And... that's all folks!

We listed our house in September, received an offer during the first week the house was on the market... And today, Pete closed on our house (I gave Pete Power of Attorney to sign documents on my behalf as I had difficulty getting time off due to a crazy school schedule). We are done with this project, and are back to being very mobile -- with only the commitment of an apartment contract to hold us to the area. [That being said, we still have significant interest in this area -- church, friends, family, a job that Pete enjoys... just no longer physical ties to this region.]

We went there for the last time last week to pick up the last few remaining items in the house -- a bed and desk my grandpa had made me long ago. I had a few tears -- mostly for the life and wonderful memories that we had there: hanging out in front of the fire on chilly afternoons, having friends/family over, planting things each spring and watching green things grow from the ground (mostly weeds, I will admit -- but proud of my few flowers that came up), among other things. But leaving reminds me of something Pete said multiple times when we moved in: A house this old is never completely your own... you just get to take care of it for a little while.

The apartment suits our life for now -- its easy, low maintenance, and allows us to be mobile -- something that will be desirable when I apply to residency programs in a year. But, its a strange feeling downsizing/regressing in our adult life from a settled life involving a 5-bedroom, 2-car garage house on 2.something acres and most meals being fairly homemade... to a 1 bedroom apartment with most meals being convenience foods (cold cereal, prepackaged salads, etc). However, I am thankful for our current living situation and for having an understanding/supportive spouse as it allows me to pursue my goal of becoming a doctor, and focus on my learning/school right now.

Mortise and tenon joints... I will miss these reminders that our house was unique and old.

Pete moving the last of the bedframe my Grandpa made me from the 3rd floor.

I will miss this magnificent magnolia and its plate sized leaves in all seasons.

Looking back... leaving the house for the last time.

One final good-bye, and "Congrats" balloon for the new owner.

I had opportunity to meet the new owner a few weeks ago when my mom and sister came to town to help us move a few more things from the place. A middle-aged man with a teenage daughter. I am pleased that he is interested in the history of the house and details of the house. I hope it serves them well.

Eta: I am not yet done with the blog. Though it did start out as a way to chronicle the progress of our house projects... it became a way to share what has been going on with our life... and I am not yet sure I am ready to give it up. 

What we have accomplished so far... Year 5 (well... almost)

The other day, Pete and I discovered the house projects list that we made when we first moved in. Of the 145 projects that are on this list, in ~5 years we have accomplished 85 of these projects. Some big (ex. new floors for the living room and dining room) and some small (ex. curtains for the living room). Some projects I have blogged about in the past, and some were quietly accomplished. Since acquiring the place, we have figured out that 7 projects either will never be done (ex. general landscaping) or are impossible to accomplish (ex. change laws of physics to suit Heidi).

The original project list for our home

So ~ 65% of our desired projects have been done or will never be done -- a considerable improvement to the home's condition in when we chose to become this home's temporary caretakers. There's still room for the improvement before we make another list of things to do, but I am proud of all that has been accomplished to date. I am getting the feeling that we will never be quite "done" with this place.

A home that's 184 years old is never 100% yours... you get to inhabit and care for it for a little while. It belongs not only to you, but to the generations of families that came before... and will (hopefully) come after you.

Current Home Projects

Although we no longer are at the house as much, we continue to work on projects for the one day when we may return again permanently. We have been hiring out some projects recently -- which is kind of bittersweet. I used to really like to do house projects -- there is a sense of accomplishment when something gets done and knowing that you figured out how to do it. But then again... a project completed is another project off of the list, and right now with school and other responsibilities... these things have been harder to get done.

Some of the more recent projects that we are working on/are completed:

Installing granite stone tile in front of the fireplace. For a long time this was a broken marble slab, and after we put in the new floors... there was nothing there.  Its nice to have this finished off and that this matches other stone detailing throughout the house. We wanted natural stone as it seems out of place somehow to have synthetic details in a house 184 years old.

Finishing up wiring work and installing overhead light in the guest bedroom. Once Pete and his grandpa got through with wiring the 2nd floor, the finishing touches were never completed (i.e. rehanging the trim, grouting the walls, and installing the overhead light). The painter people were there today grouting this room. I am glad that this is getting finished off... It really is a nice room ~ I like the view from these windows. So, it feels good to have this room usable again. One more project off of the list.

Installing an electric heater on the 3rd floor. Previously this was heated by gravity heat through a large grate in the floor. And while this works -- about 18 decades worth of families have found this sufficient in the winter -- it will be nice to have real heat on this floor. This makes the 3 bedrooms on the top floor more usable, especially right now when it gets used only occasionally for guests/others. The gravity heat takes too long to heat up this floor when its not used all the time (the 3rd floor is usually closed off to save on heating costs).

