Sold!

Well, now I know why the kids were working so hard on fixing me up this spring. They started by fixing the ice dam damage in the dining room, repainted all the ceilings in the house, then fixed the squeak in the upstairs bathroom, which meant new tile to the floor. Steph started painting everything upstairs in Pale Oak (a Benjamin Moore color) to match the main level painting she did last year. They also finished the landscaping in the front and started decluttering. I should have figured it out sooner.

After a quick trip to Alaska (which they rave about), they kept cleaning things out. I had professional photos taken and was put on the market July 26. I had a lot of good showings and an offer on July 27. The kids let the open houses that were scheduled happen and then accepted the offer on Monday, July 30. Since then, I’ve been inspected and emptied even more. The kids will be closing on August 27, and I’ll have new owners that day. That means my time with you all will be over. There will be  no more updates from me and my walls…

Before I go, I thought I’d share one final before and after… pictures from when the kids bought me and then from my professional photoshoot. Prepared to be amazed!

Curb Appeal:

Living Room:

Dining Room:

Kitchen:

Master Bedroom:

Ozzy’s Room:

Spare room/Playroom:

Upstairs Bathroom:

Den:

Lower Bath:

Office/Guest Room:

Laundry Room:

Gazebo/Backyard:

I’ve enjoyed sharing my transformation with you all! I hope to continue improving with my new family. Thanks for all the love!

Gettin’ Stamped

One of the projects the kids have been talking about since the first year here when they pulled out all of the front shrubs is replacing the sidewalk and rocks. They’ve talked about putting in a floating deck and a paver patio, but in the end, they went with a stamped concrete patio.

So many things have changed since they bought me. Let’s go waaaaay back to the inspection:

Then the shrubs went away the first year:

Two falls ago, I got new siding and front oval plants:

Last winter they got me a new roof, and now I have a stamped concrete entrance and the rock has been removed and is just waiting for spring and new landscaping.The little one was sad he missed his favorite construction vehicle!

At the same time as the front, they also redid the side paver patio for the garbage cans. It is now an expanded concrete area. Here’s a little before and after of that:Next summer, they will be repainting the concrete steps, reshaping the front beds, and adding mulch and plants. I’m crossing my fingers for a new garage door too. Here’s before:

Goodbye dino tracks:The kids love how it turned out. They can’t wait for spring so they can keep working.

Shed Painted. Check.

Remember when the kids had new siding put on me? And remember how the next summer they were going to paint the shed to match my new color and then Steph broke her leg and was off her feet for more than six weeks? Remember how they got a new roof on the house and shed and it still wasn’t painted? So the shed looked like this:

After the contractor finished a couple last pieces that were missing, Steph got a sample of the siding, and Chad got the paint color mixed, Steph finally got going on the painting. She did two coats one day in July, and it didn’t look too promising at first…

Finally, just today, she finished painting the trim, completing the shed painting. (Ignore the lighter blue touch up paint … she got a little wild with the white trim paint!)

Oh… and remind her that there is a fourth side that still needs to be painted once that wood pile is out of the way, which will hopefully happen some day before they sell me!

April 2018 Blizzard

Snow! I’m a bit tired of the stuff, and so are the kids. But, that hasn’t stopped Mother Nature from sending MN more of the white stuff. Reports say that this is the snowiest April on record for MN… ever. We’ve gotten about 15 inches since Friday and it is still going!

I guess this will delay all those outdoor projects the kids have planned… At least Ozzy is having a bit of fun in the snow!

Going Gray on Top

Well, the jig is up, as they say. My formerly brown roof has lost its dye job and is now showing my age… no more youthful, mousey brown for me; I’m now showing off an older and wiser steely gray. And here I thought that facelift was supposed to be making me look younger! Don’t tell the kids, but I think it makes me look distinguished.

The brown worked well with the yellow exterior I had when Steph and Chad bought me five years ago (yep! five years this past June!)… Wow, have things changed!

But then, last year the kids got the new blue siding and I became this…

The brown roof just wasn’t working any longer. That, along with another winter with a few hints from me in the form of ice dams, led to the realization that a new roof was in order. After a referral from a neighbor and many conversations, Steph and Chad chose a new color. The variations of grays almost give me a salt-and-pepper look.

Work started and finished on December 7 on the house and shed. That’s right, it only took one day with the experienced crew from Balancing Rock Design

On December 8, the gazebo also got a new roof to fix the crumbling, rotted cedar shingles (post with pictures to come of that soon). Since it is winter, it has been a bit difficult to get good photos of the finished product. Here’s the best we can do at the moment:

Steph had plans to paint that shed last summer, but she broke her leg at the end of June and was unable to do much of anything for the next six weeks. After surgery to get a plate and seven screws, she was scooter bound and then slow going with recovery. Luckily, a busy 2-year-old little guy was the best therapy she could have.

