Staying home 24/7 is certainly ensuring I get things done! I did take Monday off as I was tired but I spent the day having to remind myself that it was my "day off". By the end of day I felt like a slug and was ready to get to it early Tuesday morning.
The three bedrooms on the main floor are painted, including the trim, and the floors in the spare rooms have been re-scrubbed to ensure there are no spots that I missed the first time around. The first bedroom (which I posted a couple of weeks ago) contains just the toys that Eli plays with when he is here; the second room shown here is my sewing room. For the moment, it is neat and tidy because everything is tucked away in the closet. It won't last. :)
My bedroom is done for the most part, though I'm going to have to buy a quart of paint to put a second coat on the feature wall. Unfortunately I just didn't have enough to do the two coats. :(
The difference between the two colors is more prominent in real life, but I'm happy the way the two colors complement one another. I think I've figured out the old color. I used the Behr color match app to take a photo of the wall and it came up with three different options. One of them seems familiar to me. I really have to remember to keep the paint chip or write it down somewhere. Like perhaps my blog? For posterity the new color is natural gray...how simple would that be to remember? Knowing me, not so much.
We did have a bit of a scare this week, as my SIL began showing possible sign of Covid-19. Thankfully, her test came back negative and things went back to normal for a couple of days. Then her doctor's office called and told her that since she was still showing symptoms she needed to self isolate. She had been doing so at the lake house while waiting for the test results - I'm not sure if she'll be going back there or not. My brother was off work as well but had gone back. I'm a bit worried about him as he is starting to feel winded climbing stairs. This is a guy who runs marathons for fun. If it ends up they both have it, he'll likely have passed it on to others at work as well. It's all very worrisome.
On another note, I've decided to cancel my cruise in June. I'm sure that comes as no surprise to anyone. I had so hoped things would settle down, but the longer this goes on, and with the increasing number of cases and countries shutting down their borders it is clear this trip isn't going to happen. I'm definitely disappointed for a number of reasons. I won't get to see my friend J this year, it's unlikely I'll ever get to do this particular cruise as the pricing was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and frankly, I'm itching to travel. That's an itch I won't be scratching anytime soon!
While I was mourning the decision, I went through photos from the TransAtlantic cruise friends and I did in the spring of 2014. J met us when we docked in Southampton, as did a cousin of one of our party and his partner. J gave us all a day to remember. I have over 120 photos to prove it, but I'll only share a few here.
Our first stop was Sir Harold Hillier gardens, where J was then employed. We spent a few hours there and I was in heaven! What a beautiful place!
The day was a bit damp but the gardens were so lovely it did not matter a bit.
Every where I turned there was another gorgeous tree in full bloom.
The flowers were simply spectacular!
This was my favorite piece of artwork in the garden.
After we had wandered to our heart's content, J had arranged for us to enjoy a ploughman's lunch at the main building. It was wonderful and totally unexpected. After lunch I know we went to another spot but I can't recall the name. I do remember that they had plants for sale...which had I been able to smuggle home in my suitcase I might have. Probably not, though because that would have been an issue at border control.
It will be weeks yet, before our garden centres will open so I'm living vicariously through these photos!
The grand finale of the day, of which I have no photos, was a proper English tea at J's home. A good friend of hers made the cakes especially for our visit. It was just an incredible day and one that will live on in my memory. It was my first chance to travel to Europe and only served to whet my desire to return.*
Back to the mundane I spent the rest of the week cleaning house. The kitchen was first up and the bathrooms right behind it. While I keep the rooms reasonably clean and tidy, I spent more time scrubbing cabinets and counters than I normally would. I tackled the areas under the bathroom sinks and got rid of more items that haven't been used in months or have dried up. I washed the floors on my hands and knees in order to get into the corners better than I can with my mop.
On Friday, the crew showed up to replace the shingles on the roof. They arrived by 8:30 in the morning - I was just about to go and feed the birds as they pulled up. I warned them about the ice on the east side of the house and we agreed they would work off the front patio side. About 2 hours later the shingles were off and I could see them rolling out the underlay. I'm sure that isn't the technical term but it works.
