As Our Life Goes On

It is just amazing to me to find out how far airborne dust will travel. It seems to flow under the bedroom doors that were kept closed just to stop this problem. There is a light layer dust everywhere in the house. More dust will be made this week when the bathroom floor tiles are laid and as the walls are sanded and prepared for wall tile and painting. I just could not help myself though as I attacked this dust this weekend. It made me feel better even though the process will begin again on Monday.  The work in the bathroom is going fast. It really won't be long before we are using it again. The old sink and toilet are sitting in the front yard. It is just to slippery and wet for a truck to come in and get them and we don't want the contractor to slip and fall trying to carry it across the slimy mud in the yard. 

Snow is still scattered in mounds around the property. The white stuff has the texture of the ice in a snow cone but dirt is the topping. Two months of snow cover has reduced the frequency of the outside exercise that we like to do.  The ground is now visible in many spots. There are sprouts on the chives in the little garden behind the house and daffodil leaves are peeking up along the bank above the hike and bike trail. The hiking trail remains partially snow covered but warmer weather should melt most of this snow soon. 

Updated bathroom above Old bathroom below We are really pleased with the look of the basement bathroom. It reminds me of some of the bathrooms that a person would find if they worked in a place where a fancy utilitarian bathroom would not be needed. We don't need a fancy room in our old basement. The contractor and his helper constructed the fancy door, shelf behind the toilet and even the mirror so that they would match. Old style hardware finishes the doors and a toilet roll holder and towel rack are made from pipe fittings. This is just the style that I like. 

It's no secret to those who know us. We have one of the ugliest basement bathrooms around. The toilet water tank broke years ago and it became a bucket flusher. The fixtures were from the 20s or 30s even though the house was built in 1952. The porcelain on the sink was worn through but the sink worked well. The exposed shower pipes leaked from time to time but we were able to fix them. Epoxy did not work to fix the long crack on the toilet tank. Bucket flushing is a real chore. The several people that we had asked about fixing it ran away from this job without giving an estimate.  It will finally be fixed.  Our basement is utilitarian only. It is not a beautiful place but it will be nice to have a functional bathroom again. Jayz Construction just finished our kitchen they agreed to tackle this awful job. Keep posted for updates. 

There is a stream of blood leading from the top of the angel to the angel. A squirrel was attacked in the tulip poplar tree that is to the East of our garage. It bled as it scampered down the tree to the ground but the hawk was so much quicker than the wounded squirrel. The wide wing span made a feathered angel pattern in the snow as it attacked the bleeding squirrel. The snow is very deep so it is probably tough hunting for the larger birds. We did not see this drama unfold but the story seems to be told by the image in the snow. 

This weekend we were able to start returning pots, pans and food to the newly renovated kitchen cupboards. The vintage self lowering toaster was an old thrift store or flea market find. It works just great. The yellow sunflower pattern tile is by emutile and it is a retired color and clay. It sure brightens the work space. The little fridge magnets are very early unmarked emutile made by my daughter in law. Many pots and pans have been put in boxes and marked for donation to cut down on the clutter.  It is a good feeling to have everything clean and more open.