The rain cleared up long enough to get the tree moved, now we will have more room in the garden and not so much shade on the plants.
Discovered a problem with the shower downstairs, some of the grout had come out from between a few tiles, so Brian cleaned out a bunch of the old grout, and replaced two tiles, and we will have to re-grout it before we can use it again...as I have said before it is always something.
The toilet is attached in the new bathroom, but no water lines to it yet, and we got more trim and some of the baseboard down and a curtain rod up. It all adds up to a bathroom that is almost finished.  I did take a bath, and how HEAVENLY was that!

Amazing!  We have a working bathtub in the house, haven't used it yet, but will very soon.  I put the wallpaper border up today with Emily's help.  It looks great. The vanity top is glued down and ready for the sink and the plumbing.
Had to take some time Friday to repair a leak in the water line about 1/3 down the driveway.  Always something!  Em and John were here this weekend to help us move a tree out of the garden, but it has been raining too hard.

All of the laminate is up in the bathroom and it really looks nice.  The bathtub is in place and Brian is working on the plumbing for the bathtub, and getting a top built for the vanity. I finished sanding and staining the back splash for the vanity and it is ready to go. All of the pieces are coming together and we hope to have a finished bathroom by this time next week.! It will be so nice to be able to cross another room off our list, but most of all I can take a bath!!!  I have really missed having a good soak!

Finished laying the floor in the upstairs bathroom and have one piece of laminate up on the wall. I have started sanding the rest of the floor so we can stain it later this week.
Brian finished the trim on the skylight in the downstairs bathroom, it looks so good!
Still unpacking boxes, but at a slower rate, all the cabinets in the living room and dining room are pretty much full, so being selective about what I take out, it must have a place to go.

January continued.......

The living room and dining room floors are done, the trim is installed, the last curtain is up in the living room and we have started unpacking boxes from the "junque" room.  We are finding things that have not been seen since we moved in. All my Belleek is unpacked and most of the good dishes and wine glasses etc.  Very exciting to get to this point! However many more boxes to unpack. We are finding some real treasures and some items I look at and say...What was I thinking when I bought this...?

We put down most of the flooring in the bathroom upstairs, need to get one more box to finish it.

How did it get to be January 2011?  A lot has happened in the past 4 months, so I have some catching up to do.
September:  Went on a road trip so nothing got done here at home.  Came home early October to find that my Mom had fallen again and had to go to a Group Home.  Poor Mom...getting old is not always fun or pain free!
October:  Finished painting the house!  We had one wall left to do and a lot of the trim.  Got that done before the weather turned.  It looks so good!  We have had many compliments, one friend said it looks like a jewel shining in the sun!  We also worked on getting the yard and garden cleaned up for winter, always a big job.  Had to have the pump replaced for the water system.  There is so much iron in our well that it had seized up. More $$$$$
November: Started working on the last bathroom upstairs, got the room cleaned out and all the measuring done.  Bought the flooring too.  Had a few leaks in the hallway and in the front window from a real heavy rain so had to do some more caulking on the outside.  We were still having major issues with the water system, so had to have a new sand filter put in and update the rest of the system.  The corner of the garage with the system in it looks like it could purify water for a whole town!!! Again more $$$$$$
December:  Worked a little on the upstairs bathroom, put up bead board on the entrance wall, got it stained and sealed,  but kind of gave up on projects for the rest of the holidays.  Decorated for Christmas and enjoyed having a lot of company from Thanksgiving thru the New Year.  We did hang curtains in the dining room and living room.  So cozy looking.
January:  Brian went under the house and got the floor fixed.  There were a lot of weak spots, but boy now it is solid.  We laid the new flooring in the living room and dining room.  It took us about 6 days to do, from fixing the floor to getting the last board down.  It looks so nice! What a difference!  I also worked on the dining room table, giving the top a few coats of sealer and cleaning and polishing the rest of it. That is January so far...more to come!  We have been getting about 1 or two calls or e-mails per month from people wanting to book a room.  GOT TO GET THIS OLD HOUSE DONE!!!!

August
Just painting and more painting so far this month. We have one side of the house completely done and hopefully by weeks end we will be finished with it all..............well I can hope! We are really liking the color combination.  It took us a long time to figure it out and it was worth it. So glad we hired someone to paint the peaks!  It is way too high for us!

      Well here we are at the end of July, and the weather this year has been crummy.  We did not have a chance to do much outside in the spring and the summer is not doing all that better.  Will re-cap the last few months.

May Spent most of this month putting in the shower in our downstairs bathroom.  We had lots of tile to lay and grouting to do, but in the end it turned out GREAT.  We love it!  Also worked on the fireplace surround.  Putting up the Connemara marble from Ireland was so satisfying.  I have wanted to do this for such a long time.  We ran out of the marble and will have to get about 4 more pieces. In between rain showers we put in another raised bed and got the garden planted.  We also re-painted and re-wired a chandelier and put it up in the dining room.  Painted and put a medallion on the ceiling too.  Except for the floor and decorating, that room is done! Brian's cousin gave us their old swing set and we now have a great place for the grandkids to play.  Brian re-stained it and now it looks new again! Still need to finish landscaping around it...but the kids don't mind how it looks!

June   Worked on some little finishing projects, like the threshold between our bedroom and bathroom, and putting up more of the trim in the upstairs bathroom, hung some pictures and a mirror. Got outside on a few of the nice days and did some yard work and got the flag pole moved over by the garden.  It looks great there!  We have 3 flags up there now, the American Flag, The Chinook Tribe and the 4 provinces of Ireland. 

July   Back to scraping and painting the house.  We hired Chris D to do all the peaks as we do not really want to climb up that high on a ladder or crawl along the roof.  It is looking great. We are using 4 colors. a light grayish tan called Pewter Moon and a darker grey called Silver
spree. Then the trim around the windows is white and most of the gingerbread is a burgundy red.  I will post some pix soon!  One thing we had to do that was not so fun, was to tear apart the outside of the house because the new shower was leaking.  What a big job!  But it was better than tearing apart the tile.  Brian fixed the leak and we put it all back together again.  I bought an old table and sanded it and painted it for a vanity in the bathroom.  Also refinished and re-covered an old chair to match.  I have always wanted a vanity and now I have one.  We have also planted some bushes and have had fun harvesting some of our garden veggies.  The Dahlias are on early this year and are so colorful.  We have quite the crop. Bought all the flooring for the living room and dining room and will get it put in this fall.  Looking forward to that for sure...oh my aching knees! That is about it for now.....

Just figured out how to change the settings so people 

could leave comments on the blog!  So go for it, 

we would love to hear from you!

We have continued our restoration and have accomplished a lot on the past 5 months.  It's been busy around here for sure.  I had knee replacement surgery at the end of January, so I am still not doing ladders, but can do anything that does not include climbing.

Here are some of the things we have done:

November: Insulated the living room ceiling, then hired a friend of Heather and Adams that is a professional sheetrocker.......is that even a word?  Brian was his go-fer and they got all of the living room, dining room, stairwell and upper hallway done, complete with texturing, primer and a base coat of flat wall paint in a neutral color.  The house was so torn apart for the better part of two weeks, but the results were amazing! What a BIG difference it had made.

December: painted the wall by the fireplace green, and brought in the cabinets for the fireplace wall, also started painting and putting up the window and door trim in the living room.

January: Continued painting and putting up trim in the living room and dining room, put some insulation under the house...much more to do. Worked on finishing all of the trim in the kitchen including building a new utensil drawer, scraping, sanding and painting the rest of the wainscoting, and Brian built a great little knick knack shelf for me...even though he knows I will just fill it with "stuff". Painted the lower half of the dining room wall a dusty pink..looks great!