The original truck and trailer for the garbage left just as the truck with the new shingles arrived. I watched the crane lifted the supplies onto the roof. It was a long day as the original crew of two completed the shingling, replacement of vents and turbine thingy (again, another technical term) about 6 p.m. I had wandered out about 5:30 with a garbage bag to pick up a few pieces of shingle and the wrap from shingles. The guys were good enough to ball it up and toss it off one side of the house. I could have left it for them, but I figured it would save them a few minutes at the end of the day.
Saturday I went out shopping for cat food, bird food, and a few groceries. I had planned my trip to hit the three stores I needed in order of opening. That plan was thwarted when I arrived at Peavey Mart to find they didn't open until 10, rather than their normal 7:30 a.m. start. No matter, I took my items home, wiped everything down with wipes before putting them away and then did the quick trip for the bird seed. I shouldn't have to go out again for another 10-14 days again. My son has been called into work for a few hours Monday and Tuesday so if I think of something I'll ask him to grab it.
This post is getting incredibly long, so I'll wrap it up for this week. Take care everyone and stay well!
*I know that J reads my blog too, so I hope you've enjoyed the memories of our last visit. I'll get there again, one day, I promise!
I am getting very tired of cleaning and clearing...and I think I'm reaching end of it. I vacuumed the entire house yesterday (thinking of you Carole), replaced the fixture in the spare bedroom (on my own and it worked), and took the last batch of stuff to Value Village. Today I washed walls in the living room and windows in the kitchen and living room. Here are a few photos of the "finished product".
According to staging info I should remove the ottomans so that the room appears larger. I'm of mixed feelings about that...I think the room is plenty big even with these here.
The now nearly empty spare room. When we moved in just under 9 years ago, it looked like this! Bit of a difference,
The main bathroom - the cabinets were refaced last year and the new counter top, sink and taps put in. It's a similar counter to the kitchen but with a shiny surface. My bathroom had a similar treatment but I'm not sure how to take a photo of it, without putting myself in the picture. It's a small bathroom!
The master bedroom with new curtains. It is a large room as well.
The basement is pretty much empty, though at the other end of the room is my son's computer. That area needs to be tied, and his bedroom too. He's promised to spend part of the long weekend cleaning, so I can clean carpets next week.
This is the area of the basement that I had insulated and drywalled several years ago. The ceiling is quite low in this part, about 7 feet so it's not really usable space, except for storage. My son does use the weight bench occasionally, but my daughter's elliptical hasn't. So it is going out with the pile of rubbish in the garage as we've tried giving it away for free. I suspect whoever picks it up, may keep it.
The basement bathroom was redone a few years ago, with the addition of a shower, and replacement of the shower and sink cabinet. It's so much nicer than it was when we moved in...no photos from that time but I assure you, it wasn't very pretty!
Finally the laundry room with the chest freezer and water softener. I wish I had a couple of shelves to put the cleaning supplies on but I don't. I'll leave that to the next owner.
I can continue to work on the garage and yard after it is listed though I'm hoping to get to do some work this weekend. We're forecast to have lovely temperatures (up to 18C/66F), perfect for being outdoors. The pine cones and needles on the front patio need to be swept up and put in the bin. In the back yard, I need to go through the sheds and clear these out. There are some things that need to go to D; she can pick these up when she comes at the beginning of May. Near to the end of May, regardless of whether the house is sold, I'll plant a few containers for some color. This year though, I plan to keep it to no more than eight...or maybe nine or ten. :)
I'll call the real estate agent next week as I had forgotten this weekend is Easter. I'm sure he'll have some ideas for me as well...hopefully they won't cost me too much! I do know the carpet in the master bedroom needs to be replaced but I'd be more willing to provide a credit to the purchaser. It relieves of the need to move all the furniture out and they can put in what they would like. We'll see where that gets me.
Have a great rest of the week everyone!
In between curling matches, reading and posting blogs, chats with D and Eli (FB Messenger is great for this), and regular housework, I've been busy with more de-cluttering and minor repairs in the house. I'm finding there is a lot of work to getting the house ready for sale. I made the mistake of searching for "top tips for selling a house" yesterday. Phew, there are a lot of ideas out there.
One of the top tips is to clean surfaces. In the kitchen it's meant to show how much counter space is available.
