Monday, July 21, 2008

Hello Mr. Tree Trimmer....





This is our beautiful 800 year old tree. If you want to see the tree up close just click on the images.


Sorry for the sideways photos, didn't feel like rotating them.

We really like the old tree, but we are afraid the whole thing might have to come down. It appears to be bug infested. Dead Branches fall off it everyday.

The first day we moved in a wild rain storm (tornadoes in the area) came in and a couple large branches fell.

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lunch with Mitchell

This was a well deserved day with Aunt Jeni and Mitchell. They spent the day with us last Thursday with the intention of working on the house, but as you can see, feeding Mitchell was much more fun. We didn't lift a finger for work, but had the best day talking and playing. I know I had a great day. It was therapeutic. I love my family.
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Wallpapered hole

We have learned that when you have a hole in the wall, no need to repair it, do like the previous owner did...just cover it will wallpaper! You can see the nice un-repaired hole with the square of wallpaper remains and if you look closely a half-repaired hole under the thermostat. All of this covered with wallpaper.
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Suzie's Blister

This is our official "Blood-Sweat & Tears", into this house. I got this blister right on the most tender part of my right hand. It doesn't look like much, but it HURTS! I pulled half of the skin off and it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. This was after an afternoon of using the screwdriver (with no gloves on) and digging and pulling off the rest of the carpet strips on the kitchen and pantry. I didn't realize how bad it was until after I was done. This was Wednesday and it still hurts today, Sunday.
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Suzie Scraping

Am I spelling "scrap-ping" right? Is it one "p" or two?
Anyway, here I am after two hours. Gr-un-dge!
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Funky Kitchen Floor

Ok, I know this looks disgusting. And well, it is. This is actually 4 layers of stuff. The corner is the cleaned original floor in the kitchen. Next is the funky dirty grime left after years of carpet. Then a layer of (of course) orange padding that was stuck to the floor that needed to be scrapped off. As you may have seen in earlier blogs, Bob & Nick removed orange carpet. Did you count? 1-2-3-4!
Ok, it took me probably45-50 minutes just to clean this up. It was a process that actually works. I cleaned straight across this side of the kitchen and then more last week. I have the walkway into the kitchen and pantry to finish. We are still deciding what to put down next. The original floor seen, once cleaned is livable but not permanent. The paneling behind on the walls is down! I love the pry bar!
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Dining Room

This is the view from the living room into the dining room. It now has no wallpaper on it. We scrapped it off and I finally cleaned it up as much as possible. This is where Matt found our wonderful bee holes in the wall. Except for the dried glue lines, it looks a lot better. Just waiting for holes to be patched and priming for paint. Still deciding on what color to paint. See the striped groovy iron decortive "thingy"? The part that is attached to the wall is gone. There is another one on the other side of the living/dining room wall. They will be taken down this week.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Back to Business

What a whirl-wind of a week. Things came to a screeching halt last week when Mom passed. I have been feeling really down and non-productive. I am still catching up on lost sleep and a "cry" head ache. Sam left for Michigan with Charlene yesterday. I think the timing was perfect for him to spend time with his grandma. Time heals.
I did find the box with all the previous listed things I was looking for, and then some. The day before Mom died I scrapped the majority of the wallpaper and pulled paneling off the kitchen walls. I think that helped with the stinky cigarette and stale smell. I am gonna try to finish scrubbing the gross floor today. I need to keep my mind busy, I get sad too easily.
I found 3 layers of different wallpaper behind the kitchen paneling. Matt took pictures. They were (of course) orange/yellow/flowers and brownish/tan plaid. So a total of 4 different wallpaper patterns exist in the kitchen.
The pry-bar is my new best friend! It works on everything! I will have pictures of the latest destruction.
I love my family!

Thursday, July 3, 2008


Bees in the Wall? Not my idea of Fun. It looks like they are all gone though. Unlike the Carpenter Bees in our Front Window.

Any Body know a good Drywall hanger?
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Where is the?...

Ok, I need to find my the box that has my makeup, shower mat, q-tips, and hair dryer. Thanks to Becky, she is letting me use an extra hair dryer she has. I have been makeup-less for almost 2 weeks. I'm feeling a little pale! So today is the day I am bound and determined to find this box. I will go through every box in the house to find these things.
My family got me a bread box for Mother's Day for the new that I wanted. That too, is in limbo. So I am in head long mode to find everything.
The wallpaper in the dining/living room is almost down. There are a few stuck on wallpaper glue spots that need extra time. Matt found two little bee holes in the walls that look like they are not active, thank goodness! He put some tape over them waiting for repair. Otherwise it's moving along well. The garbage guys are gonna love our pickup this week!
Lowes called back to give exact quotes on carpet and flooring. Looks like we will go for the carpeting, still thinking about kitchen/dining. If you can, look on Lowes site for flooring: Living room, stairs, upstairs hallway and bedrooms are Apex Brand and Baja color. Family room is (I forgot brand) berber type and Hazelnut color.
Have a great 4th of July, it's my second favorite holiday (next to Christmas). I love living in a free country and appreciate those who help us keep it that way. Pray for our soldiers!
Suzanne

Working Hard at Grafton Acres to pull up the Fashionable (1970's What were you thinking!) Orange Kitchen Carpet. Ugh. Thanks Sam











Thanks Bob and Nick. No need to Bow.













And Mitch was terrified of the Orange Shag Carpet Monster. But Grandma Jeni, was there to comfort him.











Greta's advice about $1 store Fabric Softener Wall Remover at work. Patience Grasshopper. All Fuzzy Paper will soon be gone.
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Just a Quick look at the things we brought from Lakewood all the way to Grafton. We have a lot more room now. And a two car garage as a temporary holding place until we get flooring and walls finished. Matt


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