Let's begin with a summary of items that have rolled over from year to year. Some of these we have decided we are not going to do, but here's the full list:
outdoor patio around bottom of deck stairs (moves grill off deck) - no longer happening
walkway from driveway around the lilacs to outdoor patio - no longer happening
living hedge border along far-side of the yard and down the driveway - started but incomplete
flowering shrubs on the inside of yard edge - no longer happening
backup generator for whole house - still a possibility but we are leaning towards no
air exchange unit for the house
new bulkhead for the basement exterior stairs
backyard shed - no longer happening
figure out garage storage
re-paint guestroom
continue clearing edges of yard
1 or 2 bonfires to clean-up yard waste and deadwood
If we take the above list and remove the items that are no longer going to happen, we have:
living hedge border along far-side of the yard and down the driveway - started but incomplete
air exchange unit for the house
new bulkhead for the basement exterior stairs
figure out garage storage
re-paint study which is now the guestroom
continue clearing edges of yard
1 or 2 bonfires to clean-up yard waste and deadwood
Now let's add a new project to the mix.... a nursery :-)
Needless to say, the list needs a bit of re-arranging! I'll fill you in more as we figure things out, but a lot of my absence over the past few months has been due to the ill-named morning sickness. I'm getting better but some days it's all I can do to get up, go to work, come home and eat dinner, so please pardon the sporadic posts!
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
September
I've been reading a lot lately. Some silly books, some more serious, some about interior design, some about families and some just because I wanted to. This summer has left me in a pensive mood and as we head into Fall, my favorite time of year, I find that I'm grateful. For family, friends, good books and new dreams.
I was reminded of this quote today, one I've always loved and thought I would share it with you.
"Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most."
~ Ramona Calvert, Hope Floats
Sending huge hugs & warm thoughts your way!
I was reminded of this quote today, one I've always loved and thought I would share it with you.
"Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most."
~ Ramona Calvert, Hope Floats
Sending huge hugs & warm thoughts your way!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
I'm Calling IT!
DONE! stick a fork in it - DONE! FINITO!
Yes, the basement has a few more tiny projects - putting up shelves, adding some storage behind Matt's desk, but let's face it, that stuff is kinda boring anyway ;-) What's more exciting are before and after pics - WAHOO! especially when they are almost 6 months in the making!! Can you believe it's been 6 months?!
This was an amazing project for us in so many ways: learning how to juggle work, holidays, family, Reese and all those workmen in our home (communication with all those workmen too!), not to mention all the shoveling and the freezing weather we had this winter. Some stuff we did ourselves and I think we made good choices on what we could handle vs paying professionals to do the work which saved us money! We both agree that trying to live in an unfinished space and then move everything to finish it and then put everything back is a huge pain. We should have left the basement as dead space until we were ready to renovate because over the years it became our dumping ground for all kinds of stuff. Stuff that had to be cleaned out/organized/given away/sold/donated before only the items we truly wanted went into storage during the reno and then moved back into the finished space.
All of that aside, this was our first construction project, in our first home and we ended up with all these experiences to put towards future projects and a BEAUTIFUL new space that we both absolutely LOVE!
Yes, the basement has a few more tiny projects - putting up shelves, adding some storage behind Matt's desk, but let's face it, that stuff is kinda boring anyway ;-) What's more exciting are before and after pics - WAHOO! especially when they are almost 6 months in the making!! Can you believe it's been 6 months?!
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| I apparently didn't take any good photos of the stairwell before so here's partway thru construction |
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| AFTER :-) |
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| bottom of the stairs before |
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| part-way thru construction |
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| AFTER :-) |
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| Before |
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| AFTER :-) Isn't my double pantry beautiful? |
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| Before, but cleaned for construction with none of our mess! |
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| AFTER :-) |
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| Before (Is it wrong that throwing out those carpets made me incredibly, unbelievably happy?) |
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| AFTER :-) |
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| Before |
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| AFTER :-) LOVE that Matt can work on grad school and work from home without being wrapped up like a mummy in blankets to stay warm! |
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| pardon the messy desk! I don't touch it or he'll never find anything again - LOL |
All of that aside, this was our first construction project, in our first home and we ended up with all these experiences to put towards future projects and a BEAUTIFUL new space that we both absolutely LOVE!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Think, Think, Think...
I've been thinking lately.... (dangerous, I know!) but it's so cold and just when it seems like we are out of the woods, it snows. AGAIN.
We were not meant to spend this much time in the cold and snow. I might sound like a crazy person, but with the Paleo Food Challenge and CrossFit and some of the books I've been reading lately (The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson and a Scottish Genealogy book) I've been feeling like the nomadic peoples really were brilliant in their habits and following the herds and weather. I would love to be someplace warmer with real sunshine and not have to be taking Vit D in order to supplement!