February: Tony (the sheetrocker) came back down for a weekend and did the back bathroom upstairs.  Brian did most of the painting as I was just not up to it yet.  Right now we are using it for a bedroom for a granddaughter as we have two of them living with us now...FUN! But this summer we will get the fixtures in and finally get that bathroom done!

March: Worked in the yard quite a bit as we had a week of spring like weather, nice to get outside. Also worked on finishing the trim in the conservatory and in our bedroom, nice to have those done. Lot's of cussing and caulking involved in putting up the crown molding in the bedroom...but it is so worth it.

April:  So far, this month has been spent painting and putting up crown molding in the living room.  Hired a pro to install it as it was a bit beyond us to do.  He did a GREAT job. Also painted more in the living room and upper dining room walls. 

As we were painting today Brian commented that the old girl  (how we sometimes refer to the house) must be feeling better with all this new paint...and that we first had to start with putting a new hat and shoes on her!  (the roof and foundation)  It's a good comparison!  Soon we will have a true Painted Lady!

It has been a busy few months! We have focused on getting the house painted, but what a job. As of this date we have about half of it scraped, sanded and painted with primer. About 10% has the actual finished colors on it. We have also added trim around the back door and some of the windows. It is looking good, but what a lot of work it has been. Will continue to work on it as we have nice fall days.
We have also finished the upstairs porch by sealing and painting the floor. Then we could finally replace the rotten boards in the hallway. So that is repaired and insulated and we will hopefully get it sheet rocked soon. Have put up more sheet rock in the living room and Brian has the fireplace surround just about finished. (with sheet rock) It looks great! It will be a good winter job to finish.
A lot of work has gone into the yard. We have grass planted on the side yard and hey it is growing really well. I guess the third time is the charm! We bought special soil called energy. And boy did the grass seed ever take off like wildfire!
We bought a 29 foot trailer to use for a bunkhouse when we have a lot of family here, and we will also be renting it out. So if you are interested, let us know!
Cleaned off the back hillside pulled down some trees and laid down lots of new dirt and rock, will finish that project in the spring by adding gravel to the new parking area and on the driveway. Made some new flower beds...or should I say Rock beds. Just something to make it look good and that the deer will not eat.
We had a great garden this year with lots of potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Also my dahlias were so bountiful and so pretty.
Got the back deck cleaned, sanded and the first coat of stain on it, will do the final coat when we finish the painting on the house. (too much of a chance of splatters!) We got one of the spires up on the witches peak! Looks great! (Thanks to Adam for climbing way up there!!!) Did some finishing work on my big closet upstairs. Added a light and sheet rock and paint. It is so organized! Love it!
That's about all I can think of right now...I just know the summer has just flown by!

Cannot believe I have not added to this blog since last November. We had a busy winter and really did accomplish a lot. Guess the easiest way to do it would be to just add a list.

Got the glass block shower put together in the downstairs bathroom, (still need to add the tile)

Tiled the back splash in the kitchen and put up and painted the trim around one window

Attached all the cabinets in the bathroom, built the vanity top, installed the tile and the sink!
(wow, so nice to have a sink in the bathroom now!)

Gutted, insulated and sheet rocked the old closet upstairs, painted, added trim and new flooring & built shelves and now we have a linen closet upstairs

Worked on the upstairs deck, replaced all the rotting boards and support columns, added a railing, and sealed and painted it.

Did some more sanding and painting in the kitchen

Insulated and put up a few pieces of sheet rock in the living room

Built new raised beds in the garden

Built a fire pit in the side yard

Picked out the house colors. Pewter Moon and Silver Spree, with white and burgundy trim

Started scraping, sanding and putting primer on the outside of the house. Hope to have it painted by the end of the summer.

Had 75 sheets of sheet rock delivered so we can get the downstairs and the hall sheet rocked

So that has all been in the last 6 months...not bad.....

Just finished caulking, sealing and putting a coat of primer on the outside of the front window. We had put some caulk on it last week, but it rained hard that night and washed it all away allowing water to leak inside. We have had a few days of sunny weather so cleaned off the rest of the old stuff and did it again. Should work this time! Lot's of sun to get it dry!
Brian also did some trim work in our bedroom so not too many little details left and that room will be done!
I have been busy painting a new (to us) nightstand for our bedroom. It should be ready to go in place tomorrow.

The front window is back in place! Yea! Still some work to do to finish insulating and get the trim up, but what a difference already! Darrel and Roberta happened to stop by just as we were about to do it, and it was so nice to have their help! It is doing nothing but raining, so it will be a while before we can finish the outside work, but work continues inside.

We have been lucky in October so far and have had such a beautiful weather month. Have been able to work outdoors most days. As a result we got a lot more yard work done including putting in new steps down to the Gazebo and doing some landscaping and planting grass in that area. Also transplanted another of the Barberry to the side of the house.
I finished putting the last coats of paint on the front window and just today did the last of the detailing. It is now ready to go back in place. Brian has re-built most of the inner frame work as it was pretty rotten! It is also painted and ready to go. But unfortunately the rain has arrived so will have to wait until a decent day to get it in. What a difference it will make.
Chuck came down and did the final inspection. So we are done with the items needed to be completed to get the building permit finalized. So good to have that item checked off our list.
Also finished scraping, sanding and painting the rest of the front porch. Got the steps done back in August, but now it is a completed job! Wooo Hooo! Good to use that word! Every project here seems to get to the "almost done" phase and then we move on to the next one. Nice to have something actually completed!

Ack! Here it is almost the end of September already. Still no time to update the website....will do that some dark and stormy day. Right now we are madly rushing to get the last little things done so the building inspector can come down and sign off on the building permit. The last two things were the earthquake straps for the hotwater heater, and the wired-in smoke alarms. Brian did the straps a few months ago but just finished the wiring and installation of the smoke alarms a few days ago. Will be so nice to have Chuck down here to sign off on the last of the work he has to see.
In the last few weeks we have also put up the siding and trim on the outside of the conservatory, painted the base of it, and Brian finished the outside stairs and railings. It looks just great!
Brian also added two lights in the attic, and I finished glazing the front window panes. That was a job that really took up a lot of my time this summer, from scraping, gluing and painting to finding a new matching pane, (cause I broke one) to the actual glazing job itself. The only thing left to do is put on a few coats of paint and then we can get it put back up in the front of the house where it belongs. Will have to get some family help for that project.
Now that the weather is iffy we will again turn to the inside jobs, and there are too many of those to list. The first big project will be to get our bathroom done! (at least it better be)

Amazing how fast this summer has gone by. We have been so busy that there has been no time to update the website or blog. So here goes:
We are in our bedroom (YEA) and it is almost done, just some trim to put up and then to decorate. Feels so good to have a lot of closet space and not be living out of totes anymore! Brian did a great job of putting the bed together, but we didn't realize how tall it would be, so he had to build us a couple of steps to get up into it!
We had a little work party over the 4th of July weekend, and really got a lot done. Here's a quick list.
Expanded our garden area by extending the fence so we can plant even more veggies and flowers next year. It has been nice to have some fresh veggies, herbs and fruit.
Tore down all the rest of the old wall board and ceiling tile in the living room and dining room.
Worked on restoring the front window
Planted some Barberry bushes
Other projects we have been busy with:
Finished the floor and did more trim work in the conservatory and actually moved furniture in there. It looks great!
Built the steps and railing outside the conservatory
Added more red rock, brick and steps to the side area
Added a few more flower beds around the gazebo and under a couple of trees
Planted lots of flowers and shrubs
Cleaned, scraped, sanded and painted the front steps (thanks Colleen for all the hard work sanding!) also replaced one rotten board.
We had a lot of company this summer, from Ireland and Switzerland, and of course our family from Seattle. Had grandkids here for most of the summer, so I am surprised we got anything done.
Fall is almost upon us and we have a lot to do before the weather turns. We will see how it goes!

