Demo

We're down to beams on the walls and hardwood on the floor in the downstairs hallway and upstairs!

Many thanks to my studly brothers and my wonderful husband for all their help so far.

Let the games begin!

OK, folks.  Here are all the "before" pictures!  If you want to get a feel for the layout, follow the link below.  The first floor looks like "1st floor as is" and the second floor looks like "2nd floor as is." 

Feel free to check out our different ideas for how to rearrange and let us know your thoughts:)

http://www.floorplanner.com/projects/23548128

Basically, the house is a big square with the kitchen and bathroom tacked onto the back.  When you come in, you are greeted by the stairs and a short hallway.

To your right is the living room.

Then moving toward the back of the house is the dining room (yes, we did spend one night in the house with the kids, as you can see!).

 Then comes the kitchen. 

 If you look really closely, you can see that the window over the sink is actually a window turned on it's side so it slides open to the left:)

Turning to your left, you go out of the kitchen,

through the laundry room/backdoor area,

and into the only bathroom.

Retrace your steps back through the kitchen and across the center hall to the other side of the house,

 and you find the "bedroom with the 70's carpet" and old furnace vent. Because the house is so symmetrical, I've found it helpful to mentally label the bedrooms.  Otherwise, I get confused!

Then, through one last doorway, into the "front bedroom."

OK, on to the second floor. 

Upstairs, there are 4 identical bedrooms, two with this orange flowered wallpaper,

one with blue flowered paper,

and one with wood paneling (which I forgot to photograph).

All the doors have these awesome knobs and the original hinges.

 
 We've started the demo (more pics to come!) and it's exciting to see it start to take shape.  We'll keep you posted:)

From the outside

Here are some photos of our new house from the outside.  We closed on Friday, June 29th and have been hard at work inside since then.  We haven't officially done much outside yet.  However, the other day I did pull my first weed, kill my first black widow and chase away my first inquisitive groundhog, so I suppose those count for something.  I hope to load the rest of the "before" pictures of the inside later today.

from the front

from the yard side

back of house

road side of house

grapes, apples and blackberries are hiding out there

the future soccer field.

yummy.

looking forward to applesauce and grape jelly in the fall!

Weekly recap

A brief look at last week....

1) We decided to go ahead and tackle another home renovation project: this 1920's farmhouse in Crownsville, Md.  I already think of her as home:)

2) I spent a delightful morning baking bread with my sweet little helper.  Little man was also involved briefly, before he was summoned outside to ride bikes with his new favorite buddy from next door.

3) We spent Saturday morning washing my Grandma K's house with several other family members. Gus was very excited to be part of the team and spent his time collecting all our used sponges.....which are now part of his burgeoning "treasure" collection.  One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?!

 

4) Had a picnic lunch at the farmhouse after church .

5) Scored a FREE kids ATV for my little farmhands:)

6) Spent a morning at Sandy Point State Park.  Beautiful.

I'm afraid tomorrow will not be quite as exciting.  It looks like grocery shopping and getting a Maryland driver's license are what's on the to do list:)

Strange New World

Well, in the month we've been here, it's become obvious that we are no longer living in the South/Bible belt/Dixieland any longer.

Not only are our children doing curious and unusual things, such as eating strawberries and whipped cream directly off the plate...

 or requesting that their toenails each be painted a different color,

but the culture is different too.

Here are a few examples we've noticed over the last couple weeks:

1. Instead of using the weather to make small talk here, people discuss traffic, or, alternatively, the tick population.  Seriously.  This has happened on multiple occasions.

2. Rather than secretly seeking out friends with access to cabins on the mountains, you start to look for people with boats.

3. No one calls you "Honey" the first time they meet you.  In fact, I think that may be a term of indearment that takes months or possibly years to earn.

4. Finally, someone, such as myself, may be forced to wear a light sweater, in the evening, on JUNE 2nd, whereas, back in Chattanooga, they would probably be camped out inside with the AC on.  Am I right?

We're adjusting and getting acclimated to this new normal. Although, Scott and I each had a moment of nostalgia this past week; once with a man in a pickup & camo and, later, listening to a woman with a very familar drawl.

Fortunately, our children are as doggone cute as ever....so we're staying very grounded:)