sierra_dreamr

I initiated this goal when I learned I was pregnant to track our progress and wrap up major projects before we have a little one. The last thing I want is major construction while we are adjusting to a new baby. I’ve set a deadline of 3 weeks before my due date because at 29 weeks I am starting to having trouble bending (weeding, getting down to clean floors etc) and working on ladders. By 36 weeks or so any type of home improvement besides hanging pictures is probably out if not because I can’t because hubby will likely freak out.

First the +’s
The den/ baby’s room is nearly done: repaired, painted, sealed/ weatherized and reorganized. We still need to:
final coat of paint on the ceiling.
trim & hang a door which is about 1 hour job.
paint window frames—4 hours over two days
have the curtains hemmed by a tailor
put together the crib

DH is nearly done restoring and painting all of the exterior windows 16 total 2 to go. In the mean time he is refinishing the garage door so the exterior of the house will be “done” by our due date.

The -’s
We just and I mean today had the contractor start a fairly significant project in our kitchen of tearing out our washer, replacing a wall and moving the plumbing to the garage. Given our decision to go with cloth diapers this is a priority. I hope this will be done within two weeks as predicted.

The guest house is not livable and needs major renovations: new windows--on order, roof repairs, bathroom fan, a fresh coat of paint throughout, kitchenette upgrade (possibly) and exterior wall repairs before we can rent it again. The income from the rental is nice, but not something we rely on, so if this doesn't happen for 6 months, I can live with it. Still this is an intimidating project that has grown considerably.

As you can seen the den is something I can wrap up in a weekend, but the kitchen/ washer raises major concerns, especially if there is water damage once we open the wall.

Two months and counting—wish us luck!

Since the 7.2 earthquake in my area a few months ago I have begun to put a little more thought into preparedness. Namely because
1. I’m a homeowner and somewhat inclined to stay in the event of…
2.I’m pregnant and into the waddle stage, so I probably can’t outrun anything
3. On a clear day I can see Mexico from my street (about 20 miles) and there are lots of people more desperate than me if something really big happened.

Maybe I need to step it up and put some effort into ye old disaster kit which currently looks more like a three week backpacking kit + a couple buckets of beans etc etc.

Home defense mechanisms are similarly feeble: ski poles and shovel for ‘fending’ + kitchen implements. Thus far my two large dogs and gated 1/2 acre keep away most unwanted visitors, but I’m not sure how the dogs vs. zombies scenario would play out.

Looking at my last list I’m proud to say I have crossed off some bigish projects:

DONE—2nd bath is painted and spruced up! including the woodwork and vanity area. New mirror, restored medicine cabinet, new lighting, refinished the window, new shade, painted tile, and added new matching knobs on the drawers. This bath is nearly unrecognizable even though we haven’t done a major remodel like tearing out tile.

Since this bath will become the main ‘family’ bath once the baby comes I am glad to have it in good order. I’ve cleared out a couple of shelves for baby stuff like clean cloth dippers and bath things.
We’re making an effort not to buy everything under the sun and just stick to the essentials. Only having two shelves is a good reminder that unless we want to be wading in kid things we need to keep it simple.

Okay there is one thing left unfinished, the faucet is not installed, but it’s sitting on the counter waiting for DH to do something about it.