Some Days are Hard

Today was an emotional day as the reality set in as to how much work there is to be done.  No matter how much I cleaned the kitchen, I could not get beyond the ick factor of how dirty it is.  Steve said the kitchen smelled much better when he came in and that he thought I made more of a difference that I knew.  The living room, however, still stinks of cigarette smoke and we've made a decision that the beams must go.  They are fake beams, not in good shape, but they have absorbed too much cigarette smoke.  The book cases on either side of the fireplace must also go.  They are not in good shape and just scream "70's", if they were in better shape, we might consider up-dating, but, alas, we must say good bye.  The jury is still out on the fireplace itself.  If we can get it cleaned well enough it may get a white wash, part of it depends on how we decide to configure the house.

There were two shining moments.  The first illustrated by this set of pictures, which shows how much difference a quick pressure wash can make.

Then, of course, we ended the day by walking the back of the property, to remind us of why we bought this place.  Steve mowed a nice pathway about halfway to the back of it, including down to the pond and back to the lean-to building.

Next, just a few pictures of the flowers, bushes, which have all been badly neglected.

The garage looks better than I expected; though still a looooong way to go to clean.

But one of the most important things:  DJ had so much fun on the newly-mowed path.

Until next time: 

Day One of DEMO

Loaded up the pickup truck, took the dog to get a booster to protect him from "country" fleas and ticks, stopped by A Cleaner Place to get a vacuum cleaner and more cleaning supplies and headed to Chandler, bright and early this morning.  On the way, got a text from a friend that she was available if we needed any help.  Uh, yes, thank you.  How good a friend is that?

So, we burned some sage to cleanse the air

Then I went to work on cleaning; just so we could use the kitchen while we work on the house.  The sink, the oven, the cook top, how could they be so dirty??

Did I get them clean; no.  But they are better and I will keep working.  We needed a break and needed to be reminded why we bought this property, so we decided to go for a walk on the back of the property; good decision.

At the end of the day, we accomplished two out of three of our goals:  carpet removed and curtains, blinds removed.  We worked on a few things not on the list and did not get the outside pressure washed, but we are going back tomorrow and were pleased with our progress.

AND We've Closed

Despite a last minute hitch over the language in our insurance policy, we closed, as scheduled.  We did our final walk through and everything was as it should be.  This poor house and property; it has been neglected in every way.  Hubby and I discussed why this happens; no conclusions, just speculation.  We felt a little better about the low appraisal, because it is clear that everything needs, cleaned, repaired or replaced.  After we left the house, I found fleas hopping off me.  Welcome to country living.

After we closed, we headed to Atwoods to get bug bombs to set off in the house.  Normally I'm opposed to such chemicals, but it has to be me or the fleas and I'm staying, so the fleas must go.  We then stopped by a friend's counseling office and talked about ways we might collaborate on some projects.  Then back to the farm (we still don't have a name) to take pictures, survey what needs to be done (first) and take more pictures.

On today's agenda:  pull out all the carpet, drapes, window blinds and shades and pressure wash the outside of the house, random pruning and trimming and general clean-up.