Wow!!!

So I told you before I have a love hate relationship with this blog.  That increased when I found out that it was no longer a simple thing to publish it to a hard bound book.  That said, I didn't realize I had abandoned it at the point when we were painting.  I really thought I had taken in farther into our reno process.  So my apologies to those who have been following and waiting.  And now I digress.....on purpose.

June 20-26, 2018

After painting was finished, we needed to install the hard wood flooring.  We wanted wood flooring in the main living areas.  (I like carpet in bedrooms.)  I had looked and debated and looked and debated.  In our previous home I had an office with engineered hardwood that I had loved.  It was no longer being made and nothing that was currently out resembled it.  Then I was going the rounds of the pros and cons of hard wood, engineered hard wood and laminate.  I really do not like the look of laminate.  Even though some look amazingly like hardwood they just don't quite cut it for me.  Engineered wood often looks beautiful but doesn't last and have the options for longevity that I really wanted.  Wood is expensive and much more time consuming to install.  We were installing ourselves.
I researched and visited stores and researched some more.  I wanted something that didn't look too polished and modern.  I felt like most store salesman were just out to make a sale and really didn't give me the information I wanted.  There were so many pros and cons to every type of flooring.  And so many positive and negative reviews of all options.  I had several samples that were possibilities but nothing that just said, "THIS IS THE ONE".

I finally ran across an article on facebook about a flooring store in Salt Lake.  It was not an advertisement but a recommendation from someone who had went there.  I looked them up online and liked what I saw and they seemed to have some hard wood options that would fit in our budget.  So we went up to The Wood Floor Warehouse to check it out.  Let me just say that I would recommend them to anyone looking for hard wood flooring.  No pressure, no hype.  Just guys who want to help you find just what you are looking for.  Guys who knew wood flooring.  Guys who knew that advantages and disadvantages of all the brands and types.  They carry almost all major brands of hardwood flooring and our not trying to push one brand or the most expensive brand.  So we started looking around for something that was a wide plank, oak or hickory and a medium wood tone.  We found a couple of possibilities and then ...... we found one we absolutely loved.  Upon inquiring about it we discovered that they made it themselves right here in Utah and that it was shipped out and sold all over the United States to major retailers.  It had just the right amount of a rustic look, came in various widths, you could customize the color and it is an oil based finish which makes it easy to maintain.  The oil based finish also makes it so it is not super shiny.  Only one problem .... the usual problem ....... about double the budget amount.   But..... floors are not easily replaced if you aren't happy with them ..... It was the first flooring we really got excited about .....   there was nothing out there that was comparable...... So....... yea we went over budget. 

The floor has to be manufactured once you order it.   We knew it would take longer than we really wanted to wait for it but it would be so worth it.  Our kitchen cabinets and appliances were ordered and waiting but they would have to wait a little longer.  Finally the last week of June it was delivered.

We had 900 sq. feet of flooring to lay.  The flooring comes prefinished so that was a bonus.  Perry bought the tools he needed but the store will actually lend you the tools to lay it.  We knew we would need them for future use.  The store told us where to go to get the best tools for the best price and they would even have bought it from us after we were through with it. They are very DIY friendly.  And to top off my gushing referral, they do no advertising.  They rely only on referrals and word of mouth.  They don't need to advertise.

We had a low spot in a part of the kitchen that was in the old house and transitions between floors in the many additions.  Perry had been adding leveling compound to those spots to try and get them level.  So that had been taking place while we were waiting for the flooring.

But finally the flooring had arrived and we went to work.  My mom even came over and helped us tag team it.  (She's camera shy.😊)

We did three different widths of boards, 3", 4" and 5".  It didn't matter what order they were laid in but within a 12" span there had to be one of each size in order to avoid running out of any one size.  We wanted to mix and match those sizes and not do a repeating pattern.  The lengths varied also and we needed to avoid getting the seams in all the same place.  The boards were all delivered to a bedroom in stacks by width but mixed lengths.  I picked out the boards for each row, Mom tapped them into place and Perry nailed.  We worked all day Saturday and that got the main long run area done.  Then Perry and I worked evenings for another 3 days.   

     

dirty :(

WE LOVE IT!!!

We have got so many compliments on it.  It is just the right amount of rustic and we have even had people ask if it is old reclaimed wood.

And now we could put the table in the dining room. 

And have our appliances delivered that had been sitting in storage for 3 months.  We bought them from Mountain Land Design.  Best place!!  Cheaper than Home Depot and Lowes sale prices. Much more knowledgeable salespeople and definitely upscale.  And they were willing to hold them for us until we were ready for them.  Well almost ready for them.  But they had them for so long we wanted them on site.

We also had some couches delivered.

Next was the kitchen cabinets!!!!

Fireplace Rock and Paint!

June 2018
     So we hired a guy to rock our fireplace!!

     

 

 

I love it!!  And then Perry added his little(?)  touch!

And look at this cute little antique cupboard I found!!  

AND NOW we were ready to paint.....

