Tag Archives: remodel

A little bit of controversy, a whole lot of nothing specific.

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Let’s start with some roadside autumn color.

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Is it any wonder this is my favorite time of year?

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Nice try.

My booty does not have a phone.

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I post this for a reason.

Not being a religious person, I take the separation of church and state seriously. In the United States we have the freedom to worship as we choose and I fully support that. If you want to promote bring your Bible to school day at your private Christian academy… fine, please do so. But this announcement was released at a public, tax payer funded school and yes, I have a problem with that.

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That’s pretty much where I am.

I don’t need a supreme being to shame/suggest/command me to do the right thing and help others.

I just do.

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There.

That’s it for my controversial topics. Religion and politics. Checked them both.

😊

Now, a little of our backyard autumn color.

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And since my husband finished two walls and the roof on the shed extension? Since his new toy is covered and protected from the elements?

He thinks he’s done and hung an old cavas tarp instead of building a door.

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Boy, have I got news for him.

🤨

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Greenhouse support hoops are starting to appear across the road.

Our lovely view’s days are numbered.

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But voila!

My husband attached the new light fixture on the front porch properly… and though I was beginning to think it would never happen?

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We are officially calling the remodel complete.

When I have time, I’ll dig out some before and after pics for comparison.

😉

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Here we go again….

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New dining room furniture? Check.

New living room furniture? A painful process, but.. check.

Now?

The den needs an update.

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The furniture in there is… I’m ashamed to admit, 35 years old. ( What can I say, we’re frugal New Englanders. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) And while this ugly old set ain’t broke, it’s definitely seen better days. Decades of cats have split and torn the fabric and the cushions are just plum worn out.

It was time to go furniture shopping.

Again.

I know my husband was looking forward to it.

Not!

The den is the only room in our house that has a wallpaper border above the chair rail moulding.

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It’s shore birds with shells and wildflowers in a soothing blue and beige tone. I thought about ripping it off to have a clean color slate , but I have fond memories of my late mother helping me put it up. She always called our den “the blue room” and I simply couldn’t bring myself to erase that… so blue was on the menu.

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Here’s my husband, once again looking thrilled to be part of the process.

But I had a surprise for him. Since we were pleased with the quality of the Flexsteel we purchased for the living room and overjoyed with the low price and great service we received from the little family run store in Waterville … it was a one stop shopping trip.

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I came home with blue samples.

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And found a perfect compliment to the wallpaper.

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This is the couch.

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The chair.

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And the ottoman.

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Chair and ottoman will be done in the pattern. Couch in the blue (which is a bit lighter in person) with coordinating patterned pillows.

Easy peasy.

My husband was amazed. Not to mention relieved.

Delivery in 6-8 weeks.

😊

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We have a new floor! Well, almost…

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Work on the living room floor is done!

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And once we got past a few (literal) speed bumps things went pretty smoothly.

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As I said before it’s a bit darker than I’d hoped..

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But we’re pleased nonetheless.

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A definite upgrade from that nasty old carpet.

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But like every project that’s undertaken at our cursed house, you know something had to go wrong.

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Hence the ‘almost’ in my blog title.

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We ran out of flooring right before the end. That’s the problem with plank flooring when you have to work a color pattern.

Oh well… it could be worse. We ordered one last box and it should be here in two weeks.

🥴

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When you have a man cave instead of a workshop.

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The last vintage beer crate we found had one issue…

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Wooden bottle separators that would have to be removed in order to house my vinyl. This was not simply a matter of pulling and popping them out. They were old, warped, and not in any hurry to go.

Ergo… it required tools.

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And since my husband turned his barn and workshop into a man cave …. this meant doing surgery in the living room.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten did not approve.

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After the first twenty minutes the husband was grumbling.

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After the second twenty minutes he was sputtering.

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But when the clock struck a solid hour of remodeling?

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One empty crate ready for part of my record collection.

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Although judging from the price of an old can of that beer … I think I’d rather have it filled with those.

😳

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Let there be (no) light.

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Next up in the man cave? Blinds. Which were really fun to shop for considering all the windows are different sizes and thanks to my do it yourself I’m too cheap to pay a carpenter to do the finish work husband.