What prompted my run home today, was not to look at these projects or monitor the progress of these (and other) things... but a dog that needed the vet. Hondo ruptured a cervical disk (presumably -- we didn't get an X-Ray), and was in a lot of pain this morning... He kept hiding from the light (and maybe from me?) -- finding a spot in the back corner of the closet. His occasional cries and shrieks of pain were enough to keep me from studying. He is sitting a lot more comfortably after an injection at the vet, and some pain medicine. He will be on steroids and pain medicine for the next 2 weeks. We will be keeping him from jumping on/off the bed for a while ~ its probably how the disk got put out of place.

Our "Harry Potter"dog. He used to live under the stairs in a closet... today he was wanting the peace, quiet, and relative darkness of the shoe closet, seemingly trying to hide from the pain. I tried to make where he was sitting more comfortable by bringing in a pillow and towels. However, he was not even up to moving the pillow and towels around to make it more comfortable or use what I had brought him for a head rest. Poor puppy! :(

 Now to resume studying for my pulmonary exam...

Siding project - finished

So, here is the siding project -- finished! With this project done, it feels like most of the major projects are now complete (so that feels good)! :) We are down to a few more minor projects inside (like re-hanging trim in one of the bedrooms, a few paint touch-ups, etc.), and a few things we would like to do outside (like add on to the deck to make it wrap around to the side of the house). This place has certainly been a work in progress!

Photos of the house

Here are some photos of our house... not yet done, but I am excited to see the finished product!

House Projects

Our house has projects' still, and it's been a while since I had a post about them...

Although we have done quite a bit of work to the house, its not quite finished to our specifications, so we continue to do projects. (Returning there once I am done with school is still a consideration; we both love the house and its location.) This fall we are doing a bit to the exterior. The siding has been repaired (as its cement-Asbestos over traditional clapboard, some of the siding had chipped) and will be painted soon. I am excited, and will post photos once the painting is finished. 

We have chosen a grey-blue color for the siding; its a color that we've had in mind for a long time. This should make the white trim (and red doors) look fantastic. Our inspiration, in part, came from experience inside the house. Our first paint job was the living room; painting the living room brown really showcased the transom and trim. Since then, we have used deep colors which provide contrast for the white trim, and have really enjoyed the result. One of the colors (used in my office) was a blue-grey and we decided that when we get around to doing the exterior, this is the color that we want. 

Since that time, I have seen a few Greek Revivals painted colors other than all white (most of them in Boston), and have really liked the way that they look (the trim looks great). I am excited for our newest project to get done, because I am excited to see the result! :) 

Today felt like 'Good-bye'

Today felt like a I was saying a long good-bye to our house, and the life that we lived there... Closing the chapter of years well spent under its roof...
Although we still own the house, it is now empty of most of our belongings. The picture is of the last box of stuff to leave the house destined for our apartment. We have no more knick knacks there. The walls have no decor, and are devoid even of a clock. It echos when you talk. I cleaned the rooms, and scrubbed the walls. I burnt the all of the paper meant to start fires in the winter in the hassa -- the remaining water in the tubes, gave a half-hearted gurgle. The few items in the house have a final location identified -- either long-term storage, remain with the house, or someone else's place. It felt good to get the house so cleaned out, but it also felt like I was saying good-bye to the place, cleaning it out for its final time... trying to remove the last bits of us so somebody else (hopefully) can move in and love it just as much.

It's not just that I loved the place, and that somehow its crayola colored walls had become home to me. Saying good-bye also meant that I was closing the door to a myriad of things I loved about the place: hosting overnight guests, having couples over, cooking in the kitchen in the fall/winter, hauling/splitting/stacking wood on crisp fall mornings, decorating for Christmas and the other winter Holidays, spending weekends curled up in front of the fire, watching the garden come to life in the spring (and always thinking that I would keep it weed free this year), and grilling out dinner on the deck in the summer. Although there are many things that I do love about apartment life, especially its ease... there are just some things about the house I will miss.

