The Attic

The attic seems to be almost as out of control as Tom's garage. That may have something to do with the fact that Tom is now storing stuff in the attic 'cause he knows he won't find it in his garage.....

Since he started revamping his garage (which is still just in beginning stages) he has started to take over some of the shelves in the attic. I just don't think I can deal with another area that becomes storage for misc. tools that he cannot find when he needs them (because he can't remember what he put where)! He & Mandy already spend an inordinate amount of time looking for things they either "just saw a minute ago" or "just had a minute ago"! At that point then they will start asking me where the things are....like I use the things?!? So in my ongoing endeavor to continue to keep a tight reign on the chaos that could all too easily ensue, I have requested a storage closet to be constructed in the attic, then I can organize & keep an area for him until the garage is done.
So he & Mandy started framing in for the storage area. Now we just need it done before I have to start hauling all the Christmas stuff out........

Can't you just hear Eva giggling??? Like Auntie Martha is really going to fit all that into her new play closet....

Zane & Mirabelle

Welcome to our newest great niece Mirabelle! That is one proud big brother sitting there waiting to see his new sister with his big balloon bouquet! The fascination while Zane (who's 31/2 already!) watches her-just priceless. Good thing we're building a big house, the family keeps growing!

left click on the pic to enlarge

Let the Stucco Begin!

The pressure was on....a finish texture choice needed to be made along with a color choice decision. Tom already had an idea in his head of what he wanted it to look like-just getting my vision & his on the same page was the only hold-up. I'm a very visual person, I need to see it. On more than one occasion when we thought we were in sync, we found out-much to our frustration-we were not, when I said "but I thought it would look like.......". You get the idea, this is a big project & the front of our home-we need to be on the same page with this one! So I get visuals, we choose a color which Mandy & Tom promise me will dry lighter than what I see & will have beautiful shade variations. OK-let's do it. The front of the house is covered in plastic & taped off where we don't want the colored concrete to land. The first application is spread over the lathe with a trowel & smoothed as it's put on. Then the surface is scraped with Tom's makeshift scraping tool, which creates a rough base as it dries for the 2nd coat to adhere to.

Pie Bakers

Eva is such a big helper making Uncle Tom a peach pie.......everything is "my do it, my do it!" We sure are glad Tom put in such a big island for us to work at 'cause Eva sure needs a lot of working room!

Our Resident Frog

Since I specifically requested no fish for the pond, apparently Mother Nature decided we still needed "something" & sent us a resident frog. He (or she or it) isn't too keen on Eva since she thinks we need to clean the pond "evvyday" 'cause it's dirty (in toddler language that translates to "let's get out the hose & play in the water"). I swear the poor thing tries to hide when he hears her coming!
It's nice to have a pet you don't have to take care of though!

The sky's on fire!

Just a beautiful shot.......

Watersill training video

The watersill is basically the cap that goes over the stone before we start the stucco, well when I pulled together the photos of Tom & Mandy prepping for & installing the sill; they looked so much like instructors that I just had to.........so watch the "Training Video"!
If I got with the modern day world & had an MP3 player I could have even set it to music for you.....but I think you'll get the gist of it.

Check out that corner........precision at it's best......mitered for a custom fit!

Holy Carp!

No that's not a typo-it really is a carp-a 25 pounder! Bob & Judy-(our wonderful neighbors who feed us & ply us with drink) had their family & friends in for the weekend. We were invited to join the festivities.......thank goodness they weren't planning on fish for dinner (Yuck!)! We think this one takes the record of all the carp we've seen caught over the years & it gave Billy quite a fight! (He's the one w/the beard, Bob's the one with the hat.)

Actually it gave Billy almost as much a fight as the umbrella that went in the river when the wind caught it, with the 33# base still attached! I'm not sure how many times Billy went down trying to retrieve it (12-15 maybe?) a couple of times he almost had it but the weight pulled him back down-the water was about 12 ft deep where it went in. Everybody was very helpful-the other neighbors-Susie & Jay let him borrow their snorkeling equipment and almost everybody had helpful hints to yell from the comfort of their patio chairs.
We finally got a really large hook Tom's had for years (we've used it to pull patio furniture out of the river when it blew in-imagine that), Billy & Bob (sounds kinda like the beginning of a country song) tied a rope around that hook-Billy went down one more time & hooked the stand. Bob, along with the sightseers on the deck, (hey, we were drinking & eating appetizers-this was great entertainment!) helped pull it up.
Since we really needed the extra umbrella-the sun was beautiful but brutal-Bob lashed it to the deck (as you can see in the bottom of the 1st pic) & then drove a couple of screws thru the stand to the deck-it wasn't going anywhere now!

