The Best Bed She Could Find

Post From AttaGirl....

Work, work, work that's all they ever do at this new house.

No ball throwing, no long walks in the woods.

The creature comforts are few and far between.

I love a thick cushy place to sleep,

 but yesterday someone spread this pitiful excuse for a dog bed out for me. 

If they paid for this bed they were hoodwinked.

It's just barely better than nothing.  

And they had the nerve to tell me to get up and move!

Late Nights at the New House

We've been working at the new house until at least 10pm for the past week

and are pretty darn exhausted.  

Should anyone want to send aid or assistance 

in the way of food, extra hands 

or IV caffeine, 

please come on over!  

We've been redoing/"tweaking" the doors because of a mixup with the painters

over the application of the stain and poly....  

Note to future home builders and professional painters:  

a water based poly shouldn't be coated on immediately after applying an oil based stain. 

So we're sanding, and then I'm putting two coats of a special sealer on the doors....

 all 19 of them.... both sides.  

Did I mention that I'm tired? 

Four Panel Pocket Door (one of a pair) for the study

The "miracle" Sealcoat has the extra benefit of accentuating 

the grain and quartersawn patterning

and the blessing is that I discovered the problem 

before the painters continued to layer more poly on top of the uncured stain.  

On a brighter note, I'm happy with the exterior color that I concocted 

by combining a few different Sherwin Williams colors.  

Soffits being painted.  Hardi with primer and no paint....

I guess I made my own full spectrum paint 

and love the way that it looks different at different angles and times of day.  

I was thrown into a state of angst when someone came to the homesite 

and expressed his dislike for the color when only the skirt board was painted.   

I was advised that I was making a big mistake 

and should change the color before the siding began to be painted!  

After 36 hours of inner turmoil, 

I decided to forge ahead and pretend that I'd never heard the criticism. 

It reminded me of not telling people your baby's name until after he/she was born.  

People feel that they can say something critical about a name choice when a woman is pregnant 

and will stay blessedly silent after the name (or paint) is firmly applied to the babe (or house)!

Enough blogging.... I'm off to seal more doors!

A Whole Lotta Painting Going On!

One of the drawbacks to renting a house and boarding the horses 

is that I'm not getting much exercise.  

I could join the Y (amazingly there is one!) or a yoga class 

but I've always preferred gardening and stall cleaning 

as my exercise methods of choice.  

Basement Center Hall- Looking into study
BM Carrington Beige

So when we began painting this weekend, it was a shock to the old muscles!  

Long Hall in the Basement
also BM Carrington Beige

We've finished at least the first coat on all ceilings in the basement, 

and most of the walls down there have their first coat.

The third member of the paint crew, Attagirl, feels that painting is way overrated 

and would rather be outside chasing rabbits!

Our division of labor is that I do all of the cutting in and brush work 

and  Joe sticks to rolling.  

So for me it means up and down, 

and up and down the ladder hundreds of times.  

Guest Bath
BM November Rain

The scaffolding in the study 

was too big to fit in any of the other basement areas 

without too much bother disassembling it to get through doorways.  

But it sure felt good to be working on the house ourselves!

  

Progress!!!

Milestone Delivery

There was a special delivery out at the hill.....

Exciting enough that I'll shoot off a virtual firecracker left over from the Fourth of July!

July 4, 2012 Fireworks Over VMI

Doors!!

We took a chance on ordering via the internet and it seems to have paid off.  They arrived in good shape and with no obvious defects.    

It's one of the bigger ticket items in the budget, and finding a supplier with a quality product that we could afford proved challenging.  

The final test will be fit etc when they begin to be installed, but for now we couldn't be happier.  

Since they're wood (not MDF or particle board veneers), it's important to seal them asap so that they don't begin to warp or absorb moisture via the air.  

The paint crew was ready to begin work first thing the next morning.... 

In less than 24 hours they've already been stained and gotten a first coat of sealer.  

