The July 4th weekend continued to be productive but you never get as much done as planned.  Projects that you allot half a day for end up taking most of the day.  A 30 minute trip to Lowes or The Home Depot for a forgotten item takes up what's left.  But, you keep trudging along hoping that one day you'll complete one project and move on to another.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that one day (fingers crossed!!) you'll actually get to sit on that porch you're working on without feeling the stress of another impending project.  Or, in the short term, finally get to take a shower in that bath room you've been working on for months, and months, and months!

Replacing the rotting, water damaged porch floor boards was a major project of the extended Fourth weekend.  A total of 32 boards were replaced.  It doesn’t sound like a lot but the columns from both ends had to be removed as well.



Then the porch was sanded--new boards and old; primed twice and will be painted with a top coat to protect it from the elements. 



The remainder of the porch was sanded and primed as well, including the ceiling, which was painted Porch Ceiling Blue. 



There is a lot of information out there about blue porch ceilings.  Some think it chases away evil spirits while others think it keeps the bugs away.  There was an interesting piece on NPR’s All Things Considered regarding this subject that you’ll enjoy.

We added fans to complete the look.

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Also, work continued in the bathroom with marble going up in the shower...



The garden continues to amaze and keeps calling us to play but there’s just too much to do, darn it! 

The sunflowers are starting to bloom...



...and tomatoes are finally gettting a little color!



Cauliflower and carrots are ready to enjoy.

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Finally, Rich's family came down for a visit which gave us a great (and much needed excuse!) to take the weekend off from working on the house.  It was great to have them here and hope they'll return very soon!

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