Here we go again with Restoration #2

I've been kind of quiet around here because I've been preoccupied. Stressed out and preoccupied.  You may remember a little over a year ago, we went through a huge restoration when we had a tiny water leak that affected our entire first floor.  I blogged about it here, here, and here.

After the restoration was complete, everything looked great until about two months after we moved in.  I started noticing the floors weren't "right".  For a YEAR, I went back and forth with the the restoration company who kept telling me everything was fine and I kept insisting it wasn't. My gut told me things weren't right.  I'd wait a couple months and call them back again, over and over.  I finally got two outside opinions and each contractor told me at a minimum we needed to have the floors refinished.

We finally got the original contractor to agree to refinish the floors and were getting ready to schedule a date when I found the source of the problem.  The plumber who installed the toilet in the 1/2 bath didn't install it correctly and it had been leaking under the floors for the past year.  YEP.  Guess I was right.

So that means the ENTIRE job gets to be done again. Not only that, but since it is a 3rd party liability claim, I had to go round and round with everyone to get this project scheduled. I had to deal with the contractor, the adjuster, and the 3rd party insurer.  It took over a month and multiple, draining phone calls to finally get this project underway.

So, the mess gets bigger as they pack us up once again. How do you decide what you need for the next five weeks and what you can live without?

It makes my stomach turn to see our home be upended this way once again.  It's a violation for people to be pawing over our stuff. And the dogs were beside themselves with all these people in our home, packing up our things.

Ugh. So empty.

We really have to do this all again???  If you blow up the picture big enough, you will see the granite countertops on the back porch next to the toilet sitting out there too.  I'm sure the neighbors think we are total white trash.  I don't care.  I'm over it.

Today the demolition finally began and it's a mix of feeling sick to my stomach over what is happening to my home, and a mix of relief that we are finally moving forward and that much closer to getting it all back to normal.

I'm sure the neighbors like seeing all this crap in the garage along with the giant dumpster and pod parked in the driveway, and construction vehicles clogging our quiet little street.

It gets worse before it gets better, right?

Last renovation, we were stupid enough to live in the guest bedroom with the four dogs while all this went on.  This time, I couldn't face all that and started stressing out about going to a hotel with the dogs.  I kept praying about what we were going to do and stressing how I was going to handle it all.  God had a plan and I didn't need to worry about a thing!

We didn't end up in a hotel.  THIS is where we are staying:

 It's a 20 acre property that used to be a mini horse farm.  Our friends own this beautiful place and it has been sitting empty so they allowed us to rent it for the time we need AND it's  no problem to have the dogs here!

The grounds are beautiful!  We're calling it our country manor. ;)
Below is the barn where the mini horses used to sleep. It has cute living quarters on the second level.

The house itself is way bigger than what we need for a rental but we are enjoying our time here.  There is a large room at one end of the house that we think was at one time a home office.  When we saw the windows with this amazing view of the back yard, we decided to camp out in there.  So we wake up to this beautiful view. 

It's aggravating, stressful and just a big pain in the neck to be going through this for a second time but I just Thank God for all the wonderful things in our lives.  I really shouldn't complain because nobody is hurt, nobody is sick, we didn't lose anything, and the house is being repaired.  Plus, look at this place we get to stay! 

Moving back in

The reconstruction of our downstairs is almost complete!  The painters are here today putting the finishing touches on the trim work and repairing a few "dings" that took place during this humongous project.

We went for a darker finish on our floors than we had before and we are in love with how they turned out.  The picture below shows the true color of the floors.

 Here is a picture looking in from the front door.  Here the floors look much more orange than they really are, but I took these pictures with my phone since I have not yet located my good camera in all the boxes.

 Here is what things really look like around here.  I'm up to my eyeballs in boxes and packing paper, but hopefully, I'll get this all cleaned up soon.

In the midst of unpacking, I'm locating treasures that I forgot all about!  Look at this cute bunny tea pot I found - and just in time for Spring and Easter.  :)

I've been up to some fun stuff too - another class with Jackie, a Spring swap, and a few other things.  Hopefully now, I can catch up on some blogging that I've missed, so if you'd like to see what else I've been up to, be sure check back in a day or so.

Roughing it

 Things are still very much a mess around here.  This morning, the guys showed up to demolish our fireplace.  Ugly ~ isn't it? But the good news is that now that the fireplace is removed, the guys are here putting in the subfloor and starting to put things together again. This week floors, next week put our kitchen back in and *hopefully* finish the floors the weekend after this one.

As of this weekend, we moved out of the master bedroom and into the guest room.  Awesome...

We are pretending we are visiting friends who are hoarders.  Take the pile of pillows off the bed and put them on the floor. In the morning, take them off the floor and put them on the bed. I can't find a darn thing since everything is either in storage,  or stacked in piles in the closet, guest bedroom or the garage. UGH.

