Week 23 - Hardwicke House Renovation

It's now week 23, wow, no wonder I'm homesick to go back to watch the sunsets & here only nature sounds coming from the woods.
Bill will be arriving on the 23rd of this month, to hopefully move me & the three cats... out of the cottage & into the house.

Here's what's happened this week with the trades.

 The garage is slowly clearing out, to one day, allow what it was intended for, vehicles to be parked in it. North Shore Construction, will be preparing the laneway to build it up, so I can drive into the garage. Then next spring the asphalt will be installed.

 For now, baseboard  trim is still being cut, stairs treads are being stained & a host of other 'loose ends' getting tied up.

 The painters were working on the doors, with my favourite door colour of Benjamin Moore - HC Kendal Charcoal, it really warmed & finished the overall look.

 Jeff the cabinet & stair maker, was busy today with the new staircase to the addition. He said he would be finished today.

 The polished nickel & glass railings have been ordered & I'm hoping they will be here & installed by Christmas. The railings will be done in two stages, the first will be the components, then the glass will be measured & ordered, to be installed in 'several weeks'. OH my the wait for everything being done, the classic phrase of 'In two weeks' ...turns into a month, so easy here on the east coast.

                              The wooden stair colour, really warms the space in the foyer.

See how the wall looks blue? That's the Smoke & Mirrors paint colour that is really grey. I see different colours on the walls at different times of the day. 

 The wall in the laundry room has finally been grouted & needs to be washed to remove the black grout. The slate was not as black as I would have liked it. I was hoping for the same type that was installed in London. I'm hoping it grows on me as there's nothing to be done now.

             It was hard to get a good photo of the wall colour here, in the stain glass studio.

 It turned out to be a light lilac colour! I took one look at it & was horrified at first, I knew I could not work in a room of that colour. I went to my car & had a cry. Another set back in moving in now as the whole room has to be repainted. I have decided to have it repainted in the same colour as the sewing room. It's called Blank Page. I showed the contractor the room & he laughed & said no problem, we'll just repaint it this 'Donny Osmond' coloured room. It's a pretty colour for a little girls bedroom, not my work studio!

 This photo shows more of the colour I was after, from the 2" swatch, grey with a hint, a very small hint of purple, to warm the space.

 The upstairs mezzanine awaits the glass railings & the wood capping & slate floor is finished.

 The upstairs guest bathroom is being worked on, with the vanity & toilet to be installed.

 The kitchen...  The island & backsplash were to be installed 'mid-week' this week however it is Friday & I've heard nothing. I called Thursday & talked to the sales person that sold me the granite & she knew nothing of the island return until that day. Communication is the key for a business & for customers. Bill & I could not stress that enough when we had our business. What is a 2 to 3 minute conversation to let you know what is or is not, happening?
Jeff my kitchen/stair trades person said they had called him, to tell him they would be installing on Tuesday but Jeff said he was only available Monday...curious to see this unfold.
Look at at trades garbage/litter around the kitchen, I use to say to my kids...'Were do you think you are? At home or some other dirty place?!!' Pick up after yourself!

                                             This is the kitchen's,  pantry pocket door.

                                         Bill's vanity is in place but not functional yet.
I was too afraid to go into my new bathroom as it has one of the two operating toilets, now that the Johnny-on-the-spot, has been taken away. It also has the only operating sink in the house & I don't want to see black grout spills in there. I'll look...next Friday, on week 24!

Upon leaving I noticed, yet again, empty pop cans lying on the floor. There's always garbage somewhere in the house. Empty or 1/2 empty pop cans, chip bags, Gatorade bottles. I've stopped picking up after the trades, I'm not their mother! But this is how you end up with stuff in your furnace vents! I've heard horror stories, now I feel like I'm living inside one.
My girlfriends are noticing how upset I'm getting. I just want to have a home, a home that is respected, not one that looks like a bunch of teenagers have had a party in.
Everything, even though it's new, is now covered in dust, stickers are still on the windows, nothing is looking new anymore. The garage door is covered in dust & dirt.
I think I won't go to the house until next Friday. Maybe it can get turned around.
Maybe it will be over... in two weeks, week 25. Stay tuned.

Organic Bananas~~~~~~~

 I purchased these bananas last Thursday & returned them this Thursday. In one week they never turned yellow, the bananas only got hard! I even separated one banana to see if it would ripen faster.

I purchase my bananas green because as I one person, it takes awhile to eat a bunch of bananas & with the histamine intolerance, I can eat them more unripe than ripe. The more ripe, the more histamine they contain. The woman at the Walmart customer service said she'd never seen that before. I looked at the organic area, where I purchased the bananas, all of the cellophane packaged bananas, where all still green. I purchased regular Dole bananas & will enjoy those, this week.

Feral Cat - Kitty

 Kitty is still coming by morning & night for a feed but now a huge black cat that looking like its daddy, has been visiting too! This little one will come up to me but not when the big one is around.
This cat has beautiful green eyes & its body is looking, now that it gets fed.
I need to make a feral cat house. I'll be back in town on Monday, to donate blood, 'It's in you to give.' & with all the stress I'm going through with wanting to be in the house, I'm sure my RBC are at a heightened state, so it's a win - win for the blood bank & myself!

              This is Rexton watching kitty eat outside the patio door... look at her ears, grrrrrr

 She's probably upset that the cat is eating what could be her food, not that she would ever eat table scraps. She's wondering, how is she ever going to tip the scales & weigh the hefty 21 pounds that Mr. Boots weighs! lol

Some Sewing Sanity~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I made the November hanger & will work on the December hanging with a so cute, Santa on it.

 

 I found this article in a 1954 book on Boston Terriers & copied, enlarged, & embroidered it.
I did it several years ago & found it in my London studio & finished it this week.
Wow I miss Boris Loree, that little man of mine. His tail was a #4 Hook tail & it was a nuisance for him when his walking lead would get 'hooked' under it.

My embroidery has improved over the years, thank you Bev for your inspiration, to inspire to have needle work as beautiful as yours!

The winter Christmas rabbit has had a window added behind him & some snow flakes will be needle punched in to show it snowing outside. I saw some tonight!

I could not resist this sweet, antique planter of a barn & sheep, made in Japan. It will really come to life with some greenery in it. My big find at the thrift shop was a GAP denim coat, lined in Borg, for $5!!

Yes Bill, another coat! Once I get all my clothes together, I'm going to count the coats & get an inventory. But one has to have coats for our, ever changing, four seasons, winter, spring, summer. & fall. This is a fall & spring coat that will be used, when I'm working outside.

Thank you for taking the time to visit. I'm getting a little impatient with the house & Christmas right around the corner. 

Family will be flying in & it was difficult this Thanksgiving but we made the best of it. With the cold weather just around the corner & outside cement work still to do. I'm stressed & have the histamine intolerance to prove it!

Till week 24.

Remember - Theory may inform but it's the practice that convinces!

When was the last time, you did something for the first time?  

Cynthia