Hello Blog, it's been about a month since I've seen you. Durng my absence, I am excited to announce that we have officially moved into our 909 House and that despite several hiccups along the way (clogged sewage pipe, which led to frozen pipes and no water), we are gradually settling in and making the 909 House our home. It's so wonderful to spread out these days and have more than 900 sq. ft. for the 4 of us (including the cat) to move around in. Aslan thorough enjoys his freedom, and is hopefully on the road to his 2010 weight-loss program (stairs and the like). Caedmon couldn't be doing better either ... he now has the space to play a lot more independently and move around and this has thankfully resulted in a new 3-hour nap time (he only took 1.5- to 2-hour naps before) and also to very pleasant night sleeps. You know your child is getting good rest when he wakes up happy instead of crying and enjoys time in the crib before he calls out "Ma, Ma." What a huge blessing! Brad and I also enjoy the house ... we still have a slew of projects to finish and begin as time goes on, but it's just nice to be in the house and enjoy the fruits of our labors over the past 2 years.
We still don't have Interest yet, so my ability to share news frequently isn't there yet, but once we do, I'll be sure to post pictures and the like.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
It's Really Happening ...
We've been MIA on Hodgson Tales for a few weeks now, but we're back with good news! We're packing up our duplex as I write and we're planning to move into the 909 House tomorrow! (This is obviously dependent on the work that gets done today: Grouting the tile, final polyurethane coat on the floors, drywall patching and a final cleaning.) But everything is on schedule now, so we hope to bring back good news in a few days to let you know that we've successfully moved in! Or, whenever we have Internet again.
Please keep us in your prayers ... that we're able to get everything that needs to be done in good time and that the work crews that are in and out of the house will do the same. Pray for good weather tomorrow as we move.
Hope to bring good news on!
Please keep us in your prayers ... that we're able to get everything that needs to be done in good time and that the work crews that are in and out of the house will do the same. Pray for good weather tomorrow as we move.
Hope to bring good news on!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
New House Pictures
Here are the pictures that I promised yesterday:
Sanded Hardwoods
Upstairs Hall Bath Floor Tile & Wall Color
Master Bath Floor Tile, Shower & Wall Color
New Exterior Columns
(these are now primed white and will be white to match the trim)
Sanded Hardwoods
Upstairs Hall Bath Floor Tile & Wall Color
Master Bath Floor Tile, Shower & Wall Color
New Exterior Columns
(these are now primed white and will be white to match the trim)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Countdown Begins ...
I can't believe I'm saying this .... But I think it's about that time to begin counting down the days until we move into the 909 House!! While this means we have to pack our stuff up again, pick up boxes and a lot more stuff at Brad's old work warehouse (yes, if you didn't know, he has a new job ... he's now the director of stewardship at vintage21 church :), and actually move, this is an exciting time.
Our contractor was busy with a few other jobs the last 2 weeks and wasn't around too much, but now that those jobs have come to a close, he's back in full force and he's ready to knock out the punch list. This means that the trim guys were back yesterday and today finishing up interior and exterior trim, our front porch columns arrived (yippee ... they look fantastic), were installed and primed today, the flooring guys were back to continue sanding the hardwoods, the HVAC guys were back to work on piping that needs to be fixed for the inspection and the electrician came back to install lights and electrical boxes. Our painter will begin his first coat on the exterior trim this week (weather permitting) and will follow with the rest of the exterior. And the flooring guy will finish sanding this week and will return this weekend to stain the floors. Our new windows are set to arrive early next week and once they come in, we'll have them installed (will take about 2 days).
From there, we're still waiting on the kitchen and powder room countertops to be installed, along with the corresponding powder room vanity and toilet. We're having the upstairs vanities built, but those should come around pretty soon and then we can order the countertops for those pieces. The hall bathtub still needs to be installed ... it's been sitting at our contractor's house for over a month ... but once that's installed, the tile guys can come back and finish tiling the hall bathroom and the plumber can come back and install all of our plumbing fixtures that won't be installed with the kitchen or powder room countertops. And as everything begins to wrap up the cabinet guy will come back to do final touches on our kitchen and mud room cabinets and our painter will go through the house one last time to touch up.
It seems crazy that all of this can happen in 1.5 weeks, but it's amazing to see these guys work. There seems to be so much forward planning, but once it's time to get the work done, it gets done very quickly (and with good quality). So for now, please pray for good weather so that we can continue to work on the exterior of the house and for diligence and a concern for quality as the work crews come in and out of the house the next 1.5 weeks so that we not only make our inspection & CO deadline (Dec. 11), but so that we can rest assured that the work was done well and will last.
(I'll post new pictures tomorrow.)
