Maybe it's a sign...

Today was a busy day. We moved everything except the furniture. You never know how much stuff you have until you try and move it. I have a lot of dishes, and serving trays and cake stands, and lots of other things that are pretty and help to make things seem special when they are used.
I'll be sure to post some pics of the completed house tomorrow when the furniture is in.

On another note... perhaps it's a sign I am supposed to get a pet.
Today I had to catch a cat and put it out of the house. Twice! Unbelievable but true. This time it was at the old house, but still it is quite the strange occurrence.
Baby bird, cardinal, chipmunk, cat... getting bigger and furrier. Tomorrow may be a dog or a small horse. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you to my amazing helpers! Jan, Marcia, Joan, Marie, Julia, Hannah, Sarah Lynn, Meghan, and Rebecca. (And thank you ahead of time to the guys who are helping with the heavy lifting tomorrow.)

Welcome Home!

Tomorrow is the beginning of moving days!! Ready or not, here is comes.
I decided the front of the house needed some flowers. The whole house could be in shambles but at least the pretty flowers outside make me feel better. Doesn't this entry way say "Welcome Home"?
I thought I would share a little of the progress from this week with you. I hung the mirror in the guest bathroom. It's made from a mirror frame off of an antique dresser. I like it. I think it adds character.

And on another exciting note... I have carpet!! Oh my, if you knew the drama that came with getting this carpet you would be just as excited as I am! Now that I have carpet it feels like a real home (and has much less echo). While the guys were laying carpet I scrubbed the garage door with some bleach. There's something both rewarding and disgusting about things changing colors as you clean them.


And just for fun I thought I'd throw in a few before and after kitchen pics for you. The kitchen definitely wins the award for the Most Improved.

The Wild Kingdom...

I hesitate to tell you about my adventure of the day because it is totally unbelievable. If you have been reading the blog the past few days you have read the story of the bird visitors. So today out of the corner of my eye I noticed something going across the floor. I thought it was another bird, but when I checked all the windows there was no hysterical animal slamming itself against the glass so I thought it must have been a leaf that blew in. I went on an errand, came home, and started painting the counter tops in the master bathroom. When I was finished I turned around to find a little CHIPMUNK standing in the middle of the bedroom!

You have got to be kidding me! Is he friends with the birds? How can an animal just come through the door? Aren't they supposed to be scared of people? I've left the door at my house open before to get the mail or the garbage can, and I have never came back to find a zoo in my home!

You may not be aware of this, but chipmunks are much harder to catch than birds. I spent the next hour and a half trying to shoo him out the open doors. It was almost impossible. I did not talk to him in a sweet tone. I did not try to be his friend. I had had enough of nature. I put on my thick gloves, grabbed my broom and came up with a plan.

By this time the chipmunk had discovered he could fit under the kitchen cabinets. He would stay under for a while and then come out look at me and head back under when I moved. How can I lure him out the back door? I opened the back door as wide as it would go. Then I blocked off the large doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house with a shutter door. (The hated shutter doors have now become my ally.) I quietly walked over by the cabinets and stood there quietly, not moving, not making a sound, and waiting for my furry friend. When he popped out from under the cabinets I didn't make a move. I waited until he had moved further away from his hiding spot. Waiting, waiting, waiting... and then MAKE LOTS OF NOISE!!!! He went running right into the shutter door and out the back door! Yeah! I won and the chipmunk lost.
Later I noticed that stupid chipmunk just sitting on the back patio by the door. I think he was waiting for another chance to come in for a visit. No way!

Moving day is in 4 days. Hopefully I can keep the Wild Kingdom at bay until then.
Here's a picture of the new counters in the master bathroom. I really like the dark brown color. There is also new tile, painted cabinets, mirror, light fixture and paint. I can see why the chipmunk wanted to have a peek :-)

Bigger and better birds...

You have got to be kidding me? What are the chances that I would have 2 birds fly into my house 2 days in a row. I may have to change the name of my house from The Ponderosa to The Bird Atrium. I thought perhaps you would not believe me, so I took a picture this time before I helped my little friend find his way back outside.





Here is a picture of the finished counter tops. I thought they turned out pretty great. I might add a few more layers of polyurethane just to be safe.







And there are great improvements in the guest bathroom as well. Check out the almost finished tile floor and bead board wall paper. This bathroom has gone from scary to nice :-)

Countdown to moving day = 5

A Bird's Eye View...

It's official! I'm defenitely moving in soon. I bought appliances today. The guy who helped me at Lowe's seemed very excited. I think I made his day. I'm sure his commission went way up after my visit. Here's a few pictures of the latest goodies that will be delivered to my house very soon. Now if you come by the new house I can get you a cold drink from the fridge, heat up some food in the stove, and wash all your dirty dishes in a "whisper quiet" dishwasher.

