oct 19

ok so i'm taking full advantage of modern technology and updating the bblog while waiting at the phoenix airport. i'll keep my comments short to save battery life.
yes- the magic cat is gone and the pics are way out of sequence but my flight's about to board so you'll have to make due- more to come sometime soon. (fingers crossed)

The leaves are changing daily and so is our house!

I didn’t mean for almost an entire month to go by without an update. But I blinked my eyes and poof it did. So I’ll try to make this posting worth the wait.
Roger’s daughters Brenna and Kailee were here for another visit.

They were a joy and during their visit Roger turned 44.

After he told us that his favorite color was “psychedelic” the girls and I made a cake and cupcakes to try and fit his color scheme. I over mixed the cupcake icing so it turned a muddled grey but then the girls added more decorations and it ended up being the perfect background color. We grilled some steaks and ended up having a dance party in an attempt to bring the funk back to Ridgway.

The girls flew out of Pittsburgh so we all drove them down to see them off and while we were there Fritz and I picked up our kitchen cabinets, sink and stove from an ebay seller. I’m super excited the stove is an old Kenmore and has the pancake griddle in the middle of the stove top and the sink is farmer style with the dish drain on the sides. The cabinets are metal and need a fresh coat of paint and they’re good to go.
Traffic was pretty gnarly on our way out of the ‘Burgh so on our way home we decided to stop and see a movie. Fritz loved the original Halloween and I love Fritz so we stopped to see Rob Zombie’s remake of the cult classic. Well I must say the movie was worst than I expected. It did not offer any new ideas to make it interesting and it wasn’t bad enough to be a good slasher flick- instead it was just one long gorey classic rock music video. So a week later Fritz and I were driving home from Lowe’s and we started discussing how we’d make the movie better. I of course had a few brilliant ideas and good discussion aout film. That night I dreamt in movie format. The movie starred Ben Affleck as a father who’s family had been kidnapped and the kidnapper was giving him clues as to how to find them. And of course he could not ask for help or tell the police. The bad guy was fierce, he was a cross between Slugworth (from the original Willy Wonka) and Capone’s thug- the man in the white suit from the Untouchables. So Ben is running all over town chasing these clues, he befriends a psychic in a coffee shop and she decides to try and help him. Of course in fear of his family’s safety he refuses the help and is trying to shake her. Well he ends up needing to find an umbrella at the park and the psychic beats him to it and is already there waiting with the umbrella in hand, she then tells him “it looks like we’re in this thing together” this is when I realize the psychic is being played by Jackee and I stop the dream and actually say “what kind of help is Jackee?” I mean we’re talking about the guy in the white suit- he’s ruthless and god love Jackee but I just can’t see her as a helpful action star- especially in her high heels and tight pencil skirts. So the movie then picks back up with me as the heroine- I soon realize I’m not that much better help seeing as I’m now wearing high heels and the bad guy has all the weapons. Other people help along the way but the movie then turns into a big game of hide and seek, finally Jennifer Garner shows up and saves everyone and then I wake up to see all of the great progress on our house.

Windows are finished, all 41 are installed sealed, stopped and wood trim exposed and painted.

Guest bedrooms, guest bath and Fritz’s studio/kitchenette/bath all have lights, flooring, paint and the appropriate plumbing/fixtures.

Master suite is drywalled and primed. And we'll be tiling the entire floor in the pattern below.

The washer and dryer have been installed!!!!!

The foyer ceilings upstairs and down have been drywalled and as I type they are working on skimming the walls that follow the staircase.

Roger will be framing out our front mud room doors in the next couple of days and we’ve decided to use two of the original doors from when the building was a school so it’s going to look amazing- can’t wait!!!!

So imagine 2 of these doors (pic left) with the transoms above framed out in the spot where the level is lying (middle pic).
What are we doing now? Trying to stay one step ahead of the drywallers, Glen Chaney and his crew are quick so we've got to clear out my studio and demo home base so they can start those rooms. My sisters Jen and Alli and my mom will be visiting next weekend to help out and then Roger will be leaving us the following week, on 9/27. So enough blogging- I've got to get back to work!

rooms are coming together

So it's been 14 days since the last post and what have we done? We finished laying laminate in the 2 guest bedrooms- and I got my first blood blister. Charles Wish's studio has officially been drywalled and primed and will have it's color by the end of today.
The new windows are in the process of installation and the second floor is almost finished. We have a bathroom!!! The downstairs studio bath has a shower, floor, sink, toilet, lighting and some really nice oak baseboard. Yes, I have to list everything because this is the first time we've had all components functioning together to create a room.
What else? The mini me roof is still a work in progress and the second floor is so close to being finished- next week should wrap it up with the tile being installed and light fixtures in place. So the infamous phase 1 should end before the month does and then it's on to phase 2 (out of 4). I've been assured that the first phase is always the biggest hurdle and then it's smoother sailing- we'll see.
New windows up top, old on the bottom. We were able to get down to the original wood trim- it was covered up by the old aluminum and has come out pretty easily. And can you spot our dryer vent?