On January 2, we completed all paperwork with the Title Company, followed by a walk-through at the new house. On January 3, we became homeowners again. We showed the house to the kids the next day with a pizza lunch. By Monday, we were ready to start on the list of projects.
Rog started by working on the garage floor. It had numerous cracks and lots of stains. He filled the cracks, cleaned and etched the floor, then put on 2 coats of stain. The final result is pretty nice! It didn’t take long to start filling the cupboards and shelves.
Then he tackled the ceiling in the master bedroom. Typical of homes built in the 1970's, there are still 2 rooms with popcorn texture on the ceiling. Rog borrowed some of the tools that the Blooms used when they removed their popcorn ceilings and he went at it. Now the ceiling is smooth and ready for new texture.
His next project was the chimney. There was a pellet stove insert in an overly large corner cultured stone fireplace. We both had decided that it was one ugly fireplace and had to go. Since our January weather was more like May weather, Rog didn’t worry about punching through the ceiling and removing all of the brick. We now have a huge pile of bricks and blocks on the side of the house and our family room has gained more space.
He ended the month tearing into the wall between the garage and the kitchen.
Meanwhile, I attacked the bathrooms. After removing all of the drawers and cabinet drawers, I stripped, sanded, primed and painted. They turned out pretty nice. I removed the light fixtures and vents and gave them a similar cleaning and paint job. By the end of the month, the rooms were ready for ceiling and wall paint.
I also cleaned out all of the gutters, raked the front lawn, and got the crabgrass and weeds out of the driveway cracks and along the sidewalk.
We made almost daily runs to Home Depot and weekly trips to Restore, the Habitat for Humanity recycle store. We bought 2 desks to refinish and hardware goodies. We actually look forward to “going to work” every day and seeing our home emerge from the building that we bought.
Mid-month, we took a break and drove down to San Jose to visit with my brother, Tom, and his wife, Linda. The last time we had visited them some 15-20 years ago, they were living on the bottom floor of their 2 story house and were renting out the top floor. Now they live on the top floor and the bottom floor houses a guest apartment and a large studio. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, a fabulous dinner, and a chat with their son, Michael. Linda gave us one of her gorgeous bowls and a teapot as we left.
On Martin Luther King Day, we took Max for a date. We took him to a couple of spots that might be future dates to check them out, but they were both closed on Mondays. So we headed off for a bowling trip. We played two games and had a ball. We enjoyed a lunch at Chevy’s and then headed back to the apartment. The weather in CA has been disturbingly dry and unseasonably warm. It was sunny and in the 70’s but we decided to use the hot tub, as the water in the pool was doggone chilly. Max spent almost an hour in the tub, then when his mom and Karissa showed up, we went back to the apartment and they read the new books that had arrived in the mail that day. Rog and I used to put together a hard bound photo book every time Max visited us or we came back to CA for a visit. Now we write them each a book at the end of the year to cover the whole year. They make great memory books and the kids enjoy finding little mistakes we might make.
Old friends, Roger and Bobbi Zaucha, came for dinner and their son, Ryan dropped in and we got to chat with him as well. Bobbie and I worked together almost 40 years ago and our kids grew up together. They left Auburn to go RVing at the same time that we left to RV on water. We have all landed in Rocklin…one block away from each other. Amazingly parallel lives!
At the end of the month, we visited another old friend. When Rog and I first moved to Colfax back in the 1970’s, he met and worked with Elton Geist. He and his wife, Joann, became great friends and their daughter, Jenny, was our favorite babysitter when the kids were born. We heard that Elton had a stroke but never knew if he had survived. Then we got an invite to his 90th birthday. He lives in a guest home now, less than a mile from Joann, but came home for his party. It was really nice to see him and Joann again and even got to see Jenny. We had a wonderful visit and hope to go back up to see them again.
We have been looking for a truck for a few months now. Our son, Ryan, needed a truck as well so we decided to go in together on it. Back in October, there were quite a few used trucks available but we just weren’t ready. Then in December it dried up and there weren’t any available from owners…and January didn’t show any improvement. Now that we are getting into projects, it became more crucial and Ryan was getting anxious as well. We finally bit the bullet and went to a used car lot. He and Rog found a Chevy Silverado that was in great shape and had what they needed. So now we are part owners of a truck. It has already proved invaluable on our lumber hauling needs.
The Hawkinsons came for dinner and cards during the 49er/Seahawk game. They got lost coming to our place and had written our phone number down wrong. They knew where Michelle and Eric live, so they went there to get directions to our house, arriving about 1.5 hours late. But they got here!
Ryan joined us for lunch at the new house and we continue to enjoy our Monday afternoon projects with the grandkids.
So our lives have gotten a bit busier…and we are loving it!
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