I Have a Plan

I went to a home improvement store today and spoke with someone in the gardening department about the sand spurs.

• First, I have to kill them with a spray plant killer. 
• I'll also need to put something at the edge of the lawn to keep the sand from pouring out into the street. 
• Then, it will be spring (March, probably) before I can replant something. I'll need to have my plan finalized by then. I'll start posting some pictures of yards and plants that I like soon.

Getting Around to the Yard

I decided to do xeriscaping on the yard. Right now it looks just awful! It's full of sand spurs and the sand of the yard is flowing over the sidewalk. On the positive side, I hired someone to do some trimming of the trees in the front, but now they are piled in a huge pile at the curb. Yay!

Well, it's almost Christmas and I have more to do on that, but over the next few days, I'm going to so a bit with that yard:

• Use the lawnmower to cut it.
• Rake up sticks and such.
• Take paint cans to toxic wasted place.
• Visit county extension office for advice on what to do with sand spurs.

I'd like to put some steps in the yard and make it a bit terraced.

Our Swimming Pool

For the first time in our lives, we have our own "real" swimming pool. We're still need to refinish and furnish the deck/patio/garden area, but we've resurfaced the pool and are enjoying it immensely! As you can see in this video.
:)

New Pool from Kerry Marquis on Vimeo.

Kitchen Remodel

School has been out for two weeks and where did the time go? I've been working on the house, actually cooking meals and even doing a little work outside. I've also been reading some fiction books. I think I had only read about 2 fiction books in the last 2 years. How luxurious!

Anyway, sisters (and Mom, if you can get to it), I have been continuing my remodeling at a slow pace. Here's a little video that I did on the work I did to get my kitchen in shape.

: )

Inexpensive Kitchen Remodel from Kerry Marquis on Vimeo.

Two Months Later . . .

Well, we are living in our "new to us" home now! Yay! We moved in on April 1 while work was still being done on it. And, guess what! Work is still being done on it. All walls have been painted a neutral color, ceilings have been painted light blue. 

Needing to be done indoors:

 

• Kitchen Cabinets
  -- Finish painting
  -- Wall paper applied to framed areas of doors
  -- Doors rehung on cabinets
  -- Knobs put on
  -- Small bar section built and stools added.
• Furniture
  -- Couch fitted slipcover made (maybe the fabric here?)
  -- Paint table and chairs, buffet, desks, Emma's furniture
  -- Arrange furniture and hang pictures
• Window Coverings
  -- Bamboo blinds? Make curtains?

Needing to be done outdoors:

• Sprinker System fixed
• Backyard
  -- Pool deck painted/finished
  -- Back flower bed planted
  -- Ground cover planted around screened area
  -- Raking and clearing done
  -- Lemon trees fertilized
  -- Back plantings done
  -- Drainage re-dug, etc
• Front Yard
  -- 3 flower beds planted
  -- Small retaining wall at sidewalk built
  -- Topsoil added
  -- Grass re-seeded

Working on House

The latest update:
After closing on the house, we had electrical updates done, the AC replaced and here you can see the kitchen being worked on. The ceiling is getting sheet-rocked.

 These are cabinet doors being painted. I couldn't afford to re-do the kitchen, so . . . I'm painting it.

 

The floors are being polished now. We move in soon! Yay!!

Closing on the House

I waited a few weeks before I felt I could post about the closing on the house. What an amazing near fiasco! I'll not mention any names, but my mortgage broker made so many mistakes that I came very close to not closing! Just to name a few, the broker checked my credit so many times that my credit score dropped to 3 points below what the mortgage company we were using would accept. Then they denied that they had done so. I had the facts of dates and times when they had checked it from the credit companies, both in writing and from discussing what had happened on the phone with a representative. This resulted in a months long delay while another mortgage company was found.

Then, as far as I could tell, not a lot of attention was put on my account. I wanted to close in December 2010 and I had provided all of the documentation that had been requested in early November. Then various other requests would trickle in, some being requests for the same items that I had provided earlier. I constantly got stories of how it was the mortgage bank's fault.

I wound up having to pay upfront for an appraisal for homeowner's insurance, for 2 FHA inspections (a second one because the broker didn't bother to tell me that I needed to get electric and water turned on!), for the property survey and of course deposits on utilities, which turned out to be over $600!

Many other little stories unfolded as to why there was a delay. I was calling the brokers every other day. Finally, I started calling every day, then, finally, a closing date was scheduled for the final days of February.

I took the day off for the closing because I was told we would close early in the day. It was delayed at least 3 times. Finally, I was given the closing costs. The were over $500 more than my good faith estimate AND THE BROKER WANTED AN ADDITIONAL CHECK OF $2400 MADE OUT TO THEM Unbelievable!! I freaked.

I had been in control of myself and very cordial throughout the many months of waiting, however, when I heard this, I began to yell that I did not have it and that we could just forget the whole thing. I was sick of the whole mess anyway and they could just drop it. I would just call it a "learning experience." They tried to calm me down and tell me that I would close on the house anyway. I became DEAD calm and said that if I had to come up with that money, I would definitely NOT close and that was the end of it. Then the broker came off of it that the "bank wasn't paying them" and he thought that I would "be a human being and pay them something." Stunned, I certainly was. Then he said for me to just forget it and just pay my closing. I did. What a story to tell the grandchildren.