Bathroom Before and After

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Have I got some Befores and Afters for you!  I love makeovers!  Make up and hair, clothes, but I LOVE HGTV worthy makeovers.  When I do a project at home, I make my husband wait for the "reveal".  He gets a kick out of it.  Usu, because I just work away and let him do his thing.  I just have a hard time sitting still but he does not.  But he is getting better at helping me and I am getting better at relaxing.  Hopefully in retirement, we will be good for each other!
So, my tile before and after is here.  We just love how it turned out.  The top part of our shower was already a nice neutral bright ivory.  We left it.  It did also have very light grout, the  light grout did not work out down low where the walls met the floor.  It had mildew that I could not get clean.  Our contractor said the walls were tiled, then the floor poured after//tiled.  Incorrectly.  He said they also used silicone instead/over/replaced some of the grout in the crack around the outside of the floor.  He rounded the walls into the floor, built the floor up and graded to the drain so the water will drain and not stand, we also put in a powerful fan just outside the shower and took the door off.  HOpefully, we won't have mildew.  The grout is also dark down low, the transition from light to dark acceptable to us.  We love how it looks and won't miss the pink!  We did the entire floor of the master bath in a coordinating tile with the same dark grout.  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Wooooooo weeeeee

I am tired.  Worked half day Friday.  Then took load of furniture and effects to RH after work...including the cat.  I get there 3pm, get my new truck license plates...run to bank to get money to pay contractor...hardware store furniture polish...to house to clean...construction dust the worst!...unload suburban...put storage shelf in closet...wax bookcases in dining room...early Sat morning I load books on bookcases...loaded few items for staging CH...drive hour to my Sisters...unload 2 pieces furniture,  including our dear mother's antique secretary...drive 2 hours to my friend who is fostering the kitty...then 2 hours home...oh, and I went to WM on a night before a holiday.. and before snow forecast.  Snow!  In April. 

I have been sick, sick, sick 🤢since we got back...travel does that to me.  I need desperately to rest. 

I hope everyone has the Easter you desire!  So grateful for Him!  I am having a quiet day resting at home.

Can This Day be Over Already

So, we had a great visit to another state to visit family and go to a relative's wedding.  The wedding was beautiful, the bride was stunning...Saw so many relatives, far and near.  It was just a great trip.  However, it was also tiring. I drove 8.5 hours Thurs and 9 hours back Sun.  We did take a 30 min detour and pop in to my retirement home on the way back yesterday.  My Uncle got to see my RH and we checked in on the tile work in progress. 
I think I am really going to love it.  Looks really nice with the cool gray and white of my bathroom.  The tile is warm yellowish beige tones.  Warms up the room.  My contractor complimented my choices.  I think all he has left to do is grout and clean up.
It was great to get home to my DH.  He stayed home with the doggies.  He was not thrilled at the prospect of being in the car with my VERY hard of hearing aunt and uncle.  And repeating one self over and over, practically yelling is tiring, but I was honored to be able to drive them and take care of them.  They have done so much for my sister and I.  Letting us come stay with them in the summer, showing me how much they love me, etc.  GREAT people. 
So, DH had dinner ready for me when I got home.  He even did grocery shopping and did some packing!  I was so proud of him and so glad to be embraced in a comforting hug.  Seeing my cousin's lovely young daughter and just all the reminiscing just made me tired and emotional.  So, I just chalked it up to that...then I relized that today is the day my Dear Belated Husband died in 1993 at age 32.  So, I have that making me blue, it is cold a raining here, so that adds to it...it is Monday, eta.
Except those things are not the main source of my emotion today...Our older dog, he is about 11 years old...well he is just not doing well.  He is declining in movement and sleeping a lot, but he still eats and drinks and gets around pretty good.  Well, DH said he has begun intermitten yelping once in a while.  DH thougth at first he was just dreaming, but he did it 3 or 4 times after I got home last night.  I was convinced he waited for me to get home and would not make it through the night, but he did and DH took him to vet today.  I missed 2 days next week, so it is hard to miss this week, but I am leaving early because while he is at the vet having tests, I am just sick to the point of distraction.  I realize he is getting older and I accept that dogs have a much shorter life span that I would wish...but I am really upset thinking it is so near and worrying that he is in distress.  Also, I told my DH I really am going to be devastated when he dies not matter what/when...but the possibility of it being so soon and before we move to Arkansas breaks my heart into a million pieces.  I see the pain in DH eyes too.  So, we have to be strong and grateful for every second with him. 
Wish us luck.  I will try to be back tomorrow.  Have a great Monday.  My lovely cousin is off to her enchanted honeymoon, where I bask in the happiness of my cousin - its her daughter and she is so happy.  I am going to hang on to that, because they are both special to me. 

Couple of Befores

So we got last 2 bookcases moved and the less sturdy shelf from Ikea we will use for shoes and folded clothes in back of closet.  All three along with a bunch of coats and a few dishes and other odds and ends fit back of suburban!  Oh, and my new rug for sitting room!

We literally had to remove chair rail moulding and sledge hammer the 4th bookshelf into the dining room/library.  Then I painted them white again.  Looks a bit crowded, but good!  I will not be keeping the large round table and hutch in there for ever.  It will be better with a smaller table.  I will prob wait until my niece or nephew get a house and then see if they want the set.
 

Then I put new rug in sitting room and moved that smaller rug into library.  The thing I am most excited about though is that we are getting rid of moldy pink shower.  The shower has no fan and a door, plus the floor is not angled toward the drain.  So water just sits all around and mold has grown that I tried everything to remove.  The shower is large and plain off white tile all the way up from the pink tile, so we are leaving that.  They will take out the pink tile and built in seat, angle the floor and put a strong fan/light in the top.  Our contractor also pointed out that the grout had been covered or replaced with silicone caulk down around the bottom where all the water stands/mold grew.  We think these changes will fix the mold.  (I should probably say mildew). 

My husband helped me take off the little door and it already opened the look so much!  We decided to try it with no curtain for a while, see if we can leave it off all together.
 

Next time we go to RH, we will have all tile floor in master and updated shower.  I can hardly wait! 

It was truly the last thing that we are going to change that made us sad every time we looked at it.  A few other changes will have to wait until we can save up for them, but the house just looks amazing to us and we just love being there. 

Have a wonderful week.  Hope someone reading drops by and tells me what spring cleaning/organizing/purging/improving has inspired you lately.