Beams & Dreams

Go away, SNOW!

I’m so sad because I know that NOTHING is going to be going on in my family/living room for a few days.   This is what I am up against:

See that itty-bitty piece of fence sticking out over the top of ALL THAT SNOW? That’s my 4 foot chain link fence we put in to keep the dogs safe from the coyotes, bobcats, and occasional bear. (And the killer deer and wild turkeys that roam our property) Not to mention that the snow is WAY over our lil’ Pekingese's heads, but they could just walk over the snow and disappear into the woods.

AND IT”S SNOWING AGAIN. Actually, I *think* it’s stopped snowing and begun sleeting/icing/freezing rain.  Lovely. NOT.

I had to pay a person mucho bucks to climb up on my roof and SHOVEL IT so it doesn’t come crashing down on us with all the weight of the snow and ice.

I had to wait to have the dumpster delivered - who wants to pay for  all the weight of the snow and ice-  and you know I'm aching to just TOSS STUFF OUT.

Our kids have had something silly like 14 snow days.  They’ll  bee in school till the end of June. And I can't even finish sanding the ceiling or remove the hateful popcorm from the dining room because the kids and Hubster are home, and  they are all allergic to the dust. (Wimps... what's a little drywall dust compared to a lovely smooth ceiling??? huh??? no pain, no gain!!!)

AND MY PROJECT HAS TO WAIT TILL IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE!

WAHHHHHH!

So i say..

STOP SNOWING!

(Yes this is at the end of my street. )

TAKE DOWN THAT WALL!

It’s started!  it’s really started!   Today the plumber  came and removed and ran new heat to make sure we are nice and toasty in our new, HUGE room.

AND the contractor came and brought all kinds of materials, and started taking the wall apart.

He let me help!

Yup, that’s a hatchet. I took a hatchet to the wall!

 

Then, POWER TOOLS!

and finally, guess what !?!

 

Ok, ok.. I’m looking a wee bit “shining” on the video, but it HAS been snowing  big storms twice a week now for  months.  I’m feeling a  teeny tiny redrum-ish—bhahahaha!

And  then the electrician came and removed all the wiring from the wall, too.    It was very exciting to see all of it actually happening…. after waiting forever. ‘

And now, I have all the furniture scattered all over the house,  two huge 4 feet beams laying right smack in the middle of the  room, and as excited as I am to keep going,  I doubt any movement will be made tomorrow (or the next day).   We’re expecting yet ANOTHER snowstorm tomorrow and then  an ice storm the day after that.

GREAT BIG HUGE SIGH.   At least we’re started, though.

Death to Popcorn

I would LOVE to know who invented Popcorn ceilings. Seriously,if his/her name got out,I think that there are a lot of people  who would want to do bodily hard to them.  Since I hate it so much, I decided to go ahead and take it down since  I was already making a mess.  HOLY CROW, does it make a MESS!   My pal Ali and I got our scrapers, sprayers, and  ladders, and got started!

 

 

Finally,FINALLY, the popcorn was down,and the sanding began.

I have to say  that I have a new appreciation for tapers… and sanders.. and I have  SORE SORE arms, but even not yet finished, it looks awesome!

 

Here is an ode to the odious popcorn ceiling inventor I found on the internet

On a yacht far away
Just to hide from the claims
At the time it was easy
To spray ceilings the same
Leaving homeowners queasy
From spiders & stains
Try to clean or remove it
& it falls like white rain
How to remove it?
I don't have a clue
Don't ever wet it
Or an avalanche will ensue~

 

The first room is done. Once I can move my arms again,then I will start on the dining room.

Starting a big project

I’ve been LONGING to start this project for nearly a year now. 

See this wall?   The one between the lamps?

That WALL is separating our Formal Living Room and Family Room.   Our family isn’t the “Formal Living Room” type of family,  and although it’s a large room, it’s dark. Yes, it has 4  LARGE windows, too, but  they are mostly covered by my super front porch (Where I spend TONS of time when it’s warm). The family room has the 2 double sliders to the amazing view. I want to open it all up so it’s a GREAT room that we will all be comfortable in.

Living room

 

Messy bad shot of the family room,There is another slider to the right of that ugly fireplace.

 

Did I mention the carpet? Cream carpet,3 dogs,2 cats,2 kids and a husband don’t really work out well.  They Gotta GO!  I picked a lovely new prefinished hardwood to go in after the  wall is down.  

But first, the most EVIL of projects must happen. The most dreaded.  The unthinkable.

POPCORN CEILING REMOVAL.

ARGHHHH!!

Making our HOUSE into a HOME

Hello!   I’m Wendy, and I’d love to welcome you to our home.   Oddly enough, we purchased this house about a year and a half ago.  I promised my husband that I would wait a while, at least a year, to do anything REAL to the house. We wanted to see how the house “lived” for a bit before we made changes.  I agreed to wait, but I sure didn’t agree not to PLAN and DREAM.

I fell a teeny bit in love with our house online before we even visited it!   I was smitten by the view.  Isn’t is AMAZING???

I get to look at this having coffee every morning, and amazing sunsets (usually with a glass of wine) at night!

 

I knew that you can change a house, but you can’t really change a view.  Reading the listing, I knew it had the required number bedrooms, bathroom, and square footage. It also had some other things going for it, like being on one level, and  being handicapped accessible which was a plus for us as my father in law is wheelchair bound.   It also had a HUGE unfinished basement that when finished would DOUBLE the square footage of my house.  a few acres, a great neighborhood, and OH THAT VIEW.

We moved in right before school started and I.Did. Nothing.  Absolutely nothing to the house to make it a home. Well, I did hang a few paintings, threw up some cheap roman shades for privacy, and purchased a couch for the family room.  Then I just LIVED in the house,  and thought about what I wanted and needed to change.

A house is just that, a house.  A home is  that, also, a HOME.  A home is where you are comfortable, you hang out, you bond, you dream.  I’ve been dreaming of making our house a home for over a year…. and now I’m ready to start!   Come with me on this journey!