Home renovations update

I spent the morning designing a bench for the front entryway. Most likely I've built redundancy into my plans and it will be over-built but that makes me more comfortable anyway. I'll have to report on my progress as I get to that project.


Right now we are waiting for the basement floor to dry out. The gypsum that was poured is still fogging up the house every morning, which means it's still drying. Before we tile, we'll need to uncouple the gypsum from the tile above it with Ditra so that the gypsum can expand and contract at it's own rate with the radiant heat and the tiles can as well.


In the meantime, we paint the family room walls tomorrow (with low-VOC paint) and finish the last touch-ups on the ceilings. Kevin is also planning to install (rather to have me install) the rest of the custom-ordered cellular shades in double-honeycomb with the sidetracks that seal off the gap between the shades and the window sill to create an insulating barrier. These are great shades and work very well. For custom-made shades, they aren't nearly as expensive as you might expect from other companies - and they're local.


We ordered a custom hearthpad as well from a local craftman. Everyone thought it would cost us more, but we paid 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost that we would have paid for a hearthpad sold by a woodstove store or online company. The quality of work is impressive as well and the pad meets all of our specifications, plus those of the woodstove. If he had a website, I would post it here.






Here's the hearthpad in place. The finish on the oak wood is the same as that on our hardwood floors. Our neighbors helped move it in from the truck.

I also got my raised hearthpad, which makes me happy - it's easier to keep kids away from a defined area such as this than a woodstove set flat on a hearthpad. The new woodstove will be delivered and installed on Monday. I can't wait to have the dry warmth of wood again to thaw our frozen bums and dry our wet mittens. We love to snuggle and laze around the fire as a family after dinner reading stories, talking, knitting, and staring at the flames as if it were the most interesting thing on tv (well, it is!).

Baby is now 31 weeks and just as lively as Savannah was in utero. I feel humongous but I've only gained 20 pounds. I guess I should include the 6 pounds I never lost from Savannah though, which puts me at 26 pounds or where I should be in terms of weight gain. Baby is very high and wedges its little butt against my rib cage on the right side pretty much all the time, which gives me an asymmetrical belly shape. I don't have cravings or aversions as I did with Savannah except maybe an inclination towards avocado and seaweed. My midwife has me proactively taking an iron-supplement since my levels are lower in the normal range but I hope to be off it soon - it tastes like prune juice. Soon, soon, I'll have time to think about baby more but in the meantime, here's my "short" project list

Sara's February/March project list:

• Build a sewing table/desk


• Build and stain the front entryway bench


• Make cushion for the bench


• Cut, paint and install pegboard in project room


• Build, cover with fabric and install bulletin board in project room


• Build, cover and install design wall in project room


• Sew curtains for project room


• Complete cow quilt


• Install thread racks in project room (paint first?)


• Tile the downstairs


• Paint the family room


• Cover a switchplate with fabric


• Finish Savannah's ivory cabled throw


• Build two cube shelves for project room


• Complete work on 8 books


• Move Savannah's bedroom back


• Find a carseat for baby...