10 Year Blog Anniversary!!!

Since my sis mentioned that her blog was 10 years old, I looked to see the date of my first blog-post.

So, happy 10th anniversary to the "World of Karen" also!!  Fun way to keep in touch!

Attic Stairway Installation

For the past 20 years, our attic has been accessible only thru a hole in our closet ceiling. You have to put a ladder under the hole and lift yourself up into the attic. Not cool! But, I've used that process to store all the "stuff" that we've accumulated that I want to keep....but really have no use for! In keeping with the notion that we need to do all the messy jobs before the new carpet comes, we proceeded over the past two days to install a drop-down stair to the attic!

I say "we"...but you all know that Duane did all the hard work!  I stood by handing tools up and fetching items as they were needed.

First, Duane located and measured the exact area to cut out the ceiling.  This is the hallway leading to all the bedrooms.

Then he started the cutting process.  All the joists had to be cut and a new framework to support the door had to be installed.

And this post makes it look easy...but it was quite a process!! 

And there you have it!  I'm pleased with my new walk-up stairway!!  We're done for the day - will have to tackle the trimwork and paint next week.

Master bath vanity re-do

I guess we're officially in a bit of a "house refurbishment mode"..... We're just running through the thought process of "what do we need to do before the flooring installers arrive?" Anything involving paint near the floor or messy projects should be done ahead of time!

I've pretty much always  been ambivalent about our master bath double sink.  It was standard issue in 1994....formica counter tops....oak cabinets.  And, by the way, our furniture has always been dark cherry.  I have no idea why we didn't choose a different cabinet - but this is the same style that was in the hallway bathroom (replaced ages ago.)

So, it needed a major overhaul. 

Disconnected the plumbing and used a crowbar to remove the side splashes. 

New, single piece vanity top.  (Like Corian - faux granite).  It was too wide for the opening, so we had to cut the sheetrock and notch the studs to wedge it very snuggly in place.

Original Moen faucets were in good shape so we decided to clean them up and reuse....

First pass at mudding the sheetrock repair.  Also decided to paint the cabinet off-white to match the walls.

Sheetrock repairs done - primer paint.

All done!!  Painted the whole room with off-white semi-gloss paint.   Very happy with the little upgrade!  (Page back to the top of this post and compare the "before" photo....)

A little office fixup

Getting tired of painting posts???  Imagine how I feel!!!

The office (used to be Robert's room) is next up....

Just the usual boring white walls....

I know, you're saying that it doesn't look much different.  But, trust me, it's amazingly nicer!  The wall color is a brownish-grey that will match the office carpet that will soon be installed!  Nice to have all the cob-webs and dust cleaned up too!!!

New room color

I don't know what happened....I thought I had posted the "new" photo. 

Here it is!   (the photo looks more "yellow" than it is in real life).  I like the clean look with no wallpaper border!

New master bedroom colors

Next up for a "facelift" is our bedroom.   The wallpaper border just makes the room look a little "dated"....and the wall color is "Dusty Salmon".  It used to match an older comforter....but doesn't really blend now.

Wow, what a pain to remove!!!  Tedious process....don't ask about the bright green color.....OK, I'll tell.  I painted the room, maybe 15 years ago while Duane was on a long business trip.  When he got home it was quickly determined to be a hideous color for a bedroom.  Even if it did match a flower that was on the comforter!!   

Finally after several hours, all the border is gone.  A little drywall mud fixed a few rough spots where the border pulled off chunks.

Mostly done - a grey-ish gold color, matches the comforter and will blend well with the to-be-installed new carpet.

House Update

We've ordered new flooring for the bedrooms.....so I've got to clean up and paint all the walls!!!

First up is one of the guest rooms.  (the extra mattress is out of the Avion...)

Twenty year old curtains & carpet.  Off white walls.  Time for an update!

Not done yet....but a good start.  Sage green walls.  Duane is going to revamp the foot-board posts to lower them.   (I thought the 4 posts were just "too much").    I've got nice 2" faux-wood custom blinds ordered.  Waiting on the new carpet installation in October!

Shrubbery!

Seems like just yesterday that I trimmed the bushes at Siler City.....but I looked back on the blog.  It was actually last December.

As shrubs will do, they had gotten "unruly" again....

I borrowed the gas powered hedge trimmer from the City.....it's heavier than our electric one at home.   So my arms are very tired right now!!!  It really does a good job on the larger branches.

After:  

The other side of the building:

I'm definitely not an expert, but I guess I keep the bushes "manageable"!!

Spring cleaning in the fall

We're doing some "spring" cleaning....

It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate.  And you don't need it!!

On the way to the Chatham County PTA Thrift shop!

There was only room for me to sit in the drivers seat.  The pickup was filled with bags of stuff we threw away!!  And we're not really finished yet!!

More house stuff....

It was (past) time to do a little maintenance on the front porch.

All the paint is just tired after several years.  Hard to see, but it all needed a good washing with bleach to remove some mold.

The stair treads were peeling.

And the concrete paint was wearing thin!

With some sweat and a few days work....nice and fresh looking!  Amazing what a bit of paint will do!

Nice fresh stair treads, just waiting for you to visit!!

All done!

Hiking at Pilot Mountain State Park

It was supposed to be cooler today, so we headed out after breakfast for a hike at Pilot Mountain State Park.   (9+ miles, 2600 ft of elevation change and 5 hours was our day today!!)

The view driving towards the park - we've never driven here, but have seen it several times from the air, of course.

There is a road to the top, but we didn't take it!  We started out on foot, from the bottom!

Views from the trail.

Lots of rock steps on the way up!

View of the Yadkin Valley.

Selfie from an overlook!

View of the Pinnacle.

Neat rock formations.

Climbing up a little "shortcut" called Three Bears Gully.

At the top of Three Bears Gully.

And after 5 hours on the trail, we were happy to be off our feet and driving home!  Caught this shot of the cool Winston-Salem skyline. 

Bridget's Bridal Shower

I drove to Mills River yesterday for Bridget's bridal shower.

Me and the beautiful bride!!

Later, I got mom to pose with me for a quick "selfie".

The shower was at Keith and Denise's.  The bridesmaids did a great job - funny little skit, fun bingo game.  Yummy snacks.  Even some naughty gifts - a great evening! 

We got together at Mom's house this morning for a great, relaxing breakfast.  Fun, short visit!

Turkeys!

It must be getting close to Thanksgiving since our "rafter" of turkeys is seen almost daily.

On the driveway one morning...

And in the back yard a different morning.

I need a better camera!!   Up close they are really beautiful!