Thursday evening, when I last posted, I had a bit of a cough.
By Friday morning it had developed into a raspy cough, a heavy chest, runny nose, fever, chills, headache, body aches, and a couple less pleasant maladies.
Having been vaccinated for the seasonal flu, it is just assumed that I have H1N1.
I don't feel great today, but I don't feel worse than yesterday, which means I'm not still on the downward path. I just basically am ticked because I have a lot of work to do before vacation. And I can't put vacation on hold, because vacation this year is moving into Shell Cottage.
Did I mention I was supposed to go get vaccinated for H1N1 on Friday?
SPIT! DUCK! HAM! BLUBBER TRUCKER!
Showing posts with label Vacation Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation Home. Show all posts
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS SPIT
More Tales of the Home Inspection
Yesterday the inspector went to check the house out after the installation of new plumbing and the new hot water heater.
When he got there, the furnace was out. Again.
Thank Bob the temperature had only dropped to 47 degrees, so there was no damage to the plumbing, but the furnace is obviously a big problem.
Last night it looked like we would have to walk away from the house. This morning I was sort of resigned to it. This evening the owner is installing a new furnace and we are paying for half of it.
Shell Cottage will soon be ours. And it has new appliances, new windows, new plumbing, new heating, new floors, and is freshly painted. In 5 years we will put on a new roof, and the place will be so nice we won't know how to act.
Now I can turn my thoughts to varieties of climbing/mounding roses. I want to plant big mounds of roses on either side of the steps so when Myfanwe sits out on the porch in the morning, reading the paper and drinking her coffee, the scent will waft through the screens.
I feel like I have aged 20 years this month. I had no idea the angst that would accompany the search for and purchase of an hermitage. Please say a prayer that we make it through the closing on the 29th without heartbreak or heartache!
Yesterday the inspector went to check the house out after the installation of new plumbing and the new hot water heater.
When he got there, the furnace was out. Again.
Thank Bob the temperature had only dropped to 47 degrees, so there was no damage to the plumbing, but the furnace is obviously a big problem.
Last night it looked like we would have to walk away from the house. This morning I was sort of resigned to it. This evening the owner is installing a new furnace and we are paying for half of it.
Shell Cottage will soon be ours. And it has new appliances, new windows, new plumbing, new heating, new floors, and is freshly painted. In 5 years we will put on a new roof, and the place will be so nice we won't know how to act.
Now I can turn my thoughts to varieties of climbing/mounding roses. I want to plant big mounds of roses on either side of the steps so when Myfanwe sits out on the porch in the morning, reading the paper and drinking her coffee, the scent will waft through the screens.
I feel like I have aged 20 years this month. I had no idea the angst that would accompany the search for and purchase of an hermitage. Please say a prayer that we make it through the closing on the 29th without heartbreak or heartache!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Shell Cottage
Tales of the Home Inspection
The inspection didn't go exactly as planned.
As warm as the house looks, it was actually only 32 degrees on the first floor, and colder upstairs. The pilot light had, apparently, been blown out by the sustained 70 mph winds from the mistral two days earlier. To make a long story short, the entire house has been re-plumbed. The house also has a brand new water heater. We are thrilled, although also a little embarrassed that our good fortune comes at the expense of someone else. (Please note, though, that as soon as I save $1,500, I'm putting in a furnace without a pilot light so that this can't happen again!)
So -- the new pictures. (I didn't take as many as I might have, as it was REALLY cold!)
This is a bit of the kitchen -- we plan to put a kitchen cart or island here to hold the microwave and the coffeemaker. I love the framed chalkboard. If the owner were to leave it, I would not cry foul. The same goes for just about every piece of furniture in the house. The owner had a very, very good eye.
This is the living room. The corner on the right -- behind the sofa -- is where the gas stove will eventually go. I haven't decided if it will be centered between the window and the corner, or if it will be angled in the corner. I have time to decide that, though, as I will have to save for quite some time to pay for it. Norbert loves the chaise and seems rather sad that we would somehow let this slip out of our grasp!
This is the dining room, looking towards the living room. The door to Norbert's room can be seen on the right.
Norbert's room. The only color in the house that I am not completely over the moon about, but Norbert thinks it is the very best color ever chosen for a room and that any talk of glazing it or in any way muting it will be met with strong opposition.
