I think we're getting there...

(Please note: The new header does not actually display the colors of the rooms accurately, at least it is not accurately displayed on my computer!)

Busy days around the ranch house. All this activity gives me hope!

The tile is being set in the upstairs bathroom for one thing. Don't you love the contractor's message system? Just shove a note in the bathroom window!

Here's a close up of the wall tile. It is pretty basic, plain white four inch squares like typical 1950 style bathrooms, but we have jazzed it up a bit with two courses of the floor tile, a pattern called Pinwheel. The floor will be heated...hurray! The downstairs bath doesn't have that luxury, and I have found cold tootsies on the bathroom floor to be no fun at all.

On Friday and Saturday the original oak floors were being sanded, stained and sealed. Bernie nailed a temporary door at the top of the basement stairs to prevents the cat from bolting upstairs and tracking across the newly finished floors.

Talk about an odd feeling...being closed up in the basement....with a door nail shut...creepy....

We decided to get away from the sanding noises and go check out a few things around SLC.

The Cactus and Tropicals garden center was open, and it was gorgeous sunny day. Lots of folks had a touch of spring fever and were buying a pretty or two for their gardens.

I was interested in this flower, with the Seuss-like red and blue fanciful design.

And did I remember to get the name of the flower?

Noooo....

I think the construction must really be getting to me if I forget something like that.

We've made countless trips to various shops to select new fitting for our sinks. I was waiting for the sales rep to print out the particulars on an insta-hot faucet, and decided to snap a picture of this model bathroom.

Guess which item is the toilet?

(No we are not getting that set. I am keeping my downstairs "flushes an ocean" style toilet with an August 1954 tank lid date stamp, and getting a new "tall" toilet for upstairs. The extra height is easier on aging knees I've heard, and seeing as how my knees seem to be aging along with the rest of me, that seemed like a pretty good option.)

I find myself zooming through contemporary furniture stores, dumbfounded that I am actually interested in the only style of furniture that I have always disdained.

Well, the sink that we ordered for the kitchen came in totally different, and the next time the manufacturer can ship that style will be months from now. We picked a different style and color.

(Darn it...I really liked Kohlers' Cane Sugar finish single sink!)

Now the faucet that we selected for the first sink might not work...

We still have to see a sample of the kitchen cabinet doors to see if they will be as we expect them to be.

After running around all day, we returned home only to find that the odor of the floor stain just about rendered us unconscious within minutes of entering the house.

The cats look even more deranged than usual. We opened all the windows downstairs and the cats glued themselves to the screens, sucking in air like crazy.

What the heck...they have nine lives...they will be fine.

We turned up the electric blanket for them, filled their food bowls, and told them we'd be back in the morning. Then we split to the local Marriott hotel for the night.

The lobby chandelier was a blown glass creation in green and dusty lavender, created by a cohort of Dale Chihuly.

The delicate creation was enormous!

Our heads had cleared from the fumes, but a drink was just the thing to take the edge off arriving at a nice hotel wearing Saturday junky clothes and carrying basically our pajamas and a toothbrush.

I've been bumped from enough planes and spent the night with the just the clothes on my back, so this wasn't really a first time trauma. We selected the in room movie "Marley and Me" (my review: people should train their dogs. Period. And how on earth did they afford to replace THAT many couches anyway?) and zonked out at 10 pm.

At least we got a nice breakfast the next morning instead of our usual cold cereal and juice routine that we have fallen into "back at the ranch"

Yes, life is still pretty challenging as we go about the renovation, but occasionally I see something, like shelf liners, and I think some day this will all be over, and my home will be a homey haven again.