The Queen Of Remodeling Patience, Chapter 1 — “Front Room” View-A
Style & Stuff | Posted by Jannie on 29 January 2010 @ 7:08 AM 52 Comments
How do I even start this whole series?
The old fireplace seems a good spot. Guess I’ll just jump on in.
But let me douse the flames first. Ouch!
Above was Christmas Eve 1992 with our now deceased friend, Nick. Gee, this is off to a cheery start.
Anyway…
We enjoyed that fireplace for quite a few years until we demolished it.
I think the photo directly below must’ve been from about 1997, because the one after it was from 1998 when Mom and Dad visited.
And there was the fireplace…
… Gone!
That’s Dad standing on the ladder in the corner where it had been. And I see we’d already started on the new kitchen, as per the white cabinet off to the left. (Much of the remodeling projects on this house have overlapped over the years!)
Then… Dad and Jim knocked that wall down, thankfully not a supporting one! Thus, our old master bedroom (that area with the one little window) became part of the front (entry) room too.
Then… we busted out from the old master to a new addition at the far end, making the whole shebang one room, with the archway for style, of course.
And — Ta-Da! Finished room here below…
Judging from Kelly’s toddler toys off in the distance, I’d say the directly above was from c. 2003.
I’d show you a photo of the area now but I want to de-clutter it a bit first — I’ve furniture and a dozen big storage bins full of Kelly’s stuff there, hanging out while her room gets the penguin update. So, you’ll need remodeling patience too until I show you these wonders, all no later than 2014.
The carpet on the other side of the archway Jim built? That’s the stuff our pets so enjoying puking on!!! (We don’t even have that dark green area rug anymore, the pets did not treat it kindly. )
Sooooo, that’s one view of our house as you walk in our front door! Except said door will actually become a window, because we’ve built a breezeway with a new entryway at the front of the house, with the breezeway connected to a new 2-car garage with a living room up over it. That will be our “final” living / theater room — started over 6 years ago, but not yet finished. Hey, why rush into finishing these additions, we say?! Mind you, Jim does this house stuff in his spare time. And he does tend to have a few projects on the go simultaneously. Never a dull moment here with my wonderful Jim!
Did I mention the plan is to sell this house, move back to Canada and start the whole remodeling thing all over again. Oy!
But back to this house….
As you can well imagine, there was a fair amount of ruckus involved in our front room remodel, over the approximately FIVE YEARS it took for this project from start to finish!!!
These next two photos depict just a bit of said ruckus.
There is a lovely new fireplace in the back corner, I will showcase it some day. (Have a little de-cluttering to do there too!)
Lots of fun!!
And remember a few paragraphs above I told you we added a piece onto the old master bedroom, which then became part of the whole front room scenario? Here are a couple shots of that addition during construction…
Framing…
And even earlier — me helping Jim level the first floor joists.
Oh, and check this out! The adjacent room (with the circle-top window over French doors) was actually the very first of the 4 additions we’ve made to this house. (And I’m not even including the tree house in those 4.) Said first addition was erected between c. 1994 to 1996 — a room to be featured in upcoming posts. It was originally planned to be our main living room, but will be the master bedroom when it’s finished — yes, we’re even now remodeling the remodel! But it WAS a completely finished living room indeed for a good few years, which was joyful beyond compare!
hoo-woo!
So that’s it!!
Did I lose you, anywhere, Sweeties??
Oh, and I must add that once Jim gets the calling and tells me he MUST build something else, we basically design these additions together, and go for them. I generally plan the room lay-outs and features and he builds them for me, with me helping, and usually with not too much grumbling on my part! I so pine to live in a finished house, Friends. I really do! And have pined for some years now. I mentioned we’ve been working on this house for 17 years, right??
Btw, Jim does ALL this woodwork himself (remember our dining room, which used to be a bedroom?)
He does hire helpers for slabs, framing, drywall, plumbing and electrical. And I do a lot of the painting. And all the decorating!
Oh, and a couple of you newer readers have asked why I’m called “The Queen Of Remodeling Patience.” That was Patricia Wisdom’s entry in my Jannie Funster tagline “contest” some moons ago. Patricia ended up being one of the five top finalists, with Lance the grand prize winner for his entry of “Singing For Beer And Donuts.”
