Investments

We've made a lot of investments over the years.  We come from a generation where the simplest thing often yielded great results and I think that a lot of people in our age range came to expect that everything they touched would turn to gold.  I mean really, try explaining Beanie Babies as an investment to someone who didn't live through it.

Our parents bought homes for less than we pay for used cars, and we bought homes for what one year of college might cost our children.  Homes were investments that we almost always could count on to be good.

And then there are emotional investments.  Those were always a little more shaky.  We've all had relationships that have gone bad or gotten emotionally invested in something that didn't work out the way we hoped, but we've survived those and there were probably lessons to be learned along the way.

We're also physically invested in a lot of things, whether it's our health or a competitive sport or even just working hard at a job that we love.  Physical investments almost always pay off since we alone determine our success and, quite frankly, we just abandon those physical investments that aren't working out.

Getting our home ready for sale has been a gut-wrenching trip down a trail of poor investments.

We're certainly not alone these days when it comes to watching our home go from good investment to bad.  It could be worse - our home is worth about the same as what we purchased it for nine years ago, not including the improvements we put into it. And we are fortunately in a position where we at least know we won't have to put money on the table to walk away from this home. We will be able to sell it and have some change jingling around in our pockets as we walk away.  For that, we are grateful.  And the reality is, it has been our shelter for the past 9 years and investment aside, that same shelter would have easily cost more than $100,000 if we had rented.  So really, we're way ahead of the game if you think of it that way.

Emotionally, we haven't been invested in this home for a long time.  Maybe really never.  For reasons that I can't really put into words because I'm not sure of what those words would be, we just never connected with this area.  Or this house.  We've done a lot to try to make it our own, but it always retained the stigma of the former owners (for whom we have some very inappropriate and definitely not family friendly names). 

Physically, we've put a lot into this house.  And continue to do so as we are preparing to move forward and onward to something else.  That's probably the hardest investment to ignore.  We've come to terms with losing what we would normally expect from a financial investment and we've come to believe that our emotional investment will never pay dividends here, but the physical investment that we have put into this home is a bitter pill to swallow.  We could have done so many other things with that energy, and we could have earned those sore muscles and bumps and bruises in a much more rewarding manner.  Even worse is that it's an investment that has to continue - even harder than before - so that we can cut our losses on both the financial and emotional investments we have.  The unfinished projects have to be finished - and finished quickly - if we hope to list the home for sale in the narrow window of time that will bring us the most buyers.  And the return on that physical investment will literally be handed over to the new owners.

We hope.  Please let there be new owners.

Change

So I thought about just sneaking back into blogging and not even mentioning that it's been almost two years since I last posted an entry. After all, I wrote one every day. In my head. While in the shower. They just never actually made it all the way to the blog. I'm sorry you missed them though - they were hilarious. Truly. Some of my best writing. I solved every single one of my problems and at least half of yours. Oh well, better luck next time.

The truth of the matter is that I think the last two years went by in kind of a blur. I'm not really sure where they went or what we did although I could probably make a few good guesses. Maybe some of those blog entries will actually make it to the tips of my fingers and I can capture for posterity some of the last two years.

Nevertheless, there have been some changes at Uno Acres.

Most visible is that it's apparently been so long since I blogged, that I actually have gone gray.

Which is sort of a lie because I've been gray for the past 30 years. The reasons are many and it was a decision that was both difficult and easy and one that I'm still processing my feelings about. I won't bore you with the "why" of it, but I will give you one very strong "why not." This is not about letting myself go. I haven't given up on myself or my appearance. I'm okay with who I am. And I'm asking that you be okay with that too.

Lot of other changes around here too - We've bought some stuff, sold some stuff, lost some stuff, and gained some stuff. We've been places and done things. We've made some decisions and decided not to make other decisions. We've walked towards some things and away from others. Nothing particularly earth shattering and yet every stone that is cast sends out ripples that are far reaching.

And while I'm sorry that you have missed all of my witty and insightful blog posts over the past two years, what you haven't missed is the completion of our renovation. We've made some progress in a few areas and even finished a project or two. We've probably started a project or two in that time also. But the good news for me is that I will have plenty of material to blog about in the next few weeks because this house will be finished - come hell or high water - in the next couple of months.

Because we are selling it.

See - I told you - changes.

If At First You Don't Succeed

There's always a way to fix it.

We're still working on the dining room and we've made some huge steps forward.  One of those was to finally get the tile in our entry foyer grouted.  Unfortunately, once again, things didn't turn out quite as advertised.

We picked a nice charcoal grout color.  Let me be honest here - I have two Labrador Retrievers.  It doesn't matter WHAT color grout we use, it will be dirt color eventually.  I barely have the time to brush my dogs' teeth. I most certainly don't have the time or desire to use a toothbrush on my grout to keep it white.

Anyway, back to the charcoal grout.  As you can see, the color we picked and the color we got are vastly different.

