More Paint!!!

We have more paint. The problem is it is going very slow due to our sheet rock guy. His work has been less than stellar and our painters have to spend a lot of time repairing his mistakes. In fact, I told Tide Guy that several of our rooms look like a child with chicken pox and the mom has put Calamine lotion in spots all over his body. Now, picture that on walls. The sheet rock guy was supposed to return several times for repairs. The painters would tell him where repairs were needed. He would do a few of them then disappear. It is driving our painter nuts. He finally said it would be easier if they fixed it instead of only getting a few repairs from time to time.

The columns on the front have been painted and the front door has been stained. It makes the front of the house look great and complete.

The tile guy is supposed to start Monday. Fingers crossed.

Tide Guy is meeting the mason this morning about the columns in the back yard to support the deck. We will have brick bases, limestone or granite on top, then a column.

The decking material has arrived and installation should begin next week.

The cabinet man is making us a vanity for the mud room. We got a cast iron deep sink.

A few neighbors came last night and told us all the neighbors are dying to get in to see the house. In fact, they told us we were the talk of the neighborhood. I guess that is good.

We were also informed by the Architectural board that stained and stamped concrete drive ways are now permitted. We requested this change. Prior to this, only pea gravel and blacktop drives were allowed. Also, any concrete not under a cover could not be white. It had to be "natural" looking. We hated the pea gravel and blacktop and did not want to pay for either. The pea gravel is so 70s, cracks easily, hurts bare feet, and basically is just ugly. The black top is okay, but gets too hot. So, we will be the first house in the subdivision with a stained and/or stamped concrete drive.

In the adoption world, only two days were referred this month. We are now up to March 22, 2006. Not great, but March is a large referral month.

In national news, gas prices are still dropping. Yeah. Unemployment is low (still), the economy is in the tank (still), and OB is pushing his socialist insurance plan (still).

We are off to Nashville with friends for a break from the house.

Tide Gal

Paint

Things are coming together at the house. Slowly, but it is coming together. Most of the ceilings and a few walls have been painted . Some of the sheet rock is not right, so some areas of the paint have repairs. Not very pretty, but at least the first coat is up. The bonus room is a disaster now. The plan was to do it in grey to provide darkness for better viewing of movies. The wall surrounding the screen is Black Fox. However, the Dovetail gray is purple. A light purple with a shade of gray. Yuk. This will have to be repainted a real gray.

Yesterday, Tide Guy installed the two ceiling fans and recessed light trim in the living room.

The deck is coming along. Most of the drainage materials are installed and the deck surface is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Tide Guy was supposed to be out of town this week, but has changed his trip so he can be here this week. When the deck materials are delivered, we are supposed to supply labor to unload the truck. My brother and his friend, who are building the deck, agreed to help unload the truck. Now, Tide Guy has decided to be there.

Our tile guy said he would start tomorrow. We'll believe that when we see him. He is fabulous at his trade, but is so busy he doesn't always show up when he says he will.

Gas prices have dropped down to about $2.29 a gallon. Great news.

Painted Coffers!!

The first coat of "Tony Taupe" was applied on the coffered ceiling yesterday. I love it!! I watched them climb all the way up the scaffolds to the top of our 19 foot ceilings to apply the first stroke. I cannot wait for the "Van Dyke Brown" to go onto the walls. But, the painters will do all the ceilings first.

Yesterday, we cleared out all the debris from the house, ground, and garage. So much waste. We also moved a bunch of fallen brick to another spot about 12 feet away. Fun, fun, fun.

We also tried to figure out what tile we will use for the master shower and back splash in the kitchen.

After church, we should have more of this kind of fun.

Granite!!

Our granite was installed on Thursday and it looks amazing. The Santa Cecilia in the kitchen and baths looks great with the cabinets. The Black Angola looks amazing on the kitchen island and in the bonus room. We are so pleased.

The deck is coming along. Most of the framing is done. The decking materials and drainage system are ordered and will be here this week. The sink for the mudroom is ordered and hopefully the cabinet man can make a cabinet for it very soon.

The trim paint is basically done and we hope they are able to start painting the coffered ceiling today.

Our trip to Saint Thomas in August fell apart. Our plan was to return to Atlanta on a Thursday and start the Alabama football season the following day. Our friends would have meet us in Atlanta on Friday for the football weekend against Virginia Tech. The airline sent an e-mail that our return flight was changed to arrive on Saturday at 10pm. That is the night of the game and we would land after the game ended!! No way!! We could not get another flight, so we cancelled the trip. Flights around that time were almost double in cost. So, we are now planning a trip to Maui in December. I cannot wait! I wish the trip was sooner, but it is probably better to wait and make sure we are settled into the house before taking off for several days.

In other news, gas prices are down to about $2.39 a gallon.

Well, we have a fun day planned cleaning at the house!! But it is looking great!

Tide Gal & Tide Guy

Happy 4th of July, 2009!!

Today is the 4th of July.......cue fireworks. We plan to go watch fireworks on the river tonight. I can't wait.

We are getting the trim painted at the house. I've picked out the paint colors, but need to make some final decisions on ceiling colors and tell the painters. I also need to talk with a lady about some custom painting in the powder room and office.

The deck is coming along and luckily we've picked out the hot tub. Had we waited on the hot tub, we may have had to redo some of the lower deck to fit the tub's depth. I'm so glad we don't have to change that. The deck is huge! I cannot wait to enjoy it.

Yesterday we ordered the hardwood and talked to the installer. He is ready to start whenever we need him.

Since we have had some leaks and flooding in the basement, we decided to waterproof the basement to avoid future disasters. Or try to avoid disasters. Unfortunately, we had to remove all the framing and some plumbing in the basement. The cost to have this waterproofing done is staggering. And a cost we didn't anticipate. Ugh. It will be cheaper to do now than later and may prevent damage and loss of things in the basement with a flooded basement.

In national news, gas prices have dropped a little. Prices at our local Race Way is $2.43. Sarah Palin announced last night she was stepping down as govenor of Alaska. Her excuses are a bit lame. Some reporters say she is preparing for a run for president and others say there are hidden factors she is not disclosing.

Happy 4th!

Tide Gal & Tide Guy