Progress on la Hacienda

Bear and I are pretty well settled now. Our office just is still full of boxes. Given the number of home improvement projects we have in front of us, we know we need to prioritize.

This summer we planned to have my parents visit. We weren't expecting that I'd be in a new home. This is relevant because my dad is a furniture refinisher who also refinishes kitchen cabinets. Given that this is only the third time my dad has come to the sunny state in 12 years, I thought that perhaps I should take care of this convenient timing and ask if we could perhaps complete a family home improvement project and, of course, my extremely generous father said he'd love to. My dad and I have never done something like this together and I'm super excited to get started. Speaking of -- the start date is October 3rd. Yep, just 11 days away!

There's a lot that has to be done prior to his arrival in order to make this work.

1. Some demo of two walls needs to be completed. Rather than knocking three interior walls down (one of our many plans), we were persuaded by Bear's dad who suggested that the walls be retained in some way to maintain the character of the home. It was built in 1949 and really does have tons of charm. So, given that good input, we decided to create cut outs in two of the walls to open up the space but still retain some separation between kitchen, dining, and living room. One cutout will be at counter level so that it will be functional as a peninsula (not an island because it is open on three sides rather than all four). The peninsula will be in the wall that is between kitchen and dining. The other cut out is in the wall between kitchen and living room and will be at bar height so folks in the living room can sit there while others are cooking.
2. I really wanted the demo done before my dad and rest of the family got to work on the cabinets because I didn't like the idea of all that dust and debris occurring after there were like-new beautiful cabinets.
3. Because I want to do any remodeling in this house as green as possible, that is why, in large part, we've decided to keep the cabinets and refinish them rather than replace them. There are absolutely ways to save money in doing green remodeling, but there are also sometimes increased costs. So far, I think the cost reductions on several products will more than make up for the cost increases. Still, because the cabinets are so old, we couldn't find off the shelf ones to match for the peninsula and above the frig cabinet. There is also this incredibly weird cabinet where the size is completely different than the others and there is no counter below it. So, in order to get these necessary cabinets we had to have them made custom. One plus to this is that a local craftsman gets this work. Also, we're still saving at least half the money it would have cost to have all new cabinets.
4. The cabinet doors and drawers need to have the current finish stripped off of them. This is something my family could do together, but it would greatly increase the work (and yucky work at that!). We found a local person to strip them for a cost of only $14 average per door/draw. This was a crazy good price given that my dad charges $45 per door. Of course, he works outside of Philly and we're in a small town. My dad is very reasonable in the Philly area.
5. We need to select hinges so that our cabinet maker can make sure they are hung and work prior to any finishing work. The selection is done, but installation still needs to be done. Well, the cabinets still actually need to be made!
6. There is some cracked trim that needs to be replaced so my dad can stain it the same color as the cabinets.

The process so far has been mostly super fun. Some frustration with professionals resisting my green choices, which I'll post on later, but our contractor has been very open to suggestions including my request to shop at the local Habitat for Humanity store that has screws and nails that are either able to be reused or have been abandoned. I asked him if I was being a pain on that latest request and he said, "No. It's interesting to think about things differently and I'm learning. My past clients just didn't think of these things." I hope that will change.

Two Weeks in the House!

I'm not sure it has totally set in yet that I own this house. The first two weeks, honestly, have been pretty exhausting. Here's some highlights.

• There were a fair amount of things that we didn't notice prior to occupying the property.
• Door is missing a trim piece.
• Outdoor light seems to have a wiring issue; won't turn on.
• Pass through in dining room has splitered trim.
• Toilets both have problems.
• Plumber said we'd need one new one, but we fixed it without having to get a new one.
• The second toilet still needs to be fixed.
• There were several missing light fixtures.
• The dining room pot lights locations make absolutely no sense.
• There are crazy wires coming out of the floor in several places. In one case there's an extension cord and two cables. Who walls up extension cords?
• There are all new windows, which rocks, but they easily go off the tracks.
• Our backyard is apparently Wild America. Oh, Sadie.
• Sadie, our dog, turned into a hunter and treed a racoon. Occurs 5:30 AM
• Barked at something outside the back fence like a maniac and we couldn't get her to stop. Occurs 3:30 AM.
• Goes nuts, we go out to see what's wrong and immediately are hit with skunk smell. Despite the fact that the skunk already spraying her. Sadie is still viciously going after the skunk until she has it cornered in our shed (which we plan on getting rid of, apparently a good idea). Bear was finally able to convice her to come to him. Wow, did she stink! Occurs 12:15 AM. Yeah, I'm sure our neighbors are too happy about our arrival.
• Whenever we think that we've decided what to do with the very outdated and poorly planned kitchen, someone else gives us a great idea. That's fantastic, but our heads are spinning a bit.
• We buy a pendent light for over the sink to replace one of the missing fixtures that just had a hard plate and a bulb - no outlet box. Nice.
• The light in the garage doesn't work, which is quite problematic considering we still need to get a lot out of there and I work during the day.
• We need window coverings on all the windows. None of them had curtains, blinds, or anything. The front rooms of the house all have these beautiful big windows, but the large middle panels are not the same size. So, after quite a bit of time at Home Depot we figured out that there was no way to get the same blinds for all three rooms. We got ones that we thought were similar for the room that didn't fit the other blind type. Well, that one was completely see through. What the heck?! Why have blinds if they are see through? Weird. Back to Home Depot to return them. After checking with two different stores, I finally found some blinds that looked fairly similar, but they're not bamboo like the other two sets.
• A fairly big thing -- we found out a few days before closing that we needed to replace the carpet in two rooms. There were several issues regarding what flooring we wanted to do or could do. End result - carpet in both rooms, but it couldn't be put down until a couple days after we moved in so furniture for those two rooms were strewn over the rest of the house.