Wake Up Call

The phone rang bright & early Saturday morning (our only sleep-in day) & it was our next door neighbor Bob who said "Hey are you looking out on your deck?" What I first wanted to say to him ( like, "NO I was looking at the inside of my eyelids") I didn't, then I thought, well maybe something happened. So I'm walking to the deck with the phone in hand & just stopped, looking at such a beautiful sight! A double rainbow! That wake up call was worth it.

A beautiful double rainbow with a spectacular reflection in the river! So I ran upstairs & took pictures from the balcony-
Tom even noticed the colors in the 2nd rainbow were reversed.....how cool is that?

Ditch Digger

When the fill was brought in for the driveway, it was graded to slope slightly downward toward the garage due to the placement of the original garage's concrete floor. This is not a good thing, especially when it's a heavy rain & all that water wants to sit in front of your garage just waiting for you to unsuspectingly open the garage door so it can all come rushing in! ( Or if you're me & you forget & open the door.) So a trench needed to be dug & a drainage system installed.
While my brother was over he asked Tom if he needed anything else done
& Tom suggested digging the trench. No big deal right?? Well wasn't that darn thing just chuck full of tree roots?!? I think he spent more time swinging an axe than digging. Man he got a workout on that one! Did a heck of a job too!
Don't think he'll freely throw that "hey-you need anything else" phrase around again anytime soon though.

Getting ready to stucco

We've had many, many discussions on how to finish off the front & side of the house above the stone work.... our original plan had been to side it to match the rest of the house. Then we thought same siding only vertical. I didn't think I'd like that with the varied stone lines.
When we were in FL in the spring, Tom really liked the look of the stucco on the houses there. So he came home & started to research stucco applications and pretty much made up his mind that's what he wanted. I wasn't so sure. We were going to have to get the color just right, I didn't want anything blah! He then told me I'd need to decide on a pattern (I guess we're going to stucco)....do you have any idea how many variations of patterns there are????? Hundreds! Then choose a color (only about 50 of those). May I tell you I personally am getting tired of making decisions, so I'm just thinking on it!

In the mean time, my brother is back over lending a helping hand stapling the metal lathe to the tar paper. The beginning of the process to stucco is similar to getting ready to stone, the tar paper, then the metal lathe, then you apply the mortar which adheres to the metal lathe. Actually it's almost the same except you just don't stick any stones in it & you end up with 3 layers of mortar when you're done.
Apparently I'll need to do more than just think about an application pattern & color soon!

The garage

Well we're progressing on the garage, slowly mind you, but we're moving forward. The landing that was cleared, insulated & dry walled, now has a floor. The extra fridge & freezer have been moved out of what will someday be the family room & installed in the garage.
Sure seems like quite a hike now to get to the extra fridge or freezer; I can't tell you how many times we've both walked over to where they used to be & then catch ourselves.
So that's a positive right, if we're moving things out of the family room to their final resting spot? So maybe the family room might be completed by the Holidays???
Hey it's not that funny! It could happen!

Shade garden is done

The shade garden is finished & what a beautiful little oasis we have created here. It may have taken a while, but like everything else it was definitely worth it! There is always a beautiful breeze coming thru the two houses, it's a great spot to just sit & read or listen to the sound of the fountain in the little pond. Now all the garden statues & "stuff" we've been given has a home.Take a moment to click on the collage to enlarge it, it really came out great, if I do say so myself!

More Details

I found these really unique concrete blocks & had them incorporated into the stone work.
The one off the "Martha room" (I'm not giving up hope, I will have that space one day!) is a ladybug, if you look at the pic on the left, you can see it just to the right of the door handle.

For the front I found a really neat metal plaque that says "Live, Love, Laugh", that was inserted into the stone work, along with a funky stone with a little more character. The pic in the upper right gives you an overall view, lower right is just a close up.Then the small concrete block of a bird's nest that says "home" was placed just to the left of the rock.

