I've decided that I will stop worrying about the outside of the house for now. I can't do anything about Mother Nature. The roof will be done when it gets done:)
So, instead of obsessing about things I can't do anything about, at the moment, I think that I should start thinking about the inside of the house. We have all of the original woodwork and most of the fixtures, but pulling it all together, is a real challenge for me. I am very challenged, in the area of decorating. I want things what look like they might have been around when the house was built, but I also need things that are sturdy and practical. The boys are really hard on furniture, lol, not to mention the dog and cats.
So, let's start with the master bedroom. Right now, I have a very generic head-board & footboard, mis-matched dressers, 2 bookshelves and a nightstand. Nothing matches. The curtains are a bit on the tacky side as well.
I did find some sites, that have a lot of the sort of nice furniture I have in mind, but some of it was just way to nice to even think about getting while the boys are still so young.
Have you ever been just looking around, with no intent to actually buy anything, and then, you see something, that you must have?
That happened to me. I think I must have seen about 200 things I must have, right now. I will of course, show Bill, but the odds are that right now with the roof being done, is not going to want to go on a shopping spree. That's why wish lists were created.:) I can't wait to show Bill and see what he thinks. I have a feeling he would lean more towards the wood furniture, we will see.
I really like more simple things, when decorating. Actually, I should probably say I would like more simple, tasteful things, if I did actually decorate.
There are just so many things I want! Really beautiful, antique looking dressers and night stands, that if the boys ever move out, I want!
So, If I am getting a new bed, I am going to need new bedding. Found some! But, I am not sure if we will actually be getting anything new right now.
Looking that those reminded me that, I have a wedding present to buy. I really don't know what I should get the happy couple. Comforter set? I don't think I really know their tastes well enough to pick out sheets. But, maybe something useful?
Picking out gifts for other people is difficult. I have a hard time picking things out for myself. At least I was able to get several good ideas, that I can sit down and discuss with Bill. Plus, I am not thinking about rain.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Day 3 of the Rebuild, Still have a Headache from Yesterday
So, Mother Nature and the Home Improvement Store Gods decided to mess with us yesterday.
It Stormed. Rain, Hail and gusty winds. The guys ran out of material at lunch time. Menards ran out of what we needed and so they didn't deliver. Chris, spent the day going to every home improvement store in the Greater KC area looking for the stuff. Apparently there was a run on it and everyone and their brother is out. So, I have no idea if anyone is going to show up today. Lovely. The forecast looks like crap for next week, that is very sucky.
Oh, and just to top off my wonderful day, full of Evan having some sort of Screaming & whining fest, I got the results of the mammogram.
Obviously, if the results we that everything was fine, I wouldn't have bothered to even mention it. So, as you guessed, the results are not fine. I got to letters. One from the hospital, saying that they forwarded the test results to my doctor and based on their findings they have recommended further testing to validate the results. The next letter was from my doctor's office, stating that I need to make an appointment immediately to go over the results. It also said that I really should not fail to make this very important appointment. alrighty folks, thanks for the free freak out. I made the appointment, I go in Saturday morning. So I don't get to do the D.O.V.E.s Walk/run, which I was really looking forward to. They really should rethink the wording on their little 'your test results are wonky' letter. The wording gives you the impression that death is imminent. Which it probably isn't, but still.
So, I'll go and see what he wants to do next. My luck it will involve needles, I am pretty sick of needles. Maybe it will involve a nap. I really like naps.
Whatever, no point in freaking out or worrying about it till I hear what the Dr. Has to say. It may be that its just nothing. I have other things to freak out about right now. Like where is my materials? Where are my carpenters? What did I do to piss Mother Nature off?
I guess while I wait, I can browse through my new Spring Hill Catalogue and pick out a ton of way to expensive plants that Bill will definitely not let me buy :) But its still fun to look:)
It Stormed. Rain, Hail and gusty winds. The guys ran out of material at lunch time. Menards ran out of what we needed and so they didn't deliver. Chris, spent the day going to every home improvement store in the Greater KC area looking for the stuff. Apparently there was a run on it and everyone and their brother is out. So, I have no idea if anyone is going to show up today. Lovely. The forecast looks like crap for next week, that is very sucky.
