In July of 2009, my wife and I took the leap - we purchased a single family home in suburban New Jersey. With visions of summers swimming at the lake, crisp fall weekends playing with the kids among the leaves, cold winter nights being warmed by the fireplace, and springtime birds chirping a welcome to new leaves budding on the majestic oaks, we anxiously signed away on the dotted line to give our family a slice of 21st century suburband Americana.
And then...reality set in. There a HUGE difference between a three floor walk up townhome and a single family center hall colonial. And I am finding out just how much of a difference there is.
Our castle sits within a beautiful lake community that echos with the sounds of suburban living - children laughing and playing, leaf blowers and lawn mowers from the landscaping companies fulfilling their daily obligations, barking of dogs bouncing throughout the wooded lots as they chase the occassional squirrel or chipmunk. Sounds wonderful, don't it?
Well, with each passing day, my lovely home presents a new, previously unknown imperfection that challenges my sanity, my skill and my patience. My children stand by and watch as the grand old colonial mocks me with its creaks and groans.
But I will prevail, even if it takes me until 2039. This is my vow...and these are my stories...
y boasts an "interesting" paint scheme. Vertical stripes of two shades of brown, and a stripe of red. The previous owner said his wife saw the design in a magazine, and worked tirelessly on paiting it. He joked when he left that he hoped we would keep the stripes. Hate to disappoint you, but it's going...today.
The wife chose a bright yellow to lighten up the room (Behr eggshell). Also thinking of some basic ClosetMaid elements from Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Closet-Storage/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5Zaqud/h_d2/Navigation?&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1) due to the functionality of it - I assume the two oldest will NOT want to share a room until college, so the closet org system has to be applicable and interchangeable for whomever takes the room eventually. The room also has a double closet - the wife is jockeying for one to include a built in work top and shelves for crafts and such, even thought she doesn't do crafts (DAMN YOU THRIFTY HOME ORGANIZATION MAGAZINES!).
hooler hung from the towel rack and promtly yanked the whole damn thing out. As I was telling my fellow DIY'er P Zak today, it's not small enough to patch with the mesh or metal cover - mesh is soft and too weak in big holes, and the metal patch is never smooth when you mud it), so it's a little involved what with cutting a piece of sheetrock and all. Mowing the back lawn, and some wood splitting and cutting...WITH MY NEW CHAINSAW! AAARGH!
