Summer Begins to End

The heat may be sticking around a few more months, but with the start of college football just days away it can only mean one thing.  Fall is on its way.  I thought I'd take this time to reflect on how my Spring/Summer To Do list worked out.

 1) I put a dotted line through 'Paint more ceilings' since I did get some done...like my master bathroom ceiling...but I still have plenty left to do.

 2)  I planted a garden and rocked it for a while!  For a first attempt, I think I was quite successful.  Right now the only thing still growing is okra and very small jalapenos.  I think if it weren't for the hail storm and the new dog, it would still be doing pretty good.  Now I have to come up with what to plant for winter.

3)  I remulched the front yard and had it looking pretty good until the scorching heat took some of my plants and the hail storm covered the mulch in more leaves.  I think next spring will be even better since I've learned a lot about what works in this area.

 6,7 & 8) I finally found curtains and redid my dining set.  The results turned out better than I expected.  Formal yet fun. 

So the only things I didn't get around to doing were fixing the faucet and saving for kitchen countertops.  But I did have a fabulous European vacation and get a new roof. 

Not too bad.  Now I just have to put together my Fall To Do list and figure out how to fit home renovation around college football schedules.

Raise the Roof!

The Great Hailstorm of 2012 claimed my roof.  Or so said my insurance company.  Some people might be elated by that news, but I'm guessing those people have lower insurance deductibles than I do.  Sigh.  I was at least excited about catching it before leaks created an even bigger problem.  Thursday morning, while I was still trying to wake up in the 6 o'clock hour, roofing elves delivered their supplies.

And while I was at work so were they.  When I came home they were still at it.  In fact, they were at it until about 9:30 last night.  I feel bad for their longs hours but I'm glad to know they were well hydrated in the heat.

Someone was hanging out in my driveway this morning so I assume they are finishing the job today.  Here's an idea of the damage from the storm.

 
Nothing too disturbing, but there are definitely some shingles knocked out of place.  Here is what it looks like now.

They replaced my whirly-thing and I actually preferred the black one I had originally.  But that's really not a big deal.  The funny thing is that the After photo almost looks like it's had some damage but that's because it's a different type of composite shingle.  This new shingle has a higher profile, doesn't lie as flat.  It also has an ombre shading (how trendy) that gives it the appearance of more depth.  Here's another before and after (of different parts of the house) that show how the shingles are different.

All in all this has been my most expensive before/after project and also the most unimpressive as far as change in appearance is concerned.  Necessary but not exciting.