Our contractor was busy with a few other jobs the last 2 weeks and wasn't around too much, but now that those jobs have come to a close, he's back in full force and he's ready to knock out the punch list. This means that the trim guys were back yesterday and today finishing up interior and exterior trim, our front porch columns arrived (yippee ... they look fantastic), were installed and primed today, the flooring guys were back to continue sanding the hardwoods, the HVAC guys were back to work on piping that needs to be fixed for the inspection and the electrician came back to install lights and electrical boxes. Our painter will begin his first coat on the exterior trim this week (weather permitting) and will follow with the rest of the exterior. And the flooring guy will finish sanding this week and will return this weekend to stain the floors. Our new windows are set to arrive early next week and once they come in, we'll have them installed (will take about 2 days).
From there, we're still waiting on the kitchen and powder room countertops to be installed, along with the corresponding powder room vanity and toilet. We're having the upstairs vanities built, but those should come around pretty soon and then we can order the countertops for those pieces. The hall bathtub still needs to be installed ... it's been sitting at our contractor's house for over a month ... but once that's installed, the tile guys can come back and finish tiling the hall bathroom and the plumber can come back and install all of our plumbing fixtures that won't be installed with the kitchen or powder room countertops. And as everything begins to wrap up the cabinet guy will come back to do final touches on our kitchen and mud room cabinets and our painter will go through the house one last time to touch up.
It seems crazy that all of this can happen in 1.5 weeks, but it's amazing to see these guys work. There seems to be so much forward planning, but once it's time to get the work done, it gets done very quickly (and with good quality). So for now, please pray for good weather so that we can continue to work on the exterior of the house and for diligence and a concern for quality as the work crews come in and out of the house the next 1.5 weeks so that we not only make our inspection & CO deadline (Dec. 11), but so that we can rest assured that the work was done well and will last.
(I'll post new pictures tomorrow.)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Men at Work
We were very blessed to have my brother and Brad's dad, uncle, and brother with us this weekend to help us with some much needed manual labor at the 909 House. The original plan was to prep the backyard (clear out remaining yard debris), mark the yard for the fence and dig all the holes for the fence posts. With that in mind, Brad went ahead and rented an auger and had it on stand-by for the moment that they finished prepping the backyard. Interestingly enough though, that moment never came.
After cutting up and piling 6 truck loads of yard debris (cut down vines, branches, trees, roots, etc.), driving most of them to the dump (don't ask where the other loads went), clearing out the 4-foot pile of leaves in the back, right-hand side of the yard (a result of many years of leaf blowing from the church behind us), mulching those leaves down with our lawn mower and then scattering them throughout the yard and blowing the remaining leaves to the side of the yard to determine the amount of concrete that was really in our backyard, there just wasn't enough time to start up that auger. As sad as that realization is, it might actually be a blessing in disguise. After clearing out all of the debris and realizing how much concrete really was in the backyard (you may remember that the previous owners used the house as a beauty salon and they paved over a good portion of the backyard to create a parking lot for their customers), the guys discovered that it's going to take a good deal more work and money to dig up the concrete that goes all the way to our property line ... this is exactly where we were planning to put the fence ... and well, you can't use the auger to drill holes through the concrete. So ... needless to say, we're investigating other fencing options that may work around the concrete, or 'through' the concrete, and that may turn out to be a bit cheaper. (Not too bad.)
And plus, you should see our backyard. I'm sure it hasn't looked this good in 15 or 20 years! Thanks guys! We still have a long way to go: Some concrete removal, tilling, new soil and topsoil (if we want to even hope for grass) and plenty of hours of general landscaping. I enjoy that stuff, so that will be something we can look forward to for many years (?) to come. (Hopefully not that long, but I don't want to underestimate it.)
Here are some of the BEFORE pictures of the yard after my mom and I initially cut down a good deal of the vines, bushes and trees that covered the fence line:
Here's proof of the 'fruit of the guys' labor':
(You'll notice a gradual decrease of yard debris as the weekend went on.)
In addition to the landscaping work that we (the guys) did this weekend, the floor guy was in on Saturday and sanded the majority of the floors. What a difference! Despite their age, I think they're going to really look beautiful! They're going to finish up around the edges tomorrow and then we'll have to pick our stain and they'll finish them up by the end of the week. How exciting
After cutting up and piling 6 truck loads of yard debris (cut down vines, branches, trees, roots, etc.), driving most of them to the dump (don't ask where the other loads went), clearing out the 4-foot pile of leaves in the back, right-hand side of the yard (a result of many years of leaf blowing from the church behind us), mulching those leaves down with our lawn mower and then scattering them throughout the yard and blowing the remaining leaves to the side of the yard to determine the amount of concrete that was really in our backyard, there just wasn't enough time to start up that auger. As sad as that realization is, it might actually be a blessing in disguise. After clearing out all of the debris and realizing how much concrete really was in the backyard (you may remember that the previous owners used the house as a beauty salon and they paved over a good portion of the backyard to create a parking lot for their customers), the guys discovered that it's going to take a good deal more work and money to dig up the concrete that goes all the way to our property line ... this is exactly where we were planning to put the fence ... and well, you can't use the auger to drill holes through the concrete. So ... needless to say, we're investigating other fencing options that may work around the concrete, or 'through' the concrete, and that may turn out to be a bit cheaper. (Not too bad.)
