Cleaning Moods

Moods come and go. Especially cleaning moods. For some reason, a cleaning mood came upon me yesterday though. I cleaned the bathrooms and washed dishes, which are normal chores, but it didn't really bother me to do them yesterday. Then I worked in the downstairs bathroom/ laundry room to clean out a small cabinet and the the shelf of supplies. Boy, does it get dirty in there!!

Then, the big one: mom's sewing room area and hallway outside of the bedrooms. It just kinda becomes the dumping ground for too many things! I started with the canning shelves by organizing all the canned goods on one shelf. Then all the canning supplies went on the other shelf. I organized those by pint or quart size and also by whether they were wide mouth or small mouth jars. Then all the rings of the same size went together, looped around a wire hanger. Pots and other machinery went on the upper shelves.

That right there took me a good hour, I'd say. But it sure is pretty now!

 Up next was the miscellaneous stuff that gets dropped out of sight: boxes of wrapping supplies, extra paper that mom brings home from work, suitcases, extra pillows, old pictures, off-season decorations. I fit most decorations into a cabinet and organized them. I organized the wrapping supplies and put them away in the closet, along with suitcases and pillows. But the paper!! Oh, the paper. When mom first started working at the print center, she would bring home scraps all of the time. Which was nice, because I used a lot of them for scrapbooking. The problem is that there are SO MANY, and some of them are odd colors that you can't use. I ended up re-organizing the scrapbooking shelves and sorting the paper by color. (Don't tell mom, but a few of the random pieces I just tossed.) It looks way better now and you can actually find what you need.

Most of the sewing area I didn't mess with, except to make sure that thing were off of the floor and on the shelf. What she needs to do is get two more cabinets so the doors can be shut to keep the oddness (and madness) out of sight!! Maybe I can get her to do that next week...

Love at First Bite

Monday night Justin and I went to look at a house. It was love at first bite. No, really. The fleas were jumping from the floors onto my legs. I have the red marks to prove it.

This cute little house was foreclosed, and apparently the previous occupants left their animals inside for a few days without letting them out before they left the house. Because of this, accidents happened on the carpet and the fleas came. But, if you can get past that, I think we have a winner. After all of the carpet is cleared, it looks like there is hardwood floors underneath (yay!!). The house also has several arched doorway and a simple layout. As you walk into the house, you are in the living room, which sits on the left side of the house. Then the dining room is past the living room, then the smaller family room and kitchen behind the dining room. On the right side of the house,  you have three bedrooms and the full bath, with the bedrooms becoming larger as you move towards the back of the house. A half bath and utility room are also in the back of the house near the kitchen.

The basement will be great for storage, and it looked like the water heater/AC/furnace/electric were newer. The siding and roof also appear to be in good condition. The deck on the back could use some work- a few boards are coming up and poison oak is growning on one side. There is a staircase upstairs to a low-ceiling bedroom. It will need some insulation because it was HOT up there!

 The yard needs some landscaping, but nothing huge needs hauled out or anything. There is a fire pit and area for a picnic table, and the kids swingset was left. I even have room for a garden. I think it is a  little less than half an acre, which is pretty good for being in town. The neighbor came out and talked to us and seemed super friendly. Apparently he has been mowing the front yard to try to keep up appearances for the street. That always shows a lot about a person, I think.

It's a small house, but I love the look of it. Symmetrical, with a jerkinhead roof...once we update the trim it will look really cute. We will put in an offer soon and see if we have better luck with this one than the last.

Ratona's 22nd Birthday!

Ratona turned 22 yesterday! Wowsers! We had a small celebration over at her house with ice cream cake. Mom, dad, Zach, Justin, and myself all went over. It was pretty good showing- only Bethany, Mike, and Dani were missing. Ratona seemed to like her cake and Lite Bright. It's just crazy to think that 20 years ago was when the seizures started.. then the brain surgery, then losing speech and all the behavior problems that followed. While it has been difficult, God has taught each of us through it. I think that we are all better people because of it, that we have more compassion for others who hurt because of it. But no sadness! It was a birthday, after all!!

Yosemite Hike to Cathedral Lakes

At the end May, I went hiking with Justin, Zach, and my Uncle Paul in Yosemite. None of us had done the hike to Cathedral Lakes before, so that is what we did. I love the valley, of course, and the Mist Trail hike, but we wanted something a little less crowded. So we drove up 120 and parked at the trail head at Tuolomme Meadows.

On the way, we passed Olmstead Point and Tenaya Lake. Olmstead Point has amazing "backward" views of Yosemite Valley. When we got to Tenaya Lake, there was almost no wind and the reflection on the water was just gorgeous. I don't know how anyone can see this and say that it evolved. It's just so obvious to me that a Creator had to design these wonders!!

On the trail, it has a steady uphill for the first half of the hike. We branched off to the right and went to Lower Cathedral Lake first. It was a bit marshy and we had to pick our way across the meadow to the lake. Snow was still present on the side of the mountain. We are lunch here. It's a good thing we brought bug spray... these mosquitoes were biting!! Ugh.