Here's my kitchen....I tried, I really did but there are just too many things I need out. The coffee pot, kettle, toaster, and breadbox are going nowhere. Though looking at the photo, I'll make sure the broom is put away in the closet.
My living room is much better, with the exception of the table beside my chair. I keep my remotes, address book, telephone, cat brush, pens, etc. in a container. It's is really cluttered but the drawer in the side table is full too. So, I'll have to do something else with it.
In my de-cluttering I've managed to fill another large box and started a second one with items to donate. A lot of this came from a second round of going through Christmas and other seasonal decorations. In addition, I'm taking a tub of assorted items to my daughter at her request. I cleaned out three tubs but must admit I filled two of them with items that used to sit out on the shelves in the storage room, mostly stuffed animals and Santas. I did get one empty tub that I'll use for the stuff that I need to hide during showings.
The paint touch ups are complete. When Eli was little we had installed a gate at the top of the basement stairs, when it was removed, there were holes that needed to be patched and the walls repainted. Luckily I had the paint from the bathroom renovations and was able to use that. I did pick up a small tester of white paint for touching up baseboards and the railing on the steps up to the kitchen. Some time ago, my nephew for some reason known only to him, scratched up the railing with a sharp object. I'd ignored it until now, but with a bit of wood filler and paint it looks fine.
One afternoon last week it was warm enough to open up the sun room, so I took the opportunity to clean it thoroughly. All the toys have been put away, the floor was swept and then vacuumed, and I pulled down some of the curtains and washed them. I'll continue that process until they've all been cleaned. (Why I haven't done this in the years I've lived here is beyond me).
Tucked away in the coffee table are a set of towels, teal and white striped, that I'll use to cover the furniture. The cat's claws have done a number on the existing towels but I won't replace them until necessary. For showings yes! One of the curtains was torn by Sheldon, I think he was trying to chase a bird. It's the second on the left in the picture; I took it down and patched it, then moved it to a corner where it isn't likely to be closed. I could try to replace them but there are 12 curtains and at an average of $40-50 each I'm not prepared to spend that much money, and it's not likely I could find one that would match the current ones.
Another repair made was the front hall closet door. The one on the left had split at the top when I was trying to open it one day. I probably yanked on it too hard. For the longest time (a year or more) I lived without a closet door. It certainly ensure I kept the closet tidy. :)
I had been looking on line for replacement doors but was trying to figure out how I'd get them home. I sure didn't want to pay the $75 delivery charge! As I was getting out of my car the other day, I noticed a couple of panels on top of the shelving unit. There were a number of pieces of wood left behind by the previous owners. I checked, and sure enough the panels were the right size. One of the panels matched, almost to a T the broken one so this weekend I took them all down to basement where I could lay them out on the floor and replaced the broken panel. My son gave me a hand re-installing it. It's not entirely level but as my dad would have said, "a blind man riding by wouldn't notice the difference." Hooray, another fix with no additional cost!
I did go out the other day and spent a few dollars on towels. I bought new white tea towels for the kitchen and patterned hand towels for the bathroom. These will only be used for showings...my ratty old stuff is for everyday. That plastic tub I mentioned earlier can be used to hide the ratty old stuff while the showing is happening. I'll just toss it in the car to take with me while the showing is going on.
I'm still about a month away from listing, partly because D and Eli will be here in early May. AND I know the house will need some serious cleaning after they leave. As well I want to get the garage and yard in tip-top shape and that can't happen until we have some nicer weather. Sunday was another lovely day with temperatures reaching 15C(70F), but it won't be that warm every day for quite awhile. My theory is, I'll get as much done in the house as I can now, then will be able to focus my attention on simply keeping it up, and working on the outside.
In the meantime, I've done a little bit of crocheting. I started an Easter basket for Eli before I left on my cruise and took it with me to work on while I was away. When I returned home, I realized I didn't like what I'd done so I unraveled it and started again!
Here's the final product with a few goodies tucked into it (he's only 2 so that's all he's getting). The basket itself is made using two strands of yarn, all of it scraps I had from other projects. I knew I didn't have enough blue so used the green and yellow to make the stripes. The handle is also made with double strands but for additional stability I used three pipe cleaners, side by each, crocheting around them. I sewed the handle onto the basket, and used the little foam pieces I got at the dollar store to decorate it. With a bit of paper, and the goodies, I think it turned out pretty well.
