Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
whew
We have had a couple busy busy days. In the end, though, we can say that we have accomplished something. To keep it short and sweet, me and Mama painted all the ceilings in the house last night and today. Well, actually, there are two that aren't painted. The computer room ceiling may not need to be painted and the playroom ceiling is a drop ceiling. Anyway, we worked really hard and long, but we feel like we have a lot to show for it. Next weekend...the trim. We'll see how that goes. I can't wait to get to the wall color. I know that it will be much easier than the ceilings and much more rewarding.
I wasn't all that excited feeling when we closed, but now that we've gotten started on the house, I am feeling much more excited. I can't wait to get everything done!
Oh yeah...Matt and Daddy pulled up the carpet today. The hardwoods in the living room, hall, and bedrooms, all seem to be in pretty good shape. There is one area of the hall right near the dining room that has some damage. We'll see what needs to be done to fix that. The dining room has some sort of tile...like vinyl, I guess. So, that means that the kitchen and dining room will probably both end up some sort of ceramic tile.
I think that's all the major updates. I may get some pictures of the mess up tomorrow or Monday, so check back.
I wasn't all that excited feeling when we closed, but now that we've gotten started on the house, I am feeling much more excited. I can't wait to get everything done!
Oh yeah...Matt and Daddy pulled up the carpet today. The hardwoods in the living room, hall, and bedrooms, all seem to be in pretty good shape. There is one area of the hall right near the dining room that has some damage. We'll see what needs to be done to fix that. The dining room has some sort of tile...like vinyl, I guess. So, that means that the kitchen and dining room will probably both end up some sort of ceramic tile.
I think that's all the major updates. I may get some pictures of the mess up tomorrow or Monday, so check back.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
what do they see...
As a mom, I often wonder what my kids are seeing, hearing, and learning when they are around me. I see things in Nathan all the time that I know he learned from me and Matt. He says phrases and words that we use. It really makes me think about how important it is for me to think about what I do/say/etc. I want my kids to learn great things from me. I don't want them to pick up my faults. Most importantly, I want them to learn how to be the people that God wants them to be. And I know that their learning starts at home...and is most greatly affected by what they see there. Since I am with them most of the time, I really have to watch myself. I have to continue to grow myself so that I can show them the way they should go. I know this is a little deeper than I usually go, but maybe it's about time. :) Anyway, here is a picture that represents what I'm thinking in a very small way.
flowers
We have some wildflowers in our backyard that have come up from seed that we threw out last year. I didn't know if anything would be back this year, but several types are. Here are a couple pictures.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
more on Nathan's room
Well, I have once again gone a different direction on Nathan's room (before long we'll start painting and I won't get to change my mind anymore). I have had this picture for a while, but I think I have now decided to go this direction:
Now, this is a surfing room, but I think I could get by with the same sort of stripes (with a little deeper red color). This way, I could get in the blue and red that Nathan wants in his room. In addition, I bought a new quilt for Nathan's upper bunk tonight. I still need to look at it in his room, but I think it will be staying. It is mostly red with tiny blue and yellow stitching at regular intervals (you wouldn't even notice them much unless you look close). Anyway, that's where I am. This may (may) be a final decision.
Now, this is a surfing room, but I think I could get by with the same sort of stripes (with a little deeper red color). This way, I could get in the blue and red that Nathan wants in his room. In addition, I bought a new quilt for Nathan's upper bunk tonight. I still need to look at it in his room, but I think it will be staying. It is mostly red with tiny blue and yellow stitching at regular intervals (you wouldn't even notice them much unless you look close). Anyway, that's where I am. This may (may) be a final decision.
I never knew
that I could sympathize with a rabbit.
Yes, it's another post about the rabbits.
I thought that the babies might have left their nest, but a couple days ago, I saw them again. (and took more video of them nursing) Well, last night the Mommy Rabbit came up as usual (about 8:45). She cautiously entered the flower bed and proceeded to move around and smell things. She also kept a good eye on me. Well, after sniffing around for a while, she left the flower bed and sat on the sidewalk. Every once in a while, I would check to see if she was still there...and she was always looking at me. Well, she sat...and sat...and sat. I thought that she was just waiting for me to go away, so I eventually quit looking (around 10:00). I figured that she fed her babies after it got dark and I was good and gone.