Now there's a good possibility that it was user error, but nevertheless, if I wanted cement between my tiles, I would have asked for cement.

So we set out to find some options to correct it.  They do make grout dyes, but not only did that seem sort of drastic, but a quick check of all the flooring stores in our area revealed that if you live in a 20 mile range of our house, the only color you can "dye" your grout is white or almond.  

However, one of the stores had some tile enhancer and it said that it would slightly change the color of natural tile and grout to the color that it appears when it is wet (in other words, it's not going to change white grout to black, but there's a good chance that it would change my cement grout to charcoal.)  We didn't have to worry about it changing the tile itself since it's ceramic and wouldn't absorb it.  

And just in case anyone wants to enhance their tile or grout, this is the product - TEC Ensealant.

It was easy to apply with a paintbrush

And then 10 minutes later, I wiped it off and like magic . . . 

. . . we have the charcoal grout we were supposed to have.

I love magic.

We May Wobble But We Won't Fall Down

Most people use a matchbook or a piece of cardboard when their table wobbles.

Not us.

We use a level.

Work is progressing nicely on the dining room and home office.  I said nicely, not quickly.  The ceiling is done, wiring is done and the fan and light are installed.

The new walls have been drywalled, primed, and painted, some trim has been installed, and the flooring has been put in.  The cabinets in the office are have also been installed, but we are waiting to hear from the installer for the desktop.

There's still a good amount of work to do, but we should be able to complete it in the next couple of weeks.

But one thing is sure - our dining room table is not going to wobble.

Oh My Aching Back

That's what Vern is saying right now.

We started with a couple of coats of primer on both the new drywall and over the existing walls.

(Awww, doesn't it just make you sick?)

Then we moved onto the beadboard ceiling we installed.  We primed all of the boards before we put them up.  Each and every little board.  All 7,657 of them.  Seriously.  But it was totally worth it - no more sparkly popcorn ceiling.

Then we cracked open the paint color we selected with our super scientific method called "Spin the Paint Wheel."  I'm not kidding.  After months of trying to select a color and painting 15 different colors on the wall before dismissing them all, we decided to just throw caution to the wind and the paint cards in the air.  The lucky winner (in other words, the one that landed face up) was Sherwin Williams Relaxed Khaki. 

We still have to paint another coat, paint and install baseboard and crown moulding, install the lighting and the office cabinets, finish the tile work, and install the laminate flooring. 

Oh, and I really should do something about my super fancy curtains. 

I know, you're almost as jealous of those as you are my fabulous photography skills.  Don't be a hater.

At least we are making progress.  Aching back be damned.

My House is a Little Dusty

Drywall dust, that is.

This is the reality that we call home.

It's also the reality of doing all the work of a major remodel by yourself.  What you can't see behind those walls are the hours and hours of electrical and HVAC work that Vern had to do.  

This is the room that was originally the formal living room.  There was a solid wall separating the very small kitchen and the living room.  We opened up that wall (which was a support wall, so we had to add a laminate beam for support), enlarged the kitchen into part of the area, and are going to use the space as a dining room, a small home office, and a small entryway.  

Fortunately, there's progress and we are going to begin putting on primer today.  If luck is with us, we might even start to paint tomorrow. 

And no, that's not the paint color we choose either.  We're going to at least attempt to be a little more subtle than that.

Color Picking Time

I love color.  It's one of the things that I'm almost obsessive compulsive about.  Walking into a fabric store and seeing the wall of fabrics arranged by color just makes me want to run my fingers over them.   When I was little, my crayon box had to be arranged in a very particular order (boy colors separated from girl colors, but we won't delve into the psychology of that just now).

My love of organized colors is one of the reasons that I think I own more paint decks than a non-painting professional should reasonably own.  But I love thumbing through them and seeing the organized explosion of color.  Peter Walsh will have to pry my paint decks out of my cold dead hands.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, the cabinets for the home office should be arriving in the next week or so, and the office and dining room are close to the point where we can start to paint.  I'll be the first to admit that we've made some poor color choices in the past (electric aqua blue bathroom I'm looking at YOU.).  I have spent hours pouring over these paint decks, lots of money purchasing quarts of paint so I can paint samples on the wall, and nearly sleepless nights worrying about the ramifications of another poor paint color choice.  Overly dramatic?  I think not.  YOU walk into that blue bathroom day after day and then see how you feel. 

We have decided to go with a tighter color scheme for our home rather than trying to make some sort of a statement in each room.  We narrowed our choices down to about five colors and decided to sleep on it.

So what did we decide in the light of the morning and after a good cup of coffee?

None of the above.  

Back to the drawing board.  Or the coloring board as the case may be.

In the Dark

The remodeling project has resumed.  Thank God.

Unfortunately, the next part of the project is rewiring and fixing some of the outdated completely fucked up wiring we currently deal with.  Also unfortunately, it's a slow process of going in and out of the attic, pulling wires, and doing all the other stuff that I don't understand but thankfully Vern does.

