Unexpected.

By the Artist

On the road.

It’s been a busy summer. The Modern Farmhouse project is wrapped up. You can see photos of this project on the link here. http://www.applewoodremodelers.com/recent-projects/

Three weeks ago along with the crazy of finishing up project details.. my mother died. She had been sick for a very long time. It wasn’t expected but it was. Knowing she is no longer suffering helps just a little.

We headed to PA for the Memorial service and to see my family for a brief visit. The Carpenter isn’t fond of flying so we drove. Twenty one hours one way. Kind of intimidating to contemplate. It took us two days to get to my parent’s house. We had a good road trip all things considered.

One thing when you drive.. you see things you would never see if you flew. Little slices of America. Troops of boy scouts on an adventure, two deer running through a cornfield, their coats catching the last golden rays of sunset, a woman riding her horse on early on a Sunday morning, two fawns on a hillside, old barns, a caravan of kids on a missions trip… their cars colorfully lettered… “honk for Jesus”.. we honked like crazy. Some beautiful dogs (of course the Carpenter had to stop to pet the dogs and speak with the owners)… a black English lab with a curly coat named “Curly” and an English Cream Retriever called “Sam”. Another lab on the road trip of his life.. traveling from California to the east coast before setting sail for Paris with his owners.

I was impressed with how many Americans are out there on a road trip. You see the long lines at the airport on the news. You don’t see the busy service areas along the turnpikes. It really was heart warming to see all the families.

The Carpenter commented that all you need to do is smile and say hi and conversations start. He met a guy at one of the hotels where we stayed. When he found out the Carpenter had a construction company he said.. ”hey I’ve been looking for someone to remodel my kitchen”. The Carpenter said… “well that would be nice but you live in Cleveland and I live in White Bear Lake!”.

We arrived back in Minnesota just in time to head out for our annual July camping trip. We were exhausted and very ready for a few days of rest and relaxation. Well we had to cut our vacation short as the Carpenter ended up in the hospital with a serious staph infection. The cause? A stubbed toe and the perfect storm of circumstances that allowed the staph to grow and attack. Sad to say he lost a toe in the deal. He’s had a very wonderful attitude about the whole ordeal. 

The good of this situation is that it has forced him to project manage and meet with customers only, while he recuperates. And this will become his new "normal" after he has healed. It is a very very good thing. I have wanted this for a long time. And now he is finally ready to let go of doing the actual work. I'm sure he will write about this change in his life soon.

Since being home from the hospital.. our crew has managed well. I am encouraged and I think the Carpenter is too. He's able to drive so is getting to the project sites as needed. 

So this is why we have been absent lately from this blog and Facebook. The month of July was a bit of a bust for us. But we are looking forward to a fall of new beginnings, plenty of work and letting this eventful difficult summer pass. Hopefully we can head to our favorite camping spot when the leaves start to change. We will look forward to that!

And we look forward to working with you! 

A good idea.

by the Artist

While the Carpenter deals with the mechanics and the ordering and all the details of our current large project- The Modern Farmhouse- I've been assisting with design decisions when needed. It's been fun to work with the homeowners as they work through the many decisions that are needed to be made for the scope of this project. I am basically "on call" ready to lend a listening ear or do some research for materials.

I think.. no I know that this can be overwhelming with the amount of decisions that come along. Even if you have a good sense of design and know what you like and what you don't like.. it still can be taxing. 

I usually set up a secret board on Pinterest and an Ideabook on Houzz.com. Then send out the invitations to start sharing and gathering styles– flooring, trim, lighting, tile etc. It's collaborative and I like that. I work mostly alone these days.. I no longer have co-workers to bounce ideas off of.. so boards and books and collaborations scratch that itch. I also work on keeping up with the latest housing design trends. Well that is the easy part as I tend to chase shiny objects. Unfortunately my ever changing design perspective has made the Carpenter crazy at times! Well and me too. just alittle.

Why am I sharing this? For those of you that might need that type of help. Perhaps you are leaning towards calling that other builder. Maybe we would be a good fit if you know you need design help, that you know it kind of makes you crazy, and to even think about it makes you break out in a cold sweat. My design assistance for whatever question or decision you may have or will encounter during the entire length of the project is included in the project. No extra cost or fee. It's part of the deal.

And that's a pretty good deal.