Special Touches In The Home Stretch

September 17th to September 25th, 2009

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." ~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross

Almost done now... or at least it is almost time for my part of the production. There is still the problem of the swamp garden plot... er... the rose garden. It will not drain. Of course, it didn't help that the guy who graded the yard and took up all the old grass put the sod in the bottom of the rose bed... I dug out three wheelbarrows full of the muck and dumped it out in the preserve. Then I called the patio people as they do drainage, but they never answered any of my calls or the contractor calls either. They just didn't want to fool with it and instead of saying so, they ignored me. So I wouldn't really give them a five star recommendation after all. Had I known that the sprinkler system people did this job as well, I would have gotten them to do it in the first place. They knew what they were doing and drilled a large dry well all the way through the clay layer into the underlying sand. They put down drainage pipes and now... after a big rain... it drains completely within a day. I have put in over 35 bags of top soil, 35 bags of mixed top soil and compost and a bit of sand to make it ready for the roses.... so far, I have eight planted... a mixture of hybrid teas and floribunda... white, yellow, chocolate, red, gold.... the warm shades... no pink though. Anyway... the sprinkler people are magnificent.... they get 10 stars!

The room is beautiful... inside and out. The hot tub is delectable, especially in the cold temps of fall and winter. But there was still a special touch that needed to be added. We designed a pattern to be made by a local artist in stained glass... a simple geometric in brilliant color. The royal purple was surrounded by ruby red, golden yellow, kelly green and a sky blue. Finally, the glass was ready. These artisans measure the transoms and windows themselves and then install as well. I wish that our cousin David could have met this artist... they are so much alike... very laid back and calm... they even have a slight physical resemblance. The job went beautifully, no broken panes and a perfect fit for everyone. Now, when the sun shines, colored light reflects off the walls and ceiling; and while you really cannot see the stained glass from outside during the day... the night is a different story. The uplight in the fan brings out that soft glow of color... amazing!

We've added the furniture that our cousins made... all walnut from a farm in Illinois. A few rugs and a few plants along with Mom's new orchids and the space is finished. It is an amazingly relaxing spot to read and watch the birds. So all is finished.... well, except for my part.... the flowerbeds.

(end of post)

The Devil's In The Details

August 16th to September 16th, 2009

Fit the parts together, one into the other, and build your figure like a carpenter builds a house. Everything must be constructed, composed of parts that make a whole. ~ Henri Matisse

The tile guy was very talented, but he took off a whole day for his birthday and put the already behind schedule even more so. We had to have the tile to do the quarter round and put in the sink and get the rest of the air conditioning/heater in. Stephen left the day that a lot of that happened.... the sink, electric for the hot tub... etc. Just before he left, he had a bit of a melt down. The electricians came while he was running a last minute errand and they attached a very large breaker box right in the middle of one of the decorative brick inserts.... "it was code".... "there is no other way to do it". Of course this really means.... "We don't have time or energy to think about another way to proceed." After Stephen threw a fit... (I was so glad he was here to do that), they changed it and came up with a more complex but discrete two box system for the air conditioning and the hot tub that was pleasing to see and still came up to code. See... I knew you could if you put your minds to it.

I was sad that the delay resulted in Stephen not getting his hot tub experience in. Don't feel too bad though... he did get some great hot tub time in over Christmas. Anyway, my little sink was in and the electric was ready on the hot tub and they were trying to put in the air conditioning. But, at testing, the copper tubing inside the wall wouldn't hold the coolant charge. OH! NO! My heart sank as they took down the beadboard and some of the trim and opened up the wall. Come to find out it was a problem when they put up the outside trim. The tubing was in a very small confined space up the wall and the nail guns managed to puncture the tubing in four places... now who could have done that... even on purpose. Anyway, a few extra days and extra time and more work and the air conditioner unit finally worked. So far, it works well.

