Basements and Birdbaths

 

Way too long between posts, and I lose track of what we've done.

Terry finished this cedar wall in the basement,

and it made the perfect spot for the desk he made me

and all of my craft stuff.

 

Waiting for the new couch to arrive and Terry is building a TV stand.

 

I draw him a little scribble of what I want

and he makes it happen...

 

There's the frame for the TV stand.

 

He attached wood slats all around,

stained it dark, and put casters on it

so I can roll it around.

 

There's the table top.

 

And just like that!

A basement living area.

The TV stand is perfect and the couch is awesome.

Winter is coming and we now have a new space

 to disappear and watch TV.

 

The birdbath story...

My mom gave me a beautiful birdbath

and then she wanted it back.

So we have missed having a birdbath in the garden.

 

I wanted one for my birthday

 but we just couldn't find the time to go out looking for one,

 and I didn't really want to spend that much money.

 

This last weekend, we went to an estate sale

and there was a sad looking birdbath for 30 bucks.

 

It was old and sad and neglected.

The base was painted brown and it was a little rough,

but we bought it and heaved it into the Jeep.

 

The very next estate sale we went to...

there was another birdbath.

This one was like brand new, majestic, and perfect.

With a price tag of 50 bucks we stood deliberating...

and the guy came out and said

50% off.

 

and there she is.

Perfect.

We couldn't believe...

two birdbaths. 

 

This is the sad birdbath that I will figure out how to refurbish,

and it will go in another garden,

and he will be beautiful.

 

So here is the wall opposite the wall with my craft desk

in the basement. Terry is finishing this wall with more cedar

(the instant wall maker).

This is the exercise room

and when the wall is finished we will put a TV in here

so you have something to look at while on the treadmill.

 

We are finally making the basement a liveable space,

and with each improvement it gets more inviting.

A Mighty Good Man

 

Since Terry returned to work he has become a weekend warrior.

He is working up to 56 hours a week,

 and that doesn't include the hour and a half drive time.

 

Last weekend he put up this wall in the basement. 

 

Nice.

Oh my gosh.

Never saw a grasshopper hitching a ride before...

 

or was it something else?  

 

We found this birdcage at an estate sale,

 and hoped that maybe we could catch our parakeet friend before the cold sets in.

But no. he went in for the food

but when I tried to get close he actually slipped through the bars.

 

We decided to just let him be free and enjoy the rest of the summer.

 

This weekend, Terry built another wall.

 

The house next door has been vacant for the last two years

 and we have enjoyed peace and quiet.

But we think it has sold recently

 and the family we saw has children,

 and who knows what else,

 so we are being proactive

 and making some privacy for our patio.

 

Terry slapped up this wall in a couple of hours.

 

and had dinner.

 

Yeah, he's the man.

 

 

Alls Well That Ends Well

 

As I go through the pictures on my camera

 from the last couple of weeks,

 I realize what a messy mess they are...

 

We lost a lot of furniture when we moved into my mother's house,

either by deciding we really didn't need it,

or things got damaged during two moving sessions.

 

So the first picture is lunch at a sloppy diner out in Romeo,

where we found some great bargains

at estate sales.

 

An old garden bench and a multiple times painted bookcase

 were cheap finds and easy to fix up.

 

After that, Terry is hard at work on building me a custom coffee table...

 

 

My specs... big block construction.

beefy legs and thick top.

 

The base is ready...

The top is stained and polyurethaned multiple times

to make it a durable tabletop.



 

In the meantime, Terry whipped up this patio table.

Wow, he's amazing.

 

There's the new coffee table.

It is perfect !!!

 

A cool August night,

counting the days until Terry has to go back to work.

I wish he never had to work again,

because I like having him around.

 

Ahh, another weekend, and more estate sales.

This stool was only a few bucks.

 

This is the yellow garden bench we found.

Just a couple coats of espresso black paint

 and she makes a darn good shabby chic TV table.

 

This corner cabinet was $18.00

Not sure where they came up with that figure, but after 50% off

$9.00 was a steal for a heavy, well constructed piece of furniture.

 

Estate sales are the best thing ever invented.

 

Time to get down to business.

Terry starts a new job on Monday.

He will be driving a lot farther then he used to,

and we have neglected his car for way too long.

 

So we got him some new tires

 and an oil change

 and a few other necessities.

 

Then we made good on another promise we made to each other.

