yes, we are alive
ok, sorry about leaving you all
hanging. we just have been really busy so haven't had time to post anything. yes, so we did move. it was a rough weekend but we survived. although, it was a bit iffy for me on the Monday after. since then, it's been a flurry of activity trying to actually move IN.our applicances arrived the Sunday after we moved, so that was nice. they all are functioning nicely. we are especially impressed with how well the washer washes and how quiet it is doing it. we got one of those new high-efficiency front-loaders (by Kenmore) ... we highly recommend it. the range (here it is in white, also Kenmore)
and fridge (Kenmore Elite Trio) are doing well, although we still haven't officially "moved-in" to the fridge. we brought a few essentials, but still haven't moved the rest of the stuff from the apartment. one thing we are realizing about stainless steel appliances .... DON'T TOUCH!the first few nights were spent unpacking and situating things. next, we hung curtains and roman shades ... lots and lots of them. they turned out nice, except the lady at JC Penny didn't know what she was talking about with the curtain panel widths ... 2 of the windows we can't totally "close". so, we'll need to exchange for longer panels or add another set of small ones.
once things were mostly in order, it
was on to finishing up the "construction" projects (most of which happened this week since i took the week off). i trimmed the hardwoods around the vents so that the covers could go on ... well, almost. i hit a snag on the one in the sunroom ... the elbow in the ductwork that turns up to the vent pretty much broke apart in my hands when i tried to adjust it. so, i'm still trying to hunt down a 12" round 90-degree elbow (PS: they don't carry it at Lowe's, HD, or Menards). a local HVAC contractor was supposed to call me back ... but hasn't. i also still need to do the return air covers, but will finish those when i get back to the sunroom one.
i also did some more insulating. first, foam in the gaps between the hardwoods and exterior walls (stop drafts). next, some R-30 over the downstairs bathroom (another example of the poor previous construction -- no insulation over the ceiling). i think that we could tell a difference there immediately ... the bathroom stays much warmer during a shower (and we might add, it's a wonderful mystical experience showering in our "shell shower"). then today, i put some R-19 under the sunroom floor and up the walls of the crawlspace, along with a vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) on the ground. now there is a lovely time, working in a crawlspace. i couldn't help but wonder how many dead hobos were buried in there ... and what their names might be (i like "Guesstimate Jones"). now i bet your thinking, that
sounds like fun (putting fiberglass insulation in a crawlspace, not burying hobos silly). well ... you'd be wrong. eventually, i'd like to get some insulation under more of the floors to hopefully make them feel warmer, maybe some other time.lots of other miscellaneous items were also done: new switch and light bulbs (60W-ers on a dimmer instead of 100W-ers = much better) in dining room, more switch/outlet covers, hanging pictures, re-working the dryer vent (temporary fixes, total re-do later), misc. decorating, re-keying the locks, organizing our box "collection" in the basement, etc. i also got a new toolbox to hold most of my tools (except power tools) and got a storage box with little drawers to hold and sort all the misc. nails, screws, etc. we have (both using Christmas giftcards ... thanks Mom and Michael & Kim!). that and the toolbox made for some fun sorting/organizing projects. i also got (also using giftcards) a nice collection of tips/bits for the drill ... suh-weeeeeet! oh, and we got a Christmas tree! if you go 2 days before Christmas, you can get them for super cheap (we got an "expensive" one ... for $8.75).
upcoming, i need to put in new doorbells (wireless--easy project), add some weatherstripping to the front door, refinish the stairs (pulled staples tonight), get shoe molding put in, some final painting, and picture hanging among other things. we also need to get out of the apartment by the end of Saturday. i went and did most of the cleaning today, but we have a couple loads of random stuff to bring back still.
oh, and in the meantime, we left for about 2 days to visit Chrissy's uncle in southern Illinois. it had been quite a while since we'd seen them. we had a lot of fun there, well worth the drive.
i've sprinkled some current pictures throughout this post and have put some more on the flickr page (along with some old ones that i never uploaded - i recommend looking at the "During" set ).
posted by Chris and Chrissy Miller @ 10:22 PM
2 Comments:
Wow! It is looking so fabulous! I can't tell you how jealous I am of how "finished" everything looks. I know it's probably not as finished as you would like but...Nate and I lost our momentum a while ago and we have lots of half-assed projects. Guess I need to write up a punchlist :)
Love the colors and the rugs. We love our front loading washer too. Did you sit in front of it and watch it the first batch like a couple of Amish kids (that's what we did :)?
Deb
P.S. Touch the stainless steel. It cleans up easily. We just grab some of those clorox wipes that come in a can like baby wipes and run them across the frig once in a while. 'course, we're not perfectionists either.
oh my gosh your house looks SO nice! i'm jealous! looks like all of your hard work really paid off . . . congrats :)
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