This is the third bedroom. Myfanwe calls it The Loft, as it is open to the staircase. We plan to put a futon sofa in here, along with a big old steamer trunk, upon which will sit a small tv/dvd player. We won't have cable or a digital converter, so it will truly be just for videos. And the guest sheets and blankets and pillows can all reside in the trunk when not in use! I meant to buy some lavender this summer to make into sachets. Maybe I'll have to plant some and make my own. Lavender keeps away moths, doesn't it?
I really do love all of the white painted furniture. It is a fairly laborious process, but I expect we will become very adept at painting furniture in the next couple of years!
Please keep your fingers crossed and remember us in your prayers. Everything is going so smoothly -- the loan is in place, etc. -- but all three of us are frightened something will pop up to crush us. We close on the 29th. Two weeks from tomorrow. I don't know whow we will survive it!
We are going to spend New Years and my birthday at the Cottage. I can hardly wait!
The inspection didn't go exactly as planned.
As warm as the house looks, it was actually only 32 degrees on the first floor, and colder upstairs. The pilot light had, apparently, been blown out by the sustained 70 mph winds from the mistral two days earlier. To make a long story short, the entire house has been re-plumbed. The house also has a brand new water heater. We are thrilled, although also a little embarrassed that our good fortune comes at the expense of someone else. (Please note, though, that as soon as I save $1,500, I'm putting in a furnace without a pilot light so that this can't happen again!)
So -- the new pictures. (I didn't take as many as I might have, as it was REALLY cold!)
This is a bit of the kitchen -- we plan to put a kitchen cart or island here to hold the microwave and the coffeemaker. I love the framed chalkboard. If the owner were to leave it, I would not cry foul. The same goes for just about every piece of furniture in the house. The owner had a very, very good eye.
This is the living room. The corner on the right -- behind the sofa -- is where the gas stove will eventually go. I haven't decided if it will be centered between the window and the corner, or if it will be angled in the corner. I have time to decide that, though, as I will have to save for quite some time to pay for it. Norbert loves the chaise and seems rather sad that we would somehow let this slip out of our grasp!
This is the dining room, looking towards the living room. The door to Norbert's room can be seen on the right.
Norbert's room. The only color in the house that I am not completely over the moon about, but Norbert thinks it is the very best color ever chosen for a room and that any talk of glazing it or in any way muting it will be met with strong opposition.
This is the third bedroom. Myfanwe calls it The Loft, as it is open to the staircase. We plan to put a futon sofa in here, along with a big old steamer trunk, upon which will sit a small tv/dvd player. We won't have cable or a digital converter, so it will truly be just for videos. And the guest sheets and blankets and pillows can all reside in the trunk when not in use! I meant to buy some lavender this summer to make into sachets. Maybe I'll have to plant some and make my own. Lavender keeps away moths, doesn't it?
I really do love all of the white painted furniture. It is a fairly laborious process, but I expect we will become very adept at painting furniture in the next couple of years!
Please keep your fingers crossed and remember us in your prayers. Everything is going so smoothly -- the loan is in place, etc. -- but all three of us are frightened something will pop up to crush us. We close on the 29th. Two weeks from tomorrow. I don't know whow we will survive it!
We are going to spend New Years and my birthday at the Cottage. I can hardly wait!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
MORE NEWS!
OK. So we lost The Store in Watervliet.
Never let it be said that when the going got tough, I just crawled in bed, pulled the covers over my head and said, "It's too hard!"
This is our new home in Three Oaks, Michigan.
We saw it on Saturday. We mulled it over on Sunday. We made an offer yesterday. And it was accepted today. (And an hour after our contract was accepted another offer came in. Thank Bob we got ours in when we did!) We close on December 29th. (Record speed. My head is spinning a little.)
I already have plans in my head to dig up the raggedy shrubs in front and replace them with climbing roses. I will enjoy being able to cutmy own flowers to bring inside. And I love the soft, oppulent look of mounds of rose bush.
Three Oaks is a lovely community ninety minutes drive from Chicago. It is 5 miles from Lake Michigan, so the prices are not as steep as on the lake shore, but it is very popular with young, creative, artistic people. It is a town with a population of 1,700 which is able to support a professional theater, an art cinema, a silent film festival, and six art galleries. On Saturday evenings everyone packs a beverage and snacks, grabs their lawn chairs and walks to the park to hear music at the band shell.
Myfanwe really loves the style. It's growing on me. Although I expect I will end up having to learn how to paint furniture so that it fits with the shabby chic cottage decor.