I had a special visitor at the house this afternoon. I was sitting in the bathroom attaching the new toilet seat. (Note: I did not say sitting on the new toilet seat :-) When I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. My first thought was mouse. Oh no!! But it wasn't. It was a little baby bird just walking down the hallway. He went into the bedroom and I followed him. He kept trying to fly through the double paned, closed, and freshly painted windows. I immediately felt the need to be a Bird Rescuer. So I picked up a box and tried to lure him in. This worked for about 5 seconds. Then he flew into the kitchen and landed on the counter tops I had just painted. Uuuuuggghhh! Little birdie feet imprinted on the new counters. Now he was body slamming against the kitchen window. Hmmmm, how am I going to get this little birdie out of my house? I went to the garage and got gloves out of my box of 500 I've been using for the past month. And then I became the Bird Whisperer. For some reason I thought if I talked to him he might calm down and let me catch him and help him outside. "Hi little birdie ... I want to be your friend.... I'm trying to help you little birdie... I think you're lost" He didn't seem to be relaxed at all by my little words of encouragement. So, I decided to wait until he wore himself out trying to fly through the closed window. And then when he was exhausted I was able to hold him very carefully and take him outside. He flew away chirping like crazy. I feel certain he was tattling on me to all his bird friends.

That little bird had no idea I wanted to help him. And he was definitely unaware of how helpless he was on his own. I wander if the Lord ever sees me the way I saw that little bird today. "I'm trying to help you Jenn... I think you are lost." I wander how many times the Lord has had to wait for me to tire myself out in my own efforts so I will be receptive to His loving help.

I think I'll leave the little birdie footprints on the edge of the counter as a reminder of my little visitor. And perhaps a reminder of the lesson as well.

Counter Offer...

In case you were curious how the counter tops were looking...
They are on day 2 of the painting process. Tomorrow I will add another coat of oil based brown paint and then cover with polyurethane.
I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the master bathroom counters. The color looks great in that room. I'll be sure to show you a picture of the completed project.
I could see the light at the end of the tunnel today. Most of the rooms are close to finished. My "To Do" list is down to one page front and back :-)

New Countertops...

Well, they aren't exactly new counter tops, but they are new looking :-)I'm painting the counters in the kitchen and 2 bathrooms. You may be thinking, "I didn't know you could paint counter tops?" Well, you can. Here's a picture of the kitchen counter tops in progress.




I started with cleaning the counter tops. Then sanding them a little to rough them up. Next, tape the edges and around the sink. Wipe them down with water, and paint with oil based primer. I put on a couple of coats.
Tomorrow I'll paint with oil based paint. I chose dark brown. Maybe it will resemble expensive granite. (A girl can dream:-)
The total cost for new counter tops in the kitchen and 2 baths = about $15.
I'll let you know how they turn out.

Countdown to moving day... 9 days!

A Tale of Two Ceilings...

I have been working on scraping, cleaning and painting the vaulted ceiling in the living room. It looks so much better. The new white makes to unpainted section look almost brown. You would not believe the number of spider webs that were on that ceiling. I wish I had known when I filled out my census...
Question #1. How many people live in this residence?... 1 person, 53 carpenter bees, 97 spiders.

Today is Monday...

Here's a quick peak at the progress on the Ponderosa today. I had some great helpers.

Mrs. Judy kilzed the living room.












For some reason I tend to think that you can put Kilz over anything and it will automatically make all dirt, germs and stains disappear. It's like magic!
I think the clean paint makes the room look bigger.












And thanks to Brooke and Carmen :-) Who needs a handy-man when you've got these handy-girls? A little trash pick up, deck fixing, drywall mudding, and light installing.












Guest bath with ugly walls.... guest bath with better walls.

Tedious...

te·dious \ˈtē-dē-əs, ˈtē-jəs\: tiresome because of length or dullness
Tedious is the word of the day. And of course it involved the kitchen floor. In previous days the floor had been cleaned and scrubbed and scraped and rubbed. I felt pretty sure the floor was clean but it still wasn't very pretty. It was obvious in many places the "whatever" that had been spilled on the floor actually ate through the color on the tiles. And it didn't appear that the tiles had ever been sealed, and the grout wasn't like any grout color I had ever seen. It was gray concrete.

So how do you turn a well worn ugly floor into a pretty one... very tediously!
First you call your amazing artist friend, Mrs. Cecile, and she brings over all her paints and color matches the off colored stains.












Then you buy some sealant and a grout stainer. I chose a khaki color to replace the gray. Oh, and don't forget your toothbrush.












Then you sit on the floor and slowly paint the grout with a toothbrush. Oh my! It really takes a long time! Now I know why they make prisoners clean floors with toothbrushes in prison movies. But 8 hours later I have a floor that looks almost brand new. Here are some pictures of the floor in process so you can truly appreciate the beauty :-)



























TA- DA!


In other news, progress has been made outside as well. I had some help Friday in the yard pulling up bushes. It seemed like the roots were 10 feet long and 5 inches around. (I promise I am not exaggerating.) Donna, Bradley and Ashley helped me for hours. Then my neighbor came over with his SUV and a wench to help. These are some tough bushes. They actually broke the wench! Have you ever heard of such a thing?! We decided to let the bush that broke the wench stay. After all, we felt it deserved another day to live after beating an SUV! I have a feeling the embattled bushes and the enraged carpenter bees are going to gang up on me one day soon.












