Porches are where it's at.

April 30, 2013 - the last time I posted anything on this blog, a lifetime ago.

I said it then, and will repeat it now, just living the general life of a family, who has time for much more.  Time gets away from you.  Days and months are lost on dinners and homework and cleaning and laundry and driving kids to basketball games. You blink and they are in the next grade, no longer smiling those no-teeth smiles but edging every so close to being taller than you.  And you wonder how has time gotten away from you, where did these giant children come from.

Almost three years to the day, I posted about our crazy family, and our crazy thoughts for our 'dream' house renovation.  That first post, about Curtis and Portage Park and our little family of five.

The mention of my dream house with my dream porch - the talk back then of "seeing it completed and as beautiful as I hope it will be" seems like such a distant memory.

I have been lucky enough to sit on my dream porch, for two summers now. I'm a pretty lucky girl.

During this long and terribly cold January, I really begin to miss it.  Spending long summer nights fighting the mosquitoes that try their hardest to suck my happiness through their mouth parts.

I'd give anything to be there, right now, warm and relaxed, dog at my feet.

The other day, while partaking in my newest social media obsession, I posted a picture of our porch transformation.  The pictures of my porch, then and now, left me with a very proud feeling.  

Proud of how this place, my sanctuary, my dream place, turned out.

It's probably the only place in the entire house, that I can include myself in a little of the credit for all the hard work that took to making it possible.

But it is, my baby - that porch.

I always knew it would be a special place.

It's why we picked it, as the place we were married.

The times we spend on the porch, are always my favorite times.  Dogs playing, kids yelling, beers disappearing, flowers growing.  It's our special place, its the place we feel relaxed.  It's the place we forget about laundry, and homework, and customers.  It's magical.  

My first summer, beautifying my porch was so fun.

I wanted it to be perfect.  I was pretty happy with how it looked.

But after my second summer, I realized, it was better.

And it's my hope that I continue to improve on it's beauty.

I can't wait till this spring.  

When this crazy family can get back to the porch.

Cause if you haven't heard, porches are where it's at.

Living in History

I have yet to write since we moved in.

Other than getting settled and just living happily in our new place, small progress is being made.

A little painting, a little staining, shelves here and there, office cabinets, small amounts of decorating.

In between work and loads and loads of laundry.  Dinners, dishes, homework.

The general life of a family, who has time for much more.

This Sunday, with our mounds of snow here in the Upper Peninsula finally taking a hike, and folks are venturing outdoors, our local museum curator stopped by for a look see.  She brought us a picture of the old house.  A better quality version of the photo published in the Curtis Centennial book.  

Hopefully, the digital version is big enough to get the print I want made to hang on the wall.

The photo gives us the awesome link to the wood signs we found in the old junk pile.

We found several, and we agreed to find somewhere to hang them in the house eventually.

Once I got a little painting done, we decided the living room, where our guests will gather, would be the best spot for these conversational pieces of Pay-shin-nin-nee history.

Baby steps.  Someday things will get done.

After all, in between, we do have a life to live.

Move In Day

 

While many told us not to move in until we were completely done.

We just couldn't wait.

So this weekend, we made the leap.

And spent our first night, in our new 'old house'

 

 

My kitchen is mostly done.

Some trim, stain, my back ordered dishwasher, will all come in time.

 

My chairs are almost finished.

They need a coat of poly, but David's buck is on the wall.

 

Our dog, Champ aka Bubba, is getting used to sleeping on his blankets.

 

Now all I need is some color to compliment my kitchen.

 

I'm excited.

 

It's almost home.

Closer each day.

Each day after work I stop by to see the progress the boys have made.

They've been working their tails off to get as much completed as possible for the move this weekend.

One day was slowed by the installation of my new washer and dryer.

But it's finally in it's little cubby.

 The frame of the kitchen cabinet lowers were placed early this week.

Just yesterday the trim was finished on the stairwell.

The kids' all have their window trim completed as is their baseboard trim.

The kids' bathroom vanity arrived finally.  It took two weeks to get here.

Hunter checked everyday this week to see if the access in his closet was closed off yet.

To his delight yesterday, it was finished.

He was pleased.

The kids' bathroom is completely trimmed and ready for stain.

My mother-in-law worked her tail off yesterday cleaning up.

She got the kids' shower looking really nice.

Our closets are no longer filled with tools.

Silly HOS

Grandma Sue also cleaned up each kid's bedroom.

Hunter's showing off Dave's room.

Imagining himself asleep in his own room.

Checking out Trinity's closet light.

What it will be like to scare his sister.

The hallway trim downstairs is complete.

Looking toward our front door.

My David, babying his concrete counter tops.  He and Brady got them poured yesterday.

Here is the color of the table that was already poured.

The counter tops will be similar.

No dye was used in the concrete.

Once cured, Amber and Olive acid wash was used to create the color.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

 

 

More like The Light at the Bottom of the Money Pit.

 

Saturday, January 19th.

Official Moving Day.

 

 

David has been putting in long, hard hours.

He was hoping to move this coming weekend.

But delivery guys had other plans, apparently.

 

Our main living space, with built in family dining table.

Beautiful Cedar Trim and Accents are starting to come together.

 

 

Our secondary front door.

With our wedding gift bells from Mr. Dennis.

This will be our front door.

 

Our front office windows are complete with beautiful Cedar trim.

 

Our main front door.

 

Our stairs - close to being done.

 

Looking toward our bedroom room doorway is trimmed and the laundry area door still left untrimmed.

 

Hallway, the "twins" doorways have Cedar trim complete.

 

Our bedroom.  His and her closets.

 

Our bedroom windows are trimmed.

A view of South Manistique Lake is a huge bonus.

 

Our little Master Bathroom.

Small, but just ours.

 

Tile is all complete.

 

David is raving and raving about the checker floor in the kids' bathroom.

He thinks it's the coolest.

My ideas, are pretty good once in awhile, he admitted.

 

Brady outdid himself doing the subway tile for the kids' shower.

It looks seriously, way better in person.

The picture doesn't have as much Wow factor.

But it's wow.

 

Stairs are still in progress.

 

Cedar in just the right places.

 

David was exxcited to use his new gizmo.

He can now make hand-made tongue and groove boards.

Here and in most of the house, he used cedar.

 

All of the trim he did is hand-made.

 

And last but not least, my laundry area.

I do plenty of laundry, and I can't wait to get a new set.

 Fancy.

My new washer and dryer are set to arrive on Thursday.

As moving day nears, I'm excited, and decided no matter where the light leads, it looks pretty good from here.