The Reno is complete!

The IKEA shelf finally arrived. (Never order IKEA on line - takes forever and costs and arm and a leg! Take a truck to Edmonton) This past week after work I visited Charter House Interiors several times - and each time found just the right piece of art, room embellishment or lamp and at a great price - love this place! Highly recommended for that perfect accent piece and really fun lamps! And they have a great little soup and sandwich place on the second floor.
So we are finished the reno!

This room reno has been a work in progress. The before picture....

The after....

Love that tall square lamp in the corner. David and I had been looking for the right lamp for that corner for quite a while and spotted this at Charter House Interiors - there were two to them - and they had just arrived - and they both sold that day! Cool lamp eh?

Above - the IKEA shelf and below the hardwood down the front hall.

...and some of our unique purchases this week ~ to finish it off.

Thanks for letting me share our latest adventure with you. I am happy that all the construction, painting and decision making is over, but we had fun doing this whole project together. Every piece was a joint decision from the floor colouring, window treatments, furniture and even the knick knacks - we picked them all out together and I think that is the best part of the whole renovation. We planned together, tore out carpet together, cleaned up together, painted together, shopped together - and had fun the whole time! I guess after 29 years you just think as one. Blessings! However, may we not step foot in a floor covering place for at least five years! Way too many choices these days.

Almost there!

Okay here are the pics for those of you asking me. It is almost finished. Man it feels good to have those workers leave my house and to just clean up. I find the overstimulation of banging, grinding, constant noise along with sawdust EVERYWHERE and fine, fine dust in every nook and cranny....well a tad bit overwhelming. But they have left, I have vacuumed a million times and gone over everything with a dust cloth or a damp cloth. I am exhausted but I cannot let the sawdust and dust just sit there!! Thankful to have Monday off work to be here to oversee- thanks Laura! And evenings to get to the cleaning and a little drywalling. Will it ever end?

So we are seeing a hint of the completed vision for a new family room.

The lino people still have some messes to repair....or tear it out and start again (to be decided) BIG SIGH!!! , and the hardwood installers (great guys) still have the two steps into the family room to finish up. But we are really close!! We now have a beautiful dance floor...well at least until we get some furniture back into the room.

I am blessed! I am tired! Life is so good!

The Reno's continue, Gratitude List

The back hall is done. But not without a list of problems. Ah renos. I was so discouraged.

At coffee break on Thursday I heard a few more reno issues from a few gals at work. Mine were small in comparison. The problems will get fixed eventually ...but I tell ya - this scrapbooker cannot live with a crooked toilet for much longer!!

I love the new back hall. Today we painted the back door and so.....all is complete - well at least as far as we can go until they come back and fix all the .....mess ups!
The front hall light is installed too. I was at work for this adventure as well. The switch box for the light sits 1/8th of an inch lower than the switch box beside it. WHAT WAS HE THINKING!!!!

Again - this scrapbooker can not live with this! I will phone them tomorrow. ....sigh again!

Used to be workers were looking for work and cared about how it was done. As if there reputation was at stake. Man if I was this careless at my job I would be fired. At least I should be!

Enough complaining. I need a little dose of reality here.
So here is my random list of the next ten things I am thankful for. The first ten are here.

11. In ground sprinklers - man, what a great invention. No more moving that sprinkler around the yard every half hour, getting sprayed in the face with every adjustment.
12. The colours on the wall in my "office" - still like them a year later.
13. My husband - helping me with painting the back door this afternoon, then bringing me a refreshment (as in Corona)
14. Summer. I think it is here..finally!
15. That the vegetable garden has been reduced to a few herbs and one large pot with a tomato plant in it. This I think I can handle!
16. The upstairs hall looks fabulous - finished painting it last night. Wow - should have done that sooner.
17. My washer and dryer. We finally replaced the old guys last Christmas and our clothes have never been cleaner nor have I been able to dry them so fast. I did not know what I was missing.
18. My job with the Saskatoon Health Region (hence the reno and 17 above)
19. The most comfortable bed in the whole world.
20. The downstairs shower - it is NOT energy efficient, which means if you turn around and face the jet stream you may get your faced ripped off but man it is wonderful on the back after 6 straight hours of using a paint roller on an extension pole.

