A New (Old) Direction

I still want capris. What I don't want right now is fiddling with a new pattern. While I usually enjoy that process (OK, maybe enjoy is too strong a description!), I've got too many things on my plate right now for it to be anything but frustrating.

This morning I got out TNT Simplicity 4068 and pressed the tissue flat (and made a mental note that I need to trace this pattern onto something more substantial). I also pressed the coral stretch denim I'm planning to use for the first pair of capris and laid it on the cutting table. I've got lime twill and plain ol' blue denim in the queue but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself here. One pair at a time, since I'm just not good at assembly-line style sewing.

Meanwhile, one of the things on my full plate is the family room. DH is putting down the underlayment (is that a word?) as I type and soon I'll be in there hammering planks into place (with American Idol playing in the background! And sheesh! When will Sanjaya be voted OFF?). The capris will continue tomorrow morning. But at least I have a workable plan now.

Here's what's been happening in the family room. Well, first, let me backtrack. Below is a "before" shot of the room. When we bought the house, there was also painted panelling on that back wall but a discovery of extensive termite damage meant tearing it out and starting over. (This is also an example of the ineptitude of the contractor. Why would you drywall only this wall at this point when the a/c duct running along the ceiling was also to come out after being re-routed? But I digress …) See that funky off-center fireplace? Eww.



This is a photo from before we bought the house. Even uglier, no?



Before we ever moved in here, we had removed the faux wood (styrofoam!) ceiling beams, re-routed the a/c ducts to get rid of those downhanging soffits, and removed/replaced the rest of panelling. We spray-primed the new drywall and the french doors, painted the walls, and then tore out the stinky carpet. And that's how it's been ever since. Lovely, eh?

This is the fireplace and hearth brick work that we just removed. .



DH patched the holes from the hearth with new drywall,



stuffed the fireplace "hole" with insulation, and covered it up with a sheet of drywall. The hole and insert/chimney are still intact behind the drywall but we've decided to just do a quick cover-up for the time being so we can move forward on this project.



Here's where I take over. This shows the drywall patches taped, mudded, textured, and drying. And a quick inspection from the Pooch Patrol.



This is what it looks like today, painted to match the rest of the walls.



The "lovely" fireplace cover. But trust me, it will never show when we're done in here.





And now DH tells me he's ready for me in there. Oh my aching knees tomorrow! ;-)