DRIVE A BACKHOE!!! Oh my got that is so much fun! So they are digging for a French Drain around my house and breaking up concrete and making a new patio. Apparently this work is the talk of the neighborhood. I am told that people are stopping in their cars, a group stopped on the sidewalk to watch and chat, neighbors are leaning over their fences... "What is she doing? Is this a new driveway? What are you doing up there?" So my contractor tells me. Meanwhile, on a break from beating my old bathroom tile to death, I hop in the cab of the backhoe, (with permission and a quick lesson) and dig some dirt. It really is a good time. I'm happy!

Nearly done kitchen

Awaiting my countertops and a few light fixtures and we are going to call it a kitchen. Oh, need a garbage disposal and the faucet installed. What a transformation! We love this kitchen. Can't wait to actually use it.

Kitchen didnt stand a chance!

And pooof! The kitchen is gone.... OK, not poof, but the cabinets came down pretty much as easily as I had hoped. Again, Claire was pivotal to this process. I asked her if she wanted to "coax" the beadboard off the wall. She talked to it gently for a few seconds. No luck with that so she tried a hammer and wonder pry bar with much better results. This demolition is surprisingly fun and satisfying. I have the kitchen designers computer drawing stuck on the wall ..... just keeping my eyes on the prize.

Tear down a WALL!

"Tear down a wall" is on my blog list. Now, while demolishing a bathroom and kitchen isn't exactly what I had in mind, I'm gonna check this one off. See the photos and I think you may agree. The photo on the left is the "before". The one to the right is how it looks now. I found removing kitchen cabinets significantly easier and less painful than removing bathroom tile. I keep hitting my hand with a hammer trying to chip that tile off the wall. Dang!! Claire, could NOT have done this without you.

Soon to be dream house....

There she is. A 1925 English Tudor Revival. I closed last week. I have already worked with a number of new folks. Closing agent, 2 restoration architects, home inspector, kitchen designer, bathroom tile wizard. The architect of choice, Bob Baumbach, got out of his car and said, "Jan, you scored!". Lovely little house. I can't wait to move in. But first, I need to get the kitchen re-done. First drawn plan will be done for me to look at this week. Bathroom, hardwoods definitely need a re-do. I found some vintage light fixtures online to replace the updated ones the previous owners had installed. As luck would have it, I found the original living room light fixtures in a box in the garage so I cancelled the ones I had ordered. The chandelier looks a little dungeonesque for me, but I want to put the wall sconces up. Now that the snow has melted I can see what I actually bought. :-) It is a good solid little cottage by all accounts. We are getting to know each other now.

Dream House

I have been searching for a house that I love for 7 or 8 years. I'd look at home listings online a few times a year and have gone to see 13 houses over those years. I put "Find my dream home" on my birthday blog list last year. In the winter of 2010 I had put that search officially on hold. I wasn't finding what I wanted so I planned to give it a rest. After I learned that another important person in my life is following his dreams by moving to New York City I started to get how really important my home is to me. I do not have a dream of moving to a different city. That nudged me back into my home search. I expanded my search area, and got more clear on my 'must haves' and my deal breakers. Today a seller and I came to agree upon the right price and I have a house under contract. After living 17 years in a house that is 'fine' for us, but that I have never loved, I am moving. WHOA! I am excited and occasionally just a little overwhelmed. I did my homework and used the opinions and expertise of a few people I trust before I moved forward. The house inspection and closing are yet to happen, so I will reserve more details for later. I'll get back to you on the rest. It's a great house. And I am really happy.

UPDATE: inspection complete, now looking at getting the sellers to fix a few details before we close next month.