Friday, May 29, 2009

Shasta's Home!

Well, we couldn't make it any longer without our dog child, so we went and picked her up this morning. It's good to have her back. Though, she was a little stinky, so we had her bathed.

I met the carpet cleaners this morning and had the carpets in Cupertino cleaned; they look good as new. The house is now vacant and clean, though the kitchen floor needs some spot cleaning. And we need to go and do some minor patching on the paint. Tomorrow I'll have to remember to take pictures when we go out.

We'll have to go back tomorrow to schlep another load from the garage. These loads are really unfun as they're quite miscellaneous and mostly stuff we should probably just get rid of. Today we loaded up the stained glass and brought it out to Redwood City. We still haven't figured out where we're going to put it.
Check out time is Sunday at 3PM.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Mostly Moved

Well, the movers didn't show up yesterday until 2:30PM, but they did arrive. We were moving until 9:30PM last night and we were pretty wiped by the time we were done.

The house looked pretty good, until the deluge of boxes hit.
























And there is quite the pile outside, under a canopy. So now we begin the long process of unpacking and going through all the boxes and getting rid of as much as we can bear to.

The sewing room is a total disaster. They didn't put the furniture together correctly and there are so many boxes in there we can barely get in the room. That's going to take a long time to get fixed up. We are going to have to purge the boxes and arrange the furniture and empty grandma's stuff from the closet and work on the unpacking process. It's a room that needs some serious downsizing.

Today, we went back to Cupertino to do the mop up of all the loose stuff that was still lying around and got it out of the house for the maid to clean the house. It took us 4 hours, but we managed to accomplish it. The only thing left in the house at this point is Jeff's jewelry rack (still on the wall) and the table with the stained glass on it. The garage is still a mess though.





















Tomorrow we're having the carpets cleaned in Cupertino, then we'll be mostly done. Over the weekend, we just have to spend a few hours clearing out the last dregs from the garage and cleaning it up.

We've decided to go pick up Shasta tomorrow from DoggieCamp. We're missing her.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Movers No-Showed

Well, the movers were supposed to move us this morning but they didn't show up. Oops. I called and left several messages and we finally got a hold of them this afternoon. They were pretty embarrassed and apologetic and actually offered to reduce the price of the move by quite a lot, so I guess now we're moving tomorrow.

After the movers didn't show up, Jeff went on into work.

Today, I spent the day working my way through all the rooms packing up every last thing; finished all four bedrooms. By tomorrow things should be in pretty good shape.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Exterior Painting Nearly Finished

Jeff and I finally made it out to Redwood City tonight. Here is a picture of the house, which is nearly done (looks like some of the green needs one more coat of paint). I wanted to use a darker green, but the painter told my Aunt it would make the house look small, so she chose the lighter green. I'm hoping that Jeff and I will be able to add some dark green to the roof line. Anyway, here is the picture.
I mostly packed my sewing room today. We're making progress on getting ready for the movers on Tuesday. We're going to have two crunch days this weekend getting ready and then we'll have to go out to Redwood City again to clear the construction debris from the house so we can move in.

The last few tasks inside the house have mostly gotten done this week. Our contractor friend Brian went out this week and trimmed out the kitchen at the floor line. And, surprisingly, the painters also came in and painted this stuff up. That's pretty nice, as I was expecting we were going to have to finish these tasks up.


Brian added unfinished birch around the bottom of the cabinets. Jeff and I still need to finish the trimwork with a clearcoat to match the rest of the cabinetry.




Also got a picture of the dry rot/termite repair. It looks decent for the price we paid for the repair, though I'm somewhat disappointed with the way the new siding ties into the old. There is a pretty bad seam.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Packing is Boring

Well, I've been packing most of the week, and I must admit that I've spent too many hours watching Angel (the TV series). I pack for a while and then watch an episode, then pack some more. I haven't been blogging this week because it's really boring to write about and to read about. I'm so sick of moving.

The exterior of the house in Redwood City is getting painted this week. I haven't made it out to take pictures, unfortunately.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Appliance Purchases

Earlier I had been planning to purchase mostly new appliances for the house in Redwood City. I had spent a fair amount of time with Consumer Reports and the Sears website picking them all out. Then I goofed up and missed their "lowest prices of the season" sale; it ended on May 2. Oops.

So, because of this, I have reconsidered whether we really want to replace everything. Long term, probably, but short term I think we'll just replace what we have to. We need a new refrigerator (because our old one doesn't fit in the new house and it's the wrong color) and a gas dryer (because we have electric and there's only a gas hookup).

I cruised around on craigslist last night and found a matching dryer for our current washer. We have a Kenmore Series 80 washer that we bought from the renters at Dumas (they were moving out as we were moving in and they offered us a good deal). It looks like we may be able to get something for $100 to $200. Since we intend to mostly hang our clothes to dry at this next house, I think we'll go ahead and try and get one of those used ones instead of buying a new set, at least for now.

And we're also trying to decide about what to do about the refrigerator. The space where my grandparents put it is only 30" wide, but refrigerators that narrow tend also to be really short. I really like having a big refrigerator so we're thinking about putting the refrigerator on the other wall. It won't look as nice when you walk into the kitchen, but it will be closer to the stove and sink. I'll probably cruise around on craigslist tonight and see what I can find that isn't too distant. Maybe we'll get lucky and find something nice for a good price, otherwise we may go order something new at Sears.