Well, if you still have an atom of energy left after getting through this whole post, have you any questions? Comments?
xoxo
On 29 January 2010 at 8:08 am Glenn Buttkus said,
I have a good friend named Jim, and his wife calls him
Jim-Bone. I never asked her why, but I always liked it better than Jim-Bo, which is too cutsey. Jim-Bone is a handle for a manly man like your Jim Funster of the Funster Auto Emporium, just 30 minutes from your 17 year remodeling project, enit? What kind of cars does Jim hustle over there at the Funster Tent & Barn? Loved all ten pics. Made me hear the hammers and skilsaws and paint splishing and brushes brushing. Kelly would be bored in a “regular” home, I’m sure.
On 29 January 2010 at 8:11 am Glenn Buttkus said,
Dang me, weee-hah, and skittledoo, it appears that I scooped the rest of Funsterville, and got up early enough to be NUMBER ONE yet again. Every once in a while, we get faked out and it looks like we are going to be #1, but before we finish typing our comment, some other Funsterite sneaks in there, sometimes more than one, and posts their views first. I hate it when that happens.
On 29 January 2010 at 9:11 am Lynn said,
Dang it! I didn’t get to be Number One. Anyway – that sounds like a festival of a home you have there. Lucky you with all that building knowledge right in your household!
On 29 January 2010 at 9:51 am Lance said,
Jannie,
I know a song with a “Jim” in it. “Jimmy Crack Corn”. Your Jim…more resourceful! Every picture I see here, shows a completely finished house. Am I missing something? That 70’s sofa, perhaps?
Oh, and Jannie…do you still have those pants?? They have a big hole in the knee.
And – is is ALWAYS Christmas in your house???
On 29 January 2010 at 9:53 am Jewel/Pink Ink said,
You are lucky to have a DIY husband. About ten years ago, when my hubby lost a war with plumbing pipes, he decided it was better to pay someone to build anything in the house.
Your home is lover-ly,Jannie *queue My Fair Lady*
On 29 January 2010 at 10:58 am sheila said,
WOW JANNIE! Beautiful! Looks like a rehab we did on a previous house we had. We gutted it and fixed it though before moving in so it wasn’t too much of a pain, lol.
I have to laugh…when I first saw the first pic, I really thought the other guy (not hubs) was Paul McCartney, lol. I looked…and I looked, lol.
On 29 January 2010 at 10:59 am jingle said,
wow, your folks are amazing,
you are both famous WORDS builders and
well known HOUSE builders…
creative family
outstanding patience,….
I admire the incredible patience, time, ability of your husband and you…
xoxoxo
On 29 January 2010 at 11:00 am jingle said,
thank you for the sweet visit in my place,
I don’t know the song you mentioned,
but glad to hear from you..
cool as always,
On 29 January 2010 at 11:52 am Jannie said,
…
Glenn!! Jim-Bone, wasn’t he THE master jazz trombonist of the early 60s?? And yes, indeed you are FIRST once again. You go to bed at 8:00 out there in Washington and wake at 5:00?? Jim “hustles,”
predominantly Hondas and Toyotas. And I will e-mail you the link to his biz! It’s funny you mention those saws — I remember being pregnant with Kelly and she would jolt sometimes when the saws went off. I’m serious!
Lynn!! But you ARE number ONE in more than a few ways in my books, and always will be. “Festival” of a home — I love it! So true, a regular carnival atmosphere. And I must say I’ve had to be very careful, well somewhat careful over the years to not walk past windows naked, seems there is always some worker or other outside, even on days when i did not expect any. Yes, I am very lucky to have such a handy man around. He has done about 20? homes in his day.
Lance!! Mom always used to sing “Jimmy cracked corn, and I don’t care..” when we were kids. What the heck does that mean anyway — to “crack” corn?? On my cell phone I have Jim’s ring tone set to the crickets, ’cause I calls him Jim Krikit! btw, before I forget, STUNNING anniversary post over there on your site. Jim and I will be 18 years married on Feb. 22nd. And Lance, sadly those pants had to go bye-bye, got a big hole in teh rear end too, which woudl NOT bother me at all to wear aroudjn, but some did not take much of a cotton to that.
Jewel!! Funny you should mention DIY plumbing — Jim did some of it himself in the master bathroom — luckily we had not tiled the floor before he realized his copper soldering had holes in it!! Ooo, I can see why people get paid to do those specialized jobs! The Rain In Spain?? Wait? What song are you referring to? Did she have her house remodeled too?? I’ll have to Google that reference unless you come back here to ’splain yourself!!
Sheila!! Wow, gutting and fixing up a home BEFORE you move in !! What an amazingly sound (yet foreign to me,) concept!
Ah, yes Nick does, I mean did look liek a lighter-haired McCartney. 
