Lists...

Since we'd been waiting since August to be able to touch our house, we'd obviously had tons of time to think about all of the things that we want to do with it... but honestly, I was overwhelmed with a mixture of feelings once we actually had our keys in hand. I was very excited but also so confused with where to even start! (I say "I" because it is me who is the one in the relationship who worries about everything, usually unnecessarily, while my husband just goes with the flow... if he doesn't know what to do next, he just starts cutting trees with his chainsaw) So anyway, the way I deal with my anxiety is lists... I have so many lists that it's sometimes counterintuitive. There are quite a bit of things that needed to be done right away, some things need to be done before we can actually move into the house, while others can wait until after, and then obviously, there is a whole slough of things that we would like to get done over the next couple of months. We also have far off plans, like one day possibly adding a bathroom in the shop or building a bridge over our creek but I haven't made a list for those projects yet!

So anyway, over the past couple of weeks we've gotten quite a bit checked off of my "To-Do Right Away" list, as well as some "meeting with the people who are going to do the stuff that we aren't going to be doing ourselves"... and also some demo/prep work inside the house to get ready for those folks. So far, we've:

• our friend/well guy rid our well of e-coli, installed a nice, new pump and pressure tank and therefore gave us a flushable toilet and running, drinkable water. Obviously, having a working toilet right away was nice but having water was essential for us to be able to burn brush and such as we begin cleaning up the property.
• got a bid on all new windows and installation, which should be installed somewhere around the end January or beginning of February... this will also include converting the window in our bedroom to a sliding glass door!
• ordered our flooring for the entire house besides the bathroom (which will be tiled), still looking for someone to install though
• our new roof has already been installed!
• we researched and shopped for, but ultimately opted out of, replacing and relocating our current wood stove. This project wasn't a "need" and we decided to just stick with what we have for now and put that money elsewhere (specifically our windows because I definitely underestimated those on my budget!)
• James dad, Terry, repaired the barn doors on our shop that wouldn't close correctly
• James' mom, Debbie, scowered our property with a magnet stick and found hundreds, if not thousands, of screws, nails and other metal scraps! (see photo below)
• Ripped out all of the carpet and tack strips in the house
• Removed the linoleum floor in the kitchen and bathroom
• I am about 75% finished with washing all of the walls and window/door frames
• Oh yeah, and we've been constantly burning piles and piles of leaves, pine needles and branches that my chainsaw happy husband has trimmed!

So even though there is so much to do, we actually have made some progress in our first few weeks... it's mostly just been prep work so I am really excited to actually start some projects! Next up, the Master To-Do List (def longer than the "Already Done" list)

Here are some photos I've snapped the past couple of weeks hanging around the house...

Burning!

This is just some of the trash that was left on the property

This is the bucket full of nails and screws and scrap metal that James' mom collected

#soEDC

Our beautiful new hardware on our disgusting, dirty front door

The creek!

The living room with all of the carpet removed

The boys, working on their chainsaws