It's been awhile

We were chugging right along on the house until we got an unexpected surprise. We are expecting Jackson Lewis to join us in December! While we are absolutely thrilled about the edition to our family, we were not exactly planning for him. Our goal was to get all rooms of the house livable before we got pregnant. You would think that things would have started moving faster, but the news had the opposite effect. Working full time, I have little energy to do much when I get home. Mark has been working extra hours in anticipation for the little one. There has been some progress and I will update, but I just wanted to share our exciting news!

Miles Garden Challenge Round One

Brianna (12 year old step daughter) joined my team and helped me plant the seeds to kick off the challenge on Sunday. We planted tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and a hot pepper mix. Mark says it’s not fair I have an extra team member, but he’s now spent $42 to my $9 and still hasn’t planted anything yet. She chose to work with me, saying daddy’s way is interesting, but too complicated to be fun. For those of you that haven’t read the previous challenge… Mark is trying to do a hydroponics set up, while I’m doing a tradition soil method of growing.

Traditional team (girls)

Hydroponics (note all they seeds are still in the packages, he says we needed a headstart to have a chance)

Old wood floor.

Original? I'm not sure, though it does look like it's been around for 116 years. I'm trying to figure out what kind of wood it is and how we can refinish it. We still have a ton of plastering, stripping and painting to do first. However, I would like to know what we are going to need to do, and what kind of results to expect. If someone can "name that wood" it would be greatly appreciated.

Best home security system ever.

She loves long walks off the leash, swimming in the lake, tormenting her feline brother, having her belly rubbed, anything you are eating, and barking her head off at strangers. We adopted her a year and a half ago from Lollypop Farms and she has been the light of our lives ever since. She is absolutely spoiled rotten and knows it. I really just wanted to post this picture that I love of her. So our favorite home security system is…. Miss Bella Boo Miles!

Bathroom decisions.

Well I finally made some. No tile board and no sconces. I just can’t fall in love with the tile board idea. We will put up drywall and be done with it. Maybe put in some nice molding and put a nice frame around the window. I’m sick of having to run up the stairs to pee. I want my downstairs toilet back! The sconce thing, well I thought I liked the way it looked until all the sconces I like are out of my price range. There are many other things I would rather spend the money on. The bottom line is that the overhead light and the window supply more than adequate light for the tiny room. I guess I could always hang candleholder sconces on either side of the mirror if I really want the look. Mark is happy because he can finish the room without rewiring it.
I guess that is our only big news in the past few days. I’m fighting with allergies and I’ve just been miserable. I have yet to even start my seeds for the garden challenge. Maybe I will work on that tonight. I did end up spending $9 on 3 trays with little greenhouse vented lids to start the seeds in. I figured if Mark spend $25 on hydroponics stuff, I could certainly spend $9 on mine.

Pretty in Pink

For my garden challenge I’m going to have to figure out how to use a power drill and maybe a saw. Until this point, other than the sander, I’ve pretty much stayed away from all power tools. Don’t get me wrong; I think chicks with tools are hot. I’ve just been too scared to try it myself considering my graceful record of bumping into walls, falling down stairs, and burning myself. Maybe if I can channel Paige Hemmis I will be ok. Anyone looking to get me a gift, I could use a pink tool belt, preferably in canvas.

On a side note, the dryer is fixed! It was just a belt and I only got out of doing laundry for one day.

It happens in threes.

I really hate that saying. I hope it doesn’t leave me with negative vibes causing something disastrous to happen. So far we have the fact that we won’t be getting our CO this week due to the fact that there is no way we can do the north gutters ourselves. Mark did finish the west side today, but there is just no way to get the north side up due to the slope of the front porch. We may even have to ~gasp~ hire someone to do it. Two, the clothes dryer broke. I’m hoping it’s just a belt, but since Mark was up on a ladder most of the day and many parts places are closed, we decided to hold off on finding out today. Of course, I usually do most of the laundry on Sunday, and dragged several washed loads to the Laundromat to dry. On the plus side, I did run into an old friend I had lost contact with and it turns out she just moved a few blocks from me. ~Deep breaths~ there won’t be a third because it is silly to think that bad things happen in threes. Right?

Shades of Green

Well folks, I think we have finally decided on a color for the living room. We bought a silvery-blue color for the dining room a few months ago; sadly it still sits on the floor. A final decision on the color for the living room gets us one step closer to refinishing the floors and maybe actually moving into the lower half of the house. The living room is rather long and narrow, with not much natural light. There is one large window at the front end, then two regular windows and a high windows at the other. I’m scared to go too dark with a color, due to the lighting factor, but I’m sick of white and beige. I want something to compliment the fireplace, and any wood that I get around to refinishing. I think green is the way to go. Now I just need to narrow down a shade and figure out what to do with the trim. I thinking some sort of sage with a hint of army green and a twist of olive maybe? I keep playing with the colors online, but they turn up show much lighter and brighter when I plug them into a room. I do not want pastel, grass, apple, teal or forest green. I think before the final decision I may have to try a few samples on the wall. Does anyone one have any shade suggestions?

Living Room

Miles Garden Challenge 2006

Tomatoes with clay pot
Originally uploaded by Spamily.

I found this photo browsing flickr and it inspired me to post this.

It all started as we were once again spending our Friday night in Home Depot. We were walking buy the seed display and I was looking at the basil seeds. During our last grocery trip, I didn’t buy basil, though I wanted it because it was so sickly and gross looking. I asked Mark if we should try to grow some, and he got the garden “bug”. We haven’t had the greatest luck with growing vegetables in the past. Between the dog, stray cats, and squirrels, plants just don’t last too long out there. We both starting up a few things we thought we each wanted to try. Before you know it, the Miles Garden Challenge had begun. We figured if we made it a little competitive, it would keep us on our toes. In my corner, I have basil, cilantro, hot pepper mix, and tomatoes. My approach is going to be starting the seeds inside, since there is still snow on the ground. I may even use a power tool or two to construct a sort of greenhouse. I plan on doing this next to the window in the old upstairs kitchen. The pets don’t go in there much, we don’t use the room for much of anything else, and it is relatively warm. Mark has chosen bell peppers, carrots, oregano, and eggplant. He was most likely take a much more complicated, possibly hydroponics, he is sketching as I type route. So far there are only two rules, you can’t sabotage the other person’s plants, and you can’t spend a bunch of money. We haven’t defined how much money can be spent, but we are both pretty good at recycling and reusing things. Now all we need to decide is what the winner gets, and start planting.

Certificate of Occupancy

We had another inspection today and I am happy to say the inside is now habitable according to the city of Rochester! We still need to finish the gutter work, but the inspector said just to give her a call and she would come out and look. The inside is done! She was concerned about the front porch needing paint, but that she was not going to violate us for it. Now I have a whole day off work and need to find something productive to do with myself. Mark says I should paint the porch...haha.