Sadness

I dreaded the day I would be writing this post on my blog but the day has arrived.  Little Cooper our basset hound lost his battle with cancer today.  He lived a year past when he should have with the aggressive cancer.  With the new cancer medication and lots of love this little guy had a good life for the past year.  

We enjoyed every second with this guy.  He made our hearts grow bigger with every day we could love him and make him part of our family.

This big lug of love on his adoption day a year ago.  We were so excited to get this guy from the rescue and give him a good home.

He actually smiled like this for the whole 6 hour car ride home to his forever home with us.

He was such a happy little guy.

Cooper and I shared the love of white slipcovered furniture lol!  He loved my white chair and made it his own very quickly.

Good bye sweet boy we will miss you.  You rescued us and gave us such love.  May you find peace and love over the Rainbow Bridge.

Thank you to each and everyone of you that shared Cooper's story and always had love and prayers and good wishes for him.  His journey in life was shortened by cancer but his love he gave will fill our hearts for a million years.

Cooper 2009 to 2017

Cottage Update

Hi Everyone.  

Hope your new week is starting out to be a good one.  Just moving along on trying to find senior living for my mom and also working on getting bids etc. on a new garage and basement refinish on the soon to be new cottage.

We have a graduated side walk that goes to the street on this house.  It needs some repair and hopefully maybe even some brick pavers to tie into the cuteness of the brick home.

I had to laugh when we saw all the welcome mats to the front of the house when we came to look at it!!!  I guess they really wanted to welcome us in.
I will be putting up a cute new vintage mailbox for the mailman to put our mail in and also we need a pretty new porch light.  Just little things but it will make a difference.  I see lots of cute flowers adorning the porch.

We will be adding a nice deck and garage off the back of the house.

This is a picture of the back of the yard.  When the trees all fill in it will be so pretty back there and gives lots of privacy.  Not sure what perennials are planted back in the beds yet with things just starting to pop up.   I will be working on that this summer.

The pictures do not do this pretty yard justice.   The buds are just beginning but I can see that when these trees and flowers fill in it will be so pretty.

This is the basement that will be finished off for living space.  This corner will become a storage area.  New walls, new ceilings and lots of new lights will be added.

These steps will be carpeted and finished off.

New bathroom added to this area.  Loved the little hanging monkey that was left there!!!!  I guess he was the tour guide of the basement for us!

This area will become the new family room/ fireman cave and office for Terry.  So lots of work to be done in this area of the basement.  Since the cottage is only 900 sq. feet upstairs we really need this additional 900 sq. feet from the basement for more livable space.

We close on this home at the end of May and then the construction will begin.  I will bring you along on this journey with us.

 The upstairs will need some work too.  Expanding the kitchen will be entirely done by Terry and I.  I have a vision and he has the tools lol!

The basement area will have a contractor do the electrical, walls, rough in plumbing and ceiling work and then Terry and I will do all the finishing touches to the spaces.  Adding trim, doors and bathroom fixtures etc.  So there is a lot of work ahead to get this cottage ready for us to move into.  We will be staying with my daughter for a month while we do a lot of the work.

It is easier to do the construction when you are not living in the house.  Then we can move in after that.

Stay tuned for more news in the coming month.
Hope all of you are doing great.
Enjoying that Spring has Sprung here in Illinois.
Hugs,
Kris