Spring has finally arrived in all its glory in the Northeast: trees are leafing out, flowers are blooming, the temperatures are spring-like, and best of all, there is no snow in sight! Hooray, Hurrah, Hooray!
Last week, our crocuses bloomed, while there was still a big, dirty pile of snow across the street in the parking lot. One day when the temperatures were starting to become uncomfortably warm, I said to David, “Can you believe it was less than two weeks ago when you and I were out here shoveling knee-deep snow?” It was a fast transition from winter to summer weather. This week is much more spring-like, which I am happy about. I have been hanging out my wash to be dried by the spring breezes. Oh the joy of bringing them indoors smelling so fresh and clean!
It has been a while since I posted anything here on my blog. In the meantime, David and I have not been idle. Here is what we’ve been working on.
I chose the color of the walls to be the same as what we have in our living room and dining room. I love how much this color changes with the lighting. In the above photo, there is an overhead light that makes the walls look purple. With just the daylight, it looks like this:
These photos were taken only minutes apart with the same setting on the camera. The only difference is one is daylight, the other is with an overhead light on. When I turned on the lights above the sink, along with the overhead light, it looks different still:
The carpenter finished doing the sheet rock two weeks ago, and then the plumber did the finish plumbing a few days later. David and I have been busily doing painting and trim work ever since. There is still one piece of trim that goes above the door, and then I need to spot paint where I’ve filled in the holes. That finishes the bathroom.
It’s hard to believe that this is the same space from the photo I posted before Christmas:
I am always amazed at the difference between seeing the bones of a house and a finished space… it is like viewing an empty canvas before an artist starts to paint. So much work and effort have gone into creating this bathroom. And the result is wonderful… having a second bathroom in our home. It reminds me of a recurring dream I used to have when I was a young mother. I used to dream that I would discover an extra room in my home that I didn’t know was there. In the dream, I would always think, “I’ve always dreamed of this, but this time it’s real!” Having this new bathroom in our home is like waking and finding this dream come true.
The other “new room in our house” is our attic. We had a bamboo floor installed, and now it looks like this:
So life here on the home front has been more than busy. There are several other things going on in my life, which I will relate at another time. In the meantime, we are gearing up for another season of Airbnb guests, and then placing our home back on the market. David and I keep visualizing our lives in semi-retirement. What a treat it will be not to be so overwhelmingly busy and have time for leisure, such as watching the birds and taking regular bike rides, reading and writing, gardening and hosting guests. But to get there from here, we need to get through these next few months.
In the meantime, I wish everyone a Happy Spring! I will be back again, just as soon as I can.
It is good to hear from you again. I always look forward to seeing what you are doing or planning to do. I have slowed down drastically. We have entered the “Summer Mode”, our slow easy life.
Katie, a slow, easy life sounds wonderful. Someday… I hope.
It’s always a pleasure to hear from you, Katie. I occasionally visit blogs, and yours is always my first choice. Time for me to come visit you again…
Happy Summer to you in Florida!
Saloma, your bathroom and attic are beautiful!
In my garden in the Netherlands, the daffodils are blooming and I enjoy that.
I wish you a Happy Spring.
Sonja, thank you for your compliments. So interesting to know that the daffodils are blooming in the Netherlands at the same time as here in New England.
Happy Spring to you as well.
Hi Saloma,
I always look forward to reading your post, when it arrives in my email!
You two have been BUSY!!! Nice job!
Wish Spring would arrive, and stay for a while, here in the Pacific Northwest. We have had an overabundance of rain, everything is just soggy and saturated. The daffodils have been blooming for a while, but don’t last long when it pours, hails and the wind whips them around! Yesterday was beautiful with temps here in the mid 60’s, but back to cooler & more rain again today! Wouldn’t trade “home” for anywhere else that I have been, but have had enough gray days for this winter/Spring!
Blessings to you, as you prepare for a busy season. I always thought it would be fun to run a B & B, but at this point in life, it looks like a lot of hard work! lol I really would LOVE to visit yours, and YOU, do not enjoy being away from home for long trips!
CJ, it’s great to see you here. Wow, it sounds like you have been drenched in the Northwest! Normally you have spring a while before we do.
I would love to host you in our home. Ohio will still be a ways from the Northwest, though.
