CALLING BOB VILLA

It didn’t take a close examination to figure out that we shouldn’t try to make it through another winter (well, what passes for winter in SoCal) with our 25 year-old paint peeling to bare wood all over the house, windows falling apart, and the sotto voce mutterings of the neighbors.  So, our grand RV trip to the Pacific NW was postponed for the second time, the bank account pillaged, contracts signed, and we’re off on the grand adventure.  Remodeling.  Of course, paint leads to grander considerations in the distaff mind, and the house is getting a porch ceiling, new entry stairs, enlarged porch floor area, new front walks, new side walk, new window in the cave-den, and closing in all of the eave overhangs.  Yikes.

Up went the scaffolding (that’s Mom supervising from the porch):

Out came the shrubs:

And on went the first coat of “Restful Green:”

The color’s a little hard to make out, but it looks great in the flesh.  Pulling off the old siding to the right of the porch revealed decades-long-covered vents, one in front and one around the edge towards the garage door. 

Up went the rafters for the porch ceiling:

And then the tongue-in-groove planks:

Meanwhile, now that we have all this “time on our hands, wouldn’t it be great to redo the interior as well?  Hmmmmm?  Let’s start with the dining room.”  Start?

Let’s see.  Strip the wallpaper.  Sand the walls down.  Wash the walls.  Wash the ceiling.  Prime the ceiling and all the walls.  Ain’t this fun?  Not.

Well, one of us is having a good time.

The colors were a little shocking at first for Loni.  I loved them, but she took a while to warm up.  That wall on the left doesn’t really look that pink in real life; it’s more of a salmon.  The lines where they meet the ceiling will be covered with crown molding. 

The new window in the den has eliminated the cave.  As a bonus, it looks straight across the 12 feet to the window in the house next door, right down their hallway to their bedroom door.  Well, alrighty!

The new front path has been staked and scraped.  We might see cement this week.  We will of course have to deface it with names and date for posterity.  Or until the next owner bulldozes the place and builds a manse.

More to come!