Well, tonight when I got home from shopping around 10:00, there she was...sitting on the sidewalk. She moved a little before I got out the car, but she never left. I checked a little while ago and she was still sitting in the same place. Now, nobody was looking at her tonight...nobody to make her extra cautious. It makes me think that her babies are gone. I don't know how babies usually leave their nest...if they just leave when they're ready or if they somehow tell their Mommy or if they leave with her. But her just sitting there gives me the idea that they're gone and she doesn't know where they are. It makes me sad. It's like she's missing her babies. I sure hope that, if they are gone, they're ok. I hope they weren't found by some not so nice animal. :(
So...here I sit...sad for a Mommy bunny.
Yes, it's another post about the rabbits.
I thought that the babies might have left their nest, but a couple days ago, I saw them again. (and took more video of them nursing) Well, last night the Mommy Rabbit came up as usual (about 8:45). She cautiously entered the flower bed and proceeded to move around and smell things. She also kept a good eye on me. Well, after sniffing around for a while, she left the flower bed and sat on the sidewalk. Every once in a while, I would check to see if she was still there...and she was always looking at me. Well, she sat...and sat...and sat. I thought that she was just waiting for me to go away, so I eventually quit looking (around 10:00). I figured that she fed her babies after it got dark and I was good and gone.
Well, tonight when I got home from shopping around 10:00, there she was...sitting on the sidewalk. She moved a little before I got out the car, but she never left. I checked a little while ago and she was still sitting in the same place. Now, nobody was looking at her tonight...nobody to make her extra cautious. It makes me think that her babies are gone. I don't know how babies usually leave their nest...if they just leave when they're ready or if they somehow tell their Mommy or if they leave with her. But her just sitting there gives me the idea that they're gone and she doesn't know where they are. It makes me sad. It's like she's missing her babies. I sure hope that, if they are gone, they're ok. I hope they weren't found by some not so nice animal. :(
So...here I sit...sad for a Mommy bunny.
Monday, June 11, 2007
selling rabbits?
Ok...so maybe not...
Here's the "Sale Pending" sign at our (soon to be) house:
We've had some baby rabbits living in the flower bed outside our front window. When we looked out last night, the Mama rabbit was nursing the two babies (who are getting very big). How cool! I tried to take a picture, but accidentally took a video. If you'd like to see it, just click here. You'll notice a set of legs on the right of the Mama. There is also a set on the left very close to the Mama. Here is a (blurry) picture of one of the babies with the Mama:
Here's the "Sale Pending" sign at our (soon to be) house:
We've had some baby rabbits living in the flower bed outside our front window. When we looked out last night, the Mama rabbit was nursing the two babies (who are getting very big). How cool! I tried to take a picture, but accidentally took a video. If you'd like to see it, just click here. You'll notice a set of legs on the right of the Mama. There is also a set on the left very close to the Mama. Here is a (blurry) picture of one of the babies with the Mama:
Saturday, June 09, 2007
closing and decorating
We have a closing date! We are set to close on the 22nd. We are ready to get there and get started on the house so we can move in! At the moment, we are planning to move the last weekend in July, so we'll have several weeks to get things done.
On the decorating front, I am now leaning toward going all hardwood if they can be refinished. Every time I go over and look at the wood floors (I was there yesterday), I think "I just hate to cover this up with carpet." So...as of right now, I'm in the market for rugs. :)
Also, I am still debating about Nathan's room and our room. Below is a picture I found online (HGTV's Rate a Room). I'm thinking about going with something like this in Nathan's room. However, I don't know that I want to put up chair rail, so I'd have to do something different there. I could put up a wallpaper border, but I'm not sure if that's what I really want. I want it to look nice, though. What do all you decorating divas think?
Oh yeah...and what would you recommend for the ceilings? They're all painted ceilings. I'm thinking of just painting them all white, but I don't know if I want to go with the same color white as all the trim or something different for a little contrast. (There is currently no crown moulding.)
