We’re in!

We made it.

That’s my father-in-law on the front steps. Try to imagine that the overgrown trees disappeared and were replaced with supercute landscaping. I’m trying to imagine that now…

That’s Keith and I’m in the way back of the truck. This was trip #2 of 3 with the box truck. We only moved 2.6 miles away from our condo.

The back of the house & the perennial gardens…. that need a little love. Locust tree on the left and out of control wisteria on the right. There’s mint, chives, peonies, 2 rose bushes, too many day lilies, cone flowers, and a bunch of other things that I don’t know how to identify. And weeds. A lot of weeds.

Keith’s parents were in town from San Diego for the move. We sort of worked them to exhaustion.

My father-in-law got a little break in the shade.

My mother-in-law took a break in the sun. Mercy was just happy to be outside.

The neighborhood is awesome and there is a park with trails behind our backyard.

This trail is also the shortcut to Dairy Queen. My in-laws LOVE LOVE LOVE ice cream. It’s been an adjustment getting used to our normal routine of no dessert after they left!

So we’re here. We’re in. Exhausted and happy.

House Progress

The painting was finished Friday. Well… the painting that needed to be done. There is one bedroom upstairs that does not have hardwood floors that can be painted this week. And the teeny foyer has tile and will also be done this week.

We rented the big ole orbital floor sander from Giant Big Box Hardware Store Friday night. The thing was AWESOME and it impressed all of our friends. It was so powerful that every time we turned it on, all the lights in the house flickered and all other powertools in operation ceased for a moment while the giant beast revved up.

But. The beast met it’s match. My husband.

You see, the Giant Big Box Hardware Store does 24 hour rentals, but I don’t think the “powers that be” in their corporation ever thought that the tool would be in operation for that long. Ha! We alternated operators so we wouldn’t have to rent it another day, and so the machine was kept on almost all day. We ran on pure adrenaline from the manly awesomeness of the giant sander. Vrrrrrooooommmm!

At hour 21 with 2 rooms left to do in medium grit and fine grit, the welding cracked.

It was a godsend. We were able to actually take a break to return the sander to the store and get another one, plus they gave us ANOTHER 24 hours free. Ahhh. Sleep. How I missed you.

After 2 days of sanding, sweeping, shop-vac-ing, & tack cloth-ing, the stain was ready to be applied. And I now feel like I have sawdust particles coming out of my pores, despite many failed attempts to cleanse my pores of the grime.

I was able to peek through the tarp to snap a picture of the first coat. (We had tarps up so we could be staining one room while prepping others at the same time and not get sawdust on the fresh stain).

It’s called “Colonial Maple.” If all goes well, another coat of stain will be applied tomorrow night and then two coats of polyurethane by Wednesday. The weather had been really humid here to the dry time is alot slower than normal.

I wish we had more time.

So the work begins…

We closed on the house Monday afternoon!

The plan is to paint this week and for Keith to start refinishing the hardwood floors this weekend. We are moving in after the floors are done.

Hopefully we’ll be happy that we painted first, then refinished second. Oh well. Live and learn.

I wouldn’t say that the house is a “fixer-upper” rather, a home in need of some love. Granted, there are some serious home improvement projects that need to be done (think- rip out upstairs bathroom and completely redo because the tile is falling down), but that will come in time when we have an influx of cash to do it right. I refuse to spend money to put a “bandaid” on it. The previous owners were relocated over a year and a half ago, so the house has been vacant for quite some time. The gardens have been unattended, but thankfully we’ve had quite a bit of rain to sustain the flowers. And the weeds. Gotta do something about those.

But, first things first. Prep the walls for painting and paint. The appliances are going to be delivered on Friday, so I am hoping to have the kitchen painted by then. I’m painting above the wainscotting.

Sweet Pea’s room needs a good spackling job, which Keith began and I am working on today (after Sweet Pea wakes up from her nap). I’m doing random spackle jobs and more prepping so we can get as much painting done as possible. The prep work is was takes so long!

My friend Paula came yesterday afternoon to help out. I am so thankful for all our friends that are offering their time and talents. It definitely takes much longer to do ANYTHING when there’s a baby around… Sweet Pea started trying to crawl so we have to take breaks often when she “faceplants” on the floor and cries… so the support and help of friends is definitely priceless!

The houseguests are coming! The houseguests are coming!!!

My mom is getting remarried this weekend and her sister, who lives in balmy Florida, is flying in as a surprise (no worries mum knows zip about in the internet). My Aunt A and cousin Chazz will be staying with us, but once my brother gets into town, there may be some shuffling of houseguests. I am a bit worried that Aunt A and Chazz may freeze to death in this weather.

So, much of my crafting time has been redirected toward “Operation Houseguests.” Funny how having houseguests can motivate you to get those things done that have been projects that are long over due. We are painting our guest bathroom”Navajo Red” but the primer was a wee bit brighter than the actual Navajo Red paint. The primer was supposed to allow us to finish the job in one coat of primer and two coats of paint… but it looks like we need a third. ARGH!

Little Miss Mercy has been displaced due to this project. The bathroom is generally where we keep her corralled during the day. It’s quite large and she stays nice and warm in there. It’s quiet, so she isn’t disturbed by blowing winds or the mailman, which could cause an anxious barking frenzy. Now her space has been invaded by drop cloths and smelly paint.

We don’t quite trust her to be “free range” in the house, mostly because we think she might jump up on the couch and hurt herself coming down. As I left for work, I asked my dear hubby to set Mercy up somewhere and I came home Monday to find Mercy here:

In our bedroom, in her crate, but with this little hut of pillows on the bed. I guess that is where she was in the morning when hubby left for work! Nice and warm.

I supppose it’s a good thing I have been busy at home, as I have run out of yarn for my socks and am anxiously awaiting more in the mail.

I’m afraid this little ball of yarn won’t do the trick to finish the calf. Not to worry, I have plenty of items in queue to work on once my family arrives and the feverish housework comes to a screeching halt. Then they will make fun of me for being an old knitting lady at the age of 24. Ha! The muggles.