Have a blessed week everyone. I am hoping to have time to play with my new flocking! I will try to post the process. ohhh awe
Julie

The reno continues

I painted from 6am until 10 pm last night. But it is all done...well except for a few flaws I noticed in the daylight today...sigh. I can touch those up. I soaked in the tub for half and hour last night - took that long to get all the paint off my hands and nails. :)

Yesterday was soo busy but a lot was accomplished. The electrician came this morning and is hopeful the new hall light can be installed this week before the floor goes in. YEAH!! I wish I were not sitting in an office for the rest of the week. I may have to make a few quick drives home on my lunch hours. Will I be able to concentrate?

The maple awaits the installers.

The front hall - all painted and awaiting the electrician and then the floor installers.

The laundry room - this took several hours to paint yesterday. Do you know how many little bits and pieces had to be moved or painted around? I love the new colour. It is not quite as yellow as the picture appears. Now we wait for the linoleum to be installed on Thursday.

What do you think of this colour? For our mantle over the fireplace? To cover the old oak mantle? ....Me too. But the gal at Benjamin Moore assured us that it didn't dry this colour.

It is a very rich deep dark yummy chocolate - almost black, but not quite. I love it!

Today I am thankful for:

1. The smell of summer in the morning. Oh how it lifts my spirits!
2. The electrician who is very busy is willing to get this done this week before the new maple floor is in.
3. The sweetest husband in the world, who phones me three times this morning before taking off on a business trip all week.
4. leftover Chinese food from last night, to take in my lunch today.
5. A very clean looking laundry room - makes me want to do laundry!
6. Beautiful yellow tulips next to red geraniums in the garden.

7. The constant squeak in my Mazda got fixed yesterday under warranty. Oh thank you!!
8. I got a parking spot RIGHT outside the Dr office at 8am this morning. (downtown too)
9. I found someone to take away all the garbage piled up in the garage - hopefully today.
10. Harold is home this week to be here when all these workers arrive.

I am off to work at JSI - if I seem a little distracted, it is because my brain is still trying to make sure all the little things get done before the workmen descend on us later this week and next.
Blessings!
Julie

Reno update

The renos have begun. So scrapbooking is having to take a back seat right now. Along with blogging, photo editing, reading and a little sleep.

The floor people called to say the flooring was ahead of schedule, arriving Monday - that is in two days. We have been busy! Lots to do before all this Maple can sit in our family room and acclimatize. Kind of like buying fish - you know you have to leave them in the bag of water IN the aquarium for a few hours...never mind. So we have been ripping stuff out since we both arrived home from work Friday evening.

Next Thursday the lino goes in the back hall - also 24 yr old lino so it has to be replaced - or in this case covered up. So floor boards et el have to be removed and walls painted - Sunday afternoon?

Our garage at the moment - waiting for "James" to haul it away. Thank you Cheryl!!

The carpet gone - only 6, 472 staples to pull out of this disgustingly dirty floor! The painting started.

I am starting to picture the new room! We tried 4 - get that FOUR paints on the left wall before we settled on Brandon beige - very rich. That is sasparilla chocolate on the end wall. mmmm

What a cutie!

Whew! - busy day and it aint over yet! Stayed tuned!

Kitchen Reno

As promised, the before and after pictures

These are the before photos...you can't see that the 25 yr old countertop is lifting and the peel and stick floor tiles have gaps that are impossible to clean.

five days and several workmen in my house ALL day and .....

Here is the grand finale!

After 25 years of kids at our kitchen table in highchairs, boosters, doing crafts, school work and birthday parties...well it is kind of fun to have a small round glass table. :) The kitchen sink is the new granite silicone sink - deep. I like it so far. Brushed aluminum appliances - well when the grand kids arrive and start coming for visits I may be wiping a lot of little finger prints (and loving it!)...but until then I sure enjoy the look.

Thanks for sharing the excitement with me!

Blessings!

Julie

ps.....For sale at really good price is all our old white appliance all in really good working order - let me know if you know anyone interested.

Great Day - I love spring!