On the decorating front, I am now leaning toward going all hardwood if they can be refinished. Every time I go over and look at the wood floors (I was there yesterday), I think "I just hate to cover this up with carpet." So...as of right now, I'm in the market for rugs. :)
Also, I am still debating about Nathan's room and our room. Below is a picture I found online (HGTV's Rate a Room). I'm thinking about going with something like this in Nathan's room. However, I don't know that I want to put up chair rail, so I'd have to do something different there. I could put up a wallpaper border, but I'm not sure if that's what I really want. I want it to look nice, though. What do all you decorating divas think?
Oh yeah...and what would you recommend for the ceilings? They're all painted ceilings. I'm thinking of just painting them all white, but I don't know if I want to go with the same color white as all the trim or something different for a little contrast. (There is currently no crown moulding.)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
master bedroom indecision
I really just cannot decide about the master bedroom, so I need some help. Here is a picture of the quilt that is currently on our bed (ok, so it's part of the quilt...the bed wasn't made and there was laundry sitting on the rest of it). I hope to one day get new furniture and bedding, but this is what we have to work with right now. Anyway, I had thought about going with a mid-tone blue, but the more I think about it, the less excited I am about blue. So...what would you recommend?
Monday, June 04, 2007
paint colors
Here is what I am thinking at the moment (all thoughts appreciated - especially from those of you who are gifted in this area...I'm not):
Living Room - a non-pastel golden yellow, to make the room bright and coordinate with the couch/chair fabric
Dining Room / Kitchen - a sage green, I'm a fan of this color in general
Hall - a neutral beige
Nathan's Room - a lightish denim-y/smokey blue (Erin, you made a very good point, but I think it may be ok with other colors around the room...like red accessories.)
Caroline's Room - butter yellow, I'm trying to find a color here that has a chance of going with whatever she gets when she gets a big girl bed one of these days...so maybe we won't need to paint again
Our Room - blue, a deeper shade than Nathan's but maybe the same color...this is the one that I am most unsure of at the moment
Bathrooms - same as the hall, a neutral beige
Playroom - no paint yet (it's currently old fake wood paneling)
Computer Room - current white wood siding walls stay white, old fake wood paneling to get a deep navy-ish blue or maybe a burgundy-red (Matt really wants a dark color somewhere in the house)
All Trim and Ceilings - some kind of white, I need to see what color is currently in the computer room and see if I like it enough to use in the whole house, otherwise, a warm slightly beige-ish white
Living Room - a non-pastel golden yellow, to make the room bright and coordinate with the couch/chair fabric
Dining Room / Kitchen - a sage green, I'm a fan of this color in general
Hall - a neutral beige
Nathan's Room - a lightish denim-y/smokey blue (Erin, you made a very good point, but I think it may be ok with other colors around the room...like red accessories.)
Caroline's Room - butter yellow, I'm trying to find a color here that has a chance of going with whatever she gets when she gets a big girl bed one of these days...so maybe we won't need to paint again
Our Room - blue, a deeper shade than Nathan's but maybe the same color...this is the one that I am most unsure of at the moment
Bathrooms - same as the hall, a neutral beige
Playroom - no paint yet (it's currently old fake wood paneling)
Computer Room - current white wood siding walls stay white, old fake wood paneling to get a deep navy-ish blue or maybe a burgundy-red (Matt really wants a dark color somewhere in the house)
All Trim and Ceilings - some kind of white, I need to see what color is currently in the computer room and see if I like it enough to use in the whole house, otherwise, a warm slightly beige-ish white
Friday, June 01, 2007
the latest on the house
We are in a holding pattern on the house. There are a few things that need to be cleared up with the title, so we're waiting on that to set a closing date. Basically, the lady died about a year before the man and her estate was never quite settled. So...they have to get that all straightened out so we can get a clear title. The current guess is that it is going to take about a month to do that.
We had our main inspection, and everything looked pretty good...well...as you would expect for a 47 year old house. There are a few things that need to be done/fixed, but not too much. We also wanted to get an electrician in to give us a price on updating the electrical. We have done that. It's not something that is necessary, but would be good to do. We had planned to do some sort of work on the electrical when we made the offer. Also, as a result of the general inspection, we wanted to have somebody look at the HVAC. That happened Wednesday and we're still waiting on the estimates for what needs to be done. It looks like it's in a little worse shape than we had expected. Depending on the estimate, we may look to add an addendum to the contract to compensate. We'll see.
