Approximately one year later

The first image is of the house when we went to look at it. It was around September of 2008. The second was taken in December of 2009. I think we have the yard looking on the up and up. Uncle Eddie's RV (a "Christmas Vacation" reference) is still parked next door, but our neighbor tells us it belongs to their son and he promises he will eventually take it somewhere else. When we replace the fence we hope to extend it out between the two property lines replacing the existing rickety picket fence. Perhaps a combination of fencing and clever landscaping can make our view a little better.

October Status Report

We haven't done anything major to the house since before we left for Kaua'i. The flooring in the spare bedroom, hallways, linen, closet and coat closet is down, thanks to my hardworking hubby. It has one coat of polyurethane on it, but still needs at least 2 more. We are waiting to do the third bedroom until the window is replaced. We made a major investment and purchased all new Jeld-Wen windows and doors at Home Depot. Our electric bills this summer were atrocious. Living in the desert with single-pane, aluminum frame, crappy glass windows is not energy efficient. The windows and doors will easily pay for themselves with the tax credit and savings in electricity. Yay for LoE (low emissivity), double pane windows with energy saving argon gas between the panes! The contractor we procured to install the new windows and doors will start about the second week of November, hopefully it will be all done in time for next summer.

This Weekend: More Flooring

I created this blog about 3 weeks ago after almost a year of joking about "our old repo" and the weekly edition of what we are doing. We work on the house every weekend. I haven't even posted anything yet and I already have had a request to relinquish my blog title/address. I am flattered! However, I intend to keep this blog and share my home improvement adventures with willing readers.

At the end of this week, we are leaving for our beach wedding and vacation to Hawaii. We are trying to get the flooring done in the guest bedroom and hallway before departure. So far the subflooring (plywood) is nailed down and about half of the wood is down in the room. Measuring and cutting takes a long time! At least we have the hideous popcorn texture off the ceiling and all the painting done. The walls are Behr "Wild Honey" and the ceiling is Behr "Glow". The final effect looks kind of like a cappuccino, I love it. I can't wait to see it with the floors and baseboards done and the new window.