11/25/2007
I recently joined the like-minded folks over at Houseblogs.net, which is a community for Home Improvement Enthusiasts like myself. There are many of us house-bloggers out there on the internet and I found myself very lucky to have stumbled across this group of people. They all share their triumphs and tragedies, as well as the day-today life restoring and renovating their homes. I added my houseblog to their community. Very lucky I am to have found them, indeed.
I've been perusing their blogs lately, all of which serve to inspire me in my own endeavors. And honestly, viewing other houseblogs has taken the place of my late-night television watching. It is much more entertaining, to boot!
The Months of Holidays have descended upon us leaving my attention elsewhere besides my house. But I've still been planning, looking, and (window) shopping. The fever that home improvement enthusiasts share never goes away... While I haven't been swinging a hammer as of late, I have been thinking about my interiors and wishing, hoping, and waiting on my contractor.
I have been over to the house three times in the past month and a half. One time was to meet with my contractor and his crew to walk through the space with the aid of a (hopeful) floor plan sketch to discuss the work needing to be done. My contractor now has a set of keys to the house and is supposed to be working on getting estimates for me from the electrician, plumber, and air conditioner guys. I'm still waiting on him to get back with me with those estimates and to finish up his other projects so he can begin on mine.
I've been patient. But it's been hard when so much of yourself, time, and money is waiting on someone else to pick up the ball. But he's the contractor I want, so I'm pacifying myself with the thought that the wait is worth the effort.
I missed my house today, so I strolled down the three or so blocks from my parents' house just to visit it and check on things.
I have to say the front of the house is really beginning to show its personality, now that we've cut back all the trees, bamboo, and bushes that were suffocating it. The oncoming winter months have served to deaden the foliage, as well. I was happy to finally get a clear shot of the front of my house, minus the leftover debris from Yard Day 1.
The bamboo stumps are still there, but I was glad to see that they haven't been growing with much gusto. This side view of my house (from the porch) still amazes me. I didn't realize how much I couldn't see beforehand until we cleared the yard.
This is another view from the front porch, looking East down the street. Not much of a view, but I like it. Again, here to me, there is SUCH an improvement than before when the house was being choked and almost reclaimed by nature. It's so much more open, airy, and light.
This is a view looking West from my front porch. There are some other houses on the street that people have been showing love. Mine should fit right in, when it's finished.
Here is a neat token I found while demoing the fireplace and chimney--- an old key. I haven't tried it on any of the doors, but I did hang it on a nail for safekeeping while the demo continued. It was a cool find to me, a bit of the home's history. I wondered whose hands held this key and how it was lost in the fireplace debris to begin with. I'm lucky that I even found it; it could have easily been tossed out, unnoticed.
Alas, the dumpster talk again. I have had a dumpster sitting outside my house for the majority of the months that I've owned it. This dumpster should be bone dry, barren, and empty since I haven't put anything in it since it was last dumped. People just seem to think it's their own and take the liberty to dump whatever they want in it. Since I'm not at or near the property every day, there's little I can do to stop it. Maybe people just don't think that someone is PAYING for this dumpster, and PAYING to have it dumped. I can't really monitor it or stop it, so I guess I should just get over it. It still irks, me though.
And lastly, a picture of my parents' house. It was built in 1890. They bought it 17 years ago and spent about four years renovating it before we ever moved in. While it wasn't the first old house they renovated, this is the one in which the reno bug built me. It's what made me fall in love with old houses and gave me the vision to see what an old house could be, when brought back to life. My house will never be as fancy as this one, but it remains to serve as my inspiration (and current place of habitation!). Also, I'm gad to see the front porch looking like itself again. Almost all the repair work has been completed on the house since back in March, when a tornado tossed a 400 year old live oak tree onto the front of the house causing the entire front porch to have to be rebuilt.
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