It was in June of 1989 that we first layed eyes on the Cottage, signed the papers, and started renovations.
We didn't move right in at that time. We came up from Santa Cruz every weekend to work on her. It was a labor of love, and we couldn't wait until Friday evening when the Captain got off work. We piled our dog, cat and tools into the SUV and off we went. It was summertime and the evening temperatures were warmer than the fog we were leaving behind. We would roll down the windows and smell the scent of Mountain Misery in the air. We were in heaven!
This is what the Cottage looked like when we first saw her, minus the pretty lace curtains at the windows, the new roof, flying flags and the lawn (weeds) and bushes nicely trimmed. She had been pretty badly neglected.
It took exactly a year to wrap up loose ends and we finally moved in, permanently, in June of 1990.
As far as renovations went at that time, we had stripped a lot of wallpaper, rehung a lot of wallpaper, painted a lot of woodwork and refinished a lot of floors. Sounds like a lot of work done, you say? It was, but with three times as much left to do!
We were sleeping in the parlor one day and in the dining room the next. We were washing dishes in the laundry room sink one day and in the bathtub the next. You get the picture? Long story short, we lived like poor white trash for quite awhile.
Here are a few pictures that I dug up showing some of the work involved in the rooms that I've already shared with you.
Left picture: Looking into the master bedroom from the master bath. We moved the tub into the bedroom to work on the bathroom floor. The white door shown in both pictures is going into the dining room.
Left picture: Looking into the master bath from the master bedroom. The unpainted, open french door on the left is the painted door in the right photo that leads to the closet.
Left picture: We took up the old flooring in the master bathroom, as we did in most of the rooms in the Cottage. You can see the edge of the toilet seat in the picture on the right.
This is the picture of the Sitting Room. The Captain is removing five layers of old carpet that was covering the floors in most of the rooms. Everytime someone layed another piece of carpet down, they just cut off the bottom of each door so that they would close. Needless to say every door in the Cottage is about 2 inches too short.
Now to the reason for this post.
We have decided, once again, that a major make-over is in order. The kitchen was the last room we did but that was approximately 25 years ago. We've done some painting, changed some wallpaper and installed new carpeting over the years, just to spruce her up, so to speak, but our refrigerator we bought with us from the move and it was at least ten years old at that time. Our self-cleaning oven has decided it's tired of working and wants me to do it myself and for good measure sets off the smoke detector every time the door is opened. The tile is chipped and the grout is falling out and the sink is stained and chipped.
This is what the kitchen looks like today. It is slightly more messy than usual as we are starting to pack up a few things, so that we can place them around the Cottage in boxes until the work is done. That means that the rooms already done,and clean, will be used, once again, for functions they were never intended for!
The cupboards will be staying as they were a gift from my Dad. He took the measurements over the phone, built them all down in Santa Cruz and then came up and installed them and they fit perfectly. We will be painting them, installing new countertops, new appliances and backsplash. We will be using the same flooring that we had installed 25 years ago. It is still just like new, a good foil for the muddy paw prints, and even though I'm not really crazy about it and would love to change it, with all the work that's being done the retirement budget is being pushed to the limit!
I will keep you updated as the work progresses, but here is a sneak peek at the old chairs that will go with an antique poker table that will be the focal point of the kitchen remodel.
This is chalk paint that the Captain used on the chairs. They have not been rubbed out yet or had a sealer applied. A big thank you goes to my dear friend, Barbara at 21 Rosemary Lane for the idea and the recipe for the paint. We used two parts black semi-gloss, water based paint to one part calcium carbonate (both purchased from Home Depot). It was easy and I'm so happy with the outcome. Thanks again, Barbara.
So now you can understand why spring cleaning is put on hold. This is a huge undertaking with most of the work being done by the Captain and his sidekick (me, not Buddy!). So let the mess begin, again.
I'm excited, I'm happy and I know I will hate it before it's all over but life goes on and you always come out on the other side.
Here is an example of beautiful things to come. Another flower is blooming in the Garden:
A beautiful little Bleeding Heart
Thank you to all my new followers and the ones that have been around for awhile. You are all so special to me and I hope you will make a return visit to see the updates.
Have a great Wednesday....Judy
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