Month: January 2019

NYC will make you feel more attractive than ever!

We stayed on Central Park and were ecstatic with our view. I’m taking care of business back at home while enjoying the view.
The only full day we were in the city, we walked around and see what we could find on foot. I drew in the route we took.

We logged about 6 miles, from my own calculations. Starting at our hotel on the park, we walked to the Hudson River, down the river walk to the Intrepid museum. We wandered around Hell’s Kitchen area, found a place for lunch. Saw a New York fender bender happen in front of us. (No, the driver’s didn’t jump out and start screaming at each other, as expected) Saks Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, and ended up back in Central Park!

This ship is HUGE!  I’m standing on the river walk to take this pic.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral is beautiful and ornate. 
Jesus and Mary Mother Statue inside the cathedral.
Mother Teresa statue inside the cathedral.

I expected New York to be dirty and crowded and noisy and crazy. And while some of that turned out to be true, I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly people were. No one was rude or short with us, at all!

Time’s Square- crazy with people and events.
This souvenir shop had a whole shelf just for “The Donald”
Ok, I couldn’t help it. But just look at my face.
Grand Central Station, iconic and busy. I didn’t get any pics of it, but the Market at Grand Central Station was very cool! It’s straight ahead on the bottom Right, under the arch.
People are everywhere in NYC.  And the station is a hub in the city.
Constellations on the ceiling of Grand Central Station.
This is the ladies bathroom at Saks Fifth Avenue. Vintage decor.
The ladies bathroom at Saks Fifth Avenue. Not sure what I expected, but it seems to be the original bathroom.
Central Park. 

Being from Colorado, I understand New Yorker’s appreciating a place of nature and peace, living in such a hectic environment.   We saw a small part of the park, but it’s actually 2.5 miles long by 1/2 mile wide and features the New York Zoo, Metropolitan Art Museum, amphitheaters, lake and ponds and  other fun attractions.   A historic and nice break from crazy!

Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.
Bethesda Fountain Plaza in Central Park.
Every evening, our hotel offered a complimentary happy hour, which we took full advantage of.

The hotel we stayed in was only a block from Trump Tower and was housing Secret Service Agents who were there to protect the President. They stayed in the same hotel as we did, due to the high price of staying at Trump Tower. We saw them in the lobby and elevators during our stay and they were friendly and respectful. They dressed in Black combat uniforms with “Secret Service” stenciled on the front and back and carried machine guns. Geez!

Culture Baby, Strange and Wonderful!

Christian Dior exhibit at Denver Art Museum with my sister, Susie. So stylish!
Dior gown. The pattern is actually beaded onto the gown, making it look see through.
The hand beading on both these gowns is A-MA-ZING!
And look at this confection. It’s hard to see how this is a dress.
Another stunning gown.

Today I live in the city, but I grew up in the mountains. I get back to my hometown, Gunnison pretty regularly. I still have family there and always enjoy getting away.

Arriving at Garlic Mike’s restaurant with friend, Janice Welborn.
A fundraiser for Six Points in Gunnison at Garlic Mike’s restaurant. Among other prizes, we bid on and won a stay at the Treadway Cabin in historic Tincup, CO. Here, we’re making arrangements for our trip.
Scenic drive by Taylor Reservoir with the Collegiate peaks in the distance on the way to Tincup.
The Treadway cabin where we stayed for 2 nights in Tincup, CO.
We had family come visit one afternoon, enjoying the fall colors and afternoon sun.
Happy hour at the Firepit behind the cabin.
A daytrip to Tincup Cemetary. Separated by religion, 4 knolls make up the cemetery; Catholic Knoll, Protestant Knoll, Jewish knoll and Boot hill, where the businesswoman and well loved cook, Kate Fisher is buried.
Cumberland Pass between Tincup and Pitkin. It’s windy up there!
The porch swing was my favorite seat.

This is actually ready to spotlight now!

The siding crew got all the siding done and are waiting for the new patio door to arrive before they finish this area.
Finally, the slider came in and David is installing it today!
This is the inside wall where the new door is going.
The plastic will help keep everything cleaner.

The refrigerator temporarily in the middle of the kitchen. This was expected to take 1 day to complete, but it took 3 days in reality. The door was installed in 1 day, but the plaster, sanding and details took longer. Luckily, this house has a loop layout. I can walk through the bedrooms to get to the kitchen from the living room while this door goes in. I feel like I’m camping, sort of.

The mud needs to dry overnight before sanding, so we left the taped plastic up.
We had good weather while they worked on the door. Better for the guys and better for me while the wall is opened up!
It took most of the day, but I can see how open and bright this door will make my kitchen.
The new door creates so much more light. You see it right as you walk in the front door!
Wow, I love this new slider door! It’s much brighter and makes my small kitchen feel bigger.
This is now a view. I want to clean it up and make it nice to look at.
The back porch is looking so much better too! No utilities on the back wall and all the battens are now up. I’m getting used to the Green primer on the exterior walls, but the actual color will be off White, once painted.

The concrete pad expansion is done, tongue and groove panels are installed on the underside of the roof and the patio is now full size. I ‘m considering a fresh layer of concrete poured over the whole pad to cover any nicks or flaws in the concrete. But right now, I’m trying to finish the big stuff.

