Primed!

Priming is done, and the ceiling is painted!! Picking up with wall paint next, and hopefully will get the painting done this week. Love it!

Have a look at our progress:

Next Up? Operation Back Yard!

After the dining room wallpaper/paint project, were hoped to move to the yard, building a retaining wall, installing french drains, etc. Unfortunately, the City's sewer plans will interfere with retaining wall construction (that's a long story), so we're going to shift the scope of this phase of the yard project. This phase will include new back patio, concrete removal/repair in driveway & sidewalks. That's still plenty of work!

We're going to remove most of the existing landscaping (including a 3-4 year old lilac, 2 year old ornamental plum, a holly, invasive butterfly bush, diseased but beautiful roses, lillies, tulips, etc, etc. We'll keep the fig, and work towards a clean slate of fescue, with a mulch boarder and two raised beds to garden in. I'm also hoping to add some shrubs in the front with red or purple foliage.

Do you all have any great ideas, or valuable lessons-learned about such projects? Your experience and feedback is invaluable! Please feel free to post a comment or email us NEPdxBungalow (at) gmail.com!

Here's a glimpse at what we've got:

The yard when we moved in, July 2008:

Loved the flowers, but I just couldn't take it anymore:

We prune the fig tree several times a year, but it refuses to be discouraged:

Plaster. Repair. Done!

Finally! Could I have dragged my feet a little more?? Doubt it. It's finally done, so we can prime, paint and move on. I feel like celebrating already!

I hated having to sand big lumps of uneven plaster. I found that by using my razor scraper I could do a lot more than with just sanding. The razor scraper didn't throw the dust around, in the air, so I didn't have to tape myself into the room, either- big bonus! I anticipate this little lesson will go far in the rest of the house.