Still no pond

So we are probably going to add one more plant to fill in a little hole next to the tree but all in all I LOVE everything here!!! 

Just for Steve

We planed a purple Bougavilla (sp?) to hide the water/power meters from the front of the house but they'll still be accessable for the city... without too many thorns 

AT LAST!!!!

We found a wonderful landscaper & finished the front yard!!!

The pool is SO Beautiful...

Apparently the pool is SO Beautiful now that the ducks came to visit. We watched and waited to see if Laney would also 'visit' with the ducks in the pool but she just chased around the outside while they swam - until they flew off.

Walkway detail

Just a quick picture of the detail from the walkway to the driveway. I actually took this to email to Steve so he could see it before it was "set it stone" but thought I'd post it 'cause it looks good. A few days from now I'll post a picture of the finished product - gotta give the sand a bit to settle. Right now it just looks dirty.
BUT DONE :> 

A few days later...

So we waited through the weekend, and Monday came & went but they did show up Tuesday & laid almost the entire driveway - just a few odd cuts they have to make and some sand to finish. Now they've started the walkway to the front door.
Note the fish tank - it's sitting full of water (step 1 to getting it in the house is making sure the seals weren't damaged in the move) 

What pond?

Just wanted to post a picture of the pond that is no more.... NO MORE Mosquito breeding ground YEAH!!! 

Almost done

I went to drop off the girls & run some errands and when I got back they were almost done.... WOW 

Quick picture

Just a quick view outside - not through the window 

And Good Morning to you too....

So we were woken up this morning by two guys wanting to dig up our driveway (sleepy yeah). So it was a bit hard to get the girls dressed, to eat breakfast, moving away from the window in general. But it's started 

And the pool is full

We turned the water off last night so it wouldn't overflow - then let it fill this morning. The pool guys will be here to put in some chemicals & the pool is officially DONE. Now we just have to wait for the permit to finish the driveway & we can stop posting pictures :> 

Step #2

As the day goes on & the water fills we've covered the second step... Pretty exciting. Laney gave up drinking for a while but now has found the steps & gets almost vertical with her feat on the first step to get her mouth to the water. But runs the minute I get the camera out. 

Water is a flowing

They finished the interior of the pool yesterday & started filling it with water. So this morning it's up over the first step - Laney is bound & determined to drink out of it so we're just waiting for her to fall in. 

What a thing to wake up to...

So it's Saturday morning & we wake up to guys talking in our backyard. Mind you there are NO blinds on our bedroom doors so we (and by that I mean me) can only hope they didn't venture too far into the yard. But the pool is almost finished! 

And we have a working doorbell...

So the musical doorbell we had didn't make it through the remodel (oh darn). When they hooked it back up it played two notes then sounded like something died a horrible death. So now we have a regular ding dong... which still drives the dogs crazy. 

Like our elegant chandelier?

So in order to pass inspection we got the fancy new light in our dining room - we're thinking about keeping it. What do ya' think? 

And the back....

This is the replacement of the old wooded deck outside of the Master Bedroom.... 

The other side

Here's the other side of the pool - note the bush is still there.... As I predicted :> 

And the back yard deck is done

Gotta do this in 3 pictures but doesn't the deck look GOOD 

Day one of the deck

So they finished WAY more than I thought they would on the first day of paver laying... of course the dogs aren't allowed ANYWHERE near the backyard which makes late night pee breaks a bit fun... wish I had a picture of Steve in my robe letting the dogs out in the front yard this morning... but I don't - I wasn't getting out of bed for NOTHIN' 

The office is painted...

Steve & I finally painted the office... so now the trim guy (Gary) can put up the molding & we can reclaim our floor space... right now everything is pushed into the middle of the room - makes for cramped computer use 

Uh, what are you doing in my backyard?

You wake up one morning to men working in your backyard... is this a good thing? YES 

Step #2

So Tony's brother - we call him 'not Tony' - finished the coping around the pool.... makes the whole thing look completely different already 

One more room

So I also didn't post the girls's new room color... as if you couldn't guess - it's pink. That leaves one more room to paint (Steve's office) which will need some serious clean up before we can do it.... IT'S ALMOST DONE! I SWEAR.... 

More paint

So we put the last coat of purple on our bedroom.... and the trim went up... and I forgot to take a picture. So here it is. 

Ha & double HA

Many of you may know that I, Betsey, have tried to break the garage door by closing it on various things.... BUT I would like to point out that I only damaged the door - and it was all fixable. Steve on the other hand closed the door on some of the wood/trim that's being stored in our garage & the motor started smoking.... SMOKING!!! so I needed to put on record that Steve broke the garage door opener - not me.... 