So...the short and sweet of it is that we're looking at closing at the end of the month if everything can be worked out and moving at the end of July. (Erin, I'm feeling a bit jealous of how smoothly things went for you!) We still think everything is going to work out...just not as quickly as we had hoped.
The good part of this, though, is that I have a little more time to pick out paint colors and make some other general decisions. Well, we'll let you know more when there's more to know.
We had our main inspection, and everything looked pretty good...well...as you would expect for a 47 year old house. There are a few things that need to be done/fixed, but not too much. We also wanted to get an electrician in to give us a price on updating the electrical. We have done that. It's not something that is necessary, but would be good to do. We had planned to do some sort of work on the electrical when we made the offer. Also, as a result of the general inspection, we wanted to have somebody look at the HVAC. That happened Wednesday and we're still waiting on the estimates for what needs to be done. It looks like it's in a little worse shape than we had expected. Depending on the estimate, we may look to add an addendum to the contract to compensate. We'll see.
So...the short and sweet of it is that we're looking at closing at the end of the month if everything can be worked out and moving at the end of July. (Erin, I'm feeling a bit jealous of how smoothly things went for you!) We still think everything is going to work out...just not as quickly as we had hoped.
The good part of this, though, is that I have a little more time to pick out paint colors and make some other general decisions. Well, we'll let you know more when there's more to know.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
adoption woes
No...we're not adopting! :)
I keep up with a few of the IMB missionaries in Poland because I am interested in knowing what's going on there. Some of you may not know (or remember) that I spent a summer in Poland as a summer missionary. Anyway, one of the couples (Michael and Vicki Shattuck) have been trying to adopt three Polish children for quite a while now. They continue to run into obstacles...most of which seem rather ridiculous. Everyone that knows them and the kids (ie: the kids' case worker, the orphanage, etc.) believe that they should all be together. However, they keep running into problems in the courts. They thought they were going to have things finalized this week, but it now looks like that may not happen. Please be praying for them. Pray that they will have peace as they continue to try to move through the process. Also, pray that God will move things along to finalize the adoption. If you would like more information, you can check out Michael's Blog.
I keep up with a few of the IMB missionaries in Poland because I am interested in knowing what's going on there. Some of you may not know (or remember) that I spent a summer in Poland as a summer missionary. Anyway, one of the couples (Michael and Vicki Shattuck) have been trying to adopt three Polish children for quite a while now. They continue to run into obstacles...most of which seem rather ridiculous. Everyone that knows them and the kids (ie: the kids' case worker, the orphanage, etc.) believe that they should all be together. However, they keep running into problems in the courts. They thought they were going to have things finalized this week, but it now looks like that may not happen. Please be praying for them. Pray that they will have peace as they continue to try to move through the process. Also, pray that God will move things along to finalize the adoption. If you would like more information, you can check out Michael's Blog.
Monday, May 28, 2007
I am so torn
I am so torn about flooring. Let me give you my thoughts...
- I go barefoot all the time so I prefer to walk on carpet.
- Hardwood floors look nice.
- It just seems "wrong" to cover up nice hardwood floors.
- I don't really want carpet in the dining room since I have kids.
- I don't know if I would want to leave the dining room bare if we have wood floors - and does it really make sense to put a rug on the floor when I don't want carpet.
- It would take longer to completely refinish the floors if they're wood and would probably be a similar cost to carpet.
- We have three rooms that will need a different flooring anyway - the carport addition, the back addition, the kitchen.
- Hardwood floors would increase the value of the house (in theory) whenever we decide to sell it...which we expect to be a good bit down the road.
- We don't even know yet how the hardwoods look.
- The one room that has been uncovered for a while looks pretty nice.
- The one room that has recently been uncovered and hasn't had much done looks like it could be nice with very little work.
- If we go with wood, I have to find and pick out rugs (this could be a pro or a con).
Ok. I think that's all my thoughts for the moment. If you have any thoughts or feedback for me, please let me know. I need help deciding this one. As a side note, I haven't really been able to go spend time at the house just looking around and pondering the issue. In addition, we don't know how the floors will look once the carpet is pulled up off of them. I'm just guessing based on the ones that are uncovered that they will look decent. I also don't have any real knowledge about hardwood floors, so I don't know how much it would take to get them looking nice and finished properly.
- I go barefoot all the time so I prefer to walk on carpet.