I sleep on the right side of the bed, smooshed up against the fridge, and at night, the dogs in the stacked cages.  - Stack 'em deep and sell em' cheap!  (Just kidding)  ;)

Poor babies, they are tired of all this commotion and mess! Us too.

We are guessing another two weeks or so.  Pray that we make it...

Not such a peaceful place...

After the moving company packed up most of our stuff, this is what the living room looked like with the floors still in place

The plumber came and took out the sink,   the electrician removed the stove, the microwave, and the oven, and the granite guy came and took off our counter tops.  I didn't realize what a habit it was to come home, put my handbag on the island, and how often I actually go to the kitchen sink to wash my hands, fill up the dog's water dish, etc.   What a pain. 

 This was yesterday, in the kitchen with all my lower cabinetry gone, the fridge gone and the flooring, gone.

This is our view as we exit the hallway from the master bedroom (for now).  See that huge machine?  That is the dehumidifier and it is loud and annoying.  As much as I dislike it, it is no where near as annoying as the drying fans we had last week, and may get again this week, depending on how wet the slab is.  Dear Lord, please help me...

The only hardwood flooring that survived on the first level is in my office.  Even the flooring in the dining room had to go.
We are squished like sardines with the four dogs in the master bedroom and it's about to get even more squished as we move out of the master into the guest room. As long as we are knee deep in dust and debris, we've decided to have the carpet removed in the master and the hardwoods extended in there.
I think this spring with all the allergies we usually suffer from, not having carpet in our master might make a difference.
I'm trying to be patient, I'm trying to keep a smile on my face as I know many people have it much, much worse.  This is also the kick in the butt we've needed to really start getting rid of all the excess "junk" we have around here and don't need.
I'm hoping this process goes quickly.

What A Mess!

We moved into our home about 4 1/2 years ago.  The day we closed, this is pretty much how the house looked as we walked in the front door.  Lovely faux paint, gorgeous hardwood floors, nice open space. It's been a very nice place to live until just recently.

 See these gorgeous floors and that beautiful stone fireplace?  Well, they are about to be ripped out.

 My island, my stove top, all my countertops have to all be pulled out.  Torn up. Gone. No stove, no refrigerator, NO KEURIG!

 Really??? Yep. We had what we thought was a minor water leak with our hot water heater.  Turns out, water travels much further and faster than you ever imagine and our entire living space downstairs is being packed up today so the demolition can begin.

Oh, and I work from home.  And all of my office has to be packed up and moved to storage...I can keep what I need in a few small boxes - What!!!??? It's my office! And it's time for business taxes, and I need my client files, and, and, and....Ugh. How do I decide what is absolutely important and what I can live without for possibly up to 6 or 8 weeks?  

I know me, and I'll keep out all this stuff I think I need (never to touch the entire time!) and pack up the rest and that is exactly the file, or whatever that I'll really need. Can anybody else relate?

Doug and I will be moving into our tiny little guest room that also has to house our four dogs, along with all the items the restoration people don't think should go into storage (art, TV's, etc)  Oh yeah.

Really, just what a mess.  So if I'm a little cranky and a little preoccupied - please just say a prayer for me.  I know in the grand scheme of things, this is really just an annoyance.  We really are blessed beyond measure and nobody got hurt, nobody died, we didn't lose any of our possessions (although we could stand to rid ourselves of so much stuff!).  It could be so much worse....

2012 Christmas Tree and Ornaments

This year I went with a white tree with mulit-colored lights and lots of my favorite decorations.  I love it!

 A few weeks ago, Doug and I went to the Tulsa flea market and I found this sweet vintage little Christmas bird.  There was no way he was staying there so he had to come home with me!  I love his chippy paint and his precious eyes.

Of course, everyone remembers Precious Moments.  My mom bought this angel for me while I was in nursing school.  I had just gotten my own apartment, I was totally broke and had just started collecting Christmas decorations.  Most of what I had that year was homemade (which I still love!) but this ornament has special sentimental value to me. 

 Look at this squishy owl!  He is brand new to my collection this year.  Doug and I went to a local nursery to check out the decorations and Doug bought this sweet guy for me.

 Remember the island of misfit toys?  We joke that our home is that island and I love this sweet little doll.

 Isn't this cute - a little fawn kissing a snowman.

 And finally, a bunny on top of an icicle.

I love looking at all my Christmas things!

June 2012 Back Yard

Last year we had the flagstone patio put in and although I didn't really love spending all that $$, I'm so thrilled that we went ahead and splurged.  It's so much nicer being in the back yard now.

