Monday, May 11, 2009

Two steps forward and one step back..........

As I am writing this on Sunday night, I have to admit I had a moment today when I said to myself, what the heck we were thinking......

One of the jobs to do on Sunday was for dh to install the microwave above the stove. Granted it's not a five minute job, but little did we realize it would be an all day job. I may have mentioned before dh is an electrician, so we knew when we bought the house, some of the electrics were not up to par, but because the guy screwed up everything he touched, a simple job turns into a major operation. So of course this turned into a major job today.

The electrics are done for the microwave, but it's still not up yet. Hopefully he'll have time through the week to finish installing it. He did manage to install my under the cupboard can opener, so that was good, as I was itching to have baked beans!!!

The people who owned the house before us had dogs. They kept them a lot down the basement of the extension. I have been smelling pee for the last few days, as the family room is above the basement. So my job on Sunday was to pull off the carpet on the stairs, and wash the floor of the basement.

The carpet was probably from the 70's, as it was this orange and brown creation with foam backing. I had to scrape the rest of the foam off the stairs and I will have to sand them to get the rest of the glue and foam off before we can either paint them or carpet them.

Then in the basement we have a lot of stuff stored in one half of the basement. So I washed one half of the floor, then moved all the stuff to that half of the basement and wash the other half of the floor. In between hands I unpacked a couple of boxes and put more stuff away.

I have to say since doing all of that the smell of the pee has now gone away, so I guess that is a good thing.

After supper I decided to go out in the garden and make a start on the gardens. We are overrun with dandelions and thistles. I honestly don't know how on earth I am going to get rid of them all, other than constant weeding. If any one has any environmental ideas of how to get rid of them, I would love to hear about it.

So although I felt we weren't getting anywhere today, I guess we did get a lot done. One lovely thing did happen today, well a couple of things, both kids called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. Then my neighbour from the old house, drove up to give me a bunch of flowers for mothers day, and she didn't even have our proper address. She knew which road from the real estate listing and a photo from the same listing, so drove up the road until she saw the house and our cars. That brought tears to my eyes, as that was such a sweet thing to do.

I think both me and dh are just both so tired and aren't sleeping well, as we both ache in places we never knew could ache. I know we'll look back on all of this in six months time and laugh about it all. It's just not feeling funny at this moment!!

12 comments:

stitchersanon said...

Just keep mowing that lawn to prevent the dandelions going to seed. You can get lawn feed with dandelion killer included.
On the flower beds...wait till a nice sunny day, hoe up the weeds and let the sun kill em.....it will take a while but you will get there lol
Stop whinking about what needs doing...think about what has been done and achieved in a fairly short time. Electrics always need doing in old houses anyway..take a little bit of time out. Go out, get some lunch and you will feel better..honest¬

softinthehead said...

Don't think of it all as chores that must be done NOW. Just enjoy - this is your life now, take it one day at a time and you will see the progress. Belated happy mothers day :)

Niki said...

You know that expression "it's always darkest before the dawn" well, the dawn is coming Gill, hang in there! One day in the hopefully not to distant future you will have a beautiful old stone home is lovely condition, sparkling clean and decorated, I have not doubt about it! In the meantime, don't have a nervous breakdown, do have a Sherry, (or whatever works for you ;) and keep us posted!
Blessings and Happy Monday
Niki

Margaret's Ramblings said...

we had a large overgrown blackberry and nettles patch last year. After getting rid of what was above ground we covered the whole area in weed suppresent cloth and covered it with bark. Twelve months later they are all dead.

Margaret

Twisted Fencepost said...

Hang in there. Get it livable and take it one day at a time. There is no hurry, right? Enjoy what really appealed to you. The country. It will all come together in time.

DeniseinVA said...

Sheer exhaustion talking. It has a way of draining you, not only in body but in spirit. Hang in there Gill, you'll be looking back and it will have all been worthwhile. Happy Belated Mother's Day. Sweet of the kids and of the neighbor who drove out to give you the flowers.

Kim said...

For the dandelions try this link:
http://www.plantea.com/dandelions.htm

Just remember that all that good honest hard work is making you a beautiful home. 6 months isn't that far away, and by then it will be all complete :)

I love hearing about your new home.

When we moved into our house we thought the previous owners had used high gloss paint on all the doors and archways...they didn't, they shellacked them! We are NOT repainting.

Scrappy quilter said...

I agree, keep mowing the lawn before those dandelions go to seed. As to the thistles, if they are in the garden put on a pair of gloves, wet the soil good and pull them up by the root.

We needed to do a ton of electrical work in our old house too. Wait until you start the upstairs and tearing off the lathe and plaster...

Take one day at a time, remember to rest and enjoy your area. It will all come together. We've been here 7 years and are still making changes.

Cyn said...

You are getting so much done - even if it doesn't feel like it. Getting rid of 'pee smell' is huge! Take a breath. . . it will all get done. Perhaps a quick break will put the wind back into your sails!
Sending you loads of hugs,
/;-)

Laura B said...

Once its all done and you look back on it all - it will be with immense pride and satisfaction. Thanks for letting us share the journey with you.

mommanator said...

did ya ever hear Sunday is a day of rest! It made me tiored to read it TEEHEE
Youve heard of making lemonade from lemons, well ow about dandelion wine from all those dandelions! O and I've heard the greens make a wonderful salad- and you with all those recipes!

Gill - That British Woman said...

thanks for all your comments, tomorrows post is a one to read!!!

Gill

{{{SIGH}}}

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