Salt Anyone?

*WARNING: Disgusting content to follow - Read at your own risk*

Nope, this is not sand from a beach.  Nor from a sand storm or sandbox of any sort.  This, my friends, is what happens underneath your carpet when your pets are not house broken.  Pictured here is the salt from the urine once the moisture has evaporated.  Even when you steam clean, which I know my dad did with the best of intentions, I'm afraid there's no getting around it, you've got a regular salt mine underneath that carpet pad and it aint pretty.  Here are pics of the living room floor when Jay pulled up the carpet.  We have scoured all the wood floors with hot water, vinegar and amonia to pull up the smell and disinfect to prep for new carpet.  And to think we considered just having the carpets cleaned instead of replaced....yeeeesh...

Why do pets have to get old?

Got sad news that Heidi is pretty much blind.  She is only 7 years old.  We thought her eyes looked a bit cloudy, and one eye appeared more cloudy than the other, but had no idea how bad it was until we went for her annual check up last week.  Basically, the only reason she gets around is through her sense of smell and familiarity.  She knows the house, so she doesn't bump into things, though she still does it occasionally.  We have referrals to a couple Vet Eye Docs to get her checked out and see how much it would be to give her the surgery.  I hear it can be up to $3000 - OY - which, of course we will find some way to pay if that is the case.  We have pet insurance but in most cases this surgery is not covered because they will determine it was "hereditary or congenital" - they always have ways to get out of paying.  But we need to get it done before our move when nothing will be familiar to her.  If you know us, you know how much we love our dog...she was our first kid and she is part of the family, so not giving her the care that she needs would be like not giving Scotty, Zac or Trev something they needed.  It is sad to see her get older and we are really not ready for it.   

Coming Together

I am very happy to report that after three months of hard work and money and time, we are finally wrapping up Project Northlake.  This week we have new carpet and flooring going in, some final coats of paint in the pantry and utility rooms and the chimney guy will be out to do some things outside, but other than that, the house is pretty much complete.  Here are a few things that have kept us busy in the last few weeks....

Had to replace an entire half of the roof due to leakage and just an all around shotty roofing job that was done 15 years ago.  The roofers had a beautiful two days of sunshine to work and get it done...



   But, they didn't get it done and ended up finishing the job in the pouring down rain....

Jay has spent every waking hour of his weekends over at the house working on anything he is able to do.  One weekend he insulated all the unfinished spaces throughout the house.  In addition to the attic, there are these "cubby holes" along both sides of the upstairs that he worked on.  Not only is it now better insulated, but it opens up a lot more storage space for the new tenants...

  

There is a small room off of my old bedroom that I used to use as my "music room".  Jay insulated that and will be putting up drywall to seal it off, which will then make it a useable space for the tenants....

Jay also started pulling up the old carpet and that was NOT a pleasant experience.  My dad had several pets throughout the years and the flooring underneath shows how un-house broken they were.  It is really a shame we couldn't preserve these beautiful wood floors, but I'm just glad we are able to get that nasty old carpet out of there to replace with new....

This downstairs bedroom seems to be hit the hardest, but we haven't pulled up the living room carpet yet.  Oy...



Jeff has of course been working hard downstairs and here are a few pics of the living room with the new half wall at the stairs, sans new carpet.  A "before" shot...

And an un-finished after....



Jeff has also been working on the kitchen.  It is an amazing transformation and we are very happy with it.  Here again is the "before" shots...

And the un-finished after...

It is amazing what just changing the color of paint can do to a room.  We chose an off-white color for the entire house, a little more white than I wanted, but clean and still better than the rainbow of colors that were on the walls originally.  It has really opened up the rooms and invited light in. 

So as you can see, there's still some work to be done, but at this point, it is going pretty fast and it will be ready by March 1.  We already have a prospective renter and the stress level has gone waaaaayyyy down.  It really is going to be hard to turn this place over to strangers, but we think the new tenants will really make this house a home, which is all that we can hope for.  Stay tuned for the grand finale....

Going Back to Alaska....

Jay received word today that he was selected for a position in Ketchikan, Alaska.  We move in July.  If you remember my blogs from when we moved from Juneau, you would think we would not be thrilled about going to back to Southeast Alaska....but much to our surprise, we are both excited.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder I suppose, because we were actually hoping to get back up there.  Rain and snow, yes.  But this time we will be more prepared...?  Well, I don't think anyone can ever be totally prepared for life in Alaska, but we will DEFINITELY be bringing a snow blower this time!  So, thanks to my friend Suzanne who refreshed my memory on this little fact, those of you who will be coming to visit us (hint, hint)....you will see where the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" site is when you fly into the Ketchikan Intl Airport.  The airport is located on Gravina Island and you have to ferry across the Tongass Narrows (hence the bridge) to get to the town of Ketchikan.  See, a fun visit with the Wahrmunds AND a learning experience!  No worries, the $5 ferry ticket is on us :)

HOME SWEET HOME....for a few years anyway....

DIY Inspired....

Buying fixtures for Northlake hasn't been the best experience up until this point.  We don't want to spend a lot of money on fixtures for a rental, but at the same time, we want it to look decent and nice.  Trying to go the cheap route via Builders Bargain (the Habitat for Humanity warehouse) seemed like a good idea but all you get are the old brass fixtures that everyone has dumped from their own homes for the nicer, more modern ones you see at Home Depot and Lowes, that can run upwards of $100!  Ouch.  However, in one of the many blogs I follow on home renovations and DIY projects, I read something about painting an old brass fixture to update the look.  Aha!  Thus, I mozied on down to Lowes and found a spray paint called Oil Rubbed Bronze.  I gave it a shot and am pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  Granted, it's still an old style chandelier, but with the new paint job, it's not so dated.  The picture makes it look black, but there is a tinge of metallic bronze that comes through and it is actually very pretty.  I could probably splurge and buy some more modern globes, but decided the ones that came with it will do for now....

