A Very Late Update

Ok. Let me first apologize for not updating for more than a month! There have been lots of changes:

1. The dryer situation is now resolved. There were adaptors in the fuse box which were preventing a good connection or something like that. What is important is that we can now wash and dry laundry.

2. The closets are done!!! After getting all of the wallpaper off, sanding the remaining glue, priming, painting, and putting up new shelves, I was finally able to unpack my clothes. I think the closet is my crowning achievement since it took soo long.

3. Ben and Daniel helped clean out the gutters.

4. I filled in with soil between the sidewalk and street where everything had eroded away. I then planted some hand me down variegated Liriope from Julie. So far it is still alive and looking good. I also bought some borders to put in to prevent further erosion.

5. The electrician came back for more projects. He hung a ceiling fan in the living room. There was previously no ceiling light. He also put up a new one in the kitchen. I had him redo the lights in the closet since they were miss-wired and kind of a safety hazard. I also had him install the new over the stove microwave.

6. Joel and I have been working on the screened porch. He planned everything out and I got to assist and learn. He recommended closing in the bottom quarter of the porch to prevent damage to the lower portion of the closed in area and elongating the life of the porch. I wanted a doggie door so the cats and dogs could eventually go in and out as they pleased. We also framed in both sides to create architectural symmetry on both sides (ALL Joel’s idea). Last week on Friday we finally completed it. I never was able to get all of the paint off of the cement floor. St this point, I plan on tiling it in. Uncle Alan has some slate I might be able to use. I just need to look at it to make sure it will work.

7. Joel also helped with the interior door knobs. Initially I was planning on putting on the beautiful bubbled glass door knobs. They turned out to be a huge nightmare. The latch portion or the part that is in the interior of the door did not come with the knobs. Also, that part was not a part carried at Lowes/ Home Depot. I finally got it at Pleasants however they did not fit well in the existing holes. Also, the rosettes were too small and did not completely cover the hole in the door. I totally am over them. They are not worth the hassle. Instead, I got some normal knobs. The problem there is when I went to install them, the hole was too small! Ugh. Not only that, the bit I have to drill the hole needs something in the center to “bite down on” in order to work. Joel came up with the great idea of clamping a piece of plywood against the door so that the drill bit would have something to drill into. It worked! Now we have operational door knobs.

8. I finally got most of my stuff unpacked. It is nice having that storage area in back. Anything I don’t want to unpack I have just left in there (books, etc.). We also finally got the house completely clean!

9. Probably the biggest change so far is the addition to the family. I decided that a house was not nearly enough work. I have been looking at dogs for quite awhile and settled on getting a rescued Boston Terrier. I have applied with numerous rescue organizations over the past several months knowing it would take quite awhile before I heard anything back. I was looking on Craigslist and saw a family wanting to re-home their Bostons. I won’t really get into all of the details of that but I drove out to Ft. Lee with Anne (who was home from Missouri) and drove home with a 13 month old Boston named Sarge. He is now Sgt. Wilbur since he really didn’t know his name. Since then he has been to the vet to get all of his shots and been neutered. He is adjusting very well to his new home and absolutely loves Jack (Katie’s dog). He also really likes the kitties but they want nothing to do with him since he likes to play chase. He is crate trained, walks well on his leash, and is starting to be trained. When he and Jack are not chasing each other around the house, he is my total shadow and follows me around the house.

In a nutshell, that sums up the major changes since my last post. Next on the list of things to do is put in the fence. The water pressure also seems to vary so I need to figure that out. I also want to put in a new showerhead. I still have a ton of yard work to do- ensure the gutters are draining properly, diverting the runoff water away from the house, raking… Yeah, I know it won’t ever end.

I am still happy with my decision to buy a house and am enjoying (for the most part) seeing all of my hard work pay off.

Ok, I will do my best to post more frequently and I will add pictures later this week since I am sure that’s all anyone is interested in seeing.

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