Once the patio went in last year, it seemed like we were constantly traveling and getting to the actual landscaping part of the back yard got put on the back burner.  That, and it got to like 115 degrees and seemed to stay that way.  

 There is still so much I want to do in the backyard and time is quickly getting away from me (before the 100 degree temps start next week!) but hopefully my schedule will lighten up a bit and I can focus on getting the back yard more complete.  I've got to mulch - that is for sure.  Plus, we lost one entire half circle garden last year so I have to do something with that.

 I did plant two butterfly bushes and look who came to visit!  This beautiful creature has been hanging around my lavender, and my phlox too.  It makes me so happy!

I planted seven more lavender plants this year.  Some day, I'd love to have a huge patch of lavender.

I've also got a bunch of hummingbird feeders in the backyard.  I love watching the hummingbirds zoom around.  We've got one that is almost all shiny green, one that has a ruby throat, and this little one. 

It's so nice to sit on our back patio and listen to the birds and look at the beautiful surroundings.

Making Progress!

I'm happy to say that by putting my list "out-there" I'm making some progress!

I've painted the laundry room, and am almost finished painting the pantry. One more coat of paint on all the shelves and I'll take care of that tomorrow. I'll show pictures of the pantry once it is finished. Can you believe it took me an hour and a half just to empty everything out of there. Now, all that stuff is on all the counters in the kitchen and in the dining room. Ugh - what a huge mess! But I will finish it.

We bought and hung a new mirror for the kitchen (yay!) and today Doug bought a new ceiling fan for the back porch. This past week I finally got all the plants in the back yard planted. I have a very bad habit of going to the garden center buying pretty stuff and then leaving it unplanted until it dies. Although there were a few casualties, mostly everything got planted and although the landscaping is no where near finished back there, it is an improvement.

I'm determined to get everything off my list so stay tuned!

Four eggs and a new door!

Yesterday we woke up to find that the nest has survived the storms the last couple of days and now there are four eggs! The weather has suddenly turned cold again (in the low 60's) and today the mama is sitting on her eggs. When we go to check she just sits there very still probably hoping we won't hurt her. No mama - we're making sure everything is okay!

So, we are cruising along on our "to-do" list around the house but my question is this, "Why can't anything be easy or go smoothly?" It's always something, isn't it? Nothing major, just little annoyances along the way.

First, the patio. Now, it looks beautiful but we had to go round and round and had to ultimately go with the *most expensive option* due to an error that was made when the house was built three years ago. The patio turned out beautiful and even better than I thought it would and I am enjoying it immensely. I'm still working on the surrounding landscaping and decorating the patio itself but I just love the flagstone.
Next up was the garage project (no pictures just yet). That is actually still a work in progress in that we have to finish organizing. It took WEEKS to have the sheetrock and insulation removed and a huge dusty mess replacing the sheetrock with the bullnose edges. I couldn't wait to get to the painting phase where they would paint it a new, light color and just make the space feel so much better. In the middle of painting the guy went out for lunch and I checked his progress he had painted it the WRONG color! At first I was so upset since I had only told the project manager about 10 times I wanted a *new* color AND had called him the week before with the specific color I wanted. But, I decided to calm down and just tell the painter he would have to repaint the correct color and he did. Whew.

Finally, our custom front door. The door itself is beautiful and it lets so much light into the front hallway. I can't believe we didn't spring for this when we first moved in. Anyway -we were all excited that it was installed until we realized the company didn't put hinges on the glass panel so I can open it for easy cleaning. We paid extra for an operational glass door and we got one that is welded shut. So a call to the door guy and they have to build us a new panel for the door that will take several weeks. Also, new trim had to be put on the outside of the door so now that has to be painted along with the trim on the inside of the door that had to be removed and reinstalled for the new door.
In the scheme of things, I know these are minor annoyances - NOT major problems. I have to laugh that what seems like a simple project always involves more time and effort than what I originally think it will but the final result when all is said and done makes me wonder why it took me so long in the first place to get these things done.
Tonight we are off to see John Michael Montgomery at the Riverspirit Casino and tomorrow we have a wedding to attend so - a busy weekend for us!

Finished Patio

So, I've been blogging for a while now about having a few projects done around the house. One of the big projects was that we wanted to do something with the back patio. The old patio shown below was a small slab of concrete that made it difficult to really do anything with. It was too small to comfortably put our table and chairs and because the patio is on the west side of the house, the sun doesn't get to that part of the grass until afternoon which made for sparse grass and a real muddy mess.

After much back and forth we decided to pull the trigger and add the extended flagstone patio with walkway.
Here is the in progress:

And here it is complete:

Obviously we have to fill in the newly created garden and re-seed the grass up to the patio and I can hardly wait to get my planters out and filled with flowers. We love the way our patio turned out, don't you?