Thank you so much for visiting this blog regularly.
I hope Spring arrives soon for you.
Long time ago that I read here. But thought I have to read now and see what a wonderful post this is. It looks all so great! Here spring is coming too. We need it after all the sad things that happened lately in our community. Time for walks and talks. We like to combine that.
Much love from here out of the North!
Wilma
Wilma, thank you for coming by. Blessings to you as you seek healing in your community.
Happy Spring!
so happy to hear that spring has arrived up there! Enjoy!!
Joan, thank you. I will… and I do enjoy Spring. It’s another beautiful day here… so grateful for it!
Looks like your hard work has paid off for a lovely bathroom. I am sure you will enjoy. As I was growing up our family of 9 children also had only one bathroom. I wonder how we did it. Of course in those early days, baths were mostly once a week or so!
It is always special to see your posts. I especially enjoyed reading about your trip to Switzerland. You visited some of the same places we saw two years ago on an Anabaptist tour.
Sadie, great to hear from you! Yes, I would have been happy with one bathroom in the house when I was growing up.
So glad to know you enjoyed the Switzerland posts. I did not know that you took a tour… how cool! I would love to hear about that sometime. I will be in your town in June for the conference at EMU, so perhaps we can get together.
Happy Spring!
Seloma, your attic is just beautiful. The floor is really nice. I just love your new powder room and the paint. Even before reading your descriptions and only seeing the pictures the paint color caught my eye and I said to myself that paint reminds me of my special glass vase. Several years ago I found a small pretty pinkish/purple vase at a yard sale. That evening I said to my husband “I love my new pinkish/purple vase” as I turned to look at it where it sat under a florescent lamp and it was blue. For a second I was very puzzled and wondered if I was imagining it was the pink/purple color so I asked my husband to clarify. I had never heard of glass turning color. I brought it to another light with incandescent bulbs and it was the pink/purple color again. I did some internet research and finally found out that it is neodymium glass that is quite valuable. Pretty good for a 25 cent investment. A few weeks ago I bought another identical vase and 2 toothpick holders also made out of the same glass at a consignment shop in our neighborhood. Not the bargain of the yard sale one but not near what I was finding it for sale online but I had to have them since it was the first time I had seen any since I bought the the first vase. My internet search took a little while to even find out what it was and finally I ended up at a web site for a craft gift shop in Montpelier VT. I guess some of the crafts there were made with neodymium glass. Maybe your paint has some neodymium in it. There is a very interesting wikipedia article about neodymium.
Michele, thank you for this information… this is brand new to me. I love learning about something I’d never heard of before. You could be right, that this paint has neodymium in it.
Thank you for your compliments. It feels great to have it done… David put the last piece of trim up last night.
Happy Spring!
Hi Saloma, I so enjoyed reading this post and hearing that you will have the plans worked out for putting the house up for sale.
Thanks, Denise, for your good wishes. All best to you as well.
It really is amazing how light can change the color and feel of a room! Wow! It looks beautiful. The Attic room really turned out nice and I love the vibrant colors you choose for the rugs and bedspread. Did you make the rugs and is the bedspread actually a quilt? Were they made by your hands? Spring is showing its face here in Pittsburgh also. Everything is becoming that beautiful green you only get in spring. My lilac bushes are blooming, my peonies are sprouting up like nobodies business! Paul and I just got back from a few days up in Slippery Rock camp ground where we have a park model camper on the creek. We spring cleaned getting ready for a new year of enjoying a few days away when our schedule allows. Wednesday it is suppose to be 80* here and lots of sun. I am so looking forward to hanging my laundry out on the line. I’m with you on that one Saloma, nothing smells better. Thanks for sharing your photos with us!
Pamela, as always, it is good to see you here. Yes, that is a quilt on the bed in the attic. I made the rugs, but the quilt was given to me. It is Amish made, but not by me.
Oh what fun… going camping. David and I haven’t been in ages. So glad you had that pleasure.
It is a perfect day here in the Northeast… low 70s and partly sunny. I am looking at the steeple in town, with a tree leafing out behind it, and a flowering tree across the road from there… so gorgeous!
You are welcome for the photos, and thanks for letting me know you enjoyed them!
Many Blessings!