Now we are in the home stretch.... small things. So the lights are finally all in the patio and bench and on a wonderful timer... on at 5pm and off at 11pm. The new railings are in for the steps at the side door and the back door from the house. Then we had to wait a little for the railing for the deck. We had thought that David and Rick would actually build this with composite, but they ran out of time and the material was not available in the right sizes and thickness. The PVC version of the chippendale pattern wasn't what Stephen wanted so we went on a major internet search and found a company in Richmond that made it exactly as he liked, in powdered aluminum. The men came and took specific measurements and marked the posts for the post lights as well as where to cut the wood posts off. It took three weeks but the first week in September they arrived and had them installed in forty-five minutes. It was truly amazing... each piece came in a segment with the fencing and the post coverings in one. It is sturdy and beautiful and you don't have to paint it!

The light wiring was perfect and our little post lights were attached. Now it was time to get the hot tub going and sit for a rest with mood lighting on the deck and around the tub and with our resident horned owl screaming in the forest beyond. Mid-September brought the sod.... and now we are almost done..... almost!

(end of post)

The Artisans Arrive In The Nick Of Time

July 28th to August 17th, 2009

"Work cautiously, in relation to the result you desire; not time, or money, or someone else's opinion of what your work should be." ~ James Krenov

Our cousins, David and Rick arrived from Illinois to be here for two weeks. They brought the furniture for the new room that they made and wood for the beams and inside trim. The beams were made with walnut that was reclaimed from a farm in Illinois and cut in Ricks shop. The trim around the windows is red oak. The fir cross beam was so beautiful, they decided to simply add a bottom layer of walnut and leave it two-toned. At the very tip top of the cupola is a point. David started playing around with the extra walnut pieces and before we knew it, he came up with the most beautiful three dimensional maltese cross with an inverted pyramid in the center. It is spectacular and a great finishing touch. All the inside trim was simply clear coated and over the years the colors will change... some will lighten and others will deepen, even further complementing each other.

The inside trim and beams took the first week. Then they started on the trellis... my trellis.... for my wisteria. Stephen helped them paint it... he wanted to really dig in and work on his own project. Then they did the skirting on the deck. David chose the paint and it turned out beautifully... everything is starting to come together.... finally.

The electricians came back and put up all the lights and the ceiling fan. The fan has both a light on the bottom as well as hidden lights that shine up... both on a dimmer. The uplighting is fabulous at night. We still had a bit to go and I was hoping we could get the hot tub up and running before Stephen left, but that was not to be.

David and Rick drove a U-haul down here and were going to fly back. But, Mom and Dad decided to get a new Honda van this summer and all they were offered for their "clunker" was $1000. I guess their Dodge Caravan got better gas mileage than required for the "great" (much sarcasm) Cash for Clunkers plan. Since it would cost about $1000 to fly them both home... Dad decided to just let them have the old car. So, they loaded it up and took it back to Illinois with them. From what I've heard, that van has been to Texas and back and doing well.

I bet you're glad we are finally in the home stretch.... I know I was.

(end of post)

Hurry Up And Wait!

July 6th to July 28th, 2009
Construction Phase 4

"Find your center and build from there." ~ Margaret Merrill

Let's see. So far we are waiting on the side doors and transoms... therefore, waiting on the finishing of the brick, part of the decking, the inside trim, the inside flooring... and the cousins are coming to do the inside trim. Every day... "did they get here yet? No?" Sigh. Oh, well... at least the patio guys can go on and get all the stone done. Right?

First they put down this layer of yellow sand and then started with the stones, in a random pattern. The stones have varying degrees of cinnamon and gray with a little beige. They started building the edges of the rose garden and the curved benches. We had discussed with the stone guy the possibility of putting lights under the lip of the benches and in the edge of the patio. I thought he said he could get them for us as did the contractor.... but he thought we were getting them. So when it came time to put them in, they had not even been ordered. After a few days of back and forth, I got tough and told him to do it and do it quick. So most of the patio was done... but the lights... oh, yes... they ran out of stone as well. So again, we were in waiting mode.