After lunch, we headed to Upper Cathedral Lake. It wasn't as impressive, in my opinion, as the lower lake, but it was still pretty. Bugs here too.  We took a rest and then headed back. It was downhill, but sometimes I think that is more difficult than uphill.

One thing that I really liked about this hike was that Cathedral Peak was present almost the whole time. The shape of this spire is unique and changes at each different angle you see it from. That was definitely a unique aspect of the hike.

We finished off the 8-ish mile hike in about 5 hours- a pretty good pace since we stopped for lunch and at the upper lake. Uncle Paul treated us to chilled root beer when we got back in the car. (And I swear Justin's been on a root beer kick every since!!)

House Hunting Update

Well, we did back out of our purchase contract on the house after the inspections, as was written as an option in the contract. And boy, and I glad that our realtor put that in for us. I would have loved to be in it, but it was just too much for us to handle right now. I really would have loved the country, but we will keep looking. We did see a house that is in town, but close to the country that we liked. (That is, for being in town) It does have half an acre and the lot has many mature trees. It was some nice features and the basement could be finished. It is just a one-story, which isn't my first choice. One issue is that the basement needs some work from a leak that sometimes occurs, and there are asbestos materials in the basement. Of course, everything on the first floor is totally livable and in good condition, but there are "projects" that we could be working on a time goes by. It has a "Florida room" off the back, which is basically a large enclosed room with windows all around- it would be great for having people over because it's probably 20x20 ft. So it is an option. We are having some estimates done for the basement issues today and Monday. We'll see what that comes out to before we proceed.

Sighs of Distress

Ugh. House hunting.

Well, the inspection was last night. While thought there would be some issues, it was more than we had hoped for. I'll just go through a few things.

First, the water quality did not pass. That an issue because you use water for everything- bathing, drinking, washing dishes, etc. Apparently they can do a system flush with bleach (basically) that is supposed to clean everything of the bacteria. But I'm a little worried. I guess the seller offered to pay for that system flush.

Next, the roof needs replaced ASAP. We knew it had some issues, but were hoping that it had a little more time left on it. The seller won't do anything about the roof. (Our theory is that he collected the insurance money after the hailstorm last year and doesn't want to 'fess up that he pocketed the money- it was just a rental for him, after all.) Either was, this was pretty much a deal breaker for us. We don't have the cash to replace the roof right now.

There are also issues with odd plumbing quick-fixes- pipes coming out of the side of house and proper drainage. (I just get annoyed because if you are going to "fix" something, do it right for crying out loud!!)

This same idea happened with the electric. They put high-powered switches over lower-powered lines, which is a setup for a house fire and shocks. I don't even understand everything with that, and I am sure it would cost to get the panel replaced like it needs to be.

Then the water pump, it think it was, doesn't seem to shut off right, and the basement is wet, and the west wall of the basement is bowing..... it just seems like too much. Really, it does. We can handle cosmetic stuff- the walls, floors, even bathroom updates and kitchen updates. But this just seems crazy. I mean, we aren't afraid of some work, but we didn't want to have to hire so much out. And if we bought this house, that is what we would be doing.

I'm actually going to look at a few other houses today. But I am pretty sure we are backing out because it is just too much. It's a bummer, because I really want to get into a place, and it is a great location with a huge yard and everything. Still, I think we have to know when to walk away, and this is it. If the seller wanted to do something about the roof, at least, then maybe we would proceed.

That's my update for today. More to follow, hopefully good news...

Time for Toenails

One of the things that I love about teaching is the summers off! Don't get me wrong, I love my students too, but it is nice to have a break in the summer. So, being ever productive, I decided to paint my toenails with a design. I looked up some pictures for inspiration, but they ended up looking like coral, I think... Whatever they look like, I like 'em!

House Hunting: Good news!!

Finally, it seems we have a breakthrough in our house hunting!

Back in the beginning of May, we offered on a small cape cod house in the country with about one acre. After a counter offer from them and a counter-offer from us, they made a final counter offer and we accepted. Then we started the process of closing. And let me tell you, it has been quite a process. First of all, the loan was going to be in Justin's name, but then he was laid off within a week of the final offer. I had just been offered a job here in the Dayton area, but didn't have my contract yet due to being out of state. As far as financing went, we were at a standstill because they won't, of course, loan money to someone without a job or without proof of a future job. But God is good.

A few days before our big road trip, Justin got a call from an interview that he had before he was laid off. They wanted to hire him and he would be starting the Monday we got back from California! That was wonderful. Still, the bank has to see two weeks of paychecks or my contract before closing the loan for the house. On my side, I have been in contact with the HR office and getting them final paperwork and fingerprinting. Though the fingerprints haven't come in yet, they want me to come in and sign the contract tomorrow. So, (yay!!) I will be able to show the bank my contract this week. We also had to go to a loan counseling class for about an hour last Friday, which basically went over budgeting, and that has to be turned into the bank as well.

That is our side of things. Meanwhile, our realtor has been working like crazy for us to get the inspections scheduled. They can't happen until the appraisal, which FINALLY came in this morning. We were a little worried that the appraisal wouldn't be high enough since the house needs a lot of work, but we were safe by about $2,500. Not much room to spare, but just enough! If the inspections happen soon, maybe my goal of being in the house by the end of June will actually happen. I really wanted the month of July to start working on it!