During our years at the house, we managed to accomplish quite a bit. Although, I think there will always be 'home projects', this place had its own special brand project... One thing I can't fault the house for, in the absence of school... it kept me busy. In our 4 years we:
-tore down the oldest barn in the county (because of a cracked beam) and a chicken coop
-put in a floor in the garage and automatic garage doors
-replaced ~20 windows (all windows) on 2 floors of the house because the ones that were there were single pane, were cracked and did not open
-put in a new wood floor in the living room because the one that was in there... had holes going into the basement (no joke)
-re-did many floors
-painted about every surface in the place
-re-wired the second floor
-put in a water softener... a good thing when your water would otherwise weigh almost as much as solid rusted iron
-chopped up lots of wood from downed trees
-seeded the horse pasture
-refinished the countertops
-added shelving to the pantry and bedroom closet
-gutted and put in a new bathroom
-installed a wood stove
-fixed some holes in the walls
-fixed the trim on the outside of the house, because bats were getting in (we have not had bats in our house in 2+ years)
-among may other projects.

So, I guess it's good bye to the house. It was a good place to live, and a great place to dream. I will miss my time there, but I know that in the future there will be other places to love, call home, make memories in, and dream about other future plans.

Eta: I had to clean it out like this now, because this is my only substantial break until I am done with school. And, if it were to sell or be rented out in the midst of a semester, I would not be able to help out with the move at that time.

Home Projects Pictures

In the last few weeks, we have been able to get a few projects done... It feels good to have been able to get a few projects completed in the space between medical school acceptance and the start of orientation. It somehow makes my home feel more in order, and settled.

Trim has been stripped, primed and repainted.

Curtains have been hung in the living room.

The curtains that I made for the bedroom have been hung up. This is the shade all the way up (looks like a valence... but don't look too closely).

And the curtain down for the night. (Again, do not look closely... my sewing technique leaves much to be desired.)

And Hondo now has a new hiding spot (thanks to my new desk). Hondo follows me around when I am home, and likes to be within a few feet of me (quite literally). Especially when Pete is gone, I find this little quirk quite comforting.

It is crazy how quickly the summer is going... Already about 1/2 over, and soon Pete & I will begin our next adventure. Getting me to finish medical school -- 40 days until I begin orientation to be exact. 24 days left of work. (Not that I am counting or anything)

Since my last post, Pete & I had the pleasure of camping at Warren Dunes on Lake Michigan for 4th of July weekend with my family & our friends. We had a great time -- lots of time in the water and visiting. Highly suggest this park, although perhaps on a less busy weekend (the park was packed).

On July 5th, Pete packed his bags... he will be gone during the week for about the next 10 weeks, and home on the weekends. We decided that this arrangement is really not that bad. During the week, we both keep busy anyway... however, I do miss him by Friday and it is still nice to see him.

As our free weekends are numbered (we do not know what to expect once school starts), we have been chipping away at house projects.
*I am trying to find/make the remaining curtains needed for the main level & upstairs bathroom. I have a bit more confidence in my sewing skills since I finished our bedroom curtains (which if you see them, do not look close - the sewing is obviously not straight) which work to block out the early AM sunshine.
*Pete is getting the trim painted.
*We are going to be cleaning up some dead trees in the front lawn.

Hopefully, we can accomplish these projects during the next 6 weekends. Take care & enjoy the sun!

New Office - Check

In preparation for my return to school, Pete and I decided a few weeks ago that I needed a larger study area. We have been looking for a desk/office furniture. Yesterday, we located the perfect desk set at Habitat for Humanity-- a 4 piece office furniture set. It is in wonderful condition, and certainly large enough for any of my needs.

After we brought the desk set home, we cleaned up the house a bit, and moved Hondo out of his room on the main floor (relocated him to the end of the second floor hallway, next to window and third floor stairs), and moved the furniture into the space. I also went and purchased a few office supplies and drawer organizers -- I am certainly looking forward to starting school!

Here is a look at Hondo's room before:

















And my new office after! I still need to get a few decor type items, a laptop/printer/etc., and a desk lamp. I believe Pete may also be making another book shelf or two.

Starting our next adventure

Pete & I have been working on starting our next adventure... one of us being a student again. It should be an interesting journey! :)

After finding out I will be attending school this upcoming fall, the following things have been done:
-Party to celebrate being accepted to medical school
-Meeting with the financial aid office
-Deciding to stay in our house (instead of moving toward selling our home)
-Notifying my work of my impending departure (last day is August 13th).

Additionally, our summer project list has been updated.
It now consists of:
1) Converting Hondo's room to my office
2) Cutting up a few more dead trees for firewood this winter
3) Re-painting the outside trim, and repairing any loose siding.

Hopefully, we are able to accomplish the above items in the few weeks remaining before school starts. This blog will now chronicle both things -- school adventures & home renovations as both will be projects the next few years.

