Bathroom Sneak Peaks

I'd love to do a grand "reveal" where everything is spiffy with towels hung up and every speck of dirt and grit banished.  

But I might be 100 before that happens  :)

As far as the progress by Slow-Old-Painters-R-Us: 

both downstairs bathrooms have their final coats on the walls. 

When I get two coats on the baseboards in the guest bathroom, 

I can declare victory on 2 of the 3.5 bathrooms!   

The guest bath has a tub/shower 

with mosaic tiles and shelves around the glass block window 

and a ledge of soapstone bumping out the side wall 

that will give you a little elbow room while using the shower.  

Lest you think, I could be showering here instead of in the trailer,

hat's the faucet and shower head residing in the box on the top shelf...  :(

Across from the tub, is this vanity that I scored from Restoration Hardware.  

I put a soapstone top on it with some "mod" Hansgrohe faucets being installed.  

No those aren't candles in the corner.... just PVC pipe!

The RH drawer slides are pure junk, 

our plumber has had a rough time fitting in the tiny gap left between the drawers 

and I'll have to seal the "distressed" wood.  

If it had been full price, I'd have been disappointed, 

but it was such a bargain basement find that's it's worth the inconveniences.

I'll oil the soapstone to turn it darker when all of the work is finished.  

In the hall bathroom, the shower is complete 

(okay, so the water isn't turned on....) 

with the showerpipe, 

wood look tile and french shower doors installed. 

And what's this peeking around the corner?  

Be still my heart, it's a toilet!

Not working and without a seat, but hopefully by the end of the week?

There's no vanity or sink in that bathroom 

since I decided at the last minute that the antique sideboard/vanity needs refinishing, 

so I was tackling that for a while this evening. 

Yes I look like a total bum these days....  

Farewell Faithful Servant

A Farewell Ode:

I know I don't seem like the type to want household help.

But when I returned from my honeymoon 34 years ago, 

and found that my mother had arranged for you to be at our rental house waiting for me,

how could I say no?

At first there wasn't a lot for you to do.

But when the boys began to come along,

things picked up considerably.  

All hours of the day or night, you were at the ready.

How well I remember that 12 hour evening when all six of us had a stomach virus....

What would we have done without you?

Never needing attention,

Quiet and efficient.

Outlasting several partners.

It's not that I don't need you anymore,
but I fear that I've become a superficial snob and
you'd be out of place at the new house.

You're...  (gulp)... the wrong color
and a little shabby.

Oh how weak that argument sounds
when there's not anything else the matter with you but your looks. 

I had hoped that I wouldn't have to end it myself, 

but you seemed determined to stick with me forever 

so I had to be the one to cut the tie.

It's time for both of us to move on.

Farewell faithful servant....

Almond Maytag Dryer 

Never a repair....  1978-?

Given away to a new home.

Sniff, sniff! 

It's Looking Good Outside!

No we haven't fallen victim to carbon monoxide poisoning in the trailer

or worked ourselves into a state of total exhaustion.

(Only partial exhaustion)!

We're still happy campers out here on the driveway.

Literally! 

I've been too tired at night to post

but the house is looking grander every day 

and I can hardly wait to call it home.

With worries about the weather changing, 

there was a push to get some work done outside.  

Making the biggest visual impact was the instant growth of grass.....

Sod!!!

A package deal of 10,000 square feet. 

Holey moley that was a lot of grass!

When we were in our 40's we sodded the front and backyard ourselves at the old house, 

but this time I stayed inside working and 

happily left the sod-laying to others.

Diesel sales in the county were good this month!

About 5 different machines were constantly busy out on the hill for over a week.

Scraping and shaping, moving dirt, topsoil, limestone and gravel.
They did a beautiful job and there are planting beds ready to go in the spring.

Other outside developments included getting the septic system operational.
One of these days, we'll have a toilet in the house
to go along with the septic,
but babysteps you know!

Gutters were installed.
And bring on the snow and power outages.....
We've got a generator!!

In case you're thinking that since it all looks so lovely outside, 

then surely we must be moving in any day now?

I'll give you a reality check.... 

and leave you with the current state of the guest room...

Concrete floors, windows out being primed, no toilet or running water in the bathroom etc.

Did I mention that everyone is coming here for Christmas?

Here I am working into the wee hours of the night on one of the windows.

Arriving armed with a sense of humor and adventure 

will be required of all family members 

at Christmas this year!!

Our Home on the Driveway

Not everyone knows what a "living quarters" horse trailer looks like, 

 so here's our new home out by the garage.

It's used for horse "camping" and overnight trips only 

since we have a smaller 2 horse trailer 

that we use for close to home day trips with the horses. 

It's sort of funny that we're actually taking the term

"living quarters trailer" literally! 

For now it's a full time home for the four of us.

I'm guessing that we'll be out here on the driveway 

for at least a month and possibly longer. 

 Several friends have offered rooms at their homes 

and we'll be taking them up on meals and laundry help.

But I'm happy to call the driveway home since we're comfortable, 

Noel and Atta are content,  and we like being close to the house.

It's wonderful to walk over and fix a sandwich at lunch 

and not have to make the late night drive back to the rental. 

In other news we've had the septic system installed

and most of the grading finished around the house.

This little gravel path to the lower level has been a huge help 

with keeping the dirt levels down in the basement.

The Marmoleum (think sheet linoleum) was laid in the kitchen

and I only got a copule of quick iphone photos  before it got covered with the RamBoard. 

I'm super happy with the color ("Forest Ground") and the great job of the installers!

Since everything was cleared out for the installation, 

these photos make it all look so nice and clean inside.... 

Photos lie!!

Trust me, it's total chaos and mess in there from one end of the house to another.

And now it's time for breakfast and the quick walk to work.

The soapstone installer is working on Sunday 

and I'm getting the counters installed in the kitchen and guest bathroom today!!!

WooHOO!!

I've got some painting and window scraping to do ahead of the installation 

so I'd better get moving before I'm fired.  :)