Step #1 done

So with the new border tile & step tiles the pool already looks like it wasn't built in the 70's... next they're going to put the coping (stacked in the picture) around the pool & then start the deck. They are moving MUCH faster than I thought they would - so maybe this WILL be finished in my lifetime. 

Wanna go swimming?

Now that the house inside is getting done we're doing the work on the pool.... WILL IT NEVER END?!?! So they drained the pool (mostly) and took the blue tile off - into the pool? and will be replacing tile, fixing some things, and adding pavers. 

And you thought we were done.....

So the soffit army came to put in the soffits... so we can get insulation (YEAH).. so the INSIDE of the house is almost done - but wait THERE'S MORE 

Wood Floor

I had to take a quick picture before they laid paper over the floor - so they're not done cleaning it... but you get the idea. With this last bit of flooring we are now ready to FINISH... if we could just get the electrician back, the trim guy back, a plumber, and a trim painter... so now we're saying before the end of January..... hopefully 

Much needed help....

Steve got some much needed help from Calia while putting on the electrical plates... always handy to have someone go get things for you - note the pile of wood flooring in the dining room - it's here & almost done... YEAH 

NEXT....

We painted the front entry & 'piano' room the same color although they look completely different because of the light that comes into each room - but for now the entire front of the house is painted & waiting for the remaining trim & wood floors. 

And next...

The dining room was next - just in time for the trim guy to put in base boards & crown molding... which hasn't been painted but the walls look good 

And the painting has begun...

So my sister was coming to visit on her way from her in-laws back to Baton Rouge so we painted the guest room first....ignore the trim that hasn't been painted yet 

More light!!!

They installed the lights on the back of the house.... but for some reason the switches don't seem to do anything - so they look good but 'aint got no juice' 

LIGHTS

The electricians came by today & finished out some of the electrical... they'll get the rest after Christmas but at least we have lights on the front of our house now... and they work - just ignore our temporary mailbox still sitting by the front door and it looks pretty good 

It's FINISHED...ok just the floor

They've officially finished the entry way floor which was the only tile left to complete.... I have to say it took them WAY longer than I thought it would but it turned out beautifully... it's still a bit dirty but we'll get there 

The floor.....

The tile floor is done in most of the house now - I thought I should take a close up picture so everyone could get an idea about the pattern & how pretty it is.... Steve still has to stop me from petting it & saying "my precious" but I'm getting better I swear!! 

Is that brown?

So the painters started yesterday and although this is only the primer color my house is no longer stucco gray - it's BROWN!!! Plus note the BEAUTIFUL stain on the front door... we might actually finish this house one day. 

FLOOR!!!

So more than 2/3 of the floor is completely done - they've left the hard parts (lots of cutting) and the not so level part of the living room for last... but I wanted to post a close up picture of my pretty floor 

Front entry

Well I'm not sure if they'll finish it today but I had to add a picture of the front entry way....same tile - different pattern - still very pretty & I can't wait to walk on it.... since I've got the fancy new front door I can use & all. 

We're one step closer to being done

Well they installed the front door today - so the stucco guys can come tomorrow & finish up & we can paint & a whole long list of other things that have been waiting on each other... But for now isn't the door pretty :> 

MORE STINKY FLOOR STUFF

Well the end of the living room (aka the old porch) isn't exactly level with the rest of the floor so they are having to add extra leveling 'mud' If you look back you'll see they put some in the kitchen too & it's VERY stinky... good thing we've got lots of doors to open 

tiny little eyes....

In the demo of the deck process we uncovered a pretty big possum who had kicked our large armadillo out & taken over…. He’s moved on now we think, since there is no deck left to live under & he hasn't moved into the house we hope we're right. 

Our Little Helpers

Steve, his brother Chris, Chris's girlfriend Kate, the two girls, & myself had a little demo weekend project.... As you can see the girls were VERY helpful in hammering and such. 

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S TRUE!!!

Ok so some of you have been aware of our "front door issues" - The guys at the door company pretty much stopped talking to Steve & I. BUT it's been delivered! It's in the house - yes I know it really should be 'on' the house but it's still 'in' it. Jerry & his guys will hopefully install in first thing Monday morning. Either way - it's here & that's all that really matters at the moment. 

I tried to wait....

I was going to post a picture tonight of how far they got with the floor - but I couldn't wait. Don't you just want to pet it & say "my precious"... or is that just me? 

Thought you'd like to see...

Thought I'd post one last picture of the front of the house BEFORE the front door gets put in. They tell me it's going to be delivered - won't believe it til I see it. But the house looks nice even if it's still "stucco gray" Don't you think? 

