Here's a slideshow of the past 10 days of our lives.

1. Ronnie decided to rip out the old chain link fence on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It poured all weekend. We have a dog, so the new fence had to be finished on the same weekend.

2. Ronnie had to finish a bathroom to accommodate 17 Thanksgiving guests.

3. Ronnie had to put up a new wall around the new fireplace, texture and paint it.

4. My mom and I had to clean up the mess made by all of these last-minute projects. Sheesh.

5. I'm tired and I don't plan on making Thanksgiving dinner again for a very long time.

Big Sink, Little Buns

Couldn't resist sharing.....

Fireplace

This post is about the fireplace, a 5 month project. Here is a picture of our living room on the day we moved in. Wow. Ugly. Focus on the white painted bricks and the weird wood burning stove insert where there used to be a fireplace.

Many, many hours of labor went into the time between the above image and the below image. Way back in the summer Ronnie and my mom had to first remove the wood burning stove...no easy task. Then a few weeks ago Ronnie and his bro had to demo all of that brick on the wall and the bench. Ronnie slept for 13 hours straight the night they did that. In this picture they're removing the old fireplace insert that was too damaged to use.

Who is going to lift this out?!

A broken back and a gouge in my new floor brings us to this stageThe work between the above picture and the below picture is unknown. When Ronnie started cutting drywall to make the new insert fit, I left. Ellie and I went in the family room and watched Cake Boss. Next thing I know, Ronnie has a fire burning in our living room!

Here's Molly, "chillin' by the new fire" (her exact words)

Now, any ideas for a mantle or brick or stone work?

Halloween Weekend

Here are a few pictures from our weekend.