And plus, you should see our backyard. I'm sure it hasn't looked this good in 15 or 20 years! Thanks guys! We still have a long way to go: Some concrete removal, tilling, new soil and topsoil (if we want to even hope for grass) and plenty of hours of general landscaping. I enjoy that stuff, so that will be something we can look forward to for many years (?) to come. (Hopefully not that long, but I don't want to underestimate it.)
Here are some of the BEFORE pictures of the yard after my mom and I initially cut down a good deal of the vines, bushes and trees that covered the fence line:
Here's proof of the 'fruit of the guys' labor':
(You'll notice a gradual decrease of yard debris as the weekend went on.)
In addition to the landscaping work that we (the guys) did this weekend, the floor guy was in on Saturday and sanded the majority of the floors. What a difference! Despite their age, I think they're going to really look beautiful! They're going to finish up around the edges tomorrow and then we'll have to pick our stain and they'll finish them up by the end of the week. How exciting
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bathroom Tile is In
This isn't really "new" news ... the bathroom floor tile was actually laid last weekend, but since I hadn't written an update about it, I thought I'd clue you in. It's amazing what a difficult task it was to choose what we wanted. There's only thousands and thousands of choices out there and to narrow it down and actual pick something was a feat all on it's own. Plus, unlike choosing paint colors, if you mess up and don't like what you have, it's not that easy to pull up the tile, choose something different and redo the entire project. But thanks to Brad's sanity and desire for simplicity and Lauren's help to verify that I wasn't nuts, the tile looks awesome and coordinates sooo well with the paint colors ... yay!
Here's a sneak peek ... but these pictures really don't do the final product justice.
This blue/green/white mosaic glass tile is now the flooring for our upstairs hall bathroom. This tile coordinates beautifully with the Sea Salt colored walls (a gray w/ a hint of light green) and the soon-to-be installed white subway tiles along the wall of the soon-to-be installed soaking tub.
Next, below the blue/green/white mosaic glass tile, we have the white, oak and gray mosaic glass tile that's now on the floor of our master bathroom. I was a little unsure how this choice would turn out, but wow ... I'm thoroughly impressed. The coloring is a little more sporadic than the blue/green/white tile and so there are larger expanses of white and sporadic oak and gray pieces.This tile also coordinates well with the white subway tile that is already installed on our stand-up shower wall and the 2x2 white tile that's on the shower floor. The walls in our bathroom are a blue/gray and really look nice and crisp with this tile.
I'm so excited that the glass mosaic tile has worked out so well. I've liked it for a while and thought it would look great in a bathroom, but originally thought that it was too expensive for us to do. But when Brad realized how much I liked the look of this material, he brought up the idea that we could just do the floor or a smaller area in that tile, and the reality of using it seemed a lot more manageable ... and he was right! Thanks Brad!
Here's a sneak peek ... but these pictures really don't do the final product justice.
This blue/green/white mosaic glass tile is now the flooring for our upstairs hall bathroom. This tile coordinates beautifully with the Sea Salt colored walls (a gray w/ a hint of light green) and the soon-to-be installed white subway tiles along the wall of the soon-to-be installed soaking tub.Next, below the blue/green/white mosaic glass tile, we have the white, oak and gray mosaic glass tile that's now on the floor of our master bathroom. I was a little unsure how this choice would turn out, but wow ... I'm thoroughly impressed. The coloring is a little more sporadic than the blue/green/white tile and so there are larger expanses of white and sporadic oak and gray pieces.This tile also coordinates well with the white subway tile that is already installed on our stand-up shower wall and the 2x2 white tile that's on the shower floor. The walls in our bathroom are a blue/gray and really look nice and crisp with this tile.
I'm so excited that the glass mosaic tile has worked out so well. I've liked it for a while and thought it would look great in a bathroom, but originally thought that it was too expensive for us to do. But when Brad realized how much I liked the look of this material, he brought up the idea that we could just do the floor or a smaller area in that tile, and the reality of using it seemed a lot more manageable ... and he was right! Thanks Brad!
Friday, November 13, 2009
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