Starting to Feel Like Home

This will be a very quick post. I was just up making a cup of tea and it hit me, the house is starting to feel like our home. It hasn't really felt like a home until just a little while ago. I don't know if it's that some important and time consuming jobs are getting done or if it's because we're starting to unpack some of our boxes but it's beginning to feel like a home.

It has taken a very long time, just about 3 months, but I know that we made the right decision to move and make this place our own. It's nice to sit at a kitchen table without papers and tools around it. Having dinner tonight was calming and relaxing. We even got to have friends over for supper last night. I've cooked in my semi-finished kitchen every night last week and I can't wait to start baking again. Progress is being made and we're starting to see the results. See I told you it was going to be a short post. Have a great week if I don't see you before next weekend. 

April 

Where did we start?

When we got the keys on September Long Weekend we instantly started cutting down weeds with the chain saw. Yes, you read that correctly. We had to cut them with a chain saw. They were so thick and tall, as tall as a yield sign to be honest, we couldn't use the whipper snipper because the thickness of the trunk was breaking the plastic snipping part. We cut the lawn and started to tear down the railing on the porch. It was in really bad shape.
The first painting project I embarked on was to remove the hideous rust colour on the front door and garden doors at the back. We installed new door handles and locks so the old tenant couldn't get in.

For now, we had to match the door colour to the siding colour. We'll replace the siding in a couple of years so for now this will have to do. After painting, I noticed that I hadn't done a very good job. If you look closely you can see my roller stroke at the bottom of the window. I'll redo it in the Spring time. I've since become a much better painter. You get that way after painting a whole house.

 I'm still not sure about painting the white trim around the window frame. For now it's staying the way it is. Our door handle comes from Home Depot. Here they are:

Vendani door handles

Tavaris Handle and lock

When I go to repaint the door in the spring. I'll follow these instructions. Or these, Blissfully Ever After has a great post about how to paint doors like a pro. Check it out to find out more. 

The front porch was also painted but I'll save that post for another day. 

Merry Christmas and enjoy the day with your families and friends.  

Why??

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about why we decided to move from our house which was a lovely house into this place which needed so much work. I am not sure myself but I can't really turn back now.

New house

Old house

I guess one of the main reasons was to move to a neighbourhood where everyone took care of their homes. The village is a great neighbourhood, in fact, many people in Grande Prairie comment, "Oh the Village is so nice!" Please don't get me wrong, I loved the old neighbourhood. My friends were there, we had terrific neighbours who watched out for our house and even watched out for us. Since building our house in 2005 the neighbourhood changed quite a bit and families that were once there moved away. It was only in the last year or so where more kids were moving back in. I love seeing kids riding their bikes, jumping over home made ramps, playing street hockey or just walking or riding their bikes. I loved walking Maxx and Phoenix and stopping to say hello to those mowing their lawn or cleaning the outside of their house. It was a place where I knew many of the neighbours. The neighbourhood has changed and maybe it was us who changed. We had become less tolerante of the big trucks and the young kids who decide a Wednesday night party is a good idea.

The house we initially build was a by-level (walk in the front door and you either go up or down stairs). I LOVED THIS HOUSE because we built it together. It was our very first place together. There were a lot of sweat and tears shed here. We have wonderful memories of building and making it our own. It was the first house that was ours. The one problem with it was that it wasn't a bungalow. We had wanted to build a bungalow from the start and we were talked about of it. :( We've often commented about how the only thing wrong with the house was that it wasn't a bungalow. Other than that it was fine. We'd made special changes to what is called a 'spec house'. The house eventually became too small or perhaps my husband just needed to be better about throwing stuff away or getting rid of it. I think this move helped to sulidify that because there was  a lot to move and I keep hearing how he is going to weed through the tools and junk in the garage. I'll be doing the same in this house but not until we can actually move into it.

The other reason we moved was to pay less taxes. Our yearly taxes in Royal Oaks were $3800.00 for a corner, yes, you read that correctly. Here in the village, our taxes will be about $2400.00 for a corner lot with WAY MORE real estate. It's a much quieter neighbourhood and I don't have my husband complaining about the noise the neighbours make with their big jacked up trucks with heavy mufflers.
We also moved because a bungalow was better for our dogs. There is only one set of stairs and we are not stepping over cut boxes made into gates to go up and down the stairs to bedrooms or the front door. Everything is on one level or the basement. This is a feature we love.
We both saw potential in the house and that's what we're working on now. Well I hope this helps to clarify our reasons for the move. I know there are way more reasons and some days I'm wondering why we did it but today, we've worked hard finishing laying our sub floor so the hardwood can go down and I'm feeling like we're getting some place. Tomorrow I may feel differently but we'll see.