Not to be put too far behind... the contractor started in with the interior beadboard installation... that only took a couple of days. The painter came back and stained the beadboard and then put the semigloss finish on it as well as the fir cross beam in the ceiling. And we waited.

While we waited it rained..... and our rose garden became a soupy swampy mess. The water wouldn't drain... at all. Stephen arrived.... to all the waiting. He is not as patient as I am. The contractor thought he could fix the rose garden problem by drilling down into the clay and by filling the holes with marble chips..........but it didn't work. It looked dry on top if it didn't rain for a few days but Dad would go out and check with a stick each day and it was still mud. At this point, I had no idea as to how we were going to get this fixed.

Still trying to plow ahead, they finished up the stairs of the deck and I did finally get the hot tub put in place, not hooked up but put in place. Those transoms better get here.... David and Rick arrive in a couple of days!

(end of post)

Bricks And Boards, Onward And Upward

Construction Phase 3: June 23rd to July 2nd, 2009

"As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser." ~ Plato

Wow! We were really flying along in this project... just a month in and already to start the brickwork. The electricians had been their to do the preliminary wiring for outlets and lights according to code. This required another decision about can lights and outside light as well as prodding me to go ahead and order the ceiling fan and light. The heat and air guy came and put the wiring and copper tubing in for the split system unit while the plumber ran the lines for the new sink inside and the outside spigot. Of course, the plumber got the lines mixed up and tapped into the hot water line for the outside spigot instead of the cold. That was interesting for a while!

City code required that they create a new access from the house crawl space to the new room, so for a while we had this hole open to the outside. One day Mr. Houdini....my Siamese, Mr. Rhett... got out the garage door and I didn't see him. In fact, I didn't even miss him until the next day when he wasn't trying to sneak extra food like he always does. We looked everywhere and I went up and down the street and all over the back yard. He was gone. I was afraid that since he had probably been out all night, some critter in the preserve (swamp) behind us would have gotten him... Rhett isn't the brightest crayon sometimes... he is always poking his head into things he shouldn't. Then Dad opened up the crawl space door in the garage and called under the house... he hears a "yow" and Rhett saunters out at his own pace, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He had found his way under the new construction and through the new crawl space hole... he spent the night under the house. You would think he would learn... but no... he still makes every attempt to get in or out.... whenever a door is open.

It was fortunate that his adventure was the day it was, as the bricking began the next Monday and that access was gone in less than a day. The bricklayers were great, neat and fast. The insets were done on the diagonal and they are gorgeous, one of my favorite things about the outside of the room. The head guy was a crusty old man who had done a lot of the brick design in the neighborhood. He remembered all the houses he worked on.

At this point of construction, I was a little worried that we were moving so fast that it would be all done before Stephen arrived AND before my cousins came from Illinois to do the inside trim. Then the contractor would have to wait on them and I didn't want him to get hung up waiting on us. I really shouldn't have lost any sleep about that happening. This is where the little .... sometimes big.... problems started popping up.

The most major problem was the doors ...... we ordered all the windows and doors from Anderson the day the contract was signed, May 1st. Anderson takes six to eight weeks sometimes. The windows came in and were put in on June 14th, but the single door and French door with transoms did not get here until June 23rd. We still didn't have the side panels and transoms for the French doors... and they didn't come and didn't come. They couldn't finish the outside woodwork or the brickwork by the doors or the deck by the doors and it was getting closer and closer to the time for my cousins to arrive. Stephen got here and they still weren't here. Finally, about two days before the cousins arrived... the side transoms were miraculously found and delivered.

Then there was the deck... we had to widen the walkway because the outside vent on the fireplace stuck out... the contractor and his helpers kept hitting their heads on it... so... eighteen inches wider. Then I had to have them widen the patio so the steps would come down at the correct place and the arch had to be re-configured.
As for the deck... I gave them the correct measurements for the hot tub and they built the opening... but it was too small... by about two inches. So they had to redo the hot tub box... again.