What it means to me is that we've been without power and lights in about half our house for the past couple of days.  The bedrooms are no big deal, although I do have to say that suddenly every single project that requires either electricity or lights has become the project that I want to work on.  

The bigger problem is that there was no power or lights in the bathroom.  It's a little too much like camping for my taste to have to use the toilet holding a flashlight between your teeth.

I'm happy to report that as of right now I am being told we are "back to where we started" and that it's "pretty much" permanently fixed.  Whatever that means.  

I do know it means that I don't have to hold a flashlight in my mouth anymore.

I was, however, warned . . . and I quote . . . "don't be getting used to this fancy stuff like electricity and indoor plumbing."

If You Think Dog Hair is Hard to Keep Up With

You ought to try living in a house where every room is practically being gutted and/or remodeled.


This is what my kitchen looked like about a month ago when Vern (and our ever helpful friend Jesse) installed the canned lighting. (That's insulation from the attic for the uninitiated who have never remodeled.)

Made me wish for no lights so that I didn't have to see that mess.

Holy Hole

Remember how last year I said "you can never have too many stud walls for the holidays."

When I said it, I never imagined that one full year later, I'd be saying the same thing. Why yes, that IS another hole in our wall. No, we don't park the Jeep in the house - that actually IS our garage.

We had to move the door to the garage over by a few feet to accommodate our new bathroom, so the first step was to remove the old door.

NOW it feels like the holdays around here.

Finally Moving in the Right Direction

Progress has once again started on the house after the long hiatus during Vern's kidney boulder episode. Vern's parents came from Minnesota to stay with us for a week, and Vern and his dad worked on several different projects.

One of those projects was our range hood.



It's a good thing they were here because by the time that we got the hood installed, it had taken the effort of all four of us!

But I think the effort was worth it.



Oh, and I finally figured out where Vern got his talent for using a level. (What you can't see in the photo is that they BOTH have a level in their hands.)

The Devil is in the Detail

What does that mean anyway?


According to the Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings this phrase is a variation of "God is in the details - Whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important."


No one takes that phrase more literally than Vern. It's all about the detail work. Of course, details are important - it's what makes something special. It's what makes it stand out. It's also what makes it take forever.

Installing the appliance garage and corner glass door (you did notice the level in the picture, right?)

Installing the cabinet and crown molding over the sink

and then the cabinet doors and stained glass valance

We're not sure about this - just testing out some beadboard between the cabinets and the crown molding (we have beadboard in a couple of other areas too)

I really don't have an explanation for this

The devil is in the details. I just wish the devil would work a little faster.

He Gives Me Gas

Natural gas, that is.

(I love a man who knows how to use a level)

Vern worked long and hard installing new gas lines for the gas rangetop. It took a couple of days to get it just the way he wanted it, but I'm happy to report that we now have gas!


And I'm now completely out of the kitchen in the garage.


I might even cook tomorrow.

Progress in the Man Cave

The lumber rack is done.

Rumor has it that work will soon resume on my kitchen.

It darn well better or someone is going to be living in the man cave.

It's a Bird. It's a Plane.

It's a GARAGE!

Yes, that really is my Jeep in the garage. My garage is once again a garage instead of a kitchen.

Technically, I guess it's still a kitchen since my stove is still in there, but I'm avoiding that by eating out, so in my mind. . . it's a garage.

Sneak a Peek

We haven't been getting a lot of work done on the house lately but we've been pecking at a few things a little at a time and made a little progress.

Here's an unfinished idea of what the floor is going to look like. We only have this small section completed, and it isn't grouted yet. We'll be using a dark grout because let's just be honest here - I'm not going to be scrubbing a light colored grout to keep it that way. Been there, done that . . . I'm too old for that shit.

And here's a peek at the tile that we are considering as part of our backsplash. This would just be the accent strip (about 3" wide) with a neutral background. We haven't made a final decision, but I wanted to bring some amber and red into the kitchen for a splash of color since everything else is so neutral, and this works perfectly with what I had in mind.

Now, if we can just actually get a wrap on a few things before Vern has his next surgery on Thursday (May 8), I'll be a happy camper.

Stoned

As promised, albeit a little late, here are photos of the soapstone installation.

The stone was brought into the house in smaller pieces. Soapstone weighs approximately 20 pounds per square foot, so even the smaller pieces required three men to carry them.

In this photo, you can see the difference between the sink, which has been oiled with mineral oil, and the "raw" pieces of soapstone.

The seams were epoxied together and the surface was carefully sanded and smoothed. This process took a few hours.

The finished countertops, installed and oiled.

A few close up shots of the various veining patterns.

This is to the left side of my sink. We had drainage grooves cut in.

This is my favorite piece. It's on the island to the right of the rangetop, and I call it my "lightening" piece.

There's so much more work to do, but getting the countertops installed was a huge turning point.