Back to writing

And it feels so good!

Yesterday, I went over some of the "broad stroke" changes that have happened in my life. Today's entry will be another one bringing my readers up to speed. (Are any of you still out there?) Even if I'm doing nothing more than shouting into the void, I'm going to try and keep doing it. Here goes.

As I've said, my husband and I are buying a house in Blanket, Texas. The house used to belong to my step-dad's cousin and was built in 1904. When we got it - there's no way to be really nice about this - the place was a mess. We spent the first month getting two rooms cleared out. Not functional or fully set up. Just getting the trash out, setting aside important paperwork, and getting things swept and clean. At one point, we hauled a literal ton of trash out to the local landfill. And only two items in that ton were furniture. When this happened, our king sized bed was still set up in the dining room - the only room with enough empty space to put it.

After we got the rooms set up to bare functionality we started feeling the struggle of being home owners. First, the plumbing went out. Joshua spent almost a month getting new lines run just to the bathroom. Then, we had to replace siding. It is so difficult to find even original looking siding when the design you need isn't made anymore. We had to have it specially ordered. All the while, we were still taking baby steps on getting the house in order. Clearing trash out of the yard, mowing til the mower broke, pulling old carpet from one of the bedrooms and peeling up the old tile in the kitchen.

The list of projects and work we have done goes on and on. We've been in the house for over a year and we finally have it in our names. As of right now, our remaining big projects are: running electricity to the attic and living room (the rest of the house has been successfully re-wired), painting the nursery, painting the dining room, painting the exterior, replacing two windows in the attic, getting the bathroom sink to work (this may never happen short of a full replacement), and removing a wall between the pantry and the living room. I'm sure there's something on that list I'm forgetting and that's without all the stuff that needs done outside.

All in all, I'm proud of the work we have done. We have a decent looking, hot in the summer and cold in the winter,  two bedroom house with an attic. Given time, we plan on adding a wrap-around porch to the front and possibly converting the attic into a master bedroom and a library/gaming room. Photos to come. Maybe. If I remember. For my next entry: a tradition about potatoes.