July 31, 2009

After one week of construction I have to admit a lot has been accomplished, a big mess has been made and there is much more left to do. The dining room is almost ready for painting.The new texture looks great. Kelly Joe has done a super job as always. Now I have to settle on one of the five colors I have been testing on different walls in the living room. Help!!! The windows have been washed in the dining room, new screens on the storm windows and they are ready to be painted as well. Cody and his Dad worked hard today getting the steps removed. They were constructed out of concrete poured over a huge amount of rocks and then a one inch layer of concrete smoothed over the rocks. As you can see there is a huge pile of rocks to be hauled down to the shop to fill in the washed out driveway. There are still some small rocks in the grass that need to be picked up by a bevy of grand kids!

Another Project

When I got home from yoga today......Danny, Cody and Leon (and later Raul) were working really hard to remove the front porch. The weather has been cool here so they picked a couple good days to work. We plan to restore the porch to the original design including the railing but changing the steps to extend only to the width of the sidewalk. Kelly will be installing new termite proof siding and maybe a new custom made door to complete the front entrance.

Chicago July 2009

The Crosswhite Girls in Chicago! We all met in Chicago for the weekend. We used the CTA to meet at the Westin on the river. We visited old haunts...Gino's East, Frontera Grill, The Drake and the Knickerbocker......and we ran into AD at NikeTown on Michigan Avenue! New places to visit included the shoe department at Nordstrom's, and American Girl on Michigan Avenue. Am I blessed, or what?

Monday July 27, 2009

A new project at 301 E. Oklahoma.....Leon and I picked up a pallet of joint compound to create a new look in the dining room and living room. Kelly Joe started Monday afternoon applying the compound in order to re texture over the really heavy texture in the front two rooms. Already it is looking so great. I have created a short slideshow of the first steps!