And Nick could SING. Jazz. Or anything. Too bad I hadn’t learned to sing when he was still alive. Died of a sudden heart attack, dammit. I miss him. Jim and Nick had met about 35 years previously to this pic in New Jersey.
Jingle!! Yes, I never thought of Jim having to be patient too, but you are right. I’m not the only one who would like to see this house finished!! But I think we’re about 85% there now. Jingle, I am just reminded by some kind of jazz angels — do you know the song “It’s A Blue World?” I love singing that song a lot! Even tho, it’s sad like “Autumn Leaves,” it comforts me in some way. Also Cole Porter’s “Day And Night” is another good one and not sad!
xoxoxoxo
On 29 January 2010 at 12:11 pm vered | blogger for hire said,
Well, you ARE The Queen Of Remodeling Patience! Nice work.
On 29 January 2010 at 12:27 pm Laura Hegfield said,
Wow Jannie, How awesome to have such a handy husband! Mine is my best friend, a total tech guru, fab musician and has many other talents…but as pianist has a deep fear of power tools (that’s his claim anyway!)…his Dad built all three houses his family lived in over the years. Oh well. Nobody’s perfect.
On 29 January 2010 at 12:33 pm Talon said,
17 years and you still have all your hair? I bow to the Queen!
It looks lovely, Jannie. Warm and inviting – just like the people who live there
I hope you get to enjoy it for a while before you have to start over at a new place that will be ripe for remodelling!
On 29 January 2010 at 12:35 pm Heather Kephart said,
Jannie! I am seriously impressed with you and Jim! Not your pets though, for puking on your rug. Tsk, tsk.
I liked the fireplace! But your place looks so fabulous now. I struggle to do so much as hang a picture on the wall, so I am blown away by your abilities. Someday I’d like to get into woodworking maybe, but I will never have the patience for remodeling projects like these. It takes a special kind of person I tell ya!
Did I read that you are moving to Canada?? You know that’s my favorite place to make fun of, right? Is it because I am in Texas now? Huh?
Have a pleasant day.
H
On 29 January 2010 at 1:52 pm Patricia said,
Great post and I do so know about remodeling patience and projects. We hired a contracting crew to get the basic floor plan in place. We had a porta potty in the front yard, a claw foot bath tub, refrigerator, and a MW on top – we all slept in the living room and one of the carpenters commented on my parenting style daily – sometimes hourly….
I look back now and am so glad we all ignored his advice! Your house looks so lovely and reflective of your style and caring. Thank you a fun post
On 29 January 2010 at 2:44 pm Lane Savant said,
“Corn” refers to corn whiskey. Jimmy liked to crack open a jug then sit around reminiscing about times gone by and the things he could get away with while the master was gone.
Blue tail flies were a concern.
On 29 January 2010 at 3:25 pm Jannie said,
…
Vered!! See, I’m not just an over-exaggerating whiney-butt about this! Am I??
Laura!! Indeed nobody’s perfect. We all have our strengths and talents. My hubby does not use a chainsaw, of which my two oak trees desperately need the deck trimmed back from again, they are starting to grow into it. Luckily God as provided other men with chainsaw talents!
Talon!! And he still has all his hair too! Yep, and of course we’ve also done the first house in Canada too, during this, the one in the photo I sent you. Ahh, and how lovely are your words about the people who live in our house — we do try not to be too stand-offish in general. Yeah, I hope I get to enjoy it a while too, before we move!! We’ll see.
Heather!! You want our puking pets?? Just kidding, they are pain in the asses bytimes but I do love them dearly all three. I actually liked the fireplace a lot too!! Big and homey, but there was no way it could stay in the re-model with the plans we had. We used the stones in our land-scaping, tho! What?? You making fun of me and my fellow home and native land “hosers!!”
Patricia!! yeah, you had that porta-potty for like, a year out there, right?? And just what was said carpenter commenting about in particular on your parenting style?? I certainly have heard plenty of razzing towards Jim from our friends over the years — boy have I! They’ve actually called me a saint, but you know, we all have our little things we have to live through. Thanks, Patricia, very lovely sentiments in your last sentence.
Ahhh, Lane, you fountain of knowledge, you! Thanks. And I thought it had something to do with a Jim breaking wind, or something.
Mom never did sing more than that first line of that, repeatedly. You made my Google. Started as gim’ cracked corn, looks like.