The floor is done in the bedroom and the wardrobe is up! Most of the baseboard is down as is the crown molding. We ran out of both so will pick up more at Lowes this Friday. The bed is just about all painted and ready to set up. Brian needs to do a little more cutting to make it work. We hope to get moved in there over the weekend! Yippee!
Have been working outside a lot since the weather has been good. Changing some of the flower beds and paths. It is looking good!

Just finished updating the website, and adding new info and pictures. Since I did that we have continued to work on the bedroom, getting the crown molding up, and other trim pieces. I also fixed the sheet rock and put up wallpaper on one wall in the kitchen. We have also picked out the flooring for the conservatory, so the next few weeks should be dedicated to the flooring in the bedroom and conservatory. How fun! (so I say now before I spend a week on my knees!)

More pictures to come as we continue......

We have made a lot of progress in the past few months.
KITCHEN
Installed a new plate cupboard in the kitchen
A new shelf for the microwave
BEDROOM
Finished repairing floor
Finished insulating and caulking around windows
Ceiling tile in the bedroom is up and painted
Walls are sheet rocked, wallpapered and painted
Installed the rest of the bead board and painted it
Trim around windows and doors is all sanded and repainted
Finished off the closet and wallpapered
Sanded and painted the drawers for the bed
Sanded and painted the display case for the bedroom
DINING ROOM
Tore off all the old tiles and linoleum
Took down the old wallboard (thanks to Emily and crew)
Took down the old ceiling tiles

Cleaned out the garage & hauled a huge load to the dump (thanks to Heather & fam)

Put up shelving and cupboards in the big garage

We really want to get back into our bedroom so have been putting most of our energy towards that goal. Next comes the flooring!

We had our first nice day of spring yesterday so we were able to work out in the yard and even got part of our vegetable garden planted. Lot's of weeding and yard maintenance too.

Hopefully I will find the time soon to add new pictures and text to the website.

Looking back at 2007, and despite the setbacks, I can see that we really did make some big strides. The conservatory was one of them. It is almost finished, just some more trim and the flooring needs to be done, and then.....I can move furniture in there and actually do some decorating. We have taken care of the leaks and the only thing left to do on the outside is the siding and lattice. WOW!
Other than that we have our bedroom started. Most of the sheetrock is up, the subfloor and insulation are done and next comes the ceiling tile.
We also got the pantry built in the kitchen. It really makes a big difference. We can store so much in there that it makes a lot of room in the rest of the cupboards. I have been busy rearranging them to make things easier to get at.
We got the fence up around the secret garden area and even got a few trees and bushes planted. Cleaned and organized the garage...(but all we did was fill up the empty spaces with more stuff!)
A new updated water-system was put in and made a big difference in the water quality.
I have started working on my office and storage closet. I wanted to start the year out being able to find the desk and the floor. It needs more work, but it is a start.
Most of the rest of the work has been maintenence, but it's all part of the process.

We have been busy busy! Brian got all the wainscoting for the conservatory cut into lengths and now I am sanding and staining them. Need to do over 140 to complete the job. Also found a nice green paint for the wall so will get that done this week.
Started putting up the wainscoting in the bedroom, got it glued and nailed up. Also glued down the subfloor (one more small piece to go). A few more pieces of sheetrock went up too. It's getting there!

We have been making some major progress in the past few weeks. The 1/4 inch sheet rock arrived so we have been putting that up in the bedroom. Have also been scraping and sanding the window trim and sills to get them ready to paint. Brian has the sub floor almost finished and the wiring is complete. Still waiting on the ceiling tiles to get here. They are over a week overdue......
We have also been working in the conservatory. Got the gutters up, nice to have that job done. Spent hours sanding and scraping 112 years of paint off the outside of the house (which is now part of the inside of the conservatory). Got down to the bare wood in some places and could see the old salmon pink color that the house was first painted. Have the primer on it, just have to pick out a paint color now. Brian started cutting wainscoting in lengths to put around the inside of it, and I have been sanding and painting them, getting them ready to put up. Hopefully we will get some up before the kids get here for Thanksgiving.

After our vacation down the coast last week Brian and I got busy and got the roof finished on the conservatory. So VERY nice to have that part finished. Putting the last few panels in was pretty tricky, and it took some time and patience, but got it done. Now we need it to rain so we can see if it leaks. Brian also worked on some trim work to make it look finished and I did most of the caulking. The next day he put in some wiring so we can have electricity in there. Other than that we have the ceiling tiles ordered for the bedroom and the 1/4 inch sheet rock is still on back order....so we wait to work on that room. Meanwhile we are winterizing the yard.....always a big job.

The last few weeks have seen a big change. We moved upstairs to be able to tear apart and remodel our bedroom. I tore all the old paneling off and then Em and crew finished tearing the old ceiling tiles off and tore up the old sub floor. Underneath was the original fir floor, but one whole side was rotten. So we cannot use it and will continue with our original plans of putting down some new flooring. Brian put in some cross beams to replace the damaged ones and cut some boards to fill in the left side of the floor. I got busy and insulated wherever I could. Had to clean one area out that was full of birdseed and nuts and other nasty stuff...........ick. The mice had a ball filling that area up.
Brian and Jahn and Em also worked on the conservatory. Getting started on putting up the roof. The weather did not cooperate and we were unable to finish it because of the downpour. But maybe next weekend.
Also got some primer put on the exterior of the west side of the house.

Haven't posted in quite sometime as we haven't really been able to do much. We both hurt our knees, and have been gimping around. Also Brian's work schedule has been crazy and I have spent quite a bit of time in Seattle. So here's hoping the fall will prove to be more productive. Here is what we did do:
Finished putting up the fence (just the painting to do)
Painted some trim for the upstairs bathroom
Bought cabinets for the living room
Tried to keep up with the mowing and weeding

Well what a wild work party we had! So many people here to help! It was really nice to see everyone pitch in and try and get the job done. We got the conservatory sides and door in.....no roof yet. It was a lot harder than it looked. There was a lot of reading over the instructions and scratching of the head! But hey.....it's almost there! Also got started on the fence around the secret garden area. Got the back part up and the posts in for the front. Brian and I plan on doing the rest this week. Also got a lot of bark dust spread and a tree planted. Many thanks to all who helped!!!
Scott was here on Thursday and got the old chimney down and the roof patched. Thank goodness we won't have the leaks to deal with this winter! And the guy from the Water Doctor was here and installed the new system. The jury is out yet on the results. It seemed fine for the first few days, but it is back to smelling like rotten eggs again. Brian tried flushing out the hot water tank and bleaching it. Will see if that clears it up! So tired of having yucky water! Especially after all we have paid to get the system in.

Brian took this week off and we spent most of the time cleaning the small garage. It is unbelievable! For the first time since we moved here you could park a car in there! We certainly threw a lot of stuff away, but also organized the rest. What a job it was, but how very nice it looks.
We also unpacked more of the boxes for the conservatory. We have it all laid out on a table and ready to go. Tomorrow will be a busy day. We need to get the sill in place and then we will be ready for the weekend. Also Scott is coming to take the old chimney down, as it needs to go before we get all that glass in place.
Another thing that is happening is an addition to our water system. We are having so much trouble with the one we have that they are coming out to install a chlorine system. The UV light is just not working with all the "crap" that is in our water. Sure hope this works as it is not a cheap fix!
Looking forward to this weekend and all that we will accomplish!

