Projects Update

The work continues.  Progress is happening, and I think it's time to give an update.  Some of you may remember from previous blog posts that there are two simultaneous projects going on.  (What were we thinking?)

First I wrote about cleaning up our office and giving it a makeover.  Here is a picture again from before I started the organization process.  This is my desk, and although I know exactly where everything I need is located, it's not a pretty sight.  Not much room to work either.

And here's a worse view in case you weren't convinced this project needed to be tackled:

It makes me tired looking at this photo now.

I started sorting and organizing, one paper at a time, somewhere back in the middle of July.  By the end of August, I had made some progress, as you can see in this next photo.

As of yesterday then, here is where I am with my corner of the room:

Of course this is only telling half of the story.  I had never shown you the other desk in the room.  You can see the corner of it peeking into the photo above down in the right bottom corner.  I resisted showing you that desk back in July, because even though my desk was messy, compared to his desk mine looked pristine.

You know how it is - you get a new cell phone, and there's a box and all sorts of papers that come with it.  And onto the desk goes the old cell phone and the new packaging and papers.  You run out of printer ink, and you save the empty cartridges meaning to return them to staples.  You buy a new refrigerator, and there's a booklet of "important" information you plan to read.  You get a piece of mail that will require looking up 4786 other items in order to return the mail to the sender, and you add that to the pile.  And on and on.

Although this is not his desk, his was just as bad.

So I've been chipping away at all the debris of daily life that has stacked up on his desk too. 

And I'm happy to say, that I've made progress there too.  Along the way I've become wiser (after 34 years of marriage), and I've realized that he is no longer allowed to have a desk.  He can do whatever he wants with his desk at work, but no more dumping grounds desk for him here at home. 

This WAS his desk and bookshelves, and yes, that is my glass of wine you see there.  For a project of this magnitude, one can appreciate a little wine to keep oneself mellow.  I'm sure you can all see the abundance of wildlife surrounding his man space, too.  That is a red fox pelt hanging there on the right. Although I love wildlife, that stuff must leave now, and go elsewhere.

I have organized a junta, and this is now MY desk.  PERIOD.  

Tonight we remove the furniture from the room, and in a week construction begins.  New ceiling, repair and repaint the walls, level up the floor, carpet the floor, new lighting, new bookshelves, and new furniture.   I am keeping only the desk, because I like the inset red top.  The new color scheme in the room will be worked around that desktop.  Stay tuned; I'll post pictures to update.

A note of interest about this office is that originally it was used in the 1800's as a summer kitchen.  Our house was built about 1890, and when we moved in it was obvious that this room along with a small bathroom had been added onto the main house.  There was a large gas stove and a deep sink in this kitchen, giving the appearance that the room was used for cooking and canning in the summers.

Of course, in the way that these things work, because we need to level the floor up to the level of the main house, that will also require completely doing over the bathroom back there too.  I'll blog about that later, as I'm still in the design phase for that.

Now onto the other ongoing project.  

Phase 1 was completed in the Fall of 2011.  That was the purchase and demolition of an old (damaged beyond reasonable repair due to a leaking roof) home next to ours.  We also landscaped both sides of our property only back as far into the yard as our house extended.

Our house is on the left of the work area.

Phase 2 was completed in the Summer of 2012.  Additional landscaping was completed behind our home, and a patio was installed back there.

In this photo the patio work has just begun.  Puppy Sheila is overseeing the project.

Here is the completed patio, with new plantings around it.  There is some siding on the house that needs work also.

Here is the finished Phase 2, with all the furniture ready for entertaining.

And here is a view looking out the back door of our patio.

That brings us to the present.  Phase 3 work will begin in a few days.  We will have ground lighting installed in the landscaping, at steps and walkways, and around the yard to uplight several of the trees.  We will also be installing a  (surprise)  farther back in the yard.  Stay tuned!  

Phew!  In the midst of all of this excitement the husband/lover/best friend and I are leaving soon for a camping vacation in the Tioga - Hammond Lakes area of northern Pennsylvania.  We will be relaxing and seeing some sights, but at the same time designing a bathroom.  Perhaps I will need a vacation from my vacation.

So as you can see, I've been hanging around, doing some stuff.

One day at a time.  Minute by minute.  It's all good.