Oh, and just to top off my wonderful day, full of Evan having some sort of Screaming & whining fest, I got the results of the mammogram.
Obviously, if the results we that everything was fine, I wouldn't have bothered to even mention it. So, as you guessed, the results are not fine. I got to letters. One from the hospital, saying that they forwarded the test results to my doctor and based on their findings they have recommended further testing to validate the results. The next letter was from my doctor's office, stating that I need to make an appointment immediately to go over the results. It also said that I really should not fail to make this very important appointment. alrighty folks, thanks for the free freak out. I made the appointment, I go in Saturday morning. So I don't get to do the D.O.V.E.s Walk/run, which I was really looking forward to. They really should rethink the wording on their little 'your test results are wonky' letter. The wording gives you the impression that death is imminent. Which it probably isn't, but still.
So, I'll go and see what he wants to do next. My luck it will involve needles, I am pretty sick of needles. Maybe it will involve a nap. I really like naps.
Whatever, no point in freaking out or worrying about it till I hear what the Dr. Has to say. It may be that its just nothing. I have other things to freak out about right now. Like where is my materials? Where are my carpenters? What did I do to piss Mother Nature off?
I guess while I wait, I can browse through my new Spring Hill Catalogue and pick out a ton of way to expensive plants that Bill will definitely not let me buy :) But its still fun to look:)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Day 3 of Rebuild and the Headaches Begin
Day two started off good. Except for Sam making an escape and being gone for almost 5 hours. I was not a happy camper. On Day one, I kept her shut up in the boys room, so she wouldn't get, we had extension cords running out the doors, and I just knew she would get out. Day 2, I figured out how to run the cords threw one of the windows, so I let her stay downstairs. She really doesn't like to be alone. When we go in or out of the house, the rule is, the door must be locked! Sam can't get out of a locked door. She can however bang up against a shut door and pop it open. Everything in the house is old. Anyway, Bill knows this rule. Well, He was going over some paperwork with Chris and they came inside to do whatever it was and didn't lock the door behind them. Sam apparently took her chance. I thought I would let her run it off a little while and she's be back. Not this time. So about noon, I contacted Animal control to let her know that Sam had made her escape and was who knows where, doing who knows what. Right after I sent the message, a truck pulls up with a big delivery and guess who shows up. Ms. Nosy had to to see what was going on with the forklifts. I was able to catch her and get her inside. Maybe it was the truck showing up, maybe it was as Aden calls it, me "calling the animal police". Either way she was back, and I made sure to keep the doors locked.
The guys made good headway. Most of the framing is now done, some of the sofits, a little of the fascia and some of the crown molding. This is where is headaches begin.
I love my husband, I do, I do, but sometimes, he can be a little bit difficult. He was not happy that they guys didn't use a plum line. So unhappy in fact, that when he saw they weren't using one, he ran out and bought some masonry line for them.
He is a perfectionist. Its one of those qualities that I love about him. He holds himself to, in my mind, a pretty unrealistic standard. So, when he does something, especially to the house, its done right, the first time, even if it take forever :)
So, He is not very happy with how things are looking. Let me see if I can give you the list of things that he finds wrong, so far.
Okay so the sofits are a little lower than they used to be. This means that the quarter round partially covers some of the dots on the gingerbread.
Nothing is straight. Please remember these are his complaints. The Crown molding is also a little smaller than the old one. And then something about the drip edge for the roof, he said it will look retarded with the crown that small. Personally, I don't see it, but then, I have half lost with what it is they are doing anyway. I think it looks good. And a hell of a lot better than it did. Another thing that is pissing him off is the cost of the corbels. $40 each. Holy F'in poo people. We 28 corbels. That's about $1120. OMG. We are having them done in PVC, so that hopefully, no one will ever have to deal with issues of them rotting, after another 122 years. So far, only one has came down intact. The rest just disintegrated when they touched them.
So back to Bill's issues. The house is old, nothing is level, nothing is plum, nothing is straight. Nothing. I don't see how it could ever be again, unless someone completely took the house apart and rebuilt it.
