Our three day weekend

Started here:

Moved on to here:

For the first time ever, P convinced me me to join him in the crawl space.  Unfortunately, jobs in the crawl space tend to involve a lot of this:

While P is awfully cute when he's thinking, I have very little patience for the finer parts of working out the plan.  Give me a job, or I'm out.

So I was out.  Instead:

June 2011--month in review

Nothing like arriving at the year's halfway point to make one feel horribly behind on the list.

Guest Bedroom

• hang pictures
• reupholster antique chair
• install closet doors
• fix hinge-bound door so it will actually close

Office

• make and hang curtains--remember that joke I had here several months back about how my mom was going to have to come finish this one for me?  Well, it turned out not to be a joke.  Thanks, mom!
• reupholster footstool
• put laminate on top of craft table
• paint and hang door

Hall Bath

• skim coat walls a little more
• repaint walls
• really, really scrub grout--and if that doesn't remove yellowing, try one of those grout pens I tried all the srubbing possible, and nothing changed.  So I've reached the point of not caring anymore.  Works for me.
• hang at least one picture/piece of art
• install closet door knob
• install hooks where I can hang my work clothes
• install new light fixture

Hall/Living Room/Kitchen/Dining Room

• knock down walls to make these all a single space
• install structural beam to replace structural wall
• patch existing oak flooring where walls were removed
• make new attic hatch
• replace textured ceiling in kitchen
• remove wood panelling and replace with drywall partway done
• remove vinyl floor in kitchen, and lay new hardwoods there and over exposed subfloor in dining room
• commit to new kitchen plans I wouldn't say we've completely committed, but I think our current ideas are pretty firm
• build new kitchen cabinets (at least the lower ones)
• get/make new countertops
• install backsplash
• run plumbing for gas range
• install new sink
• remove windows in dining room, and replace with french doors out to backyard
• buy fireplace screen and make the occasional fire
• replace hearth tile
• make living room curtains (purely ornamental)
• figure out window treatment for front windows that will maximize both light and privacy (plantation shutters?)
• install new baseboard and crown molding
• install doors on coat closet
• fix draft under front door
• install lots of new outlets to bring house up to newer codes for required number of outlets per room
• install new lighting

Utility room

• build utility room--making progress--dismantled exterior wall, installed insulation, and put drywall back up in May
• buy and install new tankless water heater--The water heater is up, and most of the plumbing is done--now for the finishing touches and the gas line
• run plumbing and install utility sink--everything is in place and waiting for the final hook-up once the water heater is ready
• run plumbing and vent lines for washer/dryer--again, everything is in place and waiting for the final hook-up  

Master bedroom

• lay hardwood flooring over exposed subfloor

Master Bath

• give ugly medicine cabinet a cosmetic face lift

Crawl Space

• complete encapsulation
• test house for radon
• enjoy running lots of plumbing and wiring for new kitchen/utility room/great room in new, dry, clean space

Garage

• fix roof leaks 
• continue to work to make this a functional wood shop for P (so he can spend lots of time out there building me new kitchen cabinets!)

Exterior

• paint foundation to complement new stair color
• figure out how to make exterior brick look good after we cut into it to install afore-mentioned french doors
• paint front door a more lively color (it should be easy to beat white)
• work with P's brother A, a professional landscape designer, to come up with an actual design for our landscape
• remove a few more azaleas
• add more plants and beds to continue moving toward cottage garden look I spread 2 yards of mulch, my dad spread another two, and the place is shaping up
• grow a tomato that doesn't rot before it ripens the deer ate my tomato plant, so I added a second, and now they're both a foot tall--while everyone else in town is doting on their already-pink tomatoes
• try to agree on privacy plantings for west property line, and plant them so they have some time to grow
• buy and plant something on east property line  for now, I've filled in some butterfly bushes and purple lovegrass.  Not anything either of us is excited about, but for now, it's better than nothing