Home Remodeling Bug

Danny and I have had some time to talk as adults recently. Which is great. But it also means we start dreaming together. Which is also great. But it usually ends up in some grand scheme for working on the house. Since our house is about 115 years old there is ALWAYS something to work on. It might be some minor maintenance to keep the house from falling down, or it might be updating something major to bring it into the current century.

We have already done a lot of work, but it has been a while since our last project. What we are dreaming of now is new floors. Ahh…even saying that makes me smile at the thought. The existing hardwood floors are in poor shape. It is one of the first things we noticed when we were looking at the house. At the time we thought maybe we could just refinish them (and we did that in the back room after removing multiple layers of other flooring on top of the hardwood). But the nails are showing through and they are warped, etc. so that our best option is to replace them entirely. We would also replace the subfloors and make sure all the joists are looking good. While we are in there (very dangerous words), we would also move/reroute a lot of the ducting. While we are in there, we would like to move a wall to open up the entryway. While we are in there, we will probably redo the whole kitchen.

Last week we spent some time after the kids went to bed taking measurements of all the rooms to get an idea on square footage for flooring. We also got the layout of the kitchen. Now we are throwing around ideas on where to place everything. We have the ability to move everything, so the options are wide open for changes. It is not wide enough for an island, but we could add a peninsula, take out the small wall into the dining room, move the stove, move the sink, add a window, take out the ‘dummy’ door, replace the cabinets, new countertops. Above all, it would be nice to have a little more counter space, duel wall ovens, and a more cohesive layout.

But at this point it is just dreaming. We’ll have to see what we can actually accomplish in the near future or if it will have to wait for another time. 

this picture of our house is from 2006 when we first bought it. We have already done a lot of work since then. I guess I need an updated picture.

A Weekend Away

Last weekend Danny and I were able to get away. BY OURSELVES. It has been nearly a year since our last time away. It was so restful and healthy for us. 

We went to beautiful Golden, CO. We walked around the small historic area, read books, walked along the river, had a few drinks, had a wonderful dinner, talked as adults without being interrupted, ‘slept-in’ until 7am. Ahh…

It was nice to not have to be responsible for any little people for a few days. It was nice not having to remind my fellow diners to take more bites. It was nice to not have to talk about going to the potty. It was nice to do whatever I wanted.

My wonderful husband!

Great little cafe for breakfast

Original log cabin in the historic park. There was also a barn with chickens and goats, a root cellar, schoolhouse, lots of veggie gardens, etc.

Lady playing clarinet in the park

My sweet husband indulges me be letting me take a million pictures of him

These are from the Golden City Brewery. We did NOT visit Coors

And it was also nice to come home to see my kids. That is to say, on Monday morning I was ready for them, but not on Sunday afternoon when we actually got them back. I think they were happy for a break from each other (they each stayed with a different set of grandparents, to whom we are eternally indebted to). Sunday evening they were bickering with each other non-stop. They might have been a little spoiled from their time away from us. Which is exactly what grandparents are supposed to do! And I will gladly take some spoiled children if it means I also get to have a weekend of being spoiled.

While we were away M&M (aka Sweet Pea) started fully walking. She had been taking a few steps here or there when coaxed, but she was not very interested in walking as a mode of transportation. I guess she just needed some Grandma motivation!

Rooni (aka The Blobster) also had a great time without us. The report is that he was sweet, helpful, and full of energy. That last part sounds about right!