Sunday, July 13, 2008

First Glimpse

So, now that I've shared that the move date is almost here, let me share a glimpse into why it has taken us so long to get into this other house.  The "new" house was purchase 9 or 10 months ago (thanks to the (hopefully soon to be) temporary generosity of my folks, without whom we would NEVER have been able to swing two mortgages) and Mike has been working evenings and weekends ever since to "spruce" up the place.  I am placing the word "spruce" in quotes because it really was in dire need of some major TLC.  Not only was it ugly, it was dirty, poorly maintained, and (in some areas) really not very safe.  I won't go into all the gory (or moldy) details, but I will show you the kitchen.  

BEFORE:


AND AFTER:


Not all of the rooms are QUITE this drastic, but the bathrooms were for sure and the other rooms really were not too far behind.  It just wasn't well taken care of.  And I must say, as superficial as it is, I have really enjoyed being able to pick paint colors and light fixtures and drawer pulls....things I was never able to do at this house.  Mike has done everything himself, with the help of our families when they are able, and I am so pleased and proud of him.  Honestly, I am more of a forrest kind of girl, so Mike's unwavering attention to EVERY leaf and piece of bark on EVERY tree has often tried my patience and made me want to tear my hair out screaming "Please, let's just MOVE IN to the stinkin' house already!!!"  But thanks to my meticulous husband (and often our fathers), we now have proper wiring with proper switches routed to proper lights.  We have clean, mold free walls, we have functioning and stable toilets, and we have beautifully painted and cleaned up rooms.  I would have slapped some paint on the walls, scrubbed the floors and moved in! ;-)  Thank you Mike for this beautiful transformation.  This has been a tiring and difficult time for both of us and I SO appreciate everything you've done to create a lovely home for us to move in to.  We have a long road ahead of us still, as the contract that we did have on our house has fallen through and we are back to square one with that.  But I know the stress will ease moving into that lovely, cozy house and just being a normal family again.  I can't wait!  (But I will....)

3 comments:

Dana said...

That is a huge improvement!! Great job. As if moving isn't a big enough pain having to renovate on top of it all really is the pits. Hang in there!

Artfulife said...

They say if your marriage can make it through a remodel, it can make it through anything. My husband and I are remodeling our kitchen also. It is a slow process when you are not Mr Moneybags. You guys did a great job. The finished product looks so bright and cheerful. The wonderful thing about doing the work yourself is you have such a sense of accomplishment and ownership when the job is done. Good luck with the move.

beemahoney said...

can't wait until you get in there!