JerAndDiJorgenson: On with the remodel (and the rest of life)

When I first started this blog it was just to record a few things from our life that I thought would be fun for our kids to read on the web. Since I got such a hoot out of reading theirs, I figured I would do one too! Diane quickly took over and became the more frequent blogger, but she has now moved on to Facebook and doesn't come here any more. So, I am pretty much back at the helm. The previous post, The Front Porch Floor, promised updates on the continuing remodel of our "vintage" 1932 Wrightwood cabin between vacations, scouts and other distractions of life. So, on we go... I need to get this back porch remodeled to match the now "relatively new" kitchen.

This back door serves as the most frequent entrance for us and most visitors... not very attractive.

But first I had to take the Scouts to Camp Whitsett and a few other trips.

Like the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park

And a little trip up Mt. Baden-Powell, and a couple others you can see on the Scout Blog

And we had to do a Family Reunion at my sister's beach house in Capitola

It was cool weather and cold water (yeah, spoiled by Hawaii), but an awesome time!

And a beautiful house to gather great kids and grand kids for crafts and fun

Di and I took a little weekend trip to Sedona, one of our favorite places

Had breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot

This is Di's self-portrait at the information center, I guess they were warning us to beware of the local wildlife!

We went up to Lake Powell and took a river raft "float" down the Colorado. A "float" means there is no white water and it's not a very exciting ride. Beautiful scenery, and nice to be on the water, though. And I have always wanted to see this stretch of the river.

And last weekend we went up to TeriLe's birthday party in Washington.

Here are all the Washington grand kids!

And we got to spend some time with Tyler's family here in SoCal. Here are the boys at the lake.

And we went to Grandparents day at Taylor's school.

Here we are waiting in line for pictures. But, what the heck, we had a camera too!

And just this weekend we got to have the twins up for a sleep-over. That was super-fun.

We went to the park

And took more pictures

But now, it's time to get to work. This is almost a before picture... I have already moved the water heater down to the basement and forgot to get a picture first. But the water heater used to be in that corner behind the Coke machine.

It's new home is in the basement. I tried to move the existing one to save some money, but it didn't move well. So we now have a new one all snug and secure in it's blanket under the house. It was nice that a flue, gas line, and water lines were all conveniently located.

Next project, the door.

Now, remember, nothing in this old house is level, plumb, square, or standard size. The original entry door was only 28" so I needed to open it up for a 32" 9-lite entry door. To do that, I needed to move the light switches and the porch light over 4" as well.

Here is the new door.

It makes the house look crooked (which it is) because the new door is now level and plumb.

And on we go. Next, move the plumbing to move the washer to the other side of the dryer under the window so we can put cabinets between the washer/dryer and the Coke machine. Then repair all the drywall, put in a new sub-floor, build and install the cabinets and install the new flooring to match the kitchen and front porch. All before Thanksgiving? Well, maybe. We'll see. Di has said I can move the washer/dryer to the Little Red House so I don't have to work around them. She also said I should take some vacation days to get this done. I think she wants it done quicker than the kitchen!