MOVING RIGHT ALONG!!!

Friday, May 16 - We've reached the middle of May and the home remodeling project is right on schedule. Paul has completed the drywall, installed the window casings, finished the “killer” task of screwing down the backer board for the floor tile (over 800 screws), finished electrical installations inside and out and installed our new ceiling. Marsha was a big help with the ceiling. Couldn’t have completed it without her or so she thinks.

Kelly helped stain the 30+ boards for the ceiling.

Marsha got the lovely job of sanding the boards between varnish coats.

Paul starts the ceiling.

The worst job EVER!

Or maybe this is the worst job.

The finished product.

Ready for the tile.


With future-son-in-law, Dave’s help, we will install the floor tile this Saturday, May 17. Then it will be ready for grout on Sunday or Monday, and after three-days curing, Paul can begin re-installing the kitchen cabinets. With that job finished, only the counter tops remain and that is a job Paul is NOT going to tackle. We've received price estimates from three contractors and decided on a solid surface counter from a local contractor. That's pictures for the next blog, so check back around the end of May when things should be wrapping up.

Marsha and Kelly are doing well with the wedding planning. The invitations have been mailed, and Marsha is ready to mail the wedding shower announcements soon. Kelly sent out two types of RSVP cards. For those that are tech savvy, she has asked them to RSVP via her wedding website. For those not so into computers, they received the paper RSVP. If you are interested in taking a peek at her website, just click here. Of course, Kelly is getting excited with 64 days to go until the wedding.

Marsha has also been busy with some gardening, one of her favorite past times that she really missed during our full-time years. With Memorial Day next weekend, that's frost-safe time in NE Ohio, she'll be done planting flowers and ready to put in the garden.

We also have plans for a birding area in the back corner of the house. Another reason to check back and see how things are moving along.

This is the area we are going to convert to the birding area….hopefully!

Shoeless Joe wrote in his blog the other day about how his birds were “flying pigs.” I commented that our finches are eating us out of house and home.

Once we have the birding center set up, these guys will not receive an invitation!

Bella just sits and takes it all in.

It won't be that long until we're wrapping things up and getting ready to head South for the winter, and it isn't even summer yet :-). Bella was sitting on the trailer steps the other day dreaming of new adventures! The kitty must have hitch itch.

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

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!