What a difference a year makes

My fig tree is finally starting to look like a "tree" instead of a small bush. I can't find any pictures of it the first year it was planted, but even *last* year, it was much smaller:



I'm just so pleased!!



(And, Dolby's gotten much larger in the past year, as well...)

Tabletop Wall Clock

Oh...and just so you know, I *did* finally finish the wall clock I was making;



...Only, we've hung it in the living room instead - it's more convenient.

The Living Room Walls

LoL...and, here we are literally YEARS later, and not so much more has been accomplished...I had some serious difficulties with this "new" blog set-up; for a while, I couldn't post pics or edit the layout or nuttin'!! (I'm *sure* it was ALLLL me!)

Anyway...I seem to be back in business here, so I thought I'd sorta keep faith with the "old theme" and post some pics of the living room re-do..which we're actually still in the process of...but, you get the idea!! And, without further adeiu:

I started the walls by texturing and painting the top 2/3 identically to the way I finished the dining room walls from floor to ceiling. This was a long, drawn-out, labor intensive endeavor, but the final results (in *my* estimation) is worth the effort!
Then, we purchased 4x8 sheets of finished 1/8" lawan (??), which we cut into 2x2 sections, to be used as diamond-shaped panels to span the lower 1/3 section of the walls (stained alternately in Golden Oak & Cherry), to ultimately create a sort of 'checkerboard' effect:



As you can see, we haven't finished securing all the pieces in place (which is simply liquid-nail and a few well-placed finishing nails), nor have we added the chair-rail. Truth be told, we haven't even finished cutting and staining all the panels, but its coming!! Slowly, but surely, progress is made...