It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since my last post. That is because not a lot has changed around here…until the roof. I’m hoping 2018 will have more going on for me to report about (my list includes landscaping, a new garage door, a new front stoop, and so much more). Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Hello, Stainless Steel

The kids received their Christmas present a few days late. They have been whining and complaining ever since they moved in about how much they disliked the fridge that has been my friend for quite some time now. I admit, she was getting tired…and loud… And she didn’t give them much space for food, but she was a good fridge. 

Now, the kids went stainless steel… Thinking of the future resale opportunities that will bring. We won’t go into what it took to get it here (6 trips to Sears, 1 failed delivery, and lots of worrying), but will just say, welcome new friend. May we enjoy getting to know you…starting with the mower and Tonka truck. 

On a sad note, the old fridge wasn’t the only loss this Christmas. Chad and Steph were excited to tell their families that there was going to be a second mini Finne joining the family in July. Then, on December 17, at just over 8 weeks, they lost the baby. The kids have appreciated the support of their families during these tough weeks. They hope 2017 brings new beginnings and peace to all.

My Facelift

My sad, aging face was given a major facelift this summer. In fact, most of my old friends probably wouldn’t recognize me now if it weren’t for the fact that landscaping won’t happen until next summer!

Here’s the scoop… the kids called a contractor (Entire Exteriors) to give them a quote on replacing the soffits on the upper level. While he was here, he mentioned the hail damage on the siding and roof. He said it was from a hail storm the previous year and the kids had a month left to make an insurance claim and get it fixed. They did. It took all summer of waiting for insurance quotes and haggling on pricing, but work finally began at the end of August. Within a week, there was new siding, new fascia, new soffits, new window trim, and new gutters. The kids also got a new front door and new exterior lights.

I started like this…

In this one I’m naked…

A day later…

My backside…

I’m nearly ready here…

After the construction crew left, Steph painted my new front door “Fresh Pineapple.” She also painted the pallet that hides the garbage cans. 

Next summer, the kids hope to pull out the steps and build a deck out front. They also want to move out the rock under the windows and around the side of the house and replace it with plants and mulch. Until then, I’m pretty happy with this view. Man, I look good in the fall (even with a permit in the window)!

The Books Have a Home!

 

That project that would never end has been completed!! When they moved in, the wet bar looked like this…

The kids immediately took down the faux roof (that Chad kept hitting his head on) and patched the ceiling. For a couple years it stayed that way. At the end of January 2015, work began on the wet bar. The carpet and cabinets on the wall were removed, and I looked like this.

Chad and his father-in-law put up some bead board and it was painted to match the rest of the paneling around the room. Then a base frame was inserted to begin the lower cabinets.

Soon after, Chad and his father started the bottom drawers. They were finished in September.

After a break over the holidays, work began again… with a vengeance. Chad and his dad began measuring, cutting, sanding, staining, and polying the upper shelves. They inserted metal tracks for adjusting the shelves as well.

As of May 10, 2016, the book shelves are complete! Happy First Mother’s Day to Steph! She jumped at the chance to fill them and let her books breathe again. She was kind enough to give Chad one of the shelves. And then she asked for another shelf for each section… so maybe they aren’t done after all. :0)

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate this before and after…. ahhh!

Baby Gate

The kids finally got that baby gate up! The lil’ one has been crawling for a couple months now and is getting speedier all the time. A few weeks ago, they got the baby gate put up on the stairs going down.

It took a couple tries… the first gate was pressure mounted and wouldn’t work with the iron railing. The second gate had an adapter to work with the iron railing, alas, it was not wide enough to fit the extra large opening! Finally, gate number three was just right…with a diy adjustment that is…

The iron railing side now has a two by four mounted on it with the hook side. It isn’t all that pretty, but it works! 

The screen spans the opening nicely, and it easily retracts, saving space and avoiding trying to swing a gate out of the way. It is also strong enough to keep the little one from falling down the stairs.

Now if they just need to do another to keep him from climbing up them…which he loves to do!

An Update…

Well, it’s been months and months since I’ve had the chance to speak. It’s like someone doesn’t want me to … ahem … complain.

Last fall the kids completed their work on the peanut. With an adorable supervisor looking on, they planted a hydrangea, some hostas, some juniper, and some decorative grasses. They also got some mulch and finished it all up in one weekend. The local deer took out the hostas pretty quickly, but the kids are hopeful that next summer they can find a way to keep them alive.

More work has finally been started on the wet bar/book shelves…

Stain is being applied and then these pieces can be inserted. Steph is impatiently waiting for there to be shelves to fill. Her books have been boxed for more than a year now, making her very sad.

The new addition, Ozzy, has already acquired a lot of stuff… it’s like he’s moving in for the foreseeable future. There are a lot of toys and it seems like more arrive all of the time. Steph is trying to keep things organized, but some days it feels like a losing battle. Every time she deals with one pile, another appears.

The baby is getting big…he’s already 8 months old! He has two teeth, and he’s started some crawling. It is still a lot of work, so he isn’t going far yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I’ll post again when the baby gates go up (I promise)!