Long Time Gone....

Painting is happening at long last!!! Suddenly, my house is going from hot mess to polished and pretty. The main body of the house is going to be a putty color, with cream, chocolate brown, and dark red details. You can see the first of the paint going on in the two photos below. By the end of the day, we hope to have most of the front porch area done so we can see what all the colors will look like in place. You have no idea how long I have waited for this day!!!

The siding is nearly done. The front is finished and primed for paint.

On the Lucky Street side of the house, the siding is nearly done. Tomorrow's work is to complete the area above the windows and get it ready for paint. It's been such an eyesore for so long, and I can't wait to see it all fall into place!

The side next to the neighboring house is also nearly completely sided. Only a small amount remains left to do there, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Things are happening inside too. We're in the midst of drywall work on the upstairs hall and back rooms.

I love it when a plan comes together. :)

I Want a Shrubbery!

Today, the gates are going up to finish the fencing in my backyard. I'm so very excited! The dogs are so very excited! They've been watching out the backdoor and I've taken them out in the yard twice just so they can check it out.

I have a plan for the backyard that I can't wait to see finished. My drawing was made in MS Paint and so my measurements are approximate, not exact.

The final fencing is going in today. They're also building me a small trellis at the back gate leading to the driveway, and I plan to put clematis on it. Eventually, there will be a walkway from that back gate to the back door, but for now, I have paving stones. We put the corner at an angle because there used to be an old well there which has been filled with concrete, and putting in a 90 degree angle corner was almost impossible without some serious equipment. By the end of the day today, there will also be two large gates opening onto the side yard which leads to the street. Eventually, there will be a parking area in front of these gates. I need the large gates so that we can move large pieces of equipment, building supplies, furniture, etc. much more easily. The fencing from the back of the house to the driveway/garage is 6 ft. high. The fencing along the side of the house is four feet high. Eventually, from the front of the house right around the front yard will have three foot high picket fencing to give the yard definition. Later this summer, I plan to buy a gazebo from the end of the season sales at a home store. Mom and Dad also have bricks stored out at their place from when we took down the chimneys here in my house, and I'll use those bricks to make a small patio for my grill. We also plan to build a back porch which will be open for now and which might be screened later.

The yard has to be dog friendly. I plan to bury chicken wire around the base of the fenced area so that the dogs can't dig out. I'm also going to install a dog door in the garage and close in an area inside for them to use as their own little room to get out of the weather while I'm at work.

I'm not sure about the landscaping. I am thinking of planting roses along the fence since the dogs won't want to bother them and there is a lot of sun in that yard, particularly in the afternoon. I also want to plant some climbing vines along that long stretch of fence to soften the face of it.

Fencing me in!

Today, Dad and Chuck installed the first half of the pickets on my backyard fence. Hooray!!! I love it! I can't wait for the gates to go in and the dogs to be brought home at last! There will be two large gates at the side of the yard to allow for vehicles and building supplies being brought in and out.


My path to the driveway will have to be moved now that the fence is in place. Eventually, I'll have a brick walkway installed to get from the back door to the back gate.


The posts next to the small driveway gate will make one half of an arbor that we'll install. I plan to put clematis around the bottom which will climb up the lattice and make a really gorgeous entry.


Next weekend, the rest of the pickets will go in, and then the gates will get built. I can't wait! It's going to be so private and nice. Plus, no more people will cut through my yard after this! Excellent!!!

Windows on the World!

The two biggest windows were installed by my Uncle John this week. In both cases, the wall had to be rebuilt because the windows were slightly bigger than the openings.

The window for the upstairs hall has been a long time coming, but what a difference it makes! Light streams down the staircase all day long, and the panoramic view is wonderful. :)

The guest room above the dining room also got a new window which is a few inches wider than the original. What a fantastic view! What a difference it makes to finally be able to look out the front again! How exciting to know we can finally button up the room and get ready to drywall!

Fence Posts

Before the fencing could go in, we had to get rid of the prickly bush that's next to my garage. Chuck said that he could get rid of it by pulling it out of the ground with his truck.





The next step was to dig the fencepost holes. We rented an auger machine to make the job easier, and even though it was heavy and hard to maneuver, it was much easier to dig the holes this way than to dig them by hand.


The next day, Mom went out to help Chuck work on completing the posts on that end of my yard, but what was predicted as "flurries" turned into a full-fledged snowstorm, and they weren't able to finish any of the installation.

The next weekend, however, Dad and Chuck were able to get all of the rest of the posts set.