Next year, we plan to go with a pirate theme and convert our entire garage.  Ann has given her okay to paint the walls into a Pirate’s Cove.  We’ll have to start planning early.

Thanksgiving was pleasant.  We had Ann’s extended family over with lots of food and games for all.  We continued our new tradition of having a Friday night dinner, so more friends and family can come over and everyone can bring in leftovers from the night before.

Our new house continues to be a rewarding pleasure and an exellent party host.

We used the husband of a coworker of Anns handle the installation.  He has a business installing sprinkler systems but does other work as well.  I helped with the labor and he agreed to take payments on the work.  Overall, the price was about $1500.  So, we didn’t get anything else done this year for the back yard, that will come next summer.

We dug up four very large tree-like shrubs and about ten small ones. We started at about 1:00. It was a nice day but fairly long work. By the time we had some dinner and got home it was 7:00pm and nearly dark. The dirt in our backyard is all clay. It’s tough to dig in and incredibly sticky when wet. I went at it with a pick but it was still hard work. We got everything in the ground but my back was sore for three days after.

Two weeks ago we had several days of wind and rain which softened the ground and knocked over the four tall shrubs. I wasn’t looking forward to getting out there in the sticky mud and fixing them… so I didn’t.

Last Sunday, we decided it was time to do some gardening. Our grass was growing out of control so I bought an electric lawn mower. I knew I wanted electric so I wouldn’t have to do any engine maintenance on it. The cord was a little cumbersome to maneuver around the lawn but the mower did a great job. It’s a 3-in-1, meaning it can kick the grass out the side chute, dump it in a rear bag or mulch it and put it back in the grass. I chose to bag it this time.

The lawn also has several dead spots and some open seams in the sod. It was planted at the end of October and has withstood a fairly harsh winter and “dog use”. So, I bought a bag of “Lawn Repair”. It’s a combination of three grass seeds and fertilizer designed just for this purpose. I dug out all the dead grass and loosened the soil with a little claw tool and sprinkled in some seed. I’ve got a sprinkler system so all the watering is done for me.

We also wanted to change out some of the shrubs they gave us for the front yard. Ann didn’t like the two junipers so we dug them up and got rid of them. We moved the others around toward the walkway and planted on tall and one short shrub on the far side.

Our Autumn Blaze Maple sprang to life! From bare branches to this in only two weeks. There’s Ann peeking out the window.

In the back yard we put all the plants upright and staked them to help out in the next rain. The kids took some time to play in the mud!

We had Barbara and our friend Mary over for Barbara’s birthday so we got the house nicely cleaned up.  Here are some pictures of the dining room and living room so far. 

It wasn’t until November that we finally agreed on the layout and ordered the newly selected pieces.  We were told it would take 8-12 weeks to arrive.  Early December we were happily suprised that delivery was ready and we would get our couches a week before Christmas.

Well, that week began the “Blizzard of 2006″ here in Colorado.  So, delivery was put off for another week.  That was okay, we’d get them the Friday before Christmas.  But, then came another snow storm.  Drat!  Put off another week.  Okay, so we’d get them in time for New Year’s.  Dashed again by a third snow storm.

Okay, so NOW we finally have our couches.  They sure take up a lot of space, though.  We were just getting used to having a very large, open floor.  Anyway, it’s nice to have something where everyone can sit down.  The color is called Pear, but they’re more like Granny Smith Apple Green.  Made of microfiber suede, they are very comfortable.  We also made sure to get full warranty coverage in case of accidental damage or staining.  Anyway, here are some pictures.

We spent all day Saturday moving but Kevin had to work in the morning so he and I handled the big stuff when he got home at the end of the day.  We loaded up the truck and hauled over the first load.  We unloaded some things into the house, but most of it was just put into the garage.  We only unloaded part of the truck since it was getting late, saving the rest for Sunday morning.  We had moved the beds so, from that night on, we only slept at the new house.

Sunday, Kevin had to work and Sandy wanted Megan to help at her salon for the day.  So, it was just Ann, Barbara and me to move the rest in.  Barbara helped unload the rest of the truck then Ann and I went to our friend Mary’s house to pick up some things that we’ve had stored in her basement for a long time:  Ann’s old 50′s dining table set and our new dining table set that Mary and Tony bought for us.  This trip, everything was unloaded into the garage because it was getting late and we had to return the moving van.

 I don’t think I ever related the story of the dining set, so I’ll do it here.  About a month before we closed on the house, we were trying to find a nice dining set for our new, huge dining room.  For the last three apartments we lived in, I have always used the dining room or nook as my computer area.  So, Ann was excited to get a dining room again.  And, our new kitchen has a small “Breakfast Nook” area for her old dining set.  So, we planned on a classic Asian theme for the dining area and a modern Asian theme for the living room.  So, we set out to search for the perfect dining set.  Ann found these great chairs at an Antique Shop in Denver.  It has four chairs plus two more that were extra wide and had armrests.  We plan to repaint, recover and replace the cushions, too.  The material on the seats are nice with an asian block pattern on them but need to be cleaned up or replaced with something more traditional.  All six chairs went for about $180.  Then we spent the next couple of weeks looking for the right table to match it.  Meanwhile, we stored the chairs at Mary’s house.  Well, Mary is the Queen of CraigsList.  If you’re not familiar with that, it’s an online classified ads website where people can post ads and sell stuff for free in your local community.  Think eBay, but free and no bidding.  So, Mary found the exact same set on Craig’s List with 6 regular chairs (no end chairs) and the matching table with two leaves all for $190.  On top of that, Mary and Tony bought it for us as a house-warming gift.  Well, it turned out that it wasn’t an exact match.  The chairs were of very similar design, close enough for them all to sit together, but still different.  We intend to repaint and recover them all to match.  But, still, they are all very nice and look great in the room.  With both leaves the table comfortably seats 10 people and, with a little snuggling up, we can fit in all 12 chairs.  For now, we keep it with one leaf and six chairs for daily use.

