Monday, June 29, 2015

Red Dragonfly


In 59 years
I
have never seen
red dragonfly

                 ..until just recently





This guy has been visiting us for a couple of months now -


I am captivated by him
      
          he poses 

                  I capture him with my camera


  Mother Nature.  
She is pretty amazing





you would think that predators
would have
caught up with him...

but here he is...again
       


look for
magic
every day

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Done!

the
little garage/studio project

which
was to 
take
about 
2 months
to 
complete

is 
finally
done!!

and it only took 10 months


  the front entry 

to the
blue grey
front door

 you walk
through
the
front door
to the left
is the kitchen


and
to the right is the
little
living room


lots
of 
natural light


a nice size closet
with


a loft above for
more
storage
(a ladder will help)




to the right
is
the
bathroom



a
nice 
big shower
and tons of 
natural
light



the
sleeping space
aka bedroom
is
here
and is about
the same
size as
the living area


380 square feet
total!!!



there is 
a little 
private yard
that
we
will fix up
 and show
pictures
later



This project
was WAY
bigger
than
we ever thought...

huge shout out
 of thanks
to our architect,
 to
to
handy man/plumber extraordinaire

and to
Eddie
of 

Those amazing artisans
went
above and beyond
their
 call of duty

and
dealt with us
and 
the 
City of SLO
with 
calm
and 
smiles   -- 

DONE!


Sunday, September 14, 2014

"It will get worse before it gets better"

after months
of
waiting for permits
and
inspections
etc etc etc
we
are
excited
that
the 
little
studio
is
coming together

Paul
our contractor
told us
"it will get worse before it gets better"

yup
worse...
take a peek
the driveway (to the right)
 through the yard
and into
the street
was trenched 
to
hook
up
gas and water
lines
fences torn down
shrubs ripped out

  what a mess!!!


this is the side of the studio from the driveway
you can see
there is
an entrance
through the 
fence





through the opening in the fence
you come upon the
entry
and
the front door

straight ahead
to  the left
you have a cute little yard


albeit shabby
the yard
will be
a good 
size
and super private



 the tile in the shower is done


and they are
finishing up
the 
dry wall
and texturing

looking for an Oct 1 finishing date
(2014, we think)

the story thus far......

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Week Seven - give or take a two.....

slowly

oh
so 
slowly
the little garage
is becoming
studio


it is 
little
(tiny)

but
full 
of 
charm
(side view from the driveway)

(cross view of the entrance)

above is the 
entrance

there will
be
two steps
up
to a
stoop
    a great landing for potted
geraniums or marguerites

and
the two steps
will
step
into the
little
yard 


this is
looking
into
the
 living room





looking from 
the living room
into
the kitchen
(sink under the window
fridge to
the left)


the sleeping area
aka bedroom
is
here




look!
from the
bed
you can look up
to the open
loft
(or storage space)
  you can hide
stuff
towards
the
back
and hang plants
(or other cool stuff)
in front

the bathroom
is
under
the loft
and 
large
closet
is that
space
you can
 see
bottom center






........
we have picked out appliances
and flooring
and countertops
and a cute (roomy and practical) vanity for the bathroom

.......  stay tuned

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Week 2 (and some change)

Week 2
(and some change)

progress is
being
made
on
the little
garage
cottage

step by step
inch by inch
and
we can
now 
see
what
the little
cottage
will
look like
 (the kitchen to the left and the loft above the bathroom upper right)

 (looking up to the loft)

 (appliance sizes are so important in such a small space)


 (the side of the cottage - the middle space will be the front door)


(the side entrance - again.  
The front door will be the middle space
with windows on either side)

Framing
is 
just about
done!
more to come...

Monday, May 19, 2014

From a Garage to a Studio Apartment - the Transformation



see that little garage?


starting 
today
you will watch
it 
transform
into
a
charming
studio apartment



don't know
how 
long
it will take - 
hopefully
maybe 
six weeks.....
        but, then 
              this IS 
                   SLO town


the
garage
belongs to
this
little
cottage..

it was built
in
1927
from a 
that
was 
shipped
from 
Los Angeles to SLO
by train
(you can see the original plan when you click on Pacific Kit Homes)

the new studio
will
preserve
the
 integrity
and
history
of
the
little place
 - and it will give it new life
         - it's own little identity



 the garage
has
this 
great
roof 
pitch
to it

the pitch will give the studio 
an 
airy 
and
 open feel


it
will
have it's
own
little
yard
- fenced in for privacy
(and to be pet friendly)

new 
large
windows
-for brightness
(there will be two large windows replacing the garage door
and one where the vent is)

and
it will have
lots of
fun
and
charming touches
that
will make it
a
perfect
little home
for 
someone
one
day

will
take
you 
along
on
this 
adventure...
     it might get messy (as most remodels do)
              but you will be a part of
                    this with us from the
                            start (today) to the finish

follow our ideas on Pinterest:


...
stay tuned




             

Sunday, May 18, 2014

I'm Baaaack...... and wait to you see what begins tomorrow!!!!!!


have 
so
not blogged
in quite a while
.....
can't claim
busyness
    or even laziness
..really
  
just a 
cray-cray
new
ObSeSSiON
....



you see
my dear friend
Barbara (as in Happy Go Smile Barbara)
turned 
me on to
an
online
art course (ecourse, I think its called)
by
(if you click on her name you can go to her website)

Kelly
(and her side kick Lynx)
teach you
how to
create
really 
fun   happy 
and easy
mixed media art

I did the eclass
and then 
Barbara and I
had some fun
both
together
and with friends
making art

AND THEN
Barbara tells me
about the
Art Abandonment Project
where
you make
something (anything) special
and 
leave it for someone to find
....to make them smile
       
       it is so fun!!!  

I have heard from 
just
 a handful
of finders
but
creating
something
colorful
and 
fun
and
even
meaningful
has been
 addictive!

here are
a few
of
my
creations


Those
were 
all 
abandoned...  as were about ten more
   

so
blogging
has taken
temporary
back - seat
(I didn't really think my 9 followers would mind my absence)


a new project starts tomorrow.....
Tune in  -  it will super FUN!