While we were waiting on doors... the concrete guys came back to pour the patio and rose garden base. They worked so hard and did such a great job making it so smooth and gorgeous... too bad we were just going to cover it up with stone......

Oh yes, I almost forgot. One day I got downstairs to find that the windows of the new room and the brick wall and windows of the house were covered with a thick plastic..... I felt like we were in that cocooned house in "ET". These guys in space suits with respirators came in with a huge hose and started spraying this foam insulation in the ceiling and walls.... as it dried it shrunk down filling all the tiny spaces and cracks. They then put in the usual batting insulation on top of this.

You know... I think I could almost do contracting after this........ getting tired yet?

(end of post)

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Sunroom construction phase 2: framing, windows and the roof!
June 2 - June 23, 2009.
(There are notes for the pictures, just move the cursor over "notes".)

"Every nail driven should be as another rivet in the machine of the universe." ~ Thoureau

Phase 2 kicked in around the first of June with the framing crew. I was very impressed with one older guy who could take that circular saw and simply cut angles and wedges out of the wood without marking them and then it all came together perfectly. The cupola was built on the ground and then put into place, everything had to fit just right to get it to come out. I love the geometry on the inside... amazing how they can take the plans and simply put it together.

But, phase 2 was not without problems. The original plans called for four windows on each side of the sunroom and the Anderson window guy came and sat there and measured before ordering; yet when they arrived, the windows were too wide and seemed shorter than in the plans. We needed six more inches to get four on a side so I made the executive decision to go with just three on the side. It ended up making the room much more sturdy to have the extra framing between the windows... a good thing with the Nor'easters we get around here. The slightly shorter windows turned out for the best as well. We have gorgeous woodworking that would have been cut down and we were able to fit a split system heating/air unit in the room as well.

They did some of the outside trim, put in the cupola windows and the room windows and started on the roof.... the copper roof. The roofers were artists and the roof laid and crimped and finished off by hand, took almost a week. The heat made it harder, they could only work in the morning... by noon the temperature of the copper was too hard to handle. When first put in place, the copper is bright and shiny like a new penny, almost blinding when the sun hits just right. One day I went to the store and as I was driving back I was struck by a very, very bright light from the corner of our house. My first thought was that I had left one of the outside spotlights on... but then, I remembered, we DON'T HAVE any outside spotlights on that corner of the house. It was the roof. For several weeks we had gawkers drive slowly down the street into the dead end cul-de-sac and back again... just looking!

Saturday.. I always looked forward to Saturday... no workmen... sleeping in. Then one Saturday at l7AM... BANG! BANG! BANG!.... What!? The roofers.. trying to get finished. When the roof is finished no one should walk up there ... but wait... those cupola windows still have the protective plastic on the outside.... who is going to take care of that? It slipped the installer's minds. Thank goodness the roofers worked that Saturday... they graciously took the plastic off and even cleaned the windows. You have to love those roofers... even at 7AM.

Phase 2 done.... carry on.

(end of post)

"Phases" Aren't Exclusive To The Moon

May 11th to May 28th, 2009 ~ Construction begins.
Phase One.

"It is not the beauty of a building you should look at;
its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time." ~ David Allan Coe

Stephen talked to contractors when he was here at Christmas of 2008 and in February 2009, I submitted the plans for approval by the homeowner's association. This should have taken only a month to look and yet when he arrived in April, they still had not approved the project.

I read the massive bylaws in detail and found the loop hole. Apparently, they had a time limit to approve or disapprove and I pointed this out to them at an association meeting... their time was running out. If they did not approve the plans by the specified time limit, then the plans were considered "approved" by default. When the day came, I sent a certified letter demanding an approval notice to give the city. They ended up stamping the plans anyway. Of course this was a week after Stephen left... so I was now in charge.

