Home Sweet Home aka Making Do with What You've Got

Let's start with a lovely photo of our grandkitty Lyra who is living here until her daddy Ian can afford a pet deposit and a visit to the vet for spaying. She's been with us for two months now and it's going to be sooooo hard to give her back. In fact, I might not. Shhh, don't tell Ian!

Now on to the story about what I've been doing with myself for the last few months. I could sum it up in two words - HOME IMPROVEMENTS - but I'd really rather bore you with the details. 
------------------------------------------------
In the last nine months my hand has "touched" every single room in my house. No, I don't think I'm some sort of god but am in fact a middle-aged woman who is fighting the empty nest syndrome. On the plus side I have a home that looks and feels roomier, lighter, and somewhat fresher. On the negative side my husband feels like he's living in constant disarray and somewhat afraid to come home at night for fear of what he might find. I'm pretty sure he lives in dread, wondering what comes next. I try to reassure him that this is better than the alternative of having a wife who sits in the dark and mourns an "empty" home but I'm not sure he's buying it.

It started back in October of last year when we had a malfunction that lead to a makeover of the master bathroom. If you missed that adventure you can read about it here. It was actually a fun project that we worked on together and the end result looked pretty good.

That little re-do drained the house fund and fulfilled my desire for renovations for awhile. It was after the first of year before I moved on to the next project which was painting the kitchen cabinets (blogged about it here). Since then I tore out the additional/makeshift closet we had put in our master bedroom and rearranged the furniture ... our bedroom looks huge now! I relocated all my clothes to the closet in our oldest son's now empty room and filled the room with my husband's music equipment. It's now the "music room."

I spruced up the hall bathroom by painting the butt-ugly orange countertop. No, it's not granite or quartz or anything fancy but it's definitely an improvement. It's hard to see in the photos but it really does look pretty good. When Andrew was home last week he couldn't believe it was paint! (Eventually I will repaint the walls, add some beadboard, and do something with the tile floor. But that's another project for another day ... and a fistful  of dollars).

Most recently I turned my youngest son's bedroom into a guest room/sewing room and rearranged my craft space which has been detailed on my craft blog. Since I was opening up my craft room I removed my beloved "stained glass" windows that helped serve as a barrier between this room and the living room. The windows have been mounted on the walls in the living room and the furniture was rearranged.

Funny how the colors in the two photos are so off, they were taken at the same time!

 Running over my foot with the piano was the hightlight of that move. OUCH that hurt!

The change in my dining room is minor. I removed all the books from the bookcase beside the fireplace and replaced them with dishes, pottery, and knick-knacks. I also removed my laptop and printer (relocated to my craftroom) and closed the lid to the rolltop desk (no more paper clutter to be seen in here!) The real change is yet to come and involves lots of money and manpower. We really hope to re-do the floor in there, but for now it's just an entry on the list of to-do's.

The only other room in the house isn't really a room, it's the foyer. While it could really use a new coat of paint on the walls I don't have the inclination to tackle it right now. What I did do was clear out the coat closet and stowed away all of Eddie's "stuff." Everything is packed away in a tote and a rolling cart which can be pulled out while he's here and then rolled away out of sight when he's not. Before loading up the rolling cart with his belongings I sorted through the trunk which previously housed his "stuff." I swear the kid has hoarding tendencies (or maybe he was just channeling me and my craft room pre-purge??) I ended up with a trashbag full of bits and pieces of paper, empty tape dispensers, several dozen markers and pens that don't work, crumpled paper, empty water bottles, broken toys, page after page of scribbled on paper, ... did you notice the constant here is paper? I don't think the boy ever throws away a piece of paper (and I promise it's not like he was holding out to recycle, the boy just keeps every. single. piece. of. paper. he touches) ... well, it's done now. Boy is he in for a big surprise when he comes back from camp!

All of my hard work and changes didn't stop with the inside. I showed here where I spruced up the front of the house. And, a week ago when youngest son was home for a visit I convinced him and his dad that it was time to do something about the back porch. We They tore out all the rotten siding. Phase two will be pulling out the screens and then on to whatever we decide to do to "purrty it up." This may result in a new screened porch or a simple covered patio, the verdict is still out. But, first we need to address the flooding issues, and as always finances has a lot to do with what we ultimately decide. Regardless, just doing away with the rotten walls is a major improvement.

yes, it's still ugly but you should'a seen it before!

Sooooooooo, when people want to know what I've been doing lately, there's your answer. I've been filling the void of an empty nest with lots and lots of projects around the house. There's still a looooong list of things to come but I figured I'd tell what I've accomplished so far so people would stop thinking I'm sitting home eating chocolate and watching soaps. Funny thing is I'm thinking my husband would halfway prefer the chocolate/tv thing as opposed to one more cockamamie project. Either that or me get a real job where we could afford a new home or at the very least have a professional come in and fix everything.

Too bad. He's stuck with me in a forty year old house that's in a perpetual state of change. At least he can't complain that life with me is boring.

Right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
oh yeah, if all the above wasn't enough, two weeks ago I chopped off all my hair. Now not only does he not know what he's coming home to, he also has to wonder who he's coming home to, lol!