On 29 January 2010 at 3:35 pm Tammy said,
Jannie
I really love that fireplace. I love those types of things. I have a fireplace, but I like the brick ones. You go with your remolding self!! I love your house. Looks like you got your, “I need a man with a chainsaw” wish in Jim-bo? Anyway. Ahhhh house remodeling brings back some rather horrible childhood memories.
My dear ole dad had a real knack for starting projects and never finishing them. I remember when I was in high-school, (the early years) when dad first began to paint the house…….well needless to say the remainder of my high-school yrs were spent with half a painted house. It scarred me for life, really.
My friends would ask, with this really puzzled look, “when is your dad going to finish painting your house?” You know my whole high school era was spent this way. It was embarrassing and at that age that is like someone saying they had cancer. It was so tragic. Your rep is the only thing that counts in those days.
Those were the years when I would die if mom did not buy me designer Jeans and so on. Now I could care less, everything comes from Wal-Mart and I could not tell you the first in style thing. I am not sure that is something to brag about. If I had kids they would be saying, “you dress embarrassing.”
I must interrupt this comment for a new bulletin. Holy Cow! You will not believe this….. I just went to open my front door and everywhere is white with snow. What the crap? I did not know it was even supposed to snow. Not seriously. I never listen to the news or weather. The only news report i get is that little 3 day forecast on my computer screen and it had little snowflakes for tomorrow. I was like yeah right, it never snows here anymore. I went to take a nap and wow. There is probably 5 or 6 inches of snow on the ground. Yee Haw!! Too bad this will not get me out of class. I am off to play in the snow, translation: I am off to WATCH the snow from the window while inside a warm house.
On 29 January 2010 at 4:06 pm Sami - Life, Laughs & Lemmings said,
You really are the “Queen of Remodeling Patience”. Remodeling a remodel? Does that make you guys clinically insane or is it just that you really, really, really like building stuff?
Lovin’ the old photos. Such a great idea. Might have to crack out some of my golden oldies!
On 29 January 2010 at 4:10 pm Trey - Swollen Thumb Entertainment said,
Wow, I bet when you took all those pictures back in the day, you never would have thought that they would come in handy one day as the theme for a blog topic. I find stuff like this very fascinating, because I can picture the whole process in fast forward, taking about 10 seconds, when in reality, it took many years.
And sorry about the green rug. It’s hard to have nice things when you have pets. lol
On 29 January 2010 at 4:35 pm Avani Mehta said,
Wow Jannie, the entrance looks beautiful. Or should I say looked beautiful with the old remodeling
Remodel – Sell – Remodel sounds like a crazy plan. All the best to you. (I know you will need it 
)
On 29 January 2010 at 4:43 pm wade said,
serious question. Do you know any good fiddle players ?
On 29 January 2010 at 8:44 pm joaquin said,
wow. that is crazy impressive. and i am kinda tired just imagining it.
i don’t think i will ever be able to actually purchase a home where i live, so i do the renter remodel – move the lamp, buy a plant, change the channel.
On 29 January 2010 at 8:57 pm robbi said,
Couldn’t you just single-handedly heave it onto the nearest bonfire, or back into the college dorm beer room from whenst it came?!?!
Frester, I did read that line ,looked at the pic thinking you at one time considered throwing a beer soaked Jim onto the nearest bonfire, did a slow 2nd banana double-take when it dawned on I it were the COUCH. Tsk, tsk, robbi you is a s t r a n g e man.
On 29 January 2010 at 9:27 pm Anne said,
I love those shots. Had to scroll up and down and back up then back down. Fun stuff, like a roller coaster without that dreaded climb. I’m all for change. Why, just this past December I moved a bookshelf and chair in my living room to make room for the Christmas tree and decided to leave the change after the tree was gone. I’m a wild one for sure!
Patiently awaiting updated shots of de-cluttered areas. It’s okay, I’ve got time.
On 29 January 2010 at 10:06 pm Jannie said,
…
Tammy, I liked that big old stone fireplace too. I know very well what you mean about scarring at a young impressionable age, things like having the right clothes or shoes are so all-fired important. I think that by high school our house has finally been painted and fixed up, but as a wee child the old farmhouse needed a LOT of TLC. What scarred me was my mom has never had a drivers license, and Dad was always working on the farm or in the mines and us living out in the boonies, I was deprived of things like being able to be in the extracurricular activities I so longed for, such as cheerleading and drama. However, we get to choose our own way now that we’re all growed up. And I get to give my child what I perceived I lacked. Oh, the snow sounds soooooo lovely! Did you go out in it??
