How do I know? I had to turn on the heat, because it is 40 degrees outside.And who needs heating vents anyways.
Coming attractions for the next two days: electrician and professional painter (for the convoluted hallways).
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The programmable thermostat works!
How do I know? I had to turn on the heat, because it is 40 degrees outside.And who needs heating vents anyways.
Coming attractions for the next two days: electrician and professional painter (for the convoluted hallways).
Saturday, May 30, 2009
What to do when you see a U-H.aul truck
Drive the other way. FAST.
The biggest thing I had driven before Friday was a minivan. I drive a fairly small hatchback-type car, and I am neither the greatest nor the most precise driver on the road. In fact, I am a little surprised I have never gotten into a real accident, or gotten a speeding ticket. I will readily admit to frequently eating while driving or talking on the phone while driving. Sometimes both at the same time, while speeding.
On Friday I drove a 14 foot moving truck, and the first thing I did was drive up a one way street. the wrong way. I didn't turn around, it was only a block.
Then I drove 25mph on a 40mph road, but I was too scared to change lanes so I drove in the left-most lane with cars flying by me on my right side.
Pulling into the driveway I took out some shrubbery in my neighbor's front yard.
If I had gone another 5 inches up the driveway I would have taken down the electrical wiring that runs between he house and the garage, and since the garage has a very visible left-ward slant (also the side the wires are attached on), that may have resulted in the demise of the garage.
Then I realized the truck would have to be backed out of the driveway.
At last I handed the key to someone else and decided that I would be the worst truck driver. ever.
PS: the neighbors said that they were not overly attached to their shrubbery, and I'm pretty sure they are not plotting a revenge.
The biggest thing I had driven before Friday was a minivan. I drive a fairly small hatchback-type car, and I am neither the greatest nor the most precise driver on the road. In fact, I am a little surprised I have never gotten into a real accident, or gotten a speeding ticket. I will readily admit to frequently eating while driving or talking on the phone while driving. Sometimes both at the same time, while speeding.
On Friday I drove a 14 foot moving truck, and the first thing I did was drive up a one way street. the wrong way. I didn't turn around, it was only a block.
Then I drove 25mph on a 40mph road, but I was too scared to change lanes so I drove in the left-most lane with cars flying by me on my right side.
Pulling into the driveway I took out some shrubbery in my neighbor's front yard.
If I had gone another 5 inches up the driveway I would have taken down the electrical wiring that runs between he house and the garage, and since the garage has a very visible left-ward slant (also the side the wires are attached on), that may have resulted in the demise of the garage.
Then I realized the truck would have to be backed out of the driveway.
At last I handed the key to someone else and decided that I would be the worst truck driver. ever.
PS: the neighbors said that they were not overly attached to their shrubbery, and I'm pretty sure they are not plotting a revenge.
The Move
...is done.
I slept at the house for the first time last night (on my mattress, in the living room, because I can't get the box spring up the stairs, despite the all-out efforts of the volunteer movers that were compensated with pizza, wings and soda).
There are boxes stacked up in the dining room and the office, and there are no light fixtures yet. Tomorrow I am going to buy some more light fixtures and on Monday or Tuesday someone will hang them up. That someone will not be me. I spent the better part of 3 days fooling around with light fixtures, and eventually moved on to installing the programmable thermostat. I'm not sure if it's wired correctly, I'll have the electrician look at it.
The office is yellow,
My bedroom is green (after a pretty horrid detour from the original dark grey to neon purple).
The living room is tan-ish.
The dining room is brown-ish.
The bathroom is light yellow.
The kitchen will be green (a different shade than it currently is).
The hallway will be tan. maybe. the painter is coming on Monday or Tuesday.
The porch is still shades of gray, but that is a temporary state.
The people at the paint store know me by name now and ask me how the last color I bought turned out. I think my ceaseless painting needs will allow at least one of their children to go to college now. Paint is not cheap.