Is there any prettier wood than quarter and rift sawn oak?  

Choosing Paints

My mother never worried about paint colors.  

She only needed one;  she was a white paint person.  

When I was in high school, they built a large custom home of over 5K square feet, 

and she had it painted white..... 

every square inch of it.  

Even the brick on the exterior!

If she were alive, she'd think that the stark white coat of primer

looks just fine the way it is.... 

Why even bother painting?!

Bookcase wall between foyer and den

Wouldn't she be surprised to know that BM now has over 140 shades of white?  

However, I suspect that she wouldn't  let the other 138 confuse her and she'd chose

plain old Bright White and Ceiling White as her color palette even today.  

As for me, I'm narrowing down the list of candidates.

But did you know that there are over 3,500 colors of Benjamin Moore paint?

Seriously.

Joe thinks that I have chips and samples for almost half of them!

I'm not going to my mother's extreme, 

but other than an accent wall or two 

the house will be shades of sagey taupes, khaki and creams.  

The brighter colors within will come via the tile and furnishings.  

The zingiest of the tiles is in the laundry room.  I wanted a happy room!  

I may be washing clothes just to find an excuse to spend time with the tile!

House Progress: Early July

The house decisions are coming fast and furious. 

Or rather the need to make the decisions is coming fast and furious. 

I'm making them painfully and slowly! 

Hardi siding and battens going up on the exterior...

The stone crew came back and worked on the garage columns

It's a gritty dusty mess since they handsaw many of the stones to fit.... 

I'm glad they take the time to wear respirator masks.

Also outside, footings were dug and poured for the front steps 

and the garage overhang and portico.

Atta would like the tile installed in her paw washing/floor sink area,

but that won't be happening for a while! 

The master bathroom tub is still in the garage here at the rental house.
Bernard the Mini is getting used to having it for company.  :(
But the room is primed and ready for paint, trim and tile.  

Fourth of July Festivities

A red white and blue tow truck

plus Uncle Sam on a unicycle......

It's a Fourth of July Parade!

But it's a little different..... there are no fire trucks or marching bands.

Just kids, kids and more kids!  

It's the Children's Annual Bike Parade down Main Street.

All types of decorated bikes, scooters and strollers!  

Following the parade, the kids (all several hundred of them) 

are treated to hot dogs, watermelon and ice cream!  

We're off to listen to the band and watch the fireworks at VMI!  

Happy Fourth of July!!  

Framed by German Shepherd Ears

When German Shepherds are pups they have floppy ears 

and you wait with bated breath hoping that they'll stand erect.  

The pup may go through a period where her ears tip together
or one may be up and one down before (hopefully) standing straight up at all times.  

Yesterday Atta's ears were even more erect than usual (if that's possible!) 

when I saw her intently staring 

out of the front door sidelight.  

When I went and stood directly behind her, I saw the cause for her focus.

What a tease to nibble grass within feet of the front door! 

Showing Off Our Present!

I was uber excited about my first get-together with a fellow blogger last week;
just the meeting was enough,

 so it never occurred to me that she might bring me a present.   

After our hello hug, when Diane said that she had "a little something" for me, I was surprised.  

Then I thought,  "Wasn't that thoughtful of her to bring a little something to say "Nice to Meet You?"

A little something.  

Hmmm.....

Perhaps it was going to be a bar of soap, a jar of jelly, a candle?   

Any of which would have been a very nice little somethings!   

Instead, I was touched to the point of being nearly speechless 

(and we all know how rarely that happens!) 

when Diane produced this framed photograph from the backseat of her car!  

Without further adieu..... 

Other than wedding photos (30 plus years ago), 

we've very few photos of the two of us.... 

and none that are framed and available to display.   

Plus we have no photos of Sarge and Cloud that aren't on our computers.

Thank you so very much Diane!  

It's a precious gift that we'll always treasure!!