Back in the Saddle Again...

Well, the transformative powers of spring have given new life to this old project we call our home. It's been almost one full turn of the calendar already, and after a long looooooooong winter break, we've jumped right back in with both feet, kinda like we did one year ago.

All of the outside structural work was done by fall, which was perfect. We had a nice, sturdy, secure house that wasn't going to come crumbling down on our heads and we finished up the siding to keep the elements out. We were very pleased.

The inside needed A LOT of TLC. And still does. Perhaps a recap is in order?



Here's our living room, the way we bought it...



...and after we tore it apart. We cleaned up a bit, but for the most part, this is how it stayed for, well, what felt like a very long time.

But today....ooooh today. I scarcely want to post about it, it feels kind of like a dream. It's too exciting.



Today we have walls. Real walls. With mud on the seams. That means that they can't come down again. They are up and on their way to being finished, and you can't take that back. I don't know why I feel I need to stress that point, but I just do.

Here are two things that just delight me to no end, with no explanation as to why.

Number One:

The half wall. Separating the living room from the hallway that leads to the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room are the only two rooms on the main floor (well, there is a little half bath/laundry room), so it's fairly small, though both rooms are a fair size. I love that if you're in the kitchen, you'll be able to hear and see what's going on in the living room or that when you're in the living room, you can yell at your husband who might be going through the kitchen and ask him to bring you an iced tea. I love this little wall.



This one is even more inexplicable. This is the little corner that you see right when you come in the door. For months I've been staring at studs and some sort of pipe and exposed insulation. Over the last two days, I've been greeted by a little corner. One where I could hang some hooks for keys, perhaps a little shelf for the constable's wallet, which he's always losing. It makes me quite happy.

We're still far from done, but this seems like lightspeed progress to me. Oh, and just as a disclaimer, the hubs and I did not do this ourselves. We finally came to our senses and realized that there are just some jobs best left to people who know what the hell they are doing. Not that we didn't give hanging drywall a try. We did. The old college kind. But it really is miraculous what two people who have been hired to do a job (and, as an aside, are not married to one another) can accomplish in two days. And that's not even the whole story. Most of the main upstairs bathroom is drywalled as well! I'll save that for a later post.

The guy we hired is awesome. He returned our call, which in an of itself blew our freakin' minds. He knows what he's doing, does a great job in really good time, and is also going to fix up the walls that still have plaster. I think I might just love him.

Anyhow, I know some people find this stuff really quite boring, but, ya know, it's what we're doing. We're going to be able to move in before too long. For real. It's actually going to happen. I'm still holding off on doing the happy dance though. I'll save that for move in day. This move is probably coming at just the right time too, cuz...



this doesn't look too comfy.

Until later...

PS: If I can see the dust in that last picture, I know that you can too. The mess from next door seems to be seeping into the apartment faster than I can keep up with it. I've decided to ignore it until the worst of the worst is done.