Matt and I have decided that if at all possible, when we get older and retire we will not be spending winters in New England. We both love it here and our family and friends are here, but man! I wonder if those 7 degree mornings I got up and went to the pool this month have attributed to this cold/sinus/throat thing I'm now coughing my way through. And for those of you wondering how truly crazy I am, no, I wore a coat and hat, etc and no, I didn't go in flip flops - I wore boots. But now it's been almost a week since I last worked out and I'm feeling restless and cooped up and yes, slightly crazy - lol!
I've been dreaming of warmer places and of planning a wonderful vacation to someplace sunny. I have also been thinking about what is important in my life. Matt has started Grad School and that has put a serious crimp in his free time - so much so that he is trying to figure out how everything fits. Some stuff might not fit.
Like the basement. Too much stuff came out for the reno and not everything is going to go back in. We are still debating some of those items which is why only 1 car fits back into the garage right now.
So what is important in my life? Before I got sick I was working out 6 days a week between swimming and CrossFit and was spending some serious time of food prep, because Paleo is not usually convenient. It made the weekends a bit fuller of household type things like dishes, grocery shopping, food prep, laundry and errands because the weekdays were just too full and I was too tired at the end of each day to stay up. So, maybe more efficient use of weekends and more sleep? those aren't bad things! But it also meant, little to no blogging, no hobbies and little to no reading. Hmmm. Need to think about this a bit more. Not that I'm giving up working out - no way! But, I might need some re-shuffling. Or just a vacation someplace warm. mmmmm, that would be wonderful!
Here's a link to the blog post that got me thinking about priorities. Granted, it was already on the brain a bit because of watching Matt try to juggle, but this post has less lists and calendars and more pretty pictures and words of wisdom. Enjoy!
ProvidenceDesign
We were not meant to spend this much time in the cold and snow. I might sound like a crazy person, but with the Paleo Food Challenge and CrossFit and some of the books I've been reading lately (The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson and a Scottish Genealogy book) I've been feeling like the nomadic peoples really were brilliant in their habits and following the herds and weather. I would love to be someplace warmer with real sunshine and not have to be taking Vit D in order to supplement!
Matt and I have decided that if at all possible, when we get older and retire we will not be spending winters in New England. We both love it here and our family and friends are here, but man! I wonder if those 7 degree mornings I got up and went to the pool this month have attributed to this cold/sinus/throat thing I'm now coughing my way through. And for those of you wondering how truly crazy I am, no, I wore a coat and hat, etc and no, I didn't go in flip flops - I wore boots. But now it's been almost a week since I last worked out and I'm feeling restless and cooped up and yes, slightly crazy - lol!
I've been dreaming of warmer places and of planning a wonderful vacation to someplace sunny. I have also been thinking about what is important in my life. Matt has started Grad School and that has put a serious crimp in his free time - so much so that he is trying to figure out how everything fits. Some stuff might not fit.
Like the basement. Too much stuff came out for the reno and not everything is going to go back in. We are still debating some of those items which is why only 1 car fits back into the garage right now.
Here's a link to the blog post that got me thinking about priorities. Granted, it was already on the brain a bit because of watching Matt try to juggle, but this post has less lists and calendars and more pretty pictures and words of wisdom. Enjoy!
ProvidenceDesign
Saturday, January 11, 2014
To-Do List for 2014
Now that it's January of 2014, I thought it would be good to do a quick look-back on what we got done in 2013 and what's ahead of us for this year:
To-Do List for 2013:
finish basement shell- waterproofing and insulation, walls, ceiling and lights, heated tile floor, internet and electrical
IF we can get all that done and still have time/money left, we will also do the shed in the backyard
Well, we did get the basement finished (yes, it sort of crossed over to 2014, but I'm calling it 2013), while the shed in the yard didn't happen. We did however, get gutters up on the front of the house, put in another flower bed around the tiny oak tree in the side yard and started the living hedge in the backyard. We also traded in both our cars, so while we may have car payments added back into the budget (ick), crazy random repairs and the worry of a dead-on-the-side-of-the-road car is no more! (yay!)
leaving other long-term projects for 2014 like:outdoor patio around bottom of deck stairs (grill moves off the deck)walkway from driveway around lilacs to outdoor patioboxwood border along far-side of yard and down drivewayplant flowering shrubs on inside of yard edgeback-up generator for entire house
new sofa for living room
seal metal bar supports and possibly re-level kitchen barair-exchange unit for house
Hmmm... The above list for 2014 has been revised to look more like:
To-Do List for 2013:
finish basement shell- waterproofing and insulation, walls, ceiling and lights, heated tile floor, internet and electrical
IF we can get all that done and still have time/money left, we will also do the shed in the backyard
Well, we did get the basement finished (yes, it sort of crossed over to 2014, but I'm calling it 2013), while the shed in the yard didn't happen. We did however, get gutters up on the front of the house, put in another flower bed around the tiny oak tree in the side yard and started the living hedge in the backyard. We also traded in both our cars, so while we may have car payments added back into the budget (ick), crazy random repairs and the worry of a dead-on-the-side-of-the-road car is no more! (yay!)