- Hardwood floors look nice.
- It just seems "wrong" to cover up nice hardwood floors.
- I don't really want carpet in the dining room since I have kids.
- I don't know if I would want to leave the dining room bare if we have wood floors - and does it really make sense to put a rug on the floor when I don't want carpet.
- It would take longer to completely refinish the floors if they're wood and would probably be a similar cost to carpet.
- We have three rooms that will need a different flooring anyway - the carport addition, the back addition, the kitchen.
- Hardwood floors would increase the value of the house (in theory) whenever we decide to sell it...which we expect to be a good bit down the road.
- We don't even know yet how the hardwoods look.
- The one room that has been uncovered for a while looks pretty nice.
- The one room that has recently been uncovered and hasn't had much done looks like it could be nice with very little work.
- If we go with wood, I have to find and pick out rugs (this could be a pro or a con).
Ok. I think that's all my thoughts for the moment. If you have any thoughts or feedback for me, please let me know. I need help deciding this one. As a side note, I haven't really been able to go spend time at the house just looking around and pondering the issue. In addition, we don't know how the floors will look once the carpet is pulled up off of them. I'm just guessing based on the ones that are uncovered that they will look decent. I also don't have any real knowledge about hardwood floors, so I don't know how much it would take to get them looking nice and finished properly.
Nathan's room
Ok. So...suggestions on Nathan's room. Here is a picture of his bunkbed and bedding. On the flooring...same choices as before. Wood with rug or neutral carpet. You can see most of the room in the two pictures. I don't know if the shelves would stay or not. Curtains will not be staying (there are currently curtains in every room, but most will not be staying). The closet is to the right of the window on the other wall.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
the living room
Ok all you decorating women out there...I need help! It looks as if all is going to work out and we are going to close on this house soon. So...I need to get to work figuring out paint colors and flooring. Here is the first room (with many more to come). Please give me your thoughts or suggestions. After I get some input, I'll let you know what I'm thinking at the moment.
This is the living room from the dining room door.
This is the living room from the far side. The front door to the house is on the left and the door to the dining room is on the right.
Here is the chair that will go in the room. The chair and couch are the same fabric. You can also look at the previous post to see what they look like.
This is a close-up of the fabric.
I am going to have to decide whether to go with the original wood floors (and a rug) or carpet (which would probably be a neutral color). Of course, that is dependent upon the condition of the floor. This picture is the floor in the room that will be Caroline's. It has been finished a bit (who knows how much) and appears to have been used as wood floor for a while. The other floors in the house have been covered with carpet (and all but one still is).
This is the living room from the far side. The front door to the house is on the left and the door to the dining room is on the right.
Here is the chair that will go in the room. The chair and couch are the same fabric. You can also look at the previous post to see what they look like.
This is a close-up of the fabric.
I am going to have to decide whether to go with the original wood floors (and a rug) or carpet (which would probably be a neutral color). Of course, that is dependent upon the condition of the floor. This picture is the floor in the room that will be Caroline's. It has been finished a bit (who knows how much) and appears to have been used as wood floor for a while. The other floors in the house have been covered with carpet (and all but one still is).
Thursday, May 24, 2007
calm in the storm
Except that Nathan isn't in this picture, I kinda feel like it represents "normal" life around here.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
no more aerobics
I have officially said goodbye to aerobics. After much thought and prayer, I decided that I needed to give it up. Since I have returned to aerobics, I have felt like I just couldn't give the time I needed to give to my family. It's only three mornings a week, but then, that's three mornings that are lost. I really debated about it for a while, but one thing after another confirmed that recapturing that time was the right choice. So...now I'm going to have to find a new way to be diligent in exercise. We're also going to have to be a little more careful about the money we spend since that little bit of income will no longer be there. I know it's the right decision, though, so I know God will help us work things out!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
the house
So I've been selected to write a description of the house...this will be interesting.
The basics -- it is 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. It was built in 1960 and has partial brick/partial vinyl siding (in quite good shape). The carport was closed in to make a second living area, and the back porch was extended and enclosed to make even more space (actually I think the porch was done before the carport). So the total comes out to something like 1573 square feet.