     I bought 5 different samples before I got the color I wanted.  I found Classic Taupe that I really loved but it was too dark.  So I tried 2 other couples and they were too yellow and pink.  Then I went back and got a one that was two shades lighter on the color card and it was too light.  Finally I got a young kid in Home Depot that knew what he was doing.  I explained that I liked the Classic Taupe but it was too dark.  He said oh well, I can just have the computer do one that is 25% less in color than that.  Wonders of technology!  It was perfect.  Also I needed a white for the trim that would match my kitchen cabinets so that it didn't look too different right next to each other in the kitchen.   Yes white has different shades too.  He scanned the sample cabinet piece and matched it exactly!!  And we were off!

We painted the shiplap on the wall and ceiling and my office in white and everything else Classic Taupe 25% less color.  

We are now looking like we are getting somewhere!!  So excited for floors and cabinets next!!!

SAD DAY!!

May 2018

     So part of the charm of our little yellow house has been the trees.  However, they were 100 yrs old and every time the wind blew we lost a lot of branches.  The front tree had a whole in it about 5 feet up on the trunk that I could stick my hand in and not feel a bottom to it.  We worried every time the wind blew that they would fall on the house.  There were three of them.  All withing in about 6 feet or less of the house.  They were also half dead from lack of water.  There was 2 ash and 1 elm.
    So we called for a tree trimmer/remover to give us a bid!   Holy Moly!!  EXPENSIVE!  But he was pretty sure that at least two were hollow and the third was headed there.   SO out they came!! 
                       😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Trees before:

 

 

Trees coming down:

You can see how rotten there were inside. We actually had him cut a couple of thin rings for us.  We will make something fun out of them.  Maybe a picture frame or wreath.  We did not cut these centers out.  They were that way.

We also had him remove another dead tree on the west side and trim two more that weren't beyond saving.

 

😞😞😞😞  It seems so bare and has definitely lost some of its charm.  We will plant new trees next spring but.... I don't have 100 years to grow them!! 

New Window!

May 2018

     So the window over where my kitchen sink goes was one that the bottom half raised up.  As I stood there the center line was exactly at my eye level.  I want to see out without seeing a line..

You can see it in this old picture.  So I requested a new window!!  And this month I got one!  A new casement window with no line.  And the window is set in the old double brick walls so it has a big window sill I can grow some herbs on.  

The little mouse in the corner is actually a door stop but he likes the view!

Yard Work and a New Window

May 2018
     So with spring came one of my favorite things!!  Yard Work!!!  I love to be outside working in my yard and I have a whole acre to work on.  I was so excited to see that 17 raspberry plants were alive and growing.  I had transplanted them from the Cedar Hills Garden the first spring after we bought the house.  That would have been the spring of 2017.  I wasn't sure how well they would do.  Mom kept them water for me the first summer and this was the second spring for them here.  And most of them had survived. 
           

I then added some other vegetables:  tomatoes, onions, peppers, squash.  Everything froze except the onions the next week, despite covering them.  We are at almost 6000 ft in elevation.  That makes for a pretty short growing season.  June 1 to October 1 on average.  So I planted them again.  They still haven't done well.  Except the onions, they seem to be going great guns.  The tomato plants were eaten down to about 2 inches by the deer.  I finally covered in the end of the tomato cages with another cage so they couldn't get their head in the end to eat them.  It is a whole new ball game to grow a garden here.  It will take a while to get it down.

The field had grown really tall last fall because we had nothing to mow it with when it did get that tall.  It was about 3-4 feet tall.  Last summer I had tried to keep a few paths mowed so we could get to the irrigation faucet and move the sprinkler for it but that was about it.  It was hard to keep up when we didn't live here yet.  This spring I had been cutting back the weeds by hand breaking them off on my hands and knees and then raking them.  It finally was just too much to handle.  So off we go to the local Tractor Supply Store and came home with these:

This is like a DR trimmer.  Heavy duty weed whacker that you walk behind.

Needless to say, Perry was in heaven.  It sure made the job much easier.  It went from looking like this:

TO THIS:

Happy Man!!

At the beginning of the first summer after we bought the house, my Mom saw a local ad for 1.5 irrigation water shares for Fountain Green.  We quickly bought them up!  Expensive but a necessity with an acre.  This makes it so we can water about 9 hours a day at no further cost.  City water is too expensive to water the whole acre with.  Everyone here told me we would never be able to buy water shares.  They are limited and very hard to get.  People are still amazed that we found some.  They say they have lived here for 25 - 35 years and never been able to get some.  Guess the Lord was watching out for us again.  (Him and Mom!!)

I have also been working on reclaiming some of the flower beds.  Originally there were flower beds around the whole perimeter of the yard and house. Now, I like to week but not that much!!  The yard is just weeds at this point and a defunct sprinkler systerm.  It needs to be redone but that is on next summer's project list.  However, I can't resist a few flower beds.  There used to be an English garden with a paved area and big planter and lots of rose and other bushes.  All dead!!  So I am pulling the pavers out to make borders for the flower beds I am keeping.  

This one used to have a half circle type raised flower bed constructed of poorly cemented together bricks with this rose bush next to it.  I pulled the raised one out and will transplant a few more of the rose bushes around the yard into it.

Well, that is about all I have done this year.  Just have to maintain those for now!