What a whirlwind of a first week we had. At this point I’d say it’s time to get down to business, but really, we’re just having fun. Our second week was filled with more miscellaneous projects that may seem kind of random, but I promise it’ll all come together soon enough (or so we keep telling ourselves that).
Basement
We had a bit of fun cleaning out our basement. Taking apart shelves and cleaning up the walls. As you can see, it got pretty serious.
But really, we decided to get a head start on demo-ing the bathroom, since that’s going to be redone anyway. There’s a method to this demo and all of our madness. I swear. We’re not just “breaking stuff for fun” as one of my brothers so lovingly accused us of (I think he was just jealous that he didn’t get to take a sledge hammer to any of the walls).
Side story: Growing up, each of my three brothers put a hole in the wall at the bottom of my basement stairs in the exact same spot. Their punishment? Re-patch the hole. Little did they know that they were just fixing the wall so it could get punched again. But I digress. My only point is that it’s finally my turn to “break stuff,” and there’s nothing they can do about it.
Landscape
We also did a bit of yard work, cleaning up the side of our house and the back fence that was lined with overgrown bushes. We took out everything, except for the hidden lilac bush that came as a nice surprise, since the house I grew up in had the same bushes, and are also my mom’s favorite.
A necessary evil…
My least favorite project, and one that you’ll see goes on far longer than it should. The trim and molding in most of the house is beautiful, original, wood work. But, previous owners decided it would be a great idea to add three layers of paint to it on the second floor, which has just led to chipping paint and an ugly, messy, nightmare. So my job? Scrape all that paint off, by hand. Luckily, we have a lot of family that want to help out. Except that everyone we talked to had the same stipulation – “I’ll help with anything, EXCEPT scraping.” [Que Meatloaf “I’ll do anything… but I won’t do THAT.”]
The only thing motivating me to keep going is the fact that it has to get done before we can refinish the hardwood floors. Just keep scraping, just keep scraping…
Work hard, play hard.
Right? It’s Dan’s job to keep us moving on projects, and my job to make sure we keep a balanced life. Which means we ended the week relaxed around a campfire in Allegany. Can’t ask for anything better than that.
ourblankcanvas.com 
You two balance each other and your lives well….. 🙂 We LOVE watching the progress!
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Dan and Katie you both have done an awesome job. I remember those days way back when your mother and I had all that thought and energy. We have seen the both of you grow up together over the last 8 years and have seen the love you have for not only yourselves but also your extended families…..enough said now get back to work 😉
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