April Showers Bring Me Surprises

It has been cold and rainy this last week off and on so we have not been able to go outside. I took a few days off and just chilled. Well during those days I poked around the house. First this last Saturday we took the living room ceiling down. It had started to sag and crack. Someone had put the texture on it and it was yellowing in the cracks. A BIG thank you to my son J and to Dave. They both got hit with this with no warning which is typical around here, and we had a great time together doing this. Here is a picture of my son working hard.

Now we wanted to work with the wood and make the planked ceiling but as my title stated April showers have brought me surprises instead of flowers. During the rain the other night there was a small leak over the television. Dad stopped by yesterday to pick up that awful cement like ceiling and take it to the dump. With the nailers still bowing the way they are and the leak, as a precaution we have to take all of it down and check to make sure it is all still stable. So plans once again change. As they often do with an old house. 

During one of my poking around trips I noticed this in the stairway to the basement.

When the previous owners remodeled the kitchen they put in a new wall. This is the back of it. Well looking at the wall and the top of the stairwell I thought huh I wonder what is in that space above the stairway. Dave got the familiar Oh Boy Here We Go Look. 

So yesterday I pulled the lazy suzan out and using the crowbar and hammer I popped a hole into the wall so that if there was nothing behind there we could just put the lazy suzan back and noone would be the wiser.

Well we shined a flashlight into the hole and this is what we have after a whole days work.

The start to a Pantry! I have not a clue why who ever it is did this. They could have made their work so much easier had they used the existing wall. Instead they put the new wall about 6 inches out and covered the pantry. So we have moved the refrigerator out to the sun room area just behind the snack bar and are moving cupboards yet again. Dave is so good about this stuff. Once again he gets hit with this with little warning. And not one word of complaint. Maybe a few eye rolls here and there but all in all he takes it very well. He has never done electrical work so that was intimidating for him. Now me I had to learn a lot of handy things being a single disabled mom on a low income. But I am losing my sight so I have to pass the torch so to speak. The wire for the lights and an outlet needed to be moved. So I walked him through how to find which wire it is downstairs, how to disconnect and put it all back together. He did a fantastic job. 

I am so excited. It just gave me so much more storage in the kitchen and freed up alot of cupboard space. I  moved the lazy suzan there and will keep it turned like it is. I know they aren't supposed to be like that but I plan on doing a built in look and all of the food will be in the same area.