YUCK

More "self-leveling" stinky stuff 

Did you notice...

Did you notice the LACK of appliances in the kitchen? This is a picture of my girls awaiting breakfast at their fancy temporary breakfast table..... Don't they look happy 

Kitchen...

For those of you who have been to the house - we moved some cabinets around in the kitchen... 

Stinky floor

If you ever put new tile in your house & they have to put a "self-leveling" agent down be prepared... THIS STUFF STINKS - and looks pretty gross too 

I know it doesn't look like much.....

...but this is our tile floor! I'm very excited! Note the fabulous placement of the fridge... about 15 feet from the kitchen....just temporary I swear. 

Man these guys work fast

Well, the old tile is out... they should begin laying down the new tile Wed or Thurs... give or take a few drywall issues & a plumbing issue or two. Either way it's coming right along. Not much to take pictures of though. I could take a picture of the single outlet the electrician put in the garage or the taping/floating of the drywall but it's not that exciting, so you'll just have to wait until something else major happens... we're talking to painters about the outside of the house - That'll be exciting 

Floor guys

Wouldn't you expect guys who work on floor installation & removal to be under 6 feet - not several inches over? 

Steve at work...

So the guys came Saturday morning to demo the old tile floor.... we got about an hours notice so Steve got to hurriedly take out all the kitchen appliances & I had to take a picture :> 

View #2

So now you're standing in the dining room looking through the entry way into the 'piano room'... no matter which way you look at it it's better than before & MUCH better than yesterday when we didn't have sheetrock :> 

View #1

So that's the entry way & Dining room - plus the super secret closet 

I CAN"T WAIT

I Can't Wait until the dogs get home tonight & I get to push them out the installed dog door!!!! OK so I'll gently nudge them until they go out of their own free will... or something. BUT IT'S OFFICIALLY INSTALLED.
The drywall guy isn't all that crazy about dogs so our 'terrifying duo' is at Vange's for the day. hee hee hee - Laney... terrifying... hee hee hee 

WHAT HAPPENED!!!

I go to drop Ele off at school & come back to Jerry & Cubby taking down the construction wall & the drywall in this room being done.... all I could say for a few minutes was WOW... can't wait until I can take the "door" down between the kitchen & dining room 

Cable anyone?

So Steve & I spent this weekend pulling cables around the attic... or I should say Steve spent time in the attic - I just walked around catching them where they landed. 

Notice the stucco

Notice the beautiful Stucco wall... Notice the loverly window sill... the outside of the house looks like we're finished - with the exception of a front door, paint, a new garage door, minor things... Now the inside still needs about two weeks worth of work but as long as you stand outside it's GREAT! 

WOW...

The house is starting to look like it's going to be finished this year - And I've even managed to keep the pool looking swim-able - if you have a full body wetsuit handy 'cause it's COLD!!! but clean :>

Getting ready...

They're getting ready to stucco the house & have taped up all the windows & doors... yes all the doors.. Thank God I broke the garage door so we could get in 

Back view

They were done with this side of the back so I thought I'd include it too... I tried for a good butt shot of the guy picking up nails but no luck :>

I wish I'd taken a picture of the ARMY of men standing on my front lawn this morning... I was a bit shocked to see how many there were - but I can't complain since it's only taken them most of 1 day to do my roof 

Closer view...

So it occurs to me that if not for the dumpster I would NEVER be able to find my house... NO BLUE TARP!!!!! 

You'll never believe this....

They have actually almost finished the roof... started at 8:30 this morning & the entire front is done (not quite finished with the trim but shingles are on!!!) 

What a lovely bathroom

Well the 'lovely' guest bathroom just keeps getting better & better.... They took out the pocket door & put up the supports, just waiting on drywall. But thank GOD they put plywood on the other side so you don't have to look into the unfinished living room as you visit the toliet
:> 

Window #3 & 4

The old front door is now a window & the random hole in the wall is now a window... so now if you want to sleep in our guest bedroom, you can although you face the street & there are no curtains as of yet.... :> 

Front windows #1 & 2

Between the garage & the front door two windows into the dining room... aren't they lover-ly 

There installed

Here is the new window into the office & the new french doors from the patio... installed & working - it only took them 3 half days of work 

Door #1

It's not the best picture I know but the door to our master bedroom went up today which is all that's important... doesn't have any hardware on it which might be an issue but it's there 

A bit too much outdoors

Uh, this might make sleeping tonight a bit uncomfortable... especially if the Window/Door installers never show up - they don't have the best track record so far 

Windows #1-4

Well after we waited 1/2 a day for these guys, & a bit of stress 4 out of 9 windows are up & functional. Can't wait to see what the manage to accomplish Monday 

