The Garage: 5/6/06...

Can you believe it? The wood collection is all cleared out! Okay, it's really just moved from the garage to the back yard for safe keeping but it's out of the garage. Eventually the wood will become shelves in the new garage and other fun things.

The front of the garage is nearly cleaned out, too. The plastic boxes that hold nuts, screws, bolts, chains, switches, etc, are all packed up and ready for their new home later this month. The garage sale is in another week and demolition starts the week after Memorial Day. Yee-haw!

Garage Drawings!

The drawings go to the city for permits this week and we might be starting construction within a week. Yee-haw! The first drawing shows how the garage fits with the house and shows the windows and utilities. We will switch the washer and dryer so the washer will be next to the utility sink. Those of you who know the layout of the house will see a few errors but the house drawing is just for the city. It will be redone (correctly) when the kitchen drawings get done. Meanwhile, you can play "What's wrong with this picture".

The second drawing shows where the old driveway is and if you look closely you can see the line noting the side of the current garage. This drawing also shows the entire lot. As you can see, we will have a nicer front yard to landscape when this is finished. We already know we want a curved walkway from the driveway to the front porch and from the front porch to the door by the washer/dryer. I'm also picturing a covered deck and a fountain but that's for another day.

The Kitchen: Before the cleanout

Yes, this is the orginal kitchen, complete with the original linoleum on the floor. I was going to wait to take pictures of this until we were nearer the start date but then I realized I would be packing things up before that and it wouldn't be fair to show it "cleaned up". Since I showed the garage as it is, I need to show the kitchen the same way. You can even see the cans from the beans and olives we had in our burritos last night in the recycling shelves! Now that's an honest picture. The second picture shows all the counterspace we have. I use the top of the washer in the corner as extra space. Oh yeah, I'm going to be happy when that washer is gone and the refrigerator is moved to that corner. Some of you viewing these pictures may recognize postcards and magnets as things you have sent me!
This final picture is from the living room and is important to keep for the "after" shots. The wall that has my great-uncle's mirror and the shelf that Tim built is going to have an opening into the kitchen. It will be open to about where the ceramic dove is. This will really open up the living/dining/cooking area and make everything seem bigger. It will be all countertop on the kitchen side, from the stove (which will be replaced) to the kitchen entrance. Hope that makes sense. I'll share the drawings when they are ready.
Edited to explain: The opening in the wall will replace the mirror and the shelf. There will be a post at the end and then it will be open all the way to the dove. That is about 4 feet.

Memories ....

It's been an emotional couple of days around here. I now have more understanding of Tim's garage project, for sure. In cleaning our the drawers and cupboards in the desk and hutch I went through many pictures. I had boxes and baskets full of pictures to sort through. Eventually, I had to give up the sorting and just put them in a box for a later day. So many memories captured ... pictures of my mother younger than our daughters, pictures of our reunion with Brendan, baby pictures of nieces and nephews who are now older than some of the pictures of me, pictures of Tim without a beard and brothers with full heads of dark hair, pictures of the first day of school and students of the month and graduations and new homes, and many pictures of friends and family who are no longer with us. So many memories reawakened. It's made me nostalgic and very appreciative for the life I've had so far. I'm glad I started this project early in the process.

Another day ... Another room ...

It's Saturday and away we go! Tim will be working in the garage and I'll be working in the dining area. We have a hutch and a desk in the dining room and both will need to be moved before the inside construction begins. It occured to me yesterday that if I got started on that now, I would be managing some of my anxiety and get things organized at the same time. What a concept! While I'm working I'll be watching Clean Sweep for inspiration. Rocky will be finding someplace other than my chair (which I moved) for her nap.

Random Thoughts ...

It seems that once people learn we were going to remodel our house they feel compelled to tell me the horror stories of their own remodel. I've decided it's like being pregnant. Everyone who has had a baby wants to tell you about their labor/delivery and nobody has a good story to tell. Ay-yi-yi!

If I believed what people are telling me, we will not have a working kitchen until Christmas, the construction workers will smoke in my house and leave a mess of garbage all over the place, the remodel will cost at least a third more than the estimate, and the contractor will try to talk us into upgrading everything.

I'm thinking I shouldn't be sharing! Maybe we should just send out announcements when it's all finished.

Seriously, there are some supportive folks out there. I just need to stop the others and ask how they like their kitchens now!

The Garage: Before the cleanout

Here it is, the single car garage that actually houses a car at night and still holds 30 years of stuff. It's going to be quite a chore to sort through all of this and decide what to keep and what to toss. For now, the "keep" pile will include things that will be sold at a yard sale while we move the real keep stuff into the new garage. Let me know if you see anything you want!

In all fairness to Tim, I have to admit that over the years I have asked many times for a tool or a piece of hardware, or I have asked him to make me something, and 90% of the time he has been able to walk out to the garage and find it or build it for me. That has been such a blessing. I look forward to the things he will build when he has his workshop area in the new garage. Certainly it will be easier for him to get to the table saw and the bench!