Life here just keeps getting interestinger and interestinger! Or should I say we are a lot closer to the poor house than I thought. The one thing you learn about taking on a project with an old house is that each day brings more surprises. For us most of the surprises have been with rotten wood and water damage. We had the contractor seal up the gaps in the foundation as well. But now we know we have the confidence that the house will be tighter and better insulated that what we had. I am really anxious about our heating costs this year vs the prior years. I'm still not letting Tom turn on the heat until November!
So where are we at this point? The attached slide show will show you most of the work. I would say we are 1/2 way there. But the time consuming part is done so the rest should move along quickly if the weather holds out.
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Inside the house I have been painting and trying to strip the stairwell to the upstairs. This has to be a bit tricky as I have the cats to deal with. I can't have them free to run up and down the stairs. I repainted the kitchen and have only one small wall left to do. We will finish up this week end. We are getting the new drywall up in Tom's den Friday and I will soon be able to get him off the dining room table. We are doing quite well with our de-cluttering also. I tell Tom I have been watching the TV show "Clean House" and am learning to get rid of clutter and to find ways to preserve the memories of things without the things themselves.
There are times when I have to wonder where our sanity went for us to be doing all this work when the economy has gone to hell in a hand basket. In the long run, I feel we are making the best investment we can for the times. We are planning on being here for quite some time. We have thought out what we are doing and have tried to stay away from the things that we would like to have but are not practical for the times. Each day I tell myself this is a sea-side cottage even if we are flanked on both sides by huge houses. We are keeping with the "cottage" feel, despite what some people would like to see us do. I laugh and let them know if they are willing to pay for it, we will do things their way. I am quite amused by the input others feel they have the right to give and their attitudes when we ignore their suggestions. People are funny.
Tom has been really busy with work and has started his fall travel schedule. I am still busy job hunting and interviewing. This is not the best of times to be job hunting. Tom says I am employed as the General Contractor on Seagull Cottage. I am trying to keep on top of things and do the trim painting when I can.
Well, that's a quick update on what is going on here. I hope all of you are in good health and happy. More from us later.