Busy, busy days

Our lives are full of fun! :)

Last week was spent enjoying time in Minnesota; Pete with his buddies and me with my family.

We traveled to the land of 10,000 lakes for a wedding -- Pete was best man in his friend Jeff's wedding. It was a very beautiful wedding -- lots of tulips and spring-time colors. True to past weddings (in his group of friends), the bachelor party lasted longer than a single night... Pete got to spend time with Jeff (and others) starting Tuesday through the night of the wedding. It sounds like they really had fun times together!

I spent the week with family, and it was fantastic.
* On Tuesday, for instance, I got to spend the day with my dad. I probably have not spent a day with my father since I moved out of the house. We had a great time talking as we traveled north to visit Grandma S., some aunts and uncles, and stopping at my sister's apartment on the way home.
* Thursday was my sister Kristen's baby shower. I was so happy to be home for this event. When I live so far away, I miss out on so much. It is simply not possible to be home for everything. I have made my peace with this fact, but certainly enjoy it when I can make it to these celebrations!
* Friday, I spent the day at Como Zoo with my mom and Grandma D. They have this crazy toad that looks like a dead leaf... there are so many interesting animals out there!
*After the wedding, on Saturday... my family had a surprise early 26th birthday party for me. It was fun ~ best 26th birthday party I've ever been too! :)
Aside from these things, I was able to get to each of my sister's homes, and spend a bit of time with my sister-in-law!

Other than the above trip... We have been on the road quite a bit lately. Pete has been traveling for work, Texas for the two weeks following his trip to Vancouver/the Olympics, and myself to Marquette for a girl's weekend with the L. family.

In between these trips, we have managed to stay busy with house projects... I have now completed my curtains for our bedroom (which are still waiting to be hung), and Pete has removed the big rocks from the flower gardens (in preparation for mowing them over). Our house project is coming along nicely, and I am looking forward to a few weekends at home this spring!

Olympics

February certainly flew by...

This month we have made progress on our home -- Pete finished wiring the second floor. With more outlets on the second floor, I have been able to set up a sewing area. And, I have started to make curtains for our bedroom. I have completed 1.75 curtains for our bedroom & am fairly pleased with the way the curtains have turned out -- especially with how they block out sunlight in the morning! I will post pictures when I get all 3 curtains finished.

Pete just returned today from Washington state. He had been there this past week for work. Fortunately, he and his co-worker finished up their project a day earlier, and were able to head up to Vancouver for a day to enjoy the Winter Olympics.

Pete in front of the Olympic flame.

Waiting in line to get into the curling arena -- notice that its through a residential area of town...

Next picture -- China wins the bronze in Women's curling!

Pete with the Finnish bobsled team.

What October means...

October certainly has been a busy month... It was the end of the regular baseball season, hailed with a the end of the baseball "powerlock" between Pete and his dad. Pete was ahead in the number of games won right up until the end of the season, when his dad made a come back and won. The above picture shows the exchange of the trophy (but does not show the red "carpet" upon which the trophy was presented). Fun for all involved! :)

October also meant a trip for me... I went to Boston for a few days for work. During this trip I discovered the Twilight series, and read all 4 books in a period of 5 days. Seriously good books!

I stayed across from Boston garden and Boston Common. I took advantage of my location -- touring the parks and going on a guided hike of the Freedom trail.

Did you know that Mother Goose was a real person? I saw her grave on the tour... Her headstone is below...

I also found out the Greek Revival style of home (the style of my house) is very popular around Harvard Square... I saw many homes with this styling... Interesting to see them in another color other than white! :)

I also had the privilege of having dinner with this lady when I was out East. She brought me to a fantastic place for dinner called Fire & Ice. It was fun to catch up and see a familiar face! :) Thank you again!

Since returning from Boston, we had a bit of excitement. Last weekend was the Detroit marathon. Unfortunately, all the pictures I took at the marathon are on a non-digital camera (and will not be included on this blog). Congratulations to all the runners & it was fun to see those who came into town for the race.

Sunday after the marathon, Hondo developed an ulcerated cornea. He gets to wear this e-collar for a little while (to prevent him from rubbing his eye and further irritating it). He looks so pathetic, its cute!

Finally, this weekend we get to spend with this little person! We are looking forward to a fun weekend with her! :) I got to pick her up today after school -- she had gone on a field trip to a one room school house and was all dressed up!

Under any circumstances... we have not been getting too much in the way of projects done around the house. Our current project is splitting and stacking wood (from dead trees on our property) -- a physically demanding job that heats us twice (once when we split and stack, and once when the wood gets burned).

