The cherry blossom tree outside my front door is also blooming. I’m so happy to see its big fluffy white flowers.

Our apple tree is also just starting to bloom. The flowers will be a delicate pink and it is so good to see the green leaves unfurling.

I just love our little house and all the trees and hedges around it. Welcome Spring!

Old rug, with cousins in foreground

In the meantime I’ve been thinking that our 5×8 rug in front of the couch is too small. It is always sliding around and I know Remmy misses living in a carpeted house. When we visited my sister he ran up and down her carpeted stairs with such glee and I flashed back to all the times he is wrestling with Clark for a toy and can’t dig in and hold his ground because we have wood flooring everywhere in our house.

New rug with happy playing in progress

So I started looking for a bigger rug. Whoa! Did you know how expensive an 8×10 rug is? Especially if you are looking at wool? And forget hand tufting–that takes the price into outer space. I don’t have thousands of dollars for a rug! So I’ve been looking on craigslist and at discount stores with no luck. Recently Clark and I signed up for a costco membership and the first time we went we cruised up and down every aisle. And lo and behold Costco had 8×10 rugs. Made with 100 percent New Zealand wool. For only $200 dollars. The 5×8 rug that we had cost $170 when it was new! So we found a pattern we could both agree on and brought it home.

Look how big it is–Clark could stretch out completely on it!

At first glance as I rolled up the 5×8 rug and unrolled the new one I thought “this new rug is out-of-control big!” But as soon as we laid it it was great. I think it not only ties the living room together better and makes all the furniture seem more cohesive but I love seeing how happy Remmy is to play and sleep on it. It is nicer for Clark and me to get on the floor with Remmy too. I also think the light color and floral pattern is going to look great with the more masculine mahogany colored leather couch.

Enjoying the cushy new rug

In addition to the new rug I spent a painstaking evening measuring out a new hanging arrangement of our family pictures. I saw this idea on pinterest and immediately wanted to copy it. As I’ve gathered family photos from my parents and Clark’s parents the original arrangement I had got more and more jumbled. Also the shelves that I had were really too small for the wall and didn’t execute the vision that I had in my head. So it all came down and went up in a different way.

Original hanging arrangement that eventually had several more photos added to it.

I usually hang pictures by “eyeballing” it so this measuring to make sure everything was in straight lines took a LONG time.

Along the top are our wedding photos and underneath are parents and grandparents.

I’m happy with how the living room is coming along. Now I just need to pick up that sofa…and then rearrange again.

PS I have some awesome photos of Clark and Remmy playing that will be up tomorrow. There is one that made Clark and I laugh out loud–our dog is such a character. Stay tuned!

We knew back when we bought the house that we would need to replace these doors at some point. It was a big project that we needed help with and we were so glad that Clark’s uncle Rob was willing to tackle it.

The doors before:

Notice that they don’t close properly at the top, hence the concrete block helping hold them closed at the bottom.

A mishmash of paint, wood and plastic bags.

More plastic bags stuffed along the bottom.

It’s not really surprising that I didn’t take any pictures–luckily Clark took a video and was able to do screen captures to show you what was there before.

Rob did an enormous amount of work by pouring a new concrete step and then built a frame for the double doors we bought. Rob also found a local milling company that could make siding that matched our wood siding and finished the outside beautifully. Clark added insulation and helped hang the doors. I did a lot of painting in order to seal the wood from the wet weather we endure. I still have painting to finish on the inside and ideally to make the concrete step more finished we’d put flooring tiles on it.

However the doors are so much better than what was there before. They are sealed against the weather and not a plastic bag is in sight! The glass windows in the top still let in a lot of light, which is good in the basement. Clark and I both love the look of the centered doors with the wood siding on the sides and we are really looking forward to decreased heating bills without our precious hot air escaping out those triple doors!

After:

The old doors and ruined wood that came out are in the driveway. The doors were in the process of being painted here.

Finished door with Remmy’s reflection sunbathing. He obviously approves.

In other news Tovah and I are thinking about stopping the blog. We don’t post liked we used to and frankly we have very little traffic and comments. We write for us first and foremost but if we’re not writing, it means we aren’t enjoying it like we used to. If we aren’t enjoying it and very few people read, why keep paying the money for the blog? We’re kicking the idea around. To be continued I suppose.

Back in 1947 they probably didn’t have a shower. Which is why the shower was retrofitted with a window smack dab in the middle of one of the walls. The original 1947 wood window was basically rotting in place. Sure it had been lined with plastic wood but the fact still remained that a wood window with single pane glass was not holding up well in such a wet environment.

