Sorry for the delay in the updates, but we have been very busy at the new house, and I'm happy to say that most of the rooms have been almost completed, with a few exceptions.
First, We have purchased and installed all the new ceiling fans and light fixtures for all the rooms, and there is color on all walls of all rooms except the two bathrooms. We haven't even started on those yet.
The master bedroom is now a dark Midnight Blue color that will look great with the white trim and blinds. The master bath will have a lighter blue color eventually. The master closet is being rebuilt by Lawrence as I write this. He ripped out all the poles, boards, shelves, etc. and is starting all over. I asked him if he had the plans for the closet drawn out and he said no....It's all in his head. I see.
The kitchen is now blue as well, and I was surprised with it when I got there after work one day. Our friend Stephanie came over and helped Lawrence paint and miraculously clean the entire kitchen! It looks great, but we still have a lot of cabinets to clean, repair and refinish. The original wood counter tops are still in place and will eventually be replaced with some kind of stone, but that hasn't been decided yet. The black refrigerator that came with the house will eventually be replaced with a stainless version, and a new stainless stove still needs to be purchased and installed, as well as a new dishwasher. We always hand wash and dry our dishes, so I'd rather put in a residential ice maker in the spot where the dishwasher is now, but that's still under discussion.
The breakfast nook has all paint applied and a new ceiling fixture, and it looks great.
The dining room has all paint on the walls and a new fixture as well. Fabulous.
In an earlier post I discussed the main living room and it's new light fixtures and the now dubbed "big ass fan" we installed, and it's all painted. Try to imagine these colors working together: light gray, brown, and blue. That's what you see in this room, and as weird as it sounds, it still kinda works. If anyone says "ewwwwww", I'll just use my standard line: "Normal is boring". Once we get furniture in the room, pictures on the wall, and other assorted crap all over the place, the colors won't be so noticeable, I hope.
Lawrence has replaced all the wall plates for the phone outlets, power outlets, light and fan switches, and cable outlets. Most of the air conditioning vents are replaced also. All in bright white, of course.
On the weekends, we do our laundry in the weird washer and dryer system, and it gives us a nice break to have to hang and fold things. Let me clarify that by saying I hang and fold things...Lawrence dumps everything in a basket and considers it done. I don't let him touch my clothes!
Rusty is still prancing around the yard driving the neighbor dogs crazy as they bark and bark and bark, and he ignores them. Divas don't bark.
We made another big purchase this week as we ordered a very large (and expensive) circular saw system from Home Depot, and it's so big and heavy that it has to be delivered by a truck! That 300+ pound behemoth probably wouldn't fit in my Honda, so for $100 extra, they'll deliver and hopefully help us set it up. It's being delivered later this week and we have yet to clear a spot in the garage for it. It will probably be a last minute scramble to make the clearing, but we'll get it done. It will be used for the master bedroom closet project currently underway, as well as all the base and crown moldings for the house, and whatever else Lawrence wants to dive into. There was some discussion of extending the back patio out a bit and putting up a lattice-style cover over it for shade, and possibly an outdoor ceiling fan for a cool breeze. Yes, he'll do it all himself. It's what he does.
Other than the three new appliances for the kitchen, we still need to purchase blinds, wood for the moldings, tile and carpet. I'm shoveling away as much as I can into savings in preparation for all of this, but it's a battle.
Lawrence has also been installing attic insulation as there was not very much up there to begin with, and in some areas, especially over the living room, none at all. It has made a big difference in the amount of time the air conditioner has to run, and since I pay the bills, I like that. He goes over early some mornings at the break of dawn to work in the attic as it gets very hot up there very quickly. To also help keep the attic a little cooler, Lawrence purchased a solar-powered roof vent that runs whenever the sun is up. It moves a lot of air and will help a lot. I plan on buying one or two more of those things to install later when we will eventually have to replace the roof. The roof has minor damage from past storms, but nothing serious, and it can wait a couple of years if need be. We still need to install all new gutters around the house, and we'll probably do that when we replace the roof. Lawrence wants to install a rainwater collection system that will collect water from the gutters and store it for all the watering needs on the outside of the house. I'm going to need a lot more money in the savings account for all of this!
The backyard looks good as Lawrence mows the grass about every other weekend, as well as uses our new electric trimmer. All the clippings are dumped into our two compost bins for future gardening use. There's a bunch of flowers and small trees planted, and even a tomato bush, but the birds ate all the tomatoes. We hope to have solved that problem as we have invested in a large bird bath and large bags of bird seed for the little tomato eaters. Somehow, birds have a way of letting all their bird buddies know that there is free food and a clean bath at our house as a large amount of birds of every shape, size and color dine and bathe at their leisure throughout the day. So now I'm not only having to feed myself, Lawrence and Rusty, I'm also having to feed all the damn birds within a 100 square mile area! My food bill is enormous, but at least I don't have to actually cook for the birds. At least, not yet.
We get asked all the time "when is the house-warming party"? Well, it's gonna be a while as we still have a lot to do. A few more months and we should be able to sleep, shower and cook there some of the time. I'm already working on party plans in my head, but I'm going to need some help. There will be lots of food, an open bar, and lots of good friends, so get ready! Well, maybe not right at this minute, but I'll give you plenty of time to prepare for the gala.