I installed all but three light switches today. I'm down to about 5 minutes per light switch. I can also install an outlet in 5 minutes.
I am sitting in the dining room, next to the chandelier on the floor, and now I am going to walk over to the living room and plop onto my bed. Good night.
I slept at the house for the first time last night (on my mattress, in the living room, because I can't get the box spring up the stairs, despite the all-out efforts of the volunteer movers that were compensated with pizza, wings and soda).
There are boxes stacked up in the dining room and the office, and there are no light fixtures yet. Tomorrow I am going to buy some more light fixtures and on Monday or Tuesday someone will hang them up. That someone will not be me. I spent the better part of 3 days fooling around with light fixtures, and eventually moved on to installing the programmable thermostat. I'm not sure if it's wired correctly, I'll have the electrician look at it.
The office is yellow,
My bedroom is green (after a pretty horrid detour from the original dark grey to neon purple).
The living room is tan-ish.
The dining room is brown-ish.
The bathroom is light yellow.
The kitchen will be green (a different shade than it currently is).
The hallway will be tan. maybe. the painter is coming on Monday or Tuesday.
The porch is still shades of gray, but that is a temporary state.
The people at the paint store know me by name now and ask me how the last color I bought turned out. I think my ceaseless painting needs will allow at least one of their children to go to college now. Paint is not cheap.
I installed all but three light switches today. I'm down to about 5 minutes per light switch. I can also install an outlet in 5 minutes.
I am sitting in the dining room, next to the chandelier on the floor, and now I am going to walk over to the living room and plop onto my bed. Good night.
Friday, May 22, 2009
You want to clean what?
My mom has arrived, minus luggage at first, but that didn't keep her from making me drive to W.almart, L.owe's and AT.&T store the minute I got out of school today. She bought every conceivable cleaning agent and many cleaning utensils at W.almart, claiming that one really does need a glove that looks like a mixture between a shag rug and wet cookie monster to clean properly. By the time we walked out of Lowe's I was ready to just stop, drop and sleep. I am already exhausted and we haven't done anything to the house yet!!
To start my mom's 3.5-week stay in style we are going camping this weekend, well fake-camping at a camp with cabins, but no electricity! I really look forward to the green and quiet, and the smells of the country and the woods.
Happy Weekend!
To start my mom's 3.5-week stay in style we are going camping this weekend, well fake-camping at a camp with cabins, but no electricity! I really look forward to the green and quiet, and the smells of the country and the woods.
Happy Weekend!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Everything for sale
I answered an ad on craigslist for "everything for sale - moving to CA" today, and a few hours later I went to these people's house. They had a beautiful home filled with beautiful new things, a spectacularly well-outfitted kitchen (really awful, cheap, mass-produced cabinets though), solid furniture and high-end electronics. And they're selling everything except the two dogs. The guy was very specific. NO DOGS FOR SALE. Good, because those dogs were slobbering all over my legs and feet.
The guy said that he and his wife (both lawyers, which explains the incredibly nice stuff) got married 6 months ago, and furnished the house and also got tons of stuff for their wedding. I took a tour of the house, and while I didn't particularly like their taste in furniture (very yuppie, minimalistic, urban, hip) they had some very nice kitchen things. He admitted that they cook dinner maybe twice a month, so most of the pots and pans had never been used. They weren't selling the stuff quite yet, because they would still need some of it, so he said he would get back to me with prices, and then I can come get it in 1-2 weeks if I want it.
I told him to give me a price on the following things:
-kitchen stools
-lawn mower
-hedge trimmers
-garden hose & trolley
-snow shovel
-weed whacker
-pots & pans
-dishes
-Pyrex dishes (a whole set of them)
-crock pot
-microwave
-toaster oven
I hope they don't ask for outrageous amounts of money for these things. It would be awfully convenient to just pick all these things up in one place, rather than spend the rest of the summer lurking around garage sales. And now that I think about it I should have asked him for prices on the glasses (yes, drinking glasses, I have no shame when it comes to using cheap not-new things), the snow blower, the tool box with the tools and the coat rack. I also think the guy thought I was crazy, because I asked about the dishes. He admitted that they didn't think that they could sell those (as in, who would want to buy used dishes?!). I would!!
