ALL IS WELL

Saturday, April 26 - We just wanted to check in with “blogland” and let y’all know, all is well. Paul's been putting in long days remodeling the kitchen, and Marsha has been busy wedding planning and touching base with old friends.

It's been good to be here so Kelly, the bride to be, can coordinate things with mom and discuss wedding decisions with her. They seem to have things “well in hand,” and everything is moving along smoothly. They went food tasting on Friday. Now that's a job Paul would like! Oh no, not really! He's keeping out of this wedding planning stuff.

The kitchen remodel is moving along, much faster than expected. The electric is done, the windows are in, the heating has been run, the old floor removed (Thanks Kelly and Marsha for the help tearing up all those old tiles.), the drywall is up, and Paul is now in the drywall finishing phase. Once the drywall is completed, he'll install the knotty pine ceiling, and the “gathering” area of the kitchen will be ready for flooring.

Knocking out the wall.

He's cut holes in the walls and ceiling for lighting and to run new electric. He's removed some of the cabinets and counter top, the window is gone and covered with a sheet of plywood, the doorway is covered with a sheet of plastic, and the vinyl flooring is a complete mess! Ah....remodeling, you gotta love it!

 

Biggest header Paul ever did by himself…well, Marsha helped too.
 

Notice the clever device Paul is using to hold up the insulation. That way Marsha doesn’t have to help him all day.

Backbreaking work.

Before

After the wall was removed.
  
 

Paul will then tear into the food preparation area of the kitchen. Marsha has been reluctant to turn this area completely over to Paul, after all, we are trying to live in here while the remodel goes on. He's made quite a few messes already.

We are currently in the “decision making phase” of construction. Stain colors to select. Floor tiles to buy. Counter top decisions to agree on…man is that stuff expensive! Lighting fixtures to find. Then there's all those paint colors to choose from....YIKES!

So with the wedding just weeks away and out-of-town family waiting to “check-out” this house their gypsy relative bought, Paul and Marsha will be busy. Y'all have a good spring, travel safely, and come on back and see how these projects are finished!

We did take time out to celebrate Easter with the family! What a wonderful time we all had.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon.

SHE'S NOT ONLY PERTY...BUT SHE CAN WORK!!

Wednesday, April 9 – One of the problems Paul faces when taking on a big job is who is going to help him when he needs a second set of hands? A good example is lifting 5 foot windows up into the wall.

Paul and Marsha worked together to install the house wrap and staple it in place. The few seams were taped, and the windows were completed.

Although she is reluctant to “get involved in heavy lifting,” Paul convinced Marsha they weren't that heavy, and he would be patient with her. We set the ladder up so the lift could be accomplished in stages. We would set the window on the top of the ladder, that was leaning against the building. Paul then went up the ladder and with Marsha's help he lifted the window into the opening. Marsha then ran inside to check level and plumb. With “thumbs up” from Marsha, Paul would then nail the window into place.

Reenactment

Luckily, Paul did a good job getting the “rough opening” level and plumb so there wasn't much to getting the windows into the proper position. We followed the same procedure for all three windows and TOGETHER were able to install the windows in the remodeling job like a couple of pros. We finished all three windows in less than 1.5 hours. Not bad for a retired guy and his wife.... :-)

So the room is weather tight.

We are very happy with the new windows. It looks like we made good choices and are going to have a nice bright kitchen/dining/gathering area. Nice to get rid of that old door.

Marsha wrote an ad for Craig's List to see if we could find a new home for the door. It's FREE to anyone who wants a nice door. Maybe it would fit in you RV??? 

OOPS…..to late, the window was claimed by a young fella in less than 30 minutes.  Sorry!

   

Now Paul will move on to the electrical work and cutting in a ridge vent. Check back to see how things progress.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

WEEKEND OF BIRTHDAY CELEBRATING

Sunday, April 6 – Celebrating Paul's birthday on Thursday, March 27, was just the beginning. Dave, our future son-in-law, had a birthday on Friday, March 28, so that was another reason for celebrating. Then on April 4, our daughter, Kelly, had her 30^th birthday. That's a pretty BIG DAY in a young person's life!

The celebrating started Friday night. In addition to Kelly and Dave, we had Dave’s parents, Marsha’s brother, Rick and Chris (Kelly’s Godmother), over to help us celebrate her birthday. We had a wonderful time playing a horserace game, eating, talking and Kelly opening some birthday presents.  

We continued Saturday evening when Dave had a party for Kelly at a local winery. Pizza, wine, family, and friends make for a good time.

Happy 30th birthday Kelly!!!

Paul took advantage of the great weather we've been having to get a good start on the kitchen remodel. We are actually taking an unused TV room and taking down a wall making it part of the kitchen.

Paul has gutted the TV room, removed insulation and outdated electrical wiring, and removed siding and brick tiles from the exterior walls. He's ordered windows and will begin installing them on Monday. The weatherman is predicting rain showers for Monday and Tuesday, so that may put a “damper” on his window installation plans.

How the TV room looked when we bought the house.

Paul’s handiwork.

 

Before Paul got started outside. Steps were removed last summer.

 

Marsha has been doing the spring yard clean-up. We've bagged over 25 bags of leaves and winter debris for the trash man to haul away. With the severe winter Ohio experienced this year, the grass is a little late in growing. Paul use to do his first yard mowing on his birthday. Not this year! It looks like another week or two before the grass mowing will begin....yeah!!!

Don't feel sorry for us. Marsha enjoys the yard work, and Paul is in heaven when doing his construction projects. Of course the wedding planning continues and everything seems to be moving along on that front.

Check back soon and see how everything is moving along!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again real soon. Have a great day!

HOME OPENER FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS

Saturday, April 5 – Marsha is in all her glory. The baseball season is in full swing. Her team, the Cleveland Indians, opened at home on Friday.

The Indians were in the Wild Card playoff last year. This year they have a new motto…

First pitch.

They and Marsha are hoping they go all the way. Final score of the home opener…

Great start.
 

Hope your team is a winner just so it isn’t against the Tribe!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!