If you look close enough, you can kinda see a bit of the brass showing through on the chain...ah well.  For my first project, it's not too bad and it was really fun knowing I was doing something frugal and creative!  So for $27 ($20 light + $7 spray paint), I have a nice dining room light for Northlake.  Thus, decided to do ALL the fixtures that way.  A) it saves money (who doesn't love that?!), and B) they will all coordinate with each other.  Brilliant!

Smaller fixtures for the utility and pantry rooms

The larger fixtures for the down and upstairs hallways

Tidepool 500

So the boys' favorite thing to do these days is race.  Jay started them off in the garage where, nearly every night, they clear out the vehicles, make a track around the perimeter and race their dump trucks, scooter and even Zac's small bike round and round.  It is loud and obnoxious, but they all pop on their ear muffs and have a blast.  It entertains them and wears them out nice and tired just before bedtime.  Perfect.  Recently, Jay introduced the racing flags.  These are flags that I sewed a few years ago when we first made Scotty's big boy bedroom a racing theme and they hung on the walls....then they became decoration in Trev's nursery...now they are actual props in the boys races.  So, the other night when Jay came home from work, he let them set up the track in the cul de sac - hence, the Tidepool 500 - so I snapped some pics.  My 3 year old doesn't know how to put his shoes on the right feet, but by gosh, he knows what the colored flags in racing mean! 

Trev even joined the race....

37

Aside from spending about 30 minutes pulling gray hair out of my head last night in front of the bathroom mirror, I don't FEEL old enough to be 37.  When I was my nieces age, people in their 30s, especially late 30s, were just....well, old.  37 is definitely an age that I've had in my mind as being a significant year.  First, it will be 10 years this year since I lost my mom.  That is a whole decade without the guidance, the companionship and the love of a mother.  Unbelievable.  I really didn't think I could function after she died and yet here I am 10 years later.  And also because 37 was the deadline for ever having a career in federal law enforcement, as I had once planned.  There was a fork in the road 10 years ago and I chose the military-wife-and-eventually stay-at-home-mom-and-give-up-pursuring-a-career-as-a-federal-agent path.  I left the awesome job I had with IRS Criminal Invesitgations to create this new life with Jay.  Every now and then, I have glimpses of what my life could've been had I chosen that other path chasing criminals and moving up the GS ladder and to be honest, sometimes I yearn for my old identity....but I know I would not be as happy as I am right in this moment with my family and the life that Jay and I have made for ourselves.  Nothing in federal law enforcement could ever make up for potentially missing any moment of these past 5 1/2 years of being at home with my children.  No paycheck could ever be worth it for me not having an opportunity to hang out with these cool little guys.  I count my blessings every day that I am able to do this, as I know staying at home is not for everyone, and neither is being a military wife.  So, I pull out the gray hair and stare at the wrinkles laugh lines bittersweetly, embracing that indeed it means I am getting older, but by gosh, I am thankful for them because it means I'm happy and I am living life; I'm thankful for the toys and the messes I have to clean up because it means my boys are active and healthy; I'm thankful for the 5 AM texts I get wishing me happy birthday because it means I have people that care about me; I'm thankful for the dishes in the sink and the piles of laundry on the floor because it means we have food to eat and clothes to wear; and heck, I am even thankful for the gray hair because it means I HAVE hair.  So to my family and friends, thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to be a part of yours.  Here's to another 37....:)

Is That A Light We See?

The guys continue to make progress at Northlake.  We've passed the two month mark, but the brunt of the hard work is out of the way and now it's a matter of finishing touches.  Though, sometimes the finishing touches take a lot more work than we plan.  But to look on the bright side, it does seem to be coming together nicely and we can actually see a light at the end of this long tunnel....it's very dim, still a bit far off in the distance, but a light nonetheless!  I can share only a few pics because a lot of things are on the brink of being finished, but not quite there yet so will save those pics for later.  However, Jay and Jeff got the tub, shower surround, vanity, toilet and flooring installed in the downstairs bathroom.  Just need to trim it out and put up some towel racks and it will be good to go.  It went from a leaky, drab 3/4 bath to a functioning full bath and it looks really great.

Remember it before? 

My brother joined us out there this past Saturday and kindly pressure washed the outside of the house.  A tedious job no doubt, but we are very thankful to him for spending his entire day off out in the wet cold working hard.  Of course, anything having to do with Scott and myself never goes without a little joking around, so after a few pranks of pretending to fall off the ladder and the roof, giving me a heart attack (and a good laugh), he finished it up and it looks as good as new.

As for me, I didn't do much other than odds and ends clean up and clearing out all the stuff from the work that's been done upstairs.  Somehow, when things are clean and neat, it doesn't seem so overwhelming and there's a sense of completion...an example would be of this upstairs bedroom that is now painted and cleaned up.

Unlike this shot of the living and dining room chaos...

Though, surprisingly, the guys know where everything is that they need.

Among many of the things Jay has been working on, he spent a good week clearing out all the debris and bushes and crap that had accumulated over the years just beyond the backyard fence that my dad had put up initially to keep their dogs from going down to the salmon creek, but then eventually it became a dumping ground for various things like target practice bottles and cans and yard waste, etc.  The area is nice and open now and we can actually access the creekside, which at one time used to be a very tranquil spot to sit and relax and watch the salmon run every fall....

Thus, as mentioned, the house is coming together slowly but surely....I just really have a new respect for people who have renovated their homes while living IN them.  I really don't know how that could ever be done!  Stay tuned....