Although the exterior paint isn’t done, I’m anxious to get my patio organized so I can use it!
The patio roof has been prepped for the metal roofing, which has been ordered. However, we got snow and the roof leaked onto the patio below.
Right outside my back door. What a mess!
Ricky, my electrician is installing the exterior lights.
New exterior lights.
I found these tiled house numbers locally, but I think I need something more modern. I ordered a different one online and think it’ll be better.
The lights at night. I’ll change the bulbs to dimmer bulbs so I can adjust the amount of light they put out.

I expect the siding crew to be back next week to finish the siding around the new patio slider. I already have a painter lined up to paint the siding, and my gutter guy will be here to attach the gutters next. The last big thing is the metal roof on the back patio. Hopefully in 2 weeks this part of the project will be done.

The time is right for some fresh attractive siding!

Chatfield State Park! Ohmmmm…

As excited as I am for the project, it is stressful to have all this going on while living in the house! The crews are respectful and positive, but the air compressor and the constant banging leaves Rocco and I a bit overwhelmed. So we get away for a while, walk and take in the beauty of Colorado!

Meanwhile, David built a temporary support wall so he can replace the white 2×4’s with Cedar beams.
New cedar beams open the whole space up!
Extending the tongue and groove roof to cover the newly poured patio extension.
View of the new cedar beams from the yard.
We’ve been lucky so far, with limited weather during this project. But it is winter in Colorado and realistic to expect some snow. Fresh snow makes it look so clean.
After they added insulation and plywood sheeting, finally I can see some siding.

They use a drip edge between the seams of the horizontal siding panels to prevent rain or snow to get behind the panels. It’ll get painted with the siding to blend in.

And I love the Cedar accents.
All the gables will feature Cedar siding.
The front door entry, Nice!
Standing under the arbor gives a sense of space. Even though its open above, you still feel like you’re somewhere special.
I expect the new patio door to arrive this week. This wall is waiting to be opened up so I don’t have a hole in the side of my house while we wait for the door to arrive.

One of the challenges with any project is to recognize areas that are an eyesore and find a way to make them fun features instead. Take this spot. Currently, I have a gate from the driveway to the back yard, utility boxed (electric panel, sprinkler system, cable box, etc) mounted on the outside wall and my new outdoor seating area just to the right of this pic. With the new arbor overhead and the forthcoming sliding patio door, I can see that this will likely be the door I use the most, especially when unloading groceries into the kitchen. Once the slider in is, I’ll move the gate, add a flagstone step under the new slider and have a welcoming back door entry to the house. This spot will become a focal point and mush used area.

This area will become the back entry.
We are lining the underside of the patio roof with tongue and groove Cedar paneling to match the existing patio roof.
Wow, so much cleaner than the original back door and utilities mounted on the wall!
View of the back porch from the yard.

With the new patio roof extension, I hoped to keep the old roofing shingles and add more to finish the new roof. However, considering the cost to replace or add, I decided to change it to variegated metal roofing instead. It’ll match the roofing on the shed and give the back yard a farmhouse vibe. $$ Cha-ching!

I confess! You need to know it’s all about prep!

Eco Home Exteriors is doing the siding. A huge crew of guys working like ants on an anthill! I can say this company is professional! Not only are the guys respectful and always in a good mood, they arrive at 7:30 am to start and leave when it’s too dark to see anything.

They tear off the vinyl siding, exposing the original wood siding underneath. I decided to have them add a layer of insulation and sheets of plywood to better insulate and stabilize the whole house. Then, the new siding will go on top.

When the siding is removed, it looks like the house is wrapped in foil.

A roll off dumpster is parked in the driveway. The only way to go with all the materials being removed. And nails are everywhere. The crew uses a magnetic wand that “potentially” picks up nails on the ground. I have a habit of always scanning for nails, with my eyes, on the ground. Call me crazy!

I’m on the fence with the “L” bracket on the arbor. I used “T” brackets on most of the posts, but the corners are tricky and won’t accommodate a “T” bracket. They are simply decorative, What do you think?
Back porch, stripped down to foil. See the new patio slider door? I also had the florescent fixtures removed and 2 ceiling fans with lights installed.
North side of the back patio.

The patio slab was pored with the outside corner being angled in, toward the middle of the patio. I’m having it squared off, making it even with the house, to make it larger and easier to place outdoor furniture, etc.

And I love this tree on the edge of the patio. Once the slab gets squared off, the tree will provide a nice natural border to the patio on this end.
Although they’re still working in this walkway on the South side of the house, I can already see it’ll become a feature of the house.
I’m replacing these 2 windows with another sliding patio door between the kitchen and the outdoor patio, now where the planter pots are currently being stored. The gable above the arbor will be sided with horizontal Cedar.
Once the posts holding the patio roof up are replaced and the slab is squared up, this patio will be a much used space in the yard. I’ll have a covered sitting area overlooking the garden boxes. The gable on the left side above the patio roof will feature horizontal cedar planks.
I’ll start the gardens in the spring. But for now, it’s a junk yard.
This pic shows the plywood on the front and side of the house.
Insulation and plywood on the front. Old siding still on the North side of the house.

I plan to use James Hardie Board and Batten siding on the bottom of the house and horizontal Cedar planks on the gables and wrapped around the front entry. The Board and Batten will get painted White and I’ll leave the cedar unfinished. In time, the natural patina of unfinished Cedar will turn Grey, giving the house a rustic look. I hope to be done with this phase by the end of next week.