Finally Getting Back to the Hobbies

Once the sod was in, time sped up for a while.  We soon found ourselves in the new house, but having to wait for the certificate of occupancy before we moved into the house fully.  Two weeks after that, we moved my mother-in-law in with us, and we suddenly found ourselves unpacking, juggling our full-time jobs, and doing 24/7 elder care.  

The blog took a back seat.

While we were unpacking, I began to realize just how much paper we had been hauling around.  Some of the bills, for example, had traveled with me from New Jersey back to Michigan to Iowa to Wisconsin to California to Colorado.  It was clearly time to get rid of them.  Because much of the paper had my social security number on it, I decided to start shredding it.  It didn't take me long to realize that I was going to have a lot to throw out, so I began looking around for something I could make with it.

That's how I started making paper recently.

My first attempts were not good, but I could see the potential.

My most recent attempts are still not where I want them to be, but I can live with them.  I'm going to start documenting my experiments mainly so I can figure out what works and doesn't work. 

This first experiment was with adding in yarn. I found a ball of thick teal yarn in my stash, cut it into lengths about a half inch long, and then pulled the sections apart. 

I tossed the yarn pieces into the water and pulp mixture;

From that point, it was time to play.  I purchased a bulk set of paper making frames from Amazon. For experimenting, the small size has been perfect.  It took me a while, but I was eventually able to get the pulp mixture reasonably even in the frame:

Once I had the pulp evened out, I made sure that the couch sheet (that I also bought off of Amazon--the couch sheets are made for hand making paper) was ready on my homemade hanging system--a clothes hanger and a couple of clothes pins:

After flipping the frame over and sponging off the excess water, the frame came off easily:

Each of the couch sheets can hold three pieces of paper:

The paper dried overnight hanging from the shower rod in our spare bedroom.  The paper is anything but flat when taken off the drying sheet, but a quick swipe with an iron set on cool takes the rolls out of it nicely:

Next up: adding in rose petals.

The Turf Makes a Huge Difference

 I'm finally caught up on older posts.  I took this photo this morning, just after the front lawn had been put in.  I'm loving it.

Interior Painting and Landscaping Progress - October 20, 2023

We have been waiting for weeks for the kitchen sink to arrive.  When the date for the arrival of the sink got pushed once again, Geff ordered a new sink.  Basically it is the same as the sink that we wanted, only instead of having a 70/30 split between the two sinks, it has a 50/50 split.  We can definitely live with that.  And, as an added bonus, it was less expensive.

After picking it up, we dropped it off at the house, where both the painters and the landscapers were still cleaning up.

There is still a ton of plastic/protective coverings up, but the cream color on the walls is what will be throughout the house.

Great room

Master bath

Master bath

My office

Geff needed to pick something up from the storage shed in the back, so we drove around to the back of the house, and I got a few more photos.  Although, I'm kicking myself as I write this because I realized I forgot to get photos of the backyard now that the privacy fence is up.

Back of he house

Side of the house

The full back deck

Sneak peak of the kitchen sink...

The kitchen sink has arrived!

And, it was a few minutes later, when we were talking with the builder's right hand, Joe, when I realized just how oblivious I can be.  I saw the black fence up when we drove in.  I completely missed the plants and trees!

Plants in front of the garage

The obligatory view from the driveway

The city said that we had to plant 5 trees in the front yard....done!

 

The Front Door Is On - October 12, 2023

 I know that they'll likely take it off at least once more, but the front door is on the house.  It is minus hardware (doorknob) and glass at the moment, though.  Still, it is great to see.

The Landscaping Has Begun

Without weeds, a dumpster, port-a-potty, fencing, etc., the front yard looks absolutely huge.

 

Plumbing Fixtures and the Office Nook - September 27, 2023

When the house was being roughed out, we thought that the area between the second and third bedrooms was going to be a linen closet.  Fortunately, since there is a linen closet in the bathroom anyway, this is actually an office nook.  We wanted to pay homage to the old, brick house, so the back wall of the office nook is being tiled in faux brick.

Office Nook

I never really thought about plumbing, but it is great to see the toilet and the sink hardware in the powder room.

Powder Room

And, we now have plumbing fixtures on the sinks and shower in the master bath.

The vent for the range hood is in the process of being connected.

More Floor and a Painted Door - September 17, 2023

 We took an impromptu trip to the house today, but I'm glad we did as there were a number of new changes.

One of the first things that I noticed is that our front door is back from being stripped and painted.  The red will face the outside.

Front door

Geff was playing with the shower hardware...(it isn't attached).

I'm not sure why I took a photo of the outlet, but I did...

And, a better, although still not great, view of the stove hood.

Hammered copper stove hood

Plumbing under the kitchen sink....which is back ordered.

And, the luxury vinyl is in in the bathroom and second and third bedroom areas--both of which may need more wet clean-ups than is advised for hardwood.

Pantry floor

Second bathroom floor

Marge's floor