Wednesday, May 16, 2012

We have been working on the kitchen...alot.  Initially, the kitchen looked like this:




Not bad, if you enjoy cooking and living in an oak cave.  The cabinets were too big and bulky.  Because they were corner units, they were difficult to get anything out of there once I got it in.  I wanted to open it up a little, without spending any money or limiting my storage.  So we started to do this:
All was proceeding.  We had a tad bit of difficulty removing the cabinets...but got it done.  If you have a keen eye you will note that the wall behind the cabinets is actually plywood.  
 
 So then we (Mark) removed the bulkheads, revealing the old original outside wood siding of the back of the house; as well as an OLD animal nest.  LOVELY.  INTERESTING.  UUHHGG!
Additional progress...goes alot faster with help :)  Closed up the wall and ceiling.  Replaced many ceiling tiles and added many ceiling tiles.  Peeled off dark blue cherry )not cheery) wallpaper, added beadboard, shelving and white paint everywhere.  


This weekend we plan on finishing the kitchen.  Black paint on the lower cabinets, White on the remaining uppers.  And finishing touches....  












Tuesday, May 1, 2012

First ONE in the Water Annual Contest

Bryce S - on April 2, 2012, Water temperature was a relaxing 38 degrees.

Following milliseconds behind, the honorable mentions go to the rest of the neighbor kids,: Logan, Mia & Cooper; as well as our own Gracie.  Yup, they are all crazy.  It was cold.  My toes got wet, and that was enough for me.  

Way to go Bryce!!!!  He quickly received his $50; and his name will appear on the wall trophy identifying him for the first year. You are in the history books, Bryce!!  

It is his to defend for next year. 


And, as promised, here is the pic of the back of the house without the deck.  Looks halfway normal now, huh?
Did I mention how exciting this is to us all??  

The Deck Is Down...repeat...The Deck Is Down







So...here is the deck...the ugly deck.  One of the reasons we almost did not purchase this house.  (The other was the dining room.) You might wonder about the view from the deck?  Can you see the lake? (no) Is it accessable from the second floor? (no) Is there an electrical outlet for a rocking tikibar? (no) We just really cannot figure out anything, other then furnishing the second story.  It is impossible to get anything larger then a twin bed mattress up the stairs to the second floor inside the house.  So we used the deck, and crammed everything through the window that we thought we may want upstairs in our lifetime in the cottage. 

But now the deck is down.  Trust me when I say the neighbors rejoiced.

Frank is ecstatic...a personal victory over the deck. 

The deck was lucky that it stayed up as long as it did...hence the name, the lucky deck. 

They were so proud of it, as you can see, in the picture for the real estate listing, it is even labeled "deck on back of house"...as if we didn't know.

You can look forward to a post showing the back of the house without the deck...