We signed the contractors contract on the first of May and then construction started.... so did the rain. Dig a foundation? Rain. Pour concrete? Rain. Start a construction project? Rain. And very localized rain. Here it would be raining cats and dogs.... well, it does seem to rain cats at least here... and only a mile down the road it would be completely dry, with sunshine. Yes, if you need a remedy for drought... start a building project.

Stephen was adding on a sunroom, deck with hot tub and a patio area with rose garden. When they first sprayed those outlines for the foundation it looked really small. I was concerned. But Terry (contractor) laughed and said, "It'll grow... they always do." All summer I would be up at 6AM because the workers might be here at 7AM and if I slept in it would be a sure thing. Of course, many days I was ready by 7AM and they didn't show until 9AM or later or rain came or the dreaded Anderson window delays.

There was always a bit of excitement.... especially the first time they brought the cement truck in through the back gate. Two things happened that day. First, I accepted the fact that the entire back yard would be trashed before the project was over... bye, bye grass. Secondly, I fell in love... with the cement truck driver. He drove that truck in through that gate with only an inch to spare on either side and did not even touch the gate. He managed to miss the small maple tree in the back yard and get out again. I was breathless... and it has been a long time since I could say that about anything but climbing the stairs to my room.

The construction in this phase, once started, really moved quickly... even with having to pump out rainwater from the foundation trenches before and after pouring the concrete. Foundation posts in for the new crawlspace and sand deposited .... phase one ends with the initial termite treatment of the soil.

(end of post)

Home Improvement (The New House)

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." ~ Oscar Wilde (Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900)

Just a short post, mainly for my brother. While he was here the last of February he got the ball rolling on the guttering. It was a necessary and practical improvement as the water gushed down the gables near the foundation and we wanted to make sure it flowed away from the house. Of course the guttering "made out of that metal we shall not name because it is a hot item on the thieves list" was probably not necessary; but it is beautiful. We had many, many gawkers driving by and staring at the shiny, shiny, reddish brown metal. Now it has moderated a bit, darkened somewhat, lost some of the shine and is blending in with the color of the brick. The sponge material keeps the leaves and pine needles out and we no longer have dirt from the flower beds flowing across the front walkway. YEAH!!!!

So, here a a few pictures, after the final touches and after the beginning of the patina. It's lovely and it works!! Oh, yes... it means I can now get my handy dandy ladder out and start on a window washing spree... no more excess dripping and splashing on them now.

(end of post)

Stephen's Stickley Sneak Peek

The sideboard. (Click pictures for larger view)

"Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established." ~ George Carlin

Once upon a time.....

there was a man who bought his very first home (although he did own an apartment in Europe, but that is beside the point.) He had his parents and his sister move into the home and they decided to sell some of their furniture. His sister put her formal dining room set into the oversized room and it looked very.... small, even with the table leaf in. When the man first came to spend a week in his new house, he loved the living room furniture and he loved the den furniture and he even liked the bedroom furniture in his room. (Probably because it had a memory foam topper and it worked wonders for his back that still had occasional episodes from his back surgery years ago after he twisted wrong on stage in Phantom of the Opera.... oh, dear... I'm rambling.)

While he liked the furniture and arrangement of the rooms, he longed to have one room that reflected his personality and taste in this house of merging families. So he visited the Stickley showroom at a local store and there he fell in love.... with a sideboard. He bought it, had it delivered and ..... it was good!

The table and china hutch.

Of course the beautiful sideboard was lonely in the large room with the much lighter and more traditional oak set, so the man bought a large mission style table and the china hutch to match. Of course, the people at Stickley had to make the other pieces so the man flew back to Europe without ever seeing his purchase in person. His sister found her oak set a very good new home where it would be loved and feel needed. Twelve weeks later the massive furniture arrived and the lonely sideboard was alone no longer... the echo in the room went away as well.

Look! I already filled it up!

The sister started putting her china and crystal in the beautiful hutch. She added the mother's delicate crystal and her depression glass cups and still it wasn't full. So she included an antique candy dish, a large stein from Germany and a purple cow. (I should probably get a picture and explain that last one.)

