Hard to believe that last week the above corner looked like this…

And hard to believe (for me anyway,) how that corner has morphed since 1997 when it looked like this…

And uncropped…

Jim built the room with his own two hands, as many of you know. 

Then we remodeled it.

He built 3 closets last year, in anticipation of it one day being the master bedroom.

(I’ll show you the whole updated room when I get my better camera, the iPhone can be so finicky with lighting.)

I got lucky with the light in this photo…

(Yes, that’s the exact same photo as the first one in this post.  Just saving you some scrolling time. )

(Those are Kelly’s nunchucks hanging from the closet door handles, in case you were wondering.)

(And that’s her guitar in the corner.)

Anyway…

I was SO grateful when a brainwave recently hit on how to hide that jumble of cables, modems, chargers and such.  The ugly cords had been hidden behind a sofa before Jim built the closet last year.  But the sofa’s too big for that spot now.

What, oh what, was a Jannie to do?

Remember last year when I felt all awesome because I’d transformed one corner of our dining room into a little oasis for myself…?

Well… life being life — in just 13 short months, my little dining room oasis had, as of last week, evolved into a bit of an unwieldly mass…

Time for a revamp anyway!

So…

I nipped the table, moved it to where the tv and Internet come into the house, put the table cloth back on, and voila — cords all hidden.  Whoo-hoo!!!

I think it’s a cute little spot now.

And I think I should show you that “after” shot one-more-once. Third time’s always utterly more charming.

Kitty LOVES it, as you can see.

Next tidying project — the dining room.  20 boxes and bags of treasures there to sort — I kid thee not!

(And funny – but I’ve noticed my tidying / decorating goes much faster when I get my nose out of the computer.) 

Posted with Love, by Jannie,

xoxoxo

But wait — two more life updates before I let you go…

1.) In songwriting… I’ve settled on some pretty, simple guitar work to go with my new “Sail A Child” and I’m so happy — one part of the guitar reminds me a bit of the Zepplin’s ”Goin’ To California.” 

1.) Our Broken Arm Girl had her follow-up X-Ray yesterday and got the go-ahead to resume gymnastics and Kung Fu!  Whoo-hoo!!! Just no backyard trampolines until after January 20th when she gets her next X-Ray. 

xoxoxo (again)

Oh, and I put all pix in this post as JPegs, and not PNGs, so hopefully they managed to load a bit faster for a few of you who mentioned my new big photos were taking a while to open?

Toodles!

xo

Friends, I had to put all the stuff from Kelly’s bedroom redecoration somewhere to sort it.

So why not the front room?

But I’m proud to announce the jumble of yore now looks like this…

Well, the kids aren’t still standing there. (Not that I know of. I think they’re up in the tree house. Or running around with paper bags on their heads. Or spraying the cat with the hose.  Poor Kitty.)

On those shelves are 36 sets of kids’ books (anywhere from 3 to 24 books per set) I’m putting on eBay! That’s how I’ll pay for My Amazing New Camera!!  Whoo-hoo!!

What view of our house is that exactly? Great question!

Those two white posts off yonder are in the in-progress breezeway addition, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the “final living room.”

Long before the addition, there was a window where that archway is…

After the addition was “dryed-in” we took the window out.

And of course, here’s how our entry looks now.

But back to the interior…

Where those not-so-pretty (yet functional) shelves are, our old fireplace once stood.  There’s a skylight where the flue was.

The door in the distance that leads into the new garage will one day will be trimmed out, as will the archway.

Spindles and railings will grace the two posts.

And we’ll have REAL flooring in the entry instead of that plywood!!!

Oh yeah, and we’ll also finish and enjoy the room at the top of the stairs.

That quilt I hung 5 years ago to help keep the wallboard dust from the main part of the house? Gone – as of a couple months ago!

It’s actually a very nice quilt my godmother made for me. I have it draped over my toes as I recline here on the sofa with my laptop.

And I’m sipping hibiscus tea.

In my kitty ears, of course.

Below… I’ve PaintShopped in the type of cabinet I envision for that space.

To repeat — I have PaintShopped that cabinet in.  It is not really there!! 

Perhaps I’ll have one like it some day. Good-used off Craigslist maybe.

But if I never do, what do I really care?  A lovely armoire is just a thing, and things come and go.

But blogging buddies last forever.

Now… how ’bout a slightly different angle of how things currently look inside our front door…

Don’t forget to look here again, to see those 2 windows and the door from the outside!

The untrimmed window is where the old front door was.

Jim did ALL the work, including the floor tiles, himself.

Got it all?  I bet you do!  You are very smart.

Whoo-hoo!!

Posted with love, from Jannie Banannie.

xoxo

A fourth summer angel sashayed into our midst yesterday!

(She also co-starred here and here.)

Also yesterday, one super-awesome dad decked the deck out in this surprise furniture. 3 little chairs, umbrella with stand, and white wooden table from Lowe’s — $45 total.  (One more angel seat needed.)