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The price of custom blinds that would have fit perfectly was ridiculous.

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That window, the smallest ( not to mention crookedest ) was quoted at $310. For one blind! I bought all 6 of these light filtering cellular linen shades for $272. That’s a no brainer.

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Working his way around the room, I followed and tried my hardest to get right in his way.

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At least that’s what he’d tell you. I prefer to think of it as active assistance.

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Which is why I was banished to the other side of the room…. where I sat quietly and read a few blogs.

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But when it came to the final window behind the bar I had to speak up.

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Because after he installed this one, which had the best fit… only 3/8ths of an inch off… he plopped his big bullet back on the sill.

( I know it’s a round and not a bullet, I just say that to get a rise out of my husband. Did it aggravate you as well? Then yay for me. . )

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The problem? The blind won’t go all the way down because the bullet is too fat.

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When I told him this was unacceptable (the main reason for putting up blinds in the first place was to keep the sun from fading the bar) and suggested alternate placements for the big bullet, he forbade me to move it ( as if I could, it’s live and weighs a ton and a half ). When I stressed the need for it’s relocation due to the sun baking on the glass door of the mini fridge causing it to work harder, he told me he’d “think about it”. FFS, what is there to think about? Bullet too big, blind doesn’t close, move big bullet. It isn’t rocket science.

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Recent additions to the Barn Mahal.

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After thoroughly whipping my other half in a marathon Scrabble session in the barn last weekend, I took a good look around.

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And realized what an amazing storage building filled with absolute crap ….

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To seriously alcoholcentric man cave transformation we had wrought.

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Yay us.

And to this glorious rustic palace of play? I added a few new things.

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Because if there was ever a more perfect place for my fully operational spastic poop drone… I don’t know where it could be.

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To the bar, I added an acrylic box of appropriately themed cocktail napkins.

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Each more true than the last.

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Alongside the napkins there are now swizzle sticks.

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Some are shaped like twigs in honor of their origin.

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And some are shaped like jazz hands… because it’s just delightfully creepy.

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And since no man cave with a bar should be without them?

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Hair spray and a comb to repair follicle damage the walk from our wind blown house wreaks on my unruly tresses.

And if you’re cringing over that addition gentlemen?

Viola!

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I also added a plant.

Granted, it’s a just small succulent…. but I believe my eventual takeover of the premises is progressing quite nicely.

😈

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I should have known it was coming.

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He already bought the big screen tv.

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And the microwave and the coffee maker.

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He bought the full size refrigerator and is building a bar.

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So is it any surprise he made me go shopping for a mini beverage fridge to put behind that bar the other day?

No. It is not.

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Things got quickly out of hand when he was looking at these….

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At $1,200 per unit.

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But I managed to reign him in and only come home with the one on the left… which, while not a total victory? Was still something to celebrate.

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Oh no, not again.

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I walked into the barn this morning to find my husband working on a template.

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And yes, I cringed.

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Having finished one side of the strapping on the ceiling and running out of that particular wood, he decided it was time to trim the windows.

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And while I applauded the fact he was actually going to corner them properly, I knew it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.

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One day.

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One entire day to frame two windows … because he added quarter round.

Why did he add quarter round you ask?

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Because when he first built this barn to be a… you know, barn? …there were giant gaps around the windows and nothing was air tight. Who was going to complain…. the lawn mowers?

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But now that’s it morphed into a palatial man cave, gaps must be sealed.

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And live ordinance moved.

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Framing on the outside, quarter round on the inside, and extra quarter round on the top corners…. all because he didn’t install the windows correctly the first time.

Jesus wept.

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But two windows were framed…

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And the giant bullet is back home.

To be continued…. unfortunately.

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I’m seeing red.

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No, the husband hasn’t bought the contents of that abandoned Victorian up the road….

I mean this kind of red.

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Weeee!

Our first glimpse of what poppa barn will look like when finished.

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The trim will be added after.

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And there’s a lot of it to add.

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But I’m excited to see him finally sporting some color.

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I think baby barn agrees.