admittedly, one small step...

we have begun the daunting task of drywalling the upstairs.

of course, before that could be done we needed to clean out the attic. but even before that, G needed to build me some shelving, so i had somewhere to go with all the junk treasures that lovingly overflow fill the attic.

we also needed to clean all the junk salvaged colonial woodwork treasures out of the girls' room, which had over the last several years turned into the "holding room". (basically an overflowing and embarrassing mess of more "stuff".)

Dave built the attic access, and reinforced the flooring up there, so now much of the salvaged trim is destined for up there.

we (Dave) also needed to completely wire the upstairs. the kids were sharing one outlet between them- 2 bedrooms, 3 kids, and an alarming spaghettiness of plugs, extension cords and power strips. *blogger shudders in relief that the house did not burn down*

then furring strips, (frugally made from OSB, at a fraction of the cost of the traditional pine boards) some foam board in the sewing room, and finally a few pieces of drywall were actually hung!

here the girls are singing. the foam board is their hymnal, and they are singing "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing". either that, or "Joy To The World"

this is the sewing room as seen from the doorway. only one northwest facing window, so it can be a bit dreary in there. to the left of Dave you can see the chimney cupboard. also, the fireplace is hidden behind the baseboard heaters leaning up against. *almost* done in this room.


finally hanging the drywall at the top of the stairway. that is a relief! with that being the wall that shares the storage attic, it is good to finally have this closed up. G is standing in the doorway to M's room, and the sewing room door is to the left of Dave. immediately to the left of the little window is the doorway into the attic, which used to be the servant's quarters. when we bought the house, there were several little rooms in there, but we ripped out all the dividers and plaster and lath, making that one big (usable) storage area. there are steps in the attic that go down into the kitchen. however, that access is closed off, and i use the steps as my kitchen pantry.



B helps cut the drywall.



A helps snap the chalk line.

we have moved on to the remainder of the upstairs: the 3 rooms across the front of the house. they are coming along nicely, and I'll try to post pictures of them, as well, soon.

the most exciting news is that we are going to have some help with the drywalling. the first week of march, and possibly another week, too, we are having 2 crews come in to hang drywall. how exciting is that? and I'm so glad to have the help for both Dave and G. they both work so hard, and before you know it, it'll be time to head outside for all the spring work!