I saw that there were 31 comments, and I read them while my hubby was taking a shower… (I’m next!) I’m sorry, but I won’t be leaving any comments except for here… Charlotte, I do hope your hubby has a better day tomorrow and I hope you get some rest too! Sally, again, I’m so sorry you lost your sweet Chester… I hope you had lots of great pictures to remember the good times!
I’m needing some rest myself… you see today was that siding project we were going to do yesterday but it rained… Today it was HOT on that black roof and I got my cheeks sunburned… they sting! I look like I have blush in round circles on my cheeks… Oh well…
Let me tell you about my day…
This is the view from where we were working…that’s our neighbors house in the background…It’s an 8 second video of our back yard…
I woke up and started painting because my hubby had gone somewhere but hadn’t left me a note… I painted for 2 hours and when he got home he said, “I bought something to bribe you with!” It was a half a watermelon… I love watermelon! I said, “Are we doing that siding project today?” and he said, “Yes.”
This is something we should have done years ago. It’s on the back side of our house and it’s been SO SO SO ugly but we just kind of lived with it. When we bought our house in 2004, the previous owners had electrical wires strung from the house to a pole in the yard… not just one wire but about 5 wires and there were places on the siding that had big plugs attached to the ends of the wiring… Well, my hubby took the wires down and just used caulk to fill the holes, but it never did look right… there wasn’t really any way to make it smooth because there were big holes about the size of a tennis ball cut out of the siding where the wires were attached…It was awful looking…
So this is what it looked like before…
If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge so you can see the “ugliness” even better! ;o)
I was too close on the roof to get a good picture of it all in one, so I took 2 pictures… the bottom section… and the top section…
The part we are standing on is the roof over my sewing room and that vent is from my kitchen stove on the other side of the wall…
When my hubby started taking the siding off, we found old nasty fiberglass insulation, which we got rid of… but in doing so, we both got insulation on our arms and I got it between 2 of my fingers… it’s like little pieces of glass rubbing on your skin…
When we got all the old siding removed, it looked like this…
We went from bad to REALLY bad looking… you can see all the holes for the wires…
Now this is where my sewing skills came in… actually it was like piecing together a quilt… my hubby said, “Do your magic with your piecing…” and I did… this is where I used my scissors… AND a utility knife…
My hubby caulked up all those holes and where the seams were in the new insulation. It started looking better being covered up…
Things went pretty well…
…until we got one piece of siding that was clearly a defect from the company. You see there are little lips on the tops and the bottom of the siding… one cups into the other and generally they just clip together… but this one long strip would NOT NOT NOT work… we worked for over an hour with my hubby on his back, working upside down, and using all his might to make the grooves fit together. We FINALLY got it together and my hubby said, “Something is majorly wrong with that piece.” So we compared it to the other pieces and sure enough that’s when we discovered this piece had the lips almost smashed flat so it was next to impossible to hook it to the lip above it… We took what was left from that piece and through it off the roof and checked all of our other pieces… it was the only one like it… needless to say it won’t be used anymore!
So we kept going until this happened! I had to go down to the garage to get something and snapped this picture in the yard…
We were so proud of ourselves, my hubby said, “Now wait, before you show anyone, let me steel wool this vent off and spray paint it and caulk around it.”
We’re going to scrap and paint the edges of the eaves but that will be another project…another day…
Of course, you’ve already seen it at its worst… but how about this???
…and this?
We had to gather up all the tools and junk we used up on the roof…
After we cleaned up the yard and put all the tools away, we just stood back, and my hubby said, “Oh honey! We should have done this years ago!” I agreed!
