The Summer Project Has Begun...

Just in time for fall. We had hoped to get to the front walkway and patio this summer, and we did... just barely. We know we won't finish before rain and cold weather sets in, but we are going to see how far we can get.

Our goal is to make the walk to the front doors inviting..

We had several pallets of bricks delivered. Don shoveled a pick-up load of sand. We are building a red brick pathway over the old concrete path and will lay square gray bricks to fill in the area, so people will not longer have to walk through muddy grass to get to the front doors..

The work begins with a trench for the solider bricks.

Don is the brick layer and Sami is the Sherpa. We are getting lots of exersise.

Return to Our Remodel Project

We have resumed our remodeling project.

In Multiple Myeloma lingo, Don is at "Day 171." That means the transplant happened 171 days ago, nearing a half a year ago. From the beginning they said it would take between six months and a year to recover from the transplant, and that is just what we have experienced. Our life seems almost back to where it was before Don began treatment. We are busy, busy, busy. For the last two weeks Don has worked hard most days to finish off the inside of the front entryway, a project began a year ago. He has wired in a new door bell, which involved work at both front and rear doors and in the basement, added insulation, put up new sheet rock and new window trim. Much of the trim he hand-made to match the window trim in the rest of the house.He painted the wall about three times, due to the fact that paint that was supposed to match what was there, did not. All that is left is to refinish the door.

Don has had some lower back pain, probably due to being so inactive for so many months. But that is lessening with the passage of time and exercise. Don can't push as hard or work as fast as he did before, but what the heck, there aren't many men his age (68) who can do so much as he does.

A couple of weeks ago we attended Don's 50th high school reunion. We led the group in dancing to some great 60s rock and roll. Last week we took grandson Oliver on a little trip to Enchanted Forest and the Oregon State Capitol.

We'll stop bragging now! Its enough to say that we are feeling marvelously blessed. Next week we will celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary with a motorcycle ride out to Edgefield and a couple of days of good food, music, and pampering. As Poo Bear wold say, "Life is nice and round."

Don and Oliver take a popcorn break from riding Salem's riverside Carousel.

P. S. we will post this blog entry to both this blog and our Stem Cell Transplant blog. http://donsunfortunateincarceration.blogspot.com/

Time to Regroup V2.0

The return to remodeling mentioned in the last blog entry is now starting.  We’ve held off while learning what to expect with Don’s chemotherapy.  It turns out we were somewhat optimistic in our expectations for what Don can do, but our plan allows for that.  We are now starting our porch remodeling, pretty much as described in the last blog, with most of it hired out.  We are hiring a contractor friend of ours (Corey...his wife is Sami’s exercise teacher) to build a new front porch.  Here is our rough concept sketch (which we did):

 

It will provide a more inviting path to the front door from the driveway, and also adds some interest to the front of the house.  We have signed up for two small parts of the project…removing the shrubs in front, and opening the inside wall around the front door (to permit adding the sidelight windows and to move wall switches).  We removed two of the shrubs today in about an hour of work together (on the left side of the house near the garage).  That used up Don’s allotment of energy pellets for the day.  We’ll continue to whittle away at the shrubs.  Corey expects to start his work at the end of June, and to take less than a month to build the porch.  We’re pretty confident that that fits within the window available before Don’s stem cell transplant, which will keep him out of the picture for a while.

 
Here’s a ‘before’ picture, to record what we are starting with, and a couple of pictures of the hard-working laborers.  To tell the truth, Sami (and the pickup pulling on the stumps) did almost all of the hard work.

 

 

Cheers!

Time to Regroup

Last year we finished a number of remodeling projects upstairs including; insulation, new windows and the master bathroom. Then we turned our attention to other things; the centennial celebration of our beloved Spindrift Cottage, the sudden death of a sibling and its aftermath, and Christmas. Next we got a real surprise - Don’s diagnoses of Multiple Myeloma

Cancer puts a new light on things.

Don has begun treatment, which is expected to put him into remission. Although treatment makes him tired, and not up to working hard, all day long (as he used to), we have decided to keep on with the remodel. In the short term we will tackle one or two of the more do-able projects, probably the front porch with landscaping and our plan for mounting a flat screen TV on our bedroom wall. For now we are enjoying brain-storming ideas which will result in a porch design. We have been taking walks around our city to see other porches. When we are satisfied with the design, we will hire someone to do the work. We still hope to DIY where we can; perhaps product research and finish work. In the long term we plan to hire a contractor and speed up the job the rest of the job. We just refuse to put it all on “hold,” because we want to be able to enjoy it when it is done.

So... stay tuned. We are back at it!

Ta-DA!

Our master bath is finished! The end was rather anticlimactic, touching up paint on the door. No drum roll or fireworks. We didn't break any land speed records, but as we tell everyone who sees the room, "there's a lot of work that you don't see - starting at wall studs, repairing a rotted sub-floor, installing new windows (all of upstairs and part of downstairs), doubling the roof insulation, adding a new exhaust system, grounding the wiring, adding new plumbing pipes to the tub and toilet, etc., etc."

Don learned how to work with new materials and we both learned a lot about decorating. Our limited experience with designing decor didn't prevent us from getting a look we really like. The space has a quiet classic feel to it. And, except for the bathtub installation - we did it ALL ourselves. Our other goals were also met, we kept or sanity (what we had of it), we are still together and we did not break the bank. It was fun. Can you see us patting ourselves on the back?

We spent about $7,900 on this project and 18% of that was paying the guys who installed the tub (one day's work). It took us ten months, although we definitely did NOT work non-stop, and also did some work in other rooms along the way.

We want to show it off. Here are some photos....

Toto pedestal sink

The Mexican tiles are what dictated the types of tiles we used and the colors.

All motifs include plants and insects. Most feature a bird, but one has a bunny and one a fish.

We are still in love with the Chinese embroidery.

Enlarging the closet gave us the storage room we lost using a pedestal sink.

Don added the little set-into-the-wall shelves for another extra bit of storage.

As chief builder, Don got to take the first shower.

                                           Now - on to the rest of upstairs!

Potty - Check! Sink - Check!

The project was at a stand-still for about three weeks while we took a trip and had company. Now, the last few things are falling into place, "falling" with a lot of hard work. Don installed the toilet a few days ago. Boy is it nice to have a potty on the same floor as our bedroom! Today is sink day and Don is being a contortionist to hook it up. He is on his third trip to the hardware store, but we hope to turn the water on before we end our day.

Don will have sore muscles this evening

Professional plummbers must be double-jointed

The Excitment Builds

Don has laid the floor and it is grouted. Sami has visited many stores in the search for bath towels just the right color, texture and price. The bathroom count-down is nearing its end. We are both pretty excited.

Every new process is a learning process..

We know a lot more about products and methods than when we began. Perhaps the main floor bathroom will go much faster? That is our theory.

We think that the darker floor gives the room a serene, grounded feeling.