Today, I'm packing, as usual. We've just about got the "library" bedroom packed; there's just a few things left in the closet and I'm packing them up today. We should have that room done tonight. Then I'll probably start in on the office. The office is loaded with too much stuff and most of it is going to go into storage. Ugh, I'm so tired of moving. I was hoping this move would be the last one, but now due to the crappy economy, we're having to hold off buying a house in Oregon. Oh well.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Solar Cooking

One thing this too-hot weather is good for is solar cooking. Yesterday, Jeff made brownies and then asparagus for dinner. They were both yummy; and he didn't make any heat in the house by turning on the oven (not to mention the energy we saved).

Friday, May 15, 2009

Exterior Painting Started

Well, today was a busy day out at the Redwood City house. The carpet was installed in the master bedroom and hallway. The exterior paint job prep has begun. And the termite/dry rot repair is in progress, presumably.

The carpet isn't quite the color it looks in the small piece; funny how that happens when you shine real sun on it. Looks like a different color in artificial light. Here is the install, in progress. I didn't stay until the carpet guy was finished as I still needed to drive to Santa Cruz to drop Shasta off at the boarding place; I hope she has a good time. I already miss her.

The painters also got started on scraping and pressure washing the house. It will probably take them several days to get the house ready for painting. They'll probably be done, though, by the time we move in on May 26.

I didn't see the work progressing for the termite repair as the guy hadn't arrived yet by the time I left at 11AM. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to start today, as I had thought.

I went to Kelly Moore Paint and picked out some more historical paint colors for the exterior. If my Dad and Aunt approve, we are going to paint it this pallet:

I have spent my afternoon wrapping and packing up pictures from around the house. Many of them will now be going to storage, but hopefully we'll have enough wall space to hang at least a few.

I just heard from the landlord today that she is planning to move back into this house when we depart. I guess she got her financial morass worked out during the last two years (she had invested in California real estate and gotten in over her head). The upside of this is that we won't be forced to have potential renters tour the property while we're still packing. The downside is that she may be extra picky about the condition of the house when we turn it over. It probably needs a paint job, but that should be covered in wear and tear. I guess we'll see. =)

Monday, May 11, 2009

House Fumigated

Well, I went out this morning to be a defender of the plants around the house for the termite tenting. I needn't have bothered, because they were really good about going around them. Though, it was good that I was there, because they had the wrong address written down and they might have tented the neighbor's house. =)

We'd thought they'd start early, so I got there at 8:30 AM. Well, they actually didn't show up until 11:15. An extra hour of sleep would have been nice, oh well. Anyway, they showed up at 11:15 and they had the house entirely tented and ready to gas by 12:15. It was amazing how fast they were. I didn't stay until the bitter end, but I got some good pics of the house tenting in progress.

While I waited for them to arrive, I continued to water the plants around the house, pulled up the carpet pad and tacks in the hallway in preparation for the new carpet on Friday, and did some sweeping up in the house. There is a fair amount of construction droppings on the floor, i.e. bits of wire, screws, chunks of drywall. Overall, I had a productive morning, though it would have been nice to not rush out there so early. I didn't even have breakfast because I was running late.

During the rest of the day, I'm hoping to make more progress on packing and cleaning Cupertino. I'm trying to have Cupertino look "presentable" by Friday since the landlord is already asking to bring people in to see it and I've managed to put her off only until the end of the week.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Sunday Night, Already?

Well, it's hard to believe it's already Sunday night.

Yesterday we started moving into storage and did two loads up to San Carlos and also dropped some stuff by Redwood City as well. I forgot my camera so didn't get to snap any pictures.

Today at around 11AM we managed to drag up tail ends back up to Redwood City to get ready for termite tenting. You're supposed to clear a 12" margin around the house, including plants. We did the best we could. There are some plants that get a bit close, but they're supposed to be able to work the plastic walls around plants somewhat. Also, you need to water them very deeply so the poison doesn't work its way into the soil.

When we arrived, my Aunt was already there digging up plants, transplanting them further from the house and watering. So, Jeff and I worked on relocating the demolition debris to the driveway so we could take it in for recycling/disposal as soon as everything is done.

Then at about 1PM, Jeff and I headed out to Portola State Park for a Mother's Day Picnic. Shasta found a new friend, my cousin Danna, who is going to be a vet in a year. Though, it was very disappointing when we learned Shasta couldn't go hike with the group; poor baby.


Since we've been so busy with the packing and remodeling, we've had a hard time keeping up with Shasta's playing and walking needs, so we've decided to send her off to doggy camp. Sharon booked her at K9 Casa in San Jose starting on the 15th through at least the 27th (the day after the movers move the furniture) and perhaps through the end of the month.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Vinyl Floors Installed

Except for trimming out the kitchen, the vinyl floors got finished today.

Master Bath:











Guest Bath:










Kitchen:


We're having dark green carpet installed in the master bedroom and hallway, but that was not yet here to install today. They'll be out next Friday to put that in.

We found termites so the house is being tented on Monday. On Saturday, we're getting a quote for the termite and dry rot repair. Once those repairs are made, we'll be painting the last wall in the living room. We didn't bother to have the painters paint the wall if we were going to tear it out anyway.

Living Room Painted:


My Dad also hung the light fixture in the newly painted master bedroom last night:

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Lots of Painting Done

Jeff and I dropped by the house in Redwood City tonight and put a lockbox on the door. The painters are wanting to start at 8AM, which means that I would have to leave by 7:30AM. Ugh, it would be really hard. My Dad offered the lockbox and we grabbed at the chance.

It was starting to get dark when we arrived at the house tonight and quite a few of the light fixtures are removed for painting so the pictures are not the best. But here is where we're at on the painting.

Master Bedroom


Kitchen














Living Room


Master Bathroom


Here is our stack of light fixtures all ready to be installed as soon as the painting is complete.