Month: June 2015

We both took off work yesterday and rented the Rug Doctor. First I did all the carpets at 210 Knapp, which were still quite bad because of Pippi. They smell (and look) so nice and fresh today! We’re still waiting for them to be completely dry before we put everything back, so the house contents is piled in corners.

Then I ran to Rice Lake for my appointment with my counselor (who is great, by the way.) A little shopping, then back home to meet Dad and head to New Auburn. We forgot the soap, so I had to drive back to Chetek to get that, then I did all the carpets in the rental. At least the main part of the downstairs is hardwood!

After that, we put on the upholstery attachment and went to work on the trailer cushions and carpets. Talk about dirty!! They didn’t look all that bad – mostly we were going to the cigarette smell. But they are A LOT cleaner now!

Then it was about 6:30 and we headed to Eau Claire to do a Sam’s Club run, because I was totally out of chicken for Sherlock’s food and Dad needed about $300 worth of stuff for the youth center. We got home around 9:00 and had to unpack everything before we could collapse into bed.

While I was busy with carpets, Dad finally got the sink totally in – there had been some trouble screwing it to the countertop, because it was an older sink and designed for thinner surfaces on the counter. So it took about 3 days to get that figured out. But it is done now. He also got the toe kicks on the cabinets, got the dishwasher running, found out that the washing machine has a leak (we didn’t notice that when we were testing it out on the lawn!), and put the trim up around the new window.

So we are getting there! 6 days left.

The first three, obviously, are the kitchen. The last is the back yard. The hostas I planted around the trees several years ago managed to survive the renters. The rest of the flowers, unfortunately, didn’t. The outhouse is gone, too. (I’m not sure how I made the print like this and I can’t get it to change back.)

You can see that the section of kitchen by the stove isn’t secured yet, nor is there counter top on that section. Actually, though, the piece we cut out for the sink is going to be big enough to put over that one little cabinet. Then we’ll just put a ceramic tile on top of it for the pans to be set on.

Do you guys remember putting in that post with the rounded edges that Thanksgiving when Krista first came home with Luke? I remember teaching her how to sheet rock on that post!  It’s still standing.

A couple reasons the room looks so different now – the window in the corner is completely gone. It was where the big expanse of cabinets and counter top are. We got a lot more space by eliminating the window. The other thing is the box above the cabinets, which I think makes them look like they have always been there, which they haven’t.  The sink is basically in the same place, but the window and the light over it are new. And the refrigerator used to be beside the stove, where the pantry now is.

We’ve been working on the old New Auburn house every single night and all day today. We have the gorgeous kitchen almost in. Tomorrow we cut the sink hole in the coutertop and set the sink in. Today we finished attaching all the base cabinets and attaching the countertop to the top of them. It is much harder than it would seem, particularly when you have to leave a space for the dishwasher, but make sure everything is exactly in the right place so the countertop will fit! Plus, to fit the sink base in, you have to undo all the plumbing, then glue or solder it back together once you get it all through the holes you cut in the floor of the sink base. Then there is the wiring and plumbing of the dishwasher.

Once the sink is in, then it is on to the section by the stove, which shouldn’t take long. We just have to decide what sort of a countertop we’re putting on that. I want something heat-proof, so you can set hot pans and cookie sheets right on it.

Other things left to do include the walls of the porch, which have some water damage and a couple more windows to replace. The porch over the back door needs work, but we can wait until after they are moved in to do that. They expect us to be out of there by July 1. Only 10 more days!! Can we do it?? Yes, we can!

We’ve been looking for one for quite a while and had just about given up, because the ones we saw were all so expensive. But there was this one on the lot just north of New Auburn and we jumped on it. We got it, plus a brand-new generator (which we will need, since we don’t have electricity at the property) for $2400. We thought that was really good. It is kind of old, but has a new fridge and a few other small new things.  And it has been well maintained. Nothing we would need to fix before we use it.

The fence is between our place and the cafe/bar, hiding the alley, which is just wide enough that people sometimes go through it at night. It goes right past our bedroom window, which we like to leave open at night. Anyway, we are happy with how it looks, so I hope it keeps people out.

We finally cleaned up the back yard and got the flowers potted and put out. I bought the colored pots in an end-of-the-season sale last year, then we just had to wait for petunias to be 40% off to fill them. They are actually screwed to the shelf, so they won’t blow off. They look great from both directions, and they will look much better when the petunias grow! Some of the areas are the same as last year, but some have new things.

My favorite pix is the one of the lined up pots. I saw that shot sitting in the glider rocker which just happens to be lined up with the row of pots. They look so close together, even though they aren’t, and I think the colors are just gorgeous. And you are left wondering what is with the 240 /120 in the background.

Now we are off to do the front. I painted a previously brown wooden bench Pepto Bismol pink (to match the flowers) and we are going to put that in front of the Academy, with flowers in pots on either side and then put a fence blocking the alley between us and the bar, and hang a couple pots on that. More pictures when we are finished.