digger figures

Amidst all the digging and pounding, something has finally been completed:  the front door has been repainted and our metal snail door knocker/family name plaque attached.  I present to you:  the Chamberlain family mollusk.

I love it!  It's nice to have one completed spot, no matter how small, because this week was especially noisy.  Excavators put in trenches for drains...

...and dug about half of the cattails out of our front pond.  Thankfully, there are still plenty of nest spots for our red-wing blackbirds this spring!

Drywall is nearly complete on the addition, which is garage/mud room/hallway/dining room.

Todd reminded me that we've been without a dining room for over TWO MONTHS.  It's not just having to eat on the couch in the living room, but the plywood nailed over the doorway and window makes the whole front of the house so dim.  With three big windows, an enlarged kitchen doorway, and a big glass door at the end, the new dining room will let in a lot more light, and not a moment too soon!

The garage remodel is coming along nicely as well.

The back of our property is completely ripped up, as our neighbor enlarges and deepens the back pond.  It was so pretty before...

It's nearly bare now.

We needed the brambles removed...the pond will be much larger and deeper...and we'll have two nice pathways down to it now.  I know the area can recover and we'll assist by planting new trees after the dust settles a little. 

With all the noise, sometimes going on until well after dark, I'm surprised that more of the little creatures around here haven't been scared off.  But I'm still seeing a big buck several times a week, stepping into our side yard to eat fallen apples.

Of course, the rabbits are daily visitors.

The usual birds are still around.  I'll catch a blue jay glaring balefully at me through the living room windows, irritated that I've let the feeders run low.

They are so beautiful!

Claudia is always lolling on our front porch, even with the frequent contractor traffic.  Tabitha keeps a close eye on her activity.

I've finally been able to do some work upstairs.  Fabric is put away in my new shelving units.

The top white bins hold scraps, 2" to 5", in rainbow color order, for scrap quilting.  Shelf inserts will go in the KALLAX on the right.  That way, the fat quarter boxes can rest on a shelf above a row of plastic bins holding supplies, so that all the space is nicely utilized.  Notice that I had to leave bed room for the cats on that same right shelving unit.  Spoiled! :)

I still need to wallpaper the back wall, find a couple of rugs, install bookcases for books AND puzzles, and get the rest of my supplies out of storage...by October?...but I hope to have this room basically put together by the beginning of November.  Baby steps!  When I get discouraged, I think about the BEFORE picture of this room:

Dark, dingy yellowed walls, nasty stained blue carpet.  It's already much brighter and more cheerful.  I can't wait to get it fully renovated.

Have a great week!