So Little, But So Much to Do

I finally was able to get Gary to agree to do a walk-through of the house and write down everything that still needs to be done. The only real major projects include sanding the floors, carpeting the living room, and painting the fence. Of course, I still want to build a deck off the back of the house, but maybe we'll get to that someday. All of the other stuff is pretty minor, but labor-intensive. A lot of it is painting all of the trim in the house and doors, some ceilings, and the utility room. It's still overwhelming, though. I wish we could just win the lottery, inherit some money from a long-lost uncle, or..., well, those are probably our only options at this point. (Long sigh...)

PLEASE VOTE...TRUE VALUE DIY ALL-STAR

Sometime over the summer, I nominated my husband, Gary, for the True Value DIY All-Star contest. Today, we found out that he is listed as one of the top 20 finalists!

The grand prize winner receives $5,000 in products at a True Value store! So... Please vote. It's very easy and will just take a second to do. Just click on VOTE... Make sure it's the project called "Pantry Paradise." Here's the link:

www.startrightstarthere.com/contest_vote.aspx?entrantId=81

Thanks!!!

New Floor... Beautiful & Shiny

After sanding, stain, and 3 coats of polyurethane, the floor is finished! One down and four more to go!

Too Cute for Words

Fern sweetly slumbering on our bed while watching a movie last night... and Camryn's cute little feet sticking out from under her bedspread this morning.

Sanding for Gary, Sleeping for Shari

Gary sanded the floors in the guest room this weekend. I don't think they've ever been refinished before. It has made a HUGE difference! He asked me to let you know that I failed to get a picture of him doing the actual sanding and that this was because all I did this weekend (besides spend 1/2 day at church on Saturday and 1/2 a day at church on Sunday) was read and take naps. I'm not ashamed of that. I only have one week and one day left of my summer vacation, so I want to enjoy myself.

Still to do... use a hand sander to reach the areas around the perimeter of the room & under the desk, choose a stain color, then stain & varnish the floors. I'm sure I'll be more involved in the rest of this project going forward.

Makeover on my School's Restroom

I couldn't stand it any longer... the staff restroom at my school was not a pleasant place to be. Every visit, I dreamed of doing a makeover on it, so I finally did it... I painted the walls a golden beige and used a fleur-de-lis stamp to create a border around the room, as well as a faux frame around the mirror. I added a tall, narrow cabinet that I updated with a little paint and hardware. And finally, I painted an outdoor scene high on the wall to give the impression of a window, covered with a curtain. I think it is a big improvement. I hope my fellow teachers and staff will, too!

Sewing & Stapling Makes the Chair

It's official... the re-upholstery of my great-grandfather's rocking chair is complete. Thank you to my mom who dedicated many hours on this project fitting, sewing, and pinning, and also thank you to Gary for his willingness to be the strength behind the staples!

New Office/"Free" Laptop Warning

Our new office is now done. Notice Gary's fine craftsmanship on making the desk appear as one piece. He did a great job! As usual, my work consisted of the painting; however, I (yes, me!) I moved the computer over to the new desk. Very overwhelming... wires and cables galore, tangled, twisted. I had to poke the wires through two holes: one located at the top of the desk and the other located underneath the desk going from one section of the desk to the little hidden space under the desk where the computer sits. But I was very proud of myself when I turned the computer on and it actually worked!

Back to the new office... It is really going to free up space in the guest room plus we have more countertop space. It would be nice to someday get rid of our dinosaur computer and replace it with a laptop, but that doesn't seem to be in the near future. I recently fell for that "free laptop scam..." where you go to www.getmyfreelaptop.com. Whatever you do, don't fall for this! You have to sign up for 12 (yes 12!) different programs/products to qualify and they all cost between a few dollars to $50-$60. Things like stamps.com, netflix, makeup that they send you every 3 months, free credit reports, skin care, book clubs, etc. All these companies immediately charge your credit card and if you want to return them, it's a big hassle. Trust me... don't do it!

Anyway (now that I've got that off my chest), I still have to go through files and organize the office. We've lost some drawer space, but have a whole shelf to store things in cute little boxes that I've yet to get.

A Welcoming Entrance

Here are some pictures of the front porch I took today. I have been very proud of myself for not killing all the plants so far. My thumb has been pretty green this summer.

