The annoyance of being homeless is starting to get to us. Not because we don't have a place to stay, because we have great friends that we're crashing with, but because we can't actually begin to settle into home. Our stuff should be here by the end of the week, and living room furniture comes the week after.
We're making a little bit of progress toward making the house inhabitable. Very little. Doing anything is problematic because Simon gets bored and needs naps and what not. Not to mention I've been tired out of my mind from all of the driving, and not sleeping adequately because Simon doesn't really want to sleep with us in the room.
Still, we've done some ground work. I changed the locks at the house, for a couple of reasons. First, they were the hideous brass that the builder used everywhere. They had to go. The other problem was that key custody over the years has become quite a mystery, and that messes with my security paranoia. There were three original keys, and the only one I can account for is the one my dad has. There were four copies, and I can only find two of those. Plus, one key was sitting in a combination lock box for two years that dozens of people had access to.
Landscaping isn't going to go far this year, but we'll start. I got a hedge trimmer to take care of the non-work done by a contractor over the summer. Fucker. He insisted by e-mail they just grew back that quickly, which I know is crap because I lived with those bushes for years. I used a hack saw to cut down the 12-foot tree growing by one of the back windows. I did a weed-and-feed treatment, after buying a new spreader. The lawn looks awful, so the plan is to do two treatments this fall, and resume in the spring. Beds and what not will come next year.
Paint has been obtained for the living room and Simon's room. This is long, long overdue, as the living room still has the original primer white. It's a pain in the ass because of the 15-foot ceiling, but we'll get there. We bought living room furniture today, and it's a grayish microfiber that was not expensive at all. Very simple and straightforward design. I think it'll compliment the colors that Diana picked pretty well. The hardest part will be the trim, which we're planning to re-do in white, instead of the crap the builder used. That will be slow going with the carpet.
Lots still to consider... including light fixtures, new door knobs, a power washer for the deck and driveway (I could borrow my dad's, but I think I want one)... we'll get there. A part of me wants to paint the outside before winter. It looks pretty terrible. There isn't a lot there, but it's all up high.
I don't see many "free" weekends this fall.