I wish February would get here already

Wow! Where to start. Last year was "Year of the Building." (some pics here.) This year is "Scramble like mad to get all house renovation projects done before the appraiser comes to our house!"

We bought our abode in 2001; since that time, we've been making major improvements. Strike that. We've been destroying our house bit by bit in order to make major improvements. The act of destruction is more fun and a lot quicker than rebuilding and finishing.

The building project kicked our behinds in gear to finish said improvements in order to complete our construction loan. Ahhhhh, the joy of pressure.

I'll keep it short. I have NOT had a good attitude throughout this engagement. I've verbally expressed my disdain at having to do manual labor, especially when I would rather be lazy and read some great blogs: CherylSBR, Fat Cyclist, Liz Waterstraat, Stan's motorcycle trips, and many, many more! Admittedly, I also peruse, People of Walmart and Awkward Family Photos. This is only the tip of the iceberg of my internet addiction. Also, I've been able to ride my bike when I want, which was especially nice with recent weekend weather above 35 degrees. Very nice.

Being somewhat productive, I also have a tentative race schedule for 2010 and hope to incorporate a couple of 6-hour races. Heather opened my eyes to these events in KY, and I really enjoyed going to Kentucky Lake last year and riding a new trail. Riding new trail was more fun than the race itself. And due to the chaotic business above, I didn't venture to my normal Grand Canyon destination last fall. It's time to TRAVEL! And why not travel with my mountain bike!

Even though I've been crabby and sore from little-used muscles, lack of sleep, and lost free time, I'm amazed at how awesome our house looks when compared to before. Hubby gets some gold stars for his vision and accomplishment. While I don't have many before shots, you may be able to see some of the enhancements. And soon, *fingers crossed* the pressure will be diminished. I know our projects won't be completely done--but done enough for the appraiser.

Old pic - this doesn't show the old, metal crappy spiral staircase. The door in the pic is now moved to the basement, shown in this pic. Also note the adorable blue carpet and hand-made railing for the new stairs.

The stairs have been these planks for the past 6 years!

Ahhh, the hickory hard wood floors we installed 3 years ago and our "plank" stairs.

The basement as of yesterday. Remember when we were chewing up tile? We have some marble that we'll put down after everything else is finished.



New wood doors for every room in the house, complete with our new trim scheme as well. Note trim in pic above. This is a slow, tedious process.



Alas! The hickory stairs are in the process of being installed. This is a shot from this evening's work.

Oak risers match the trim!

And here's a close-up of them together. I love how they look.

Of course there's painting and outside stuff going on too. But no pics. Hopefully this will be out of crisis mode soon, and we'll be able to enjoy the cold, January rain. (-;