phew!

So the house was completed, and then we realized the little itsy bitsy things had to be done, such as cleaning, de-dusting, and things you don't think about when you sign up for a rennovation! So, slowly, the boxes have been unpacked, and these next two weekends, we'll have the rest of the painting done (1st floor is good...now onto the 2nd!)

We just got back from two weeks in Taiwan - which was fabulous! All of my family basically lives all over and so Joe and I were really lucky, and were able to see the entire island and do a lot of very authentic things (ie: Japanese style hot springs...)! Many many stories...! There are over 450 pictures so those are best left to be sent rather than posted! haha! We came home though to Thanksgiving and spent that in Baltimore for the first time as well which was lovely, as our friend Summer cooked a huge feast for all the "orphans" who chose to stay in the city! THANKS SUMMER! it was fabulous and I can't even go on about how ridiculous the food was!!!

It's been a quick fall (entering winter...brr) with the trip and festivities and house painting/cleaning/etc! Joe finished his first Marathon in October as well which was exciting because it was the Baltimore Marathon so we were home and he had our amazing friends around to cheer him on, and ran with a few of them as well! Thought after running that far, a picture was well deserved! Blogging is kinda fun every once in a while, so perhaps this little thing will keep going...heehee! As if another reason to procrastinate online is needed...

Baltimore Marathon 2008!!!

FINITO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND...EXACTLY 3 months...OUR HOUSE IS COMPLETED!!!!!!!!!!!!...things I didn't think about though - it's disgustingly dusty and there is SO much to unpack that it's going to take a few weeks just to move back in! Arg! So, excuse the mess which is...all over! and check out some pics of the finished house!

Since the other photos of the bathroom were basically at completion, here are just a few of the kitchen...and more to come once the basement is cleaned out.

Here are some views of the kitchen painted and shade in...!!! Door and trims ended up being painted black just for uniformity. There is a lot of organizing to do, but the dishwasher was run last night and seriously, I have no clue what I was thinking trying to do dishes by hand before!!!! BEST invention EVER. So much more storage which is super exciting!

(Below) View of the kitchen from the living room and Mika is actually caught in action itching herself...

(Below) Can you believe these are the basement stairs now???

and after all this time..., it's done!!!

now...when to celebrate...! Details to come!

Mid-September...

And since it's been a while I am apparently posting twice today..., here are the updated photos from the kitchen! We have appliances!! AND RUNNING WATER! People truly need to appreciate this.  Running water, a standing shower, toilets, etc.  This has seriously been a life lesson. haha...I laugh,...but really...

(Above): from the back of the house, left view of the island with our glorious sink that works!! The joy of seeing running water again...priceless.

(Below): from the back of the house, right view of the counters, microwave, and our oven.  

Mika Bologna Skelator: Italian Greyhound reviewing the work.

September!!!

Hello September! HOW did the summer fly by so quickly! Busy busy busy and soooo fun, thus the delay in posting! :)

Rehab-wise, we are close to having a house again! We are nearly done with the upstairs bath, meaning we can ALMOST move back in to our room! (gasp)!! Here you can see the right & left sides of our new stand up shower (with body jets!), and then our sinks on the alternate wall.

(Above) Right View, (Below) Left View

We have our own sinks! FINALLY!

Set of windows in our bedroom, plastered, edged and newly repainted! They did such a great job with the edging, and it looks so clean and refreshing!!!

Totally random, but the back door leading to our garage/shed was a red handle-LESS (yes, we had to pull on a nail) old piece of wood basically..., and we now have a nice new door! The area above the door will be replaced with a piece of glass as well so it will look like a mini home.  Maybe this will keep the rats away...hehe!

Waterproof!

Lots of work was done this week on waterproofing our little rowhouse! It seemed slow because the windows took so long to seal up and refinish for both exterior and interior sides.  Little things were done though even though it didn't seem so! We're almost at the one month to go mark...and hopefully we'll be right on time...!

Crown molding was put on top of our bedroom closet (didn't know that was going to happen!)

Here is the master artist/constructor, Mister Raydo, in the kitchen

Close up of the back splash

Under all the tools, is our granite countertop island and a double sink and our first dishwasher!

Got home to this, and although it doesn't seem like much, you can see the work being done on the windows and there is no dust!!! The room was completely cleaned out and it made an immense difference! We have a couch again!

Flies...the animal, not time...

