Before and After – Straight from the Heart

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Renovation still in progress

Hubby and I worked our butts off yesterday finishing the master bath. He went to bed at four this morning and I went to bed at six. Crazy, I know. But we got it done without killing each other . . . our tortured bodies are doing it for us.

Call our method slap-hazard, poor planning, totally disorganized and I will have to agree with you. Wholeheartedly. Right now I would win the Nobel Prize for worst house keeper of the year. The dogs are confused, I’ve done lost my mind, and hubby’s ready to leave me for the beach. Where he can sit and fish all day. In peace and quiet. Without a dragon lady breathing fire down his back every second.

It’s been tough on us both. My crack-the-whip, get-er-done temperament clashes with his laid back-what’s-the-rush temperament. He likes procrastinating. I like getting things done. NOW!

So our worlds clash.

No. They collide. They blow up and disintegrate.

I think he’s from Mars. He wishes I’d go there.

He thinks we’re going to live forever. I think we could drop dead any minute.

Seriously. This renovation has brought the devil out in both of us. If we didn’t have a solid forty-seven-year, happy relationship it would be ending in divorce.

Thank goodness, we only have one more room to go, and we’re finished. But, first, we are going to clean up the messes we made and create some sense of order before we tackle that room. The beginning of next month is the plan. In the year 2020. Not 2021. Not 2022. But 2020.

You got that hubby?

Here are some before and after photos of the bathroom we just completed along with the messes we have yet to clean up. Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride . . .

Removed the old commode. I got the honors of cleaning all the wax off the flange. YUCK!

Can you believe the hole the contractor made for the toilet?

Our new commode. I wasn’t sure I would like the flusher thing in the middle of the tank cover, but I do. The commode is all in one piece and won’t leak. I like that idea.

Our new bathroom. YAY! I’m really happy with it. Hubby did a great job laying the floor all by himself.

My poor bedroom. Where did all that mess come from?

I’ll be so happy to get this room finished. I’ve been without curtains and living with the majority of this mess for over a year. Ever since we got our new windows installed in October of 2018. How time flies when you’re having fun. Just kidding. There’s been nothing fun about this house renovation. Maybe if we could have taken a long vacation and let someone else do it. But that’s only for the rich and famous.

Somebody’s behind with folding the laundry.

Hey! Who put that mess on my dining room table?

Nothing is where it’s supposed to be. My whole house is confused!

Can my back porch get any worse? I’m sure it can, but I hope it doesn’t. Spring is coming. Where are we supposed to sit?

All this mess needs to get off my porch! NOW!

I think we’ll bulldoze it down and start over. I want a sun-room, anyhow. But, we’re not going to build it. Oh, no! That’s a job for the pros and that ain’t us.

Digital Art: From Reality to Make Believe

Our plan today is to get the second bathroom finished. That was our plan yesterday. And the day before. But, today we really are going to get the new floor installed. However, hubby did install the new drop in sink and faucets yesterday. Yay!

Today, we have to take out the really old, really low toilet and install the new one after laying the vinyl plank flooring and quarter round. It’s just a small job. We should be done before sundown. But, with this whole renovation thing those small jobs have been more like trying to build a city in one day. So rather than sit and cry, which doesn’t do a bit of good, I create. And dream. And hope for the day when we are finally finished rebuilding our house.

In the meantime, here is a before and after photo of our back yard. The before is what it really is. The after is just a dream.

After. It’s easier to dream it than to build it. Cheaper, too.

Photos: From Hot Mess to Abstract Art

Having BPD (borderline personality disorder), I should avoid stress like the plague. But, instead, I create more stress. Like this house renovation thing. I’ve never been so angry and frustrated and cried so much in my life. But, in spite of my life-long-ugly monkey on my back, I’ve learned to cope. I’ve learned to laugh at myself and to see the funny side of my many painful, not so funny anxiety disorders.

That’s why I create. It makes me happy. And when I’m happy, my dogs are happy. My husband is happy. My whole family is happy.

My before and after photos are my interpretation of the mess we’ve created. The before represents the stress. The after represents the calm.

Before and After: From Bland to Grand

So, I’m not liking my house or my yard much these days. We’re renovating the house and the yard is overcome with weeds and tree roots and moss . . . everything but grass. And the house needs painting, too. And the front porch. And the deck. Oh, and the back porch? Well . . . we won’t go there. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever by the looks of things. That’s where all our mess is stored till we get finished wrecking the house. And “finished” looks far, far away.