Sami!! Clinically insane? Guilty as diagnosed!!
well, you see, we had to build in closets to that first addition in making it into a nice bedroom. And updated that fireplace and tile. At the moment there is no flooring, took up the carpet which had major stains on it. Were thinking wood flooring in there, as long as we can keep on our meds to remember to do it. 
!!
Trey!! Actually, I had a crystal ball in 1990 that told me to chronicle everything from thereonin in photos, as I’d be enjoying a strange yet wonderful hobby one day called blogging.
. But seriously, great observation. I tried cleaning that rug, but pee just never reallly comes out, ya know. Ahh, but it was only a thing, anyway. Things come And go. 
Avani!! A crazy plan indeed, but my husband is almost 68 (I’m 45,) and he is looking at these as investments to retire On. And he’s right, of course. Fixing up old homes in decent neighborhoods seems to usually garner one a little profit.
Wade!! Yes, the guy who did all the violin / fiddle on my cd– Rich Bowden, shall I email you his email address??
Joaquin!! As usual you crack me up. You think YOU ‘RE tired!?!
we have gotten a few good sleeps along the way too. And a little r&r here snd there. Actually, you’re idea of remodeling cooincides with mine. Plants cannot be underestimated. But hubby tends to be a bit of a maximalist, so I ride along too. 
sorry guys so tire. Muuuuuust sleeeeeeeeeeep.
Be back toooooomorrowww.
xoxo
On 29 January 2010 at 10:25 pm J.D. Meier said,
That’s so cool that you pair up on designing your additions. It’s great to dream a little dream and then make it so.
On 29 January 2010 at 11:16 pm Chris Edgar said,
Hmm, you may have done 50 posts on this that I didn’t read carefully enough, but this post had me wonder: why did you come over from Canada in the first place? Feel free to cut and paste old text.
On 29 January 2010 at 11:53 pm Jeanne said,
Jannie,
Oh my goodness! I have the deepest admiration and respect for the amount of blood, sweat, tears, time, effort, and planning that goes into the degree/type of remodeling you’ve described and pictured here.
And, oh my good glory be! I will have to hide that tree-house post hyperlink from my little one (!) or we’ll never hear the end of it! I know she’ll want a tree-house like that because, well, I want one and I’m 41 years old! That tree-house totally rocks!!!
This tree-house admiration is not to take anything away from the remodeling projects you’ve mentioned. (I love that archway)!! That tree-house is just AMAZING!!!!!
Having built our own house (1998-1999) and having been our own general contractor, I have a clue what goes into those projects! I *STILL* haven’t recovered!
While we had to get some help initially with the framing (in part because the front wall of our house is 23 feet high and has trapezoid windows and we don’t own a crane… so there was no way we could lift the very heavy wall, which the windows were already installed in), we did everything after that initial stage.
I mean EVERYTHING… Hubby did all of the electrical. He and his dad did all of the plumbing, installed the shower and tub, & installed the toilets. Hubby did drywall.
I sanded, stained, and varnished the tongue and groove wood boards for every ceiling board in the house (7 days a week for almost 2 years whenever I wasn’t working at my full time job or… you know… sleeping/eating/showering) and some of the wall boards. (It’s a log house. Some walls are drywall and some are wood).
I painted the walls that Hubby had dry walled. I used the drill. I used a ditch-witch to dig the trench for the electrical wires (on the 4th of July in the nastiest rainstorm ever… yee-haw). I used a post hole digger to get the rocks out of the way for the ditch-witch.
Hubby was racking up about 117-120 hour weeks between his day job and the construction of the house. I was pulling about 80 hours/week (between the day job and the house project) to start but with my numerous health problems that got cut back to about 60/week on average because my body simply couldn’t handle anymore).
The various fumes I inhaled during construction haunt me to this day. My health hasn’t been the same since. (I don’t know what I was thinking doing the work that I did during house-building but my body quite literally hasn’t recovered 11 years later). I also wound up in physical therapy for my knees thanks to the house-building project. They are not the same as they were pre-house-building to this day either.
Anyway, suffice to say I will not be participating in a project like that again. I’m just glad we made it through the project because there were some times I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. So “whew”, we did it!!
On a completely separate note, I wanted to THANK YOU so much for posting the RESOLVE badge I made to support infertility patients’ rights! I really appreciate you posting it here. In this case, we are trying to get the word out to Michigan residents in particular. The legislation the Michigan Senate is expected to vote on is, in my opinion, an affront to infertility patients everywhere.