Oh, and if you can’t tell any difference, let me remind you again…
The roof over my sewing room; that we were standing on today, is too flat for the roofers to shingle… The pitch isn’t steep enough for them to guarantee water will run off, so they have to put a membrane down on that section… (That’s the only part of our new roof I am disappointed about) When the roofers come, they have to tuck the flat roofing material up under the siding and we didn’t know how far to come down with our siding, so we added one extra piece onto the bottom and tacked it with 2 pieces of wood at the sides… that will be removed by them when they take off all the shingles…
Anyway, I am as pooped as I’ve ever been… and hope I can get out of bed tomorrow…I think I’ll just go sit in the gazebo and drink lemonade while I stare at my new siding… :o)
Night all, and Happy Saturday!
Blessings, Jeanne
First of all, thank you all for your well wishes and prayers for Ron and me. He is doing okay; he has a pacemaker (as of 12/26/19), with a desk-top monitor, so today the nurse had us send a “report” to their office via the monitor. She called me back to let me know it had come thru, and apparently there was nothing serious that showed up, or I’m sure she would have had me take him in! She did say any time he had an “episode”, we could just push the button and it would transmit the information to them, to see if anything is going on. That’s a comfort!
I was still kind of tired all day today, and napped a little, but not a lot. Hopefully I’ll sleep well tonight (Ron already is!)
Sally, I’m so sorry about your Chester; it’s always so hard to lose a beloved “fur baby.”
Anne, your story about your youngest son reminded me of how our son was during his childhood. There was a while there that we thought we might have to put the emergency room on a retainer, we were taking him in so often! And holidays were the worst. I think he had stitches on the 4th of July, and possibly some other holiday, and on New Year’s Day, when he was 9 he went sledding in our rare snow and broke his arm! Then that Same Year, on Memorial Day, he was with my folks at a church function up there, saying how he always “did something” on holidays…and went outside and broke his thigh bone somersaulting down a little hill in back of the church where my dad was the pastor! We got a call from my girlfriend (and his godmother), saying, “Uh, Charlotte, Daniel is on his way to Providence Hospital…” Fortunately he has Somewhat outgrown those tendencies (he’s 46 now)! But that was one long summer–3 weeks in traction, then 1 month in a body cast at home (hospital bed in our dining area–thank goodness for Disney channel!) and another 5-6 weeks in a hinged leg cast.
Jeanne, I can see why you didn’t get to add to our comments last night–you had a Very busy day!! First all that painting, and then the work on the siding. It really looks so nice up there now, and I’m sure it makes you happy, just to look at it! I’m sorry about the sunburned cheeks, though–that’s going to be uncomfortable for a few days! I hope you have something to put on the sunburn to help cool it and feel more comfortable.
I enjoyed the panoramic view of your yard from the roof. Not many people get to see their yards from that viewpoint!
Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends on this list.
Dear Charlotte,
I’m so glad to hear that Ron is doing okay. Hopefully, you are getting a little down time yourself.
Jeanne, your “new house” is looking better and better all the time! Kudos to you and George for getting it in such wonderful shape! I’m not sure I oculd get up on that roof, I seem to stop on just the second step of a ladder, and don’t take to heights well! That short video of you back yard is wonderful! Everything looks so pretty and green!
I didn’t get to post yesterday, but oh, those hankies were just wonderful! I think that long ago, those pretty hankies were mostly just an accessory, not really intended to be used! They are the perfect size for doll aprons, though! LOL Thank you for showing them off!
Charlotte, I’m happy to hear that Ron is doing better, and Sally, I’m so sorry to hear about your fur baby. I have gone through that myself a couple of times, and it never gets easier, so we have no pets now.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are mothers and “honorary” mothers! We make the world go around!
Your siding replacement made a huge difference, Jeanne! For sunburn I recommend aloe vera gel. D got a bad sunburn once playing basketball on an outdoor court. It was shirts against skins and his back was lily white. And then it was glow in the dark red! I covered his back with aloe vera after his shower. He never blistered or peeled.
Sally, I am so sorry about Chester. You have my sympathy for your loss.
You and hubby are an inspiration! You photography skills aren’t bad either. It looks great and I hope you can rest for the rest of the weekend.
