Excited for a House

Working nights when I have a qualified person working days is SOOOO nice, and I don’t have to worry about paperwork!

Today’s Exploit:

So far, so good on the house. 

We had an inspection, and it went much, much better than the last one. The house had normal maintenance issues for a 15 year old house, instead of neglect problems from a 115 year old house after being ignored for 20 years.

We still have a couple of weeks before we close, but everything is looking promising and I am getting pretty excited. 

The house has 4 bedrooms and a media room, which looks like a bedroom. All of the bedrooms are big and bright, although one of them is hot pink. And, to my mother’s dismay, the second bathroom is blue. I am looking forward to so much space for storage, after packing everything for 3 people into a single bedroom apartment. Also, since we will have so many rooms, Cupcake says we have to have Christmas at our house now. 

The kitchen is nice and open, and has an island, and window that looks out on the back porch/yard/property.  It has so much counter space that even I won’t be able to fill it with all my kitchen stuff. Also, it has a gas stove, and I am ridiculously excited about that. I have big plans for taking the cupboards out to replace with shelves, and changing the countertops from it’s current green rock to butcher-block. 

The back porch is truly amazing, and gigantic, and will be perfect with some strings of party lights and an outdoor kitchen area. There’s even a fire pit already in place and an amazing view up into the little hills behind the house. I have plenty of space for gardens and maybe some fruit trees, and H. has space for a shop and is excited about getting to buy a tractor to mow the grass. We just need some marshmallow roasting sticks and some fresh marshmallows (This time I’ll make them thicker!). 

Trying Again

This week’s recommended reading:

Found here

Today’s Exploit:

So the first house didn’t workout, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up.

Yesterday H. and I went and looked at some more houses. We found some good things and some bad. 

I touched a cat and it yelled at us when we locked it back in its room. We encountered an over-filled victorian with 5 doll houses. And some great views of the lake, as well as some fans that wouldn’t turn off. 

We found one that is just right and makes everyone happy. So we put in an offer. Please cross your fingers for us. Hopefully no one else will out bit us and we can finally move out of our cramped apartment. 

A New Batch

It's jam this time, and it is super sweet.

A Bad Run

My neighbor across the hall got a new puppy. 

I think he is a Lab/Poodle. He is so fluffy and cute and sweet, and I’m really jealous.

I want to steal him.

Today’s Exploit:

I am trying to get in shape for my race next month.

After today’s run I am getting pretty nervous. It was a rough one for sure. 

It took me 40 minutes to go 3.1 miles. 

That is a terrible time. My goal is 28 minutes for that distance.

Yikes. Luckily it only took me 34 minutes to get back, which is not the best, but at least it is an acceptable time for me. 

I really hope that it was a one time thing and that my runs will be getting better shortly, because 13.1 miles at that pace will take forever.

I am still looking forward to the trip and really excited to see my buddies who are no longer little.  And it’s not likely that the race will be worse than the last time I tried it, so it will be a fun trip full of tickles and ice creams. 

No More House

This week’s recommended reading:

Today’s Exploit:

We had the inspection for the house the other day.

I was so excited to go back and take pictures, to make plans for how to re-do and to decorate the rooms. 

Sadly, the first thing I heard when I got to the house was that the inspector had done a preliminary check, and every major system in the house was failing. So I went around and looked at the rooms and did some imagining.

But then I had the meeting where he told me everything that needed to be fixed. The list was endless and he didn’t even go into detail.

We started outside and talked about how the roof needed major repairs, possibly replaced. And the roof support structure needed to be replaced to support a new/repaired roof. The roof needed to be replaced to prevent any more water damage to the upper ceiling. Due to the water damage there is a possible mold problem in the bedrooms. 

The exterior of the house is covered with wood rot, and everything was hand made, so the only way to match it is to have it made. Also, it has extensive evidence of termite damage, so most likely all wood parts on the house will need to be replaced. Additionally, the house is not level, and the sub-structure has termite damage, and has been improperly repaired multiple times in the past.

All of the systems in the house are failing and were improperly installed as well: the electrical, the plumbing, the HVAC system. All of these have remnants of the previous version of the installation, excess wires, old pipes (possibly even lead pipes remain), and damaged air vents. 

After hearing all of this, and being completely overloaded with information, I went and waited for the official report. I also had a nice long talk with H. about what this house would require to just keep it from deteriorating even more.

We decided that this house, while amazing and lovely and historically awesome, is not one we want to tackle as our first house. 

So we are back on the hunt for something that I can stand to live in without tearing apart completely.

Wish me luck, I need some.

Nostalgia

Gramma's tea doilies

Lost in the Woods

I lost my fitbit. 

I thought it was gone forever and I gave up on ever winning a prize.

But then it came back today and I was happy.

The end.

Today’s Exploit:

I went for a run the other day. And H. decided to be nice and go with me. 

He is a little faster than I am, so I said he could go ahead if he wanted.

Then he said that he would run with me.

And he did for a little.

But then he decided to go on ahead, and didn’t tell me that he decided to do this.

I came to an intersection after he’d left me in the dust. I picked a way and trudged on, yelling for him every few minutes, with no response. And grumbling and worrying that I took the wrong path.

So I went back, and went down the other path for a ways, before deciding that we had missed each other when going back and looking, so I went home to see if he was there.  

Turns out he wasn’t, so I went back to the trails and did another loop and went miles and miles up the original trail I chose. I stopped to ask everyone I met if they’d seen him, but no one had.

Finally I gave up and went back down the trail to get some more water. I got back, after about a 9.9889 mile run to find him walking back from the house to find me. 

He’d gone all the way to the top of the trail, 9.5 miles round trip, and back. He must have come down while I was doing the other loop. And he waited and waited and waited for me to come back, because he didn’t have a key to go home. 

In the future, if he runs with me, I will make sure to specify that going ahead is fine just as long as you make triply sure that I know you are going ahead. 

It’s Mine, All Mine!

This week’s recommended reading: 

Today’s Exploit:

I get my house! They said yes!

I am so excited I can’t even put it into words. 

I have so many plans.

First I’ll take out the carpet and some tile.

Then we’ll work on the master bathroom, while I decide what in the world to do with the weirdo downstairs bathroom and laundry area.

Then I’ll deal with the extra tall counter/sink in the kitchen and get a beautiful gas cooktop, and take out the cabinets to put shelves on the wall. 

All the little cubbies need cleaned out and re-finished. As does the mini cellar-thing.

And I get to bring my piano down without forcing myself out of the house to provide space!

At some point we’ll deal with the not so fun tasks, like getting the bee nest out of a wall, and making sure the house is level and not rotting away. And waterproof in the rain. 

I can’t wait to finish the paperwork stuff so the fun part can start!

Happy Clouds