Laying It Down

We are slowly but surely making this house a place we are pleased to call home. Today the installers came by around 9:00 am and were done just after lunch time. So something to consider when purchasing new carpet for your home is how thick your current carpet is versus how thick your new will be. We decided to go with a slightly thinner carpet and it did not occur to us until after the new one was installed that we should have painted the base boards while the floor was bare, so now there is a slight color change along the bottom edge of the base boards where the old carpet covered them up and we need to paint them with the newer high gloss white that we put on just prior to moving in. Actually hind sight being 20/20, had I known that we were going to replace the carpet I would have ripped it out before moving in painted the base boards, and then installed the carpet before bringing in all the furniture.

Oh well, it looks great and everyone in the family loves the new fresh carpet smell and the color matches the walls much better. Even the cats have placed their seal of approval on the latest remodeling changes. Raylene's parents and sister came over to help vacuum up the new carpet fuzzys and touch up the base boards before moving the furniture back in place. All in all we are very pleased with the new carpet and also very glad to have our home back. I never realized how critical carpet is to making a house feel like home. Have you ever tried to relax in a house that doesn't have any carpet? I guess the furniture being packed in the garage also had something to do with it, but if I had the choice between carpet and furniture I would take the carpet. Needless to say we spent the weekend with Raylene's family because there was nothing inviting about hanging around our house once the carpet was gone.

The Dogs Move Out

One of great things about purchasing a foreclosure home is the renovation. We have noticed several signs of previous pets in the home, one of those has been moldy smell of dogs in the carpet with the primary location being the first room on the right as you enter the hallway as well as some other areas. We have tried all the major solutions, vacuuming (lots), shampooing (lots), and different order absorbing resources, the dogs refuse to vacate the premises. Well, it is time we start playing hard ball, using force. We removed the carpet.

Friday night Raylene's parents and sister, surprise surprise, came over help us move the furniture and things off the carpeted areas and into the garage. Saturday morning, our Home Teachers came over to help with the destruction and Raylene's family once again came over to help and we finished it all in much less than two hours, including taking the carpet and pad to the dump. Now every room the house echos very well and some time Monday morning the installers will be here with our brand new carpet!

So little by little our home looks nicer and nicer and I grow more and more in IOU debt. ;)

Painting, Painting, Painting, ...

So when you get down to it, when you paint a whole house - it takes a lot of work. I can't imagine having to do this without all the help that we have had from my family. And all the trim work - wow. It seems like it will never end. Mom has been a painting ninja with her awesome roller. I have been prepping in the corners and around the edges. The kitchen has been my least favorite to paint
because you have to be so careful going around all of the cabinets. I do love the colors that Patrick and I picked out. The house seems much more inviting and warm. The color before was a slight off white with some time of cool purple/blue tinge which always left me feeling chilled. That might be a desirable trait in a place that is so hot in the summer, but not how I want people to be greeted when they enter our home. I can't wait until we are finished because I am really tired of painting - and it is going to look wonderful!

Yen Can Cook

...or at least I can! When we had our house inspected, we were informed that the digital display on the oven would not even turn on, and therefore didn't work. Patrick and dad looked at the price of a new one, which was pricey ($400) or a refurbished one ($180ish). Since the guy that they needed to talk to about the refurbished one was on vacation, dad decided to open up the circuit board and take a look. He found a thermo.....something that looked blown. So he ordered 4 new ones for under $1. When the parts came in he pulled out his soldering iron and went to work. I can now cook - the display came right up and all is well!!!! I know you are all jealous, but back off, he's my dad (okay, I might share if you're really nice). I love it when I don't have to spend more money - today is a good day.

As a side note, this oven was the most disgustingly dirty thing. Even though it has an automatic oven cleaner setting on it, I don't think that it was ever used. My mom and I literally had to use a plastic putty knife to peel many layers off the bottom. Anyone what some "fruit leather?" There is also a grease trap underneath that was filled and overflowing onto the floor. Yikes - In a moment of extreme brilliancy I started cleaning it almost immediately, before we even knew if the oven could be fixed. I am so happy that the oven now works and all the hard work will be worth it.

Holes

One of the first things that we have to tackle in the house is to fix all the holes in the drywall. There are several small ones throughout the house, many behind the door knobs. Then there is the hole by the front door that looks like it was kicked and a huge one in the laundry area, we think because of water damage. The hole by the door just needs to be textured now. In the laundry area, the plumbing is almost fixed (thanks, Dad) and then we (and I really mean Patrick here) can get on with the dry walling. And I must insert here that when Dad and I were cleaning up the floor that there was an overwhelming odor of wet dog - Yuck. I hope that we got it all up for good, but I'm not overly optimistic, I will probably need to bleach the whole floor at some point.
We have been looking at paint colors and think that we will be going with some warm beige tones. Slowly but surly we have been making progress, I can't wait until we get to move in!