Adventures in Home Improvement

For the first time we are living in a home that we own. I have to say, it does feel different. Our (very) little house is charming. It was built in 1918, so there are a lot of quirks. But, as Court's architect dad told us, it has good bones. When we bought it, we knew that we were going to want/need to make some changes and we are currently nearing the end of these changes. Early on Court coined a phrase that we have used throughout our adventures it is "sweat equircise," it is a verb and it means "the act of getting a work-out while putting sweat equity into ones home." Take that, Webster.

Here are some things we have learned about home improvement:

• It is very useful to have a loving, caring handy-person who will come alongside you to help. This person was my dad. He has poured hours of his life into this house. If we sell it, we owe him a percentage, no question.
• Get a lot of quotes all at the same time, or else you will be waiting far too long to get the work done.
• Craigslist--with ample reference, ID, and background checks, --can be a good resource for tradespeople.
• Don't tile yourself--it's worth it to pay a professional
• Do paint yourself. It's not that hard. And we are not very talented in this department.
• Landscaping makes a big difference.
• Old houses are wonderful, but they can be very cold.
• Shop sales at hardware stores.

We have learned a lot more, but these are most of them. Today we had the electrician replace our old ("knob and tube") wiring and, I must say, that I am glad to have this adventure coming to a close. We are very grateful that we were able to make some of the changes that we wanted to.

Here are some photos:

Kitchen with the first layer of wall panelling torn down

Kitchen with new drywall--it is now a nice, textured yellow.

Beth after having torn down the quasi-rotten drywall behind the brown formica surround that was once our shower. Yes, I was wondering how this was all going to work.

Freshly tiled shower

Here are some shots of the house from the outside after our first snow.

Happy Christmastime!