Still thinking about pallet floors

So, we got lucky and got the most perfect flooring for the living room!  BUT, there was only enough for the living room.  We still have to find flooring for the the hallway, bedroom and dining room.  So I'm back to pondering pallets, since buying flooring can get expensive and it just doesn't have the character that salvaged wood does.

I found a few more photos to try to post, let's see if these don't get the dreaded red X!

and this one, although I do like the first one best

And then there's this ceiling too:

I might paint the floors if we do the pallets on the ceiling to keep everything from seeming a little like a mirror.  Painted floors are perfectly acceptable in a cottage :)

A new "toy" for the kitchen

We just got this!

It is the Hobart era slicer and grater attachment for the Kitchenaid.  Of course as soon as we got it home, we popped it on and made some potato chips.  SO very fun!  I will have to take a video of it.  It fits on the front of the mixer. Now to find other attachments...

The gardens....

We've been hard at work in the gardens...and here are a few pics to share!

Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy:

Rudbeckia Cherokee Sunset:

Echinacea Tiki Torch:

Echinacea Hot Papaya:

Echinacea Raspberry Truffle:

Echinacea Pow Wow Wildberry:

Garland Daisy double flower:

Day Lilies, unnamed:

Hosta flower scape from an unnamed hosta:

Egyptian Walking Onion getting ready to walk:

Some general photos:

One year ago:

Now:

The floor is finished!

The floor is in...and I think it looks fantastic!  Now I have to finish the hearth pad sides...

The Norge, the numbers are in

Ok, so I promised the numbers...and now I can't find the last bill!  I CAN tell you this-we used LESS electric last month using the Norge than any month previous using the Kenmore.  So draw your own conclusions.  But it seems to me that "energy star" might be a comparison to the electrical vampires of the 60's and 70's but they've got nothing on a good ole 50's era Norge!  AND we still have to replace the seals! I'll deal with the occasional defrosts to save money, have a quieter fridge AND have a WAY cooler looking fridge!!

Random Pics

We've been pretty busy here at the Cottage working on various out door projects.  So I thought I'd share a few photos of the view that inspires us, and certainly helped convince us that it was worth it to buy the cottage with the foundation issues that didn't have a garage or basement and was under 700 square feet!

Here you go, views from the front and back!

The lake sunset is from under our apple tree, not from inside-we're set back farther than that from the lake, thank goodness (erosion)!!

Living Room Floor cost breakdown

I can't really give a dollar amount for the wood.  It was free, but it was two trips to pick it up.  I'm going to take a guess on that one.  I'm also rounding because I don't have all the reciepts but know about how much everything was.

Wood: Free.  Gas money to pick up: $30
Vinegar (we had a partial gallon and had to buy another, so I'm going with two gallons) $6.00
Chip brushes for the vinegar mix: $3.50
Linseed Oil (we had a partial gallon and had to buy another) $50
Turpentine: (we are going to use about four of the smaller quarts, we couldn't find bigger containers) $30
Polyurathane: $35
Brush for the poly: $6
We already had a brush around that we used for the linseed/turp mix.
Nails (I'm not completely sure until we're done, but I'm thinking 6 boxes will be used): $40

Total $170.50

Again, that's an estimate, but it's pretty close.  Our living room measures about 14x20, and the hearth pad about 8'x4', so that part didn't need flooring.

Not bad for a "new" hardwood floor!

Now we just need to find more to finish the rest of the Cottage!