Building the Igloo

sire prep

getting off the ground

looking like something

it even has a doorway

tomorrow the top goes on

That Was Then, This Is Now. Get The Shovel

Snow Day Update

This was the view out the front door at around noon today. That is Jamie's minivan on the right. The snow has continued and I would estimate that as of 7pm, we had about 20 inches on the ground. The forecast predicts the snow will stop tomorrow morning around 6am, then we can start seriously digging out. Ross was scheduled to fly home today, but his flight was cancelled and he is scheduled to fly home on Monday. He is happy - no shoveling for him.

Pauly enjoys the snow, but there is so much that I have to shovel a patch for him to squat.

And when we are not shoveling, we are hanging out. That pink and white spotted lump on the couch is Aimee reading a book. AP History requires a lot of reading, but not all that you see in the photo. Sterling is sorting all the books.

Mosaically Speaking

Aimee and I both took mosaic classes/workshops this summer. So we are feeling like artists! Here are two of our projects:


Aimee did this portrait of Pauly. She did this in 3 or 4 two-hour sessions. The pattern came from a photo she took. Both her instuctor and I are impressed and she is really pleased that it really looks like him.

This is my project of the summer. Tile and glass bubbles on mirror. Not your typical mosaic - no grout. I was inspired by the tiny drops of condensation that form on the inside of the hot tub cover.

This shows a little more detail.

Aimee is working on the frame for the mirror in her bathroom. Think tie-dyed with peace signs!

It's A Start!

After so many monthes full of saws and supplies, we almost forgot why garages were built!

You Don't Meet your Match, You Make Her

Done. Done, done, done. Well, the contractor is done. I still have much to do. But it never is really all done, is it?

Like the paint color in the hall bath? Aimee's choice. Yes, she has thrown me a challenge - to get used to that color and find towels that calm it down a bit? Is it possible? If Pepto-Bismal were blue, this it what it would look like. She loves it, I love her.

She's Back With a Smile on Her Face

Alexa and Aimee arriving at Dulles International from their trip to Paris. We stopped at Five Guys for burgers and the tales we heard confirm that, although these may be smiles saying, "We are happy to be home," they enjoyed their adventures in Paris! We are happy to have them back.

Pauly Settles Back In

Well, Aimee. This is what your bathroom looks like. So far.

Pauly settles back into the remodeled living room. Somehow, I suspect he really doesn't care how open the new space feels.

The Wall Falls

Well, it doesn't actually fall. Sterling, the Sawz-all, and the pry bar take it down in a very orderly fashion. Tomorrow we tackle the framing for the closet along the back wall - see where that wire shelving is hanging in open air?

And this is now the typical view from my kitchen sink.

It Works!

The master bath is not completely done, but it is done enough to use! I took this picture just before I put up the shower curtain - a temporary arrangement until the glass door is installed next week. I am very pleased with the way it looks and functions. Had a great shower this morning.

Yet to be completed is mainly painting, which is my responsibility. Our contractor will be back in a few weeks to do the family bath and we will have a door by then for him to install, and he will mount the grab bars in the shower then.

This shot shows the two vessel sinks on the Pietra Cardoza countertop. The mirror was in the old bathroom when we moved in and I just hung it to make do. I had planned to order one large sheet of mirror to cover most of that wall behind the sinks, but this mirror looks really nice here. The frame is a silver gilded wood frame, kind of laquer red on the edges. I think it adds so much panache compared to a plain slab of mirror that I am thinking of doing another for the other sink.

See that funny criss cross pattern in the mirror? That is not a reflection of what is on the opposite wall, nor is it on the face of the mirror. I think there must be something taped to the back of the mirror, under the backing. A mystery that must be investigated.

In preparation for her new bathroom, Aimee has joined my mosaic studio and is making a mosaic frame for the mirror that will go in the hall bathroom. I will try to remember to take few pics next week as it begins to come together.

The Unveiling

Aimee says....Well, I don't really know what Aimee was saying here, but she always has something to say and it is usually worth listening to. Here she is helping me take down all the paper protecting the cabinets from paint and assorted other finishes. Putting that paper up was a pain, but well worth the effort.

All the appliances in, all the painting done, and all the paper off. Not yet totally finished. A few cabinet doors to put on and pulls and knobs are enroute from Pacific, Wasington. Pendant lamps will be hung over the island later this week. The tile backsplashes are yet to be created - a summer project for us. I am not in a hurry to get the paper off the floor yet as I do not have rugs for the high use areas yet.

Here is the usual view walking in from the garage.

We are not moved in as I am still dealing with dust and grime, but we have used the dishwasher and the range. They work great and I am so happy to have thier services.

Paint Gets....In Your Eyes

There was begging so I am posting, and although we have been very busy here, it is not spectacular. This is the usual view from my kitchen sink. Still dropclothes everywhere but you may notice the painted baseboard molding sitting on the sawhorses ready to go in. You may also notice the trim is all painted and the wall color is cut in and one coat with the roller. The floor has been sanded, stained and polyurethaned, but it is shrouded with plastic and canvas. And just to the left there at the end of the molding are the dishwasher and range.

