Sunday, February 27, 2011

After The Dust Has Settled–Part 1

We have our house back!  Woo hoo! 

All the work was completed on Friday as promised except for the reinstallation of the sink in the upstairs bathroom.  That was completed yesterday because one of the bolts that was connected to one of the original faucets was so corroded that they couldn’t get it off.  To make a long story short, one of Jody’s workers who specializes in plumbing took the sink home on Friday night and worked his magic on it there.  Now it’s sitting pretty right back where it belongs…but I’ll save those photos for another day. 

Today, I’m including some photos of the downstairs area of our house.  I’ve spent the last two days cleaning almost non stop and I’m still not finished.  We’ve hung a few things but that is going to be a huge job in itself and we’re not going to rush it.

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One of the things that I fell in love with when we first looked at our house was the kitchen and the original farm house sink.  As long as we own this house, it will always remain a part of it.

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Although you can’t see it in this photo, when we’re sitting at our kitchen table, we look out onto the Annapolis Basin which is a part of the Bay of Fundy.

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Our house was built in 1835 and the addition which includes the kitchen, pantry and enclosed entrance/porch downstairs and the master bedroom and Mr. Painted Quilt’s office upstairs was added in 1917.

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Mac was a real trooper throughout the renovations.  After he got his morning hugs from Jody and his crew, he stayed close to our sides the rest of the time.   I know it was a very stressful time for him as well…but he did take full advantage of the extra treats.  *wink*

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I liked the pantry before but I L-O-V-E it now!

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I can’t wait to unpack all my ‘treasures’ to display on the shelves.

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It’s starting to finally come together.  Notice the herring bone pattern where the two sides meet in the corner?  Cool, huh?  Jody used 2” x 4” clear pine planks which he screwed down onto the existing surface which raised the counter top to a perfect 34” height.  People were much shorter when this was originally built.

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The sitting room is almost done.  I just have to hang some pictures, a grandmother clock and add a few ‘chochkies’.  This is where Mac and Mr. PQ hang out in the evenings.

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The dining room beyond is also starting to take shape.  I have to find my ‘good’ dishes and set them up in the freshly painted china cabinet.  This room still remains a ‘catch all’ room for things still looking for a home.

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Notice the pile of wrapped pictures and a shelf perched on top of the tea wagon in the corner?   We’ll be hanging those in the next little while along with the larger ones that are currently stored in our living room. 

And I can’t wait to unpack all my yellowware bowls to display in our pine cupboard.

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The downstairs bathroom turned out even better than my wildest expectations.

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There is still lots to be added to it as well but it’s now sparkling clean and a pleasure to spend time in.  *wink*

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Rather than have a linen closet built, we decided to use the sideboard that we already had on hand.  The bathroom is quite large and easily accommodates the piece with lots of room to spare.

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And last but not least, a part of our living room that abuts the three season enclosed sun porch that spans the front of the original structure.  You can just make out the boxes that are still stored out there waiting to be unpacked.

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Every square inch of our humble abode has been repainted and looks wonderfully clean and fresh.  The floors of my studio and Mr. PQ’s office still have to be painted and that’s what we’ll be concentrating on this week.  Once they’re done, we can then move everything that’s now piled and crammed into the spare bedroom back to where it belongs and resume living again.

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Having said that, I’m afraid that my FFF (First Friday Freebie) for March will be postponed until April.  Not only did I not have the time nor energy to work on it…but I couldn’t find it amidst the ‘rubble’.  Please accept my humble apologies ahead of time but I’m sure you understand.

And now…it’s back to dusting.

Kaarensm

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Renos - Day 8

If the truth be known, this renovation project has been one of the most stressful things we’ve had to endure in a long time…including the long distance move.  As Mr. Painted Quilt said to me this morning, if we had known what we were getting ourselves into, we would have moved out and stayed at a hotel while the work was being done.

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These next few photos are of our downstairs bathroom as it looked on Monday morning…

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And here it is today…close, but still not finished.  The pine plank counter top is installed and stained and the sink and plumbing should be in by the the end of today or tomorrow.  What’s a few hours in the grand scheme of things, right?

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Sure beats the fuchsia color, doesn’t it?

These guys are so meticulous with their work.  Jody saw some imperfections on the walls after the first coat of paint so he went back and applied whatever it is they use to correct them before adding the second coat of paint.

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The pantry also has a new pine plank counter top that is being stained as I write this.

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And the other side…

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Apart from a few paint touch ups  that will all be done on the last  day, the living room is the only room in the house that is finished…notwithstanding replacing the UGLY light fixture, of course.

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The boring green walls and hideous wallpaper have been replaced with a calming taupe color and not the gray as it appears in the photo.

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The built in china cabinet in the dining room just sparkles with it’s fresh coat of white paint.  Gone are the disgusting ‘John Deere’ green walls.