Last week Brian and I worked on the conservatory and got the dwarf (stub) wall built. It's a challenge to follow all the directions as the conservatory came from England so it's all metric. But the instructions are very complete and helped us get it done. We have a few supplies to pick up for the work party, but if all goes right we should have it up by the end of the weekend. Haven't done a lot since as Brian has been working a lot of overtime. But just working on getting some spring cleaning done and painting some trim pieces for the upstairs bathroom.
Called the people that we got the shower from and they gave us a few suggestions on how to keep the doors from leaking. We will see if they work.

We have been working outside a bit since the weather turned nicer, mowing and weeding and just general clean-up, but I also got the wallpaper up in the downstairs bathroom. I am still a bit unsure of it...but I think once all the trim gets up it will be fine. It just seems a bit busy. We will see!
Tonight a car pulled up in front of the house and the people got out and took pictures of the house and the surrounding area.....it is really fun to watch! I guess if this wasn't my house, I would take pictures too! It actually happens quite often!
Brian and I are going to start working on getting the dwarf wall built for the conservatory. We have a work party planned for the 16th and 17th of June. Hope to get the rest of the building up that weekend! All are invited!!!
We had a bit of a catastrophe when Emily was here last week. She was taking a shower and pointed the sprayer the wrong way and we had water everywhere! It was half an inch deep on the bathroom floor upstairs and running down the walls into the downstairs bedroom and bathroom! We are still having issues with the shower leaking along the doors, will have to call the company to see what can be done...maybe some adjustment??? As Em said....if it was going to happen to anyone it would be her!!!

This weekend Jahn and Em were down and we got the vinyl floor installed in the downstairs bathroom. We even brought in all the cabinets and put them in place and put the base of the shower down! I finished some of the painting on the walls and trim. Hopefully we will find more cabinets to cover the rest. We need the storage. I will post some pix on the website later this week.

Well, here it is April and things are moving along. The bathroom upstairs is almost done...just a few pieces of trim left to paint and install. The floor turned out nice! It was a lot of work, but worth it. Painted the vanity white with black accents and stained the little side table to match the dark squares on the floor. All of the wainscoting is up and painted....I am really pleased with the results. Only two more bathrooms to go!!!! :-)
Brian finished the window trim in the front bedroom and I got it caulked and painted. Just put up the curtain rods today.....will get the curtains up tomorrow!
Em and Jahn will be down this weekend, not sure what projects we will get done with them...but it's always a boost to have the help!

Well our new catch phrase is "Nothing Is Easy" Everything always seems to take two or three tries to get done. First the crooked walls in the bathroom, next the shower that would not stop leaking no matter how many times we caulked, then painting the floor in checkerboard squares was a fiasco. The dark stain leeched over into the white squares...spent countless hours with mineral spirits and sandpaper to get it up and then had to re-paint the white with a tiny brush and a Q-tip. AHHHHHHHH. So next I need to put a coat of clear varnish on it all. Got my fingers crossed that this will go well.
We have been working on the downstairs bathroom too. Emily and Jahn were down and helped us tear out the old bathtub, and finish the subfloor, did some sheetrocking, tape and texture and now to paint. Even that wall was uneven and had to have some work done to even it out!
Oh...the shower finally is waterproof for the most part. All the caulking is watertight, there is just one seal that needs some adjusting, but we can live with that.
Brian also has started putting up the window trim in the front bedroom, that will need painting too soon. Might as well start carrying a paintbrush in my back pocket.

We have been trying to get the wainscoting and trim up in the bathroom. Gees all the walls in that room are SO crooked! Trying to match up all the joints has been a real challenge! But we have one and a half walls done. I have re-caulked the shower and have my fingers crossed that this time we won't have any leaks. I am going to put it to the test today. Brian got the power strip installed on the island in the kitchen. It will be so nice to have plug-ins to use in that location to do baking, mixing etc....One more thing off the list.

Happy New Year!
Now that the holidays are over we are back at it! We have been working on the shower upstairs. The new hose is in, and Brian even tried it out, but we have leaks!!! Not in the lines but along the inside of the base. I have caulked and re-caulked, but there are still small leaks, so I have started to tear out all the caulking and will try it again with a different product. Grrr, why can't things go right the first time???
Bought the wainscoting and I am in the midst of painting it and the trim so we can get that up. Just want to call one room DONE! Soon I hope!

The oven is in!
Wow!
Brian cooked chicken and I cooked a roast and a cake! It is so wonderful to have an oven again. John Lampien came over and helped us get it in. It was just too heavy for the two of us.
And...the shower upstairs is ready to go except for the flex hose that had a hole in it. We ordered the new one and it is on it's way!
Making progress!!!

Still not a lot to say about what we have been working on. No major projects, as we have been on vacation and Brian's work schedule has been nuts. However we have managed to work on the following.
Had a garage sale
Insulation in office and closet area
Winterizing the yard
Re-organizing our bedroom
Sweeping up the ladybugs! Ick!

Oh, and we were hoping to have the oven in by now, but Home Depot gave us the wrong cabinet. We just picked up the new one, so maybe next week?

Had a funny thing happen.........Brian picked a box of apples and put them on the back porch and when I came into the kitchen that night, there was a deer munching away looking in the window at me. We both gave each other a start for sure!
Hope to get started on some bigger projects soon!

We finished putting up the last of the siding outdoors, still a few pieces of trim board to go but so glad the siding is done.
We are also working on re-glazing and re-building the old front window. Really want to get it in before fall.
Doing lots of yard clean up too, and trying to keep ahead of the deer as they really are enjoying eating my dahlias and other plants. They have even been so bold as to come up on the porch for a nibble!!!! It is a love/hate relationship for sure!

We have either been working or gone, so not much to post, but Brian did get the hot water heater hooked up and we ran the dishwasher for the first time. NICE! It's hard to focus without a due date and a list of priorities! Ha! Guess we have to have another event here!!!

Here is a picture of the wedding. More to come on the web-site later this week!We have actually accomplished a few little things this week, despite having a 2 year old and a 10 year old here. Putting up the pot-rack in the kitchen, finishing the lattice on the gazebo and sealing the upstairs porch. Nice to get a few little things done.

Heather and Adam are married! Cannot believe how much we got done before the wedding. Heather and Em came down one more time and we finished painting the porch and railings, finished painting the front room, put out lot's of barkdust and playground chips for the kids play area that they named Camp Verbena. Also did a lot of other outdoor jobs. I finished setting up the dining room, living room and the upstairs bedroom....well actually all the rooms. The house has never looked better. Kevin brought us a load of driveway rock, so the driveway looked awesome too! Brian did a lot of work outside as well as in. the counter tops in the kitchen were finished just a few days before. They look great!
The day before and the day of the wedding are all a big blur! So many people pitched in to make it all happen. So many things had to wait until the last minute and there just wasn't enough hours in the day to do it all. But it happened and I need to thank so many people. I hesitate to list them as I don't want to miss anyone. So for those who take the time to read this...THANKS!
I will be posting some new pictures very soon!

It has been another busy week. Jahn and Emily and their friend Jason were down over the weekend and they worked their butts off. Jason and Jahn built the deck and one set of stairs for the conservatory. It was so hot you could only work out there in the morning, too hot in the afternoon. Em and I worked on the pathway on the east side of the house. Put in bark dust and red rock. Just need a little more red rock and bark to finish it off. We also started painting the front deck railing. It is going to look really good once we get it finished. Brian had just had surgery so we just made him the gopher. Hard to keep him down! He was so frustrated that he could not help more. He did finish putting the BBQ together, it looks great! Em and I also cleaned out two big cupboards in the dining room and put stuff in the kitchen. Then the guys moved the cabinets outside. Lot's of room in the dining room now!
Then Monday Brian and I installed the door to the conservatory. WOW! It is so pretty! And lets so much light in on that side of the house. I got the small bathroom upstairs all painted, and started on the front bedroom. I am sooooooooo sick of painting! But back to it tomorrow! Still no counter tops, but Brian and I finished putting the island together and Dale Jacobsen came and hooked up the gas stove. Baby steps!
Lot's of cleaning and organizing to do too!