What a great day - but I am really tired. Busy, busy! Up early to get a few things done around here, dog out for a run...even did some exercise in the park myself, then drove Allison to school, grocery shopping, home to get a few things ready for supper tonight. I am cooking a turkey supper with all the trimmings. Mark leaves for the Canadian Forces base in Shilo Manitoba Friday and I wanted to have a big meal for him before he left...also send him on his way with 8 turkey sandwiches. We won't see him until late July...sigh. One day your little ones will leave the nest too.Thank you Laura for picking up my Just Scrap It shift tonight! So everything is in the oven as I type..will put the vegys on soon but they are all ready and oh man does it smell good in here..almost like Thanksgiving.
I spent an hour in the front garden today too - filled a couple of large bags full of leaves etc from the garden and grass. Look'n good! My tulips are up but they look a little spindly this year. I had over 100 last year. Maybe this is a rest year. Still early...or is it? Spent a few hours working on Allison's grad book. I sure do enjoy having a day off! I love the productive day I had but I will likely be in bed by 8pm tonight.

Here are two new pages I did a few days ago. One of our favorite treats in Mexico was ordering 'dos cerveza por favor' at lunch. Two beer on a hot day while feeling the ocean breeze on your face - well it feels pretty good...especially when you are with your sweetheart. Used up some stuff from my stash too! I love this picture. There were always orchids on the table. Took this with my lensbaby!

Journalling reads ... It is a wonderful thing when you share special pleasures with your life mate. Oh how we so looked forward to lunch at the Grill restaurant. We always waited until a table overlooking the ocean was available. One of our indulgences while in Mexico was to order “dos cerveza por favor”. We would order our shrimp cocktail (served in a coconut shell) and two Corona (dos cerveza), and just sit and enjoy looking at one another. Ya sounds kind of mushy, but Mexico does that to you – and we LOVE it! Then we would leisurely order something from the grill – pork, hamburger, maybe a salad. It was all so delicious! It was soooo relaxing. Not a care in the world. We would finish our leisurely lunch and head back to our lounge chairs by the ocean to sun bathe the afternoon away and discuss what was on the agenda for tonight’s gourmet meal and entertainment.

This next layout has a picture of the view from our balcony. We were on the fourth floor and on the corner so we had a 180 degree view. I am not one for balconies but loved looking out on the ocean, especially when the sun was coming up at 6:00am. Rub ons and stamps and some old labels for this Beautiful View.

Hey I thought I would add a few pictures from last Saturdays mornings walk with David. We love to walk to A J's on Central Ave ...because they make the best cup of coffee in the world and Bonnie and Darcy are terrific. Just don't sit in the comfy chairs by the window between 8:30 and 9:30 on a Saturday morning...that's where David and I sit!!! When you go, say Julie (from Just Scrap It) sent you. BTW the cocoa, mocha latte with whipped cream is sooooo wonderful!!

And a few pics of our demolition project in the family room - removing the bar/sink/cupboard. BTW I have a Frigidaire gas stove, fridge, Maytag dishwasher and stainless steel sink for sale. :) that's the kitchen project which is on the go right now.

Thats our pastor in brown(far left) ...supervising you know, Larry in the middle doing all the work, and Mark playing with Larry's cool tools! And you can see the wall behind Mark - my job..to patch that hole and get the wall ready to be painted brown like the rest of the wall. It actually turned out quite well. Oh and David - yes he was in on the project too...Larry's assistant! and refreshment provider.

Last Saturday I spent 10 hours - yes ten hours! in the basement going through the storage room and cleaning, tossing, organizing, and making a garage sale pile - more like a "hey if you want it, it's yours" pile. Also washed the carpets in two rooms down there. It feels so good to get to these projects - get them done. Kind of a workout too! So now the garage if full of stuff..but it is closer to getting out of the house! One third of the storage room is Marks military gear - oh, my they have a lot of stuff and you wouldn't believe how heavy it is. Next time you see a picture of one of our finest soldiers, take a look at his vest - yes his vest alone weighs about 30 pounds...and add under that a 20 pound bullet proof vest - how do they wear that in the heat and dust of Afghanistan! Let's pray for our soldiers serving in Afghanistan tonight okay?

This is long enough.

Today's wisdom...
Proverbs 13:4 "The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing; but the soul of the hard worker shall be made fat."

I am feeling fat and it feels good! I will sleep well tonight.

Have a blessed evening!

Julie