leaving other long-term projects for 2014 like:outdoor patio around bottom of deck stairs (grill moves off the deck)walkway from driveway around lilacs to outdoor patioboxwood border along far-side of yard and down drivewayplant flowering shrubs on inside of yard edgeback-up generator for entire house
new sofa for living room
seal metal bar supports and possibly re-level kitchen barair-exchange unit for house
Hmmm... The above list for 2014 has been revised to look more like:
- whole house water filter - we have an artisan well and while we love it, we're starting to see some serious mineral build-up in sink faucets, shower heads and appliances.
- new bulkhead - finishing the basement showed us how truly leaky and unsealed the current bulkhead is and since we've just finished the basement, we want to protect it!
- fix the granite bar - it has been shifting down for the last few years and is no longer level. We had it looked at to make sure it won't fall off - that would be awful! - but it needs to be fixed.
- furniture: new living room couch (current couch will be going into the basement) and ottoman, coffee table and media center (with new TV) for the basement.
- yard: fill in raised beds in back with big plants (hydrangeas or butterfly bushes), fill-in oak tree flower bed and continue living hedge.
- go on vacation! - we've been very bad at this in recent years but 2013 summer with weekend adventures and camping showed us how much we love to travel and how much we NEED that downtime!
Nothing hugely exciting, more maintenance to keep the house going. We'll also address anything else that comes up over the course of the year but this is the basic plan of action :-)
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Happy Birthday Matt!
Happy Birthday to you, my partner in (making funny faces!) all things. xoxo
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| pics from July 2013, Shakespeare in the Park, Boston |
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Basement Days 10 & 11
Sadly. No real changes. The drywall guys are waiting for the patchwork to dry. They've got heaters going and our dehumidifier has been going non-stop but it's so cold (-7 this morning!) that it's taking longer than normal :-(
But! We should be getting a trim and door delivery shortly which leaves..... the sprinkler guy, the dropped ceiling installers and carpet! Yes, painting in there too, but to save $$, Matt and I will be doing that. We went and spent some time at the store and came home with 2 colors to try - because who can decide in a paint store? :-) Just waiting for smooth walls in order to throw up some swatches and decide! I'll be sure to take pictures!
In other news, we are slowly catching up on Holiday wrapping, baking and decorating; Matt took (and passed!) his GMAT's which means he is officially into Grad school and starts in Jan! Woohoo! :-)
But! We should be getting a trim and door delivery shortly which leaves..... the sprinkler guy, the dropped ceiling installers and carpet! Yes, painting in there too, but to save $$, Matt and I will be doing that. We went and spent some time at the store and came home with 2 colors to try - because who can decide in a paint store? :-) Just waiting for smooth walls in order to throw up some swatches and decide! I'll be sure to take pictures!
In other news, we are slowly catching up on Holiday wrapping, baking and decorating; Matt took (and passed!) his GMAT's which means he is officially into Grad school and starts in Jan! Woohoo! :-)
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Adoption Day: Reese 3 years
The year in review... in a somewhat chronological order :-)
Hard to believe it's been 3 years - I feel like it's been longer - in a GOOD way! As if he's always been here and part of our family. Today we celebrate with half wet/canned and half dry food - a super yummy combo!
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| really wish I know how I got my camera to do this! Devil Dog! |
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| lovin' the fire |
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| are you talking about me? |
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| Dig faster, Dad. Dig Faster! |
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| SNOW! |
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| making sure I'm ok - I was home sick that day |
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| Snow is finally gone! |
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| I got my yard back! |
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| walkin' walkin' |
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| guard duties while Matt traveled for work |
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| CAR RIDE!! |
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| Playing |
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| What if I promise not to eat the burgers..... then can I go out? |
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| Hiking |
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| chillin' with Matt and LadyBird |
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| nasty bug bite on his eyebrow! |
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| chillin' with LadyBird.... we (Melissa) started calling them Black & Tan LOL |
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| sleeping under my desk at work |
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| Black & Tan |
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| hanging out in the yard while I created a new bed |
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| showing off his Shepard side |
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| Sunbathing with LadyBird I wasn't kidding when I said they hung out ALL summer! |
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| making us laugh! |
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| watching for squirrels |
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| 1st ride in my new car |
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| watching FedEx & UPS |
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| see my pretty teeth? |
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| fire time of year again |
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| wait a sec, where did the stuff go? |
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| no really, my dog bed was right here! |
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| super scary week due to this toy - never again! |
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| SNOW! |
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| chillin' with new puppy friend Daisy |
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| checking out the new smells in the basement |
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| chillin' in his pillow fort |
Thanks for another awesome year, Goober. We love you!
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