Today, the sister dusted the dining room in preparation for the man's upcoming visit. She quickly recognized one overlooked fact about the new Stickley pieces.... they have many wooden slits and slats with teeny-tiny spaces in between that gather dust easily; and her fingers are a bit too large to fit in these spaces. So it is very time consuming to clean... especially when the sister is a bit obsessive about it. But, she eventually had success.... yeaaaahhhh! (Picture green frog hands waving in the air.)

The upholstered seats... great on the behind!

I posted this primarily for "the man" as he has never seen any of the beautiful furniture he bought... except the sideboard. He will be here in three days... so I guess you could call this his "sneak peek"!

What do you think Stephen? (thumbs up ?)

(end of post)

Extreme Garage Makeover Part 4: The Final Product (Garage Tek)

The floor, gray with an inset border of black.

"The trouble with organizing a thing is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they're organized for." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)

Finally, the last installment to the garage saga. They installed the floor made up of squares of skid resistant tiles put together like a giant puzzle. Just for looks, a border inset of black. It is so much safer than the concrete that was painted. Any amount of water made that floor like an ice skating rink and the paint bubbled up and peeled off terribly. While they were here they put up an additional overhead and brought a couple of accessories I ordered. So here is the final tour....

Down at the far end is my workbench. The cabinet to the left contains all the cat products such as canned food, shampoo... etc. The cabinet to the right is filled with bird food and small gardening supplies .... including my pumpkin seeds. A local carpet place gave us a remnant of indoor/outdoor carpet and we had it edged. It matches the floor well and we put it under the bench and all the cat facilities. I have some of the garden tools hanging on the wall there. The big blue container holds the cat litter and of course all the cat beds and the cat tree are available for them.

Far back wall.

The full size cabinet will house the cleaning supplies and those bulk paper products we all try to get at Sam's or Costco. The smaller ones have a variety of things inside. I hope to eventually get them divided into an auto supply area, electrical, sports, etc. They brought the 48" shelves for the very top and here I have the summer fans, coolers and a cat carrier for those pesky emergencies. Our two file cabinets fit nicely and the lawn mower nestles in by the crawl space access door.

Dad's work area.

This is my dad's corner. This workbench is very, very heavy. The pedestal has four locked drawers and the top is butcher block. The drawers there to the left belong to a roll around tool chest. Above the bench there are small and medium tilt out containers and a tool holder as well as a very bright (when on) work light. We have room for his table saw in the corner... but it is still at the old house right now. I see he put the paper towels on the shelves between his cabinets, but I will move them later. We have the fire extinguisher on the side wall there and a shelf with the plastic garbage bag bin. It is easy for my parents to simply reach over and get one without having to go down the steps. I think he is really going to like his work area!

A final overview

So here is the finished product.... an orderly garage... well, at least one with room to organize. Stephen will be here in a couple of weeks to see his planned masterpiece. I think he'll like it as much as we do!

PS: I used my new ladder and switched all the fans in the vaulted areas to the winter mode AND I finally got that pesky tag off the chandelier in the entry way. LOVE THIS LADDER!!! OH! And the senior citizen discounts start at 55.

(the end of the saga)

Garage Extreme Makeover - Part 3...The Overheads and A New Toy

The overhead storage system -- making
use of the space above the garage doors.

"Only in America - do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage" ~ Unknown

The garage has ceilings that are at least 12 foot high.... all that wasted space. So, as part of the makeover, four overhead 4' x 4' units were hung from the support beams. They each hold up to 250 pounds. (Yes, I did put all those things up there myself.)

I have one with boxes of Nyssa's textbooks that she wants to sell on the internet. There are boxes of craft paints for the Gallery Glass window kits and boxes of old, old music for my brother and a perfectly good microwave. (Not everything in our storage is "junk".) I have put the nice chrome bookshelf up there for Nyssa to take with her next year and we will put the empty tool boxes as well. These also have removable brackets that hold the long extension poles or even long pieces of lumber. And the best thing? You can't even see them when the garage doors are up!