So this week has been super filthy, and we realized what they meant when they said you'd even find dry wall under your sheets. ick. All the windows were done these last few days and thus we battled the flies that were let in and the dust...EVERYWHERE. It really makes a huge difference though so it's kind of exciting still. Externally we have our house repointed, a new shiney mailbox, and new beautiful wood windows! Hopefully there isn't too much rain because they aren't exactly sealed yet...but so far Baltimore weather is fantastic and we can stoop sit to get out!

Above: Left window is our old vinyl window, and the Right window is the new wood window

Joe outside with the new mailbox and new windows!!!

Awaiting countertops...Joe preparing a gourmet dinner of Cheerios with freshly picked raspberries!

(Actually, the raspberries actually are definitely gourmet for us...)

Sweeping dustballs

This week has been a slow week of cleaning up a little bit, and a lot of rearranging.  The windows were scheduled to arrive as well as the dishwasher, stove, and microwave, so everything was pushed around in order to make room for the goodies.  There is only one open chair...my sweet $5 yellow chair from Hampden...which was put in the kitchen.  Joe and the dogs fight over it daily. amusing...hehe.  Little things have been done now such as the drywall up the stairs (no more bumpy moldings from our former unlicensed contractor), and the stairs to the basement received a few coats of stain.

 
     

1 down, 2 to go!

Month 2 has started!! This weekend (starting Sunday!), contractors came by to repoint the brick. They completely ripped out all the old mortar and will fill it in and clean up the surrounding brick so that we don't have any more crumbley brick.

Cabinets started getting built in the kitchen and that is moving along very quickly! Our new stove and dishwasher (will we ever use it?) is getting dropped off early next week but it's exciting to see an actual kitchen start coming back together! The cabinets look black but they are a really dark brown. Hopefully things keep moving along because it seems like it's starting to come together!

Taking shape..!

Finally things are moving away from Demo and reconstruction has picked up this week!! and I think I am finally up to "real time" with these photos! exciting.  Stairs to the basement were replaced with new boards and we have tons of tiles laid around the bathroom!! Ending of Month 1 and things are picking up! Although Mika is not transitioning as well (no surprise.), since we still find her asleep on the upstairs beds (even though they are covered with plastic)...and yes, she somehow moves the plastic to find a pillow.

21 Days

Stairs after carpet was ripped off!
Miraculous find - An antique playing card!
ignore what used to be a living room and check out the ripped windows
plastic...everywhere
close up of ripped out frame

Three weeks in, and our window frames throughout the entire house were ripped out...interesting little finds in those crevices.  Again, thanks to that non permit rebel contractor we had! Our place is a mess (so ignore if possible) and is in a constantly shifting state.  The stairs down to the basement which were formally covered with a fuzzy green (ew) carpet was ripped off and revealed really nice old wood underneath.  So nice, there was a playing card from 1904 stuck onto one of the steps still - 5 of spades I think.  Dusty old dirty stairs and some busted windows are added to the mix! Quite the adventure although, strangely enough it's great to come home and see what the new surprise is.  Hopefully the part is coming up where humpty dumpty is about to get put back together again...!  :)

14 days in...

Tiles were put down with grout! LOVE GROUT! and they started framing out the upstairs closet, and putting things on the walls and framings in the bathrooms! Sorry, no clue on what the "technical terms" for these things are. In the basement (yes, that frightening photo is our new living quarters), they have started putting official coverings in for the ducts since our original contractor never did things with permits! Hot dogs mixed with beans and mac and cheese are becoming a favorite since we have one pot. I feel as though even with my limited cooking capabilities that is still sinking to a new low. Luckily we have great friends to go play with nightly!!

Ending of the 1st week...

Though these pictures are a bit out of order (I have no clue how to blog)... Day 4 we had the wall in our bedroom knocked out (will become a lovely walk in closet!!), and Day 5, Joe no longer had to carry B or Mika across the planks, and a "floor" was put down! Who knew slabs of wood would make us so happy!!

Rippin' & Runnin'!

Kitchen floor ripped up!


Bathroom - sans toilet, vanity, shower/tub!
Demolition started the first week of July, and within Days 1, 2, & 3 the floors and walls of our old kitchen and bathroom were ripped apart. It was quite the archeological site, with all these crazy findings. In our kitchen we saw the exposed 100+ year old floor beams as well as gas lines that, back in the day, used to light all the lanterns in the house! In the upstairs bathroom, we found layers upon layers of old wall paper, the most recent being the vines and grapefruit colored flowers! It was neat, even with the now dusty "plastic wrapped" house!