Well the sheet rock is up and textured in the front bedroom, small bathroom upstairs and our bathroom downstairs. It looks great! I painted for two days in the bathroom and got the ceiling and two walls painted, so we could move the washer and dryer back in place and get two cabinets up. Looks great!
I painted a small table...Brian poured the cement foundation for the conservatory stairs.
Heather and Colleen were here and we worked on all sorts of projects.
Got the conservatory out of the box! WOW! What a big project. Lot's of cardboard, but everything looks to be intact. The big crate it came in is now a playhouse for the grandkids....We named it Camp Verbena (that was Mary's middle name)
Cleaned off the back porch and got it swept and scrubbed and some furniture out of the garage to put on it.
Did lots of yard work, including a nice garden area in the east side of the house with steps going down to the Gazebo.
Brian worked on installing the fan in the kitchen, which was a comedy of errors! He had it in backwards first...ooooooo heard lot's of 4 letter words.....but it is in the right way now. It is never as easy as the instructions make it look!
The guy was here to start on our counter-tops. He got quite a bit done, and will be back once the rest of the material for the top gets here.
Lot's of other stuff too! Cleaned off the front porch, and scrubbed off lots of bird poop. Picked up garbage and loaded the pickup with one heck of a load to go to the dump.
We are getting there!!!

The sheet-rock guys have been here for 6 days now! What a difference. They will be back tomorrow to do one more coat and then Saturday to texture.
Brian and I have been working just about around the clock to get the kitchen cabinets in place. The counter tops start going in today.
I have even put food and dishes in some of the cabinets, trying to get the old ones in the dining room emptied so we can move them out of here! And the fridge is in! Now to get the rest of the appliances in there!

Heather read the last entry and said I missed some stuff! We did SO much it was hard to remember it all!

Here goes:

Cleaned out the junk in the front entry way (wait a minute.......Junk?)
Detailed and cleaned off the stained glass window over the front door
Installed the new Dutch door (that was a big one you missed!)

The sheet-rockers are here now and things sure look different!
I will get to paint next week!

Wow, what a difference a week makes! Heather & Em came down last week and stayed thru the weekend. The boys came down and joined them on Friday night along with two other couples that are friends of Ems. I am just going to make a list of all the things we got done.

The Gazebo is off the cribbing and onto it's own foundation. WOW! This was a huge job. So glad it is done! Jahn and Adam and Emily were a big help!
The BBQ area is cleaned off and painted. Heather did most of it. It looks so clean!
Created a few more flowerbed areas
Cleaned up around the two garages
Moved the yard art into place
Stacked all the lumber in one location
Painted the fence pieces
Cut down beams in BBQ area
Installed one fence piece
Put more dryer felt and barkdust down in the secret garden area
Planted twenty barberry bushes across the front of the house.
Installed the upper cabinets in the kitchen (WOW, they look great!)
Worked in the small bathroom upstairs, tore out one wall, insulated and moved things
Adam and Brian started getting the shower installed. It is about 3/4 done.
Did some insulating in the big bathroom upstairs
Cleaned all the outdoor furniture
Mowed and watered lawns
Painted the picnic table
And lot's of other little jobs.
What a week!
More to do before the sheetrockers get here in two days!
Back to work!!!

The big old water tank is GONE! We were so sure we could use it, but it just wasn't going to happen. So listed it on freecycle and they came and towed it away today!
Brian has been feeling better so we have been able to get a few things done. Slow but sure! He finished putting down all of the sub floor in the kitchen, and did a little bit more plumbing. I have been following behind painting and insulating and getting things moved and cleaned up so the sheetrockers can do their job. We are going to finish the kitchen ourselves, so we can get the floor down and start putting cabinets up. The time is flying by!

Heather and Zach came down for a few days and we got an amazing amount of projects done, considering that we were chasing a 2 year old around too!
Heather mowed and weed-eated just about the whole lawn. I spread some more dirt and grass seed, there are a few places that just don't want to grow! Then both of us cleaned off the big stump and weeded and barkdusted and really made it look nice! Got rocks put down along the new trees we planted too...it is really looking good!
Then we went up in the attic and put down some insulation and boards and moved all the seasonal stuff up in the attic. Wow! Finally some room to move! So nice to have some storage up there. Lot's more to go up there.
We have hired a guy to do some sheetrocking in a few of the rooms. We just don't have time to get it done before Heather and Adam's wedding. He will be here in a few weeks, so we need to get a lot of things ready and out of their way! Always something to do!!

The ceiling in the kitchen is done! We finished it last week. It really looks nice! Since then we have been doing more yard work, painting and insulating. We also had a new electrical panel installed. Then Brian had another pancreatic attack, so we are going to get some help to finish some of the sheetrocking so we can get the cabinets up and the rooms painted. Just a little over 2 months until the wedding. EEK! We can do this!

Another week has gone by and we have been busy with all sorts of projects. More landscaping, more weed killing and grass watering. Starting to see a little bit of results. We are keeping Rodney busy hauling dirt, rock, sand and barkdust for us! And we are busy spreading it!
Got the last of the beadboard stained for the kitchen ceiling, should be able to get those boards up this week. Also sealed part of the black and white bathroom floor. Did some mudding and taping on the walls in there too. Want to get at least the sink and toilet ready before the wedding! So have to get the floor and the walls finished in those areas.
Colleen was here for the weekend and wanted to help with some jobs, but Brian and I had too much fun playing with the grandkids to do much work. Was nice to have a break!
The new carport came tonight and they had it set up in about an hour and a half. Gees, never saw anything go up so fast in my life! It is supposed to rain for the next week, so guess it will be inside jobs!

Things are really moving along!
Last weekend, Emily and John were here and we got the Gazebo off the trailer. Now it is up in the air on cribbing. Next is to get a foundation down so we can get it on the base.
Ted was here and got the base built for the conservatory. Looks good. Brian and I are going to have to do a little more cement work before Ted comes back and builds the stairs.
Got the area beside the garage all cleaned out and Brian is working to get it all level for the new carport that he just had to have! It will be nice to put all the rolling stock under. (we seemed to accumulate a lot of it) Tractor, lawnmowers, Dr Trimmer etc....
Also got a load of bark dust and started working on creating flower beds and getting it spread around them. Planted a peony and re-planted an evergreen bush. Pulled so many weeds!!!
Still working on trying to get lawn to grow. Put more dirt and seed down and watered it like crazy. It is hot this week, so got to keep it moist.

Oh...one of the most important things we did, was charge the waterlines! We have water to all the new lines now and had only one leak! It was just one Brian forgot to glue! A big relief to have that done for sure!

Well vacation is over and Brian headed back to work yesterday, but boy we got a lot done in a week. We had more top soil delivered and spread some of it...a nice big pile left to work from as we plant bushes and trees and smooth out the rest of the lawn. Put more grass seed down too.
Also went down to the beach and brought up MANY buckets full of rocks to put around the base of the conservatory. Nice rock and it looks great! We will be getting a lot more of it for landscaping. And it's free!!!!
We also got the Gazebo moved back a bit from where it was and now it does not block the view at all. Still need to get it off the trailer...Hopefully soon! Brian smoothed out the area just below it and I planted more grass. Made a run to Longview and picked up all the lumber for the base of the conservatory. Ted will be here soon to build that for us. Cleaned off the back porch and around the base of it. Looking better for sure!

