Mike's New Kitchen Cabinets

Here are the latest photos -- the cabinets are about 99% installed. It's moving along -- yay!

If you remember the old kitchen, this is the spot where that chimney used to be. It proved to be too difficult to remove, so now it's got some fresh drywall and will get some backsplash.

That Damned Green Room

Mike had quite a bit of patching work to do in the green room, which had all kinds of cracks in the ceiling and the walls. When I got there, we were able to finally paint the ceiling, the walls, and start on the trim. The trim proved trickier than we thought, as the dark green paint underneath kept showing through.
Mike did an AMAZING job on the ceiling. It was a lot of hard work and a bit of a learning curve, but the end result was really great!

Even with the painting tape still up, I think these windows look so much better with clean, white paint rather than that dark green.

Exhaustion, satisfaction, and crazy poodle-like hair, all at the same time! :-)

Taking on the Green Room

At Mike's house, one of the bedrooms was painted a dark green with a different colored green trim. On the right side of this photo, you can see our attempt at color selection. The new color is called "Soothing Aloe."

It's not a horrible set of colors, but we wanted to paint it a bit more neutral. The previous owners even painted the dark green with a lighter green pattern in the closet.

We've now started this project, but there's a lot of prep work. The ceiling has a lot of cracks, for example, and Mike has taken on the task of spackling.

My job today has been the closet; I've finished the first coat, and so far so good. I think "Soothing Aloe" is going to turn out nicely. I'll post more when the room is closer to finished!

Landscaping Work at Mike's

To clean up his yard a bit from the eclectic mix of the previous owner, Mike had some landscaping work done recently. I think it will look great once the grass grows in; it's so much neater and doesn't block the front of the house. Here are some before photos from last summer.

The bushes in the front had just become so big, and I think these smaller shrubs don't hide the house so much. Also, the flowers in front were pretty but a good amount of work to maintain. The landscaper moved some of the bushes around to save the pretty plants and bushes that the previous owner had, too.

For example, the azalea at the end (blooming pink right now) was in front of the house in the large flower area and was moved to a place where it still can be seen but doesn't block the house. And there's still a small flowerbed at the corner, which will still allow for pretty blooming.

The other azaleas (blooming pink and white right now) were moved next to the rhododendrum. All three are beautifully blooming.

I had heard of plants called azaleas and rhododendrums, but now I now what they are! :-)

On the side of the house, the landscaper cleaned up the numerous plants that were there to make it neater.

Some of these were transplanted from the front yard.

Happy 2010 -- Finally!

I've finally reached New Year's Eve 2009 in my posts. I'm only almost four months behind, but at least I've almost reached 2010!

Steven and Haley joined Mike and me for New Year's festivities, and this was taken before we went out.

We ate at home and went out to a place in Columbus that offered some appetizers and a jazz band.

This is our third New Year's Eve together. Happy 2010, Mike!!!!

Christmas Tree 2009

Since I have most of the ornaments and a nice tree, I've taken all of my decorations for the last two years to Mike's house. We decorated the weekend of Thanksgiving so we can enjoy them for a solid month. It seems funny to post this in March, as Christmas was such a while ago. Oh well; I should keep up with this next year!

Columbus Zoo -- November 2009

Around Christmas time, the Columbus Zoo stays open at night to showcase its Christmas lights. Mike's parents were still in town, and we all bundled up to walk around in the cold. Mike's dad bought a hat in the gift shop, and he got lots of cute comments on it. He was easy to find, too. :-)

One of the highlights -- for me, at least -- was seeing the baby elephant that was only months old. He was adorable as he played with this 35-pound ball.

It was pretty cold out, and hot tea and hot cocoa were definitely needed.

Thanksgiving 2009

For the third year in a row, Mike's parents braved the cold to come visit him for Thanksgiving. They're very brave, particularly since retiring to Arizona some five years ago. Although I'm an avid cook, I like it when Mike's parents take over the holiday cooking. At some point, though, I should really cook for them. Maybe once Mike gets his kitchen renovated. :-)

Besides, I couldn't do much better than this yummy one!

Mike's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Haley, also joined us.

Hiking and Pumpkin Carving -- October 2009

Mike and I woke up early one brisk October morning and went hiking in a park near Dayton, Ohio. The fall colors were just starting to make an appearance.

Fall colors can be really pretty in the midwest, and it's a shame I didn't get more photos when the colors were really vibrant. We'll have to settle for these.

Surprisingly, this is our first pumpkin that we've carved together. We've got to do that every year! :-)