Who needs the beach

Don't let the beautiful Pella window's fool you - the didn't get installed today (maybe Monday). But thanks to Cubby (one of Jerry's guys) the sand that's been in our driveway for weeks is now in our front yard filling the holes the AC guys dug with their tires.... And entertaining Ele & Calia. Plus we got to make the window installers nervouse by hanging out in the front yard while they worked
:> 

The OTHER window

Did I mention that we were adding a window in the master bedroom TOO
Doesn't it look pretty....
The windows & new doors were delivered today so we should have pictures up this weekend 

Front Window from the Inside

Well they've completely taken out the "window" for the front bedroom. This looks so good we're thinking of leaving it just like this - makes the room more "rustic" don't you think? 

Front Window #4

They cut the hole for the fourth front window... now there's no need for airconditioning - We have open holes in ever side of the house (ok so they all have plywood on them but still) 

Sun Tunnel

We took the skylights out when we changed the roof - but wanted to do something in the bathroom so it wasn't so much of a cave (now that it had no skylight) so we put in a sun tunnel... see the round 'thing' on the left side of the roof?
Now we have natural light in the bathroom again 

No AC for a few days....

Thank God for the cold front!!! All the duct work & vents have been taking out of the attic - so if the weather turns again we'll all be at Vange's house keeping cool. But for now we've opened all available windows & turned on the fans to keep the cool air moving around. 

Holes...

Well we've got a lot of openings but still no windows or real doors. At least they are finally taking off the rest of the faux red brick from the front of the house. 

Hurricane Wilma

Well with the exception of a few leaks in the roof the only damage we sustained from Hurricane Wilma is a LOT of bamboo leaves in the pool. At least Steve will have something to do this weekend :> 

Living room

So this is our soon to be living room... minus the archway. I must say the house is shaping up pretty nicely - of corse now we just need doors & windows... maybe some drywall too, ohh & don't forget some shingles on the nifty new roof 

The arch revisited

Notice anything missing 

Notice the arch....

Wait for it..... 

"THE" Bush

Keep an eye out for this bush... Steve & I are having a difference of opionion on whether it will be staying in our yard. It should be interesting to see who wins... 

Dried in...huh?

So we are officially dried in... whatever that means. So we are ready for Wilma to do her thing.. which she is apparently not going to do anywhere near Orlando. But at least we are ready for some rain that the edges of Wilma are sure to bring. 

Who's gonna win?

Apparently some poor frog was busy watching the construction & didn't notice the snake coming up behind him.... I'm sad to say that even though I apparently scared the snake away with my picture taking... I found the dead frog in the pool later... yuck! 

What a difference a day makes...

Wow I can't believe what they've accomplished in one day... I'm feeling a bit more secure about the hurricane coming. 

Part 1 of roof - done

Well the trusses are up - the support boards are up... now what 

Work or Play

So is Jerry working here or just reliving his playground years? 

Guess the dumpster was full

This is what happens when your dumpster is full & your contractor is trying to get as much done as humanly possible on your roof... Luckily I already called and the dumpster will be emptied today 

THEY'RE HERE

The trusses were delivered this morning & Jerry & the gang have been working like gangbusters... trying to get the roof as ready as possible before the hurricane possibly hits this weekend.... Good thing it's only Tuesday. But THEY'RE HERE!!! every body say YEAH 

Looking up

Things are looking up! We've got trusses on the roof & you can almost imagine what the finished product will look like.... almost

daylight

It's hard to see but I wanted to post this anyway... between the ceiling & wall you can see a small strip of sunlight coming through. They are taking off the old roof as they get ready for the new trusses. 

The new, new interior wall...

They built the new new temporary wall making the house feel even MORE like a cave with furniture. Now they can pull off the rest of the flat roof & be really ready for the trusses to be delivered... we're crossing our fingers that they actually get delivered tomorrow like the truss company said they would. 

Back Porch taking shape

You can finally see what the back of the house will look like. Not to mention the huge "thing" they are building on our roof - oh that would be the NEW roof. 

Front entryway

As the drizzle continues & we are still waiting on the trusses, the busy contractor & workers are trying to find something to occupy their time so we're starting to see a bit more detail in the front entryway... still the beatuifully crafted plywood front door too :> 

More roof pictures...

I'm not sure if it's going to be a roof or a "fort" but it's looking better and better 

Front Door of Ply

The entry way is completely framed and we have a fancy plywood door complete with padlock.
Also notice the new peak on the roof. It is hard to get a good view of what the final roofline will be because the blue tarp hides the front valleys and hip.