The New House

Well, yesterday we got the keys to the new house! YAY! We bought a fridge off kijiji for $30 DELIVERED and it works great! Today my son and I went to take care of priming the living room and his bedroom. They were the only two rooms in the house that needed priming. The colours were not only dark (or in the case of his room, bright) but they were DISGUSTING! The living room looked like a disgusting chocolate cave and his room looked like something out of a 70's flashback with turquoise walls that had black and electric grape stripes going all the way around the room. They even painted the door in those colours! I will post before, during and after photos of each room as we complete it's transformation so you can see the changes and difference. We were only at the house painting for 4 hours today, but it sure took ALOT out of us. I could probably sleep through the apartment building collapsing around us tonight (please don't though). We are hopefully going back tomorrow to paint the living room and Thomas' bedroom...now that we've got them started, we are anxious to get them finished.

The Honey Do List

This list goes from area to area in the new house, but the tasks won't necessarily be done in this order. Clearly February is far too cold to be doing any of the outdoor projects. It also goes from the front of the house to the back of the back yard and then the upper level.

Front Approach

new mailbox

new house numbers

expand side and front flowerbeds

paint front door and window trim

install porch light

insulate, panel and paint porch in and out

new plexi windows for porch

Living Room

pull up living room carpet & decide on flooring & install

paint living room

install shelves

install window treatments

Kitchen

install pantry shelving

install kitchen/stairway partition

paint kitchen

hang curtains

Mudroom

paint mudroom

fix screen on door

install shelving

Back Yard

repair deck

install deck railing

install gate on side entry to yard

expand flowerbeds

prep veggie garden

garden lighting

fence around the veggie garden

Master Bedroom

paint

install window treatments

Thomas' Room

prime & paint

install closet shelving

install window treatments

Bathroom

paint

install shelving/storage

install window treatments

paint stairway/hallway

Supposed to get the keys today

Well, today didn't turn out quite the way we had planned. We went to pay the remainder of our rent on the new place and get the keys, but Dan (the landlord) wasn't at the furniture store that his family owns. Of course, he had the only set of keys with him. His brother called him to let him know that the hydro and gas companies were coming to the house today to hook us up, so he said he would be there by noon with the keys to let both technicians in. Well, the roads were pretty bad because of the snowfall we literally just had, so it took him a little longer to get there. By the time he got there, the gas company had already come and gone, unable to connect the gas because they couldn't get in to check the hot water heater or the furnace and just minutes after he got there, the hydro company showed up and connected the hydro. Dan apologized continuously for us having to wait around and then even gave me a drive back home and then Jay a ride to work. He's replacing the drop-ceiling tiles in the kitchen, but said he would have keys ready for us later today and wants us in the house ASAP. He is also waiting for the gas company for us since he will be there doing work on the house anyhow. He said he doesn't want us to have to wait around in a cold house unnecessarily. So, sadly, there are no photos to show you today, but maybe over the weekend we will get back there and I can take some photos then.

Can't Time go QUICKER?!?

Well, we went to see the house at the beginning of the month, put down a deposit on the house a couple days later...here it's 2 weeks later and I am going NUTS! The day we went to pay the deposit, we also went to Rona to get ideas for the house, the yard and the gardens. Here's my problem...I'm already second guessing my colour choices for paint for the various rooms and the list of projects I want to do for the house is getting bigger and bigger every day! Right now I am working on a crocheted cafe curtain set for the kitchen window. Our kitchen window is right above the sink. I've always wanted a window above the sink! I know the best way for me to go about all this would be to take each project as we take each day...one at a time....and of course, at least wait until we get the keys tomorrow! lol

First Blog Entry

This is my first entry on this blog. We are getting the keys to our new home (our first house) on Thursday. It needs quite a bit of work, but my guys and I are up to the challenge. I have SOME pictures of the house now, but I will have MORE before photos to add Thursday after we get the keys, so I won't add any photos to the blog until Thursday night. This blog will be kind of like a before, during and after documentation of turning this house into a home we can be proud of! We are open to suggestions or comments, so please feel free!