And she's buying a .....

Late Sunday Update. Couple shots of the weekend work. Chris progress on roughing in our stairway.... to Heaven? Sorry. Regardless, they are going to look fantastic! Our plan is to have a carpet runner down the center with maple boards on each side. Steel posts for the railings. Troy will be welding again soon.

D2 started the master bathroom shower tiling. Good grief. A contractor said it would cost two thousand bucks to do it, so that made our decision for us. Once again, sweat equity is where it’s at….. and where it has been for a long time…. :)

Fall update...

Been a bit rough the last week or so. Things just not the same and I suppose they really never will be. Less than three years ago I would say how lucky I was to still have both parents and be in my 50’s. Now I don’t have either one. But I do realize how fortunate I am to have had what I had. Debbie having a very hard time with things too. She keeps saying how she thinks my mom will call to ask her to pick something up at the store for her on the way home, or stop by to do a little something….go to the hair salon, etc.

The Fall Season is in full swing. Things look great. House progress continues to move pretty well. Deb and I spent all weekend painting, touch-up painting, and putting 2 or three coats of finish on window sills, door jams, and window frames. Chris is making good progress on the stairs, counter tops done, sinks and toilets installed but not caulked yet, more electric working, a couple doors hung, etc. Plumbers and electrician will come out once more when we have our last sinks, and lights in… Overall, we are pleased with everything that is in place. Here are a few pics for the latest. Enjoy.

Trying to regroup...

We would be lying if we said things are back to normal building our “dream home.” They are not. No question some of the wind has been taken from our sails when we go down to the house to work. We were so hoping to have my Mom there for her birthday in November and for Christmas in December…..it is not to be. We are trying to regroup... or whatever this is called.
We are trying to move on, but with heavy hearts and the belief that Mom would have wanted us to continue and Live our Life. We have some special plans for when we move in but will talk about them later. Currently we are trying to put it all together with a combination of contractor's work, and our work. We hired a “finish carpenter” to do work that we have no clue how to do such as finishing our stairwell and installing some tongue and groove boards that we stained and finished. We had planned to do this but when Chris made some suggestions on how to “do it right,” we decided to let him run with it…. Glad we did! He is fantastic, honest, and really helpful giving us tips and guidance for us to do our final tasks…. We laid the hallway tile, which was a whole lot of work! In progress photo here, will have finished look on next post. Enough rambling for now… Here are some of our latest pics of the progress. More to follow.

"Live Your Life!"

We had my Mom’s funeral on Saturday in Ohio. Pouring rain. Friends and family attended. It signaled the end of her wonderful life on earth. No one could ever ask more of a Mother. I was, and am, blessed. She gave her unconditional love in every respect, and had an incredible sense of humor. I don’t think there was person she met that she did not make laugh. She told me to “live your life!” I promise to do that, and in many ways I feel I already have. I will miss her every day.
The photo was taken by Debbie two days before my mom went in to the hospital. We rode to our house so she could see the progress. A beautiful early fall day. On the way, she had a box of chicken wings on her lap, and a cup of coke in her hand - eating and watching the scenery go by. She looked like a 15 year-old. I will never forget the ride or the day.