WORKING VACATION IN VIRGINIA

We had 10 days. Our goal was to finish the porch, make a sidewalk, wallpaper, make curtains, and go on a mystery trip midweek. Well...

Jessi doing the hard work of cutting in next to the mahogany stained decking with the white. And yes, I helped! Jessi and I did most of the inside of the porch railing sitting on the floor after Dennis and Drew stained the decking. It took us all week because of thunderstorms coming in every afternoon about 3:00. We would paint as long as we could, watching the sky and as the sky got dark and that first clap of thunder came, we'd scurry to put away the paint and after a few delays because of wet steps the morning after, we'd also quickly cover the steps.

While the guys were staining the first couple of days, Jessi and I wallpapered their downstairs half bath in a beautiful red Damask above the white bead board wainscoting. Wish I'd taken a picture. Maybe Jessi will if you all beg her enough!
This is the guys starting to work on the retaining wall so the brick sidewalk can be layed. We were hoping to be able to help with that before we had to leave, but because of the thunderstorms, it took longer than we'd hoped to paint the front porch.

However, we weren't idle during those thunderstorms! The guys hung the wrought iron curtain rod in the living room so that we could put up the curtains Jess & I had gotten at Bed Bath and Beyond our first day there. Look closely and you can see the corner of one of the two beautiful red rugs that came while we were there. Moving furniture and laying them in the dining room and living room was another thunderstorm project...as well as a game of Trivial Pursuit! We also got a shopping trip in to get fabric for some window valances for the kitchen, master bath, and utility room. Sadly, no time to make them and the kitchen fabric had to be ordered.

How would you like that view out your living room window? It might be kind of hard to make out, but there's a beautiful weeping willow tree in the middle that Jess & I just love!

Sunday lunch after church was the first meal on their freshly painted front porch! I'd told Jessi before coming out, that I couldn't wait to sit on their front porch...well I finally did! A very nice reward!