Speaking of work... sheesh... it needs bucketfuls. The walls in most rooms have paneling which we want to tear down. The floors are horrid, fake-looking wood linoleum that is peeling. I think it has at least three different wood linoleum styles on the first floor... uggh! The bathroom needs a face lift. They put in new tile in the shower that is a dark browns and tans, kinda a modern boxy looking, which doesn't fit the house at all. I figure I can hide it behind a neutral shower curtain. We looked at pedestal sinks yesterday (there are two sinks) but the problem is storage. I need to have some kind of storage for towels and such, but I don't want the storage to overwhelm the small bathroom.

I haven't even thought too in depth about the kitchen. I want the social areas- living, dining room, to be ready first, plus they will be easier and cheaper. We did look at a few things at Lowe's yesterday. I think bead board cabinets would be a good fit for the style of the house, and one of those apron sinks would be wickedly sweet. but who knows if I can land one of those for a decent price? I will have to get to know antique stores in the area.

Luckily, the master bedroom downstairs just needs paint and new flooring, so hopefully we can rest in peace. I'm not even thinking about upstairs for awhile. (Changing the odd direction of the stairs is one of my future projects...)

Then we go outside. I am almost embarrassed to show it. But it will be amazing when we are done. It has a big yard and some great trees, but no landscaping. I will need my grandma's help for this, especially for the front of the house. I have to deal with a rusty oil tank on the left corner of the house, a hideous MacGyver-style built-on porch, and two different window sizes. But I am going to make it work. Paint the oil tank so it doesn't stand out so much, maybe put a set of shutters up, and plant some taller flowers or something between the tank and the porch. (Hope you have some ideas, grandma!) If I can get the front of the house decent, I will feel a lot better. Eventually we will move the old tank and put on a full-length porch, but I'm not sure if that will be this summer. I'd like to plant lilac bushes along the fence for beauty and privacy, and maybe some roses somewhere so I can have fresh-cut flowers.

More to come on other renovations, including the garage, storage shed, and conversion of another shed to a chicken coop. Plus figuring out the off-centered single dormer window. Lots of work!!

Road Trip: Justin and Spike

I have to say thanks to my husband Justin for driving most of the way from California to Ohio. I mean, I gave him like a 2 hour break after lunch, but besides that, he drove the whole way. That was great because I just fall asleep when I am driving in one direction on a flat road. I am super grateful that he didn't mind doing most of it.

Spike, of course, didn't drive. He mostly slept the whole time. He would always change positions, and since it was so amusing to me I started taking pictures. I think I posted a few the first day, but I thought I would put a couple more up too. Justin slept too, of course, during his short after-lunch break.

 

 Spike liked drinking water out of my small McDonald's cup.

And there is Justin sleeping...

Now that we are here, we are staying with the 'rents for a few weeks until the house closes that we offered on. They did accept our offer, but it still have to go through inspections and everything. Then, we will have a lot of work to do! But, I'll worry about that when it comes!

Road Trip: Springfield, MO to Dayton, Ohio

YAY!! We made it safe and sound. I am very grateful that we had people praying for our safety and that God allowed us traveling mercies. On this last day, we only stopped to sight-see in St. Louis, MO to see the arch. And it was cool! Although we didn't go up in the arch, just seeing from the ground was neat. Then, you go underground to go through the Museum of Westward Expansion, which very informative. It is set up in a circular arrangement, with the oldest dates toward the center and the later dates in the back of the museum. Really an interesting way to design it all, though in a way it was confusing. But I think that overall the design added to the idea that America's westward movement was an overlapping, continuous motion. In some ways, it was very sad, especially in how the Native Americans were treated. Many quotes on the wall reflected this theme, and it definitely tore at my heart. While I can't do anything about the past, I know that I can make sure I treat everyone fairly in the present.

 

 But the most welcome Arch of all was the Ohio arch!! We are glad to be home.

Road Trip: Amarillo, TX to Springfield, MO

 Heading out of Amarillo, we went through a bit of old Route 66 in the downtown area. I just love the colors and designs on the buildings.

 There was a heart sculpture that I dragged Justin out to post with me. We love each other!

There are lots of cows in Texas. Thank goodness, because I'm fond of beef and milk.

 We needed to send our postcards so we finally found a post office. This was a cute little shop in Alanreed, Texas to buy stamps, though we didn't get the cards sent until we were in Springfield, Missouri.

Then we went to the Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. Definitely worth the stop- the people were really friendly, it only cost $3 to go to the museum, and we found the souvenir magnets we've been buying in every state. The transportation museum had tons of old cars, and the outside area had re-created a town scene that was pretty believable. They had various sculptures as well, which of course we posed in front of.

 An old fire engine.

 T-shirts.

 We did, unfortunately, find some construction in Oklahoma. At least someone was a little creative about it at the rest area. This guy was tall!

We got in to Springfield, MO, around 7 and went to dinner and relaxed. One day to go to get back to Ohio!!