Holy CRAP I'm exhausted...

[fudge stripe cookays]

For those of you who haven't heard, I just got a job in Milwaukee! I will be moving up ahead of reprehensor so he can sell our house. Fortunately, we'd been planning on moving for awhile, so started in earnest back in December fixing the house up.

I think we have painted EVERY SINGLE THING in this house at least once (sometimes twice). Since I quit my job at the end of July, every day has been a full day of painting, straightening, packing, arranging, staging, and making pretty.

Because I knew that the only thing people would remember would be the eye-opening blue paint, the Shakespeare bathroom is no more. I still have the prints, but I made it very generic-- painted it a lighter gold on top, darker on bottom, and have a white chair rail and baseboards with white "spa-like" towels that all the HGTV shows are preaching right now. It had to be done. {{{{sigh}}}}

Today, I taped both sides of a French door, primed, and put on 2 coats of paint. Tomorrow is going to be an outdoor day...cleaning out beds and planting some pretty stuff...putting in red mulch and flowers.

Wish me luck. :hi:
fsc

[NMDemDist2]

1. been there, done that

I feel your pain.

hope you get a fast sale and top dollar!

:hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Thanks!

How long have you guys been in your new place now? I remember when you were fixing up.

This is so scary-- the wierdest economy, and the worst for housing in ages, and I'm a nervous wreck. reprehensor and I spent the whole first year of our relationship apart. I'm not eager to repeat it.

[NMDemDist2]

7. it's been over a year

we went into escrow the Tuesday after Memorial Day 2006

yes, it's a whole different world now....

[fudge stripe cookays]

10. You made it just in time! n/t

[Longhorn]

3. Texas will miss y'all!

But I hope you feel better in a cooler climate. Good luck with the move! :hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. Thanks!

Yeah...I"ve been really miserable the last few months. I'm probably one of the few people around who wants to dance naked outside when it hits 30 degrees now!

There's lotsa neat DUers in Milwaukee too. But I'm going to miss everyone!

[Longhorn]

5. Actually, I'm one of those people, too,

and I don't have near the excuse that you do (though with menopause creeping up on me, maybe I DO have a good excuse! ;)) I'm sure you'll help convince people that not all Texans are like the wannebe, Bush!

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. Already have!

My landlord was thrilled to find out she was renting to another liberal (from Texas yet!) We bonded when I saw her bumper stickers. I can't wait to vote FOR Feingold instead of voting AGAINST Cornyn and Helmet Head!

:D

[TygrBright]

8. Console yourself with the reflection that every erg of effort WILL pay off...

...in the form of a faster sale and/or a higher price, even if it's not as fast or as good a price as you might have been able to get a year or two ago.

And in a buyer's market such effort is even MORE necessary.

Sorry about the Shakespeare bath, though. That was very cool, I loved the pics. Still, depending on where you are in MI, you can get a lot of house for the $ when you finally do buy, and now you can start your file folder or portfolio of cool ideas for the NEXT house!

encouragingly,
Bright

[fudge stripe cookays]

9. I know!

Fortunately, we underbought.

And our neighborhood has held its value remarkably well. I spoke to a realtor who showed up at our yard sale, and she still thinks we can do OK. Plus, we've made LOTS of improvements that count (new roof, renovated master bath, kitchen is all painted and fancy compared to the way it looked when we moved in).

I want to buy new white appliances to put in the kitchen, but we'll see if our budget holds. We're also replacing the old carpet with pretty new fake Pergo through most of the house (except the bedrooms).

Correction....not MI, WI! Big difference! Being in WI means I can finish my book! :D

[TygrBright]

11. ohhhhh, WI is even BETTER!!

There are wonderful places there. Take some weekend days and make expeditions in the car, just drive around and look. Many friendly and convenient small towns, smaller cities, etc. Fabulous fishing. First thing you'll notice when you hit the road is that outside the city, every single rural or semi-rural roadside business is "(Main business) and Cheese Shop." Kid you not. Insurance Agency and Cheese Shop. Bait Store and Cheese Shop. Dry Cleaner and Cheese Shop. Gas Station and Cheese Shop.

