no wonder my head hurts.

Sometimes my head feels like it will burst with decisions to be made.   Yesterday I made the PAINT COLOR CHART so that not only could the painters keep things straight - but so I could keep things straight!

Yesterday, in a single day, I was asked to think about the following:   Would I like the bathroom tile to have a bull nose edge or a deco edge?   Would I like the tile setter to cut the slate into small pieces for the shower floor, or make another selection?   Would I like an apron under the kitchen windows, or rather have the tile border there?   Would I like the cabinets above the washer to be 18 inches deep as the architect recommended, or just 14 inches?   Would you like to pick out spindle for the basement stairs banister?

This certainly is not the extent of the decisions for a day... but it is all that the ol' brain can retrieve at this moment to tell you.   Please do not hear this as complaining.  This is one of the most thrilling things that Mike and I have had the privilege to do.  In fact, almost every time I enter this house I say to myself  "I cannot believe this is really our house... " and I thank God and my dad for making it real.

what is dave doing?

 This week Dave has been finishing out the mudroom addition.  He matched and replaced the cedar siding, put in a bead board ceiling and put in the new porch floor. He also did the finishing trim around the doors and windows.

 Love our new floor grates for the wood floors - the first of many.

 We finally got to put the vintage looking Pottery Barn lockers into the mudroom!

 Earlier in November Dave prepped our upstairs balcony for a new floor...

And basically he has been working to finish out the doors and windows throughout the house. It is looking beautiful!

wet paint.

Earlier this week a primer coat went on the entire upstairs.  (No, I am not going for an Artic White decorating palette.  Primer is most often white.)  All the details that go into "painting a wall" are mind numbing when you are doing the job right.  All the workers are taking much pride in this project.  This grand old house is worth it.

We did have one 'situation' on two large exterior windows and two exterior closet walls with the primer not setting up (and running) down the walls due to the extreme temperatures outside on the uninsulated surfaces.  It actually ran outside onto the new exterior paint job and shingles.   Oops. But the good news is that everything cleaned up well.

painting prep.

Our wonderful painting crew, Two Guys Painting (which is more often five guys and a lady), spent the last three weeks in November prepping the upstairs of the 315 Thomas house for painting.  Hours and hours of scrapping and sanding... and mudding and sanding... and scrapping and filling window lattices.  All the surfaces are being repaired, filled and smoothed.  They know how to fix things that I don't even have the "painter's eyes" to see.  I admire their hard work and their painstaking attention to details.

The least I can do is bring them lunch every day.

the house is painted!

It is exciting to have the exterior of our grand old house painted, and its grandeur restored.  The colors are exactly what I wanted and I am happy to just stand & stare.  Want to know a secret? I love driving by it whenever I am crossing town.

The painters started this big exterior project the same week that we started our radiation treatments.  And six weeks later they put the finishing touching on within an hour of Mike completing his last treatment.  (I am not making this up.) Our painters did an amazing job scraping, caulking, prepping and painting - and I would like to take this time to thank Josh, Nips, Damian, Chad, JJ, Bev and Larry for their EXCELLENT work.

dave at work.

                                                                             Before

After

Master Carpenter, Dave Grimm is currently finishing out the trim around the doors and windows upstairs, and trimming out the new closets with base boards.  I am also showing you his brilliant solution to our basement cave door.  What a a beautiful change!

mike's projects.

Mike's projects have slowed at the house considerably since the radiation treatments have taken their toll, but he still loves to tackle projects and finds it "energy-giving".  He has been working on insulating the attic with great detail and care.  (Too dark up there to photograph.) He recently removed two layers of flooring on the master bedroom balcony, so Dave can replace the floor.  And he is currently working to repair the veneer on our grand front door.  We are thankful he has the house to keep his mind off of radiation.