Early Start

DH had a plane to catch this morning, so I got up with him. Actually, he got up, showered, and had coffee before I rolled out of bed at 3:30 AM. He's always been a fanatic about getting to the airport EARLY. But leaving at 4:15 AM, with a 40 minute drive, and a 7:00 AM flight - give me a break! LOL.

The up side to rising before the chickens is that you get to watch the sun come up. And what a beautiful sunrise it was. The wind was fairly calm, it was warmer than it has been for awhile, and I really enjoyed watching the clouds lift and change color.









I've gotta tell you though, there is squat on TV at this time of the morning. Again, an up side.....I was through my email and blogroll before I got my first cup of coffee down.

I'm expecting the furnace guys here shortly. This is day three and I'm really hoping that they finish up today! This was supposed to be a one day job - right! I hope this isn't going to be a pattern for the entire remodel.

We went with 95% efficient furnaces (yes, we have two of them), and water heater. There will be some tax credits but they're minimal. The great thing about them is that they are direct vent to the outdoors. Right out the side of the house. Which means we got rid of all that ugly silver pipe, went to much smaller PVC, and now we can open our wall up in the entry because we've eliminated the venting to the roof. YAY!!!!

This is the wall bump out that we're knocking out up to the vaulted ceiling.



We're taking out the arch to the kitchen ceiling, widening the entry to the kitchen, opening up the back and side of the stairs, and taking out the columns. We're also taking out the door to the basement stairs, taking out the framing and opening that up to look like this. (Except we won't have that funky little drop down you can see in the second photo)




I'm still trying to decide on paint colors. I absolutely REFUSE to settle for a beige, or cream, or tan. Except maybe in the living and dining rooms because they are joined. And because there are just gobs of angles, vaulted ceilings in one half and a tray ceiling in the other. Add to that, the fact that I have two very different styles of furniture (traditional/antique and modern). I know that mixing them can be done because I've seen it. I'm just not sure exactly how it's going to work out for us.




In Texas the two rooms were separated by the entry. Maybe with the tile layed, the Asian theme removed, a little less "country" and moving more toward an "Old World" style with wall hangings, drapes and accessories we can pull it off.....

OH!!!! I finally got a photo of the fox who lives on the golf course and Fritz with his new Christmas toy, Spot (the indoor ball).





Well, the furnace guys are here. Gotta go! Have a great day.



Until Next time...Happy Needling!!!