What color to paint?

The new master bedroom addition is really coming along.  The contractor has been here all week.

So have the heating and air guys. So have the dry wall guys
(boy, were they messy!!!!)

 By tomorrow we should have a new bedroom and air-conditioning.

Now we have to paint and look at flooring....carpeting or wood?

What color to paint?

So many decisions, so little time.

 

 

 

Bedroom with dry wall up.

 

 

View of closet

 

So many colors.

 

The winner.  Tan for the walls and blue

for the curtains and bedding.

 

What have you been up to this week?

 

Valerie

More Progress

This has been a really productive week. 

 Once again a lot of hammering and sawing going on.

Below is what the back and side of the house look like. 

Actually they finished putting up the siding today.

The big hole with blue tarp on the side of the house is a large window.

 

 

In order to get the dry wall up to the second floor they brought in

a big crane.  And then lifted the dry wall through the window

and into the new bedroom.

This was a really big deal because now that the dry wall is in,

they can put in the new window.  That means no birds

getting into the upstairs and Mike doesn't have to

scare them out at night.  Like birds, but not in the house!!

 

 

 

Below is what Mike has been working on this week.

I dragged these two old corbels home from a junk shop several years ago.

Of course, Mike always says "and what are you going to do with those?"

He knows it always means more work for him.  But we found a place for them

around the french doors leading into the family room.

He added the moulding across the top.

 

 

 

This is the fireplace in the family room.  It was incredibly dirty and ugly.

Kyle was the one who figured out what the big black metal objects on the side

were for.  You pull them out to let more heat escape. But we are

going to put in gas logs so now the metal pieces are gone.

So what to do with the four large holes?!!

 

 

Mike added wood around the fireplace and added

more moulding around the bookshelves.

 

 

I will paint the bricks a lighter color and then paint

the shelves and fireplace mouldings white.

 

 

Check back to see how it comes out. 

Hope you are all having a good week.

 

Valerie

 

 

What to do with all that Zucchini!!

 

Every year we always grow more zucchini than we can eat.  Here are two great recipes, one to eat now and one to savor in the winter when you are dreaming of summer.

 

Zucchini Casserole

 Yummy!!

 

 

 

2 cups minced zucchini,  I use a food grater

1 cup minced carrots

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/3 - 2/3 cups milk

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1 box chicken flavored stuffing mix, I use "Stove Top"

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Grated medium cheddar cheese (I use about 1- 1/2 cups but you can use more or less)

1/2 can French's Fried Onions

 

 

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine butter and stuffing mix in medium size bowl. 

Stir in zucchini, carrots, soup, onion powder, pepper, milk

(may have to adjust how much if it looks too dry)

 and seasoning packet from stuffing mix, if there is one.

Pour into buttered 9x9 inch glass baking dish.

Bake 30-40 minutes

Add cheese and French's Fried Onions

Bake until cheese melts and onions are browned.

 

 

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Great to freeze and serve during the winter.

 

 

 

1/2 cup butter softened

1-1/3 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 Tablespoon lemon zest (1 lemon)

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

1.   Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy duty electric stand mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time beating just until blended after each addition.

 

2.  Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.   Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in zucchini and next 2 ingredients.  Spoon batter into bread loaf pan.

Makes about 2-2/3 cups batter

3.  Bake 325 degrees for an hour and then check with a wooden pick in center comes out clean. You may have to bake another 10 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.  Cool pan on wire rack for ten minutes, remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

To freeze, make sure bread is completely cool.  Wrap in Saran wrap.  Wrap again in tin foil, place in zip lock bag and label.

 

Enjoy!!        Valerie

 

 

A Little Black Chest

Since we are kind of home bound at the moment, waiting while all the workmen do their thing, I started a furniture project.  Mike found me an old china cabinet at a junk store, he cut off the top glass door portion, and then got it ready for me to paint.  Wish I had taken a "before" picture.  I painted it black then did a stencil treatment on the two bottom doors. 

 It was a lot of fun and didn't really take me much time.

 

 

 

Stencilling the doors 

 

 

Completed project.

 

 

A closer look at the stencil.

 

 

The mirror over the chest comes from "Our House" a teen boys home in Olney, Maryland.

Mike and several of the boys worked on antique mirrors donated to the boy's home.

This is one the boys cleaned up and repaired.  We are so glad to have it in our home.  A lovely reminder of some wonderful youth struggling to make their way in the world.

 

 

Have a great week.  Valerie

Men Working

The new addition got off to a great start a little over two weeks ago. WOW, a lot got done in those two weeks. Men working everywhere........hammers, saws, cranes, oh my!! Monday through Friday seven a.m. sharp they got us up and going.

This is what the back of the house used to look like.  The addition

 is going over the top of the room with the three windows.

 

 

This is what it looked like with the old tar roof still on.

 

 

Things starting to take shape!!

 

 

They had to use a crane to lift materials over the top of the house and

onto the addition.  Lots of cars and neighbors stopped by to take a look.

 

I have lots more pictures.  They have actually put up most of the siding

but can't seem to upload my pictures onto the blog.  Blogging is such a challenge for the

technically illiterate!!

 

More.........later.    Valerie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should have......

I should have added pictures of the bath before the remodel so you could see the difference.

So here's our 1950's bath in all it's green and gold glory!!

FINALLY THE BATHROOM IS FINISHED!!
The tear out started the end of February and five months later......a new bathroom.  How do those TV shows do a new bathroom in a week?!  What a boost to have this major project finished.  Especially since they are starting the new bedroom addition this week.  Here are the pictures but it was hard to get good photos because of the small area and all those walls.  I need a fish eye lens for my camera.

If you walk in from the hall there is a powder room part of the bath with a sink and toilet and then you walk into the main bath with the shower and sink area. 

 This a picture of the shower and sink area.

This is the powder room part.  Both rooms have old mirrors

 that we used to have in the Maryland house. 

This is the floor that Mike put in.  He also tiled the shower stall and bench,

 painted, wall papered, and and built the radiator cover.  What a man!!

I was the go-for. 

The doors are original to the house so you have to have a key to lock the door.

I use it too.  One of the workmen almost walked in on me when I hadn't locked it. 

 Now I remember!!

Light Fixture 

Wall paper

Tall cabinet behind door.

Curtain Fabric

Radiator cover

Have a great week.   

Valerie