Well a good nights sleep works wonders! Today we had a load of top soil delivered and spread that around the side yard, both of us raking and shoveling to get it even. Then we got out the sprayers and sprayed ant killer, blackberry killer and weed and grass killer. We were trying to massacre everything in sight! Brian mowed and weed-eated the lawn too.
I also finished staining the vanity for the big bathroom upstairs and put base coats on the porch caps. The weather is being good to us, so we are trying to get a lot done outside. More to come tomorrow I hope!

We had a two week vacation break but we are back at it. The kids came down both weekends we were gone and got so much done! THANKS! Got the arbor set up, and the yard cleaned up, and even some of the attic cleaned out...ick! And a lot more work done on the stairway. Nice to come home to see progress!
We started today by pouring the cement foundation for the conservatory. It was a HUGE job! We realized when we were about 1/3 done that we did not have enough concrete. So Brian stayed here and kept at it while I made a dash to Astoria to pick up 15 more bags. We ended up using 10 of them for a total of 44 bags! A long day....! Started at 10:30 ended at 7:30. Wonder if we will have the energy to do anything tomorrow???

Hey.... the weather was nice for a few days, so Brian got out on the tractor and leveled out the side yard some more. Got the grass seed in just before it started raining again. Also worked on my dahlia bed. Got it set up and the dahlia tubers ready to plant. Just need a nice day to get out there again. Even got a tree planted! Bought the Barberry bushes to put across the front of the property, will do that when we get home from vacation. Also picked out the paint for the rest of the kitchen.
I have started refinishing the vanity for the big bathroom upstairs. It is looking good with just one coat. Have to sand it and do the final coat tonight.
Finished staining the last of the bead board for the kitchen ceiling. Now to get it up.
Still having electrical issues, have had the electrician back again. We are going to have to trade out this old electrical panel for a new one. Everything in there is loose and we get sparking when the hotwater tank kicks on.
Started putting the sheetrock up in the kitchen today. I think we set a record for the longest amount of time to get one piece up. Sheesh. First we cut it the wrong size, and then we had to make all the cuts for the electrical outlets etc......it just went on and on. Nothing seemed to go right! But after 3 hours we have two great looking boards up and screwed in! It's a start!
Heather & Em will be down while we are gone, so we have a whole list of things for them to do. We will see what gets done!!!

We have really been busy for the last few weeks. Heather and Adam were down. Heather worked on cleaning off bricks and scraping the old paint on the stairs. She is still recovering from knee surgery and had to do sit down projects. Adam helped Brian get the foundation for the conservatory laid out and was a big help in putting up more ceiling boards. Just about 1/4 of it left to do. We went to Portland and picked up the conservatory. Borrowed Henry's pick-up, ours would have never made it up the hill! So it is now sitting in a big crate in the trailer. After we get back from our vacation we will start on that project.
I picked out the paint and got the top 3 boards along the kitchen walls painted, that's all that will show above the cabinets. Nice brick red color. So anxious to get the cabinets in.
Also had the electrician back down to finish up a few things, nice to get some of the temporary wiring out of the way.

Emily, Colleen and families were down for the weekend and helped us bring in all the sheetrock, do some tractor work, move the old windows up to the barn and clean up the yard a bit. The girls moved a lot of the bricks around to the other side of the house where we will be building a walkway with them this summer. Brian and Jahn also got the other set of stairs in place, so we have two ways down to the beach now!
Then the last few days I finished sealing the chimney and then Brian and I put up about a third of the ceiling beadboard. It looks great! Heather and Adam are coming down this weekend to help too!

WHOO HOO! We passed the inspection! The plumbing is approved and now we are going forward to finish the insulation and sheetrock! How awesome!!!! A Big step in the right direction!

Brian finished all the rough-in plumbing today.......Yippee! It has been such a big job! A kitchen and 3 bathrooms to plumb. Not an easy thing to do. It will be inspected on Thursday, so we shall see. Then we can get the sheetrock up. The cabinets are supposed to arrive next Monday so we have a lot to do in the kitchen to be ready for them.
I finished cleaning off all the old mortar on the chimney in the kitchen and it looks pretty good. Sealed the old mortar between the bricks, but still have to freshen up the old bricks themselves.
Have been giving the bead-board a coat of varathane before it goes up on the ceiling. Have about a third done so need to get going and finish them.
And of course we put up more insulation on the walls and ceiling!
Last week we finished putting up siding on the back porch and around the side of the house. Now the kitchen seems so much warmer. Getting there slowly but surely!

This last week we went up to Seattle to Seattle Glass Block and picked up the base for the downstairs shower, and traded in the glass blocks we had for ones that were already put together in sections! This will make the job a lot easier. The company that makes the new shower base called Ready4Tile did a photo shoot using our base and in return we were upgraded to the pre-fab blocks! Not bad huh???
Our brother-in-law Jim also gave us some big sheets of insulation, we can really use that! Thank you Jim. So we came home with a full truck and trailer for sure!

I finished painting the closet, got it swept and mopped and then spent the better part of an afternoon putting together the new shelves. It will be so nice to get everything put away in there.....I might even be able to find the opposite side of my office!

We have really been busy since the last post. Time is flying by and everything seems to take so long to do......so many steps to get each item done.
Brian has been under the house a lot working on the plumbing, just one more fixture to put in and it should be done.
I have continued insulating every little crack and crevice I find. Have done around all the windows in the living room, dining room, hallway and kitchen. Gees that is a scratchy job! But it does seem a bit warmer.
We worked together to get the sheetrock and green board up in the small bathroom upstairs and in the closet. I even mudded and taped in the closet, and will finish painting in there this week. Brian will build some shelves and then I can finally get this place organized a bit!
We ordered our Conservatory from England and it is on its way. So excited to get that!
Also spent a lot of time at Home Depot designing and getting our kitchen cabinets ordered! We are so pleased with the layout and looking forward to the challenge of putting them up. ???
Let's see what else??? Well the weather has finally dried up a bit and Brian has been able to get outside and level the ground for the conservatory, and do some clean up around the yard. He also went down on the beach and cut down some trees that were beginning to block our view.
We have done a lot of other little things, like re-wire some plug-ins, tear apart the wall in the front bedroom and remove soot and an old honeycomb! It was a mess!
We are really focusing on the kitchen as we need to be ready for the cabinets. More sheetrock to put up and the ceiling to finish by insulating and put up the beadboard!
Whew! That's a lot!

Have been busy! Got all the vinyl tile put down in the small bathroom upstairs. That was some job....a comedy of errors really! I did not do well at all with the glue! Got my foot stuck once and it then put my knee in it. Yuck. But it is done. We went to Home Depot and got the sheet rock and green board to put up so we can get the shower and toilet in. If it ever stops raining, we might be able to get it out of the trailer and up the stairs. More to come

Well we have had another minor setback. Brian had another pancreatic attack and was hospitalized for a few days. He is back to work tomorrow, but his energy level is pretty low, so it will take some time to get back up to parr.

Before he got sick we were busy with the holidays and really did not get a lot done. Just little things here and there. I have quit my job in Cathlamet and now my full time job is this house. So tomorrow it's off to work I go!

In the last week or so Brian has been concentrating on the plumbing. Whew, trying to run lines to three bathrooms and a kitchen is a bit overwhelming. But he is doing it! I just hand him stuff! I have been trying to get the upstairs small bathroom ready to go. I have been sealing the old wood floor so we can lay the tile, and get the shower and toilet in.......and insulating...of course.
Yesterday Brian was cutting some boards to use for trim on the new window downstairs and he cut his thumb with the table saw!!! Had to run him to the Dr and get 10 stitches in it. It was a nasty cut! Guess we have to be glad it wasn't any worse and that it is his left hand!

