BEFORE

AFTER

NEW LIVING SPACE INSIDE.....

AND OUT!

Now, to rebuild our room here in minutes.  It only took 4 months in real life-Yikes!  Now, we're planting, decorating and all that fun stuff. 

Today, demolition was completed!  That Bobcat got to work first thing hauling all the concrete out of the yard.  It also had a bit more foundation and a few steps to take out.  Now, the house sits and waits for its' new room.

Once the Bobcat was gone, the boys celebrated by spending a lot of time having fancy jumping contests from the remaining steps.  We are all excited for tomorrow to come.  The rebuilding begins then. 

Due to a bit of rain, todays work was cut short a bit.  They managed to get the whole room floor torn out, though.  Boy, was it loud.  The house was a rumbling and shaking for quite a few hours.  Go Bobcat, go! 

Today, the room itself came down.  It was fascinating to all of us as we watched it come down piece by piece.   

First the siding was all torn off.  

Then, the skylights came out.  Bye-bye leaky, old skylights.  We won't miss you! (See the kids all watching out the window?)

Next, the roof started disappearing, bit by bit. 

Then, the walls (still have kids watching out the window.  Hey, get back to those school books. )

By days end, the room was gone.  Wow! 

     When we purchased out home 5 years ago, it came with a "lemon" room addition.  This room has leaked from the foundation, the ceiling, the skylights and door since the day we moved in.  After thousands of dollars in repairs, we still had leaks and problems. 

     The latest problem showed up about one year ago when the room decided to pull away from our home leaving up to a 2 inch gap between the room and the home.  Also, the floor started to buckle, crack and sink in many areas.  With a little caulk and insulation, we made it through the winter and summer, but we knew we would have to do something soon. 

     After weighing our options, meeting with many contractors, realtors, repairman etc., we  finally made a decision.  The room is coming down and will be rebuilt upstairs on post.  We will have a family room off the kitchen upstairs and a nice screened in porch downstairs.   It is a huge project but will be so nice when it is all finished.  

+++++

This is the room addition off the basement before any work started.

Notice the HUGE oak tree?  It's way bigger than our house!  The new room is going to be on pier and post so the tree had to come down.  I was soooo sad. 

Today, the contractors placed their camo porta-potty in our drivieway.........

and started the room demolition.  All the drywall and insulation was torn down.  Wow!  What a project this is going to be.

Another glimpse into the corners of our home today......

At one time in my life I avidly collected bears.  I have never been able to part with most of them. 

Bear Central

I LOVE candles!  We have candles burning much of the day, during meals and almost always at night.  We have plain simple ones and some fancier ones.  Some of the large fancy ones, I burned about an inch hole in the middle and not place votives inside them to save the beauty of the original.  Interesting, I know.

Candles Waiting For Nightfall (Or PowerOutages)

We drink raw cows milk in our house most of the time.  I make keifer from it and we drink that as well, mostly in smoothies.  The milk comes from the farmer in big wonderful gallon glass jars.  We are supposed to return them weekly.  Guess I got a little behind.  Yikes!

Time To Bring Those Raw Milk Jars Back

TheBean and I are doing an art curriculum I have used with the other two boys in the past.  We are having so much fun.  This week he did a study of primary colors.  There is always an art project after you have learned the new concept.

TheBean Made A Primary Color Quilt

We don't use white sugar in this house.  I actually don't even own any.  Our sweetener of choice is honey.  We do use some stevia and on very rare occasions rapadura or raw, organic brown sugar.  But our favorite is definately honey.

Our Beloved Honey Pot

One of our favorite times of day is as the day draws to a close.  The boys all curl up in their beds and I sit on some big comfy pillows and read to the boys.  We so look forward to that last little bit of time together before they drift off to sleep. 

Where Mama Sits For Our Nightly Reading of Terrestria

From the corners of our home today................

Down to earth, home cooked meals served here.  Hours change daily so check with the management before making plans.

In the kitchen

I love old antiques, especially from my grandparents homes.  I don't think they had any clue how much of my house they would furnish.

In A Corner  :-)

No Goldilocks and the 3 bears living here.  Just 3 little munchkins whom I happen to adore everything about.

Three Little Towels All Hung in a Row

Sometimes these old feet get a bit worn out and feel like my old shoes.  However, there is truly nothing more comfortable that old broken in shoes.  They are the best.  Try getting me to put on new ones....go ahead, try me.....

These Shoes Have Seen A Lot of Wear

We like to soak our grains and beans before cooking them to help break them down.  It takes some preplanning since soaking and cooking is about 18-24 hours but you eventually get the hang of it-- or just eat something else while you're waiting for your beans to be ready.  We've done that a few times more than I want to admit. 

Beans Soaking For Spicey Maple Black Beans Tomorrow

We eat a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables.  I love to organic garden to all my scraps go straight out to the compost pile.  Nothing transforms garden soil like good homemade compost.  Add this for a couple years and your soil will be like black gold

Compost Bucket Full Yet Again

Animals in this house will always be animals but quickly become members of the family, as well.  Our 14 year old cat is such a sweetie and will cuddle with you at any time.  He follows me around at night, right beside the dogs.  Too funny.

Our Constant Companion, Old Man Frack