Renovations, etc

The renovation of the office/sewing/study room continues. We've been busy - the closet is cleared of the items that were stored there; closet doors have been painted; carpet and padding have been removed, rolled, and taped; and the electrician and floor refinishers have been called. You can also see how the walls turned out. The pics are a little washed out because the sun is shining. Here's some new pics:

Here's the corner in front of door. The vents have been painted and put back on the wall. Not sure why he choose to paint them white but that's Ok. You can see just a little bit of the hardwood floors here. The area to the left of the vent is the only place on the floor where there is a patch. It will have to be repaired.

The trim has been installed around the windows. The windows in my house are all over sized. I like that it lets lots of light in but it is challenging when it comes to curtains. Here you can see where the original closets were when this was two separate bedrooms.

Here you see the narrow end of the room. The closet doors look like they are leaning on that freshly painted wall but there is a towel in between the wall and the doors. The cedar closet is cleared of everything but the remnants of the carpet. Next trash pick up is next week. So, it will most likely remain there until then. Again, you can see a little bit of the floors. There are a few nail holes, staple holes, the one patched area, and a couple of loose boards. Overall the floor is in really good condition. It does look like it has the original "very worn" finish but that will be taken care of soon.

I'm waiting on the floor refinisher to show up to check out the floor and give me estimates. I'm beginning to feel like I've been dumped for the day. He said early afternoon about 1 and it's now 2:30. Granted we had horrible weather earlier today but he could at least call and let me know what is going on. I really wanted this guy to do my floors too. He did the rest of the house and he does excellent work. We'll see what happens.

I'm still just dreaming of sewing. I did manage to make it out to JoAnn's yesterday and get the Vogue jacket pattern that I was wanting. I couldn't hardly wait to read the pattern and see how the jacket sent together. I was disappointed to see that the pockets are fake. All jackets need pockets, don't they? I also picked up a McCall's skirt. Don't remember the number, but it had 4 different versions on it.

Happy Sewing

and I thought yesterday was bad....

I really spoke too soon when I called yesterday "ICKY". That label belongs to today. Yes, it started early this morning with a 5am call from the school saying there was a 2 hour delay. (Yes, it was really 5am.) Followed 45 min. later by another phone call saying school was cancelled. Oh, why did I give the school my home phone number? I really thought it was a good idea at the time but I didn't know that they would be calling so early in the morning. Needless to say, we all sleep in this morning. I can't remember the last time I slept till 8am. I did assist in clearing the driveway today. It was an heavy icy mix of stuff and took a long time to clear. It was raining the whole time and I was soaked by the time I finished. It started snowing about an hour after I was finished. The daily winter routine has started.

There wasn't much done today in the renovation room. I think everyone was too tired. We vacuumed a bit and moved a few more boxes. Yes, one shelf is almost cleared and you can see the floor. I did remember to call the floor refinishers today and called our real estate agent for recommendations on electricians. A little progress.

Still no sewing, just dreaming. Every box that leaves the closet has to be examined. I'm finding all kinds of stuff I had completed forgotten about. I worked today, too.

Happy Sewing!

Another icky day!

Woke up this morning to more snow and a phone call from the school district that there was going to be a 2-hour delay. I don't mind the delay but I did mind the phone call at 5:45. I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I put my coat on and went out and to help shovel the driveway. I didn't actually help much because I could not locate the second shovel. A little bit of exercise.

I did make it to Curves this morning. I normally go on M-W-F schedule but there wasn't any school yesterday so this week I will go T-Th-S. I hope the weather cooperates. I really prefer going early.

I also moved a few more items from the closet today. Slowly, the items are being moved to the basement. Oh, I just realized I forgot all about calling electricians and floor refinishers today. Guess, I need to make a to do list and follow it. Otherwise, the rest of the room will be done and we will be waiting.

I thought that I would share a favorite crock-pot recipe today (one of my son's favorites). It is an adaptation of a recipe from one of the TV chefs:

Chicken Stew
(serves 4 to 6)

1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 or 2 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
salt & pepper to taste
1 - 14 1/2 ounce can of tomatoes
14 1/2 ounces of chicken broth
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breasts
1 - 15 ounce can organic kidney beans, drained (rinse if not organic)

Put all of the ingredients in the crockpot on low for 6 - 8 hours. Shred the chicken when ready to serve.

I serve this over egg noodles or brown rice or mash potatoes.

Enjoy!

Renovation, etc.

The renovation continues to progress - the walls are finished, the trim around the windows Is going up as we speak, closet doors painted, and I have started clearing the closet. The clearing also including washing fabric as necessary. So, of the fabric had dust from sanding on it. I still need to call an electrician and floor finishers. Of course, I will be continuing to clear out the closet. I really have too many sewing related items.

Happy Sewing!

Renovation update, etc...

The room redo is still progressing. The ceiling in the bedroom has been finished. Here's the pics that I promised:

This is looking in the doorway. The green wall is the one that was so rough that it required a skim coat on the entire wall. DH did a wonderful job, don't you think? Oh, by the way, the paint is wet.

This is the wall to the right as you enter the room. It was marked with the previous renovation date.

DH happily painting.

These are first time shown pics of the other side of the room. I'm still standing in the doorway. The wall with the windows is approximately 22 feet. There is my lovely closet which is just waiting to be cleared and a new closet organizer added. The closet is the length of the part of the room and about 5 feet deep. There were a couple of holes in the wall to the right of the window. Again, DH did a wonderful repair job.

Wall to the left of the door and left of the closet. This is where the inventory for my business will be stored.

You know it's cold when the cat is lying next to the fireplace. I was there too going through patterns and DVDs.

I'm still dreaming about sewing. You would think that I wouldn't have a problem finding time to make pjs but I still haven't found it. Tomorrow morning, I have an appointment to get my microwave fixed. I think that will be a good time to work on cutting out the pjs for DS. I still need to add additional length to the pant pattern. Cutting out will most like take the most to time.

I've been looking for pant patterns for my son. I don't understand why no one makes clothing patterns for boys. DS is tall for his age which generally means that is pants look way to big if they are long enough. I would like to be able to make him some pants that aren't so big. If any one knows of any patterns for boys that are well drafted, please let me know.

Happy Sewing!