Well we continue to do more insulating and last week when we had a few nice days Brian got out in the yard with the tractor and spread the rest of the dirt and planted more grass. We have our fingers crossed that it will come up. We also spent one day putting up siding on the west side of the house. That should keep it a bit more weatherproof and warmer I hope!

Here it is the middle of November and we are freezing! Even though we have the new fireplace and the wall heaters, there are so many drafts that it just does not do a good job heating the house. I have been insulating and weather proofing every crack I can find, but until we get the sheetrock on, it will continue to be cold!
The electrical inspection was done a few weeks ago and we passed, now to get the plumbing in! Then we can get that inspected and finish the insulating and get that much needed sheet rock up.
Slowly but surely!
Oh...we have nice clean well water now too! Tastes great and is so clear. No more buying bottled water. A definite step in the right direction.
We planted the grass, but it has been raining so much I am not sure all of it took. We can see a little bit coming up! Let's hope it does! I am sure we will have to add some more in the spring.
All for now! Back to insulating!

It's October already!!! I guess I have just been too busy to write, so better catch up a bit!
We have done the following projects since the last time I wrote.

The new windows are in! Wow, what a difference! And what a lot of work it was to tear out all the old ones. Thought we would never finish!
Rebuilt and insulated one wall on the outside of the house. We added a window on that wall, so had to tear all the siding off and replace it.
The new gas fireplace is in and the old gas stove is sitting out on the porch.
Brian built the surround for it and replaced some flooring.
Built walls for a closet upstairs
Bought a tractor so we can stop renting machines and do our own work.
We had 5 loads of dirt dumped and Brian has been busy spreading it out. We need to add lime and fertilizer and get the lawn planted, but the weather is not co-operating! Rain and more rain! Got to do it soon!
Bought the last toilet, sink and vanity. I think we have everything now to put together the bathrooms, just got to get the plumbing finished.
The electrician is coming back tomorrow to start on the rest of that project. Yippee!
Well that's about it in a nutshell. A lot of work has been accomplished, but so much more to go.

Well the electricians John and Mel were back and got a lot done and then BAD NEWS! John broke his wrist! So they came back once to get us 220 again, but will have to wait until he heals a bit to come back. He is in a lot of pain now! Poor guy~ I think we are one maybe two days away from being finished and then we can get that inspected. So in the meantime we have walls to build, waterlines to put in and other projects to do. So we can work around that project. Always a lot to do here for sure!

Well we made it through another Work Party Weekend. Not everything went as planned. We had some machinery rented to dig the ditch for the water line, and all was going well until we blew a hydraulic line! So had to dig the rest by hand....pick axe and shovel. But all the kids pitched in and worked and they got it done. Got the road dug up and the line laid. What a huge job!
Here at the house we worked on a few little things like scraping paint off the windows and hallway banister. Got a little bit done on that. Madi and Maliah helped me pull weeds and morning glory from around one of the rhododendrons that was being choked off by all of it.

When we finished on Sunday they all went down to the river and had a good swim! Nice and refreshing after such a lot of work!

The electrician is back tomorrow, so back to that project!

For the last two days the electrician has been here working in the bathrooms and kitchen. Oh my.....we really had to keep ahead of him tearing down walls and building them up! Moving boxes and cleaning out rooms! Got the divider wall built in the small bathroom upstairs and the hole for the door cut! There are now wires running everywhere!
Even had to make a run to Longview to pick up a few things that we had forgotten. What a busy two days! And tonight the rest of the family arrives and we get to start on our work party lists tomorrow!
Also Richard Trojan was here and helped us on Thursday. He just about single handedly put in the stairs to the attic, and then he cleaned up some of the nasty mess up there. Found two treasures! One old high topped child's shoe, and the old swinging door that was in the kitchen. I was thrilled to see both of them! Nice to find the unexpected! There is also an old rocking chair that is in pieces. This will be a great storage area once we get the insulation and flooring in! Richard also did some scraping on the stair railings. It was nice to have him here for a few days! What a hard worker!

Well it has been a busy few days! Brian has continued to work on the plumbing and get things ready for the electrician when he gets here Thursday. I have been assisting him and trying to clean out rooms so we can get the wiring done and get to the windows to take them out. the new ones are going in in just a few weeks!
Then yesterday we went to Portland and picked up a few tools and picked out the cabinets for the bathroom. They are a nice light wood. I think Maple. It will make the bathroom so light and bright. Then we went to Home Depot and picked out the lighting and a sink, faucet and vanity too! Whew what a load we had! But it felt good to get all that we need. I picked out the kitchen and bathroom flooring at Golden Ladder last week, so that should be in pretty soon too! It is all coming together......slowly but surely!
The work party is this weekend, so we hope to accomplish a lot! Hope to report much more later!

We have a working toilet!!!! For the last two days the old one has been torn out, and all we had was a porta-potty! Thank God for small favors! So nice to have a new one, and it is even in the right place! No longer in the middle of the room! The room looks much larger now! What a big improvement!

Whew, a lot of banging and crashing in the last few days! The plumber, Jim has been here and now we have pipes and vents going everywhere. Jim and Brian really got a lot accomplished! Today we are moving the toilet to it's new location and also the gutters are going up! I stained part of the front porch a few days ago, it looks so nice. Am so glad to see all this progress! It is a lot of hard work, but all worth it.

Wow, what a great day! We had Sally & Dom and most of their family and a few friends here today to see what we have been up to at the house. We had a great visit! Nice to see everyone! It was a beautiful day at Dahlia House.

We have been so busy the past few days. Went to Longview to pick up more lumber and get rid of the garbage from the last few days of tearing out. Then we went to Astoria and picked up the mantle and fireplace. As soon as we get the walls built for that, they will come out and install. We also got the divider wall built between the two bathrooms upstairs and the rest of the walls torn out. Just a few more things to do and then we can have the plumber back to finish the job!

We made great progress today! Colleen was here and gave us lots of help! We got the walls torn out in the bathroom and in the kitchen. Also tore up the old floor in the bathroom. We filled the little trailer with debris from the destruction. Lots of old rotten boards and nasty flooring. And a lot of old mouse nests in the walls.
There is a lot of rot we are going to have to deal with, boards that will have to be replaced. But it was a good days work. We need to build the walls upstairs to divide the two bathrooms, might start that tonight or tomorrow. We also have some major decisions to make concerning placement of showers, sinks etc...before the plumber comes back.

Today was awesome!!!! We had the plumber here to help us and we also had people here to give us quotes on gutters and windows. We are headed out tomorrow to look at more flooring and cabinets in Portland. And to buy more plumbing parts and lumber.
We have a lot of tearing out to do in the bathrooms, and we need to put up the interior walls. So Saturday will be a busy one! But it will be fun to see the progress!

I am not writing this evening about any of the progress we are making, but about what it is like living out here.
I was worried that it would be too secluded and maybe boring, but the opposite is true! We are a bit overwhelmed with all the wildlife and wonderful scenery we see on a daily basis. Being a born and bred "city" girl this is amazing to me, and Brian says he just didn't pay attention to it or appreciate it as he was growing up.
We have two "resident deer" that are here for dinner each night at dusk, and they are not afraid of us at all. We go out and talk to them and they listen, and then go about their munching and crunching on the grass. (I will have to have serious talks with them if they start eating my Dahlias or Asparagus!) There are twin fawns we see just down the road and one doe with part of her back leg missing. She has a terrible time keeping up with her baby!
Besides that we see eagles and kingfishers, and all sorts of other birds. And there are always raccoons and the occasional porcupine wandering about. Had to wait while one got out of my way the other night as I came up the drive.
I even saw a bobcat on the way home one dark night. He was just strolling down the road in front of me. Today my big find was a black and white bunny rabbit!
The views out the front window are always changing, whether it be the wildlife in the front yard or the ships and boats that are passing us by. It is a forever changing scene, and we love the move we have made.
I hope that when we open our B&B that people will relax and enjoy it and appreciate the constantly changing events that unfold around us.