As Jennifer mentioned in the original post, the flooring needs replacing to some degree. It's got old carpet and original hardwood floors, plus vinyl in the main bathroom and kitchen. We don't know if we will keep the hardwood floors or put in new carpet over them. The kitchen has what appear to be original pine cabinets (in good shape), a fairly new range, and a decent refrigerator. No dishwasher, but being the dishwashing person, I am all about putting one in soon. We expect to have the house rewired before moving in, because the wiring (besides the addition areas) appears to be original -- ungrounded outlets, no outlets in the bathrooms, a fuse panel instead of breakers, etc. Doing that will provide some peace of mind about safety as well as allow things like entertainment equipment, computers, etc. to be plugged in, and make sure that the system can take the load that will be put on it. Paint...I think Jennifer is going to love getting to pick colors that are not the beige we've lived with for 6 years of being married.
The back of the property slopes downward some, enough so that the crawlspace at the back of the house has something like 5 feet of vertical room. There are two storage buildings in the back, plus a decent amount of space under the back porch addition to store things. The backyard has lots of plants, some that have taken over their planting beds after having not been tended to in probably about a year. Once some of that stuff is pulled out, it should be a good place to play for Nathan. There is fence almost all the way around - we'd need about twelve feet of chain link on the left of the house to close it off totally in the back.
Front yard area...there is an (unfortunately) rusty flagpole in the yard, which I intend to fly an American flag on. It needs a spotlight to be all-weather, 24 hour, though. The front porch is decent-sized, enough to put a couple of rocking chairs on if we want. Parking space is a little hampered by having closed in the carport, but we should be able to get both cars in side by side and still have room for a visitor. Anything more would end up in the yard.
The house is just down the street from an elementary school and a Presbyterian church. One set of neighbors is what Jennifer would call "cute old people." The location is pretty much central to Warner Robins, so we will be able to get to things without much delay. Sonny's is at most 5 minutes away...
Back to the interior. The front door opens into the living room, which is of typical size and shape for the age of the house (about 10.5' deep by 16' wide). Straight across is the doorway to the dining room and the rest of the house. The kitchen is to the right, separated by little counter-height shelf things. The dining room has plenty of space to have our table (with leaf) and all the chairs and still leave room for walking through. Out the back side of the dining room is the doorway to the enclosed back porch. It's about 15' by 11' and will probably end up being playroom space. It's got lots of windows. To the left from the dining room is the hallways to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The master bedroom is straight down (back left side of the house), and the other two are on the left (front side of house). The full bathroom is on the right side. The master bedroom has a small walk-in closet and a half bath. We are probably going to try to figure out a way to convert the closet space to a shower and have two full baths (at some point), but we'd have to figure out a good way to replace the closet space. To the right from the dining room and through the kitchen is the enclosed carport and laundry room (which was originally entered from the carport). This room will likely end up being the office/utility-type room. The computer, bookcases, sewing machine, and piano will probably all go there. For some reason, it has two doors to the outside -- one at the front and one at the back, both on the right side of the house.
Other random things: there is a scuttle hole to the attic (i.e., no pull-down stairs). It actually has a coat closet (we don't have one here). There is a window in the dining room (that now goes to the enclosed porch) that has no glass in it. The ceiling vents are circular -- I've never seen that before.
I think that's enough of a book now. Hopefully the inspections will go well and things will move along quickly for us. It's definitely nice to have our offer accepted with no counters -- I feel like we're getting a good deal, and we'll be able to get the main things fixed up before we move in.
Phew. I bet you're exhausted just having read this.
The basics -- it is 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. It was built in 1960 and has partial brick/partial vinyl siding (in quite good shape). The carport was closed in to make a second living area, and the back porch was extended and enclosed to make even more space (actually I think the porch was done before the carport). So the total comes out to something like 1573 square feet.
As Jennifer mentioned in the original post, the flooring needs replacing to some degree. It's got old carpet and original hardwood floors, plus vinyl in the main bathroom and kitchen. We don't know if we will keep the hardwood floors or put in new carpet over them. The kitchen has what appear to be original pine cabinets (in good shape), a fairly new range, and a decent refrigerator. No dishwasher, but being the dishwashing person, I am all about putting one in soon. We expect to have the house rewired before moving in, because the wiring (besides the addition areas) appears to be original -- ungrounded outlets, no outlets in the bathrooms, a fuse panel instead of breakers, etc. Doing that will provide some peace of mind about safety as well as allow things like entertainment equipment, computers, etc. to be plugged in, and make sure that the system can take the load that will be put on it. Paint...I think Jennifer is going to love getting to pick colors that are not the beige we've lived with for 6 years of being married.