I'll deliver the basket and other items I've gathered up around the house to D and Eli on Wednesday when I drive out to visit. D wanted me to come for Easter weekend, but I'd rather not deal with the holiday traffic. Eli has no idea yet, what Easter is or when it is so he'll care less. Though I do know he'll be happy to see me as I will be to see him too.
Have a great week everyone!
I'm one of those people....I hate having to wait for someone else to get back to me. I want to know now! Or better yet, 10 minutes ago. However, with the long weekend, we're in a bit of a holding pattern with the house in Melville.
The broker found two different mortgage companies willing to finance the property. That was a positive as it more difficult to mortgage a second property, and especially one that is in a small town coupled with a low mortgage amount. The interest rate is slightly higher, but just a 10th of a percentage point. I've conservatively calculated the mortgage payments to be $120 bi-weekly. It seems such a crazy small amount, but of course there are other costs associated with owning a property.
Oh, is that last statement true! We had our inspections (mostly) completed on Friday. D, Eli, and I drove up on Friday morning, arriving just after 9 a.m. The selling real estate agent and the inspector were there. She was busy putting pads on the bottom of the chairs and the table legs, while he was checking out the laundry. Later, she left and he headed back down to the basement.
I'm sharing a few of the cellphone photos D took - they are dark as her flash doesn't work since Eli threw it in the tub. The kitchen is quite large but long and narrow. The refridgerator is to the right of the sink, and the washer/dryer combo are directly across from the cabinets to the left of the stove. That is a small deep freeze on the far left hand side.
The flooring has been redone on the main floor with the exception of the bathroom and small porch. The door you can see on the far left opens to the small porch with the bathroom to the left of that.
The wall between the kitchen and dining room/living room combo has been opened up (though the door to the original living room is still there as well).
This photo is taken from the dining room into the small living room. There would be more room to get past the couch but the owner has an old grandfather's clock against the wall.
D plans to turn the dining area in to a play area for Eli. The current tenants are also using it for storage, so I suspect it won't look much different...though a little messier when Eli is through with it. At the bottom right of the photo, they have a blender set up. The little stinker figured out how to turn it on!
He loved the space and ran back and forth between the rooms and then discovered the stairs to the second level.
This is the view looking into the house from the front porch door. The living room is on the left, the stairs on the right. Being an older house, they are fairly steep and on his first foray, Eli was pretty cautious as he climbed (crawled). But after he went up and down a couple of times he wasn't the least bit afraid.
I have no photos of the upstairs as the photos D took were just too dark. It was clear the tenants have just moved in, and we were told they are there for two months for a firefighting course. It was good to see their items in the room as it gave us a better idea of the size. All rooms look big when empty, I think.
While the inspector completed his work, we took some measurements of windows, doors, the bathroom vanity and other spaces. D's friend A arrived, and they took Eli outside where he ran back and forth in the front and side yards. There was a pregnant kitty who came to check him out and the poor thing was chased about until she decided enough was enough.
Meanwhile a locksmith came by to try to open the garage as it was locked and the realtor didn't know where to find a key. However, he needed a drill that he didn't have with him, and the inspector had to leave so rather than go through the report, the inspector left it incomplete and headed out. He was to meet with the locksmith today (though I've let him know Tuesday is soon enough) so I expect I'll hear more at some point.
So the inspection report....I'm not entirely certain how much I can rely on it as he missed some things we noted - the flashing above the front windows and the broken window in the front porch for example, and put a lot of emphasis on the fact the house has sloping floors. He did, however, note there is some rotting at the bottom of the posts in the basement though assured me the house won't fall in on itself. The plumber's report was separate and while I anticipated the recommendation to have a sump pump installed, there was one surprise. Apparently when the water heater was put in, the chimney insert wasn't changed out to a smaller width as required. The plumber doing the inspection was the one who installed it and he indicated the owner didn't want to spend the money. I thought he would fail it, but he didn't....I guess he didn't want to be negative about his own work.
