Have read her blog before. She is wonderful about sharing details. Adding a bit to this, taking photos tells one a lot about what is going on. I take photos of my artwork to "see" what needs attention. It is like another person looking at it. Can grab mistakes and get ideas not thought about while working on them. Even small details can change a large art piece. The same is true about our decor.

OT...meant to ask how you are doing. It has been forever since we wrote. I was going to tell you that we both have the same BR faucet. Love it and wish they would make one for the kitchen. For those who haven't seen it, looks like an old hand pump.

OT...meant to ask how you are doing. It has been forever since we wrote. I was going to tell you that we both have the same BR faucet. Love it and wish they would make one for the kitchen. For those who haven't seen it, looks like an old hand pump.

Hi there! It has been a very long time.

My reno project seems to be getting close to beginning. Although DH does not want to add any more money to the job, he is now telling me he wants "real wood" cabinets. NO IKEA. I was happy to go with IKEA, since at our age a "lifetime warranty" doesn't give much advantage. However, I'll make it up somewhere else.

I'm trying to remember to document the things which are not good now, and the differences will be apparent quickly once the work starts. You won't believe how this project CREEPED into one with a new gas supply line, thus new tankless water heater, a natural gas outdoor grill, and moving the gas meter outside the privacy fence to keep it secure. The old back porch will be torn off and a 9' deep x about 25 foot wide (as wide as the house whatever that is) will be added, half of it being added to the kitchen, half as a sitting area for the master suite. It will have floor/ceiling non-opening picture window panels overlooking a new back deck facing my walled garden. I recently added a 10 foot tall lattice shade screen which completed the "walling in" of my hosta garden. Need shade here to grow hosta in a hostile environment. The screen is 40 foot wide and completes the last "brick in the wall" for a really quiet and pleasant space.

The gas people have been here and marked up the street and lawn where the 2 pound pressure gas line will be run. I hope the power people come soon too to run the underground supply line from the pole at the south property line at the street. That will help when we have hurricanes. At least there won't be DOWN LINES from the pole, although there might be no power in our area. With trees growing so quickly here, tree debris is a constant source of damage to power. There will also be a lot of non glamorous upgrades, like the plumbing lines and insulating beneath the house. We have a crawl space, and it stays dry there, but heat and cold are felt on the flooring. And, since there will be a new Bellawood floor installed over the old hardwood, I'll be losing an inch of ceiling height, bringing the ceilings down to 8 foot 1 inch. Floors will be run beneath the kitchen cabinets, which will be on legs not kick spaces, and DH also wants the high base boards (mop boards as they say in New England) about 6-8 inches just simple. He already did crown molding simple in LR/DR/2 BR, so the contractor will match that in any new areas. All woodwork and cabinets will be painted white. Countertops Silestone "Stellar Snow" which is a sort of mix of sparklies with gray/white/black flecks. EXCEPT, the tops either side of the stainless steel gas range will be stainless steel. The walls will be a soft earthy yellow. I love the calming and cheerful feeling of yellow/white/gray. Just about no upper cabs, except either side of a window seat will have glass doors on the cabs flanking it. In the base cabs, most will be drawers of various depths except for a few which will have door fronts and rollout Rev-A-Shelf inserts. I have in the plans a pop-up thingy for my heavy KitchenAide stand mixer. Getting too old to lift that thing.

Plus, some might think I'm short sighted, but I have the stacking laundry in the back corner of the new addition which will have a tall pantry cabinet between it and the Whirlpool sidebyside fridge cabinet depth. The bottom part of the pantry will have the rollout for laundry hampers. This is a small house, and multifunction is what it's all about.

It remains a two bedroom house, but it is two suites and would make a good rental for two roommates. One is now our study, with a 3/4 bathroom (no tub just a shower). I'm adding back the french doors removed because they were in the way, this time they will be bifold French doors. That way, the living room can be separated off to become a guest room with a sofa bed. No closet, but a nice chest of drawers, and the sunporch for relaxing views of the garden. I'm taking the TV off the mantle in the LR and will remove gas logs (they stink) from that fireplace. I plan to wood over the hearth and make the fireplace mostly ornamental. It could be used in the future, but not on my watch. I'll cover over the chimney flue to stop air infiltration and critter access. We are not redoing the windows at this time. I'm watching my shrinking budget, getting the invasive projects done now so no more digging in the garden and we can grow our shrubbery as we wish. Later, the OLD windows can be replaced, since only THREE will be affected in this remodel. One window of the master bedroom will be gone completely when that exterior wall is opened up for the sitting area. The kitchen sink window will be knocked out and a big wide garden window 48 inches by whatever tall, goes in behind the sink. The living room picture window will be reused but moved forward into a new entryway, and later it can be replaced with the rest of the old windows. I'll have a new front door swinging the opposite direction, and two back doors opening onto the deck, one from the kitchen and one from the master br. Beside the master backdoor will be an open hot/cold outdoor shower, which I simply MUST have. I'm really excited to have it installed--with proper plumbing to turn it off for freezes drain the lines. Some external power plugs will give DH the chance to run power equipment in his workshop not far away. Not a breaker box I don't think, unless he wants to pay the difference. My Teahouse may wind up with a breakerbox but I'll worry about that later. Just have the space for a breaker going to it.

Well, I must go. I'm packing boxes to store in the Teahouse during the reno. It is due to begin soon after Labor Day. It has been a long time coming. It is NOW OR NEVER as far as I'm concerned. I'd about given up on it. Now I'm excited again. Whoopeeee!!!

How great to have an update. I've missed you and the wonderful changes made. Will always remember people telling you the tea house just can't be done....and you showed them it could.

Kitchen sounds like a lot of work, but knowing you, it will be on it's way in a flash and all your are hoping for. Many changes in my life, did change kitchen layout and working on painting the entire house. Sure gets one to clean unseen corners for years.

Be sure to post some pics. I always enjoyed seeing them and by now a lot must be full and blooming.

Most work has been in the garden. In July we had a tall lattice shade screen put up to complete the walling in of my hosta garden. Here it is seen from inside the screen, giving some shade. I do not plan to paint it.

and from the outside soon after it was completed.

and then again inside a spot where I can sit

Most of my work is in the garden, except for packing up and moving boxes to the Teahouse until after the remodel is done. Everything will go since the floors will all be Bellawood ash wide plank.

Oh my, your yard looks nothing like the last time seen. The arbor is wonderful. And all your plants, they were just being put in. Don't forget to update. You have a lot of plans, knowing you it will happen.