Using PaintShop pro 2019, a few picture tubes and untamed dreaming and imagination, I re-created my back yard. That’s what I love about art. I can change my world to be anything I want it to be.

My before. No stream. No bench. No nothin’

My after. I think I’ll take my coffee and sit there later.

From Photo to Art: Before and After

I enjoy working with photos and re-creating them; even change them completely. It’s my world. I can do that if I want to.

The before and after photo is my front yard . . . the way it is and the way it ain’t.

The program that I use is PaintShop pro 2019.

Two Old People and a Hand Truck

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update concerning our home improvement (demolition). The truth is, we had to take a break from it.

We began taking up the carpet on Monday, May 27, 2019. And it’s been quite an undertaking for two oldies who have never done this before.

EVER!

To top it all off, two days into our demolition, we had a car accident. A woman ran the red light and hit us on the driver’s side. No one was hurt, thankfully. However, It was the week of Labor Day, so it was difficult getting her insurance to follow through, leaving us without a rental for five days. At least we had the truck, or so we thought. But, it wouldn’t start.

Six weeks, and two car rentals later (the first one broke down on us and our car is still in the shop) this is the progress we’ve made:

Pulling up the carpet. Hubby has bad knees, so I get the honors. Getting up the carpet is the easiest part. It’s the padding and staples and carpet strips that’s tough.

All rolled up and ready to go out the door.

I wanted laminate flooring, but it’s not waterproof. We have two dogs. We need waterproof. So, we settled for vinyl plank flooring. It’s 100% waterproof and is more durable than laminate. Time will tell. By the way, it has a 30 year guarantee; an added plus.

The beginning of a learning experience we will never forget and will never want to do it again!

Two, long, frustrating, weeks later, the living room is done.

This tiny hall was worse than the worst of the worst. Eight times hubby had to take it up, re-measure, and put it back down before it finally fit right. We were on the verge of divorce. We bought boxing gloves instead, Just kidding.

Hubby hates doing the closets. He’s claustrophobic. Been that way ever since he served four years in the Navy.

This was a Freddy Krueger kind of nightmare. Three layers of glued down linoleum. Took us two days to pull it up.

See that tiny room in the back? That’s the laundry room. I dread getting started on that because of the having to move the washer and dryer onto the back porch. That’s tomorrow’s project.

This is where the refrigerator lives. Thank goodness for a heavy duty hand truck. And for hubby who handled most of the weight. I hate moving appliances!

Finally! The living room, dining room, and kitchen are done except for the quarter round.

The bookcase hubby built for this space was in there so tight he had to beat it apart to get it out.

Hubby did a great job on my much-needed book shelves.

Decorating a room is much more fun than moving furniture, ripping up carpet, and putting down flooring.

Can’t wait to have the family over again for dinner.

I wish I could say we’re finished, but it’s only just begun.

Photos Before and After

ART

Below are before and after photos that I took over the years to use in my digital designs. At the time I created these images I was using PaintShop Pro X6. I have since upgraded to PaintShop Pro 2019 Ultimate.

This is our favorite spot in the spring and summer. We enjoy the sites and sounds of nature.

In this design, I used a photo of my back porch. The teddy bear is a picture tube that I added for interest. That’s what I love about digital design. You can add or remove whatever you choose.

As you can see, I added several picture tubes in this design. With the right program you can turn your photo into a dreamland, and get lost in it!

My main focus was the Crepe Myrtle hanging over the Azalea’s and Heavenly Bamboo.

Now the photo has a homey feel.

I had to do some cropping and enlarging to achieve the look I was after in this one.

So, I cheated a little. Okay, a lot. But it works. I took out a bunch of stuff I didn’t want and added things I enjoy: a hummingbird, bird nest and eggs, and a little note with a pretty bow. Now everyone’s happy.

What I like about digital design is I can fill in the bare spots of my flowerbed with beautiful flowers if I choose. Or I can leave it like it is and focus on the birdhouse as I did in the following design.

See how easy that was?

And last but not least, our first snow. Living in the south, we don’t get a lot of snow. But when we do, I love watching it come down. Sometimes my husband and I bundle up and sit on the back porch with a steaming cup of coffee, giggling like a couple of kids. That’s what makes life worthwhile.

For several reasons, we don’t decorate the outside for Christmas. One year however, we went all out and strung garland and lights on the banisters, put a big red bow on the light post, and hung wreaths on every window. And that’s where everything stayed till the following Spring. When my husband finally got around to taking it all down, birds had built nests in the Christmas wreaths! So the decorations you see here are all picture tubes.