I just couldn't wait any longer.
The Unibrow of an awning had to come down. I felt like it was crushing the little house!
I had to have my trusty teenage boys come by to hold it up while I pulled out the million screws that attached it to the house.
The awning itself was surprisingly light, but getting it off the house took longer than I expected.
Of course now the door gets soaked in the rain, so I will need to leave the storm door on until I can get a new plan for covering the porch.
I am hoping to use the existing frame and some metal roofing material to create something new and more updated.
I found this @ Lowes. It comes in 24" x 8' sheets for about $20, so I thought it was worth trying. I actually think the galvanized metal would look neat - but up against beige...it would be gross. I will either have to paint the metal, or paint the house.
This was just one of many things that encouraged me to try something new over the door. I think a larger version of something like this, with less frill, could be great!
We had a heart to heart with our contractor about our timeframe - and the fact that he was way behind.
( We were supposed to be completely done with his portion of the work by April 16th)
Together we all decided it was time to call in our support crew.
HELP!
S.O.S.!
or ( I guess more accurately)
S.O. Little House!
The flares went up - and the troops rallied.
We are lucky to have so many skilled friends that are willing to jump in and help us out when we get into a pinch!
Our friend Stuart is a brick mason, and he had to jump in on two projects.
First to relocate the crawl space door, and rebuild the foundation wall. Then we called him back to create the back patio.
I am so glad that we did!
I think it looks great. Once I can get the grass to grow back around it, and make a stepping stone path to the driveway - this is going to be perfect.
The pictures that I took make it look small, but it is plenty of room for a table, chairs and a grill.
The one good thing about all of the delays is that it has given me more time to put the kids to work!
They like that :)
They like that :)
These crawl space vents were buried in dirt - so I had the boys dig them out and make some old school brick & gravel vent wells. I think they are going to help with air flow, and help to keep the crawl space dry.
I was disappointed that we couldn't get the house on the market while the peonies were in bloom - but this garden just keeps bringing me new happy surprises every week.
In some ways I feel like I am being faithful to the previous owner when I weed her flower beds, and edge her gardens. She loved this little house. She raised her four children here, and nurtured these gardens as she watched them grow and move away. I want to preserve the beauty that she created as much as I can. She deserves that.
I hope that the new owners will love it too.
In the meantime - My hardly established garden is barely holding on. I think my family would like it if I would put a little TLC into the house that we live in every once in a while! Honestly, I would too. I hate to see our yard @ home suffer because I am too busy with the little house. The schedule changes have had a greater impact than I anticipated, and I need to be cognizant of that.
Who am I kidding?
They are old enough to suck it up and step up for a few weeks. No sympathy from this Mama.
Soon this project will be done - and I know already...
I will miss the little house.
-B