Awww-isn't that cute???

Those silly little details

Remember back in June when the first corner stone was laid & Mandy diligently used her level to make sure all was straight (remember I'm not the only anal one)...........

See how nice all the rows line up even?????

See how these do not.......just a slight incline, but from the road it sure is noticeable;
sure would not want to be the firm that was hired to install this stone work.....
and it was done to a lawyer's office! OOPS!

Sure glad we got our Mandy!!!

Looking Good!

What a beautiful job!

Yard still needs a little work, but we're getting there!

The Last Stone!

Almost 2 months to the day and the last stone has been placed!
The exterior stoning is done!
(We won''t remind them about the inside just yet.)
I'm sure there were times Tom & Mandy thought they'd never see this day come!

The Garage

I know you all can just feel my pain every time I look at this; me being the anal organized half of the pair. Tom finally agreed something has to be done with his garage, so out he goes to tackle it. There he stays, with this vacant look in his eyes, the poor guy is just lost, organization is definitely not his strong suit.
So I took pity on him & offered to help..."it all starts with a single step" I tell him, in my infinite wisdom.
We cleared off the landing where the door from the house leads to, OK, I'm done, he's on his own now (there is just way too much stuff in here).

I did give him with a few suggestions for the next few steps though. He & Mandy ran with it!
They insulated & wired up the wall that backs up to the house, ran the plumbing for the slop sink & then hug the drywall. Hey, it's a start.....I'll keep you posted.

And the stoning goes on & on & on

Well, they've made it around the front door, we're on the last leg!
Like that "we're" business???
Tom & Mandy do the work and I get to play photographer.

Looking good......

The Boat Hoist is Finished!

Believe it or not..... the wiring for the boat hoist is finally finished, the boat actually goes up & down with the push of a button. We'll just need to get it all checked out since it's been sitting there since Oct '05 & of course there will be the little issue of cleaning 3 yrs of accumulated dirt.
Any volunteers???? We'll take you for a boat ride......
But other than that, realistically I would say there is an extremely good chance that the boat still won't come down off it's high hoist and make it into the water until next summer.

Our Great Niece

Meet our Great Niece..... Samantha Marie, born May 12. She came to visit Aunt Martha & Uncle Tom. Her Mom & Dad came to, but all the pics are of Samantha!

Will We EVER Have A/C???

So it's Tuesday and Mandy & Tom are up on the roof doing the final prep to hook up the A/C. There's a big push now to get this done since his sister is coming for the w/e.
Apparently he's tuned me out, my b&%@# about another hot spell, has had little impact......(in the 90's mind you....not a good thing for a pre-menopausal woman. Oh-you've heard that line before?? Well the hormones & heat make you forgetful you know!) Thank Goodness his sister is coming. This will get done now!
The A/C guy is a friend of Tom's who does this on the side, so of course we're at his mercy. He doesn't show up Tues...uh-oh. Tom's sweating come Wed & it has nothing to do with the heat wave, just the heat he's taking from me.

All Right-everybody get it out of your system now so we can move on.....all together now... "Poor Tom" ! Good, thank you.

Now, as I was saying; it's Wed. Dickie shows up & he & Tom work until 10:30pm. Couple of glitches-no big deal-he'll be back tomorrow. (In case you forgot-company's coming Fri) It's Thurs-Dickie arrives after work-(Thank you!) he & Tom are right back at it. They work steadily until 10:30, we're ready to fire up the system!!!
Tom goes around & opens all the vents, yells to Dickie "OK let it go!"
Low & behold the air starts moving thru the vents!!!!

SO DOES THREE YEARS OF SAWDUST, DRYWALL DUST AND JUST PLAIN DUST!!!!!
Holy Crap I just cleaned the house, we have company coming this weekend!
Guess I'm wiping down a few things tomorrow.......

Holy Double Crap...We Have Air Conditioning!!!!!

Close up of Landscape stone

OK, OK, I know I'm driving you a little nuts with this whole stone thing, but just click on the photo to enlarge it & you'll see what I mean. Doesn't it just look awesome?!?