And just who could that super-awesome dad be?  Hmnnn, I wonder…?

.

Watermelon umbrella with watermelon snack — how perfect!

Even the broken arm kid’s cast is kinda watermelon colored. Thanks, broken arm kid!  Color details make this blog the frolic it is.

And broken arm kid?  Thanks for being born — this blog post would’ve never appeared if you hadn’t.

But wait!  What about the super-awesome dad? Who could he be?

This guy?

Yeah, that’s him!  The guy who built the tree house for the broken-arm angel two years ago.

Let’s zoom in on this handsome dad…

Ahh, so cute!

What a guy!!!

He pretty-much rocks.  And deserves a slice of watermelon.  Or two.  Or three!  Heck, that man deserves a whole watermelon patch all to himself!  A huge field of it!  With a ride-on garden railroad running through so he can survey his melon dominion without ever having to leave the comfort of his engine car seat.

(View the tree house interior here.)

Ummm watermelon!

Ummm summer!

Ummm life and love.

I likes this!  I likes it A LOT!!!

You had any watermelon lately?  Or ridden on a garden railroad?

And seriously, what title would you give this post?

With love and funsterment from Jannie,

xoxoxo

These photos are straight out of my iPhone and not fancy. The 3GS’ quality is “iffy” when light does not fall directly on the subject. Please excuse.

But wait ’til I get my Amazing Camera this summer! Oh, it’s gonna be sooooo Grrreat!!

Anyway…

This morning Kelly went up to her clubhouse to brush her hair and arrange Kirsten for breakfast.

I came back from dropping her at school to find Kirsten still at table.

She sat there all day like that.  Such amazing staying power!  Just sitting and sitting.

Kellllllly, where arrrrre you?? I’m waaaaaaiting.

The photo directly above is one of those “iffy” ones due to the 3GS’ lighting challenges.

But enough of that…

Yesterday Kelly and her pals had a little American Girl Doll party in the clubhouse.

The dolls got so sleepy…

Mid-afternoon I arrived with a tray of apple juice and popcorn to find Kelly wedged between the bed and the frame.

Luckily her friends managed to pull her free.

I still have to set the bunk bed up correctly. We got it off Craigslist, and one bolt was missing.

But I WILL get it together.  And take photos when I get my Amazing Camera!

See all the great stuff to look forward to in Funsterland?? 

Whoo-hoo!!!

Yep, Jim had the clubhouse hard-wired.  That’s an A/C / heating unit in the back wall.

And Kelly amazed me the other day by asking for the little cuckoo clock I got in Germany to hang on her wall.  I said “Sure!  Why not?!” 

Who am I to stand in the way of an 8-year-old’s decorating dreams??

She arranged everything in there herself. 

She even brought her broom up and keeps the floor swept!!

And finally, a Kodak action shot of Kelly supervising her dad on construction in April, 2008…

Good-used American Girl Doll Kirsten off eBay, landed — $97.50.

Total building materials — $2000.00.

Jim’s labor for 12 months working part-time on tree-house –  Priceless!

Any questions?

Do you or have you ever had a cuckoo clock? Any cuckoo clock stories to tell?

Posted with love, from Jannie

xoxo

I took the above yesterday.

And the below a few months ago… (how our front entry had basically looked for, um, maybe 5 years!) 

The green door marks our original entrance. 

And the new door opens into a breezeway leading to a garage / Final Living Room addition my Jim built with his own two hands, starting about 7 years ago.  The interior is abut 80% finished.  Christmas tree in there this year?  Maybe! 

Did I mention Jim also works over 50 hours a week in his Real Job?  And that he’s sweet, funny, nice, and a great disco dancer??

You saw the tree house he built, right?

We all agree –  Jim is AMAZING!!!!

And wow, our house is finally coming together in many areas, after 17 years of working on it!

Then there’s the falling-down Canada house that waits for us… 

(But I digress.)

So I’ll move right along, to our front entry in 1994.

(Yes, I posted the below picture in a previous remodeling post!  Good memory, Jannie veterans!)

Notice no addition then?  Nope.  Wasn’t even really an idea yet back then.

(This was the first addition, off the kitchen — at the back of the house.)

And yep — the tuliped door above was later painted green, then many many moons later was replaced with the window on the left in the first photo of this post.

Did you catch all this?  I know it’s a lot.

Whew, I need a cup of tea.  And a beer — but not necessarily in that order. 

Maybe a nap first? 

You can catch my Oh My Wonderful… Part One post from yesterday too, showing another after-and-before angle of the entrance.

Oh, but I just gotta re-post this next pic, me  in 1994 with Chance…

If you’re new here — you might like yet another rambling remodeling post from this house.  I think there will be 20 in the series on this house.  At least!

Posted with love, from Jannie

xoxoox