Nan's Notes: The Long Road Back

It has been quite a journey recovering from Hurricane Ike and as you scroll through the photos you'll notice that there are NONE from the outside. Still missing walls ~ attorney going to court as the settlement offer wasn't acceptable. More on that when there is some progress.

Elvis did NOT get involved in any of the work this weekend!

Little hung out on the patio and gave himself heat stroke on Saturday. He and Denny LOVE the balcony ~ they don't care how hot it gets.

The kitchen looks brand new with the new dishwasher (works great ~ very quiet) that kicked off the counter top replacement. When the 25 year old dishwasher finally died, we learned that the last idiots who installed the tile floor just tiled across in front of the old dishwasher. When it went out they had to cut the legs off with a metal saw to get it out of the hole. New counter top had to be raised so the new dishwasher could slide in once they tiled underneath it. There's some real quality work going on in Galveston ~ I'm always amazed.

Woo hoo ... check out Jerry's new TV! It's on the wall and now when you come up the stairs you don't bump into the old BIG TV stand. Also replaced the "almost new" fireplace tiles because they were cracking off the wall from the storm. Or possibly from faulty installation because the same guys installed the kitchen floor ... ;)

Love these 1x1 tiles ~ they're a mixture of travertine, frosted and clear glass and some little decorative ceramic ones. Connected by mesh so they should hold up. Took a gamble and ordered them off the internet for 1/2 price ... gotta love that.

Furniture moved around to accommodate the TV over the fireplace. Had to give up the tile work under the bar because of the kitchen counter tops, but it looks nice without the old wall covering ~ it's just textured and painted sheetrock now.

Denny was recovering from his heat exhaustion earlier in the day. Both he and Little fell asleep for several hours outside and when they woke up they could barely walk inside they were so weak. You'd think they'd be smarter than that!

Several improvements made to the 2nd Floor bath ~ removed the wallpaper and textured/painted the side wall, also removed the old rusted medicine cabinet. Replaced the mirror with a framed one from Target (looks pretty good) and designed a special enclosed cat box/pass through from the bathroom to the master bedroom closet. More on that later as it's not finished out yet.

Master Bedroom painted blue and, as an added benefit, the missing chunks of the water facing wall have been repaired.

Jerry's "office area" in the extra bedroom ~ no changes.

New queen-size bed to replace the 12 year old twin beds. This will be much more comfortable for guests. We do plan to move the art around so it's in the right place ... and straight!