Flowers Make Everything Better

God planted these














OSHA Babe planted these













These were a gift from Daniel, Minnie, and the girls
Terri relaxing in the rocking chair

















Daniel, Minnie, Darian, and Daniella
Light fixtures, not bare wires, in the Master Closet
Looks better than bare wires, doesn't it?


















More beadboard for OSHA Beadboard Babe















Talk about high class! We no longer have to leave the roll of paper on the back of the toilet.











FOR THE WEEK ENDING September 16, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Not only will we leave the light on for you (see last week's blog entry) but there are flowers on the front porch making this look more and more like home. OSHA Babe is in charge of more than just safety around here. She's trying her hand at horticulture. God did His part as usual with the beautiful red lilies that came up again in the front yard. One of the first blog entries from September, 2006 was red lilies. Yep, that's right, it has been a year.

2. We hung light fixtures in the Master Closet and the Friedrich Memorial Mud Room. I can't tell you how much of an improvement that is compared to the electrical wire and "pig-tailed" single light bulbs that had been there. In addition to the fixtures that were hung, we got out the two original fixtures that we found. We do plan to use both of the original fixtures - one in the landing at the top of the stairs and the other at a location TBD. We are fortunate to still have some of the original fixtures to use throughout the house.

3. The end is in sight for the two largest bathrooms. We bought, cut, primed, and painted moulding for the top edge of the beadboard wainscoating. It was really a challenge trying to match up new moulding to existing moulding in the Master Bath. If you come visit, don't look too close. I made 3" wide base boards out of original material that we still had around. It's still good wood after 102 years.

I talked to the plumber to get on his schedule for installing the clawfoot tubs, toilets, and lavatories. Hopefully, that will happen by the end of this week. Also, the cabinet maker is building a vanity stand to hold a lavatory in the Master Bath. The lavatory is an original fixture as well. The vanity stand may be here this week.

4. The "Big 3" rooms are starting to get some attention. The wood trim around doors and windows in the Entry, Parlor, and Dining Room needs to be scraped, sanded, painted. Ceilings and walls need to be painted. Then the floors need to be refinished. It's good to be working on those rooms to convert them from being warehouses to neat living spaces. In the Dining Room, the cabinet maker is also working on an enclosure to conceal the HVAC unit that is unsightly. It's difficult to explain what he's doing. So rather than attempting a word picture, I'll wait until we have a digital one. Stay tuned.

5. We had 2 sets of visitors this past week. Terri, an AT&T friend from Mexico City days, stopped by for a visit. That's her pictured sitting in the rocking chair. The chair came from Pat's family in Tennessee and was built a lot lower to the ground than contemporary furniture. Terri said that it fit her just fine. Terri and husband Steve have relocated to San Antonio and are having a house built in a very nice neighborhood. Terri loved the finished floors in our house and has made arrangements for Frank the Floor Guy to finish some flooring details in their new house.

Sunday, we had Daniel, Minnie, Darian, and Daniella come for lunch after church. They are a wonderful young family who have started back attending church on a regular basis. It was fun to have Daniella laughing and playing in the house and her older sister, Darian, sitting in a rocking chair out on the balcony talking on her cell phone. Sunday's sermon was about raising godly children. It's refreshing to see young parents like Daniel and Minnie making a difference. You guys hang in there.

NEXT STEPS:

1. We need to schedule plumber for installing claw foot tubs. Hopefully, all the moulding will be up, nail holes caulked, and touch up paint done so the installation can happen late this week.

2. Paint preparation will continue in the Entry, Parlor, and Dining Room. After the door and window trim gets "Metabo-ed", everything needs to be sanded. And then it is paint the ceilings (2 coats), paint the trim (2 - 3 coats), paint the walls (2 coats), hang the light fixtures, and get on Frank the Floor Guy's schedule. I can't quite hear the fire crackling in the fireplace but OSHA Babe is imagining the 9 1/2 foot Christmas tree she bought last season adorning the Entry Way.

3. The Cabinet Guy needs to continue working on OSHA Babe's plate rack, the bathroom vanity, shelving for the small bathroom upstairs, a seating area in the Mud room, and the HVAC corner downstairs. It's a little expensive but worth it to put those details into the house.