Basement doors

They replaced the old sliders with new French doors. Ta dah!

Muddy fun

It rained like crazy yesterday. Today the sun came out and it was warm enough for playing outside. The creek is rushing, and the pile of sticks and leaves in it shows that the water reached the top of the bank.

How did the dog get so muddy?



By digging in the sandbox?



Audrey says Lucy was rolling in the yard, but I think there might be more to the story.

Braces progress

September 16, 2009:



November 14, 2009:

The dog's gone bananas!

Three guesses who put the banana sticker on Lucy's head...

For you, Mom

Here's where you'll plug in your blow-drier when you come visit.


This is what you'll look like standing in front of the sink and plugging in your blow-drier (if you had gingerbread man pajamas.)

Living room rearranged

The fireplace looks like it's part of the living room now. We angled the rug to cover up the parts of the floor where the columns were. Audrey got a huge splinter before the floor was patched, and we had to take her to the doctor to get it taken out. They used the biggest tweezers I've ever seen. She was very brave at the doctor's office. When Scott and I tried getting the splinter out at home, Audrey screamed like her face was being chewed off by a chimpanzee.

The living room opens up

During the planning stages of the basement remodel, the structural engineer suggested removing the living room columns now rather than in a few years when we remodel the main floor. That way, they won't have to re-do the structural walls in the basement in a few years. I have been eager to see the columns go, and the leftover wall bit that served no purpose. Mary liked climbing the columns, but it turns out it was a good thing we got rid of them when we did, because nothing was supporting them from underneath, and they were starting to sink through the sub-floor into the basement. The crew put 700 pounds of steel in the living room ceiling to support the 2nd floor. They jacked up the floor from below to make it more level, so they'll be able to get the new joists into the basement ceiling. It was quite an operation. I love standing by the front door and looking into that newly opened space. Without that leftover wall piece in the way, you can see all the way into the back of the room, rather than staring at the dead end of a hallway. It looks extra big, since we haven't moved the furniture back in yet.