Holidays

I am having separation anxiety as I am on vacation and had to leave my magic house behind. After leaving the house I wondered if I should have turn down the water heater and did I turn down the thermostat. My brother will pop in and check on the house during the week while I enjoy the sunshine in Mexico. Will fill you more on my adventures in handywoman-ness soon.

In other news, I have renters for my condo so I guess I am officially a propert magnate (is that the right word?)

Small (so I thought) repairs

I think probably every home owner comes across a problem that seems simple to fix only to discover that the issue may be bigger than it first appears. Case in point: Duct repair.

This is my furnace duct leaning on some wire and piping. It was noted in my home inspection that I should lift the duct up off the wire and pipe to prevent deterioration. Ok, sounds simple. I bought some pipe strapping hold-up thing (yes, that is the technical name).

 Of course, then I had to figure out if my toolbox (or Jake's) had the tool to cut the stripping. Guess which one below cut it...

That's right, the only thing that cut the steel was the cutco scissors on the far left. However, as I finished screwing one side of the strapping and was lifting the duct into place, I noticed a slight problem. The duct was very loose and actually not taped or secured to the duct coming out of the furnace. Excuse my photography below but it was only with my flash that I could see what the scope was.

To make matters worse, I am not sure how I can access the ducts to secure them because of the house support beams. Oh well, another problem for another day!

I love my new cordless screwdriver. Thanks to Jake for knowing that a homeowner needs such a tool for successful home maintenance.

So, in the aftermath of my failed duct repair, I needed to find success somewhere before I could call it a day. So using my handy screwdriver, I fixed a light switch cover that insurance says I need to cover. (even though it doesn't turn anything on and is a useless switch)

Ta-da! Yes, I am definitely a certified repair-woman! Ok, one small step for me...at least I felt like I accomplished something. At the rate it takes me to do one tiny repair, I could spend my whole life just fixing stuff around the house. Oh, don't mind the wall around the light switch...that is on the fix-it list.

Speaking of the fix-it list, I decided to make a list of what needs to be done as well as a wish list for the house. In the spirit of list-making, I am borrowing a page from a previous blog life and creating a list called the 101 things in 1001 days for the magic house. Posted on the side of the blog, the list will track all my attempts at improving my magic house. 

Introductions

During my year off from blogging, my life has done a 180. Looking back on 2010, it is probably without a doubt the best year of my life. My life is overflowing with blessings...I have a new job, a new love and a new house. I could blog about all three as there are many things to share and learn about each one but instead, I am going to focus on my magic house.

Back in August, my real estate agent and I headed out to look at some houses on the market. I told her that I was also looking for magic in a house but I was aware that MLS did not list this as a feature. I was going to have to rely on my heart. Well, this trip was supposed to be a browsing session as I wasn't planning to buy until late fall.

However, the magic had other plans. The fourth house on our list had me at its green door. As I walked through the rooms, the house kept saying "Hello Sara, this is your home." Sometimes, when the universe drops your dream house right in front of you, there is no other option than to say, "where do I sign?"

I took possession on October 22 and then Jake and I painted and cleaned to make it ready for moving day. I intended to start blogging about my adventures as soon as I moved in but the days got away on me. So you missed the potential posts about:
- the mice that I found (and removed)
- the paint jobs to cover the bright colors to the "Sara" colors
- all the small jobs that immediately needed to be done (motion sensor light, garage door lock, etc)
- decorating for Christmas

However, there are still lots of things that I need to do with the magic house to keep it up so I am going to blog about my decor changes, design ideas, handywoman jobs and gardening attempt. Budget is going to be a major theme in my postings as I still have my condo (which needs to be rented out) so all my plans will involve ideas on low-cost home ownership, decor and gardening.

Before we go much further, a few more facts about the magic house:
- it is 99 years old (built in 1912)
- it is in good health/shape for its age with no major issues at this time
- the garden is drought resistance with natural plants (and an apple tree, cherry tree and tons of raspberry bushes) and it has a fish pond with koi in it.
- In an "its a small world after all" moment, I found out a friend of mine was really good friends with the previous owners. I was told that a lot of love went into this house...so I assured them that the love continues.

I guess this blog is really about my relationship with this house. I am so in love with it. Come along with me on this journey with me...I am sure it will be a funny one.