But, because I am the dutiful wife, I will relay his concerns to the contractor. I wrote down what he said, word for word, so nothing will be lost in the relay. But, this is one of those instances in which, I will keep quiet and nod and smile alot. After 12 years, I have figured out which battles are not worth the effort to fight:)
The guys worked till dark last night. Right now its raining. Thunderstorms are expected today. With of course hail & gusting winds. I hope not.
I'll get some pictures of a little later of what has been done so far :)
The guys made good headway. Most of the framing is now done, some of the sofits, a little of the fascia and some of the crown molding. This is where is headaches begin.
I love my husband, I do, I do, but sometimes, he can be a little bit difficult. He was not happy that they guys didn't use a plum line. So unhappy in fact, that when he saw they weren't using one, he ran out and bought some masonry line for them.
He is a perfectionist. Its one of those qualities that I love about him. He holds himself to, in my mind, a pretty unrealistic standard. So, when he does something, especially to the house, its done right, the first time, even if it take forever :)
So, He is not very happy with how things are looking. Let me see if I can give you the list of things that he finds wrong, so far.
Okay so the sofits are a little lower than they used to be. This means that the quarter round partially covers some of the dots on the gingerbread.
Nothing is straight. Please remember these are his complaints. The Crown molding is also a little smaller than the old one. And then something about the drip edge for the roof, he said it will look retarded with the crown that small. Personally, I don't see it, but then, I have half lost with what it is they are doing anyway. I think it looks good. And a hell of a lot better than it did. Another thing that is pissing him off is the cost of the corbels. $40 each. Holy F'in poo people. We 28 corbels. That's about $1120. OMG. We are having them done in PVC, so that hopefully, no one will ever have to deal with issues of them rotting, after another 122 years. So far, only one has came down intact. The rest just disintegrated when they touched them.
So back to Bill's issues. The house is old, nothing is level, nothing is plum, nothing is straight. Nothing. I don't see how it could ever be again, unless someone completely took the house apart and rebuilt it.
But, because I am the dutiful wife, I will relay his concerns to the contractor. I wrote down what he said, word for word, so nothing will be lost in the relay. But, this is one of those instances in which, I will keep quiet and nod and smile alot. After 12 years, I have figured out which battles are not worth the effort to fight:)
The guys worked till dark last night. Right now its raining. Thunderstorms are expected today. With of course hail & gusting winds. I hope not.
I'll get some pictures of a little later of what has been done so far :)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Construction Day 2
Day one went so well! I was really impressed by the carpenters that showed up. They got alot done. Most of the old Sofits and Fascia are torn off and some of the places that need to be rebuilt have been started. They are here now and setting up the other scaffolding. They did change their minds on the time frame for them to finish and they no longer believe they will be done today, lol. We didn't think that they would be:) It will probably take them the rest of the week. So the roof tear off won't start until next week. But, they are calling for storms next week, so we will have to wait and see. Whatever the case, this project is still moving along, which makes me really happy. The picture loading thing takes a really long time, so I will add pictures as I can. But for now you can have one that shows the sofits and fascia torn off :)
So that's it for now, I'll post more later :)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Construction Begins!!
Today's the big day!!! the roofers should be here in about 2 1/2 hours to start tearing off the old sofits and fascia. We had a bit of an issue with material deliveries yesterday. About 11 am, Chris called, and told me that they would not be delivering. He will bring materials out with him today and the rest would be here Tuesday. Fine, whatever, as long as they get here. He did say that the crew would be here at 9 am and he would be here within an hour of them. Wonderful, just as long as everyone gets here and starts working. I like that he has called just about every day, since we signed the contract and handed him a check. Oh don't worry, we are aren't complete idiots, the check was only about 10%, the rest due at completion. Totally fair. I like it when things keep moving.
