Dear Family and Friends,

The first week as house owners has come and gone. We knew that we would need to see the house before making any hasty decisions, so we wisely (Thomas is so wise) took only 1 week off to “get a feel” for the house.

Before really getting into the house, we had a long weekend with my uncle and aunt who visited us on their European vacation. They got to see the house before anything had been done, so they can give everyone the real “scoop” after all is said and done.

We took some pictures for our “before photos”. You can join me on a walk-through here. I would love for you to see our “diamond in the rough” house.

Building a Home Base

Before we really got started, we built a temporary home base. We moved a bed in and brought enough dishes and cooking gear to make basic meals while we are renovating the house.

This allows us to work evenings and nights without losing time driving back and forth between our apartment and the house. We will still be sleeping in both places while the house is under construction and we are working out all the details.

This also allowed us to spend time with the neighbors. They saw we were there and the second evening we were invited over for drinks in the garden. The whole family is wonderful. We really lucked out in that area! What a positive experience!

We have also managed to carve time out to walk the streets and a few paths to get to know our new home area. We need to figure out where all those hikers are coming from and going to!

Cleaning and Clearing — the House

We spent days—the whole week—clearing the attic and basement of things left by the previous owner.

Some of it was intended. He had a lot of materials for the house and building materials we thought we could use. He also had all his gardening paraphernalia that he no longer needed in his new apartment. Moving from an apartment into our first home with garden, we knew we would need EVERYTHING!

Unfortunately, we did not know how much stuff he had. We were literally sorting and inventorying for days. We have over 15 putty knives—we think we will give them as gifts to friends moving into their new home. We also have unearthed over 5 rose cutters and stacks and stacks of cleaning supplies. Everything seems to have been bought at Costco. Twice.

In addition, he forgot some of the family storage items. We found a huge box of books and paperwork from his daughter’s graduating year—1994. A baby cradle and boxes of stuffed animals are now in our future guest room.

We have visited two different recycling centers multiple times and are nearing the maximum on our allowed yearly garden recycling in two depots. We are figuring out alternatives: other centers in the area to visit and “spread the joy.”

Clarifying

A friend of ours came over to see the house. He is a former building contractor and knows about house static and support. As we are planning on breaking through a load-bearing wall of a masonry home, we needed some advice and clarity. Thomas (who is very smart) had figured out everything on paper and done the math, the physics and the theoretical reading to have a good grasp of the limitations and requirements. In the end, however, he really wanted someone with experience to also check it out and see the house first-hand and give us his opinion. We don’t want the house to fall down or twist on the radius.

He says we can do it. YAY! More work!

Searching (not finding)

I went to a kitchen studio, where I discovered that some people need to tell you what you want instead of ask you and then tell you what you want is not what you want. The search for a kitchen has just started and hit a slight bump—I’ll keep looking.

Clearing — the Garden

The weather was nice, so we used an afternoon to work in the front yard. Thomas needed to take down an evergreen that had suffered dramatically from the snow and needed to go. I spent the time carefully cutting the rambling rose so that we could enter without ducking down. We need that entrance for the renovations.

We all survived (except the tree) and the rest of the plants seemed to be happy to be able to breath a bit easier. The birds nesting in the garden also got over the shock and are busy scavenging the ground.

Thomas’ parents took the time to come out for the morning and attack our out-of-control cedar hedge. They made great progress and after 5 hours about 15 feet had been removed bringing in light and allowing us to see out the driveway when backing into the street.

They are coming back, but we are only allowing another 15 feet of hedging to be removed. We have birds nesting in the trees and do not want to get too close to their nesting area. They need their privacy. I am determined that we give them peace throughout the summer.

Whew. That is a lot of news for 1 week. And I still have a lot to tell. I guess that will all have to wait until next time.

I still need to check out information on removing a chestnut tree and decide which trees are too close to the foundation. Thomas is busy tracking down tile and support beams. We are still working!

Until next time.