I'm going to give him a call Tuesday morning and request an estimate of the costs to install both the sump pump and the chimney insert. Maybe, just maybe he'll give me a bit of a deal? At that point, I have a decision to make as depending on the cost I anticipate we'll be going back to the current owner for a price reduction. I'm quite willing to share the cost, but I really think he should be on the hook for the chimney insert because he should have had the work done already. If Google is right, the cost will be between $65 and $100 a foot - with a two story house it is going to cost a pretty penny. I've been in touch with my realtor's co-worker (he's on vacation this week) and she is prepared to go back with a revised offer.
There was also another surprise, this one a good one. The inspector discovered that the entire house has been re-wired. Between the new windows, the newer room (5-10 years), the furnace and water heater (10 years), and the wiring, I'm confident that much of the expensive repairs have been done. Yes, there will need to be more money spent - I'd be foolish not to think so but I'm happy to know so much has been done to bring the house up to current standards.
D is getting quite excited and packing is well underway. The garage is starting to empty out of all of the extra items; although that is happening less quickly than I would like, she assures me it will be done in the 60 days or so before the move. She's got a quote from a local moving company as well - we've used them before in the move to this house, the cost was reasonable and they were very efficient.
So the finish line is in sight...
******
I've spent the rest of the weekend, thus far, doing regular weekend things - grocery shopping, laundry, washing floors (gosh this kid drops things and mashes them into the floors), and cleaning my bedroom and bathroom. This morning I relaxed in bed and read with a cup of coffee. My brother lent me a book he'd recently read, "The secret diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 years old". The book was written by an "inmate" of a nursing home in Denmark - his word, not mine - about a year in his life. It starts off with the caution "Another year, and I still don't like old people." The almost daily diary entries are amusing, hilarious, sad, poignant, and sweet as he shares tales of bad food, the many complaints of the inmates, the escapades of the "Old but not dead" club, and the inevitable health issues that arise with age. R brought it over on Friday and I finished it this morning - it's the first book in a long time that I've had difficulty putting down.
We've been having lots of rain, but hopefully tomorrow will be clear and I can get out into the yard. The lawn is in desperate in need of a mow and good weeding, and the containers need to be dead-headed. I'm looking forward to the time when I don't have to squeeze chores into a certain day but can do a little every day (as long as the weather cooperates).
My wait won't be much longer though - just four months until the end of November! The marble jar is looking very low.
On that note, I'm off to make pasta salad for dinner this evening. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!
The three bedrooms on the main floor are painted, including the trim, and the floors in the spare rooms have been re-scrubbed to ensure there are no spots that I missed the first time around. The first bedroom (which I posted a couple of weeks ago) contains just the toys that Eli plays with when he is here; the second room shown here is my sewing room. For the moment, it is neat and tidy because everything is tucked away in the closet. It won't last. :)
My bedroom is done for the most part, though I'm going to have to buy a quart of paint to put a second coat on the feature wall. Unfortunately I just didn't have enough to do the two coats. :(
We did have a bit of a scare this week, as my SIL began showing possible sign of Covid-19. Thankfully, her test came back negative and things went back to normal for a couple of days. Then her doctor's office called and told her that since she was still showing symptoms she needed to self isolate. She had been doing so at the lake house while waiting for the test results - I'm not sure if she'll be going back there or not. My brother was off work as well but had gone back. I'm a bit worried about him as he is starting to feel winded climbing stairs. This is a guy who runs marathons for fun. If it ends up they both have it, he'll likely have passed it on to others at work as well. It's all very worrisome.
After we had wandered to our heart's content, J had arranged for us to enjoy a ploughman's lunch at the main building. It was wonderful and totally unexpected. After lunch I know we went to another spot but I can't recall the name. I do remember that they had plants for sale...which had I been able to smuggle home in my suitcase I might have. Probably not, though because that would have been an issue at border control.
The original truck and trailer for the garbage left just as the truck with the new shingles arrived. I watched the crane lifted the supplies onto the roof. It was a long day as the original crew of two completed the shingling, replacement of vents and turbine thingy (again, another technical term) about 6 p.m. I had wandered out about 5:30 with a garbage bag to pick up a few pieces of shingle and the wrap from shingles. The guys were good enough to ball it up and toss it off one side of the house. I could have left it for them, but I figured it would save them a few minutes at the end of the day. 
