Weekend Two of Home Project

This weekend was filled with knocking down the drywall and slats. Many many messes and a lot of dust! It is interesting to see the guts of a house, never have before to this degree, but I can tell the house was made to be pretty solid. And that it was built a long time ago, just from seeing the "two by fours" that were inside the walls. They were "logs" clearly that were quartered, the bark is still on them and the nails used were not the type you see today. So, let me get to the point, PICTURES! What you really came for, eh?

Here is one of the rooms victim to our demo. Drywall gone.

Same thing here, different room. The white decorative around the windows will have to stay due to the possibility of it not coming back together well. So I will remove the paint with it as is.

Now this part is interesting. Notice the pic is showing two doorways? There is a little cove between them on the left side, and a chimney to the right.

Here is the little cove, if you will. The chimney is behind the person taking the pic, and past owner must have left this portion open to keep the two rooms on either side the same size. Make sense? The walls on either side of this are now drywall free as well.

And now a couple of random pics. A couple of the drive near the house:

Heading toward the Village. Not too far from the house.

The Village. It is old as you can see.

Driving up to the house. The neighborhood is pretty quiet.
 

And there you have it. Next weekend there will be more work, but I will not be there, nothing new anyway. Same thing. Then a wall will be moved over, electricity updated, and walls re-sheeted/insulated. That will be in 2-3 weeks from now.

New Home Project!

So, we bought a house! A 166-ish year old one to boot, built in 1845. I'll do the math later, ahem... Why you say? The house has a lot of potential, the schools are good for the kids, it was cheap. The place will require a lot of work, but is not too incredibly bad for the age to tell you the truth.

Alright, enough cheap talk! Here are the facts. The house is 2800sqft, 1.5 bathrooms, 6 bedrooms (the  listing stated 9, but not really so), full basement, attic which some of the bedrooms are located. Not much land. 

Pictures will come as we go! How it is now, and how it will be as we go. It'll be messy!

Now, if you take a look at this website about the Batcheller Mansion, which is here in Saratoga, I am throwing around the idea of using these paint colors for the outside.



Here is the front. Looks kind of like a farmhouse, but not really.



The addition that was added many, many...many years ago.



The side, look another door! There are three. Not sure why. There were 4, but if you look at the addition in the second pic, the odd looking window...looks like it used to be a door?, D'oh!

Blogger me?

Heaven Sent

I look at your pictures and wonder why,
I see your videos and it makes me cry,
I want to hurt who hurt you,
But alas, it is beneath me.

Your smiles make me smile,
Your story hurts us inside,
It has yet been a while,
I wish you were at my side.

Your Daddy is hurting,
We want to turn back time,
See you smile and laugh again,
He wishes you were at his side.

They want to hurt him,
Make him hurt as bad,
He took away your smile,
But alas, it is beneath them.

Ride away into the clouds,
We will see you again,
I love you little man,
In our hearts, you will remain.

Airport and Rain

So, today is snow and rainy, and you know, it was only because we had to go to the Airport at 6:30 this morning. Didn't you know?

In case you don't know. We are finding other places to go. People to see yada yada. We are hoping to head over to New York, if not, then to Oregon. Vote New York. My family doesn't know my kids and vice versa, so it's time. I have been on the western part of the US of A for 11 years. Hey I'll make a deal...hows about we go to New York this year, then after about 15-20 years, back here, well maybe not Utah, but maybe somewhere close. Deal? I think it's fair. All is fair in family and war. Yes it is, don't argue with me, punk. Cliff has his own reasons as well, that I won't divulge here.

This morning, we got the kids up at 6:15, which was actually not that bad. Except for Zack. "I wanna go to bed..." He was saying this as he was in bed still. With the covers on him. Preemptive move on his part. He was apparently hoping we were going to leave him there while we drove 45 minutes to the Airport and 45 back. Let me think about that one.... It's funny how kids think you will say yes to the strangest things.

"Orlo?" "It's hello!" "Oh, I mean hello??"

Let me start.

So today I decided to start blogging a little more. I have a lot of things that have been clouding my mind lately, so why not put them into words.

Warning: A lot of "I"s here, but I am doing an introduction of sorts so go along with it, please.

Let me start off by saying that I have three wonderful kids, and a Husband that does a lot for me. We live in Utah for the moment, hoping it's not forever. I am not perky or bubbly in personality, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt-which has kicked my butt before, and strive to be different. I won't actively go out meeting people but when I do, I hope to make some lasting friends.

For you who may not know, I grew up in Lynn, MA. I have 5 sisters and 1 brother. A dog bit me, which left a nice-sized lovely scar on my arm when I was younger. I am LDS, but don't go to Church very often. Why? Reasons you should not judge me on. My Father passed away 12 years ago, and I often wonder how he would be if he were still here. I could say "is he proud of me?" But of course he is and was. I used to hate my Boston accent, but now I love it. The word I grew to very much dislike was "shy." I am not shy, nor have I been since I was around 14. It may appear so, but trust me, I just do not jump into every conversation, I just don't. The other word is "busy." That word is thrown around a little bit too much in my opinion. And last but not least, I am one of "those" peeps who wouldn't mind the idea of traveling all over the country after I retire--in an RV!! So watch out, I may be coming to a Town near you...no really, watch out, I can't drive big rigs, and boy there are stories to tell about me and inanimate objects while driving when I was younger. TRUST ME. *wink* .

I started following some important stories lately and have become a Child Abuse Advocate more or less, not "officially". Kids like Dominick Calhoun and Ethan Stacy, who had their lives cut so short tragically, have become a huge part of my life. Besides my own little family here in Utah, these Boys and their loving families are like a part of my own family. I have thought about my own life and my past and it wasn't perfect, and there were things I am still overcoming, and I believe that is why Children like those Boys are a part of something big for me. That and the the helplessness and avoidable way these things happen just has me beside myself that People can be so cruel. I share things about abuse and share things like the groups I am a part of, and to tell you the truth, it makes my blood boil that no one responds to these. I think that a lot of people worry more about their next social gathering or Latte than opening up their minds to what matters more.

If you go around saying "love one another" , "love thy neighbor" or whatever it is the next Joe and Jane go by, show it. And I mean SHOW IT. Don't give it away to a few who go 100% by what your standards are, people have faults, and you don't know why and what they are. Embrace the faults and like them for who they are, because, well, you could've just passed over one of the best people that came across your path. Don't miss it because they are less than "perfect." I have seen a lot of that over time, and it's not right.

Like a friend once said to me... Never say anything you have to apologize for later. I may say "Oh! I hope it's OK...!!" But I won't apologize for being me. So don't expect it. ;)

Have a wonderful week.