Memorial Weekend

Long awaited Memorial Weekend - all the kids in town. Cal arrived early in the week; Cyd and Bennett got a late start driving on Thursday, but arrived safe and sound in the middle of the night. Friday is a bit of a blur already... but I know the dry wallers were to finish - with sanding, and couldn't - it's been so humid it wasn't dry enough! Cal retrieved Hunt from the airport Friday afternoon - Hunt retrieved Lindsey late. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Rigsby's starting with cocktails at the bar. Saturday began with donuts at Barrington, and the girls got to work on the "barn door". SWL and BWS tackled the door to Cyd's closet in the afternoon after
the girls headed out to the grocery to prepare for our fajita & margarita pre-concert gathering.
Such fun! The Avett's did not disappoint. Not sure about the LC venue.... but nothing better than friends and family gathered for a great night out! - we don't do that enough! All a bit slow on Sunday. Cal and Eric (who drove in from Chi-town on Saturday) headed out for a day on the lake. Perfect sunny and 90! We did a few errands then headed to Katzingers for a sandwich. SWL and WHL worked on the Defender, while BWS headed to the park to expose Dootie to swimming! The girls hit the Short North for some shopping and bubble T's. Rendezvous late afternoon - and a very laid back evening watching BBC - TV and bison burgers. Monday - time to get back to some housework..... and maybe a Tommy's dinner? Will follow up..... :)

Ready and Waiting

We're ready and waiting..... for multiple things. Firstly, for you! We're also waiting for our buddy Randy to start tiling; the spray foam insulation guy - to give us an estimate; and the roofers to install the attic vent and fan. Gene Goubeaux might make it by tomorrow to complete a few electrical panel connections; the insulator is coming to look at the project around 10; the dry wallers will be in to sand - and finish this phase. Michael came by today to check out SWL's kitchen floor prep - it passed! Hoping he'll have time next week to lead SWL in the floor installation!! That would be huge. Seems like there will be some major cleaning up ahead
this week if all falls into place - and then we WILL begin to paint! We're definitely into full build back mode, and each step now will have your stamp on it! Fun! Drive carefully - see you soon.

TA DA Tuesday

I felt a bit of Ta Da by the end of today. Lots going on - and even I finally got some traction and checked a few things off our list on my own! SWL arrived early to find the neighbors tree and dropped a HUGE limb on the drive. Thank goodness we weren't parked under it (as we usually are). It did minor damage to the bushes there - but I did get them trimmed and planted after SWL had removed the tree to the neighbors yard. Later they had a tree service haul it all away, as well as prune the dead wood out of their big front trees... nice, and maybe something you will consider with your front tree at some point.

SWL then moved on to the kitchen floor. Not too much progress there today - but more boosted confidence that he has it beat. He was happily interrupted by the dry wallers!! Oh what a difference it makes to have a white ceiling and walls! When I left this afternoon they'd started to tape and mud! I think they'll finish this week. I moved on to icky insulation work.... not a fun task - but something I'm capable of doing on my own. I did the knee wall of the MBR, and the floor of the front knee wall space. SWL moved outside to install cleaning access to all your downspouts.... so that you can flush them to prevent backup (and so water at the foundation). We did have dirt spread around the foundation - a communication glitch where it was DONE rather than just DELIVERED!! Yea - check!

So - big day on Barrington. Tomorrow - more dry wall. Hope to see Randy the tile guy?? And might see some action in Cyd's closet? Tonight we'll do Try it Tuesday with Cal - best restaurant in Columbus is supposed to be sushi.... somewhere we've never heard of. Tonight we'll check it out! We'll let you all know.

Momentum

Well - Even though SWL has continued to make progress, I have lost a bit of my momentum! There just hasn't been anything really to photograph. Good news - drywall will begin tomorrow!! And if we're lucky, we could have some tile going in as well? SWL has the kitchen floor under control,
so after the drywallers get out- he can get back to it and complete the sub layer. Knock on wood we could be ready to learn how to install hardwood next week. I'm hoping too that even though the drywall has not been started or sanded in Cyd's closet..... when it's complete everywhere else, we might dare to begin paint! When Cyd's closet is ready, we can hopefully close off the MBR and keep the mess confined! That's the plan anyway. Callie arrived from Chicago this morning, painting is happening on Oakridge (trim) - so no photo documentation, but we're keeping busy! xoxo - have great weeks and we can't wait to have everyone here by the weekend!!

Kingston Mines

Birthday Trip!

