the house

The past two days have been really nice; 6 weeks and lots of work is coming to a close. For the first time since we have moved into the house, it feels like a home. There is no roof caving in or massive amounts of work we need to do on the project. It is a blessing and we are simply grateful for God's help finishing it all before Christmas.

I decided to post some pre-remodel pictures...it is completely different.The picture of the den from the kitchen. Got to love the 4 by 4 and bucket catching the water...the reason this project began.
The picture of the room pre-remodel from the corner by the fireplace.
Picture of the den from the new hallway by the kitchen.
The view of the den from the fireplace corner.
The working fireplace...thanks Leland!
Before the ornaments went on the tree.
Leland's creative picture.

update

On Monday, we flew out to Disney World. Leland had a conference and I tagged along. While we left the work continued at the house.
We have walls that look like walls now. It amazes me that the den is physically smaller than before but it looks bigger. They have been prepared to paint and we will start painting next week.
Now our hallway actually looks like a hallway...it has been a crazy to watch the transformation over the past couple of weeks.
Now we also have a big mess inside as well as out.

the house

Two weeks ago our house started a major project. The major problem was discovered over a year ago and we have been working on getting it fixed. Here are just a couple of pictures to show the work that has been done.
This is one of the before pictures. We said goodbye to all of the wood paneling.
The next thing we said goodbye to was the roof. The only way to fix the problem was to take all of the roof off and rebuild the structure. This was a good reminder for me that sometimes the pathway to something being right means it needs to be broken. I also learned that the kitchen is incredibly bright without a roof in the den.
They worked hard on Saturday to rebuild the roof structure.


On Sunday they worded to roof the house and frame up the rooms. They also took a lot of debris away.
We are splitting the den into two rooms. It will add a bedroom to our house and two closets! (Closet space is very exciting) We will use the extra bedroom as a train room/office.

This past week was full of the plumbers, electricians, and heat & air people. The work will continue next week...more to come.

the living room

This weekend the living room got a little bit of a face lift. We moved the faithful futon into the den and couches into the living room. We drove to Shreveport with a trailer to pick them up and got the couches in typical Weiss fashion. We faced many obstacles throughout the day but at the end of the day, we watched the Hawkeyes win and the first half of the Coug game...or Jenni slept through the Coug game (I never realized how spoiled I was watching football in the pacific time zone...but that is an entirely different blog).


My favorite part of the new layout is that now the pretty rug is visible...no coffee table on top of it.

There are some pictures of the new couches and our long living room.

everyone collects something

One of the things Leland and I enjoy doing is visiting antique stores. Most of the time we walk around and admire old things. I just appreciate things that have been used and imagining what life they had before. In some antique stores you are just guessing what the thing may have been used for. We both enjoy older things, so this is fun.

Frequently when we walk through the stores I wonder why some things are there. Leland always tells me that there is someone who collects them and everyone collects something. Then he looks at me and says, "but I don't know what you collect." Since I left my parents house I generally moved at least once a year, which taught me to get rid of things you don't use (they are just boxes to carry).

During the last two visits to the stores we have recognized that I am drawn to dishes. I really enjoy them and think they are beautiful. Normally it is easy to resist buying them because so much work is needed to make the collection. Two weeks ago we found a set in a store that was incredibly full, only missing 3 dinner plates and a sugar bowl). We decided against buying it and the next weekend Leland decided we should see if it is still there and make an offer on it.

It was at the store and now it is in our house. I have officially become a collector. I don't mind collecting dishes because amount you can purchase is limited to the space. I think it is a waste to have dishes you can't use but fun to use a wide collection of them.I am still amazed at how much we got. We now have an abundant amount of serving bowls and platters, we are ready for a feast and company. Luckily the new dishes also match our wedding dishes, so things can be used interchangeably.

They are a set from the 50s, so we have gone a little retro.

new horsey

Yesterday we got a new addition to our family. We have been discussing what to do with cars for months now. The Honda's miles were building up quickly and it was becoming a wonderful second car...but we needed it to be the primary vehicle. We drove through Alexandria, LA earlier this week and test drove a Pontiac Vibe.
We decided to put an offer on the Vibe and were surprised when they accepted it, so we started to drive through a thunder storm to pick it up. We are glad to add Poncho to our family but I was sad to see the Honda leave. The Honda and I had many good memories together.

We named the car Poncho, short from Pontiota (Pontiac & Toyota combined, Leland's creation). The Vibe is the exact same car as the Toyata Matrix.

I am happy that the complicated search for a wagon is over, I can wait a long time before looking for another car.

LA to WA highlights

Last week we drove from Louisiana to Washington. It was definitely a long trip and a lot of miles were covered but we had fun. Here are some pictures of the stops we made along the way.

We took a brief break in Chamberlain, SD along the way. It is an old Milwaukee Railroad town. Incase you don't already know, Leland enjoys railroads and the Milwaukee line is his favorite. It was a fun stop and a much needed stretch break.

It was pretty amazing to think about the details and care put into carving Mount Rushmore. It is definitely worth seeing.

Here is a picture of the back side of Mt. Rushmore. I found the overlook of South Dakota just as breath taking as the National Memorial.

We stopped in Deer Lodge, MT to see the newly repainted Little Joe. It was an engine named after Joseph Stalin. They were originally made for Russia and then the Cold War hit and the engine could no longer go to Russia, which is how it got its name Little Joe. The Milwaukee Railroad ran an electric line in the west and this was one of their powerful engines. It is the last one painted in Milwaukee colors.

Outside of Deer Lodge, MT we stopped at a national park which was an old ranch. Previously I had visited it and they had a wonderful chair that turned into a step ladder. We stopped so I could by the blue print of the chair. Not only did we get the blue print we got a special surprise. On the ranch property there was Milwaukee rail. The Milwaukee is an abandoned railroad and there very little track west of Terry, MT. So this was an unexpected surprise.