The view from the garage door. All we have left to do is baseboard molding, a little wall patching (electricians!) touch-up painting and install the dishwasher, disposal, faucet, range and frig. And get inspected. Gotta figure out how that goes.

This is the master bath shower. The tile ceramic in a faux crema marfil marble pattern. To the right you see the niche for shampoo etc. It is edged with glass tile, just installed and still taped in place.

Here you are looking down at the shower pan and floor. Much prettier in person than in the photo. No window. But there is still time.

The Granite Is In

Look at all this groovy space to dump your stuff when you walk in from the garage!

That, "What I'll see while working at the kitchen sink view" is progressing.

The Beginning of the End

Here is a photo tour of where we are with the kitchen. Cabinets are all in and and we are taping and doing the other prep work for painting. Paint color choosing is a bit problematic. I thought I had it figured out, but the test swatches I painted on the wall look HORRIBLE. Nevertheless, counters will be installed Wednesday, the floor will be finished over Memorial Day weekend, and appliances arrive the tuesday after the weekend. This is the view from my kitchen sink, when it is installed.

Our new front door. It is fiberglass. Sterling will finish it with a cherry stain.

This is what our renovations have done to the front of the house. The black area around the window to the left will be covered with plywood, painted, and then camoflaged with shutters to match those around the other windows.

"Hope Things Are Going Well For You and Your Family"

Well, Louise, we are doing pretty well. This photo was taken last weekend at the Our World Underwater Society banquet at The Explorer's Club in New York City (hence the polar bear).

Josi and I are looking young and beautiful, of course. My Dad is still the Flying Dutchman, getting out and hanging with the grandkids whenever he can. Then you have my three little ones (hah!) Ross the rugby player growing a mohawk which I assume he will shave off when he begins his summer job as an actuary at an insurance company in Pawtucket, RI this summer (living in Boston). Aimee spends a good portion of her time, it seems, contemplating the excitement of learning to drive, which will begin at age 15 1/2, or December 2, 2009. She is going to Paris for 2 weeks this summer! This banquet marked the end of Jamie's year of as the Society's North American Scholar, so he is getting his feet back on the ground after his year of scuba diving around the world, to continue his masters in marine science. Sterling's dad (Gramps) came up from Florida to share the weekend, and my Sterling, still designing transit with Bechtel. You're seeing three Sterlings in a row right here (there have been a total for 5 - Gramps has known them all).

Starting to Look Like a Kitchen

Aimee is finally convinced all the work is getting somewhere. For the past two weeks, she hasn't noticed the progress made as it has mainly been invisible - all that stuff that goes in the walls like plumbing, electricity and heating ducts. We also had the floor installed and the recessed lights installed. Not very noticable in a picture or to the eyes of a 14 year old. But now we have begun cabinet installation. This shot is from the door to the garage over what will be the island (see the half wall, just waiting?) to the stairs to the rest of the house.

The next shot is from the other side. Out of the picture to the left is the front door. On the left of the photo you see the glass door cabinet facing toward the sitting area. In the middle you can see the half wall where the island (with sink) will be. Behind that half wall you see the revised window. Formerly a bay window, we took the center window of the bay and brought it flush to the wall, giving us more wall space on either side. The range will be on the left side of that window and you can see the pantry, frig space and microwave station to the right. Then you'll notice the door to the garage where the previous shot was taken.

All is going well. Our next hurdles are to cut down a conventional cabinet into a corner cabinet, and I have to line up a granite contractor as we hope to be ready to measure and template Wed or Thurs.

The work on the Master bath continues as well. Tile is in the garage ready to go in and the construction of the shower pan has begun.

Do, Do, Do, Lookin' Out My back Door

Spring is in full swing and, no, Pauly is not celebrating by dying, he is just really relaxed. We have trouble getting him inside. Yesterday the place was crawling with electricians, the floor was being installed and the cabinets delivered. I don't blame him for prefering the yard to the house.

I was outside as much as possible enjoying the bleeding hearts, the daffodils and the cherry blossoms.

End of Week One

So here we are at the end of week one. It has been a great week as both Jamie and Ross came home and Aimee has had a week off school. We have been living in the bottom floor of the house - the family room, study and workroom (now the kitchen) (and the bedrooms upstairs). It is cozy, but it works. Radical changes in the kitchen/living/dining area and we like it! The master bath is also being redone and I will post some pics in the next few days. There is really not much to see there.
Here is a pic of the kitchen area from the angle you have seen in a previous posting - walls down, appliances gone (Freecycled the frig to a caterer down the hill). Those stairs go up to the bedrooms and behind the plastic is the family room.

Here is the angle through the old dining room to the living room. Kind of dark.

This is a stiched panoramic of the entire space. See that table saw in the corner above? That is where I am standing for the panoramic. I am a real dolt with this stuff, but I have Windows Vista on this machine and I saw the ad with the very cute little girl stitching together pics of her fort and figured there was a prayer for me. I think she was 7. If she were 8 I might have been too intimidated to try. Just kidding.

Here We Go!!!

On Monday we began our kitchen/living room/dining room and master bath remodel.

The dining room to living room at the begining and end of the first day.

The kitchen before and after the first day. I guess the all the space gave the refrigerator the idea to have a walk around.

The Plural of Crocus

...is crocuses or croci