(Oh, and for those of you have been interested in how the battle of the bees is going... well, I don't think I'm winning. When I came back the next morning after my night time murdering spree I found new holes gnawed where the bees had tried to free their friends. Wow! What should I do now? While I was painting the kitchen floor with a toothbrush today I asked the Lord what I was supposed to be learning from these stupid bees. I kept thinking about how they were only doing what came naturally. The bees were doing what they were created to do. And they would not be easily deterred from fulfilling what they were designed to do. It got me thinking... The Word says I was designed to praise the Lord and give Him glory. Am I easily deterred from what I was created to do? Am I easily distracted from my purpose? Thanks for the lesson little bees, you can move on now.)

Jenn - VS - The Carpenter Bees

The battle was on. I had warned them today would be their undoing. My opponent...
the carpenter bee. I know he looks harmless, but don't be deceived. This isn't a whimsical little honey bee or a helpful little flower pollinator. This little pest is the worst nightmare a cedar house can have. Just look at what she does when she decides to turn your siding into her nest.
And since my home has been unkempt for many years, and completely empty for many months, the bees have just moved right on in feeling completely unhindered by pesky humans. Well, their days of frolicking are over...

So I talked to a bug expert, Dr. Foshee, and he suggested a method for sending these little bees to Bee Heaven.

My tools...












Sevin Dust & a ketchup squirt-er & wood filler

I waited until dusk because that's when I've noticed that all the hovering bees go to their little homes in my siding. I took my deadly ketchup bottle, my wood filler and spatula and step stool. When I went outside I could hear them. Gross!! I could hear them in the siding chewing and scratching around.

I started my bee-ocide by squirting sevin dust in a hole and then covering it with wood filler. I was half way expecting all of the bees to rally together and jump out of their holes to attack me. But luckily they didn't :-) I went from one hole to the next squirting and filling. When I left I could still hear some of them in the walls. Hopefully they were on their death beds.

So now I have a bunch of dead bees entombed in the siding of my house. That may be grosser than having live bees buzzing around, but at least dead bees eat less wood!

A nicer welcome...

Today was an exterior day. A house that is made of cedar and has not been taken care of is bound to have some rot. Now I have nice new wood in place of old yucky wood. (Thank you so much Cliff!) The only problem is that the house looks a little 2-toned now. Oh well, I guess I'll need to move up my projected date for staining and sealing the cedar siding.












I also worked on having a "nicer welcome". I primed and painted the doors today. (Thank you Amy for cleaning and priming some for me yesterday.) I feel certain the red front door will need about 15 coats of paint, but that's o.k. at least I've got a good start.

Old... New...












And for those of you who are animal lovers, I feel the need to warn you that tomorrow will be D-Day for the carpenter bees. (Or maybe I should say B-Day) They have buzzed their last buzz, eaten their last board, their days are numbered. Enjoy you final moments little bees...

Painting, painting, painting...

Doors, window trim, baseboards, walls, cabinets, cabinet doors, ceilings, exterior trim. primer, satin finish, semi-gloss, rollers, brushes, paint pans... and so goes the renovating.

My hand may be stuck in the shape of a claw forever from holding paint brushes and rollers for hours at a time. So what jobs am I qualified for if my hand is permanently frozen in "The CLAW"?
1. Well, of course I could be a painter
2. A professional back scratcher
3. A bear imitator in a charades game "GRRRR"
4. A torch holder for the Olympics
5. I could pour drinks at a restaurant (If I could fit the pitcher in my claw hand)
6. The next American Idol. I'm pretty sure a paint roller and a microphone are the same shape. :-)

Close...

They say close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades... Well, I think it should count in renovating too. So many rooms at the Ponderosa are close to being finished. Yippee! What a blessing! In a few days I will have owned this house for 1 month. I think the progress in pretty amazing. Here are a few pictures of my "close" rooms.

Almost real...

Today I put up bead board wallpaper in the kitchen. Yes you heard me right - bead board wallpaper. Usually beadboard comes in big expensive wooden sheets of paneling and has to be measured and cut with a saw. But this "bead board" is great. The wall paper has a texture that is identical to the real thing. You just wet the strips and adhere them to the wall. And voila... It's ready to paint whatever color you prefer. Here's my kitchen wall. It hasn't been painted yet, but I think it turned out great!

Getting better...

Hello friends.
I wasn't able to spend a lot of time at the Ponderosa today. It is a busy week in my "non-renovation" life.
However, I did get to hang some of the newly painted cabinet doors. Wow! What an improvement.









And when I was getting ready to leave I noticed that the unidentified, dying bushes in the front yard have been awakened by Spring and it appears that many of them are azaleas. I like azaleas!! Finally, something this house has that doesn't have to be stripped, painted, cleaned or torn down... just enjoyed!