You can see why I haven't been blogging! Please don't take the above as complaining. We love the house! Bear and I are pretty much in laughing mode at this point.I could perhaps rename this blog The Adventures of Home Ownership.

As for my last post about my no alchol experiment, I decided on 30 days. It has been no problem at all. Actually, I'm really liking it. Having come from a family that we joke "drinks for a living" (love you Mom!), alcohol is present at every get together/function/meal. So, this is definitely different. Maybe I'll introduce the idea to them. Theresa mentioned that her friends did Dry July. That sounds interesting.

A Big Day

I signed the final paperwork for the new house today. I should have the keys Thursday or Friday. Big new adventure!
Another big turn of events - I've decided to stop drinking for a bit. I haven't decided on a specific time period, but I think it is necessary. I also think it is important to make this commitment out loud (and apparently in writing) to make it real. I haven't figured out a length of time yet for my wagon period.  Let me know if you have suggestions. This is quite an experiment for me and not one I ever thought I'd take on voluntarily, but I guess you never know.

I feel like alcohol has been affecting my happiness project and health so time to try a change. We'll see how it goes.  Buying a new house is a major life change. It seems like the perfect time to start living the life I want to lead (at least to the degree that I can make that happen).

House update

My offer on the house was accepted a couple weeks ago and it looks like we'll be moving in some time next week! Having moved already twice since October, moving again really sucks, but it will be worth it. I'm super psyched because I've convinced Bear to go with movers. Ah, now I just need to box everything up!

I'm really looking forward to all the plans we have for making the house ours. Remodeling is in our future. I'm also so happy to be creating a home with Bear. I am a lucky person.

What is America?

I, like so many Americans, am sad these days. I wonder what's become of my country, but then I am reminded that we've never lived up to our ideals. The debt ceiling debacle has preocuppied us all. What will happen? How can our leaders be so irresponsible? Obama has come significantly to the right without appeasing Republicans (especially those Tea Party folks) while significantly disappointing his own party, but even with the President's shift, it isn't enough for the GOP. It seems like reason has been lost. Truth has been lost. We're only left with rhetoric. As I said, these days make me sad.
At the same time, I realize that we've never yet lived up to our ideals. Equality. Opportunity. Democracy. Really? Where are they? We stay in countries where the majority of the nation doesn't want us. Is that democracy? We are currently living in a time of one of the greatest levels of inequality of income and wealth. Our unemployment rate is so bad that there are not opportunities for those who want to work hard to earn a living.

When I'm feeling so low about the country, I try to hold onto those things that make America great. In the end, however, I find it is the people. It is amazing the kindness you can find in our everyday residents. Their generosity for others is profound. Their desire to succeed (i.e. be able to support their family) is almost endless. They can lift me up.

A column published in the New York Times today was example of being uplifted and so saddened at the same time. Charles Blow writes about how the Buffolo Soldiers - the segregated Black soldiers of World War II - who were largely erased from our history and how elites in the American military were clearly racists. His grandfather experienced this directly. My heart actually hurts when I read these stories. His grandfather was an American hero, but because of the color of his skin, we erased him. There's no other way to say it. His heroism was ignored and diminished. What happened to the American promise of equality? This is just another example of us not living up to the wonderful ideals that the country holds.

I ask myself sometimes, "What does it mater if we have ideals if we never live up to them?" Can there be justice is America? Are we too mired in racial inequality that we may never rise above it?

It perhaps shouldn't be surprising that our country's legislative leaders could put all of us in financial jeapordy because maybe they just never see reality. If they can't see the bravery of a Black soldier who fought bravely for his country, maybe they just can't see anything.

An Artist Lost

I was very sad to read today that Amy Winehouse has died. She struggled so much in her short life while still producing amazing art. She was tragic in many ways and her death is as well. I will miss the music I won't ever get to hear from her.

Made an offer on a home!

After seeing five homes, one really stood out. Perhaps the best thing is that it is a sound investment AND I love it. (You're right Theresa. I need to love it.) Now we have the waiting game. Torture! The seller has until Monday evening to respond to the offer. I sure hopes she responds sooner.