difficulty staying positive about this aspect of the "project" - Rick's not quite as confident as I am that I can pull this off without a hitch :( I've laid floor tiles before and done tiling for a countertop but this is the first time I've ever tackled tiling on a vertical surface. Here's hoping I'm back tomorrow to report success!

I hope your project (back splash) goes well, it sound like you've had plenty of experience to pull it off. Ric

Ric, thanks for the vote of confidence, Rick has really been dragging his heels with "letting" me tackle this :( I'm just way too fussy to let the contractor do it! I might not have the proper skills but I do have the "finesse" :)

Debbie, I'm learning, patience iis a virtue. I spent 3 hours yesterday, making one piece of custom molding out of an old stall rail Since everything is a redo it requires a bit of thought to fit it in. Ric

maybe I could help ya--seems like all my thoughts are just 'bits' these days!
rcn--shoo him away and take your time, I bet you have it all figured out fine. And hey, if one is off, you can leave a space and get it in later right??

Yes..."patience is a virtue"! No ceramic tile reports this morning :( I did make it to Lowes to have the tiles cut but not until later in the afternoon. Rick was motivated to get a few things done in his father's shop so we spent the morning there. We had to load the van with all the materials that needed work. The driveway was too slippery to drive the van up to the front door so we had to make four trips back and forth to lug everything up the hill! Rick got the cuts made for the laminate flooring to fit around the doors, cut the new pieces of trim to remedy last week's error and we got them all stained with the first coat. The hardest thing was lugging the two cabinets up the hill so Rick could work on getting them cut in the shop to fit into the closet opening. We even got those stained while we were there so progress is being made even though I didn't get to work on the ceramic tiles! AND, he had just enough time left in the day to get the tractor fixed so we're ready for the snow :)

We had friends who were supposed to visit last weekend to check out our progress but weren't able to make it because of the snow. We rescheduled their visit for this weekend but with more snow coming they knew they wouldn't make it again. So...they called yesterday morning and said we're coming over tonight, we can't wait any longer! They're the first ones to see what we've been up to for the last month and it was wonderful to get their feedback. They were so impressed and said it looked like a whole new house :)

Wow, that's really great reinforcment for all of your efforts. Must make you feel really good. You really got a lot done today.

Yeah, their comments really made us feel good about what we've done :) It seems like it's taken us a long time to get some of this accomplished but when I realize it was really just the week before Christmas when I started all of this with the painting of the countertops it hasn't been that bad. Plus, it took me a couple of weeks after that just to convince Rick to take the plunge! I did have to laugh when one of our friends commented yesterday that she could finally "see" our dining room table! She knows me too well :)

Ric and I loved your home. It is beautiful and decorated beautifully.
I hope Ric works on his tractor today. He ordered the part months ago but hasn't put it on yet.

Thank you Holly - it's even nicer now :) It's amazing when you start moving things around to different locations how much better they look! We've had this egret on the mantel forever but the white never showed because it was against a "white" wall. That's the first thing I moved when the accent wall was painted chocolate and it looks fantastic in its new home :) I've been bad, not taking any pictures yet, but hopefully will have some soon to show you.

Oh I just love that Egret. I have been thinking about bringing down my duck carvings. I have several very good ones. I put some of my decorations away and bring out others for different seasons. I should have put them out when I put the Christmas decorations away but they were on shelves in the upstairs room and I would have had to crawl over plants to reach them. I have a small fountain that I want to get out, too. Today's the day. Holly

Just a quick update with a funny (not so funny?) story! Progress has been slow here but we're getting there. The laminate flooring is finished but now we're working on the getting all the pieces of moulding to fit around the doors in the hall. Since we have to keep traveling back to Rick's father's shop to make the cuts the snow has been interrupting our progress :( Lucy is having a little trouble on the slippery floor. She doesn't have a problem on the laminate in the living room but she's spooked by this new floor. She usually runs down the hall and she's been sliding across the floor and landing in the closet area! I had to borrow rugs from other rooms to lay on the floor so she wouldn't have as much trouble :) We had all the individual pieces of moulding laid out in preparation for their final cuts and this morning we found two of them chewed up :( Either she's taking revenge on us for the slippery floor or they just look too darned much like bones! LOL

oh no... too funny... when we first brought Lily home she messed up my dinning room table legs, chewed molding attached to the wall.. and Jily ripped some wall paper down.. pretty good for a couple of yorkies

That is looking really good. Too bad about the molding, I've had a few things ruined by a chewing dog too. Good things that I wasn't too happy about at the time. I guess when they get old enough they will be antiques with interesting character.
Onewish, That is impressive for Yorkies. LOL
I have been wondering about Critter's project lately. I think we need updated pic of that as well.

I was thinking the same thing - wonder if the snow has slowed her progress as well?