Went to Seattle and picked up our bathtub at Lowes and then got the glass block kit at Seattle Glass Block for the shower downstairs. Then we spent about 4 hours at Ikea looking at the kitchen area. We have it pretty much all picked out, but didn't have room in the pick-up and trailer to bring it home. They have it saved in draft form and all we have to do is convert it to a sale. We will live with and work on the design again for a few weeks and see if we want any changes. If not, we go and get it as is.
On the way out we saw the sink we wanted for the big upstairs bathroom and the flooring we wanted for the kitchen, so we got that too! Quite a load we brought home! A very satisfying trip!

So the last few days we have been putting up a few 2x6's in the kitchen every day. We just have two to go and some cross beams and we are done with that job.
Brian found the lumber to finish the rest of the siding! He brought it home today. Now we just need to get it milled to match.
We have been taking advantage of the good weather and doing some yard work. It is starting to take shape....well for now anyway.
I planted Dahlias and asparagus!
Everyday we try to accomplish at least one thing!
So excited to pick out our kitchen at Ikea on Friday!

We have made real progress in the past few days! Went to town and picked up tons of lumber and material to work on the kitchen and bathroom. Then today we tore down more of the old wallboard in the kitchen and started putting up the 2 x 6 boards to drop the ceiling in there. It is necessary to lower it to be able to put all the new plumbing and wiring in that space. We pulled up a bit of the subfloor to look at the original fir floor underneath to see if we should go down that far, but it is SO rotten! We could see right down to the ground! So we will just work on getting the old floor supported from underneath and put a new one on top. Brian did go under the house and got a few places repaired, doesn't feel so bouncy now! I want to try and save some of the old wainscoting to use on one of the walls. Just to get a feel of what it was like when it was built.

We also got the glass block shower ordered for the bathroom downstairs and made arrangements for someone to come and give us a bid on the fireplace.

Next week we go to Seattle to pick up the tub, and pick out our cabinets at Ikea.

Jahn and Em just left a few hours ago and I am sooooo sore and tired! We did so much over the weekend. We got the old trailer moved down to Richard's property and then after Brian went to work, the three of us got busy in the kitchen! Wow, did we ever! We tore out most of the rest of the old wall board and nasty 70's paneling and then we started in on the floor! We got up 3 layers! Vinyl flooring, then thin subfloor and then vinyl tiles. We got down to the old subfloor, but I am sure there is an old fir floor underneath. Not sure if it is in good enough shape to go down the extra layer. We took some pictures while we were working and we sure had a lot of "friends" helping us as you can see in the picture! Well I tried to add a picture.........

Have not written in quite a while as nothing has been happening here at the house. We took a 3 week trip to Ireland (which was wonderful). And then my Mom broke her hip! Also had Maliah here for 3 weeks and you just don't accomplish a lot with an almost 5 year old around! So have not been home much to do much!
However that has changed! We have been really busy on the house in the last two weeks. We got all the siding up on the addition with the help of John and Jahn and Emily. Thanks a bunch! And we have done a lot of yard work. The lawn is growing faster than we can cut it! Spent the day in Portland yesterday looking for siding but instead we found some old wainscoting and some old wood baulsters that we will use for the tops on the Newell posts on the front steps! Some real finds! Also bought a new trailer to haul stuff in, and went to Castle Rock to get some river rock. A long day, but we really did get a lot done!
Em and Jahn are coming down this weekend and we plan to do even more!
Had to put off the plumber and the electrician last month due to being away so much, but they will be here in the middle of July.
Here's to getting a lot done in the next few months!

Oh so much to do and where to start??? We have met with the plumber and the electrician and even had someone over to give us a quote on the windows. The list goes on and on! But all comes to a halt next Tuesday for 3 weeks while we are in Ireland. When we get home we will hit the ground running and get started in earnest! I am excited to see it all come together!

The front deck and porch are almost finished. Ted will be back tomorrow to do the last of it! Nice to get one project done. Well, we still have the painting and finishing touches to do, but it's a start. We continue to unpack and put away stuff. Still finding things! Just no storage in this house, so I am sure we will be living out of boxes for a while!

Today we had Ted Nance here working on the front deck and porch. Nice to hear the sound of saws and hammers! However the cats were freaked and hid under the bed most of the day. Brian moved the big trailer away from the side of the house and cleaned out some stuff in the garage. And then I brought home a 12ft 4x4 and 12 bags of cement. We will start putting in the base for the front steps tomorrow. I cleaned bricks, but have many more to go!!! And the fun begins!

Well the only thing we are doing so far is moving things around, emptying a few boxes and vacuuming up thousands of ladybugs! But soon we will get past this and get to the real meat of the project!

Well we are here! All moved in and living amongst the boxes! We are trying to get a few unpacked and put away each day. The weather has been great and we are enjoying it by taking walks and working outside too.
The washer and dryer are working and we have heat and water, what more could you ask for?? We are going to start working on the kitchen and bathroom first. We already went and picked out all of the appliances. It was fun! Now to go to Ikea for the cabinets! But before it all goes in we have a lot of tearing out to do. Yeah!

Another huge load went down today. We are almost moved out! There are boxes and furniture everywhere. We will have a big job of sorting when we get down there.
Nice to turn on the tap and see water and even pressure! Hopefully we will get the washer and dryer hooked up tomorrow or Tuesday. Everyday something new!

Well today the real push started! The kids were here and moved a huge trailer and pick-up load down there. Then they worked on the water system and got us water! Yippie! Brian met with the guy from Petrolane a few days ago and now we have heat too!
Just a few more days and we will be living down there full time. Does not seem possible that this is really happening. The kids have been so helpful! Couldn't have done it without them!

Well the moving has begun! Brian and I went down with a load yesterday and there will be many more to come. Having a big moving sale in Cathlamet so hope we do not have to move very much!

Found out today that the house in Cathlamet IS sold!!!! So now the fun begins! Have to be out so soon! 20 days left!
EEK!

We met with the electrician today and went thru everything we wanted done. He will start just as soon as we give him the word!!! We do have a bunch more tearing out to do before he can come down.......oh fun........ more work with the crowbar!

The whole family was down this weekend and we got a couple of loads moved down to the house. It absolutely poured all weekend so we concentrated on stuff that could get wet. Everything is out of the sheds and off the patio, so the back yard is done. Also just about got the attic cleaned out here.
No storage down at Dahlia, so we are having a moving sale and then the rest goes to the Goodwill!

We are 99% sure we have sold our house in Cathlamet, so now the big push is on to get moved! What a job! Not sure where to start!
Brian has been so sick with pancreatitis and is not going to be much help for the move, but we will manage somehow. The girls will be down a few times to help.
Went down to the house a few days ago and just rearranged things a bit so we can get more in! WOW! This is really happening!

This time when we went down, it was a bit warmer and we had some time, so we tore out some more old wallboard in the bathroom and kitchen. Felt good to get something accomplished! Still love the feel of the crowbar in my hands!!!

Well the last time we were down, we were back to barely a trickle of water, but maybe the lines were just frozen. It has been cold.
We also lost George for a while, found out he went down to visit Aunt Eleanor! So we picked him up there and brought him home. He is now staying IN the house. Catching lots of mice too! Good Kitty! Not accomplishing much on our trips down, just taking things out of the house in Cathlamet and moving them into rooms down there. Too cold to do much! We have contacted an electrician so maybe we can get that project going.