Love the video from the roof. Your yard is lovely. How interesting to see what is under the old insulation. Old asbestos shingles. Very good not to disturb them. Love that neat new flat insulation too. And when that new siding is added, quite the amazing transformation. Lovely work you two do. Very glad you were on the flat roof though. And good to hear that you will have a membrane, not cheap, put down to waterproof your sewing room. Very important!!
Hope you get some time off today to enjoy that beautiful yard. Us, we’ll be sweltering as it is supposed to be 90. Ugh.
What a beautiful job you and George did on your siding. Why did they have all those wires coming out? I can’t even imagine. You have done so much to your property just since I’ve been on your blog. It must seem like a new place to you. And your yard is really lovely. Nice video.
I second Julia’s suggestion of the Aloe Vera gel. When David’s second daughter was about three she got a bad burn. They were told to put Aloe Vera on it. The burn healed well and she has no scarring at all. Sean actually grows the plants but I’ve never been too good at that so I buy mine but it is 100%. I use it for a lot of things, especially sunburn. Sean had one huge beautiful plant but after the deep freeze this winter it was in bad shape. He and Dionne took off all the dead leaves and it is starting to come back. But then Sean has always had a green thumb.
Charlotte, I’m really glad to hear that Ron’s problem is not serious.
I’ve never had a broken bone and, thank Heaven, my family doesn’t seem to have problems with osteoporosis, even my sister who is tiny, but both my children have had the experience. Andrea when she was in kindergarten jumped off the swing at day care, which they were told not to do. As she fell she put her hand down and when she hit the ground her body bounced back against her arm and broke it. Sean has had both a broken arm and leg. He broke his arm while riding his bike when the friend he was with swerved and his foot hit the spokes of Sean’s bike throwing him off and breaking his arm. Then we were on vacation in Colorado when he broke his leg. He and Andi were running down a hill and jumping a little creek. The ground went uphill on the other side of the creek and when he jumped he hit the incline at a position that broke his leg. We thought it was only sprained but the next day it was pretty obvious it was broken so we took him to emergency. Fortunately we were in Gunnison and they have really good orthopedic doctors who treat Crested Butte ski injuries so we knew he was in good hands. His doctor set his leg without surgery but it did curtail a lot of the planned activities on our vacation that year.
Happy Mothers’ Day to all my sofa sisters. We didn’t get to celebrate in our usual manner last year so this year we will be back to our usual tradition of meeting at a hibachi restaurant. We used to do Benihana, but they have become so expensive Sean feels, as his family is growing, that he can no longer afford it. He and Dionne found another place just as good and as much fun but less expensive, and it’s closer to home.
Hopefully you are not terribly sore today and will just relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors. It is good you are doing those things now because in ten years (I’m ten years older than you) the very thought of doing it will probably be a non-starter. I have to go do some weed eating. We have one that you push around, but the vibration is so bad I can no longer use it so Jason does the heavier stuff with that. I just need to do things around the flower beds and was going to buy something lighter to do that. Sean bought a very nice heavier weed eater so he gave me his lighter one. Still working on technique.
It looks beautiful and I am glad you both survived!! Time to take a break.
Once again, good work! I hope the two of you get to retire someday and enjoy more time sipping lemonade in the gazebo. Speaking of gazebo, it looks like your roof has an angle which really reminds me of a gazebo, I guess your sewing room would have been part of a wrap around porch, very interesting and cool.
Happy Mother’s Day to all!
Nice job turning the ugliness into beauty. 🙂 I like the sidewalk place you have in your yard.
Last Sunday Rose had her First Holy Communion, was enrolled in the Brown Sacpular of our Lady of Mount Carmel, and it was our 12th Wedding Anniversary, so it was a busy day. We ended up going to the park, so the kids could play. Tomorrow there is a play scheduled at the school and other things, so it will be another busy Sunday. Hope you have a Happy Mother’s Day 🙂
Looking at your yard in that video was fun! What was the reason for the sidewalk square? It is fun to see everything together.