We hung up our construction hats and took a few days off to Chicago - where we met up with Callie and Eric to celebrate their birthdays! Great fun, great food - great plan! Thanks Cal. Cal came in early from SF to celebrate with Eric. We arrived Tuesday and hit the pavement hard. We started with lunch - always a priority. We took SWL to the RL restaurant just off Michigan Ave. It was unseasonably cool so that charming library style spot was perfect for a good burger. Tuesday was the best weather forecast so our next stop was a walk to the river to catch the Architectural tour. It was interesting and informative - good call from Dragon Sherman. I think we took a long walk home (maybe a shop or two on the way) and headed in for a rest before meeting up again for dinner. It was try it Tuesday/Chicago for Cal - a bit of a cheat, but I think they enjoyed our old favorite - Shaw's Crab House. It's so old school - how could you not. They were treated with a surprise birthday desert. Those professional waiters really do pay attention when carding folks! Cal's 23rd arrived with rain. We had a great breakfast at a spot on Webster called Toast. In fact we liked it so much we did a repeat this morning! Incredible pancakes, breakfast sandwiches - charming little spot! On we went to spend the biggest chunk of the day at the Field and Science Museum - COSI on steroids! We saw the body exhibit - and were wowed by the amazing German submarine that we captured in 1944- at the end of WWII. We all admitted we needed a crash course in our history! We took the long walk home on the lookout for latex pillows for Cal. We meandered here and there - stopped for coffee, and again rested up just a bit before heading out for her birthday sushi dinner. AMAZINGLY hip sushi spot - a recommendation from Shannon. The name escapes me! - Cal, help me here. But, will be going back next trip! We ended the evening at the Kingston Mines for a bit of blues.... a trip down memory lane for SWL! Great night- great trip! Back to work tomorrow - and counting the days to have everyone home in just about a week!

Stuff

Another rainy day in Ohio, but at least it brought with it some cooler temperatures. Barrington Road has been a little sweatbox. We haven't had the AC on - something about drywall dust, sawdust,and insulation blowing around was unappealing! Anyway, it was nice to work with all the windows open - and a cool breeze. Today was miscellaneous stuff. We hung a piece of drywall over the first floor bathroom tub. SWL indulged me by letting me help him trim out the Dining Room corner cabinets. I just NEED those little things that give me big satisfaction! Next he went on to finish prep in the Master Bath for tile.... drywall patching. That was about it for the day. Mimi stopped in to deliver the bath wallpaper! I chiseled out the old hinge patches so the french doors could be rehung, as well as took down the existing guest bedroom closet doors to take hinge placement measurements.... in preparation to install your new green doors! Fun little stuff! Hope you all had a great weekend. I'll try to post tomorrow - but then we're off for a few days, so have a good week all.

Satisfying Saturday!

We took off early this afternoon because the kitchen is ready for drywall!! BIG satisfaction in that accomplishment. SWL put the blocking in to hang the cabinets on, while I started insulation.
He helped me complete that and voila! I cleaned it up and moved the saw out.... we'll now see what the dry waller's schedule is. Hopefully week after next. Next week we'll only have Monday and Friday to do little jobs - heading to Chicago for some R and R in honor of Callie's birthday!
The cabinets look gorgeous - stacked in the living room waiting. One of the next big hurdles will be leveling the kitchen floor - another big day for SWL on his hands and knees! So, the saw is up in the MBR ready to tackle Cyd's closet framing.... not sure when. Tomorrow we'll do some drywall ourselves, the first floor bath ceiling and the patching in the master bath. Steady we go!

Outside & Easy!

We worked outside and took it easy today. I started off with yoga.... SWL decided it would be wise to fill the "pool" before we get more rain tonight. (Hate to watch rain fill and run down the foundation wall after all our effort to remedy the rot we'd found!) He's trying to distribute some of the raised bed in the back corner - where we removed the RR ties. Anyway... not the best fill. I headed to Oakland Nursery to get the plantings. Now, we wait for 2 yards of dirt to be delivered so we can finish there, as well as the rest of the perimeter grading! SWL mowed both front and back; I trimmed a bush by the garage door - headed home early. Tomorrow we expect more rain - so we'll be back inside. Strategy meeting tonight, but I'm expecting to plan out priority to get baths ready for tile AND kitchen ready for drywall. Big steps ahead! Have a great weekend everyone.

Door down/ day 2

Day two was much easier really - but HUGE. We finally feel like we're starting to put the house back together rather than tearing something out!! Big corner has been turned. We started with a construction tarp, and ended the day with siding complete - like nothing ever happened. It was a bit tricky for novices to cut and fit the siding - but not too bad. SWL went to a dental appointment in the morning while I put vapor barrier up in the baths. He arrived mid-day to start - and Nan and Da stopped by to bring us lunch. We also had a quick visit and tour with Laurie Galbreath. So with all that late start.... we still finished the job! And to top off a pretty productive day - the cabinets arrived! Yea!!

