blowing away bob

About a week ago, once we finally got a bedroom together, Nathan said, "We've got to get Le [our next-door neighbor] over here, she is going to be so excited to see the changes." I replied, "a lot of people are going to be excited. People have been watching us and waiting to see what happens to this place. There are a lot of people cheering for us." And we were both blessed by the thought of that.

So, without further adieu, the result of one long month with the Thums (sorry we have been so self-involved and "busy")...

 Outside before...

Outside during...

Outside after...

 Back room (part A) before...

Back room (part A) during...

Back room (part A) after...

 Back room (part B) and ceiling before...

Back room (part B) during...

Back room (part B) after (we moved the laundry so I have a closet now!)...

Back room (part B) ceiling after (tongue & groove wood with solid stain in Caribou by Sherwin Williams)...

Half-bath floor before (super gross linoleum) ...

Half-bath floor after (carrara marble in herringbone pattern, with trim upcycled from the back room)...

More half-bath, just for fun...

New, dual-flush toilet (and deer bust, of course)

utility room before (A.K.A. Nathan's scrap yard)...

Utility room during...

Utility room after (and my new office)...

New laundry with utility sink!

Living room loft before (sans railing and sub-floor)...

Loft during (yes, that is a backpack vacuum)...

Loft after (railing that matches original and lets in a whole lot more light that a drywall knee wall!)...

Upstairs bedroom before...

Upstairs bedroom after (with a door!)...

And the living space is clean, sans random scraps of construction materials...

Bob the appraiser came back earlier this week and he was blown away. With every room he walked into it was like seeing a kid on Christmas morning. He looked at us like a proud papa, congratulating us on a job well done. Granted, we are not "done" and I don't know if we ever will be, but this makes our house feel a whole lot more like home in the meantime. I think I might even find time to do some baking this holiday season. 

veterans day

I'm a little ashamed to admit this but I don't normally give Veterans Day a lot of thought. It's always been more of a bank holiday than anything else to me until this year. I don't know if it is different this time around because of social media and seeing all the photos of armed service men and women or the fact that this woman I only slightly knew in St. Louis lost her veteran son to suicide last week, due in part to his PTSD from war, and how that has haunted me, or both. But I got to thinking about my dad, who is a veteran.

This one year back when I was in college I was vacationing with some family and we went to an Opry in Osage Beach or Branson, which is the Missouri version of a Vegas show only with more hillbillies. I always want to think that those shows are really cheesy or stupid but the fact is that they are always, always entertaining. Anyway, this one particular time we were at an Opry and late in the show I heard my name announced from stage. My dad had told them ahead of time that it was my birthday, even though it was probably August and my birthday is in late September. I was surprised and embarrassed and my dad kind of nudged me smiled and clapped whole-heartedly along with the rest of the crowd who applauded to congratulate me on another year of life. Then, just a moment later, the stars of the show asked all the veterans to stand up as they sang Proud to be an American, or something like it. Lots of people around us stood up tall and accepted applause but Dad just sat there with a half-smile on his face, looking straight ahead and enjoying the show. I nudged him and motioned for him to stand; he did after all serve our country in the Navy for two years in the sixties. But he refused to stand.

Happy Veterans Day and many thanks to all those who have served our country in big or small ways.  Whether you know it or not, you have made a difference and you deserve today.