Two single point hoists.

The other overhead storage includes two single point hoists... one for Nyssa's bike (and after she takes it, perhaps a wheelbarrow) and the other for my new toy.....

.... my super Gorilla extension, step and "any way in between ladder". When the fellows were putting up the overhead units they used these types of ladders and I needed one to put up the stuff in the garage. I also need it to try and reach the ceiling fans for light bulb changing and the seasonal change of direction. It is fabulous andd feels so secure... even when the step ladder is fully extended to 12 foot.

Hmm.... does excitement over a heavy duty ladder mean that I have become really boring? Don't answer that!

(One final installment to go.....end for now)

Garage Extreme Makeover...Part 2.. De-Stuffing or Now The Real Work Begins

Ten days post wall unit installation.
(Click pictures for larger view)

"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." ~ Immanuel Kant (German Philosopher. 1724-1804)

The next step in the garage renovation was.... organization! I had to get as much "stuff" up off the floor as possible. So I started with the cat items... food, grooming supplies, bowls, towels, toys, treats.... these went in one cabinet at the far end of the garage. Next to that was the gardening cabinet with all sorts of seeds including pumpkin seeds, hand tools, rooting powder and fertilizer. In these cabinets down the back wall I put cleaning supplies, auto supplies, my boxes of nails and screws and smaller items that will eventually go elsewhere but needed to be up off the floor. As you can see, I had to put some things on top of the cabinets, but only until the 48" shelves arrived to go across the top.

Near wall next to kitchen... with the new steps!!

This is such a great system... fluid and easily changeable. The shelves and hooks and tool holders can be moved up or down and slide to any position on the slatted wall. Here we put a hat rack just outside the door, a shelf for the recycle bin, and an inline tool holder for a shovel and my rolly cart. I also kept part of the stackable bins for potatoes and onions and such.

Far end of the garage. My space.
Cabinets with cat items and gardening items. A bench goes here too.

These hook things are really very cool... I can hang anything! Weed eaters, edgers, grass seeders... even a step ladder.... though this has now migrated to the second floor. I got tired of hauling it up the stairs to change the air filters or hang a picture. That's what happens when you are 5'5". Besides I got a new ladder... (more about that later).

Closer view of the far end to show the slatted walls.

Even though I put a lot in the cabinets and on the walls, it still looks as if there is a lot of stuff. Two filing cabinets remained where I moved them until the floor went down. One shelf unit needed the wall attachments and the workbench and tool chest for my dad weren't ready yet, so some things had to stay on the floor.

Dad's workbench area

This corner is where my dad's work bench will be. The bench in this picture is actually mine and will be moved to the far wall when his gets here. There are tilt out bins and a tool holder on the wall and the work light is great. We still have room for his table saw as well. I think he is going to really like this!

Next time I will show you the overhead storage racks.... I really love these things!!!

(more to come... end for now)

Garage Extreme Makeover...Part 1

GarageTek: "The world's cleanest garage."

"The slogan of progress is changing from the full dinner pail to the full garage." ~ Herbert Hoover

The garage organization renovation was scheduled for Wednesday, November 28th. Of course the garage steps weren't done, just in and stained but not sealed or varnished. Sigh! But the truck arrived from Richmond right on time at 10AM and they began.

Men at work... putting together cabinet units

My part had begun a week or so earlier. First Dad and I bought a big storage cabinet to put behind the door in the laundry room. We had to put it together and get it in there so I could move the larger "sometimes used" kitchen appliances in and off one of the metal shelf units I brought over from the old garage. This way my parents wouldn't have to go to the garage and carry them up the steps to use. This took a full day. Then I boxed up the stuff on a second shelf unit I had already put in the garage and started stacking the boxes in the middle of the garage. The contract with GarageTek said that we were responsible for moving all things in the garage at least six feet away from the walls. So, cat tree, plastic containers filled with cat food, toys, bedding, and all things cat went to the middle. Then toolboxes, lawnmower, spreader, boxes of music, boxes for eBay, bicycle and a variety of "stuff" moved to the middle. Then a keeper cabinet that was my grandmother's and two filing cabinets (full) moved away from the walls.

