When we bought our house in early 2007, we loved it for it's potential. It was built in 1982 by a retired couple. Its bones were (and are) amazing. It was meticulously built; they thought of every detail. The draw back is -- it was built in 1982 -- a time of small rooms and many of them. We live on a lake -- yet you can't see it when you walk in the door. What a missed opportunity! We've got a living room (like every house of the 80's) that absolutely NEVER gets used. Ever. Then add to it the fact that it was decorated in 1982 by a 50-60 year old woman. It was done with the highest quality everything -- and was very tastefully done.... for the 80's... and by a person twice my again. So again, beautiful -- but definitely not modern.

It took us over a year, but we've started the work.

Here's what you used to see when walking into the front door (except for the mess of furntiure, which we've cleared out of the way). You walk into the living room and look at a wall. The red curtains you see through the door open to the lake. And yes -- that's a load bearing wall.















We've made progress! We took up all the carpet, padding, and carpet tacks (not a fun project!). This was done on Saturday and Sunday. I was very nervous about my ability to help Jon carry a very large piece of carpet down to the basement. We were definitely able to salvage it -- it's in near perfect condition (just needs a vacuuming and a shampoo, and it looks new). For now, we've moved it to the basement just incase we need to relocate downstairs for a short time. But we'll eventually donate or sell it.















Here's where we left off on Sunday as we headed to bed. For those of you who believe orbs to be ghosts -- don't get too excited. That's how dusty it was in our living room! Yes, we were all coughing and hacking! It was a cloud, that's for sure. We opened as many doors and windows as possible to get things cleared out. The funny thing about the dry wall -- with every bit that Jon pulled down, Dominic had to run over and said, "Good job, Daddy! High five!" He had to do it every time -- and Jon HAD to high five him every time.















And we've got daylight! The first "through the drywall" view has been made! That was a fun wall to knock down. OK... I had to take a karate kick to it at one point. Mistake -- nearly fell on my tail! But it was fun to kick the wall! :) Perhaps a bit too fun!! We can't remove the rest of the dry wall yet, because there are floor to ceiling oak built-ins on the other side. Of course, custom built IN the house. They'll be a beast to remove.




















I probably shouldn't keep this tally, because my Mom will have a heart attack if she knows the "danger" we're putting ourselves and our kids in.... But here they are:

- "Whew!" Moments: 1
- Blown Fuses: 1

Whew Moment: Dominic wanted to help, so was alternately walking around with the hammer or the broom. At one point, he had 2 hammers and begun climbing the step stool you see in the photo above. I have no idea how it happened, but I heard a bang and as I turned, he was laying with his head/face on the floor/his arm, and his feet on the top seat of the stool. I was sured I'd pick him up and see a face full of blood, because it appeared as if he landed on the hammer with his nose and/or lips. I turned him over -- no blood, no marks, all teeth were there. Whew! That could have been SO bad. He must have landed on his arm and cushioned his own blow. It was definitely loud (thanks to the hammers), and we were all scared. He was totally OK though.

Blown Fuse: Lesson learned, don't take the plug-in out of the fuse box. Trying to put it in again will result in a loud pop, a nice bit of fireworks, and a blown fuse. Scary, but again, all is well!