 

We haven't been able to do much together that is fun in a long time.

Something "middle of the day" crazy,

and we always talk about how good a burger and beer tastes, so...

 

Burgers and beer for lunch.

 

Lumberyard Bar

 

Best burgers in town,

and they even had malt vinegar for the fries.

 

That was a good day.

 

Another weekend and more estate sales.

This time we ended up out in Farmington Hills.

 

Didn't have much luck shopping,

 but we did stop at our favorite pizza place,

 Tomatoes-A-Pizza

 

Oh boy.

 Sampler pizza, thin charred crust,

 basil, and tomatoes.

 

Yummy. I might have to start a food blog.

 

Had to share this.

I am so sick of walking into the kitchen

 and thinking my son is in there,

 and it's my daughter, and vice-versa.

 

So I made them pose for this shot,

and then I told them

 one of them has to dye their hair or cut it shorter.

 

Ha ha

 

Back to work...

 

Ask and I receive.

I asked terry to build me a craft table for the basement.

and he did.

 

Here he is finishing the top.

 

And this is the base.

 

In his off minutes...

 

he finally finished the antique piano stool

 that he got at an estate sale months ago.

 

He put so much work into it,

and it turned out beautiful.

 

And worth a lot of money,

but I think we'll keep it.

 

There is the craft table.

I am going to paint the base white,

and it will be ready for use.

 

He even put casters on the legs so we can move it around.

 

Perhaps he should consider making furniture for a living...

 

And finally...

 

Sitting in the backyard

 one sultry summer evening and who should appear?

 

A blue parakeet.

 

What???

 

Yes, a parakeet flies into the yard and

hangs out with the sparrows at the feeder. 

 

He comes every day now,

we know we need to catch him,

because he won't survive when the temperatures dip,

and this is a new obsession.

 

We named him pretty boy

and I hope this ends well........

My mother passed away on August 1st.
It has been a rough couple of months.
Moving and moving again,
Mom's passing...
Terry starts a new job on Monday.
There has been so much upheaval in our lives this summer.
We are just trying to find joy in small things right now.

Everything happens for a reason,
And everything always works out in the end.
That is my motto, and I am sticking to it.

New Adventure

 

Oh my goodness.

 I can't even go into the details of what transpired over the last two months.

 It would be a long, long story.

But I will say that we actually thought that we were done with project house,

 and we would move on to new adventures...

 

We packed up, put the house on the market,

 and got several excellent offers on the house.

Thank goodness the offers fell through,

 because our new adventure fell through too.

 

We actually moved out of the house for a month and then moved back in.

 

Ahh, I know this is all very cryptic, but it really isn't worth going into.

 

we are so happy to be back where we belong,

and Project House would not let us go.

 

We still have more projects to do here.

 

 

When we were moving out, we got rid of a lot of stuff.

So, now we get to go estate sale-ing again

to find a lot more stuff.

Yesterday we went out to Romeo, and after lunch at a crappy diner...

 

 

We found a couple of old furniture pieces

that we will do some work on.

 

and Terry is building me a new custom coffee table.

 

Can't wait.

 

Everything seems brand new again.

 

I guess this was our new adventure after all.

Tough Times

What started out as an exciting new adventure turned into a really dark time for the "Project House" family. No details, but we thought we were going to sell the house, and it did not turn out that way. So we are ecstatic to be back in our nest, and I will resume posting soon. 🐿

One House, Two House

 

Where are we?

 

In Nick's basement.

 

Nick and Colleen closed on their new house yesterday,

and here we are getting ready to paint the ceiling in the basement.

 

But let's take a tour of the new house...

 

Backyard, garage.

 

The back of the house.

 

Big Uhaul.

 

Front of the house.

 

One major issue here...

 

This tree.

 

A Russian Olive that went terribly bad.

 

It must go, but the new owners are not sure.

 

It must go.

 

Here's Nick and Colleen's brother, Brian.

Such great kids. 

 

 

The kitchen...

 

The family room...

 

Terry is already tired.

 

The master bedroom.

Looks roomy, but the king sized bed hasn't arrived yet.

 

New toilet for the bathroom.

 

Colleen's dad coming to strip wallpaper.

 

That's all for the tour.

 

We came home and got busy on our own house.

 

Why are we repainting the dining room ceiling?...

 

Why are we repainting the basement?...

What are all of these boxes for?...

 

A big announcement coming soon.