....and working on the wall covering.

Five fellows showed up and they divided up the work. Three set to putting up the wall slatted units on three of the walls, while the other two worked on the overhead storage units and started assembling the wall cabinets. One of the two work benches was ready and delivered and all the wall cabinets. They had their own radial saw set up and after the leveling and marking of studs, the work went rather smoothly. As the wall covering neared completion, one of the men started in on the trim. They were determined and obviously familiar with the installation. They ate lunch in short shifts and the work never stopped... not even when my dad accidentally hit the panic button on his security key fob and it sounded like the world was coming to an end. They started at 10 AM and finished by 4:30 PM.

Stage one complete...now my work begins again.

So here it is... the end of stage one. Now I have ten days to arrange all the things in the middle, getting as much organized into the cabinets, on the shelves, on the hook hangers and tool hangers and leaving as little as possible on the floor. They will be back to bring the other work bench and put down the floor covering and I must be ready!

(To be continued....the end for now)

Christmas At Catalina Court.... Come On In!

Christmas on Catalina Court
(Click pictures for larger view)

"God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ." ~ Wilda English

Christmas Day is here, our first on Catalina Court. We combined households, furniture and Christmas decorations this year. Though we still have much to put away and things put away that we cannot find, we found our Christmas decorations and did our best to make it magical.....Come on inside!

"Come on in!"

Together we have three larger trees. One was placed in the dining room, one in the den and the smallest in the foyer. The tree in the dining room is primarily covered with ornaments my parents have collected through the years and the one in the den with mine. Our thin tree in the foyer has been designated our "Austrian tree" and here we have ornaments from Salzburg and other parts of Austria. Delicate hay and wood shaving ornaments mix with fragile, hand painted eggs and small painted glass hearts and thin glass teardrops. Some of the eggs did not weather the move that well, with small cracks and pieces of shell missing, but most are intact.

Our "Austrian" tree.

I also put a very small 3ft tree on Nyssa's dresser, a large ceramic tree in the master bedroom sitting area and a small white ceramic tree in my room. We have five nativity sets in various places, garland on the winding staircase, the stockings hung by the fireplace with care and the cat stockings hung from the upstairs. We have baked gingerbread cookies, sand tarts, chocolate chip cookies... OH YES!!... I have made 21...yes, 21 potica breads over the last two weeks. Ours is ready to cut for breakfast.

Our dining room tree.

Oh, look! It is after midnight and I must take my aching knees and hands to bed...but before I go, let me wish you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas. As we spend time with family and feel the excitement of exchanging gifts, let us remember the greatest gift ever given .... the Christ Child... Immanuel... God with us.

May you have a blessed Christmas!

(end of post)

A Step In The Right Direction

The new garage stairs, freshly built....side view.
(Click pictures for larger view)

New garage steps - face on view.

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs." ~ Vance Havner

The stairs up from the garage into the new house were straight, with no landing and quite steep. With a 7.5 inch rise and 10 inch widths to the treads, it was hard for older folks to navigate. So, Dewey, who originally built the stairs, came up with this. There are seven steps instead of five and each one is 11.5 inches wide with a 5.5 inch rise. The platform at the top is nice to set groceries on while opening the back door. Dewey built them in one day.

However, the staining and painting and sealing and varnishing have been another story. That has taken four weeks and much prodding. But now.... FINALLY! The grand staircase is finished and ready for the unveiling.

The final product....(side view)

Stairway to heaven....well, the kitchen anyway.

I have to admit...Dad was right. They really ARE easier to get up and down!!!!

(Coming soon... the garage organization system. My brother is really anxious to see pictures of this in its finished state. You can just see a hint of it in the final stairway pictures.)

(end of post)