Yesterday evening proved to be a bit trying. Several of the neighborhood kids have decided that they like playing next door. Around the house that is scheduled to torn down. I have no problem with them playing in the yard or on the old garage foundation, but that house is not safe at all. A couple of the kids were only 3 or 4 years old, they were hanging out with their older sisters, but the other kids were 8, 9, 10 & 11 years old. I remember quite well what it was like at that age and I can see the appeal of the old house and all the 'treasures' that are in the yard. I was watching them while the boys took baths last night and they had found some old tools and it looked like they were trying to build something with some wood that had fallen off the house. I did see them try and go into the house a couple of times and after the 2nd time of warning them not to. I went out, after the boys were settled in bed, and explained why they shouldn't. I am sure they could see the roof was caving in, but they didn't like hearing about the floor caving in. Mentioning that the basement is full of water and who knows what else, really worked on the girls, the boys just looked intrigued. lol I think I kept watching them because I was a little bit jealous. I remember finding an old abandoned farm house when I about 10 or 11, and a friend and I used to go over and play around it. We never quite got our courage up to actually go in more than a few feet, but we had a ton of great adventures:)
The kids promised not to go in. I promised not to tell their parents as long as they stayed out of the house, and they keep the little kids from running over my new garden :) It was a good deal. I almost hope they leave the house a little longer. The kids are having so much fun and the garage is set back near the alley, so its pretty safe for them to play up there. They have found some really cool stuff. A few of the old glass 2 liter bottles, looks like Coke. Several old wire egg baskets, an Adirondack chair, some really neat looking wooden candle holders. Hell at this rate they can open up an antique store :)
Okay so it's now 9:12 am. Are the roofer's here? No. I have this little thing with people being late. I figure if you say you are going to be someplace at a certain time. Be there. Or say a later time and be early.
Alrighty, I have my 40 minutes of freedom. The boys are on the bus, and yet, the only creatures on my roof are pigeons....hmmm.
They better show up soon, or I may start throwing a tantrum.
Okay, I'll just wait and blog later. I think I will get up and pace for a while :)
Alrighty they showed up just before 10am. I thought I would be a bit upset with them being late, but damn! I have not 1, not 2, not even 3 but 4 frickin' carpenters, working their collective butts off. So far they are worth every penny. I wonder if I can get them to come inside an bust out a few little projects inside:) They have made great time with the tear off. The first floor is all off and the second has just been started. Chris arrived with the materials to start rebuilding. This is really moving along. I love it!!!!!
At this rate, and if the weather holds, I can really see the actual roof getting put on in the next few days. Awesome, awesome, awesome. And with only one small change, that no one will really notice and doesn't change the cost at all.
I'll post more developments as they happen. I am going to try and get outside and get a few pictures with the woodwork off. I just hope I don't get any thing dropped on my head :)
Yesterday evening proved to be a bit trying. Several of the neighborhood kids have decided that they like playing next door. Around the house that is scheduled to torn down. I have no problem with them playing in the yard or on the old garage foundation, but that house is not safe at all. A couple of the kids were only 3 or 4 years old, they were hanging out with their older sisters, but the other kids were 8, 9, 10 & 11 years old. I remember quite well what it was like at that age and I can see the appeal of the old house and all the 'treasures' that are in the yard. I was watching them while the boys took baths last night and they had found some old tools and it looked like they were trying to build something with some wood that had fallen off the house. I did see them try and go into the house a couple of times and after the 2nd time of warning them not to. I went out, after the boys were settled in bed, and explained why they shouldn't. I am sure they could see the roof was caving in, but they didn't like hearing about the floor caving in. Mentioning that the basement is full of water and who knows what else, really worked on the girls, the boys just looked intrigued. lol I think I kept watching them because I was a little bit jealous. I remember finding an old abandoned farm house when I about 10 or 11, and a friend and I used to go over and play around it. We never quite got our courage up to actually go in more than a few feet, but we had a ton of great adventures:)
The kids promised not to go in. I promised not to tell their parents as long as they stayed out of the house, and they keep the little kids from running over my new garden :) It was a good deal. I almost hope they leave the house a little longer. The kids are having so much fun and the garage is set back near the alley, so its pretty safe for them to play up there. They have found some really cool stuff. A few of the old glass 2 liter bottles, looks like Coke. Several old wire egg baskets, an Adirondack chair, some really neat looking wooden candle holders. Hell at this rate they can open up an antique store :)
Okay so it's now 9:12 am. Are the roofer's here? No. I have this little thing with people being late. I figure if you say you are going to be someplace at a certain time. Be there. Or say a later time and be early.