Door down/ day 1

Well blogger dumped my last entry somehow? And now I can't really remember what I said.... the days sort of blur together. This is a re-entry of Wednesday - Door Day. The day started with the door in, and ended with it out.... and the patch tarped for the night. The door came out so easily. It was the extent of the rot underneath that was the challenge. SWL spent at least half a day with a hand tool carving away the rot to reveal a clean dry board surface - so he could patch with treated lumber and rebuild. I was a gofer - all over town doing errands. Long day!

DOOR DAY!!

Finally! Today was door day. Piece of cake, the door practically fell out. What we uncovered behind the siding was the challenge! SWL spent a good half day with a hand chisel cutting out the rot we found in the foundation board. It was backbreaking, and he was patient.... he painstakingly went down to find clean, dry, flat board - so that he could patch with pressure treated 2 x 4's. He then built back up to fill the door gap. Tomorrow will be the easy part....
three 2 x 4 stud boards, sheath in plywood (they're cut and dry fit already in place), tack in the tar paper and then cut and patch the siding back in. Really should be doable - either before or after a quick dental check tomorrow. I was the gofer today. Made a big trip to Lowes to get the subway tile for the first floor bath; buy the 2 x 4's, toilet seats, mulch, nails, electrical connectors, saw blades... that might be it. Then I ran to APCO to pick up another piece of siding and starter strip. I mulched the fence line bed, and was pretty much the door cheerleader. I
also ran home mid day to receive the dining table.... it's still boxed, so I'll let you know what it looks like when I have the energy to open an end! Tomorrow: door completion - we hope and cabinet delivery!!

Try to get some work done Tuesday

I'm handicapped to start.... plans to visit the Decorators Showhouse with Nan, Mimi and Jenny - then have lunch. We headed out early - so I could do something today! I did insulate the floor of the Master bath. The plumber had installed a new shower drain, and I remember from our addition on Tremont how noisy those new plastic pipes are. Hopefully, this will counter that at least in the first floor bath below! That's about all I could manage before heading home to shower for my girls day. SWL was left to put the plank floor back together, and hopefully make some progress with putting some subfloor in place as well. There will be another layer of plywood under the shower, and I think concrete board under the tile floor? Goal: ready for tile! On my way out I checked out the great job Stacy did yesterday with the radon piping. Yes, it's obvious and unsightly... but he did the best possible! We need a little evergreen bush. And, my favorite sunroom corner bush is almost in full bloom - gorgeous. Have a happy Tuesday!

It's a New Week!

Monday - and I thought today was the day to take out the door! We made an early run to Home Depot to get our supplies..... and hello Hunt, his plane hit something backing out of the gate and he was delayed from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. So, we had a birthday breakfast on the patio of Northstar
instead! Beautiful day... not too bad! SWL did install all the smoke detectors, and I tacked into place all the cable wiring for TV/computer cable. The plumber finished the prep work in the Master Bath. And the radon mitigation system was installed. It wasn't a completely bust work day after all!

Happy Mothers Day!

To me!!! And to Nanny, and to JoAnne.... and even Cyd! (she is Levee's mother) We ran to two different Home Depots this morning trying to get enough tile for the Master Bath! Amazing the volume that it takes to cover those walls!! 169 little boxes of subway style.... and those suckers are heavy! I'll make one last run to Sawmill tomorrow for the last 10 boxes.... 12 loads in the front door and upstairs and we're stored and ready for Randy!

We also enjoyed a wonderful brunch with the whole extended family at Rigsby's - Kent's treat! Kent and Tasi had gorgeous hydrangeas on the table - and the food did not disappoint. Drinks flowed at the bar to start... we missed the rest of you! I'm still enjoying my holiday weekend bouquet too - thank you all - it's been a really lovely weekend! xoxoxo-M

Saturday

Saturday morning early our general contractor/head honcho took off with the boy to Millersburg. The mission was to check out a hunter green - 90, '94 - DEFENDER. That ever elusive dream vehicle he'd promised Hunt he'd get "one day". One day was Saturday. Even I think it's pretty cool! We'll all enjoy it in Wyoming for the time being. (better photos eventually!) Oh, and Saturday I'm not sure where the day went on Barrington. I did run a new cable line from the basement to the Master Bedroom - and started mowing the lawn.... SWL finished it when they returned!