Pink Stone Delivery

Yippee...here comes the Dixie Pink stone! Bob & Judy were gracious enough to let the delivery truck use their driveway so we didn't have to haul the stone far. The only caveat was, it had to be done before their company comes for the w/e. No problem........
It was supposed to be delivered between 9-12 noon & was actually delivered on time! I had Eva for the day & it was all falling into place, she'd go down for her nap & we'd spread stone while she naps. We shoveled & after multiple wheelbarrow loads, filled in the sidewalk stone. It looks beautiful , just what I had envisioned! But there was just a small problem,
(nooo, really? Not on this project.....) the pile of stone wasn't much smaller than when we started. Either they delivered more than we ordered or there was an inaccurate calculation.
We have quite a bit of this pretty pink stone (that was of course, the pricier of the stones-as my husband keeps telling me, I have good taste) the pic in the upper L is what was delivered, the lower R is what was left. Hellooo....if he thinks we're moving this one wheelbarrow at a time to the other side of the house we may be stoning him!
Thank goodness Tom quickly explained that he had access to a bucket loader, it took multiple trips, (NOT by me or Mandy) but they had the bulk of the stone moved to the other side of our house & the rest we cleaned up with the wheelbarrow. Neighbors driveway looks good as new, & we now have plenty of stone to create a walkway on the other side of the house going from the shade garden to the garage-not the original plan, but hey, I'm flexible!

Privacy is Beautiful

The privacy fence is finished & the view of the neighbors boat which is named the Redneck Yacht Klub (I kid you not!)is now obstructed. I have to say I kind of miss it....well not enough to take the fence down mind you....

The Stoning Continues.....

Tom & Mandy have worked their way around the front of the house, hard to believe this started a month ago & after all this time I once again foolishly fell for the "it won't take long" line from both of them!!! It is coming along great though & they're doing an exceptional job! I'm looking at all the little nooks & crannies in Thomas' stone work & thinking...spider condos! There will definitely be some spidey spray coming out of these gardening gloves in the spring!

Tom's Garden

Well Tom finally has space for a small garden, he planted a little last summer,

but this year he's much more into it.

Just a couple of quick shots of Tom's garden and his monster radishes.

We have cukes, tomatoes (lots & lots), green and purple peppers, banana peppers, radishes, garlic, lots of herbs and brussel sprouts (yuck!).
He's loving it & sharing with the neighbors....they're loving it too!

Progress on the shade garden

Since the end of May when the last pics of this garden were taken, the patio is now finished, along with the walkway.
I've got plants (yep-a few more!), I've got a pond (yep-got that too!), although it's considerably smaller than our last one. And before any one asks,
No Thanks, we do not need any fish for it.
The old metal chairs were painted dark green-by Mandy & Tom, of course.
Tom & Stan are going to build a privacy fence to obscure the neighbor's boat & yard. That will be a welcome addition. We're getting there!

Bright Blue Welcome

Well I have finally gotten my Blue door for the front of the house. I've always loved the look of a blue door & since our front door at the old house was oak, there was no way Tom was going to let me paint that! It looks really sharp with the pewter accents & the blue in the roof shingles really brings it together. (I can hear my brother Rick now...oh-puleeze, enough already!)

We're in the Pink

Stone that is..........Just before my birthday, Tom & I were out running some errands & had planned to stop and order the yellow stone for the walkway (the one I whined about back in May). We stopped at a new landscape store, I went in with him to order it and Suprise....they had my pink stone! Well it's not actually pink, it's white with shades of pink & purple, but it's called Dixie pink. It's going to look great next to the purple stone that's in the flower beds. I can't wait to have it delivered!

In addition to this wonderful gift of stone, we got a new grill for my Birthday! Our old one was on it's last legs so we went to " just look" and see what's new out there. While we were at Target, a very helpful customer tells Tom that there's a great grill at Sam's and if he's looking he should really check it out. It has an infrared burner, etc,etc,etc. Grill discussions with guys run along the same lines as car & garage discussions.
Off to Sam's we go, the grill this guy told him about was really nice, but Tom sees there's even another one, bigger & better. It has a searing burner & a split lid so you can cook two things at once! "But it's also more expensive" I am compelled to say......back & forth between the two he goes, then we're going home to think about it. The grill came home the next day, of course it was the bigger, better model, but hey-I'm not complaining. If that's what he needs to cook me dinner (which, by the way, was a lobster tail on the new grill) then by all means he should get it!

Hmmmm, I wonder who's going to clean the shiny new gas grill???