Friday, July 31, 2009

More Home Improvement

Here is what we have been up to.....this is the kitchen in the stick house. At this point, we have the cabinet frames primed and a first coat of paint on them. We have also replace the drywall back splash area with cement board. We did get the new counter tops put in yesterday and DH was up til about 11pm trying to get the disposal and sink plumbed. He finally got it figured out, but needed a different pipe to make it happen.....hopefully today we will have running water in the kitchen once again. Once that is done, I'll post more photos of the completed work. Of course, we still have all the cabinet doors and drawer fronts to paint and there is a lot of them.

Here sits little Belle. This was during a thunderstorm. I guess she thought that was the best place to take shelter. Poor little puppy....neither of my furballs like thunderstorms.

Today is Friday, July 31st. I just can't believe how fast this summer is flying by......we are planning on taking the weekend off and heading back to the fiver this weekend. We are both so ready for a little relaxation!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I mentioned our water problem last time.....this is a photo of our filter. That is only after just a few days. Pretty amazing and nasty.
This is DH's solution.....he is going to try two filters so we shall see how that works. If this fails we will give Culligan a call and see what they can do for us.

Still working on the stick house, can't tell you how tired I am, but it needs to be done. We have been sanding, priming, and painting cabinets. Tomorrow we are going to install the new countertops and hopefully our new sink. I'll be sure and post some photos. DH and I always thought it would be great fun to buy an older home and restore it, but we have learned through this experience that......that time has passed. This house is about to kill both of us. Who knew, that once you reach middle age, your body no longer enjoys crawling around on the floor, climbing up and down ladders, and painting....painting.....and painting......LOL! I sure hope who ever buys this place appreciates all the work we have done to update it. Ok, it is finally time to take my Advil and roll myself into bed.....sure hope I can get out of bed in the morning.


Friday, July 24, 2009

Busy, Busy

Sorry I have not gotten back to blogging on a more regular basis. The house is just eating up a lot of my spare time. Thank you goes out to Mike about the water situation. We will look into that possibility. As to more photos of my grandson, be careful what you wish for.......you may get more than you bargained for......LOL

I am taking photos of our 'work in progress' at the house and I will add some grandson photos to the mix as well for my next blog.

We ordered our carpet for the fifth wheel and it is to be installed August 24th. I can't wait to see the new carpet, but getting all the furniture out of the fifth wheel and temporarily moving back into the stick house is going to be a pain to say the least.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Look for my next post to be Monday or Tuesday of next week.....till then

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I'm back......


They say "a picture is worth a thousand words".......and I think the photo here says it all. I'm absolutely head over heels in love with my grandson...and his Mom is just too wonderful for words. We have been truly blessed with the two of them in our lives. This past weekend was one I will never forget......and I know there are many more of those weekends in our future. I never knew how sweet the sound of "Grandma" was until Triston looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said, "Grandma, I love you"........I love you too, Triston and I miss you and your mommy both. Can't wait til we are together again.

Yes, I'm back in Lafayette and we will be back hard at work on the house. DH did a wonderful job of installing some under cabinet lighting in the kitchen while I was away. I'm sure we will be starting our tiling job on the back splash soon. On another front, at the fiver, we are struggling with some water issues. We are on a well here and suddenly the odor and the rust are becoming a real problem. We have filters, but they just don't seem to be handling the problem. DH is looking at installing a 3rd filter to try and solve the problem. Any of you rv'ers who have been through similar situations, I would love some advice. Thanks

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Hectic Times


I am really having a time keeping up with everything, so I'm sorry if my posting is a bit spotty. We have been in full reno-mode on the house as you can see by this photo. We stripped off all the old tile and pulled the appliances. The old countertops were removed, but then we sat them back on to keep the inside of the cabinets clean while we apply the cement board for the new tile. DH is going to be putting in some under cabinet lighting. We will have a new dishwasher and disposal and sink going in as well. We debated about the amount of work and money this was going to take---is it worth it? The realtors all say it is the kitchen that sells the house and ours was definitely in need of some sprucing up. I hope it pays off in the end.

Back at the fiver, we are addressing our carpet issue. It needs replaced. We would have loved to have continued the Pergo flooring throughout, but everyone says that due to the slides, it is just not a good idea. So, we found a very good, durable carpet that we both liked and are going to have it installed this August. Of course, the carpet is in Lafayette and the installers are in Elkhart. We are having the carpet dropped shipped to them. We plan on taking out as much of the furniture as we can before we take the fiver for the carpet install. We hope to save some on the labor by doing that part ourselves. It will take the guys about 2 days to install the carpet. We will stay at the stick house during that time. Hope we have a kitchen by then.

This weekend my mother and I are going down to southern Indiana to visit my grandson and new daughter. This will be the first time we have all actually seen each other. We plan on staying in a nearby hotel so we have the entire weekend. I'm sure I will have photos to post upon our return. Til then......

Thursday, July 9, 2009

God Created The Sewer System?

Where does the time go.....why is it that the older we get the faster our days seem to go by?

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We had rain all day on the 4th, but Sunday the sun shone and the day was the nicest we have seen in quite awhile. My Mom and step-dad came up for the day on Sunday. My Mom enjoys the great outdoors, but she is not a 'camper' by any means. I remember a few camping trips in my childhood, but the trend didn’t last long. Mom always said it was no fun for her, just work with all the cooking and cleaning up. At any rate, she and I were in the fiver getting the hamburgers ready for the grill. She used the restroom and upon stepping outside the bathroom she says, “Where does it go?”. I’m like, “Where does what go?”. She says, “When I flush the toilet, where does it go?”. “Oh”, I said, “It goes into a holding tank.”. She replies, “Where is the holding tank?”. I reply, “It is under the trailer.”. “You have to empty that at some point, don’t you?”, she asked. So, I began to explain how one dumps the black tank and that we have to pump ours up to the pipe sticking up by the cabin. I further explain that it then goes into a septic system. She blinks and ask, “What is a septic system?”. “You are kidding.....you must know what a septic system is?”, I reply. She shakes her head “no”. Ok, so now I’m explaining how a septic system works and I get to the part about the 'leach field' and the 'fingers' allowing the liquid to seep back into the ground. Her eyes become wide with shock and disbelief, “Is that legal?”, she asked. “Is that legal,” I say, “ Yes, MOM, believe it or not septic systems have been around for decades!”. LOL! Just gotta love her.....apparently she has been under the misguided belief that when God created the earth, he also created our modern sewer system!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all the wonderful congrats on our new additions to the family. We are all making plans to spend time together and get to know each other better. We just feel so blessed right now......

Wanted to share some more pics of the river improvements. This one is especially for you Dad......we dumped a bunch of gravel in front of the cabin and in your 'turn around spot'......no more $250.00+ tow bills to pull you out of the mud!
This one shows the new mailbox we put out front, but we left that rusty old sign on the tree. That thing has been there as long as I can remember. So, a little old a little new. We have also been trimming some trees and brush to make getting up and down the lane a little easier with our 'big rigs' LOL! Don't worry, Dad, we didn't cut down any of your 'favorite' trees. What you all don't know is ALL the trees are Dad's favorites. Speaking of my Dad, looks like we may not see them til we go down to Florida this fall. It seems they had a bit of mechanical troubles with their motorhome. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of their motorhome is one of those who didn't make it through these tough economic times. As a result, they have had a terrible time getting parts for repair. Last we spoke, they were hoping to have the parts in a day or so, get repaired, and then they were just going to head back home. I know this has been a stressful time for them both. I'm disappointed, but I certainly understand. Guess that is all for today.......everyone have a great 4th of July!