One Sixty: Down on My Knees

Down on My Knees - I mean, luck.

I've determined that I'm the luckiest unlucky person ever. Just when I thought things were going so perfectly - I had money for my new laptop, my good friend Justin was coming for a visit, I was going to Europe in Sept... just lucky lucky stuff. Something terrible had to happen.

Last month - I slipped on a wet floor, dislocated my left knee, had to go to the ER, was outta work, and now in physical therapy - all the while hobbling around on crutches, not being able to do anything fun. And that's the short version.

So that's the main reason I haven't blogged in a long time. It's been just a crappy summer. I've had a handful of fun times at friends' houses - but I can't go out to the bars or go to the beach, ride the motorcycle, go camping, take belly dancing classes, work on the house.... or even go for a short jog. I'd be happy with a non-hobbling walk at this point. Forget running. Makes me want to start balling again.

Mike meanwhile has finished the CarBQ. He bought a new boat and a new motorcycle. The boat is nice, the motorcycle is ok - though I don't really like cruisers. Now we've got to sell our old boat and motorcycle. The garage gets smaller by the day, it seems.

Of course, we haven't even been able to finish putting the trim upstairs. Or construct the stairway railing. I'm still content to at least see it most of the way done - but I'm getting sick of my office mess - books and milkcrates of stuff everywhere. But it's useless to put all that on the shelves just to take it all off again to put up the trim.

At this point, it's a struggle to even keep the house clean.

So that's the story ur-body. I miss writing to all of you. I hope all of you are having a great and productive summer.

Blog Story

My now husband Mike and I purchased this quaint home back in spring of 2004 - our first home - and, being the handy folks we are, expected to have the entire thing renovated in about a year or so.

And here we still are... renovating away.

This house needed a complete overhaul. Its plaster walls were uninsulated, its attic floor covered in 2" of bat guano, its basement - dirt and snakes, its exterior - asbestos siding, and lead paint windows in every room. The electric had not been updated and light sockets hung bare from the ceiling. Plumbing featured cast iron radiators - and only one for the entire upstairs.

We began by gutting almost the entire house from top to bottom. (sans bathroom - we needed to pee) We rebuilt the entire upstairs, with a new floor (not new carpet or wood - the once unstable framing underneath) and turned 3 small rooms into two. We reinvented the downstairs by turning a closet into a hallway and eliminating interior exterior windows and doors from old half-assed additions.

New insulation, windows, electrical wiring (including phone and CAT-5 internet), plumbing and baseboards, and drywall were all added.

We purchased kitchen cabinets from a yard sale. (None existed previously.) Our families helped us replace and purchase new appliances including the once also missing washer & dryer.

Then we had the entire house lifted - straight into the air - dug out the dirt, and had a real basement foundation poured. We updated our oil tank and burner and created heating zones.

Outside, we took down trees and planted grass. We dug out an awkward hill to create a 2nd part to the driveway and used the rocks our house once sat on as a retaining wall. We electrified and repainted the garage.

And of course, we spent many an hour on finish work like paint, trim, closet doors, lighting fixtures, hardwood floors, curtain rods, dimmer switches, and many other things everyone else takes for granted. We are still working to complete all this final finishing, but happy to report that we are FINALLY nearing completion of all little things in all rooms!

In 2008 we began overhauling the exterior by creating a new french door entryway and building a farmer's porch and garage addition. We replaced our roof and then stripped off our siding and replaced with new clapboards. We then planted two new flowering trees and a maple in the front yard - our first major landscape purchases. I'm happy to report that here in 2011, the porch is nearing completion and the back yard is on the road to recovery with some new loam and grass. More plantings soon to come!

In 2012 we plan to attack the last MAJOR (emphasis on major) job in the house - the dreaded BATHROOM! We plan to first add a second bathroom in the basement. Then, demolish our current bathroom and rebuild it, adding a second bathroom on top for the upstairs.

And that pretty much brings you up to date. The battle continues day to day as we try and complete everything.