The original window

Close up of the window handle showing rust, mold and flaking “frosted glass” cover. The window was a mess.

Clark’s uncle Rob came and helped us to revamp the window. Out it came and glass block was installed to make a more seamless wall. There were several ideas we went through to get to the glass blocks but even though we lost the capabilities to open the window I am happy with how it turned out. We rarely opened the window that was there anyway.

And TA-DA! Glass blocks instead of falling apart window. On a sunny day the light just bounces off the white tiles, and even makes rainbows.

And even when the sun disappears behind a cloud (for eight months) we still get light.

To make up for the fact that the window is now part of the wall we installed the highest capacity bathroom fan that Lowes offers.

Super fan (in the ceiling)

We also made some cosmetic changes. The toilet seat that came with the house was dingy and had a big discolored chip in the seat. I always wondered if our guests would go to use and think “What is THAT?” before realizing it was just a chip and not something on the seat. Because that was what I thought. Imagine my surprise at finding out replacement seats are not only very affordable but easy to install? I could have changed up that seat a year ago!

No chips in this toilet seat!

The tension rod that was used as a shower curtain rod also came down. We installed a curved shower rod that helps the shower space to feel bigger. (A lot of hotels use these curved shower rods to help their showers feel bigger.) I think it really helps although I hadn’t taken into account that while it feels bigger to me Clark is tall enough that the shower curtain now looms out to meet him when he is at the sink vanity. It isn’t really affecting his space but it is different from the shower curtain that used to be there. I think anyone shorter than Clark would not even notice.

Curved shower rod!

One final thing we plan on doing is using a clear shower curtain instead of the opaque white one we had. A clear shower curtain will let more light in and make the bathroom feel larger. Also we are no longer trying to hide the moldy, ugly window we had before. Although I like the bubble pattern on the pictured shower curtain it is not quite long enough for our new shower rod so I am off in search of an extra long shower curtain. So I guess the bathroom is totally finished but this final piece will be a piece of cake to install.

Replacing the window was a huge effort. Thanks so much to Rob who did all the “heavy lifting” by taking out the window and mortaring the blocks in. And then teaching Clark how to tile, grout and caulk. We managed to find tiles that matched, you would not believe how many version of “white” exist. I had to drive two hours to pick up our special white tiles! I also helped out with fixing holes with joint compound, more grouting and painting. It took fully two weeks to get everything done. Part of that was drying time for grouting and caulk but regardless, it was a big project and I’m so glad it is done! My shiny, mold free shower is so awesome!

So Clark’s Uncle Rob was coming to help us because the scope of these projects was beyond us. Clark was really excited to learn some new skills from Rob and I reveled in my pipe dream that they would get everything done and I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. I would come home and the house would be changed and beautiful.

So now that we’ve all had a good laugh at my pipe dream let’s get back to reality. DIY projects always seem to take longer than you expect.  Some poor planning on our part meant that over the weekend Clark and Rob went and did fun activities outside of the house. By the time Clark had to go back to work on Monday the projects weren’t really advanced. Rob preferred working by himself and he did a lot. I think working within the confines of a strict time schedule and a “make it pretty!” mindset (that would be my mindset) was at times frustrating for him. It was hard for me to have our little house all torn up and dirty without knowing expected finishing dates. It got a little tense. I think this is another common thing that happens with DIY projects.

So by the time Rob left the next Monday the projects were about halfway or three fourths done. Clark was at work again so I put on my paint clothes and got to work. I didn’t want to be living in a construction zone for weeks. Our house is just too small for that. So I learned how to grout, how to smooth out joint compound, how to seal grout and I painted. Together Clark and I installed insulation and worked on weatherproofing our new doors.

Every night when Clark comes home from a long day at work and then whichever side job (the gym or the computer company) we work on trying to finish our projects. Clark has sealed the glass blocks with silicone caulk, weatherstripped and made a lock for the basement doors. Neither project is 100 percent finished even with all that. We are getting close though. I’m hoping that by next week we will have a big reveal of the bathroom and the new basement doors. An incredible amount of work has been done and now the finishing details need to be completed.

We are really thankful for Rob’s expertise, manpower and help in making our home nicer. Materials alone were so expensive I can’t imagine how much more it would have been if we’d been having to pay for labor too! And it has been a long time since Clark has gotten to spend a meaningful amount of time with Rob and I know they really enjoyed catching up.

So next week–hopefully we will be sharing the fruits of our labor with you!

