Dry Wall not Sheet Rock

Renovations at the lakehouse are moving along quickly, then they slow down. Rain and cold have not helped the process. The house may be dry now with doors and all but three windows installed and complete, but this cold, damp weather does not allow anything to dry. Not drying slows the process down again. Up and down; fast and slow. We feel like we're on a roller-coaster ride sometimes. Spring has sprung here in SC with Daffodils, Snow Drops, Ground Flox, Magnolia trees, Red Bud and Braford Pear everywhere. It's amazing how a little spash of color can lift one's spirits, especially knowing family and friends in MA and RI are still experiencing snow and freezing temperatures.

Kitchen (see stilts)

In my last post, I think I told you that I was unhappy with the "old" bathroom window our vendor installed, and the kitchen window over the sink. I lost sleep, again, over these windows and emailed our GC, Bill. The upshot is that he will replace the double, single-hung sink window with a slider, and the rigid pane of glass in the bathroom with a small casement. Bill was not happy that I insisted if the only way to get a casement was to screw it to the concrete, then so be it. Larry backed me on this, and that's what Bill's crew will do. This replacement means the wood "buck" that was installed will also be removed, so the tiled opening will be smooth up to the window. I am happy now. But, the large kitchen window has still not come in, and that hole remains covered in Tyvek paper. I firmly believe in getting what you want if you can, so I push when it feels right to do so.

Living room into Kitchen

All the sheet rock has been installed and taped. I learned when I met Dave, who introduced himself to me as our "dry wall" man, that sheet rock is no longer a viable term. Tomato; tomahto. A single coat of spackle, now called "mud" was spread yesterday. Today, the weather remains cold and rainy, so there are no workers at the house. This layer has to dry before another layer can be added, so we wait.

The Mexicans, as they are called by everyone down here, who installed the dry wall, tape and spackle must double as acrobats. The stilts they use to walk around are really tall. Not only do they have unbelievable balance, but they hold tools while they walk, look up and back while they work, and I am in awe of their talents. These guys are also happy, and as we approach the house, loud Spanish music blares at us. I love that they play music while they work. They feel like kindred spirits in that regard.

As the house gets closer to completion, I get antsy to shop. Larry and I went browsing in furniture stores on Sunday, and we decided to not only upgrade to a king-size bed, which will have to be purchased, we decided the living room sofa needs replacing. We do need new coffee and end tables, but I hadn't anticipated any other new furniture. With the new sun room, some of the furniture will be moved out there and the existing coffee/end tables will go with it. The best laid plans...

New Laundry Room

We're going out today to order the new shower door, tile for the sun room with its grout, and upper oak cabinets for the new laundry room from Lowe's, our other favorite store along with Home Depot.

The only knob and pulls I haven't purchased yet are those for the laundry room cabinets. I also am looking for one artistic knob or pull for our bathroom cabinet door. I got nice chrome pulls for the drawers, but wanted to add a little "something, something" to the door with a handpainted, porcelain or glass knob/pull. I haven't found it yet though.

I also found a little bench for the back bedroom dressing area that we will go pick up. I'm just not sure the fabric will work. I may have to recover it later. I'm looking for mirrors and some art work for the walls too. Interior design is so much fun!

We have a beautiful, framed map of Narragansett Bay on our RI wall, so we purchased a lovely fishing map of Lake Murray, complete with marinas. I'm so happy we found this. I think it will make a lovely addition to the new sun room. And, it will help in August when the big bass-fishing tournament is here. I still hope my two brothers and sister will make the drive down to visit, drive around with our brother-in-law, Ed, on their Harleys and do a little fishin'.

Oh, we also got free tickets to the Home and Garden show at the SC State Fairgrounds this past weekend, and low and behold, we won a free $1,200 security system! Equipment, installation and activation fee are all free. We aren't ready for its installation yet, so we asked the company to call us in two weeks when we may have an electrical outlet to plug the wireless router(?) into. I never win anything! Let's see what the monthly monitoring cost is. This is a fancy system like we see on the television commercials where the guy hits a button on his Smart phone to close up the house his kids left "on". I can't wait. This will also add market value down the road, so I am one happy camper.