tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50911205143802119632024-03-12T19:24:00.940-05:00From The Burbs: House & HomeA journey through life and home restorationMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-69768205075650600582009-05-26T13:57:00.001-05:002009-05-26T13:57:51.863-05:00Gettin’ dirtySince the rest of my yard is already torn up due to the hubby’s desire to add a new water line and a sprinkler system and because we have had to rip out part of the concrete patio, we have decided to go ahead and rip the rest of it out as well…it was rather awkward anyway. However, that decision has left us without a place to put a table and chairs and since we love to be outdoors during the Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-87550664942873646292009-04-23T13:59:00.001-05:002009-04-23T13:59:05.955-05:00Diggin’ itThe perks of being married to a plumber whose dad owns a backhoe: That’s right, now that the weather is nice we can come out of hibernation and start working on the house again. We left off last fall with the beginnings of breaking away concrete for a new water line. Yesterday and today, we (by we, I actually mean the hubby, his cousin and his uncle) have been digging the trench for said water Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-84085694213752221462009-03-10T14:03:00.001-05:002009-03-10T14:09:32.207-05:00What we’ve been up toWow! It has been forever since I have updated this blog. It seems like when the weather got cold we just stopped all home renovations and went into hibernation…which in all reality, is partially true. We did get the rest of the random overhang pulled down (excuse the mass chaos going on with wires and outdoor furniture); But we still have yet to decide what to do with the exposed rafter ends Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-36902598191130798332008-10-27T15:33:00.005-05:002008-10-27T16:31:25.854-05:00Now what?!We began taking down the add-on overhang that was to serve as a covered patio for previous owners. It was unattractive, leaking, and ultimately falling down anyway. I really thought this would be a fairly simple project (why? - I don't know...nothing about this house has been "simple" yet). Excuse the photo. This was taken pre-roof, pre-central heat and air, pre-move-in. So, in keeping with trueMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-22922200201717367642008-10-13T18:51:00.006-05:002008-10-13T19:26:03.156-05:00One downI can now mark "new roof" off of my project list! Actually, I could have marked it off a little over a week ago but I have been neglectful when it comes to this blog...my sincerest apologies. Anyway, I guess I owe my husband all of the credit because the roof really does look lovely; although, with the nice new roof my house looks even more desperate for a paint job. Oh well, maybe next year. ForMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-51635540224597161912008-09-28T17:44:00.007-05:002008-09-28T18:13:48.219-05:00What in the world?!?!So there are a lot, and I do mean a lot, of projects going on around the house right now. The major one is the roof; which is looking fabulous, if I do say so myself. However, in keeping with the "tradition" of the way things go around here, we have taken one step forward and two steps back yet again.Remember that 1970s hot water heater vent thingy I mentioned earlier? You know, the one that we Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-23618940178144397732008-09-25T18:50:00.004-05:002008-09-25T19:03:52.678-05:00Progress reportThe dumpster arrived yesterday and today (before the butt-crack-of dawn, I might add) they got to work on the roof. They claim they will be finished tomorrow but from where I am standing, even if they started cleaning the mess tomorrow, they wouldn't be finished...so we'll see. I am just so happy that progress is being made.In the picture below, the after will reveal that we are in fact getting Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-27074498164024551762008-09-10T10:00:00.004-05:002008-09-10T10:14:13.024-05:00Man: 1, woman: too many to countMy husband won. Since I have made every other decision regarding the house I decided to let him have this one. Plus, if I went with any other choice it would be next spring before they could start on it...and I just don't think I can wait any longer. We have decided to go with this shingle.I only hope it looks more like thisand less like this.Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-91063065921888279522008-09-08T14:48:00.008-05:002008-09-08T15:29:52.069-05:00Out and aboutSince I still have nothing to report on the progress of our house or the roof, I thought I would share a few photos of some buildings in Oklahoma City. Over the weekend, I celebrated my 29th birthday (again). In honor of such an occasion, my husband got me a day at a spa and then we stayed the night in the newly renovated Skirvin Hilton.When one thinks of Oklahoma, he or she probably thinks Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-62027570687267782262008-08-29T09:56:00.007-05:002008-08-29T10:38:09.702-05:00Battle of the sexesProgress on our roof has come to somewhat of a halt...and not because of insurance woes. Instead it is due to my husband and I not seeing eye-to-eye on what shingles we should use on the roof. I thought I had made up my mind until my roofer showed up with one more example for me to look at. It was love at first sight. But, like most love-at-first-sight stories go, time goes by and you start Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-1158470578868785232008-08-26T10:00:00.007-05:002008-08-26T10:36:52.117-05:00All things FairI realized today I have not posted anything in over a week...very unlike me. To be quite honest though, we have not done a thing on the house. I keep going back and forth on the shingles for the roof, which was fine while it was raining; but now that the rain has ceased and I continue to waffle over the decision...well, it kind of slows things down (or brings them to a halt in our case).Anyway, Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-80351383910253744272008-08-15T08:13:00.005-05:002008-08-29T10:16:43.601-05:00Reach out and touch someoneWe got new cell phones the other day, which is not something I would normally blog about. However, it just so happens that the lady who runs our local cell phone store was one of the previous owners of our home.Besides providing a much better cell phone service, she also informed me that while living here the original residents/builders of the house stopped by for a visit one morning (she thoughtMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-65399709375745847932008-08-12T15:18:00.009-05:002008-08-12T16:58:03.430-05:00Deciding on the undecidedMy computer is experiencing technical difficulties so I am having to post this from my old, slow clunker of a computer. However, I know many of you were curious