Evidence of a new coat of paint

Here are the photos -- I could show the shots of me with paint everywhere (including a few dots on my contacts), and a few bruises (from falling off the ladder & bumping into things) for added color... if I had taken the pictures. Or of the off-white flecks of paint that dotted Pete's already white-blond hair, and the camel-colored wood filler dotted on his blue jeans. Or I could just show you our latest projects. Let's go for the last one -- I think it's the most interesting.

The bathroom sink where we washed all of the paint brushes -- note all the lovely paint colors. The photo immediately below the sink, is the newly painted bathroom. Looks essentially the same as it did before -- but the paint job is a bit better.
This is the photo of the primed post. We are in the midst of finishing the trim (stripping and re-painting), in an effort to sure up the house. These little projects keep Pete & I nicely entertained.
The last 2 photos are of Hondo's room. The color is called French Gray -- both pictures lie. The color is neither that gray nor that blue, but a color in between.

Good Morning!

This is a 2 minute update... Since putting in the windows, Pete & I have been staying out of trouble by keeping busy with house projects. Over the weekend, we finished 3 projects... removal of paint, and priming of the first of four posts around the house; finished painting Hondo's room (ceiling, walls, floor & trim), and finished painting the main level bathroom (trim, walls and ceiling). Hondo's room is now a blue-gray color called French Gray. The main level bathroom remains the same light purple color. It's amazing how quickly a new coat of paint can brighten a room!

In addition to the recent paint jobs, we made a trip out to the coast this past weekend. Sure felt good to listen to the waves, and feel the sand & sun. I will post pictures of the recent house updates soon. Have a good day!

New Windows and Pets

This week we got new windows on the first and second levels of the house. I am totally enjoying them right now! It feels good to open & close the windows. It also has cut down on the amount of traffic noise that we hear... All good things!
This is our main level bathroom. This probably had the biggest improvement! Before, there was a mirror on the back wall. Putting a window in this room has made this bathroom feel more like a room & less like a closet!
I finally was able to take a picture of our kittens. The top picture is of Hondo (our 2.5 year old dog), and Halo. The bottom picture is of Nala. These kittens get along well with our dog, which is a nice surprise! Also, they are both friendly (and still alive). All good things!
Enjoy your day!

Wall color

A while ago I was asked for the color of the brown used on our living room walls... the color is Revival Mahogany made by Behr (available at the Home Depot). I finally went to refill the water softener and had a chance to look at the paint can!

What we have accomplished so far...

Since we've been here for almost 2 years, I feel that it is time for a reflection post.

Yesterday afternoon, 2 older women arrived in our driveway, and stood on the porch for a while. Pete went out to greet the women, and inquire why they were at our house. These 2 ladies identified that this was the house that they grew up in... and were busy reminiscing about their childhood. So, Pete invited them in to look at the house... identifying that "This home will never really be ours. We just get to take care of it for a little while.". I think this story sums up our experience so far, this home has history and in 181 years... we've only owned it for a blip.

During this almost 2 year blip, here is what we have accomplished:
-Installed deadbolts and door locks on the 2 main doors leading into the house
-Painted the living room, family room, hallway, main level bath, our bedroom, kitchen, laundry area, and a number of closets
-Made many a Saturday trip to the dump to remove the past family's contents from the barn, garage, and basement
-Put in a cement floor and garage door openers installed in the garage
-Had the chicken coop torn down
-Cleaned out the barn, and subsequently decided to have it torn down
-Made the back horse pasture area into mowable yard
-Removed a number of gardens with a combination of a mower, "Weed-B-Gone Max" and grass-seed
-Took out a bathroom on the main level (consisted of shower and toilet)
-Put in a bathroom on the main level (contains a toilet and a sink)
-Hooked up a wood stove to the fireplace chimney
-Created durable shelving units for the pantry, garage, and our bedroom
-Put in a new wood floor on the main level
-Cut up a few (of many) fallen trees for firewood
-Re-finished the wood floors in the kitchen and 1 of the upstairs bedrooms
-Painted the hallway floor
-Installed a water softener
-Trained a dog and 4 kittens (of which, only the dog remains)

I am sure there are a number of smaller, less consequential projects that have been accomplished over the last 2 years. We certainly feel fortunate to have found this place to call home, and take care of... if only for a little while.

Projects from this past weekend

Despite that rainy weather, we were still able to make some headway on the projects around the house. The biggest project update from this weekend: Pete installed a shelf and bar in my closet, so I now have a place to hang up our clothes (besides the door frame). I think it looks great! :) See above -- please excuse any mess!