Some work to the front door...

So, this weekend we did some work to the front door. We replaced the door hardware with a new lock set and handle. It looks quite nice, I think. We also replaced the mailbox, the address numbers and the wood frame around the door. The old one was peeling and the wood had big chips almost like someone had tried to pry on it at one time, or they bashed furniture into it that caused a lot of damage. We also painted the aluminum around the door way so that it was bright white again. The pictures really don't do it justice, it made a HUGE difference on the front of the house.

Before:


After:

Mystery plant is some sort of milkweed!

Atleast, that's what it appears to be. They are supposed to attract butterflies, too. Ironic since I saw two butterflies last weekend in the yard and can't remember the last time I have seen one anywhere else. It's been years!

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/savanna/plants/pur_milkweed.htm

Kitchen Demo Begins

So far, there are 5 layers of flooring in the kitchen that have been ripped out. The old wood paneling was removed to expose a layer of drywall from probably the 70's. It was put up with 7,000 nails. Plaster walls are being ripped up from behing the stove/sink/fridge wall. That's got to be a fun job. Glad I'm here in NY for that!

Living Room is Almost Done!

Okay, we still need to put up a few pictures and replace the ceiling light fixture, but the living room is actually a real living area! Finally, we have a place to sit besides the stairs or on top of the air matresses!

Grrr, glue under the stair treads. :(

I was SO looking forward to removing the stair treads from the stairs in the hallway...but when I got to work on pulling them off I found that they were nailed and glued. I swear, everything in this freakin' house has glue on it! Of course the glue removed the finish on the stairs, so for now my only choice is to just replace the stair treads with new ones. Bummer, I was really wanting to show off the pretty wood steps. Maybe someday we will refinish them, but that is certainly not a priority or part of the current plan.



New stair threads (not what I wanted to do, but they are clean and more neutral then the last ones):

Mystery Plant is Finally Blooming!

So, finally after weeks of watching this plant grow taller and taller, it has finally bloomed. It's got to be about 3+ feet tall now. I have no idea what this is and now I'm on a mission to find out.

Here is a photo of the pretty flowers:

No pictures, just ranting about yard work.

Okay, seriously. It seems like every weekend all I do is yard work. It never ends. This weekend we bought some more tools, an edger and few other things. Matt edged all along the sidewalks, walkways, driveway and street and it surprisingly was a huge improvement. We have been using that Scott's EZ seed in multiple spots where there is literally no grass. The stuff actually works. I was pretty impressed. We picked up a few more bags. At $15 a pop for the tiny little bags, I sure wish it came in larger sizes! But...it's working, so we'll continue on until we get all the spots patched up.

There is a strange looking plant surfacing from the front yard. The are bulbs of some sort, with thick stalks and seem to be growing quite tall. The top looks like there will be large bunches of some sort of flower. Right now there are these strange buds all clumped together and it's quite a mystery for me as I know nothing about plants or flowers.

I do know there is an Azalea on the side of the house and it only bloomed for a few days before dying off. That's not right. Gotta look into that.