Hey, all!

We've been busy getting used to our new bathroom. Rearranging things in drawers and seeing "what's comfortable where". We love it!


We've also been going to the orthopedic doctors. Golfer for his hand/wrist and me for my right foot. We both ended up getting steroid shots and told to ice the areas. So evenings have been spent watching TV with ice packs. We're doing a bit better.


I have been slowly tackling some major cleaning. although the guys from ABL were very careful, it was just like Mike said when he told us: "there's going to be some dust". And let me say here, it's not run of the mill, ordinary, fluffy dust. It's permeating clingy drywall, plaster, mortar dust. And somehow it gets everywhere, even behind closed doors. The new bathroom makes the dust just merely an annoyance though. But it still needs to be cleaned up. So I've been tackling one room at a time. I am having some satisfaction in the fact that my "Fall cleaning" is almost done! I've been told most people don't do Fall and Spring cleaning. But I was raised by a Mom and Grandma who, regular like clockwork, every Spring and Fall tore things apart and CLEANED.


My ninety-nine year old mom still scoots her furniture around and cleans her apartment! We've told her we could help or get someone in to do it. She says they wouldn't do it to suit her. I'm pretty much the same way. Although I will admit I enlisted Nurse J's help in climbing up and taking down my bird collection. Turned out there was also quite a dust crop up there too. (I'll keep better track of that in the future.) So I've been wiping down walls, washing curtains and windows, vacuuming all the nooks and crannies,scrubbing things and making it sparkle around here.


Onward to the next task!

Hey!

Things have been busy around here. I've been doing some major cleaning - one room at a time. Golfer and I have both been catching up on "to-do" lists.

Kirk came yesterday and put a sealer on the tile and grout. Scott came today to fix a tiny problem with the shower head pipe. Just a loose trim ring; it's all fastened down now. While he was here he offered to install the additional towel bar we bought. We decided we needed it after we had used the new bathroom a few times. Mike came and took a bunch of pictures for the contest. I hope his entry wins! Won't know until October, I think.

Over the weekend, one of my projects had been to look for pictures of the "old" bathroom for Mike. A word to the wise here - if you're going to do a project like this and document it with pictures along the way, TAKE PICTURES OF THE OLD ROOM FIRST! These are a couple of the ones I found. The first one has Allie posing on the divider. Allie passed away at the age of 17 a few years ago.

The second one has Cecil lounging in the cool sink. Usually he's not that relaxed!

The last one is actually a reflection in the large mirror, so the actual image would be reversed, but you can sort of get the idea.

I had a couple others - photos of the tropical fish on the old wall, BeyB in the tub, shells on the wall shelf - not really what Mike was looking for! the last one here he said he could use.

A couple of you have asked about before pictures, so here you are! We love the new bathroom! More later!

Some bathroom decor

Just sharing some pictures. The cat picture is one we've had for quite a while. It's a favorite of mine. I hung it on the wall over the toilet. I was very willing to compromise and not hang up my brightly colored tropical fish, but I had to have the cat picture. (certain people may be getting fish and/or birds in their Christmas packages!)

The other two are on the wall you face as you come in the door to the bathroom. One says "Refresh" and the other says "Renew". We like them.

Bikini and Nurse J are on the lookout for another type of bath mat or rug. Both have found something so far and sent us links. I will have to see them "in person" before I can decide though.

Onward!

Happy Birthday, Golfer!

Love you!, Gee

Bathroom art!

I told you I would be back!

Does anyone else think it's extremely odd that most available bathroom artwork is actually pictures of bathrooms????? Golfer and I went shopping for some. I mean, really, if I was going to hang a 2' x 2' picture of a faucet handle on my new wall, I would take a picture of my own new faucets! Geez!

Nurse J and Cable Guy came over to look last evening. They like it. Except for my choice of bath rugs and towel color. They think that should be brown or dark tan. Golfer says "no brown". Hence the "Sea Mist" I picked for a small accent color. Which also coordinates well with the future new colors of the bedroom which needs to be painted and redecorated. I have already purchased the window treatments and new bedding for that project. You will be getting updates on that in a few weeks. We're taking a break!

Have a good weekend!

Day Thirty-Eight: The End

Day thirty-eight! We're done! Kirk came and touched up the grout. He will return on Monday afternoon to put a sealer on the tile. That's an extra thing we have chosen to do. Seemed like a good idea when Kirk told us about it.

The mirror guys showed up and were very careful about the installation and getting them where we wanted them. You will notice the mirror reflection in some of the photos. They are nice and shiny!

Scott came by to check on things.

Golfer arrived home about 10:00 for a meeting with Mike. We're happy, we're satisfied, and the bathroom is beautiful!

When everyone had cleared out of here, I started puttering around in there. Moving things in, moving them around, seeing what fit where. Golfer gets to move his personal items when he gets home, and I have told him nothing is permanent that I moved in. If it doesn't work for him we'll find a compromise.

The furry kids are delighted that they were released from confinement early. And they've been in there rolling all over the new rugs.

We have decided that our old bathroom decorations and wall things aren't going back in. So we need to find something else we like to decorate.

The work was finished this morning. The porta-potty was gone by 2:00.

Thank you to ABL and to their people who did a great job!

Although this blog started as a way to document the bathroom renovation, I think I will continue posting now and then. There are days when I just feel like I have something to say! (whether anyone wants to hear it or not!) :)

So, onward we go!

