rocks

This weekend we went to a place where they sell lots of rocks.  Tons of different kinds, and shapes, and all sorts of stuff.  And let me tell you, rock is expensive!  I mean, some of the stuff we are talking about is the same stuff that you just find out in nature.  And they charge a boatload for it.  We are looking into doing some 'hardscaping' with rocks in the backyard, and putting down a flagstone patio instead of the cracked concrete we currently have.  And some of the flagstone we looked at was $500 per ton.  Now, I know a ton sounds like alot, but if it is heavy rock, it doesn't really get you very far.  For example, on one kind of rock we looked it, we calculated that we could get about 7 rocks and that would weigh a ton (2000 lbs). 

This isn't something we'll be doing right away.  Our bathroom definitely takes priority, but it was good to get a sense of how much it might cost us to re-do the backyard.  The trees that we bought (raywood ash) will be planted in early october so as to minimize the trauma/wilting that might occur.

color possibilities

Here is a little idea of some possible color choices we are considering for the house. The color in the middle would be the doors and door jambs (sp?). It looks a lot more black in the picture than it does in real life--it has a nice deep blue tint to it. The yellows are for the living /dining / hall, the blues for the bedroom, the greens for the guest bedroom, and the greys for the bathroom. We are thinking about doing some two-tone painting jobs /using accent walls. David can explain better what it would look like. We are definitely trying to be more courageous with color than we were with the condo.

I'm excited about the possibilities. We may even decide to do some painting over the long weekend coming up. Then I'll have some great new photos!

Meet the neighbors

Last night David and I took some homemade apple crisp and vanilla ice cream over to our neighbors who gave us the apples.  They invited us in, and we all had some dessert (even though David and I hadn't even had dinner yet).  We chatted, got to know them a bit more, they got to know us more, we saw some of their house, and the views from their house.  It was kind of cool to look down on our yard from their towering house and see what it looks like from that angle.  They are very nice folks.  We did mention to them that we are planning to plant some trees in the backyard, and we want to be sure we are considerate of their views.  I think they got a little shook up by that at first, but then they realized that we aren't planning to do anything that will really compromise their view (at least in their lifetime ;-) ).  Hopefully they still like us. 

washer and dryer

I don't think I mentioned how the washer and dryer installation went.  On Saturday, David cut a hole in the house, on the south side, and put in our dryer vent. The whole process only took about 2 hours and there were no last minute trips to the store for tools or materials (yea!).  Then on Monday, David stayed home in the morning and the people who delivered the machines were in and out in about 20 minutes.  They set the washer and dryer up, leveled them, connected them to the proper places, and ran an initial cycle on the dryer so it could be used later in the day. 

It is so exciting.  We've done 3 loads of laundry since we got them.  It is great, and I love that the dryer "senses" when things are dry so that there isn't wasted energy.  In fact, we choose a washer that is one of the best in energy efficiency, and so we'll get a $100 rebate from our energy/electric company.  Cool, huh?

I'm really looking forward to having our own washer and dryer!

Here is the third design. Similar to the first, but re-done to make construction easier. There was also an alternate for the first design, but I'm not going to post that one. It is very similar to the first one. BTW---David wanted me to post all these ideas.

Here is the second design- alot more traditional...the idea was to get some storage out of the deal with cabinet below. My least favorite.

Here is the first design for the wall. Many of you have already seen this design.

This is a better view of the brackets in the wall. Next steps: Mud, re-mud, and mud again...interspersed with sanding. Then paint wall, cut wood, stain and varnish and attach. Wala..it will be beautiful!

Brackets we cut, filed, drilled holes, sanded. Aren't they beautiful? Such handiwork.

We are ready to mud the wall now. This is a huge improvement over the last picture I posted. David has accomplished alot of work.

This was what the wall looked like on friday. The conduit is now attached to that junction box I already posted. Notice the left side where the wall has been shortened

Check out this amazing electrical handiwork by my studly husband!

The dining room side of our newly designed, but not yet built /remodeled wall

The hallway side of our newly designed, but not yet built /remodeled wall