Chappenings

My last post showed pictures of the downstairs in the middle of February, here is what the upstairs was looking like:

Headed up the stairs

From top of stairs looking down at entry

Double doors to master bedroom from bonus room

Windows looking west from bonus room

Bonus room – otherwise known as the sewing room

Sewing room from top of stairs

Looking into master suite from double doors

Looking tward the double doors from inside the master bedroom

Vanity in master bath

Shower wand and bench

Main shower head

master closet

Did I mention that the rains were relentless through the month of November and then in December we had several snow storms which turned to ice storms and presisted on into January? The progress slowed to a halt during the holidays and nothing of any substance happened until after the middle of January when the snow and ice began to melt. Of course by this time our yard was a muddy mess and we were walking to the back door and peices of playwood and chunks of  2x6s that were strung out to keep us from sinking into the mud. There was no front deck during that time so we couldn’t enter through the front. Even so, it was nice to be living in the house and we persisted in pushing for progress. The following pictures were taken in mid February when progress had resumed. (Two months passed the original projected finish date.)

November and December were rough. Mom died on November 9th after a long illness and a slow decline. Rich and I were living with Jean and Jerry still who were so kind and patient in light of the fact that they had extra unexpected compnay through the holidays along with their usual onslaught of holiday guests and the postponement of the remodel of their kitchen. The house was proceeding much slower than we had hoped…. painfully slow. And throughout Mom’s decline there were still decisions to be made and questions to answer about the house which was not where my heart was at the time… although there were moments when thinking about the house was a welcome distraction the the heartbreaking situation with Mom. Then on December 12th Dad ended up in the hospital with a stroke and landed in the hospital. Our Christmas tradition of hosting breakfast and festivities in the moring at our house were interupted by the remodel … I still made the breakfast but Amy and Arnab kindly hosted it at their house. It was a lovely time with lots of memories shared of both Mom and Dad as he was unable to attend. The day after Christmas Rich and I we moved to our neighbors house to dogsit Colby the sweet little poople mix dog shown below while we worked during the day and moved our things into our basement apartment in the evening. I visited Dad in rehab everyday. He was struggling. On January 1st we got all moved into the basement and just after eating the first meal we had cooked in our new space I got the call that Dad had passed quietly in his sleep, just 7 weeks after Mom’s passing.

My mom, Sarah Chapman

Countertops!

Polar Stone – http://www.polarstoneus.com/

At long last the hickoy hardwood floors

Slowly progressing towards the kitchen

Door to the master bedroom

Rich oversees by making list…

This is the “sewing/family” room

The decking goes on the upper deck off the master but no rails yet…

A few of downtown in the distance

Still staying with Jean and Jerry… must not waste a minute when you could be reading!! (ha!)

Christmas breakfast still made by me but served at Amy and Arnab’s this year.

Dog sitting for a week between Christmas and New Years while we move into our basement apartment

Dad eating his favorite thing!

Upon our return from a week out of town the house didn’t look much different from the outside but progress was definately being made inside…

November 1

…by November 10th… don’t worry, it is not remotely blue, it is Peppercorn, a rich charcoal color

Also that first week the cabinets in the upstairs were installed

Here is Casey, the foreman on our job, with the shipment of hardwood flooring

Our old cabinets are installed in the basement apartment

The first week of November I took a break from it all and took an art quilt class in Sisters, Oregon at the Stitchin’ Post with owner Jean Wells. Rich and I stayed at Eagle Crest where Rich worked (and sneaked in a bike ride every day). I attended the class and enjoyed it so much! I have purchased her book Inspired Art Quilts a year prior and read it cover to cover so I was primed for this class. http://www.jeanwellsquilts.com/books.html

Betty showing examples of her stitching embellishments

Jean Wells in action

Sample quilt

My new friend Connie, we met at the class and she lives just a few blocks away!

Elements I made at the class to incorporate in my first art quilt

The view of the Three Sisters from Jean back yard.

Okay so I am posting this on December 5th and there have been a lot of changes since these were taken but other things have taken priority over keeping this up to date so now I am playing catch up…. more recent photos to follow soon!!!

Entry looking towards the first stair landing.

Looking from dining area towards the front door

looking from dining area towards the kitchen area

Looking from the kitchen towards the dining area where the triple sliding glass door is

Looking at an angle out the front and garage side windows (notice Rich raking leaves out front)

Main floor guest room

Main floor hall

Entry closet and first stair landing

looking up from the second landing

Looking into the master bedroom from the top of the stairs

Looking out the sliding glass doors onto the deck off the master

Laundry closet in the master

The sewing/bonus room

Back wall of the sewing/bonus room

Entry way to the downstairs apartment

Looking back into the apartment from the street side, kitchen at the far end of this photo

Apartment bedroom one

Apartment bedroom two

Apartment bath

Work on the house continues. Gypcrete is poured on the floor to level the 3 floor heights from all the former remodels and to even things out in preparation for hardwood floors. We make the final decisions about the counter top, tile and cabinet layout. Sheet rock is installed and now in the 3rd week of October the sheet rock is being mudded and taped. The front door assemble was installed and looks very nice… except that the side light was supposed to be fir and it was delivered and installed with a primed finish so a new one is on order. Now we are in the process of deciding on exterior paint color (and no, we are not painting it blue!) The current move-in date is somewhere around the middle of January.

As of October 11th…

Before we started

From the back corner of the main floor looking thru the dining and living room towards the front door.

This is from the sliding glass door in the dining room looking towards the kitchen. Floor is prepped for the gypcrete.

New front door with test paint colors. We are going with a dark grey… just don’t know which dark grey!?

The work continues though it seems painfully slow now. Inspections take longer then expected as there is so much building happening in Portland. We make more decisions… flooring, cabinets, counter tops… wow, it seems like there is a new decision to make every day and so little time to squeeze in a trip to the places that sell these things. Thankfully we have hired a good designer.

Door jamb is in

This is the kitchen window in the apartment downstairs

Apartment living room….notice the insulation is in

Looking out onto the upper deck from the master bedroom

This is my sewing space. So bright with all the windows!!!

Looking at the entry from the stairs

Kitchen window over where the sink will be

Siding begins at the very end of September

We are really busy! Our peak season at work is in full swing and we are helping with Amy and Arnab’s wedding as much as we can. Mom is not doing well so we go visit her in assisted living as often as possible. We anxiously await 2 new greandkids and make plans to go visit the others. Malika visits on and off and we enjoy her so much! We are living at Jean and Jerry’s house (they are the best!) Meanwhile more progress is made on the house even though the changes aren’t as obvious with the as the demolition or framing.

Upper windows in, porch roof complete and decks framed.

Master bedroom

Walk in closet in master

Master bath

The work continues through August. The windows, electrical and plumbing go in. There are lots of decisions to be made. Where do we want this light switch?  Where do these heaters go? What kind of oven hood are we getting? A decision needs to be made on the fireplace, range, plumbing fixtures, etc,etc,etc….!! Somewhat overwhelming but also pretty fun and exciting.

Beginning of August

Building the porch roof

Basement

Pulling wire

Wiring one of the basement bedrooms

The fireplace is installed