So, thank you, Jannie for posting that RESOLVE badge. The more people who post it, the better. It is not necessary to be an infertility patient to post it. I’m not an infertility patient and I, with RESOLVE’s permission to use their logo as part of it, made that badge to direct traffic to the RESOLVE page which posts updates about the Michigan situation. If anyone is interested in posting the RESOLVE badge, please have it link to the same site Jannie has hers linking to.
Thank you!!
Jeanne
On 29 January 2010 at 11:57 pm MiaHysteria said,
Some amazing changes! Nice!
On 30 January 2010 at 12:15 am Jeanne said,
Jannie, Jannie, Jannie,
I just went to post a comment on the tree-house post but apparently the comments are closed! Oh no! How am I supposed to comment? Heavens to Betsy, you linked to it from this very post and I somehow missed it when it got posted in the first place… (Sigh).
I’ll just have to comment here. You see… the advantage of commenting there was that my little one would never hyperlink over to that post if she should pull up this post quickly when my head is turned. (Her computer is directly behind mine and I watch her like a hawk. She is not allowed to go on any site without permission but she knows how to get to yours and could beat me to the punch and pull it up).
Anyway, I don’t want to rave too much in case she should see this (which she may since it’s a recent post). I just wanted to tell you that it is AWESOME and I wish I could snap my fingers and make one appear in our yard.
Perhaps you could jot “tree-house” down on the shipment list under “firewood”? That way you can consolidate trips. Sound doable?
Jeanne
On 30 January 2010 at 8:57 am Hilary said,
Hi Jannie .. yu gotttaa de spaaceee just spread out – when you get near the English shores .. let me know & I’ll send you a google earth map to burrow in here – no more sat nav at that stage!
To think you’ve been doing up the house as long as I’ve been here – I remodelled once .. not quite enough – but I can’t go up or out .. so that’s life .. it’s cosy!
Sorry to hear about Nick – he looks a little like Paul MacCartney there ..?
Fantastic to have a Jim hubby .. a do it all man, and a get on with it man. Looking forward to seeing more photos etc .. & the penguin room – mind you it’ll be roses by the time you get to it???!!!
Why on earth are you going back to good old C? Cold weather lovers? – long johns perhaps??? Family? Well when you go is another matter no doubt .. a few years yet?
Yu certainly are the Queen of Modelling Patience .. that would finish me off – I’d be tearing my hair out (not to say I’ve got a lot to start with!) .. and hating the filth .. no wonder you crave a finished house. Enjoy the process and the photos ..
Have a good weekend .. and give Blue Bunny a hug from us -
Hilary
On 30 January 2010 at 10:01 am Jannie said,
…
Robbi!! That was funny, obviously meant for the previous post, but funny. Maybe I will switch your comment over to the Handsome Man / Ugly Sofa post, and this reply too. Maybe. But maybe not.
Anne !! Hey you wild one,
I hope it wasn’t too hard to follow?? It was a bit of a job to piece it together with the photos I could find and you know what!?!? This blogging thing has the distinctly wonderful added aspect of motivating me to declutter! Awesome!! I hope you are enjoying your new room arrangement, even small changes can bring such a lift.
J.D.!! As I mentioned to someone, I was pretty happy with the house before we started on it, but following along when Jim gets a bee in his bonnet has been a good thong. It is fun, and two heads are certainly better than one, bouncing ideas off each other. I’m excited about Canada, a blank slate to work with design- wise.
Chris!! Entirely new and unpasted words will follow– just for YOU!! Jim’s mom and dad were Canadian, born and bred, as were Jim and his 2 brothers. Jim’s dad was an Episcopalian minister who took a post in New Jersey when Jim and his brothers were young lads. Latee the family moved back to Nova Scotia. But Jim moved back to New Jersey when he was an adult, then to Hawaii. I was teaching school in Nova Scotia when Jim was living here in Texas. He was home visiting his mom. We met and I moved to Texas with him. But we have a house up in NS which is currently rented out, one we will remodel and add onto!! Pretty simple eh, now that I’ve spelled it out.
Jeanne!! Your home sounds very very lovely, and great you finished it before your child came along. Wow, you both worked so hard on it. I have closed comments on posts older than 90 days because of a spam problem, but I think I can open them on individual posts. I’ll see! Those fumes can be awful, I remember all the varnish, we had to leave and stay with friends for a few days. Jeanne, you are very welcome for the Resolve badge. I should change it to reflect Michigan.
Mia!! Thanks. And stay tuned for future posts. I have some lovely pix to share.
