If you can't stand the heat...then get out of dodge...

It's been a hectic week. We're just now beginning to catch our breath. The week started with Doug pulling up the red oak in the foyer area and repairing the rotted wood.

The plan was to take the orginal pine flooring pulled up from our bedroom and install it in the foyer. Check...plan now executed. The very light wood you see is where we didn't have enough of the heart pine. Once it's sanded and finished it should blend in seamlessly.

We've spent the better part of the last several weeks moving items to storage, donating them to charity or sending those items beyond repair to the dump. This past weekend was particularly trying as our air conditioner broke. That's right folks - no cool air. The temperature in the house rose to 88 degrees. Yes, I even took a picture of the thermostat - should you need proof. Since all the floors are now being worked on, we have had to vacate the house. We've never liked leaving our little home but we we've never had it that uncomfortably hot! We placed Boxer and Sydney at the Bed 'N Biscuit on Saturday and headed to St. Augustine with Peanut in tow on Sunday.

Here's what the house looks like naked. Almost seems kind of spacious with all the furniture gone. Will we do this again? No. Not in my lifetime.

We are staying safe and cool in St. Augustine. Some friends have graciously allowed us to borrow their "beach" home for the week. We are forever grateful and are enjoying ourselves and having a very lovely time.

And the air conditioner? Mr. Contractor has arranged for it to be repaired. Thank you, sir! (I can hear him say "better put a Mer in front of that")

So, we we are on holiday and so is the blogging. We are here to relax and enjoy this beautiful coast.

Ciao.

"Patience, Grasshopper." - Kung Fu Master

"Patience, grasshopper." This has been our mantra these last few weeks as work continues. It does seem to move at a snail's pace - but then we are into the nitty gritty detail work that cannot be rushed.

"Do you girls realize that the tile you selected is irregularly shaped?", said Mr. Contractor. "It's gonna make the install more difficult." "Yes, Mr. Contractor, we know - that's part of it's beauty." "Just wanted to make sure..." Mr. Contractor is a stickler on the details.

The prep work done by Mr. Contractor and Adam on the shower walls was intriguing and methodical...a lot of leveling, mudding, and more leveling. So now Adam meticulously measures, cuts and places each tile one by one on the walls. We're not going to provide pictures of it. You'll have to wait until the "reveal".

Mean while, work on the porch and bedroom also continues...Doug has done an incredible job of trimming the doors, windows, floor, and installing the bead board....just beautiful.

As for us - we're still on the air bed. The house is a mess...we've given up worrying about it - we have this week to get everything moved off the floors so they can be refinished next week. Needless to say, we're a little bit tired...and stressed. The good? We've thrown off sentimentality and reduced the amount of stuff we own. If you're one of my sisters you'll want to avert your eyes for a moment. (whispering) I donated my two bridesmaid dresses to a local charity.

So, that's where we're at.

Ciao, baby.

Look Up! Look Up!

The porch ceiling is up! All that's left is to trim it and clear coat it. No paint on this ceiling - the wood is too beautiful to cover up.

Now on to chores...lots to do this weekend in preparation for the floor refinishing in two weeks.

No Shoes - Socks Only

A ground's eye view of our new floor in the bedroom. The porch floor probably won't be installed for a while since it's mostly used as a staging area right now.

I might have been off on my dates regarding the interior floor. I think it will be the week of the 21st that work will begin. Hoping the bedroom will ready for occupancy real soon - but it's hard to predict - the little details take time to do it right.

Ciao.

Stay Awake, Don't Fall Asleep...

Sleeping on a cloud? Not quite. We had the sofa bed hauled away to storage and picked up an air mattress from Target. Work is set to begin next week on the old interior floor and then sanding/refinishing the following week. All furniture MUST be off the floor, hence bye-bye sofa.

We consider the air bed to be a temporary solution to the larger issue of the fact that our waterbed has sunk and we need a new schooner. Not sure if we mentioned it before, but our waterbed cracked a joist - you'd think a seventy year old house would hold up better! Once the remodel is complete we'll begin our search for a new bed.

By the way, Mir didn't think anyone would recognize the musical reference in the title of this blog post. Anyone? (No googling!)

Oh, So Close...

Our lovely porch is ever closer to completion. The ceiling is scheduled to be installed very soon. I already know it's going to look great!


Sydney seems to approve. She's finally learned that you don't jump over the opening to chase a squirrel - she simply uses the stairs instead.


This pile of wood includes our bead board ceiling planks, our porch floor planks and some extra planks for the inside foyer floor in the event we run out of our original heart pine. We're replacing the oak in the foyer with the heart pine taken from the old bedroom - this way the entire house (except the new bedroom) will have the same flooring.


Mr. Contractor and staff installed the maple floors in the bedroom and we are extremely pleased with the outcome. They've been sanded and refinished. The refinishing people, Kephart, did a great job.

So, next week the closet guy is coming to install the shelving units. We'll be going back into the "mastress suite" by month's end - it will be nice to move our clothes from the foyer back to the bedroom where they belong.