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Productive Social Distancing

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We have had our share of challenges in the last few months. Our social distancing or self isolation has been going on for a few months. Jim’s mom fell ill and needed some help to heal so we haven’t gone very far. To keep from going stir crazy we’ve continued to work on the house. Here are a few things we’ve accomplished... The fireplace corbels arrived and we were able to install them and finish the fireplace! It’s nice to finish a project! We’ve been working on trimming out the house. Base trim, door trim, and trimming out the bookcases upstairs. We ordered the wood we needed for the tops of the bookcases and it should be here the beginning of next week. Once the tops are in place the trim can be finished. The solid wood doors all have damage to them. The previous owners had dogs the clawed the doors. We are trying to salvage them by sanding them, filling any defects, and painting them. Fingers-crossed they will turn out! We also had our dining room set delivered. As ...
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Gettin’ it done at the Yeti Den

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We’ve been working like crazy this week to get things done. First on our list was the kitchen backsplash. I’m happy to report that it is complete! I love natural materials so I chose black slate tiles for the kitchen backsplash. They are 6”x24” tiles that we ordered online. I wanted to keep clean lines and fewer grout lines so we went the 24” length. They worked perfectly and really accentuate the colors in the countertops and cabinets. Natural stone takes a few extra steps like 2 coats of grout release pre installation and a wax buff after installation and grouting. It was totally worth it. Before After During the kitchen remodel we added under cabinet lighting so the black tiles work. The kitchen doesn’t feel dark, but balanced with the black flooring and cabinet hardware. The stainless steel appliances help reflect light too. Thank goodness for the window above the sink also. We have lots of cans in the kitchen ceiling to help with task lighting too. ...
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It’s starting to feel like home

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I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post! Time flies when you are focused on completing projects. Some of the latest projects were big and took time to complete and some are mostly done, but the usual delays keep them from completion. Here’s what’s new: Completed projects Pot racks installed on the kitchen Cookbook racks installed Kitchen island built and in use Projects almost done Fireplace We ordered large wood corbels to place beneath the mantle, but one came damaged and the other one did not look good. So we ordered new ones and returned the not so great ones. Hopefully they will be delivered soon! Hardwood floor installation I LOVE these floors! They are real hardwood floor boards. We chose oak with a French maison stain.  We have finished installing the boards on the main floor and will tackle the loft office area next. We still need to stain the wood register covers and the stair treads and risers to match. That will take some ...
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A Lesson in Patience

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We moved to Wyoming for a simpler life. Less people, more land, abundant nature outside your own door, less taxes and kind people. We’ve been blessed to experience all of these. It really is an amazing place. The pace is slower here. There aren’t too many rushed people. People visit with each other at the store while waiting in line. The pharmacist knows you by name and in our case the hardware stores know us too. Neighbors visit as we are shoveling snow off the driveway.  For the most part kindness reigns in our little town. It would probably be perfect if we weren’t remodeling our house. It’s a challenge to find what you want or need sometimes. Online shopping is number one! And the slower pace can mean it can take awhile to get something. We have weather delays, which I understand, they take road safety seriously here. It doesn’t seem to matter how prepared you try to be, there will be delays in Wyoming. These challenges have forced us to be more patient, more creative, and ...
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There’s Always Something

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Our plan was to get as much done on the house before we took a little vacation to see family at Christmas time. It was a good plan, but there were a few hiccups. Kitchen The kitchen cabinets were finally delivered and we jumped on getting them installed. We knew we were going to tile the kitchen floor so we lifted the cabinets with a 3/4” board to give us enough room to lay the Duroc and the tile. This is an important step! If we didn’t lift the cabinets the dishwasher wouldn’t fit correctly under the countertops. Now everything is level and if the dishwasher needs maintenance we can pull it out easily.  With all our prep done we were ready to go. There were a few challenges: -the wall oven cabinet couldn’t be lifted so we had to get creative with the toe kick (we will eliminate the toe kick and have the cabinet face go from floor to ceiling) -the gas range valve had to be placed in a different position due to HVAC ducts (we bought a longer hose to reach the valve on the rang...
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Keeping busy

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A lot has happened since my last post. We are finally all under the same roof! We moved Jim’s mom up to Pinedale on the 23rd. It was a long day in the cold, with wind, and slippery sidewalks and parking lots. It is nice not to have to travel back and forth the 100 miles between Rock Springs and Pinedale, especially with the winter weather. It’s also nice to have all of our stuff in one place! We didn’t get everything done that we wanted to before we brought her up, but have made some good progress. Pantry The new pantry used to be the small laundry room. We knew that our front load washer and dryer would not fit into the space as it was, they are just too big. There were lots of ideas thrown around, but no matter how we arranged it, it still would have felt cramped. So it was decided that the room would become a pantry with a freezer in it and the washer and dryer would go into the mud room. This would require moving plumbing and electrical. Jim’s least favorite thing is plumbing!...
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