Hilary!! We have gone out as far as we could, but up will be the final frontier. Nah, once these projects are done, that’ll be it for this above. And on to the other on, the house jim’s mom left to her 3 sons. Jim bought his 2 brothers out on it. Big old house, rented out needs much done to it. Funny, but a friend I’ve had for 12 years now has seen much of the remodel, of course, wonders how I do it. But she is newly divorced from a bad marriage all those years. I’d rather have a great marriage and a little building chaos, than a troubled marriage in a gorgeous 100% finished house!!
xoxo
On 30 January 2010 at 10:12 am Mama Zen said,
I don’t think that my marriage would have survived this. You are one strong woman!
On 30 January 2010 at 12:28 pm K said,
You are very patient!
We’ve just lazy. We haven’t done much to our house because a fresh coat of paint.
Have a great weekend.
On 30 January 2010 at 1:28 pm Natalia Burleson said,
I love all the work you guys have put in. I think that’s one of the things I miss about home ownership. Installing this, changing that, building this, painting that. It’s a fun way to be creative and you get to enjoy the finished product. Of course ours never got completely finished. Thanks for sharing the pics, can’t wait to see more!
On 30 January 2010 at 1:33 pm Jannie said,
…
Mama Z!! I used to do a lot more bitching and complaining about the house remodel than I do now. In fact I really don’t complain about it at all now. I send my man off to work. And I blog! And my blog is all ship-shape and tidy! Well, kind of tiday, but you know what I mean. I have complete control over how my blog looks!
K!! Are you sleepy, you poor dear?? Did you mean to write “except for,” instead of “because” up there?” But you probably moved into a perfectly wonderfully FINISHED house, didn’t you??
(Note to Self…) Hey Jannie — NO complaining! Listen to what you just wrote Mama Zen. Buck UP, Woman!! Go have a donut. Or a brownie –yah!! Oh and K, having two kids does not sound like a lazy moment to me!
Natalia!! Yes, there is that renters’ aspect to things, but painting and rearranging furniture and accessories can be nice and give such a lift. I think a condo would be a great way to go. You can renovate those but as you wish, but don’t have all that yard upkeep and such. Never finished your house eh? I bet you’ve got a whole book yourself to write on that!
xoxo
On 30 January 2010 at 6:53 pm Suzie Cheel said,
I love this- a 17 year project? yes I was one that got lost but I was laughing by the time I got through and you reminded me why we live where we live:)
On 31 January 2010 at 12:26 am SnaggleTooth said,
Fun post! What a world of difference with the addition. Love the IP shots (in progress). What alot of work for Jim, n tons of patience for you- plus all the room shuffling…
I love large spaces- don’t have any in here. the outside deck is the largest I have! Cottage areas are notorious for small rooms. If I owned it I’d've knocked down some walls ages ago- just for a little open space. I get really claustrophobic- got low ceilings. The price paid for my location- someday I hope to have my own hut to play with too.
Thanks for the peek into your odyssey!
On 31 January 2010 at 8:20 am Megan "JoyGirl!" Bord said,
Good for you and your incredible patience, Jannie! Me? I’d want it done in three months or less. Otherwise I get bored and want to move onto something else.
Thank you for giving me a glimpse into what it would be like if Andy ever did want to commit. He and Jim sound a lot alike. During Andy’s last two-month visit home, he began building a two-story garage by himself. Why not, right? The trip before that when he was home for two weeks? He reroofed his barn. The next time he’s home he promised to get further on the garage, and potentially build a mudroom, too.
Oye!
Lots of great projects, so little time. (smile)
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On 31 January 2010 at 9:49 am Jannie said,
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Suzie!! yes, Jim bought the house almost 22 years ago, I loved in almost 20 years ago and we started working on the house 17 years ago. Four additions, and complete room re=models. If you understand French “Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid,” applies here. I may have a word or two of that wrong, but it translates, “little by little a bird makes his nest.” And where do you live? In a nice finished house??
Snag!! I hope you could follow this! It is pretty wordy , but kind of a necessary intro for series (or so I thought when I wrote this, anyway!) I love large spaces to. The one mistake we make, imho was closing off the kitchen a bit, in order to get more cabinets. I would never close off any part of a room again.
All the ceilings in this house were standard 8′ ones so the additions are all higher than that. So if you knocked out a wall, your landlord might not be amused?? Odyssey — love that word for this!!