Ohhhhhh.....Critter??? We're waiting :)

Holly there was a knee wall we were going to take out anyway.. and there was a little bitty tag hanging off the wall paper... and they love to shred paper.. soooooo a 12 inch piece was torn to shreds by the time we came home from work.. just kept saying to her.. you are lucky that isn't staying!!!

"Momma I don't know how the puppy pad got torn up"

They are so cute.

thanks ... I had to go buy a frame to put the pads in... as long as they couldn't get the edge... they couldn't tear it up... but after a while Lily did figure out to dig in the middle to make an edge.. but it took a while

I had an Australian Cattle dog that slept under my bed at night. She would chew anything on the floor that was within a certain area around the bed. So if the quilt slipped off the bed too far you would find the edge all chewed or if you took off your clothes or shoes and left them on the floor right next to the bed they are her's also. But all you had to do was toss them out a couple of feet and she wouldn't bother them at all. She didn't chew anything else in the house either.

Onewish: they are so cute right down adorable.....

Some Helpers!!!!!

Holly that's a new one.. in the dogs territory it's chewable!!... too funny

thanks I love these little dogs.. they are too much fun

HollyAnns dog is the source of all the monster under the bed stories that terrorize children. Who knew--it was real!

Allison, with those sweet, innocent? little faces, how could you not love them? Their lion bed is almost as cute as they are!

Well, one more piece of moulding "damaged" :( We did get the final coat of varnish on the cabinets yesterday. I'm not sure if I like the walnut colored stain or if it's dark enough but after 4 coats of varnish I'm just going to live with it! Now for the major hassle, bringing them back home, carrying them down a slippery driveway and trying to squeeze them into the closet space :( We never made it to Lowes to pick up more moulding to replace what Lucy chewed - it was just too darned windy and cold and all I wanted to do get back home and stay warm!

that lion bed gets used for all our puppies... easy for them to walk up on when they are tiny .. they love to cuddle with that thing.. it has held up being washed in the machine for a few years too

home remolding is a real stressful thing for me.. I am sure I am not alone

RCN, Were you able to get out already today? Nothing and no one is moving here today.

Here is what I made in order to kill the cabin fever... finishing the other one...

made for a who in whoville?.. very cute!

What a coincidence, I downloaded a pattern for a hat this morning - serves two purposes, beat the cabin fever and keep my head warm while i'm shoveling. Your slipper(s) are cute!

Stormy, we didn't get as much snow as you did - things are almost back to normal around here.

We have more projects coming that I can shake a hand at. None that i like , replacing gutters, replacing a wall . this will wait til spring I hate those type of projects... This is not for a who it is for a I.....

LOL Orchid, I love your bootie and the color matches your name.

When I was in high school, we lived in an all Italian city neighborhood. On three blocks in that area lived immigrants where the adults spoke no english. Boy, could those italian ladies knit and crochet! It was the era of Maxi coats and we all had them. One of those ladies crocheted me a hat, another Mittens and another a scarf that must have been 14' long. They were the same color of Orchid with Hot Pink accents.

I had to take two crayons with me to show them the colors I wanted and play charades and make drawings to show them the styles I wanted. Every kid in the neighborhood wanted them!! They were so cool and the scarf was so incredibly long, that on really cold nights when we'd walk to the bowling alley or pizza shop, sometimes 2 or 3 of us would be attached, having wrapped it around our necks, walking in tandem!

I often wish we'd had someone take our photo!!

All those photo ops we missed before the days of digital cameras :) LOL

Photo opps were there in the fifties and sixties we simply reserved them for special occasion. There was limited family money budgeted for playing photography. Therefore most of us did not get enough practice and coaching to become good at making a picture. There was no automated equipment. It had to be learned for anything but flash and bright sunny days.

Today almost anyone can make an average to good picture in any kind of light and situation. Those who shoot enough and are willing to learn can approach professional quality picture making and post picture making image management. The Internet is so full of helping sites and forum characters that no one or very few will ever catch up and be with today's leaders. There is software out there that is as powerful as Hollywood studios were in the fifties and sixties for a cost many can afford.

The field is so well appointed with technology that the bottom end of the professional photography field is attainable by many. If you are learning and moving up to better results you are or can be excited. If you happen to be loafing, not continuously enjoying learning the downward placement in the field can be hurtful. We now have grade school children who can out perform the bottom edge of yesterday's professionals both with the camera and post picture making management technology. A forth grade student just recently won a first place prize competing with a dozen or more professionals....and it was not her daddy's work either. She happens to live in a family that places no schedule, limits or age restraints on learning.

Doc, that is wonderful. I'd love to see that image.

JR took some really beautiful close ups at age 3. We just put the camera on a tripod and let him at it. He loves when I hand him the camera. He took a lot of nice shots at the pinewood derby of course there are a lot of terrible shots as well. If I had a camera that I had to pay to have the films developed I would never have done that. Digital changes everything. I can get some really nice shots with my camera but it is all the cameras doing, not mine. I would like to step up to a little better camera but I'm a bit afraid more camera will just confuse me. I like that point and shoot ease