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!!!