Basement XII

Brenda started priming the closet.  It wasn't long until I heard her muttering and expressing

some frustration with herself for running the paint roller over the recessed light fixture.

We got it cleaned up of course but the heat from the lights dried the paint almost instantly

and it came off only with some persuasion.

There wasn't a large area to paint but it was broken in several pieces and I was 

quite surprised when she started on a Sat afternoon and finished the primer and two

coats of paint before bedtime.  A real paint slinger, she is.

Looking toward the closet after Brenda finished.

And at long last.  

The final coat of varnish is being applied.

My neighbor Kirk works near the window and gets some fresh air.

Basement XI

With the main room under control it is easy to forget just how much work is left in the halls, the coat closet and storage area.  Included in these areas are 6 doors such as the one below leading to

the furnace and hot water heater. 

The coat closet with it's doors.

Starting on the hall wall.

Even though this is really the hall way to the main room, the area is large enough we hope

to eventually make a bookcase here. 

Just about done with this wall of about 90 square feet.

This walkway was lit with three small lights but now has four ceiling lights and three wall lights.

We went from two overhead lights in the main room to 4 ceiling can lights, 1 - 36" bar fixture with 4 accent lights for the fireplace, 1 ceiling fan fixture and 8 wall lights.  There were but three electrical outlets in the old room and now there are 11 outlets with 5 of those being double gang boxes.  It would have been interesting to keep track of how many feet of new wiring is in place but something close to 500 feet would be a reasonable estimate I think.

Basement X

More progress.

The main room is almost complete in these photos.  Just a few more

boards to go.  Then on to the hallway.

We are getting far enough Brenda is checking out carpet samples. 

As always, we've come across a few things we'd do differently if we knew when we started what we 

know now.  But all in all, it's looking satisfactory - at least to us.

Basement IX

We're ready for the walls.  

7:30 Saturday morning we begin with some measurements and then start setting the base layer.

Two rows run uninterrupted and then we're into setting outlet boxes.

Progress is pretty fast.  Brenda is impressed.  That makes me feel good!

After the outlet boxes, there are about 10 uninterrupted rows and then 6 more boxes 

to install for our wall lights.

It's early evening and I'm not ready to quit, but it's the last photo Brenda shoots today so the most 

recent photos will be in the next edition.

Basement VIII

Progress.

Fireplace is pretty much done finally.  We're very pleased with the end result.

That is, as long as the folks where we purchased the fireplace can make the multiple flame levels work.  

So far it only works on low which just doesn't put out enough heat. 
We've been assured it will get fixed.  We're counting on it because it's permanent now!

The shelving and hearth are all Indiana limestone. Mostly what I know is those pieces tend toward heavy.

Next step is the walls.  Perhaps Saturday we'll make some headway there. 

White Christmas, January & February

One of the best winters ever... if you like snow.  And we do!

We've had snow on the ground for almost 3 months now except for a brief 3-4 day span just after Christmas.

 

45 inches and counting so far this winter which makes it the 5th snowiest winter (so far) on record for Central IL.  The average snowfall in this part of the Midwest not as much as you might think and we just don't get the big snowfalls more common to parts of the West, North and even Northeast.  So this past weeks snowfall of 17 inches was quite a thing.  

This photo is taken from Karmen's townhouse north of Chicago. 

They definitely got more snow up there than we did.

My neighbor saw me shoveling the driveway and came to help.  Before moving to our town he'd lived in MN so he came well prepared with his heavy duty snow blower.

Our neighbors across the street just about have their vehicles dug out.  

Street view of our house. 

Path to the garage. 

Front sidewalk.

Looking out the garage toward the street.

While some areas had troubles keeping the snow plowed and had to deal with stranded cars, etc., I must credit our local snowplow crew who kept our streets passable at all times during the storm.  Even during the night.  Obviously a small town such as ours has less traffic and streets to deal with but also fewer equipment resources.  Job well done gentlemen!

Basement VII

A closeup of some stone.
It comes from Wisconsin and has some color variation not seen in this box. Actually we ordered two types of stone and mixed them to give additional variation.

Away we go. Starting with the corners and working from there. Taken about 10 AM.

Taken at noon.

At the end of the day on January 28.