Archive for August, 2007

reno: lame update

August 30, 2007

Last weekend was spent painting, painting and then…painting. It looks amazing and I’m super happy with the colour choices.

Monday, the floors went in, and I licked them. Gorgeous…love love love them.

This week we have been buying and painting and installing baseboards, casings and doors. Oh and painting. God.

Sorry for the weak update but I’m pooped out - been at the condo until 9 or 10 every night this week.

No pictures at the moment - soon, I promise!

reno: smrt

August 19, 2007

This are the niches in the bathroom wall. Jeff loves it when I have ideas that cause him more work. But now I have spaces for shampoo and razors and whatnot and don’t have to use one of those goofy over the shower-head things that never seem to be quite the right size…

bathroom wall

In other news:

  • the walls are mudded - once they are dry I can paint (yay! and ugh!);
  • the appliances will be delivered in under a week;
  • the floors will be installed in just over a week; and
  • the rat is dead! yipee!!!!

moving on

August 14, 2007

Night after night I lie in bed and listen to the sounds of a rat scurrying across the floor. Each night the rat gets braver and heads closer to me. Is it better to put in earplugs and be unaware of his progress, or is it better to leave them out and hear him sneaking up on me? Then there are other sounds that make me forget the rat and the earplugs go in.

I settle in to the futon, back aching. I sleep for an hour or so at a time, waking up when my pillow slides off the futon or when the pain in my back becomes enough to invade my dreams. Or when the dog jumps on and off the bed, stalking the rat.

When I wake up in the morning, still tired, I look up at the hole in the ceiling, exposed pipes and wood, gyproc dust streaming in the sunlight. My shoulders scream at me. They say “we don’t like sleeping in a crack! support us!”

Am I down on my luck, living like this? No, I am living, rent-free, in a million dollar house with a zillion dollar view. The futon was meant to be temporary, three to six months, tops. The hole in the ceiling is new, a plumbing problem, it will be fixed soon. The rat has been living in the basement for a few months. He is not  interested in leaving - why would he be?  It’s a dream home. But living with other people means living with the sounds of their lives.

I am not sure if my black mood is a result of my surroundings or if it’s the mood causing the surroundings to get to me. I go and sit outside and look at the view, look at the pool, count my blessings, smack myself in the head, try to break out of the funk I feel guilty for being in. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to live here, to have somewhere to go when my world was falling apart. But it’s time to go.

On September 4, on what would have been my third wedding anniversary, and nearly two years after I walked out of the last place I called home, I will have my own home again.

reno: moving day

August 10, 2007

Tuesday, September 4. Start plotting excuses why you can’t help!

reno: stuff i bought on ebay

August 10, 2007

Today I was bragging to Jeff about how much money I’ve saved us with my awesome bargain hunging on ebay. And not two seconds later the storage company told me I owe them $800. Awesome.

hood fan
hood fan ~ saved $2000 (seriously)

sink
undermount sink ~ saved $300

kitchen tap
kitchen tap ~ saved $100


tap.jpg
shower and bath tabs ~ saved $200

towel rack tp.jpg
towel rack & tp holder ~ saved $45
(to be honest I only bought these because it was from the same seller on ebay and didn’t have to pay shipping. but still! the tp holder was like $3!)