January 31, 2022 – Happy New Year. It is a new year and we have a new perspective. We are going to keep plugging along tackling one project after another.  We can’t really do much outside since it’s cold and nothing’s growing, so we are focusing our energy on the house.

We installed the cabinets and countertop for the master bathroom vanity. We purchased a small vessel sink and love the way it looks.  One section of the vanity will be 4 drawers and the other will just be cabinets. Installing the first drawer was an exercise full of frustration! After 2 hours, the first draw was finally installed! Katie is re-thinking all the drawers for the kitchen. There has to be a better way – she’s off to watch more how-to videos!

Last month, we installed molding around the small master bedroom window to see if we liked it. After living with it for a few weeks, we decided to frame all the windows and doors the same way. But buying all that molding was way over our budget. So, we purchased raw material and cut the molding to size. Each piece had to be primed, sanded, painted, sanded, and painted again. It took FOREVER and it’s still not finished. We were able to get the molding up around a few of the windows and the statue nook by our front door.

In between painting and sanding the molding, we finished the bathrooms. We had to cut into the drawers of the guest bathroom vanity to make room for the water and drainpipe for the sink.  We installed toilets, fixtures, hung towel racks, shower curtains, and mirrors.

Before we end this entry, we do need to recognize that we began and end this month with wonderful family celebrations! We celebrated John’s birthday in early January. Our hope and prayer is that this is the last birthday celebration in the apartment. At the end of the month, the whole family traveled to Orlando to witness our niece’s wedding. It was great visiting with all our relatives. While we were there, we also celebrated Pappy’s (John’s Dad) and Eric’s birthdays and got to visit the manatees!