I’m back.  The master (mistress?) of the tape gun is back in full force.

Remember her?  (or maybe you even remember me, been awhile since my last blog)

The renovation is almost done.  It is starting to look like a real home again.

Before I bore you to death with my renovation ramblings….NewNeedlepoint.com will close this Friday, for the move, and re-open 9/26.

Of course, you should feel free to place orders (LOL) and I will fill them after 9/26.

Some pictures?

Please ignore the construction mess.  As you can see, the new Counter-Depth refrigerator  makes a huge difference.  Before, when you walked in the front door (on the left side of the picture) all you saw was this big hulking black fridge, sticking out into the room and only 1/2 covered by the surround.

Now, when you walk in you see a maple real wood surround, with panels like the Shaker panels on the cabinets.

The dishwasher is not in yet.  When I bought all the appliances, together, at the beginning of July I purposely bought all GE Profile.  The color & tone of stainless steel varies manufacturer to manufacturer. (yes, really).

I paid for them in full and they had to order most of them, promised they would hold them for me.

Well, they sold my dishwasher.  It has been discontinued and they sold mine.  Great.  After pitching a hissy fit at them, I managed to find one on-line (it is all out there, if you know where to look).  It arrives Friday (and costs less for the same model).

Below are 2 virews of the family room

There is a 60 X 30 inch ledge under the window, I am going to have a cushion made and use it as a window seat.

I did not re-carpet the room, I continued the tile, from the front hall, through the kitchen and into the family room.  I also took it around the back halls.  They had off-white carpet  at the door leading in from the garage (and in the powder room).  There is tile now.

The master bedroom is not that far along yet (these pictures were 10 days ago) and looks like nothing.  The carpet goes in Monday.   But look at the custom vanity my cabinet maker made for me.  it is Tiger Maple & Bird’s Eye Maple with a granite top and amber glass knobs.

I was/am a little disappointed that the stain is so dark but he tells me he had trouble with it. One kind of maple was absorbing the stain much more then the other and he had to find a point were they were the same.  Sadly, for me, that point is dark.

Again, please ignore construction mess.

K has pulled out both the nasty molded plastic shower units and made us tiled showers.  One in his bath, one in mine (YES, I will have my own bath again).

I insisted on solid Swanstone bases, he is not experienced enough to do a leakfree base.  This is is 1st ever big tiling job  (he did a small backsplash years ago).

Needless to say, his bath is much further along then mine (doh).

amazing, isn’t it?

In my bath, I am working around some existing beige tile on the floor and around the jacuzzi tub.  It is not bad tile just boring and nothing special.   I have paired it with a pinky/beigey marble tile from China, full size tiles not like K’s small ones).  I will tile the shower and the small area in front of the sink (where they had carpet).

It is an odd set-up.  The sink & vanity are in this little “antechamber” just outside the bathroom.  One of the 2 closets opens up from this tiny room.  They had door on both doorways and the closet.  You had to step way in to the sink area and close the door to open the closet door.  Odd indeed.   There is a door on the rest of the bathroom (the places where you want a door) so I had the 1st door taken off.  Now the vanity area is a little alcove off the bedroom.  It works better this way.

The real prize here, for me anyway, is my new office.   I am currently working out of a very small 9 X 9  foot bedroom with one window.

I know I have been saying it is 9X9 a lot, so I just measured it to be sure.  It is 9 X 9.  It is jammed with stuff, my whole business is in here (except for the new books which are in the family room now).

This is my new office

It has a wood burning fireplace.

On the original plans, this room was called the Formal Living Room or Formal Dining Room.  Many of the others living here, in the 3 bedroom units, use this as a dining room.  The people I bought from did not use it for much or anything.

They also closed in the opening between the kitchen and the family room making the kitchen a dark dismal cave.  We opened it back up.

So, NewNeedlepoint.com (remember it?) has been chugging along, I am filling orders as they come in but the move & renovation take all my other energy.

I am closing my web store this Friday, September 16.  It will re-open, most likely, 9/26.  I will still be unpacking but I can take orders again then.

I still have all the Baltimore show canvases to list and piles of new and new used/rare books.

There is still much to do.  None of the doors and much of the woodwork is not painted (my contractor left it for last).  There are no toilets installed yet and the powder room is completely empty.   The carpets go in next Monday.

No blinds up yet, they are in boxes in the garage.  So are the shelves for the office.

Sunday, a bunch of friends are coming over to help me pack.  This is the only day they could help and I appreciate it but with my move still 5 days after that, there is much I can’t pack yet.

Still, the help is great.  I am giving away a lot of extra furniture.  My last houses were much bigger.  I have 5 couches (need 2, maybe 3 if I put the flowered chintz one in the MB).   I think of it as my own way of recycling.  Many of the people I know here are younger, just starting out and need everything.  I have everything (and then some)

We move Friday September 23.   Wish me luck, please (and hope I have toilets by then)

Whew.