as to our final decisions regarding the porch, the paint and the roof shingles. Because I am a moron, I already sent back the shingle samples before scanning them but we have decided to go with a brown similar to but slightly lighter thanMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-59908719187839573992008-08-10T19:19:00.005-05:002008-08-12T14:48:14.811-05:00Decisiveness at its finestOne of my favorite people in the whole world suggested I watch Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, a 1948 Cary Grant/Myrna Loy comedy. Although I have yet to watch the movie in its entirety, she was able to send me a snippet of the part she thought reminded her most of me when I write about choosing house colors.No offense Pat, but I fail to see too much of a similarity. Although Myrna Loy and Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-36431770493484201042008-08-08T15:11:00.008-05:002008-08-08T15:33:55.402-05:00More color contemplationsOur roofer is wanting to order our shingles on Monday simply because of rising prices and the amount of time it takes for them to be shipped. Therefore, I have to come to a couple of decisions by the end of this weekend: the first being what color to eventually paint the house and the second is what color shingles to order. Here are a few more pictures of houses that I seem to be drawn to. I Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-63428092215830370572008-08-07T14:22:00.004-05:002008-08-07T16:17:29.741-05:00Show me the money!If I knew how to do a backflip, I would...right off of my NEW roof. That's right, we are on our way to getting an all new roof!Today our insurance company sent out their "Catastrophe" claims adjuster and her manager and after a couple of hours spent examining our shoddy roof and the all of the damage that occurred almost a year ago, they told us they were going to give us the money for an all Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-23134284853433667822008-08-01T16:28:00.016-05:002008-12-14T13:25:52.335-06:00HGTV and false expectationsHGTV's If Walls Could Talk is one of my favorite television shows. I love peering into other people's old homes and seeing how they live; and, I absolutely love the stories behind each and every one of the houses...house voyeurism (as many of you would call it) at its best.However, I think I am going to have to stop watching this stupid show. All it does is offer up a false sense of hope and Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-61593658076971596372008-07-31T15:32:00.011-05:002008-12-14T13:25:52.738-06:00Bending the rulesSince my husband told me we needed to "hold off" on projects concerning the house until the roof gets taken care of...I went to work in the yard, which is not technically the house - right?At the beginning of the summer I started a flower bed in our side yard because at this point in time it is the only "yard" we have. Everything else consists of concrete and a very large carport (a problem that Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-91173996791473753822008-07-31T12:13:00.008-05:002008-12-14T13:26:23.703-06:00Fab-u-lous! I love everything about this house: the yard, the fence, the front porch and I absolutely love the simplicity of the color scheme. I think, however, that the brown may be too dark with my brick. Maybe I could go a couple of shades lighter and it look okay?I found this picture on Wikipedia under the heading "Bungalow." There were also some other very lovely homes on the site but with this one - Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-9948415543950255982008-07-25T18:20:00.016-05:002008-12-14T13:26:24.311-06:00New roof = new dilemmas Decisions regarding long term commitments await in my future - two things I could not be more scared of. So here it is: I got to thinking that IF we get the go-ahead for a new roof, we will probably start that project immediately; which is a great thing. The problem comes in when I start thinking about "What color roof do I choose?". This is a huge decision because I still haven't decided what Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-36215292688836627382008-07-24T19:33:00.009-05:002008-12-14T13:26:24.684-06:00Porch ponderingsSitting "idle" while we wait on our roof is not a good thing for me...it lets my mind and imagination run wild (and my mind and imagination have no monetary budget).So what I was thinking was, "What if we could add a front porch back on to the house?" Taking it back to the original is next to impossible because when the house was converted into the hospital, not only did they close in the porch Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-40697994392296494242008-07-22T20:39:00.004-05:002008-07-22T21:07:58.943-05:00Waiting...not so patientlyThe first of August- that is when our insurance company is sending out yet another claims adjuster. This time they are sending out their "Catastrophe Claims Adjuster" because they want yet another set of eyes to look at the roof.It doesn't seem to matter that the last adjuster they sent out told us that if we could prove we had no roof decking he would replace the roof; because we now know, Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-77631328867878757382008-07-17T21:30:00.005-05:002008-07-17T22:44:02.629-05:00When did they close our case?So, I think we are FINALLY making a little bit of headway on our insurance claim...good thing too, since it has only been a year since initially filed (can you sense my sarcasm yet?). Our insurance company has actually decided to reopen our case! Which is FABULOUS, especially since I wasn't even aware that it had been closed in the first place- although, that might just explain all of those phoneMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-61664738195330095672008-07-17T08:54:00.000-05:002008-12-14T13:26:24.967-06:00Two years and we're still at itThe union of my family’s wallet and our home took place two years ago this week…so, Happy Anniversary to us!It is amazing how fast time has flown by and how little it seems we have accomplished, especially when looking at the ever-growing “To-Do” list. However, this house has come a long way since we first graced it with our presence. To commemorate this special day and to remind myself of our Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5091120514380211963.post-85285449468677049912008-07-02T17:28:00.023-05:002008-12-14T13:26:25.457-06:00StrippingWhen I was pregnant with my second child, I started a project I just couldn’t finish…stripping… paint, that is. I had pretty much stripped everything off the baseboards, window trims and closet doors of one room upstairs when it just became too much. So, we hired someone else to do it…big mistake.I realize, and fully accept, that I am somewhat obsessive compulsive but when you look at my work andMelindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16676968898443291140noreply@blogger.com4