Watching Grannie

In preparing for my parents' garage sale a few weeks earlier in the summer, I came across some old jewelry and watches that belonged to my grandmother. I decided to glue parts of her watches that were already broken to a frame with her picture. I also found a pretty red broach that I glued to a small picture frame with my daughter's picture in it.

Rocking through a Transformation

My mother decided she no longer had a place for my great-grandfather's upholstered rocking chair and was considering donating it. I asked for it, and we (rather, my mother) is in the process of reupholstering it. Here it is in the middle of the parlour.

Office in a Closet

Getting very close to finishing the new "office in a closet" we've been working on as fast as the speed of a turtle. I'm going to do some final touch-ups on the paint today, and Gary's got a little to-do's on it still, but we're hoping to have everything in place by the end of this weekend. Of course, then we have to take everything out of the room to start sanding the floors. (Sigh...)

Great Summer Finds

Just a few pictures of some vintage items I've come across this summer. The Coca-Cola lamp and gum-ball machine came from an antique shop in Brenham. The red metal shelf was my grandfather's. My parents had it in their garage and were going to put it in a garage sale!

Taking a Break from our Work...

Whenever there's a choice to be made from getting away for a weekend vs. working on the house, 9 times out of 10, the house wins. But this time was different. We were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, so we took a little trip to Fredericksburg. We stayed in a quaint little cottage, did a little shopping, ate some wonderful food, (Gary had to have his bratwurst and kraut!), and visited WildSeed Farms. Oh, and I can't leave out... we had to buy some delicious Fredericksburg peaches! It was a wonderful little trip.

Office in Progress

More pics...

Into the Closet

While we have so many other urgent things to do in the house, and many more that have a greater priority, we decided to turn our guest room closet into our office. Like many people, our guest room has to also function as an office, and it's not ideal to have a messy desk in a room that company will sleep in, so... we decided to take everything out of the closet... perfect timing because my parents just had a garage sale... and designed the whole space for an office. We're starting with an old antique desk I found for a mere $25. It took some convincing for Gary to agree to build onto a desk instead of building it from scratch, but in my quest to mix in something old with something new, I was able to make him see things my way. Take a look at the current before picture. I'll update again soon, since Gary has been working on it most of the day.

They Were Lost, but Now They're Found

A few days ago, we found our kittens! They had been missing in action for almost two weeks. They were carefully tucked away under the house by their persnickety, but very loving mother. Camryn played dress-up with one of them (the boy!), and here are some pictures...

Shari's Big Summer 2008 To-Do List

It's that time of year again... School's out for the summer (yipee!!!), so that means it's time for my annual "Big Summer To-Do List." I look forward to one day when the list consists of little to nothing except for sleeping late, catching up on some reading, and strolling through downtown looking for that special antique to go in that special place in the house.

Speaking of the house, it's my goal to accomplish the following this summer (not necessarily listed in any particular order of priority):

_____ Paint downstairs porch/brick steps

_____ Paint fence (I'll have some help on this one!!!)

_____ Paint utility room

_____ Put down new floor in utility room

_____ Restore old green cabinet

_____ Clean out guest bedroom closet so Gary can make a built-in office space

_____ Have carpet installed in house (I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one!!!)

_____ Stencil crown moulding in living room

_____ Stencil/faux paint in dining room

_____ Paint ceiling in back entryway (after Gary puts up trim)

_____ Paint ceiling in downstairs bathroom (Ugh.. I do NOT want to do this!)

_____ Have electrician install outlet in kitchen island


Six times... that's the number of times the word "paint" appears in my list. Oh, how I long for a summer with no paint!!!

To My Students at NIS...

I have greatly enjoyed being your 4th grade teacher this year, and I am so proud of all your accomplishments. You've come such a long way. I hope you have a wonderful and safe summer. Drop me an email sometime and let me know what you're up to this summer.

Love,
Mrs. Tackert

"Finished" with the Pantry

Why is it that when we "finish" a project, there's always something else that we know needs to be done, and yet we still declare it to be "finished?" This seems to be the case with every project we take on with this house. The downstairs bathroom is considered finished, and yet the ceiling still needs to be painted. The parlor is finished, but the floors still have to be redone. Now we are declaring the pantry to be finished, and yet the cabinet door hasn't been made, and there is still the door frame and around the window to be painted. Well, anyway, we are VERY happy with how the pantry has turned out. A HUGE improvement from what it was.