Clear House/ Clear Head

A few weeks ago a nice contractor came by and gave us some good tips on what to do when you are a first time "reno-er". He said the first thing you need to do is clear the junk out in order to gain perspective on what you WANT to get done vs. what you NEED to get done. So this is what we did. We tore down and piled materials and this past Saturday, with kudos to our friend Tom, we unloaded 4 industrial sized bins at the dump! Sounds like fun, its not but it had to be done and I can say that it really clears your head!

So at long last we are now at the stage of putting instead oftearning out and it feels great.....other than having to make a thousand decisions on kitchen designs, paint colous, ceiling.....etc. Speaking of celings, did you know that the white stucco ceilings are out of date? Apparently painted ceilings are all the rage....so guess what we are doing? We have the lucky job of standing on a ladder and scrapping off the bumps, then wiping off the stucco. SO NOT A FUN JOB! It took husband 45 mins to scrape and 3 hours to wipe off the stucco. My turn is next as we have 2 more rooms to do!

*On Monday we got a second window estimate and we decided we're going to get rid of the bay window in the kitchen and replace it with a regular window, pluswe're adding a second window in the dining room area so we can overlook the backyard while we're eating. With the price of windows hopefully the view will enhance the taste of the food.

Must run but I will leave you with a question, what are your thoughts on concrete countertops?

Home wrreckerr!

After pummeling the kitchen cupboards and taking up the laminate we got to the fun part this week--that pesky laminate that was tucked underneath a couple layers of flooring.

Dad was here over the weekend, so, like any loving son, I put him to work.

As I peeled away the layers, I cursed those homeowners before us that were too lazy to take up the old laminate, including this beautiful yellow-flaked design (circa 1960's I'm guessing)

Pretty!

I spent the better part of an hour with sledge and chisel in a feeble and unsatisfying attempt to peel away the final laminate layer. After hacking off about one square foot I called a Home Hardware and asked how they do it. A nice guy named Jeremy (sp) told me they use a machine called an "Eddy" (presumably short for "Fast Eddy) to get tough flooring up. Note to self: call Westminster rentals ...

We moved the messy and massive heap o wood scraps into the dining room so I could begin chipping away the tile from the living room (who the *#^! lays tile in the living room)? I made a lot of headway this a.m. and got the tile up throughout the LR and into the hallway so things are looking good.

Meanwhile wifey's been busy checking out kitch designs and quotes. We've got 4 quotes and we've got it narrowed down to 3. If I told you who the finalists were I'd have to kill you.

On Saturday, I've got a friend coming over with a large bin and we're going to load all of this crap and haul it to the dump. Then I can rent Eddy and tackle that floor.

I'd love to keep writing but alas, I've got a tub filled with post-dinner dishes that beckons. Tra-la-la.

The Money Pit

Now that we have moved in and settled into our basement "suite" I feel as though everywhere I turn, something is breaking, leaking or creaking. I feel like Shelley Long in the movie, The Money Pit. The more we tear down, the more problems seem to arise. Is this where we are headed? I sure hope not! As Scott and I just passed our 1 Year Anniversary. I hope our movie ending is not like Shelly Long and Tom Hank's ending.

To date, since we have moved in, we have had to replace our washer and dryer (they are quite lovely and I actually look forward to laundry day), fix the pool, have been told to replace all of windows and door, which came with a $14,000 quote, and I'm pretty sure our house is infested with bugs and spiders! Our darling fixer-upper-has turned into 1 BIG problem. And if 1 more person says the word potential I am going to scream. Potential is great when you don't own it, trust me! Oh well, this potential is ours and we will have to learn to love it....or list it. Have you seen that show?

From the Husband's prespective, I agree these "surprises" and higher-than-we'd-imagined quotes" for the work we need doing have been worrisome and more unsettling than anticipated. It's easy to let it weigh you down especially when our dream of moving upstairs by Christmas has rapidly begun to slip away. Now we're looking ahead to 2011. Cheers!
I'm trying hard to keep a positive perspective in spite of the obstacles in our path and I'm hoping that we'll be able to do some of the work ourselves, be patient, do what we can afford, and just trust that in the words of a well-known red neck name Larry, we'll be able to "git 'er done."

On a more happy note, check out the pictures our pretty new washer and dryer!

What better way to celebrate an anniversary?

Sarah's mom, dad, brother, his fiance and their little guy, Ty came to visit us for our "special day" on Monday.

As we were giving the two-bit tour of the house and the kitchen area, a couple of people took a detour to pick up a sledgehammer and chip off the remaining tile from the fireplace. Boys and their toys!

Following a celebratory lunch at a faraway location we were back at the homestead for a nice, fat chunk of cake (carrot) :) The rest of the day was spent hooking up and playing with (yes, playing) our new washer and dryer. Although it was an unplanned purchase, imagine the novelty of a washing machine that plays the theme from Beverly Hills Cop (think Axel F) theme at the conclusion of its cycle. I don't think we were ever more excited to do laundry.