The back of the property slopes downward some, enough so that the crawlspace at the back of the house has something like 5 feet of vertical room. There are two storage buildings in the back, plus a decent amount of space under the back porch addition to store things. The backyard has lots of plants, some that have taken over their planting beds after having not been tended to in probably about a year. Once some of that stuff is pulled out, it should be a good place to play for Nathan. There is fence almost all the way around - we'd need about twelve feet of chain link on the left of the house to close it off totally in the back.
Front yard area...there is an (unfortunately) rusty flagpole in the yard, which I intend to fly an American flag on. It needs a spotlight to be all-weather, 24 hour, though. The front porch is decent-sized, enough to put a couple of rocking chairs on if we want. Parking space is a little hampered by having closed in the carport, but we should be able to get both cars in side by side and still have room for a visitor. Anything more would end up in the yard.
The house is just down the street from an elementary school and a Presbyterian church. One set of neighbors is what Jennifer would call "cute old people." The location is pretty much central to Warner Robins, so we will be able to get to things without much delay. Sonny's is at most 5 minutes away...
Back to the interior. The front door opens into the living room, which is of typical size and shape for the age of the house (about 10.5' deep by 16' wide). Straight across is the doorway to the dining room and the rest of the house. The kitchen is to the right, separated by little counter-height shelf things. The dining room has plenty of space to have our table (with leaf) and all the chairs and still leave room for walking through. Out the back side of the dining room is the doorway to the enclosed back porch. It's about 15' by 11' and will probably end up being playroom space. It's got lots of windows. To the left from the dining room is the hallways to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The master bedroom is straight down (back left side of the house), and the other two are on the left (front side of house). The full bathroom is on the right side. The master bedroom has a small walk-in closet and a half bath. We are probably going to try to figure out a way to convert the closet space to a shower and have two full baths (at some point), but we'd have to figure out a good way to replace the closet space. To the right from the dining room and through the kitchen is the enclosed carport and laundry room (which was originally entered from the carport). This room will likely end up being the office/utility-type room. The computer, bookcases, sewing machine, and piano will probably all go there. For some reason, it has two doors to the outside -- one at the front and one at the back, both on the right side of the house.
Other random things: there is a scuttle hole to the attic (i.e., no pull-down stairs). It actually has a coat closet (we don't have one here). There is a window in the dining room (that now goes to the enclosed porch) that has no glass in it. The ceiling vents are circular -- I've never seen that before.
I think that's enough of a book now. Hopefully the inspections will go well and things will move along quickly for us. It's definitely nice to have our offer accepted with no counters -- I feel like we're getting a good deal, and we'll be able to get the main things fixed up before we move in.
Phew. I bet you're exhausted just having read this.
step three: inspections
Our offer was accepted today...with no changes! Yay!
So...the next step is to do all the inspections we want to do to make sure there are no major hidden problems. Depending on how all of that goes, we could be home owners in a couple weeks.
I started to write a description of the house, but it wasn't making such sense...at least not the way I wanted it to. So Matt is going to do it in a little bit.
So...the next step is to do all the inspections we want to do to make sure there are no major hidden problems. Depending on how all of that goes, we could be home owners in a couple weeks.
I started to write a description of the house, but it wasn't making such sense...at least not the way I wanted it to. So Matt is going to do it in a little bit.
Monday, May 21, 2007
step one: find a house
step two: make an offer
We have taken this step. Here is a picture of the house we have made an offer on:
This house is not such a fixer upper as the other one we posted. It needs some new carpet/flooring and paint and maybe to be rewired, but otherwise it is livable. Along the way, we would do some updating, but we could very well be in it in a month or two at most.
We have taken this step. Here is a picture of the house we have made an offer on:
This house is not such a fixer upper as the other one we posted. It needs some new carpet/flooring and paint and maybe to be rewired, but otherwise it is livable. Along the way, we would do some updating, but we could very well be in it in a month or two at most.
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