Working vacation

For Christmas, Garry gave himself some projects around the house.  He wrapped up some boxes all pretty and wrote my name on them, but since the contents were supplies for various home improvement endeavors, what he really gave me was a lot of work for himself.

First up: A garage door keypad.  This is kind of hilarious, given our Christmas experience, but the installation was simple--maybe the easiest project Garry has ever done.

Next, Garry installed a charging station for our cell phones.  The electrical wiring for this job was a beast.  It took forever.  But the finished product is pretty slick!

The third project of the week was significantly larger: installing fake-wood laminate in the bathroom downstairs. The old linoleum in that room was completely disgusting. It has bothered us for four and a half years. So on the day after Christmas, we took a little trip to Lowe's and bought supplies (my gift on Christmas morning was a sample).  The project had many phases, including painting the walls, as seen below. [Not pictured: pulling up old linoleum and scraping off all the glue from the concrete.] Garry had to detour a bit because he got slammed with the flu and spent an entire day in bed. But he finished the bathroom on New Year's Eve, just in time for my party.

 

 

As if all of that weren't enough, Garry worked on another project that didn't start under the Christmas tree.  The kids have been begging to swap bedrooms. You might recall this request showing up on a couple of wish lists for Santa.  After considering the idea for several weeks, and even experimenting with the kids' sleeping arrangements, Garry and I hit on a plan that affects four bedrooms and the kitchen.  The plan rolled out New Year's Day.

This is the only photo you get for now.  (I'm a nerd, but organized office supplies make me happy.)  I'll post more pictures when we're done.

Garry is one ambitious guy.  Buying me shoes would have been a lot less work!