Well, here it is the 30th of January; we've been in the house four months today!
And what a beautiful January it’s been weather wise. Tom & I have actually had lunch outside on the deck (what there is of it) twice, & one morning it was so beautiful we had coffee outside! The 8th warmest January on record. (Eat your heart out Grimmy & Ricky)
Now, you may very well be saying “January already….oh my, where has the time gone?”
We (OK, this part of the we that tells the story), on the other hand can be heard saying “What did I get myself into? Will this damn house ever be done???”
I know you've been waiting with such anticipation for the ongoing update since November; in fact I'm sure your wondering what has happened to us. Did we finish the house, get on with our lives & not tell anyone???
Ha-Ha, surely you jest…..I wish I could show you the interior progress we've made, but in reality all you really can see from the photos is the exterior.
I am enclosing a photo of the outside of the house from the back. We do actually (finally) have ALL the windows & doors installed. Now, do not get too excited… mind you, they do not all lock, some are only tacked up, but they are in. No more visits from the neighbor’s cat or the stray that had moved into the neighborhood.
. The view from the rear of the house or what we refer to as the river view is where you can see the geometric window, that was the most labor intensive & difficult to install, the one we worked with the sales rep for 3 months sending the drawings back & forth until he finally had it right….Or so we thought!!! It was designed wrong!!! Arrghh!!
It looks good from a distance, or as my mother would say, “a man on a fast horse will never see it”. Unfortunately, after all the time & work, the grids do not line up. We met with the company rep last week & the window will need to be replaced, including the interior trim work & paint repair. This of course will be a spring project.
We won't discuss the fact that the walls are 23 ft high & the (damned) hydraulic lift is no longer in our home, therefore repairs to the geometric window will be challenging.
Speaking of the hydraulic lift….you remember, the one we only needed to rent for a month; that ended up in our home for 3 months …the one we couldn't install the front door because we needed that large an opening to get the lift out…remember??? Well, it had been here so long that I half thought about including it into our decorating scheme, I'd never have to worry about how I'm going to wash the windows now, would I?
But I digress, let’s back up a bit……So…it’s 2 days before Christmas, my brother & sister-in-law (God Bless them) come to stay for the Holidays with their inflatable mattress (which deflated on our concrete floor, but on a positive note; there is radiant heat in the floor so at least they were warm). The painters were finishing up that Friday, (Saturday is Christmas Eve), the 4 of us are having a late dinner (no surprise) and its
Say Goodbye to the lift on the 29th of Dec.
The lift wasn't really a problem for the construction & the drywall but it was irritating at times. Some days I wanted to just scream at them to shut the damned BEEPER off. In fact one day I did lose it & scream at them & scared the snot out of the crew while they were up on it..
But when the damned painters had to be here at
(Sorry Grimmy-but we don't all get up at the crack of dawn…)
We took off a couple of days for the holiday & were right back at it.
Tom’s little pantry (the 12x8 room) which is almost finished, is now sporting enough cupboards to outfit a normal kitchen, along with a dual bay sink, a small 21” stove w/ an exhaust fan & microwave above. A beautiful dark blue & white ceramic counter top with black grout, which was a bitch to wash off, let me tell you.
So, what else has been accomplished since we chatted last….? The lights have been installed in the family room (the one w/24’ walls), along with the ceiling fan. How do I change a light bulb, you ask? I don't have a flippin clue. The light has been installed in the foyer & looked beautiful for the one time view I had-no switch to turn it on yet-they just hot-wired it so I could see what it'll look like lit up (some day).
The “nook” for my tub has been framed in & the walls are up for Tom’s 7 foot wide shower, the multiple body sprays & shower heads have been installed. We're in the process of installing drywall in the attic. Running electrical, plumbing, etc., etc.
Why is it taking so long you ask? Damn good question…I probably forgot to mention that the auction shopper that my husband is, picked up a house for rehab at an auction just a few miles from here, so we're working on that now too. The age old story… well this one is livable; right? No rush now. THIS IS where we have a difference of opinion.
Speaking of the Auction Man…we spent months looking at kitchen cabinets, styles, designs, woods, etc., etc., what do we want? …what do we like? ….what kind of extras do we want?
THEN what does the man do???? Wasn't there an auction on Sunday that he couldn't pass up-stuff for the rehab house, right??? He comes home with an entire set of kitchen cupboards. Now mind you these are not for the rehab house….they are for our house.
Not even close to the style or color we agreed on. And was I pissed???
OOOHHH Baby…
“Great construction though, real wood, solid.” He said.
“But it doesn't look like anything I imagined” says I, trying to be diplomatic & not lose it. "We agreed on light maple with bead board, something light & bright & casual, not dark hickory with an arch carved in the door....”
“But, I bought you a 6 person hot tub for the deck outside too…”
And then I ask you, just how do you compete with that? How do you compare kitchen cupboards to a hot tub???????
When was the last time you sat & soaked in a kitchen cupboard?
When was the last time you savored a glass of wine while the snow caressed your face or
the stars twinkled overhead while you sat in a kitchen cupboard?
Son-of A-Bitch…didn't he just do it again?!?!? And I cave every time .
So the ongoing saga of the Medaj house building continues. I will of course keep you updated & entertained-
Love, Martha the Maniac & Tom the Auction Man