Once Upon a Thistle

For the last few weeks, we have been pushing to get all those little projects across the finish line. Our goal was to have everything done before Thanksgiving. With just a few short weeks left, we have made so much progress. In reality, we just have a handful left to do. Dear hubby has assured me that once this list is done, another one is sure to crop up. He's probably right, too. Bless his heart!

It all began with the front yard. There were two major problems - one was a Texas sage bush in our front window - this bush has been cut down twice and it continued to grow back. Two, for years we have been battling two sections of the yard that refuse to grow. No matter what we did! In addition, the constant watering had done some significant damage to the stucco of the house. The plan was to consider this a lost battle and create a patio - nothing too elaborate, definitely not too labor-intensive, either. I should really retract the labor-intensive comment, as removing that Texas sage was not easy. Dear hubby worked very hard to remove that bush! After closing off the sprinklers and leveling off the yard, we trenched a four-inch channel that we would fill with rumble stone repurposed from the back yard. We treated the yard so no stray grass would grow, laid the landscape fabric down and ordered the stone, which was delivered so quickly it allowed us to get started on the next phase a week ahead of schedule.

Inside of two days, the gravel patio was installed. Such a small project has made a great impact on the front of the house.

In progress, after the Texas sage was removed.

Now we're just waiting for the winter lawn to come in! 

With the yard project complete, we turned our focus to the interior. In 2016, when the Lincoln Navigator incident happened (see here for more on that story), our kitchen was demolished, thrusting us into a six-month renovation of our home. Thanks to a fabulous demolition and renovation team and some seriously savvy shopping, I was able to get the kitchen of my dreams. However, I made a quick decision upon ordering cabinets, not to “go to the ceiling.” It is my only regret regarding the kitchen remodel, and something that can easily be fixed.

So, we began with another trip to the Home Depot. The first day was relatively easy and fun. I am so very fortunate that my husband is a master of geometry, since this is far from my strongest subject. He was able to calculate and install the cleats and the faceplates of the upper cabinets with ease.

Day two - not so easy. I made strides in measuring, cutting and fitting the lattice edge trim for the bottom edge of the faceplates, as this was just a few straight cuts and mitered edges. The crown was my downfall. After several errors in my mangled version of geometry, dear hubs had to step in again. Of course, since his geometry brain far exceeds mine, after a few hours, it was complete.

Day three was simple. It would be hard for me to mess this up – after all, it was just filling holes, sanding, refilling and sanding again. Day four was painting and after all the repainting we’ve done here, this was done in no time at all. And there you have it! The finish to our cabinets in under four days. (Please ignore my fingerprinted vent hood)

Time to move on to another project! After all, there are only five weeks until Thanksgiving!