Alrighty, I have my 40 minutes of freedom. The boys are on the bus, and yet, the only creatures on my roof are pigeons....hmmm.
They better show up soon, or I may start throwing a tantrum.
Okay, I'll just wait and blog later. I think I will get up and pace for a while :)
Alrighty they showed up just before 10am. I thought I would be a bit upset with them being late, but damn! I have not 1, not 2, not even 3 but 4 frickin' carpenters, working their collective butts off. So far they are worth every penny. I wonder if I can get them to come inside an bust out a few little projects inside:) They have made great time with the tear off. The first floor is all off and the second has just been started. Chris arrived with the materials to start rebuilding. This is really moving along. I love it!!!!!
At this rate, and if the weather holds, I can really see the actual roof getting put on in the next few days. Awesome, awesome, awesome. And with only one small change, that no one will really notice and doesn't change the cost at all.
I'll post more developments as they happen. I am going to try and get outside and get a few pictures with the woodwork off. I just hope I don't get any thing dropped on my head :)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A Beautiful Weekend!
Yesterday was so awesome! We finally made a decision on the colors for outside the house. It is final! No one is allowed to change their minds, under penalty of slow and painful death :)
We got alot of stuff planted. The rest of the green beans, Mesclun, Mustard, Spinach Mustard, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers, California Bells, Sweet Peas, Basil and cilantro. As of this morning the Rosemary plant I bought is still alive. I'll keep an eye on it, but I also think I should probably stay away from it. I don't want to kill it:)
So of course, we plant and now they are calling for frost tonight and tomorrow night. Nice, now I will have to go outside and cover everything. Luckily, I saved all the plastic we had covering the windows for the winter. I should have plenty. We have to cover the windows with plastic in winter, because the windows, being 122 years old, leak like sieves. We do everything we can to try and keep the gas bill down. I imagine that once the roof is done and Bill can get more insulation up in the attic, that will make a significant difference, not only will heating, but with the electric bill in the summer. Its really only the upstairs that gets unbearably hot in summer. The downstairs stays pretty cool because of all the brick. But since we are using window a/c units, the electric bill can get pretty high in the late summer.
We thought about getting central a/c when we had the new furnace put in, but the costs of installing it was just ridiculous. I really don't think we need it. Surely, we can suck it up for 6 weeks:)
We've done okay so far.
The boys got to ride their bikes yesterday, and they did really well. No one broke anything. So, I promised them that if the keep practicing we will be able to go to the park and they can ride their bikes there. I think that may end up taking a while, since they seem to prefer me pushing the bike to them actually pedaling. Today, because we played in the dirt most of the day, I will get to spend the day cleaning up all the dirt. At least this time, its not a bunch of mud. That clay is hard to clean up. I should at least have a good amount of help this time. The point system is working out pretty well with the boys. Unfortunately for them, yesterday they lost points almost as quickly as they earned them, but at least they aren't in the negative. They did alot of fighting yesterday, so every time they earned a point for helping, they would get into an argument, and I would end up taking the point away. Why can't we all just get along ! But, their room is still clean. Aden used his first and only 10 points so he could play a game and he only has 4 points now. Evan used his 10 to get back the big Buzz Lightyear. He has 4 points now. He wants to get back the Lego's and since I decided that 10 points only gets him 4 Lego's it may be awhile before I have to worry about stepping on them. I really dislike legos. Aden seems more interested in earning TV and game time than getting his toys back. Fine with me 10 points = 30 minutes of either, but only one. I am so mean!!!
Alrighty then I need to go get busy, the cleaning fairies seem to have taken the weekend off, again. I think I will freak the neighbors out and blast some music. Since I am in love with song I think I'll just play this over and over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mwsapFBX4U
I really love this guy, I have no idea what he's saying, I think caliente is 'hot'??