Day Thirty-Seven

I ran out of time and energy on day thirty-seven. After making sure I got pool time in and got to the office after work here was done, I just didn't get to posting on the blog. But it was a good day!

Kevin arrived early and got right to work on installing towel bars, grab bars and other assorted hardware. Then there was some patching and painting (little dings from other installations). The mirror people called to say someone was out for the day and they would not be coming. Disappointing. She promised early installation for Thursday though.

The plumbers came and installed the new toilet. Looks good. The flush handle even matches the faucets!

Scott and Mike both came by to check on things.

Kevin spent time cleaning things up and getting everything neat. He marked places where Kirk will touch-up the grout. That's the little blue pieces of tape you see in the pictures.

So we're nearing completion. I see the light! Onward we go!

p.s.

I would also like to say Happy Birthday to Brief!

Day Thirty-Six

Well. Remember how everyone was saying how smoothly the project had gone and wasn't it great? We should have not said those things.

Today started with Kevin coming to get things set up for the plumbers and do some touch-up paint and finish work. The plumbers arrived right after Kevin. Immediately, we had some "issues". There was talk about pipes, flanges, connections...... when the new floor surface was put in and tiled, an extension should have been done on the toilet piping. Then they turned to the shower. Where they had planned to put the vertical holding bar for the hand-held piece overlapped with where the corner shelves had been put. So we had a lot of discussion on remedies for that issue.

Scott was called in. Another plumber (owner of the plumbing company) was called in for his opinion. I stayed out of the way. The final decision was that Kevin would take a special tool and dig up the concrete around the toilet connection so it could be cut off and an extension put in. Hooray, for Kevin! He did that without having to take up any of the new floor tile. Then the extension work was done and mortar mixed and put in place around it. As I type, it is drying. While Kevin was digging, the plumbers were installing faucets, and handles and such. The sinks both work. There is ample water pressure in the shower. Actually, the body sprays can shoot water clear down onto the end wall! This is all good news, because there had been early discussion on whether we would have enough pressure to even do this.

When the plumbers were done and gone, Kevin went back to work with the touch-ups and marking out the placement for installing grab bars and towel bars. In the process of drilling the holes for this, all his batteries went dead. And he had several. So since it was almost 4:00 he called it a day and cleaned up a bit.

I did not take pictures today. Since Kevin will return early in the morning, he just put all his tools in the bathroom. The assorted bars and hardware are spread out in there, mortar is drying, and quite frankly, it's not too neat looking at the moment. All in all, it was a very busy day, but not a lot of visible progress. But it will get better, so onward we go.

Happy 99th Birthday, Mom!

Day Thirty-Five

Day thirty-five has been a busy one! Chris and Kevin got here early and started painting some more. Chris continued the painting and Kevin worked on cutting and installing trim work – baseboard, under the divider top molding, etc. Scott came to check on things.

Foy, the electrician and his helper came and worked on the lights. That seemed to be going pretty well. But then I heard some muttering and “That’s not supposed to happen!” The shower lights had gone off and stayed off all on their own. That required a trip up to the attic and much going in and out to make sure everything was okay. After they were working again and everything calm, I asked about it. Seems the shower lights have a safety feature that shuts them off if they have been on a long time and are getting warm. Good to know! When Foy had gotten here, they had put the proper bulbs in and installed the covers. There was finally enough light in the bathroom to see to paint without the portable lights they brought in, so they had been left on. So now the lights and fan are all working and are lovely!

Chris hung the wall unit. Then he and Kevin did a little more detail work. They said they will be back after the plumber finishes to clean things up, put handles on doors and drawers, and touch-up the paint. It’s looking good! These pictures are just a couple views of the wall unit and the shower lights.

Onward we go!

Day Thirty-Two

Day thirty-two had much work going on! Chris and Kevin arrived early and continued the painting. It's looking better all the time! The wall color is called "modest white" and it's just barely a little beige shade of white. It's hard to tell in the pictures. It goes well with the tile.

The new counter-top arrived and was installed. Some cutting and adjusting had to be done, but it looks great, too!

The electrical work was pushed until Monday. So I guess Monday and Tuesday are going to be pretty busy. Chris and Kevin will be here finishing the painting and other details. The electrician is supposed to come and finish the lighting installation. The plumber is scheduled to come and install the faucets and connect the sinks and toilet. The cabinet man is supposed to come and finish that installation too. I haven't heard the exact schedule yet, so we'll just have to see. The mirrors are scheduled for hanging on Wednesday.

In other news, you can see I didn't post this until Saturday afternoon. I was busy at work and doing other stuff around the house and errands. Also got some pool time in. When I got home from the pool I had boxes ! on the porch. My Penney's order had arrived with the new rugs and towels and bedding. Looks lovely to me. I'll see what Golfer thinks when he gets home.

Onward we go!

Day Thirty-One

Things are progressing! Day thirty-one started out with Kirk coming to put the second coat of protective sealer on the accent strip. it really brings out the color! Then Chris and Kevin came and started installing the door and framing and started getting the primer on. One coat of paint is on the ceiling so far. Scott was here checking on things.

Friday will be a busy one with Chris and Kevin continuing the painting. The counter-top is scheduled for delivery and installation and the electrician is lined up to come finish the electrical work. Onward we go!