Stripping!

We finally hired Mary Gandsey to strip the paint in the dining room since, for the last two years, it's looked like this and left little chips of lead paint anytime anyone got near it.  Big difference, huh?  I'll post some pictures of what it looks like stained later this week.

Nothing Says Basement...

...like a pool table!

We picked this out months ago, but have been waiting for the C of O, so that we could actually have it delivered.  Today was the day!  Woo-hoo!

Twas the Night After Thanksgiving

Porchville

The devil is in the details.

The trim has been installed at the edge of the ceiling and the antique light we bought has been hung.

There's No Place Like Home

So, nearly two years later Casa de Shithole is now more casa than shithole.  Hurray.

Got a short memory for what it used to look like?  Click here.

Blooms

My orchids continue to LOVE the light we are getting in the dining room.

Rob bought me this phalenopsis seven years ago when we moved back from France.  This is the first time it has rebloomed.  Hurray!

Love!

We decided to stain our window sills to match the windows and not paint them to match the trim. It's not a conventional choice, but I think it looks great!

Countdown to Halloween

When Rob and I met 10 years ago, I was trying to grow my own pumpkin. I failed. And I failed at our old apartment.

But now, we have at least one pumpkin that has grown to carving size. If I can just keep it going until Halloween...

Here Come the Poppies...

Charlie Brown's Engelmann Oak

After nearly two months, the little guy's still standing -- and strong enough to hold not one, but TWO Christmas ornaments.

That's more than can be said for the roses we transplanted...

Let the Construction Begin!

The city has signed off on our plans to convert the Dahmer Dungeon into a rec room.

Our contractor is bidding the plans out this week an we expect to start construction before Christmas.

Woo-hoo!

They Just Keep Coming

The roses the previous owners dug up are still going strong. Only one bush has bloomed so far. It's in an ideal location -- plenty of sun and plenty of water from the one gutter that works.

I'm hoping the workers don't destroy it when they do the foundation, but given that it was dug up completely and somehow grew back, I'm betting it can survive a little construction.

Good-bye Ghetto Gate

Got home from a business trip and was greeted by a brand new fence. Woo-hoo!

Rob's at the hardware store right now getting stain so we can seal this puppy today.

At the farmer's market last Sunday, we ordered some climbing roses from Theodore Payne, so this is going to be looking pretty good in just a few days.