Of course I had to play it before I posted the link, so Aden is busting out his zumba moves! He's not too bad :)
I really do need to find more music to zumba too, but really don't know any really good salsa music or reggaeton, its proving a bit of a challenge. Why is this music so appealing to me?? its a long way off of my usual. The Eagles it is not lol. It also bugs me that I have no idea what they are saying 90 % of the time, oh well, Music knows no barriers:)
So, I am off to blast the music and we can clean our butts of to some music that we don't understand, but yet are quickly becoming addicted to. Bill thinks that I may be missing Florida, subconsciously. I don't think so really, but it would certainly be easier to find out what music I might like :)
Only 2 days, till the roofers start!!
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com%22%3ehyper/ Smash</a>
We got alot of stuff planted. The rest of the green beans, Mesclun, Mustard, Spinach Mustard, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers, California Bells, Sweet Peas, Basil and cilantro. As of this morning the Rosemary plant I bought is still alive. I'll keep an eye on it, but I also think I should probably stay away from it. I don't want to kill it:)
So of course, we plant and now they are calling for frost tonight and tomorrow night. Nice, now I will have to go outside and cover everything. Luckily, I saved all the plastic we had covering the windows for the winter. I should have plenty. We have to cover the windows with plastic in winter, because the windows, being 122 years old, leak like sieves. We do everything we can to try and keep the gas bill down. I imagine that once the roof is done and Bill can get more insulation up in the attic, that will make a significant difference, not only will heating, but with the electric bill in the summer. Its really only the upstairs that gets unbearably hot in summer. The downstairs stays pretty cool because of all the brick. But since we are using window a/c units, the electric bill can get pretty high in the late summer.
We thought about getting central a/c when we had the new furnace put in, but the costs of installing it was just ridiculous. I really don't think we need it. Surely, we can suck it up for 6 weeks:)
We've done okay so far.
The boys got to ride their bikes yesterday, and they did really well. No one broke anything. So, I promised them that if the keep practicing we will be able to go to the park and they can ride their bikes there. I think that may end up taking a while, since they seem to prefer me pushing the bike to them actually pedaling. Today, because we played in the dirt most of the day, I will get to spend the day cleaning up all the dirt. At least this time, its not a bunch of mud. That clay is hard to clean up. I should at least have a good amount of help this time. The point system is working out pretty well with the boys. Unfortunately for them, yesterday they lost points almost as quickly as they earned them, but at least they aren't in the negative. They did alot of fighting yesterday, so every time they earned a point for helping, they would get into an argument, and I would end up taking the point away. Why can't we all just get along ! But, their room is still clean. Aden used his first and only 10 points so he could play a game and he only has 4 points now. Evan used his 10 to get back the big Buzz Lightyear. He has 4 points now. He wants to get back the Lego's and since I decided that 10 points only gets him 4 Lego's it may be awhile before I have to worry about stepping on them. I really dislike legos. Aden seems more interested in earning TV and game time than getting his toys back. Fine with me 10 points = 30 minutes of either, but only one. I am so mean!!!
Alrighty then I need to go get busy, the cleaning fairies seem to have taken the weekend off, again. I think I will freak the neighbors out and blast some music. Since I am in love with song I think I'll just play this over and over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mwsapFBX4U
I really love this guy, I have no idea what he's saying, I think caliente is 'hot'??
Of course I had to play it before I posted the link, so Aden is busting out his zumba moves! He's not too bad :)
I really do need to find more music to zumba too, but really don't know any really good salsa music or reggaeton, its proving a bit of a challenge. Why is this music so appealing to me?? its a long way off of my usual. The Eagles it is not lol. It also bugs me that I have no idea what they are saying 90 % of the time, oh well, Music knows no barriers:)
So, I am off to blast the music and we can clean our butts of to some music that we don't understand, but yet are quickly becoming addicted to. Bill thinks that I may be missing Florida, subconsciously. I don't think so really, but it would certainly be easier to find out what music I might like :)
Only 2 days, till the roofers start!!
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com%22%3ehyper/ Smash</a>
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