Nina
and Lena discuss our new drapes. In 2004 we had remodeled our kitchen
by refinishing the cabinets, replacing the old florescent lighting with
recessed 'can' lights, adding granite counter tops/tile floor, and buying
all new appliances. We had also re-carpeted the entire house. In FEB 2005,
we finally...
...got
new drapes for our family room which had been ordered in early DEC 2004.
In this photo, Falco (our German Shepherd) checks out Kisha (our
Ragdoll cat). In the background is a new silk flower arrangement which
Lena helped design.
Natasha
checks out the new 'throw' pillows which Lena had designed and ordered
to compliment our drapes.
By
removing an 'extra' microwave and stand that previously had sat next to
the old kitchen counter, the new drapes really opened up the center window
and allowed us to move our Vietnamese BUFEs and 'court jester' to this
area. Lena just LOVES this purple floral arrangement (which goes with
the drapes)...
...as
well as this huge colorful arrangement next to the fireplace (which she
had also helped to design).
Some
of Lena's Russian 'gel' (blue and white porcelain or ceramic ware) make
for a colorful display on top of the tv/stereo cabinet.
This
photo and the next give a better idea of the "Big Picture"...
...as
to how the family room now appears. (Falco is sticking his head up from
one of his favorite spots to see what's happening!)
This
photo ties together the rear of the family room with the remodeled kitchen.
Natasha
and Lena enjoy some fresh fruit and tea at our new granite countertop....
...which
is also the same background for a shot of Lena on her birthday in April.
The roses and amaryllis flowers on the left are from our own garden while
the beautiful fresh bouquet on the right is from our good friend, Dave
Seyller. Did I mention that Lena just LOVES flowers?
As
we move into the living room, this is another new silk flower arrangement
that Lena had found to replace one of our older plants that used to live
by the front door.
All
in all, we are pleased with the overall decor 'look' of our combined living/dining
room.
This
is another shot of the living room from the landing of the steps going
upstairs to the second floor.
We've
added a few finishing touches to the guest bedroom after we found an Alpaca
Wool store on the way to Las Vegas last year. We picked up several Alpaca
pillows plus an Alpaca throw rug.
All
kidding aside, Lena has really gotten into decorating our yard, front
porch, and patio with fresh flowers.
To
say that she has been making a number of trips to Home Depot and to various
nurseries over the last six months is a mild understatement!
I
don't know how many hanging flowers and container plants Lena has added
to the back patio, but is has started to look like some kind of very colorful
a jungle back there.
Steve
had never gotten seriously involved in trying to grow flowers (except
for over 100 rose bushes!) after managing to kill off a whole grunch of
them during the first few years he had lived at this place (before he
met Lena.)
Lena,
however, seems to have taken a serious interest in trying her hand with
all...
...kinds
of OUTDOOR potted and hanging flowers. (We both, however, agree that sticking
with SILK flowers INSIDE is the BEST way to go for us!)
We
found a large 'Giclée' print by "G.
Harvey" that we loved and decided
it would go nicely in our master bedroom with three other "G. Harvey"
prints that we had purchased in 2000. To say that there was NOT...
...much
extra room above our bed is a mild understatement. This print is "New
York, NY" and depicts a scene in New York city around 1900.
When
we were in Moscow in 2001, one of Steve's favorite photos was
this one of Lena standing in Red Square. Steve cropped Lena out of
the photo and modified the image to replace the original sky and to give
the image an 'artistic' rendering. Then, we had it blown up to poster
size (20 inches by 30 inches)...
...and
had it framed. This newly-framed image is now hanging proudly in our family
room above the fireplace alongside another of Steve's original photos
("Girl with Seagull") that he had taken many years ago.
While
visiting Moscow in SEPT 2005, Lena "Heater" bought us this beautiful
oil painting of a Russian landscape in winter. Since the frame would
not fit in a suitcase, we had to have it reframed in San Diego. This re-framed
oil is now one...
...of
our favorite artworks and proudly hangs on our landing above Steve's antique
Japanese Tansu and his grandfather'santique mantel clock. Kisha approves!
This
is an oil of a turn-of-the-century European scene which Lena
also bought in Moscow. We are rather impressed with how its simple
frame enhances the beauty of the painting itself.
After
buying two Venetian masks while in Venice this last summer, we wanted
to add a 3rd (larger) mask to make an arrangement we could put around
our wall thermostat. Finally we found this strikingly beautiful leather
Venetian mask on eBay to complete our display.
After
upgrading the interior of our home in 2004, in 2005 we focused on the
exterior. A project to stucco the retaining wall and to expand the patio
(plus repair the supports for the tile patio cover) was begun in OCT so
that we could install a spa.
The
concrete beneath the two end support beams had cracked and sunk, so
these had to be repaired by cutting off the wooden beams, sawing off
the broken concrete footers, and pouring new concrete foundations.
Hopefully,
these new expanded concrete foundations will much more effectively support
the heavy tile patio structure. We also plan to have a decorative and
durable concrete coating applied to the patio after we get the house
painted during early spring 2006.
