We're in the middle of bathroom renovations.  We have two small bathrooms, one off our bedroom and the other off the hall.  We are doing the bedroom bathroom - 'master' bath is quite the misnomer for such a small space - ourselves.  We (and that's the royal 'we' as Ken has done most of the work) put down a Snapstone porcelain tile floor, put in a pedestal sink, put a stone border around the floor, and painted.  We are thinking we will put a border around the existing shower, which is made from a product called Swanstone.  As we were trying to do a modest renovation, which of course is about spending modestly, we did not replace the medicine cabinet or the shower stall, which I don't like much, and which we've done much to put visually in the background.  When you come to visit, you can tell us how successful we have been in that effort.  Linda, Mom and Dad, Karen and Mike, Jody and Nicole, you'll just have to come back to see the changes.

We had four craft people over to inspect the hall bathroom and give us a bid.   We are going to tile the floor, replace the tub, tile around the tub, replace the medicine cabinet and the sink and bring natural light into the space which now has no window.  It's a small space, so hopefully, the renovation won't be too expensive.  Each of the four people had different specialties and points of view and we learned something from each of them.  It will be interesting to see what the bids are. 

With these renovations, we think we will be done with whatever we are going to do with this house.  What have we done?  Fixed the garage door opener, took up carpets in three rooms, refreshed hardwood floors, replaced window coverings on all windows, installed dishwasher, built a compost, acquired a rain barrel, installed a new gas stove, painted both bathrooms, replaced Luan doors throughout, including closet doors, took down a half-wall between the dining room and kitchen, painted the living room/dining room, built a gazebo for the garbage and recycle containers and carved a utility room out of the garage.  We also bought a sofa, chair and ottoman for the living room. 

As Linda knows, we have an extensive garden, especially in the fenced-in backyard.  Three volunteers from New Castle County Master Gardeners came out yesterday to tell us what we have, what we should get rid of, what we should move, etc.  We liked Sande, Marilyn and Fred a lot and they were knowledgeable and helpful.  Now, of course, the question is, will we do any of it?  Ken already got out there with a tree saw and lopped off limbs.  He dug up major weeds as well.  I've washed our jumpsuits, which I am hoping will provide tick protection, along with knee-high rubber boots.  So we're ready. 

It's been gray, rainy and cool this week.  I've been able to swim each day, today in the rain.  But no pool closures, so I'm grateful. 

Until later...