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Waiting January 23, 2011
Waiting has never been one of my strengths. That is one thing owning a fixer upper home has taught me. I feel like we are always waiting for something, mostly money. Well we are getting our tax return soon and I still have to wait. Next up on the list is tearing out all the walls and insulating. We need to get rid of all the flaky plasterboard and panelling. I cannot wait to get started.
But we have to wait. This time we need to wait for the weather to get warmer so we don’t freeze to death when the walls are down. So now we wait.
Gardening September 6, 2010
Yesterday morning (okay I slept in it was like 10) my neighbor knocked on my door asking if I wanted her to help me clear out my lilac bush, there are a couple of sapplings that were growing in it. I said sure. Now I have to set this up, my neighbor is a master gardener and I just moved into a house that was uninhabited for at least a year, so the garden is more weeds than flowers. I know that there are flowers only because I have seen pictures. So I say yes of course and her husband comes over with the chainsaw. We clear out the lilac bush and I am feeling pretty happy. Then she says “I will be right back”.
She comes back with her gardening gloves (a pair for me too) and we then proceed to weed the perimeter of my house where the garden is. So, 3 overflowing wheelbarrows of pulled weeds, 2 hours of labor, and 1 cleared out garden later we were done. I am really happy that it has been taken care of and I totally appreciate my neighbor helping me out. I would have had no idea what were flowers and what were weeds, and I certainly wouldn’t have gotten it done in one day. I was wayyyy more productive than I could have ever expected for a Sunday morning.
Porch love. August 24, 2010
Have I mentioned how much I am loving having a porch. It is amazing sitting to spend a warm summer evening with the windows open enjoying the breeze off the river. I spend a lot of time out there reading and drinking coffee. It is the perfect place to sit a chat feeling like you are outdoors but with out the bugs and in comfy chairs! I look forward to time spent playing cards out there in the fall and seeing the first snow fall in the winter. With the door open to the living room it is like an extension of the room. Mario is loving laying in the sun all day out there.
I never knew I wanted a porch but it is becoming my favorite place in the house.
I’ve been busy! August 10, 2010
The past few days have been pretty busy. I have really been kicking some home renovation ass. I have managed to pull up floors in two of the rooms upstairs, set up my office, unpacked countless boxes, painted the small cabinet in the kitchen, washed walls, and worked on the porch. I am working on a nonexsistant budget so I am trying to make changes that are low cost or free.
The next big step is to paint the bedroom so that we can move our stuff upstairs. There were a lot of issues preventing us from do this before. We have no light at the stairs which is really dangerous at night and would cost a couple hundred to put in. We got some touch lights that we hope will solve that problem. The walls upstairs are plasterboard and in 3 of the three rooms it is pretty chipped so we wanted to drywall before we moved up there but that cost a bunch of money too. So we decided to make the best of what we have and move into the room that need the least repairs. So I pulled up the floors and Thursday (aka payday) I will slap a coat on paint on the walls. The lighting in the room is a wall sconce but once again electical work isn’t cheap so we will put in a lamp and call it good. As I said before I pulled up the ugly smelly flooring and we are going to work with the plywood for now. Hopefully we can find a cheap rug.
Overall I am excited. I am ready to feel like we have a real bedroom and not just hanging out in the dining room. Although it is conveniently located to the bathroom for those late night bathroom runs. Who wants to bet I fall down the stairs first? Man I hope not!
Here are some pictures of the updates which most of you probably saw on facebook already.
3 weeks in. August 1, 2010
Three weeks of living in our house and I can finally say it is starting to feel like home. We are falling into a rhythm. We are still sleeping in the dining room but hope to soon paint one of the rooms upstairs and move in. We were going to wait until we go to put up some fresh drywall but I think we can make one of the rooms work as is for now. We are very lucky to have a family member (Frank, Lindsay’s Fiancee) that offered to put up the dry wall for us. We still have to get together money for the supplies, electrician, and insulation.
I am finally painting the bathroom this week and getting rid of that awful blue/flowery combination. It still amazes me how these tiny little jobs end up costing so much. Every time I walk out of home depot I have spent a ton of money. I am beginning to really hate that place.
We are planning our first get together at the house, a celebration for my birthday on the 14th. I have a lot to do to get this place looking good and at least organized. By the time of the party I hope to have the bathroom done and the bedroom upstairs
This is what I am dealing with in the bathroom...its gotta go!
I think we can do better than purple in the bedroom.
set up.
Kitchen pics July 22, 2010
Here are the pictures of the new appliances. The kitchen is on our renovation list but this is where we are now.
Please note the picture of the fridge panel with child lock for Renee! Also I went with the nicer stove with the huge burner option, yay. We have no hooked up the water to the fridge yet but I cannot wait!
Living Down by the River 