The guy said that he and his wife (both lawyers, which explains the incredibly nice stuff) got married 6 months ago, and furnished the house and also got tons of stuff for their wedding. I took a tour of the house, and while I didn't particularly like their taste in furniture (very yuppie, minimalistic, urban, hip) they had some very nice kitchen things. He admitted that they cook dinner maybe twice a month, so most of the pots and pans had never been used. They weren't selling the stuff quite yet, because they would still need some of it, so he said he would get back to me with prices, and then I can come get it in 1-2 weeks if I want it.
I told him to give me a price on the following things:
-kitchen stools
-lawn mower
-hedge trimmers
-garden hose & trolley
-snow shovel
-weed whacker
-pots & pans
-dishes
-Pyrex dishes (a whole set of them)
-crock pot
-microwave
-toaster oven
I hope they don't ask for outrageous amounts of money for these things. It would be awfully convenient to just pick all these things up in one place, rather than spend the rest of the summer lurking around garage sales. And now that I think about it I should have asked him for prices on the glasses (yes, drinking glasses, I have no shame when it comes to using cheap not-new things), the snow blower, the tool box with the tools and the coat rack. I also think the guy thought I was crazy, because I asked about the dishes. He admitted that they didn't think that they could sell those (as in, who would want to buy used dishes?!). I would!!
Frustration
I know it's a bit early in the game for frustration to settle in, but I had a few pull-my-hair-out-moments today. None of them were major disasters (at least not yet), but each one is a potentially time-consuming, and in the worst case, expensive problem I will have to hire someone to fix.
I can't get the drain pipe out of the hot water tank. I can't turn the tank on until I get the drain pipe out, buy a replacement pipe (the current one is missing a valve) and install the new pipe. I really don't want to call a plumber just to unscrew a pipe that some Hercules screwed on. (good news, sort of, is that there may be more work for this plumber - read on)
I managed to turn on the water, with some help from the water company guy (very helpful!!), but for some reason, there is NO water in the shower. I started to take the shower apart, but stopped after a few minutes, because I was afraid water would come gushing out at me.
I bought and installed hoses for the washer, but I can't test the washer because the outlet doesn't work. There is no other outlet within easy reach. That means I have to install a whole new outlet, possibly from scratch from the breaker box, which is, luckily, only 10 feet away.
The dryer works, but there are coils or something else inside the back of the drum that get glowing red hot. I do not want glowing red hot coils near my clothes.
On the up-side, the hardwood guys started their work today. However, it seems that their day went sort of like mine. What they thought would be some simple weaving in of some new boards turned into the construction of two new pieces of support brackets for the floor. It took them 4 hours to construct these brackets, and the highlight of my day was that they are NOT going to charge me for that work :) I saw them put the first coat of polyurethane on and the floors look AMAZING! I'm so glad I decided to have them refinished instead of throwing some carpet down.
So today's tally is:
-one non-functioning water-heater
-one dangerous non-usable dryer
-one questionable washer
-one non-functioning shower
The things I was afraid to touch today:
-the furnace and the corresponding non-existent thermostat
-the sump pump that is submerged in its hole, and plugged into a non-functioning outlet.
And that reminds me that I left all the breakers ON at the house, and that most of the electrical wiring is iffy right now. Gotta go!!!
PS: I went and turned off the electricity. I also realized I hadn't locked the front door or the side door. A little while ago I realized I left the kitchen windows open.
PPS: I just bought a new washer and a new dryer (online, I did look at them at the store a few weeks back though). the old ones are listed for free on craigslist. I realized that I really didn't want to use a dirty, potentially dangerous dryer and an equally sketchy washer. Even if they had worked, I would have replaced them before the year was out. Now I'm happy. My budget, however, can't take ANY more major hits like this!!
