Life & House Updates
I know it has been a little quiet on the blog the last few weeks ever since Hurricane Helene’s winds caused a large tree to fall on the house and break through the roof into the upstairs bedrooms I call the “pretty guest room.”
Since I haven’t had a chance to create and share a new idea post with you, I thought I would share a house repair update and what I have been doing on the creative front getting ready for my daughter Mandy’s wedding.
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When the tree plunged through the house, I was kinda of in shock, but I knew no one was hurt and the house could be fixed.
I tried my best to take it in my stride and not get overly stressed about all that would have to be done to get the house back to normal.
Tree Removed, Repairs to Roof and Side of House Done
We were lucky that the tree company we have used in the past, took on their previous clients first, before getting to hundreds of others in the area.
It was amazing to watch as the tree removal crew used a rig with a big crane that had a claw and saw on the end to grab a part of the tree and saw it off.
The crane was parked in the front of the house and was controlled by a guy on the ground with a remote control board and a headset in communication to another tree guy on the roof who told the guy on the ground where to bring the claw and saw on the end of the crane next.
After the tree was removed the roofers came a week ago to make the repairs, but before they could, they made a big mess on all sides of the house removing the existing shingles from the roof.
They also replaced a few sections of the roof with new boards. This is the attic where I keep my decor stash that is not in use. It looks so different with daylight streaming in.
My decor stash on the shelves was so close to the action, if you are wondering… nothing was broken, even with all the pounding, hammering and nail gunning.
While the damaged area of the roof was being fixed and the whole roof of the house replaced, the repairs to the side of the house were made by another team.
Another coat of paint will be applied and a new gutter will be installed today.
Yesterday, the broken ceiling beam on the interior of the house was completed. I am hoping when the new ceiling is installed and crown molding added that it will meet up or go slightly over the wallpaper I recently added to the room. If not, I will have to remove it. :-(
After my daughter’s upcoming wedding the ceiling will get sheetrocked and painted. After this is done, the contractor who is doing the work, will repair the ceiling in the kitchen as it did get some water damage.
Wedding Prep Mode
On a much more personal note, I am looking forward to the wedding of my daughter Mandy and her fiance Matt. They are perfect for each other and Ed and I could not be happier for them.
I have been working on creating wedding decor including giving this DIY Tiered Donut Stand a new color. I initially made it for my older daughter Kelly’s wedding (see post) back in 2018.
Like Kelly’s wedding, Mandy and Matt’s wedding will be in Virginia also, but instead of being held at a horse farm, it is going to be a weekend long affair at a summer camp that rents the whole camp in the offseason for weddings and other events. Guests can opt to stay and sleep in cabins for the weekend, which we will be doing.
When I unearthed the white donut stand from storage it was in need of a new coat of paint.
I have a lot of spray paint and testing out a few colors, Mandy decided on gold.
One gold coat down, one more to go. For Mandy’s wedding it is going to hold cookies, not donuts.
After finishing the stand I have a few more crafty items to create and then I will pack it all up to take up to Virginia.
I will post all about the wedding in a few weeks.
And Lastly – Removing More Trees
One of the things we enjoy about where our house is located besides being on a lake are all the trees in our neighborhood. As you can see there are many on our property and most are very tall pines.
The tree furthest to the right in the photo above is going to be taken down along with two others.
Over the years we have removed two big pines and a few smaller ones. One large one was hit by lightning quite a few years ago.
It didn’t fall or damage anything, but the lighting killed it and a smaller tree next to it. We had them taken down. The other large pine we had taken down was on the lake side of the house right along the shoreline.
After having one fall on the house during the hurricane, we have decided to have 3 of the pines closest to the house removed. The biggest one is in the front yard (shown above), another on the side yard and the third on the lake side.
We will miss the shade and it makes me sad to have to kill a tree, but it needs to be done as we don’t want to have another come crashing down on the house again.
Kitchen Updates
With the need to remove trees, our budget for home improvements is going to take a big hit. Updating the kitchen may have to wait… again. I will keep you posted about our plans as we decide on what to do once we get all the bills for what insurance doesn’t cover.
Now is when I would really like to win the lottery. :-)
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Stay tuned for Style Scouting on Sunday morning.