However, nine days ago my Uncle Rob came to visit and assist with some long overdue house repairs. He’s a very talented contractor and was an immense help in tackling a few things well beyond my scope. I know Tovah will inevitably have photos eventually but as a tease let me say:

- The old and busted garage doors have been replaced with something much better

- The old bathroom window has received a massive upgrade

- Higher CFM bathroom fan is installed

I learned a lot from him and enjoyed helping.  There are still little odds and ends remaining to be completed but they’re within my ability. It’s nice to get these things done with time to actually enjoy them too. In Virginia we fixed a few problems with the house right before we moved and sold it. On that note, I have no intentions of selling this house either so making it as good as possible is in my interest.

I might have gone a little bit crazy trying to prepare. I started three days ahead with a big food shopping trip. I had several lists. I knew I was getting bad when Remmy started slinking past me in fear (he happened to throw up, TWICE, on the bed, at an inopportune time. I mean, basically there is no time when you want your dog to throw up on your bed. Any time will be inopportune. Anyway, there was much frustration and washing of the bed clothes.) Clark started commenting that in the future he was planning the parties because it was ridiculous how stressed out I was getting.

I knew it was silly to be getting so frazzled but I wanted the house to look good. People were coming over how hadn’t been to our house before. And I wanted the food to be great. I was making all the food from scratch and cleaning all the nooks and crannies of the house. It was too much. Because a lot of the little things I did I don’t think were even noticed. Honestly I totally had a party hangover–there had been so much build up to the party that after it was over I was just exhausted and wondered why I had done it.

In the future I’m not sure I will give the party planning over to Clark completely, but I think he is right. No one really cares if the pizza dough is made from scratch, or that the people with special diets have four options of finger food as opposed to just one or two. The table doesn’t need to be laden with so much food that we have leftovers for days. And if the cleanliness of my bathroom is the determining factor in my friendship with someone I probably have bigger problems. So if we do this party next year we will certainly do a lot of things different. But I did enjoy spending time with friends, getting to know some people better and getting to be creative decorating gingerbread.

Aren’t these so cool? They all got eaten, which is a sign of approval but no one gushed over how cool they were. Obviously my hopes were too high.

And a candy cane shaped pizza! Genius right? Again, nothing.

The decorating table with all the amazing candies, rice krispie treat “christmas” trees and gingerbread kits.

Totally laid back and ready to party.

Catching up with Rhiannon who has been traveling a lot for her job.

Ashleigh and Lark working on one of the special (smaller) kid gingerbread houses. I love how Lark is pointing like “Check out my house!”

Lark and Clark, both intently focused on their creations.

Remmy in his festive bow tie was pretty good. He was a bit underfoot but he played really well with the children (and adults, come to think of it.)

First wave of guests, hard at work.

Ryan and Laura decorated the gingerbread train. I think they said it was their first time decorating gingerbread!

A different Laura and Koichi decided to fancy up the “Santa’s sleigh” kit. Look at Rudolph leading the reindeer. And the gummy bears riding the reindeer!

And ho, ho, ho on the back of the sleigh. They did an awesome job.

Sarah had Santa’s legs peeking out of the chimney.

And Sarah won the “cutest photo with her creation” award for the night. (There was no actual contest but I thought this was a really cute photo.)

And my favorite photo from the night is probably this one. The house looks just like the box…don’t mind the leaning or the roof sliding off. ha!

Just in case you think I’m exaggerating I give you exhibit A (the poorly cut blinds, not a ten inch spider):

So in an effort to keep my house from looking like no one cares about it I watched online tutorials on how to shorten the blinds. Of course then I went to get the blinds down and couldn’t even figure out how to detach it from the window. Nothing like staring at the window and blinds thinking “I can’t even do step one…I KNOW this comes off…but it doesn’t make sense…” Another google search and I was in business (ah, the front of the keeper can be popped open and then the whole blind slides out. That is genius.)

It seems pathetic to admit that even after I figured out how to get the blinds down I still had trouble shortening them. Maybe I should just skip over how the string keeper plastic thingy that I popped out too vigorously punched me in the eye, causing me to scrape my thumb when my arms reflexively jumped up to try to protect my face. To add insult to injury the piece bounced off my eye and then into the heating register. Yep, I had to open the register and fish around the ducts to find the piece.

Let’s ignore all that. But I did have my revenge. I took all these slats out to shorten the blind.

And now it looks like this. Without all those extra heavy slats I won’t need He-Man arms to open and close the blinds every day. And my house doesn’t suck. Sweet!

My $15 scratched and dinged thrift store nightstand from this:

To this:

Which looks a lot better next to our cherry colored bed:

For comparison you can see how Clark’s nightstand is still honey colored and…shoot. Now I’m going to have to do his too…NOOOOOOOOO!