Spontaneous Renovations!

A refresher for those of you who don't recall: the living room was formerly my studio. This cabinet in the corner (yes... MY little cabinet of horrors!) was blocking the "front" door. The door had been graciously nailed shut by our house's previous owner. We will also fondly recall some of the other "improvements" that he made such as attractive ceiling holes, visible in the above picture. Or here in vivid close up:

But wait! I'm getting side tracked as is easy to do while contemplating household projects! That's for another day...
Where was I? Okay, so I painted the "front" door green and that sparked a slew of projects and the shifting of multiple tectonic plates. Like Bob has been saying for ages, "I'd love to get that front door opened up" and I know that the painting of the door roused us to action because on Monday, we moved the cabinet, Bob prised the door open and Hey Presto! The living room became a new space.

In all fairness to (mostly) Bob and myself, there was a lot of work between here and there. Not only had the door been nailed shut, the door frame itself had been partially removed and there were odd gaps and openings to fill. Poor Bob had to secure a new 2 x 8 for framing and then discovered that the door itself had warped. He set about shimming and planing and generally refitting the whole mess together. But now it opens! And closes!
He also replaced the knob- for which we had no key- with a nifty handle. Much easier to use and better looking. (Ahem: please ignore that weird exposed cluster of taped up wires. Future project!)

So we've been happily spackling and painting and enjoying going in and out of our new front door. Bob even dragged the lawn furniture over to that side of the house for us to take in the new view:

Now I have to find a home for all the studio stuff that was stacked up beside the cabinet. (Hahaha! Not an easy job as my studio annex is still packed with Mommy's furniture! Yet another project! Onwards and upwards!!)

Off To A Party

Okay! Okay! I promise to not rant about politics for this blog post. (But it was a good week! Manafort... guilty! Cohen... confessing! McGahan... squealing! Others close to The Orange Menace... freakin' flipping! Yay team!!) So instead of political spewings, I'm posting an innocuous picture of the (almost) finished hole in the wall.
Yes, it needs a bit more sanding and another coat of paint but I've already got my Foo dog happily smelling the posies. See how useful and attractive a hole in the wall can be?!?? It's amazing how a detail like this can fix up the entire space. Bob and I shoved our bureaus around a bit and the room looks bigger and more commodious. More room to put stuff!
The weather has decided to become more pleasant and allow for otherwise impossible activities like mowing the lawn and weeding. Let's face it, it's been miserably hot and humid. When I tried to work in my studio, I wound up with  minute collage bits and fabric scraps stuck to my sweaty arms. I'll have to take a picture of the gigantic hornets nest that has been constructed just outside one of my studio windows. Bob pointed out that that window was open and I might be entertaining "visitors" soon. So far the wasps or hornets haven't bothered me but I've shut that window and am steering clear of that corner when outside!

And in place of our dear friend Tilda Swinton, we now have a birthday balloon living in the bathroom downstairs. It does look quite festive in there, with the Xmas lights, miniature cocktail umbrellas and the smiley balloon... which reminds me: we're off to a party right now!

What We Did Over the Summer Part 1

(And no, it wasn't taking a long and leisurely vacation to some fabulous seaside resort!)

Here's a picture of a hole in the side of our house. Unlike many that I have shared with you, this hole was intentional. Allow me to share the details...
Last year, we were so preoccupied with the devastatingly harsh and prolonged winter weather that we never considered that we'd have a summer, complete with hot, steamy nights. Besides, we were contemplating the construction of our chimney which would facilitate heating the house. So, ideas about how to handle the heat just seemed to consist of us moaning just how really truly HOT the bedroom became in June and July and August. We kept reiterating as to how we really should do something. Like install an air conditioner.
But that's not so simple as we have exceptionally narrow windows. Very narrow and they're all the same size, so standard air conditioning units were out of the question. (We even have a million year old air conditioner that we could have used, had the windows cooperated). We did investigate free-standing units, but they were pricey and we'd heard not very efficient. Bob and I actually spent several especially uncomfortable nights dragging blankets and sheets and sleeping bags downstairs to my studio, as it was the coolest room in the house with the door opening directly onto the garden. But who wants to buy a house and then have to sleep on the floor?
But that was last year. This year, we suffered through a few stuffy, brain-damage-inducing nights before resolving to DO SOMETHING. That something entailed calling our good friend Joe (aka Richmond) and asking whether he'd lend a hand in the air conditioner installation event. He saved our lives.

So on the fourth of July, no less, on one of the hottest days, Bob and Joe knocked a hole in the wall of our bedroom and installed an air conditioning unit that Joe had rescued from a house clean out he had worked on. Joe's always such a good sport and he's generous with time and energy. (You will remember that he and Bob built 90% of the chimney. I helped with the low end/underground part!)

It works like a charm. We have been able to perform simple tasks (like think!) when the temperatures soar and even Jules the Dog waits outside the bedroom door on hot days. Systems that heat and cool are so essential to a life worth living!