It was really great to be able to move out of the basement and back upstairs to our beautiful new space at the start of the new year (well, almost). Our eyes are getting adjusted to all of the new light in the house where there used to be none. Our work on the inside really started once our cave dweller eyes adjusted to all of this new light.
I know. It's really silly :o) Our dear friend Sally also helped us through this process. Poor thing.
Since our stomachs are very important to us, we started on the kitchen first. Most of our food is still in the basement and we need to get it back up to the kitchen, where we can now cook inside on a real stove. The existing cabinets needed fresh paint so Rowan got all of the drawers and doors painted while I worked on stripping the upper cabinets of many layers of old paint.
We also had some patching to do on the kitchen floor where we removed a cabinet and where a few tiles got damaged during construction. The floor is laid with vinyl composition tile (VCT). We had extra tiles left over from when we originally laid the floor so Rowan, the master cutter, and I, the master layer, made easy work of the task.
Our cat Lulu supervised the work.
Rowan the master cutter
Meanwhile, the boys were busy outside in the FREEZING cold continuing their work on the siding and the beautiful arch on the front of the porch. How their hands can function in the cold is a mystery.
I took this photo of Pat's shadow outside the living room window. Even his shadow looks cold. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Mike and Rob were the only ones who stayed for the our last beer Friday for the winter.
Actually, the beer Friday was a shot of Johnnie Walker Friday. After working in 20 degrees all day, it was the only thing we had to REALLY warm them up. :o)
And, this is how I warmed up and soothed my aching bones after this very cold week. Rowan calls it my swamp water bath. It is actually mugwort. A herb especially good for the aches and pains of women.
Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I feel just like a swamp thing! :o)
There were a couple of other great things that happened in the last two weeks. Josh finished hanging and venting the new kitchen exhaust hood and the guys got all of their tools and equipment removed from the porch. They carried the new grill to it's new place in the grill chimney.
WOW! I can't wait to cook out here! :o)
Pork chops. YUM!
Winter just continues to come. The snow hasn't gone away since it started falling on Dec. 3rd.
We are giving the work crew a break from the freezing cold for a few weeks. There are only two things left to do outside, the siding for the back side of the house and the outside steps to build for the side washroom door.
Rowan and I, with help from our good friend Sally, will continue painting, cabinet work, etc. on the inside of the house for the next few weeks. Now, what colors to use is the next big hurdle. Stay tuned.............