Some day in the not so distant future I will take out all of the upper cabinets, patch the wall, and put up open shelving. The upper cabinets are -- I kid you not -- only 8.5 inches from the counter top. My coffeemaker won't fit on the counter. Neither will a microwave. Or a vase. Or a glass of milk. And I'm thinking of taking an occupational therapy class at the Lighthouse For The Blind before I chop anything on the counter, cuz I won't be able to see what I am doing.
Doesn't this look lovely!
So once again, the inspection is Friday. It's a pretty full day. I will drive to Michigan for the inspection. Meet with the insurance agent. Stop by my real estate agent's. Drop by the mortgage broker. Drop a load of stuff for the house at a friend's place to store until the 29th. And make it home in time to make dinner for the first night of Chanukah! But (ptew, ptew, ptew) I won't have to drive to Michigan again on Saturday!
The plan is still to ring in the New Year in the new home, enjoying the quiet, peaceful nature Harbor Country. I need to make a note to myself -- somewhere betwqeen now and the 29th I need to get up north and buy a mezuzah!
All country homes need a name. What name do you suggest? I think Norbert and Myfanwe would like something Harry Potter-ish -- The Burrow, maybe? It's not hobbitty enough to be Bag End.
KNITTING
I have been making slow but steady progress on the Cathedral Window. I am on row 22 of the last 49 rows before the edging. Pictures soon -- but I'll warn you right now, it looks exactly like a placenta right now. But when it is blocked, I think it will be beautiful.
I think a shabby chic cottage in Three Oaks is just SCREAMING for some hand knit doilies, don't you?
Never let it be said that when the going got tough, I just crawled in bed, pulled the covers over my head and said, "It's too hard!"
This is our new home in Three Oaks, Michigan.
We saw it on Saturday. We mulled it over on Sunday. We made an offer yesterday. And it was accepted today. (And an hour after our contract was accepted another offer came in. Thank Bob we got ours in when we did!) We close on December 29th. (Record speed. My head is spinning a little.)I already have plans in my head to dig up the raggedy shrubs in front and replace them with climbing roses. I will enjoy being able to cutmy own flowers to bring inside. And I love the soft, oppulent look of mounds of rose bush.
Three Oaks is a lovely community ninety minutes drive from Chicago. It is 5 miles from Lake Michigan, so the prices are not as steep as on the lake shore, but it is very popular with young, creative, artistic people. It is a town with a population of 1,700 which is able to support a professional theater, an art cinema, a silent film festival, and six art galleries. On Saturday evenings everyone packs a beverage and snacks, grabs their lawn chairs and walks to the park to hear music at the band shell.
Myfanwe really loves the style. It's growing on me. Although I expect I will end up having to learn how to paint furniture so that it fits with the shabby chic cottage decor.
Some day in the not so distant future I will take out all of the upper cabinets, patch the wall, and put up open shelving. The upper cabinets are -- I kid you not -- only 8.5 inches from the counter top. My coffeemaker won't fit on the counter. Neither will a microwave. Or a vase. Or a glass of milk. And I'm thinking of taking an occupational therapy class at the Lighthouse For The Blind before I chop anything on the counter, cuz I won't be able to see what I am doing.
Doesn't this look lovely!
So once again, the inspection is Friday. It's a pretty full day. I will drive to Michigan for the inspection. Meet with the insurance agent. Stop by my real estate agent's. Drop by the mortgage broker. Drop a load of stuff for the house at a friend's place to store until the 29th. And make it home in time to make dinner for the first night of Chanukah! But (ptew, ptew, ptew) I won't have to drive to Michigan again on Saturday!
The plan is still to ring in the New Year in the new home, enjoying the quiet, peaceful nature Harbor Country. I need to make a note to myself -- somewhere betwqeen now and the 29th I need to get up north and buy a mezuzah!
All country homes need a name. What name do you suggest? I think Norbert and Myfanwe would like something Harry Potter-ish -- The Burrow, maybe? It's not hobbitty enough to be Bag End.
KNITTING
I have been making slow but steady progress on the Cathedral Window. I am on row 22 of the last 49 rows before the edging. Pictures soon -- but I'll warn you right now, it looks exactly like a placenta right now. But when it is blocked, I think it will be beautiful.
I think a shabby chic cottage in Three Oaks is just SCREAMING for some hand knit doilies, don't you?
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