Baby, it's cold outside ...

The temperatures are finally starting to turn cold. Whether it stays this way is any one's guess, but if it does we are becoming more and more prepared.

As Mike works his way through the house he is opening up walls, cleaning up the framing and insulating. The latest room to get this treatment is the living room. Last weekend Mike pulled out the very unattractive panelling that had been gracing the walls. This, once again, was what we found underneath:

Ah, cellulose insulation ... this could go a long way to explaining why we had some hefty heating bills last winter. Not only is it extremely inefficient in filling the wall cavities, it is nasty stuff to remove. We split the duties, each taking one side of the room and thankfully got the mess cleared out fairly quickly.

Mike then worked his magic and the walls now look like this:

He didn't have any drywall on hand to finish the job, so Mike unexpectedly (at least to me - I guess I missed the planning meeting!) turned his attention to the demolition of our main floor powder room.

Before I could grab the camera he already had the sink torn out!

The work went pretty quickly and I actually have to say I don't miss it. The room was small and cold and had a funky smell. The space that it occupied will become a closet for the water heater, which is currently residing upstairs in Maia's future bedroom. Mike then plans on building a bump-out on the side to house a new powder room, or possibly a slight larger bathroom featuring a doggy shower to hose Finn down when he comes in covered in mud or sand.

I will miss my awesome little window once the addition comes and that old wall is removed. Mike has offered to replace it with a new octagonal window, but it won't be the same ... this one is like a cute little wooden porthole, a paint-peeling, mildewy little porthole ... maybe it won't be so missed.

Other things of note going on the the Crooked Cottage? The living room and kitchen ceilings are completely installed and primed. They still need to be painted and have finish trimwork done, but this is a million times better than the old ceiling tiles we found when we moved in ...

What's next? I think that depends on what mood Mike is in ; )
I've heard a rumour that hooking up the new dishwasher is on the books ... (and the parts required are in the mail!)