Saturday, October 13, 2012

O' Joyous home improvements

Since day 1, we have hated this window. It being the accent piece to the whole house--everyone noticed it right away.


See Travis here thinking nasty thoughts on it:

Finally the day has come! For us to replace public enemy #1.

Before it was like our house was crying:








(It is now October while I am writing this-and I had already forgotten how BAD that window was! It is so much more cheerful inside. No more disgust when I look out the window!)


After:






It is so clear it is almost like there is no window at all!
 Here is a shot on a nice day.
That hanging light REALLY needs to go soon honey!




It makes us so happy we do not even mind that our pockets are empty!
Or that Travis has to climb up and patch up some damage around the new window or has to climb up outside to paint the trim!
Not happy here. Did I mention Travis is scared of heights?
 
I promised to cook him something yummy while he works!

A bit of damage for us to fix.


It wasn't a completely painless operation. The company originally came out and measured in early April with a May 10 install date. The wait was painful but we knew it was going to be so worth it!
But once they got here, they realized the big window was cut/measured just an inch short!! So it was temporarily installed while we waited for the correct one.
June 1 it was finally completed!

We also had 1 other window replaced during this time, but the change is not as impressive.



This is little yard section from previous post from another angle.

 
This is the final photo from July-trim painted, sticker removed and house touched up!

 
I am so glad we finally got that project off our list. 2 years and 3 months after we moved in!!
Super exciting project next year is to replace all the siding on this side of the house!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

No more!

We have been slacking on new projects so this is a good time to put a halt to adding ANYMORE to the list! (Also I have been slacking on this blog, because NONE of these projects have been touched since I started writing this 3 months ago. So while it is out of date, it is still true!)
More often than not a new project comes up in the middle of another one, that demands to be done in order to finish the original project.
Those will get done because we rarely have a choice.

Meanwhile here is our list of unfinished projects:

Installing wood in attic to reach far side of house
Installing bathroom fan in master bath
Installing security cameras
Installing smoke alarms
Finish last 16 stones of patio(this is a lie now, maybe next year?)

Projects that are delayed
Accomplished
Before and After
What is left
Built a new sifter for this project
Finished section with rocks to deter cars from parking ON our yard. It works!
Lower moat-this one entails way more effort than 9 letters can describe.
-Separating 1ft wide strip river rock from dirt/weeds/roots, 100 feet long! (About 1/2 done!)
-Clearing weeds and old weed paper
-adding mulch to each section as finished.
And finally
-Adding plants to lower moat(now looking at fall)
*I bought many plants that are dying in their pots!*
I have convinced Travis to start mowing the lower moat, so it at least looks presentable during the wait. I would really like the rain to stop so we can get out there and make progress, even if only 10ft at a time.

Digging trench thru gravel drive way and installing river rock to help water runoff.

Painting vaulted area upstairs and large wall in entry

South yard to be garden, full revamp. I have an idea now and plants!
I want to start with the small section closest to the house and see how it goes before digging up the whole front yard.
-Remove sod from 10x20 area
-Call 811 for new markings as all our lines run thru this side of the yard.
-create rock paths over utilities lines, gas, power, etc.
-create raised area next to walkway
-bring in dirt
-Plant things!
-Install mulch
Oh wait--is this on the delayed projects list?! Whoops! I guess all the projects above are for Travis, and this one is for me... it does involve plants... I already have Lavender, Daphne & a peony to plant!
Only problem is I need his help to remove sod, build wall and get rock, dirt and mulch!
Our idea of a fun outing: Simply Rocks, a place that sells just rocks!
 As you can see this area is not huge. Had we started it, finishing would be no problem.
Yet here it is October, and the yard looks identical to this August picture.




 
Asparagus bed edging-this will probably wait til spring. Almost time to cut down asparagus, which will make adding drainage to edges and edging much easier. Adding edging will make it much easier for Travis to weed whack the edges without fighting the vegetation.
This is the asparagus bed in June, it started falling over so I tied it up.
Maybe next year I will fashion some chicken wire, since it didn't hold it up ENOUGH.



 




 
Here is a project we DID finish.
We still haven't committed to wood blinds for the living room,
so we get lots of sunlight and heat in the summer.
For a fraction of the cost and little decision making we got some external sun shades! 
This sure helped make the living room bearable in the evenings.
10pm and previously it was still day time highs inside!
Who wants to cook when it is 80+ degrees inside?
 

During installation and sunset. View is not completely obliterated, just obscured.
 
After install, night time.
The shades add a new ambiance to
 the living room during the day.
 
 
 
 I have several other posts to write and catch up on.
Writing about months back take the oomph out of blogging, I hope I can get current soon.
I expect things to get more exciting from here on out!