The siding looks so fresh and clean and when the new roof is done it will be so nice.
How any cabinet doors are in your kitchen? My daughter is going to paint hers…she thinks.
I’m afraid those cabinets are going to be more of a chore than my daughter can handle. How many layers did you say you are putting on them?
We are working on repainting our patio furniture. Luckily found almost the exact finish so if we make a little boo boo it isn’t too obvious. That set must be at least 20+ years old and the arms were rusting but a little sanding and a couple layers of paint has done wonders. The glider was on the porch of our house where I grew up and the back comes down to make a bed..it was heaven in the summer time to sleep out there. Luckily a few years ago we found a mattress that fit it so it is almost like new. The metal base must be almost a hundred years old.
Hope the end of the cabinets are in sight now.!
Oops… forgot to wish all the Sofa Sisters a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY !🤗❤️🤗
Hi Kathie,
I wanted to answer you in case your daughter wanted to get started painting right away. I have 19 drawers, 12 that are medium size, 4 that are small and 3 great big drawers. I have 20 doors too…You need to take off the hardware on all the cabinet doors and the hinges too, and put them in a baggie and mark them for which door they go to, otherwise it gets too confusing when you put them all back on.
This is the way I did my doors.. I primed on the backside 1st one coat, then I sanded it and I primed it again and sanded it, then I turned it over to the right side of the door and I primed it and sanded it and primed it a second coat and sanded it. Then I turned it back to the wrong side and I painted it the first top coat sanded it lightly and painted it again…then I painted it a final coat!
Yep. Each door had 4 coats of paint on each side!
I did my drawers the same way. But they only had one side, so it was just prime., sand, Prime sand, paint topcoat. Lightly sand, and paint a final coat..
I had a hand sander that I carefully used on my cabinets… but not until I was about half
way through…
Hope this helps…
Blessings, Jeanne
Good job well done! Those jobs are always best when they are behind you. We are ones that are always doing our own work. I can feel your pain! You are of coarse tired and you deserve all of the lemonade you can partake!
A Happy Mother’s Day to you and All the Girls
I have no idea what planet I was on yesterday saying Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow (meaning today). The days run together more now it seems without the out and about.
The siding project looks great. I also agree about the aloe vera gel. My grandparents always had an aloe vera plant on the kitchen windowsill. If you got a burn, blister, or insect sting you went and snapped off a piece.
Jeanne, you and your hubby never cease to amaze me… Great job.. Enjoy your lemonade!
And Happy Mothers Day!
Judi
What an amazing job you and George are doing. I’m the same age as Barbara, 10 years more than you and I can echo what she said! I wouldn’t be able to do what you do now! I struggle with a step ladder these days.
Well, we still haven’t had any rain except……. for last night for about half an hour. In the second half of the Rugby of course. Not enough to do any good for the garden or lower the fire risk or anything else useful, just enough to get us VERY wet. Didn’t I say that would happen! Lol. Never mind we won the trophy and that’s the main thing. At least it wasn’t cold, it could have been worse! We had great seats, right in the front and it was a really good game, not a walkover, What a great present.
And yes Happy Mothers Day, we celebrate it the same day as you (it is already Sunday here). It is my DIL’s birthday today as well.
We lost our stadium in the earthquake 10 years ago and the one we use now is only temporary, They are currently building a new one that will be covered! Yay. It is still 3 years away so whether I will be a) still around then (at nearly eighty) and b) still able to go to the games is a moot point. We aren’t able to host Internationals at this one, it is too small. Hopefully the seats in the new one will be slightly bigger, lol
Don’t put yourself down Anne. My aunt is 89. Lives alone with her Siamese cat and drives very well. 🙂
My friend that just passed away on 12/30/20 at the ripe old age of 103 lived by herself until she was 99 and drove until she was 98.