I'm not making this up.

Also, WI has some of THE best Giant Fiberglass Roadside Animals in the nation.

Enjoy!

nostalgically,
Bright

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Yep, I love it there.

Have made three trips the last few years, and absolutely know that I was raised in the wrong place. I'm a Badger at Heart.

My dad's family all came from there-- Beloit, Clinton, and New Holstein mostly. So I feel like I'm going BACK, even though I've never lived there.

People I talk to think I'm a native, believe it or not. I'm always told I don't sound like I'm Texan, and my in-laws are from Alberta, so I've picked up some of reprehensor's accent. I can fit in just fine.

Go broors!
fsc :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Okay ... I **gotta** ask ........

..... what is 'fake Pergo'???

Pergo is fake wood. I get that. But fake Pergo? :)

[fudge stripe cookays]

14. Oh Stinky, you tax me.

You know....the CHEAP stuff. We're gonna see what we can get at Lumber Liquidators. Pergo too much $.

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Pergo .... it ain't all that.

When we redid our kitchen, we used a product called Allock. It was, we were told, the first glueless laminate. It was also considerably different from Pergo. The most significant difference is that it carried a 25 year water damage guarantee and was recommended for use in all wet areas, including bathrooms.

They later came out with a cheap version to compete head to head with Pergo, but for less money.

Since then, Pergo has become, for all intents and purposes, Home Depot's house brand. We've found many competing products, for far less money, in lots of places. Costco has reasonable line, but lacks the trim pieces you need to finish the job. Even our local flooring store has about 10 different manufacturers, with products at every price point.

Long story short ..... Pergo was not the first, is not the best, and is far from the cheapest.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. See? Just my point.

Seems like it's just a lot more money for what we could be getting from a different brand. But when I talk to many people, I say "laminate floor" and they say "hmmm?"

So then I say "fake Pergo" and they nod and all becomes clear to them! Them's that ain't HGTV mavens like myself don't understand.

But I knew you would. Sorta. :D

[fudge stripe cookays]

17. Well, didn't make it outside yesterday much...

But I did finish the outside half of the back French door. It looks FABULOUS! And we've had a reallly ugly screen door on over it for a long time. It's outlived its usefulness, so off it came. I unscrewed all the screws mahself!

DU's own LiberalUprising (who also retiled our master bath) is coming to replace all our rotten wood outside so we can repaint, and the door trim from there needs some help.

I also painted the front door (first coat), finished the trim in the guest bath, and put the first coat of paint on the door. You guys won't believe what I've changed the Shakespeare bath into.

I also cleaned out the garage for my new baby that we just bought Friday evening, a 2006 Honda Element.

Today is a shopping day. To IKEA for an occasional chair and a piece of art for the bedroom wall, to Bed Bath and Beyond for a new shower curtain, and to Northaven Gardens for a bazillion plants for curb appeal. I need to get a bunch of little variegated thyme plants for a very narrow walkway space, and a bunch of stuff for planters all around the house.

It's gonna be a busy day once again. I'm stocking up on caffeine right now!

[BlackVelvet04]

18. You can probably get bamboo floors for about the same price

as laminate. check lumber liquidators.

How are the projects going?

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. We checked.

Unfortunately, the bamboo was more expensive, even at LL, which is where we got ours. But that would have been my preference-- it would have been renewable. But the stuff we got was only 78 cents a square foot (maple).

The guys started on it while I was in Denver last weekend on one of my genealogy trips. But it took them longer to begin laying because they had to demolish the ceramic tile in the kitchen first. I thought about keeping the tile, but it had lots of nicks taken out of it, the grout was yellow and discolored, and I have always liked the look of Pergo in kitchen spaces.

It's going to look GORGEOUS, and I'm never going to get to live in the finished product! :cry:

But I have told reprehensor that he has to take lots of pix so I can see how it turns out.

The news from our realtor the other day was amazing. She still thinks we can get way more than what I expected when we do finally list it, so I have my fingers crossed!