Garage Framing - Day 6

A couple things were done on the garage today -- K was at a job for part of the day and I was at a meeting, so K's brother kept on with the process.  He added braces to the bottoms of the trusses and kept going with the sheeting on the walls.

Bracing on the trusses

Sheeting on most of the walls

I think they have another job to get to tomorrow, so it may be a couple days before they're back on the garage.  But I think there are just a few things they need to do before we'll get the inspection on the framing.  Yay, progress!!

Garage Framing - Day 4 & 5 - Sheeting and Trusses

The garage is coming along!  It's really exciting to see it taking shape.

On Monday, K and I worked on the garage, and we put up the sheeting on one side of the garage.  I helped her put it in place and then nail it to the studs.  We quit when it started raining, so I didn't get any photos-- the rain continued through the night!

Tuesday was a big day.  The trusses were delivered.  I was about to head out the door, when I heard the "BEEP BEEP"-ing outside and realized I couldn't get out of our alley with my car, because the trusses were being delivered at that moment.

The transformer truck backing in with the trusses

When I got back in the early afternoon, K and her brother had the first couple trusses in place and wanted me to help.  So I did-- I walked along the walls, on top of the sheeting that I had helped install and helped place the trusses where they needed to go.  It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, that's for sure...  But I got used to the height and moving around.  The slight problem for all of us was that it was very hot and humid, and you tend to get a little dizzy when you're overheated.  No one fell, though, so we're all good!  And we were able to finish before it started raining.  Again.  (My garden is LOVING this rain every day!)

K inside the web of bracing

Bracing boards

My monkey on the trusses!

The view from above

Monkey on the wall!

Swinging her hammer, doing her thing...!

Nearing the end!

Finished for the day

We were a sweaty, sun-burned bunch when we were done...  But we got so much done that it was definitely worth it!  I think my muscles will be sore in the morning, too....  

Garage Framing - Day 2 & 3

Progress has continued for the past two days on the construction of the garage.  Actually, it's still going on outside right at this very moment.  Ahh, the sound of nail guns... 

It's really starting to look like a building!  When I got home from class today, all the walls were up, and then K and her brother put in the header above the garage door.

Lifting up the header

Header is completely level!

Garage Framing - Day 1

K finally got to spend her first day working on the garage!  The building materials were delivered on Monday, and she got a full day in on the framing today, along with her brother.

It was amazing to come home from class and see this!

And by the time they cleaned up for the evening, they had three sections of wall installed.  It's really tall!  The walls are 10 feet high, and the windows are set right near the top, so they'll let in a lot of light. 

Second House Anniversary

It's a gorgeous day in Minneapolis and we bought our house 2 years ago today! 

And unlike last year, I didn't procrastinate on getting an anniversary photo, so we actually have one this year...

2014

And again, back to the morning we bought the house...

2012

Lots of things left to do, of course...  But we have done quite a bit already!
Things we've done in the last couple years:

• Removed the front awnings
• Added edging around our sidewalk and along the front of the yard
• Removed the 4 giant bushes from the front and side yards
• Added flower beds on either side of the front window -- and I just put some rose bushes in there this week!  Finally!
• Took down 2 sick elm trees and trimmed up all the other trees
• Poured the concrete slab for the garage
• Added a patio door to the back of the house
• Replaced the front porch light
• Built my little garden plot in the backyard
• Fixed the drywall, painted and added flooring to the basement office
• Painted and added flooring in the main basement room
• Cleaned out, painted and added shelving to the storage room in the basement
• Replaced the washer & dryer and painted the laundry room
• Painted the ceiling in my office and added my "closet" hanging bar
• Scraped the popcorn from the living room ceiling
• Installed the refinished vintage chandelier to our bedroom

Exciting plans in the works for this month, too--  K has ordered her garage supplies and will be starting the garage in the next couple weeks.  When we realized yesterday that it's now been two years since we got the house, she said, "I can't believe I've been living without a garage for two years!"  And that's true!  Because she did have garages at our last couple rentals, but not at the home that we've actually owned.  Like I've said before, it will be a HUGE help to have the garage built and functional. 

My little garden is coming along nicely.  Started everything from seeds this year, so all the plants are a little small right now, but they look great...

Yummy lettuce and spinach

I also got an amazing present a few days ago from my bestie-- she made me an herb pot with all sorts of yummy things in it!  Basil, mint, lime thyme, parsley, oregano and sage...  YUM!  I have a couple of these growing in my garden, too, but the ones in the pot are fully grown and ready to be eaten...

Beautiful herb pot gift!

She also gave me a couple big clumps of chives from her garden.  She's had them growing in her garden for a few years and they've spread out a lot, so she had plenty to spare.  They smell amazing and they're so gorgeous!  I planted them in a big galvanized utility sink that I already had. I've had it for so long that I really don't remember where I got it!

Pretty chives...

May Flowers

After the TONS of April showers that we got right at the end of April, we're all craving some spring.
Time to get some flowers up!  At least some fake ones while the seedlings get started on the real thing...



After seeing this pretty wreath on Pinterest, I decided to see if I could make something similar for our place.  K is nuts about tulips, so I thought this would be a good choice.



If you like it, too, and don't feel like making one--  I tracked down the real thing on etsy, here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/94460533/red-tulip-spring-and-summer-wreath







I was planning to get red tulips like this one, but the ones I found were a pretty deep red, and I found some stems that had a mix of yellow, orange, and a lighter red.  These looked so much more spring-y!

I used floral tape to put the thing together, so I suppose it might fall apart...  I'll hot glue it later if the flowers start falling out.  I bet the one on etsy was made better than mine.

Anyway, it still turned out cute, I think.

Yikes, I can't wait to paint this door!  I love this door-- seems to be one of the few original things in our house.  But it's certainly seen better days...

 HAPPY SPRING!!

So Ready For Spring!

We have such big things coming along right now, and I'm so excited for things to keep moving!
K started her own general contracting business in March.  It's been a lot of work, quite rushed, and so much studying and researching on K's part.  The month just flew by with everything that was going on.

K's new business!!  Yay!!

We have a home loan in progress to help us get the garage done as soon as possible.  Obviously, K is really going to need it once her business is really going, just to keep organized and work on projects.  We had an appraisal for the loan, and it came back better than we expected.  During our buying process, we had one terrible appraisal and one perfect one.  The first one came in at $58,000, which is INSANE!  The appraiser obviously couldn't see beyond the paint and murals on the walls, and wrote the report like the house should be a tear-down.  We had to switch lenders and get a new appraisal to actually get the house.

The appraiser this time clearly sees that this house is stable and has potential to be a very nice place.  It seems to us that we have a long way to go, but if we take a look back and take inventory of what we've done to the house so far, it's a pretty good list.  Lots to go, sure.  Lots done... absolutely.

Coming up...

1)  The curb.  We've asked the county to replace the curb in front of our house because it doesn't exist.  Along pretty much the whole front of the block, the ground just slopes down into the street.  It looks gross and the soil is just crumbling away.  There is nothing there to keep litter from blowing up into our yard, and there's not point in planting anything there while the soil is falling into the street.

How our "curb" looks now.

2)  The garage.  You better believe that pics will happen of this process.  Can't wait!

3)  Garden and stuff.  I won't be starting my garden SO late this year!  Since the bed is already built, I should be able to get my seedlings into the ground pretty soon.  I also have some plans for other flowers in the front, to dress the place up until we can do serious things like siding.  The nice thing about our front yard this year is that our lawn will be totally caught up from when we took out those huge bushes.