Catching Up - Part 1

Home renovations and blogging don't seem to mix well. There are so many things happening that I want to share, but never seem to have the time to sit down and post anything. Not to mention the computer was down for almost a week. I will try to do a quick chronological recap. We last left off with bare concrete floors, painted walls and the pickup of 38 boxes of laminate flooring.

We had to do a little bit of leveling of the concrete. The concrete slab our house sits appears to have been poured in 3 sections. Where the sections join isn't exactly level and has a "crack" between them. My husband had to grind down the high side a bit and use this leveler to bring them together.  I really should have used the restroom before I left work because this was the scene right outside our bathroom door. Good thing my sister lives nearby.

A little later when the leveler was drier my husband made a little bridge. So I could use the restroom during the night if needed. I happy to announce my middle of the night balance is not too bad.

Once that leveler had completely dried it was time to lay the vapor barrier and underlayment. I came home from work to find my tiny kitchen stuffed with a couch, loveseat and a table. That is one creative husband!!

I wasn't home for the following few pictures. My husband was under strict orders to take some pictures to share with you all :)  The concrete has to covered first by a thick plastic vapor barrier. It comes in strips and is a little tricky to roll out straight. But he did a great job. 

 Later in the afternoon he had a lovely assistant - our niece/tape holder. I would trade the tapeholder in my office in a hot second for this one...even if I had to feed it lunch :)

 I can't confirm that she is really helping at this time, maybe she was in charge of boosting morale/

By the time I arrived home from work the vapor barrier was finished and my husband was starting the underlayment. When he wasn't looking, I took the opportunity to leave this duct tape message on the vapor barrier. Hopefully no one will see it for many years to come. It is right under our desk in the Command Center. Technically, it is backwards because I sit on the right side.

We chose this underlayment because it is supposed to be more thermal. Hopefully, it will help keep our tootsies a little warmer in the winter.

Finally the flooring starts to go down. About 3.5 weeks since we started. Somehow I pictured the planks being much closer together :)  In this picture, there are about three rows finished on the far wall. The rest of the planks are holding the underlayment flat.

Friday night I did get away for a few hours. My sister arranged a surprise birthday party for my niece. We took her and 7 of her girlfriends to the drive-in. There were some tense moments waiting for the movie to start. Thankfully, a sprinkle was the worst we got. The movies were Inside Out and Tomorrowland. Inside Out was cute. I didn't even pretend to try to stay awake for Tomorrowland - it was about 11 p.m. when it started and this old lady can't stay up that late.

My FIL brought his table saw over and we set up shop in the front yard. Incidentally, the house next door is being flipped after being vacant for at least 8 years!!! I had hoped they might share a little dumpster space with us, but they are expecting to need all the space for what they are ripping out.

Putting together the puzzle.

My FIL made these handy dandy blocks to hold the planks - then you tap against the block to push the planks together. It made connecting them easier. He is a genius when it comes to that kind of thing. As always, we are so grateful for all his help and expertise. Our DIY would be a complete nightmare without his guidance.

My expertise was called for in the hallway. My assignment "stand here, focus your weight and try to be as heavy as possible". I am not sure how I should feel about being called in for this task. Thankfully, it worked great so my slight humiliation was not in vain. Note to self: this is supposed to be a weight loss blog.

The guys have figured out how to lay the flooring in such a way that it is all in one big "piece". I love how it looks going down the hall and through doors without transitions.

While sitting in the command center keeping my husband company I noticed the bottom of the cabinet still has some of the old green paint at the bottom. It only took 8 years to notice :)

The last couple of rows in the Command Center were a beast. We were both so tired and frustrated. I wanted to just stop for the night, but my stubborn husband persevered and finished it :)

I love how it is looking :)

I think my niece and her friend would like us to leave the room as is...

You may or may not have noticed the dogs seem to be missing from the latest posts. Much to their chagrin they were spending a little more time than normal in their crates. When it came time to put the vapor barrier and the underlayment down they (and their toenails) had to go. They are currently on vacation in the country. We went out to visit them last night and there seems to be a pretty good chance neither of them will ever want to come home. My MIL makes them eggs for breakfast, takes them for walks, lets them sleep on princess pillows, etc. Apparently, Millie has worn out Arry (thier young dog) or vice versa. So Millie spends time laying around on the porch with the old lab, Happy. My MIL said Millie is turning into a retriever - she swims into the pond to chase sticks - I haven't seen it yet, but hope to soon. Zommie spends most of her time following my MIL around waiting for snacks to drop - which they seem to do on a regular basis. Even if the dogs agree to come home with us at some point we are going to be dealing with some major spoilage :)

In unrelated news, I have a beautiful little eggplant coming on. I am going to need suggestions what to make with it....

And the pot of miscellaneous flowers on the porch is still alive. The petunias are taking over a bit. And a second color of snapdragons have bloomed - white - really? I actually don't mind - there is plenty of color going on.

I will post again in the morning with part two of this catch up. Hopefully, we are to a point that I can blog more regularly again. I have missed it.