Megan!! Well, it;’s either bitch and moan or not bitch and moan, so I’ve settled into the acceptance mode — much easier on my heart and head. Three months or less sounds HEAVENLY to me!!!!! Hell, I’d even settle for 3 years or less. And did Andy succeed on his 2-story garage project in that time-frame?? Wow, Andy and Jim sound like life buddies!!! We should all meet. And of course one day I’ll meet you!
Topsy Tweet!! Whoo-hoo!!
xoxo
On 31 January 2010 at 10:52 am jingle said,
Hello,
I just want to pass through
and say hello to you.
Happy Sunday,
Be cool on Monday,
On 31 January 2010 at 11:40 am Nadia - Happy Lotus said,
Hi Jannie,
I love to see how homes are transformed and it is wonderful that you all were able to do all those changes on your own. You are both very talented people. I love how you were able to change so much.
Is Jim from Canada too?
On 31 January 2010 at 11:42 am Nadia - Happy Lotus said,
Hi again,
The reason for my last question was because you mentioned that you are thinking of moving to Canada and getting another house to remodel. I realized I should have written that right after I hit the post button. Oppps.
On 31 January 2010 at 2:57 pm Zeenat{Positive Provocations} said,
oh wow remodeling…sounds fun..and looks exciting. I personally don’t have the patience to sit through it..but i guess when you want it badly enough…you develop patience for anything eh….Good luck with the awesome remodeling..looks good..and what fun your hubby loves his projects. If i can get my hubby to even pick up his own cup it will be a miracle..;)
Much Love,
Z~
On 31 January 2010 at 7:40 pm Yaya said,
Holy Cow!!!!!!!! That is INSANE!!!! Wowee. Ku-Dos!
On 31 January 2010 at 8:31 pm Paige said,
holy grout, y’all have rebuilt a whole house within a house. no wonder you are so tired and turned off comments on 90 day old post, which seemed kinda mean at first but then I thought hey bb doesn’t have time to re-read those old post and explain the comment to you dear Jannie who in turn has to reply to said comment on accounta you are so good at that sort of thing.
On 31 January 2010 at 9:11 pm Davina said,
This exhausts me! How do you feel? The thought of that remodelling and all the disorder during the process sends me loopy! I bow down to your stamina and perseverance. I KNOW it will be worth it when you’re finished.
On 1 February 2010 at 8:51 am Jannie said,
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Jingle!! Hello! Are you a logging blogger? Cool, yes that’s me today,tho it is supposed to get up to a high of 55, or so!
Hey Nadia!!! Thank you , yes much tranformation for sure. Here’s a quick snypopsis on Canada: Jim and I were both born and raised there, but he had long since moved to the States. (He is 22 years older than I.) He was living in Texas but visiting his mom in Nova Scotia when I met him in 1989. We have a house up there, currently rented out, the one he bought his two brothers out on when his mom died and left it to the three of them. Stay tuned for our Life & times, as I will stay tuned for yours!!
Zeenat!! I am sorry but your last sentence made me laugh so even tho it may not be an entirely humorous subject for you. Well, Jim wants the renovation badly and since I want him badly I have followed and stuck around him.
Yes, he does love staying hyper-busy. An I love him!! 
YaYa!! And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, Babe, on the work we’ve done over these 17 years since we first lifted a hammer!! Stick around for updates. Much much more fun insanity to be revealed. Whoo-hoo.
Paige!! Yes, those spammers give Blue Bunny frights when he has to go in and moderate the kommints, I mean comments!! He’d never be able to keep up with the current ones, so that’s the plan he’s devised on the 90-day-thing! And we built a whole house outside a house too!!
Davina!! how do I feel?? Great question, I feel great about the few completely finished places in this house. Ad I mentioned above, I used to bitch and moan, but now I blog! As to stamina and perseverance, I have no choice on that! It’s s survival thing with my Jimmy and his quest to build out as far as the codes will allow, and even then he tries to push things!
xoxoxoxo
On 2 February 2010 at 5:04 am Adrenalynn said,
Ohmygoodness, you are far more patient than I’ll ever be! Best of luck to you. And thank you for the awesome and scary award! Shudder
On 5 February 2010 at 6:58 am Jannie said,
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Thanks wonderful Adrenalynn!! And you aint’ seen nothin’ yet Girl. I’ve those 20 more posts!!!
xoxox
On 10 February 2010 at 11:45 am The Sweetest Bloom | Jannie Funster said,
[...] our first addition, then a second in 1996. And later, a third — glimpses of which I showed you here. Sometime during the years of those first 3 additions, God also had us gut and remodel our [...]