PPPS: If I wasn't so tired I'd post some pictures of the hardwood floor, but I can barely move.
I can't get the drain pipe out of the hot water tank. I can't turn the tank on until I get the drain pipe out, buy a replacement pipe (the current one is missing a valve) and install the new pipe. I really don't want to call a plumber just to unscrew a pipe that some Hercules screwed on. (good news, sort of, is that there may be more work for this plumber - read on)
I managed to turn on the water, with some help from the water company guy (very helpful!!), but for some reason, there is NO water in the shower. I started to take the shower apart, but stopped after a few minutes, because I was afraid water would come gushing out at me.
I bought and installed hoses for the washer, but I can't test the washer because the outlet doesn't work. There is no other outlet within easy reach. That means I have to install a whole new outlet, possibly from scratch from the breaker box, which is, luckily, only 10 feet away.
The dryer works, but there are coils or something else inside the back of the drum that get glowing red hot. I do not want glowing red hot coils near my clothes.
On the up-side, the hardwood guys started their work today. However, it seems that their day went sort of like mine. What they thought would be some simple weaving in of some new boards turned into the construction of two new pieces of support brackets for the floor. It took them 4 hours to construct these brackets, and the highlight of my day was that they are NOT going to charge me for that work :) I saw them put the first coat of polyurethane on and the floors look AMAZING! I'm so glad I decided to have them refinished instead of throwing some carpet down.
So today's tally is:
-one non-functioning water-heater
-one dangerous non-usable dryer
-one questionable washer
-one non-functioning shower
The things I was afraid to touch today:
-the furnace and the corresponding non-existent thermostat
-the sump pump that is submerged in its hole, and plugged into a non-functioning outlet.
And that reminds me that I left all the breakers ON at the house, and that most of the electrical wiring is iffy right now. Gotta go!!!
PS: I went and turned off the electricity. I also realized I hadn't locked the front door or the side door. A little while ago I realized I left the kitchen windows open.
PPS: I just bought a new washer and a new dryer (online, I did look at them at the store a few weeks back though). the old ones are listed for free on craigslist. I realized that I really didn't want to use a dirty, potentially dangerous dryer and an equally sketchy washer. Even if they had worked, I would have replaced them before the year was out. Now I'm happy. My budget, however, can't take ANY more major hits like this!!
PPPS: If I wasn't so tired I'd post some pictures of the hardwood floor, but I can barely move.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hardwood Floor Windows
I officially took possession of my new old house on Friday, and the first thing I did was run for cover. I spent the weekend visiting friends, knowing it would probably be about 2 months until I would be able to spend a weekend there again.
Today, however, it's back to reality and the joys of home-ownership are starting to creep up on me. OK. They're hitting me like a moving train. I have a few appointments today for various people to come to the house for various estimates and such. 8am, 4.30pm, 5pm, 5.30pm and between 5 and 9pm. I met someone at the house at 8am this morning and started showing him the hardwood floors in need of refinishing, asking if I should pull up the tacks from the former carpet. He looked at me, slightly puzzled, and said "I'm here to look at some windows."
I'm just hoping the other people coming today know what they're there for, or I just might end up asking the "home energy assessor" (aka. insulation guy) to please change my locks. Who knows, maybe he'll do it!?
Today, however, it's back to reality and the joys of home-ownership are starting to creep up on me. OK. They're hitting me like a moving train. I have a few appointments today for various people to come to the house for various estimates and such. 8am, 4.30pm, 5pm, 5.30pm and between 5 and 9pm. I met someone at the house at 8am this morning and started showing him the hardwood floors in need of refinishing, asking if I should pull up the tacks from the former carpet. He looked at me, slightly puzzled, and said "I'm here to look at some windows."
I'm just hoping the other people coming today know what they're there for, or I just might end up asking the "home energy assessor" (aka. insulation guy) to please change my locks. Who knows, maybe he'll do it!?
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