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With respect to the upstairs, now that is a different kettle of fish.  *sigh*

My studio is painted but is completely dismantled and is now a storage room for the majority of the things from Mr. PQ’s office while it is being painted and having built in cupboards and shelves made.

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The spare room is a catch all for the overflow from my studio and Mr. PQ’s office as well as several of the unpacked boxes.

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I feel like I’ve taken several hundred steps backward.

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The room that has been turned into a walk-in closet is finished.  Finally, I’ll be able to take my clothes out of the wardrobe cartons where they’ve been since the end of November…and hang them in their new home.

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This is Mr. PQ’s office and that’s the wall where the built in cupboards and shelves will be.

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No computer for Mr. PQ today.

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The closet in our bedroom was built this morning and the first coat of paint has been applied since this picture was taken.

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The second coat is just about done.  Hopefully by tomorrow we’ll be able to start putting our clothing, shoes and incidentals away.  We’ll also have to clear off the bed before turning in tonight.

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Now, would you like to see the upstairs workroom…I mean bathroom?

Take a deep breath and I hope you’re sitting down…

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No, that’s not brown water in the bathtub.  It’s sawdust…the bane of my existence.

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And the final view down the upstairs hall which still needs to be painted.

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I’ll believe it when I see it but Jody insists that they will be finished everything by Friday.  I can honestly say that I won’t be able to survive another day  past that.

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I think we need a miracle, don’t you?

knametag2

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Raggedy & Friends–Blocks 10, 11 & 12

I realize that this might come as a surprise to those of you who are working on my Raggedy & Friends BOM because this month, due to the constant distractions resulting from our long distance move and now the renovations to our house, I have decided to publish the remaining three blocks today rather than spread them out over the next three months as was my original plan.  Some of you will get to them right away and others will save them for a rainy day.  Whichever you decide to do, enjoy the journey.

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Block 10…

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Block 11…

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And Block 12…

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So, without further ado, please click HERE for the link to the PDF file for Blocks 10, 11 and 12.  Please remember to click on the blue download button and follow the prompts, waiting the appropriate times indicated in the directions.  It’s a LARGE file so please be patient while it loads.

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The links to all 12 blocks will remain on my sidebar for as long as I think there is still an active interest in them and they will always be FREE.  Somewhere, in some box that is yet to be unpacked, is the design for another quilt that I will offer as new BOM as soon as I can complete it…whenever the dust settles…literally.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Thank you all for your interest, loyalty and support.  I continue to be overwhelmed at the numbers who are making this quilt.  I hope you continue to enjoy making it as much as I did.

I will continue with my FFF’s (First Friday Freebies) on the First Friday of every month for as long as I can.  At some point, the well of ideas is apt to run dry but I’m hoping that will be some time in the distant future.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

For those of you who have been following along with our house renovations, things are progressing well.  The crew we have working here are diligent and thorough and we are very pleased with both the quality and effort of their work.  I am hoping to have some decent photos to show you by Tuesday or Wednesday.  By that time they should be at least three quarters done.  In the interim, we are still living in a major construction zone where hard hats should probably be worn but aren’t.  *wink*

Kaarenheartname

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Demolition–Day 3…Bad to Worse

Our house is upside down…literally.  The mess is going from bad to worse and the downside is that it’s going to get even more worse before it starts to get better.  I can’t believe that my stress level isn’t off the charts but I’m doing some very deep breathing V-E-R-Y often and I’m coping much better than even I expected.

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The boys arrived just after 8 a.m.  While they were unloading all their gear and supplies, I took Mr. Painted Quilt to his eye appointment.  We arrived back home about an hour and a half later to find all four men hard at work.  Jody had finished taping and applying the first coat of whatever goes on the sheet rock seams and started to install the tub surround in the upstairs bathroom.

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This is our downstairs bathroom…the way it looked when we left.  Gross, huh?  What appears to be white wainscoting is the same fake tile stuff that was in the upstairs bathroom.  And the fuchsia color…yup…that’s what it looks like.  No photo error here!

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And here’s what it looks like now…

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Panning right…

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And right again.

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Can you hear me breathing deeply?  I told you it was getting worse.

This is the view into the dining room and the pantry beyond.

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All the while, Jody’s two helpers were busy prepping the kitchen for painting…

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From this…

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To this…

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And this.

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Insert more deep breathing here.

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The pantry has been transformed into a temporary holding area.

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In the meantime, the fourth worker was stripping wallpaper in the living room.

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Initially, the job was supposed to take five days but because we’ve asked Jody to take on additional work, they are probably going to be here all next week as well.  Our thinking was that we might as well get everything done at once rather than having to go through the same upheaval a second time in the near future.  Thank goodness Jody was able to accommodate us by rescheduling his next jobs.

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To be continued…

knametag2