Current July Projects: Too Many to List

Back to work. I was going to make this all neat and organized, but, truthfully, this blog will reflect the state of construction in our house- we are ALL OVER THE PLACE! Dan and Ken performed an emergency replacement of our water heater this week. So, in addition to that:

Dan is painting the master bedroom, master bathroom and second bedroom, simultaneously. Here he is next to the skylight in the master bedroom:

What color? Well, for now, Dan's painting closets, ceilings, and the bathrooms all a brilliant, beautiful white.

I made Dan pose for this picture in the second bathroom. I wanted the world to see his painter man image reflected in the mirror:


Jenn is staining and poly-ing sliding wood doors for the master closet:


Dan ordered some vines that he had shipped from California- I think it's a cab franc. He planted the roots in our front yard. We'll now have three different grapes (can't remember one of them, but we have Cab Franc, and Thompson Seedless)


Here is that same root after planted. Within a few weeks, we had buds!


We are headed to Texas on Friday, so again, the projects will pause for a week of SERIOUS sun!

June Was Busy! Warning: Non-Construction related!

So, Yes, there hasn't been a post for all of June- Want to know why? Well, it's because in addition to hosting various BBQ's, we:

1. Had a massive BBQ! Check out them briskets!
If I recall correctly, we had 70-some pounds of meat! Three smokers, and only one fire! New Fullick record!

2. Were visited by Floridians:

That's my aunt and uncle Donna and Dave. We went to The Publican restaurant here in Chicago. I highly recommend the sand dabbers, and, check out these neat booths they lock you into- you must eat...or they won't unlock the wooden cage...

3. Went to the Cubbies:


and Dan's Dad Kenny.

Check out those handsome men!

4, And Dan was studying hard (and passed, hooray!) for his intro sommelier test!

Dan insists that this is only the intro stage, and he has a long way to go, but as you can see, I am very proud of him (and glad the studying is done for now, back to the painting!) Check out his neat lapel pin- the one and only time I will be able to make him wear it!

5. Also, we went camping at Rod's Cadillac Ranch in Wisconsin with our friends Tom, Court (Happy Bday!) and JD- yes, it's a pink Cadillac on a campground:

The ranch owners have these old caddies that they zoom around the grounds- TOO FUN!


So, as you can see, we were just having too much fun to pick up the paintbrush in June!!

Master Bedroom: Closet

We have now begun a new phase of the project: the master bedroom. Brent and Becky visited, and we put Brent to work!

They framed out the entire space over the weekend.

Gardening

This month we focused a lot of our time gardening, and we had a lot of helpful hands.

First, Dan dug out the back yard. There was a lot of stuff buried in there. It looked kind of scary, but after asking the neighbors, we learned that the previous owners had some type of wading pool, but then was later fill in.


Dan roto-tilled the backyard:


Next, on Mother's Day, Elaine and Jim came in and helped us plant a beautiful new yard. Here's Elaine, rolling out the sod:


Here is the front yard. We have two cherry trees, a grape vine, and a whole mess of flowers to join our one lonely tulip.


Our nieces and nephews planted us some flowers:


Here is a dramatic before and after(and check out the 'after' with the kids testing out the new yard!)

Before


After!

Orange bathroom

Victory! One completely finished project! Our first floor bathroom is a pretty shade of orange, but most exciting, it is finished!! Here is just a glimpse of the color we chose:

Basement updates

Dan crafted a white door for our sump pump...out of sight, out of mind, we hope!


We also finally moved our 'tool room' in the living room down into the official tool room in the basement- there was a lot to sort through:


Dan is very pleased with his new tool room. It is getting a lot of use:

First Tulip

Our garden is atrocious. We have done nothing! But, in spite of us, one mighty little tulip popped up. Next up: Working on the garden!!