Ok, flash forward again to the Tuesday after the move.  I paid one of the local marine fish stores to help me move my tank.  He showed up with a van, hoses, towels and lots of buckets.  It took two hours to move everything and get it reset in the new house.  I’m happy to report that the only loss was one hermit crab who was a bully and killed all my other hermits and snails anyway.  Everyone else is happy and healthy.  Last time I moved, into the old apartment, I lost several prized fish and invertebrates.  So, I was very happy this time.

Ann has been working on three different productions and I’ve been working my new Deep Rock Water job.  So, we didn’t have much time to do a lot to the house during the week.  But, the next Thursday, we got ourselves a Best Buy credit card and bought a front-loading washer and dryer.  We stacked them because we want to build in a nice multi-shelf unit and workspace on the left of them.  Also, the dryer vent would have required the dryer to stick out into the small room another 6″ to fit right.  The laundry room is a mud room coming off the garage.  It’s only the width of a hallway, plus an alcove for the washer and dryer and a very small coat closet.  Also, because our new living room is so large, as is the “Media Alcove” above the fireplace, our little 19″ TV looked tiny and was hard to see from a regular seating position.  So, we also picked up a Sony 32″ LCD TV on the Best Buy card.  No interest for 18 months, so we have time to pay them all off.

We also picked up a JCPenny credit card to order new couches.  Ann fell in love with a sectional that they had with Microfiber upholstry.  To her, most microfibers feel like plastic, but this one feels like suede.  And, we ordered it in an apple-green color which looks great against the wall and carpet colors.  We brough home a material sample so Ann could shop for curtains to match as well.  Those will take 8-12 weeks to show up, so there won’t be any pictures of those for some time yet.

As a move-in / holiday / Christmas gift for the kids, we’ve given them a budget of $400 each to stock and decorate their rooms.  So far, Kevin picked up a nice ceiling fan with lights and picked out a futon which we have yet to pick up.  He picked out some colors for his curtains and Ann is working on putting them together now.  Megan also has curtains that Ann is working on and just picked up a ceiling fan with lights, some paint and wood to refurbish her old dresser and she wants to go to an asian import store to pick out lost of decorations.  She also wants the same futon that Kevin does but her room is much smaller and she may change her mind about that.  She enjoys having her bed in the closet, which is huge by any standards, with its own light and small window.

This last Tuesday we bought a garage door opener and Wednesday I put it in.  I’ve helped a friend update an existing garage door opener before so I figured I’d be able to handle it myself with no problems.  Well, installing a new unit is a bit more work but 7 hours later we had a fully functional garage door opener with an outside keypad, inside controller and three remotes.  Now I just need to reorganize the boxes and stuff still in the garage so I can pull my car in.  Because of the way all curbs are designed nowadays, Ann prefers to just park on the street.  Also, we both have mid-size cars and fitting them both on the driveway and in the garage will be a snug operation.  So, since I’m working from a company van right now, I’d like to get my car inside and out of the elements.

We still need to make a trip back to the apartment some time.  There are still a few little things to move, all my fish tank buckets and all the cleaning to be done.  The old washer and dryer are to be picked up on Tuesday.  We were renting them from another company and we cancelled the service at the end of the billing cycle.  So, the apartment managers will be there to let them in and move things.  We’d like to have things cleaned up a bit before they get there.

Well, I think that wraps up everything that’s happened since we moved in.  Ann is still working hard on three shows but should be done after this weekend.  I’m planning a post-Thanksgiving dinner for Friday to bring friends to the new house.  We won’t have our couches yet, but we’ll have plenty of dinner seating, followed by drinks and games.  Kevin’s sick this weekend but his room was pretty much done the first weekend.  Megan needs to refurbish her dresser and throw out some old stuff so she can finish up her room.  I should have pictures of Thanksgiving at our new dining table, so I’ll post more then.

While insulating the garage is, technically, the first home improvement project we completed, I did two more on our first day of ownership.

I put in our new kitchen faucet.  Ann and I found this great faucet at a great price.  It matches the color of the brushed nickel light fixtures throughout the house better than the original faucet.  It also provides better clearance and Ann prefers the two-handle controls versus the single handle.

I also installed our thermostat for the HVAC system.  KB Home provided a basic digital thermostat but years ago, when we first moved into our latest apartment, I bought a nice, programmable, touch-screen thermostat that also tracks filter replacement based on the number of running hours, daily temperature presets and four program periods in each day.  Ann has been all about energy conservation with our new house, so this was our second step for that (the first being the garage insulation).

All windows and sliding doors are double-paned, UV filtering, high-efficiency vinyl construction windows.  The HVAC system is an upgraded 90% efficient system and everything throughout the house is Energy Star compliant.  To take all this further, today we visited the hardware store to pick up several items to start our house off right. 

Because of 6″ of snow overnight,  I picked up a snow shovel.  This is the first time that I’ve ever had to shovel snow since I’ve always lived in apartments, condos and townhomes so I picked up a snow shovel that has a bent handle so I don’t have to stoop to scoop. 

We also replaced all of the 65W bulbs in the recessed lighting throughout the house (17 bulbs) with energy efficient, 13W compact fluorescent bulbs.  There are another 7 bulbs in the basement and basement stairs to replace, since I’ll be using that space a lot.  I’m not sure about the outside lights (2 in back, 2 on the garage and 1 at the front door) but we may replace those with compact fluorescent lights as well.

I also got a timer for the front exterior lights.  The two on the front of the garage and one at the front door are all on one switch at the front door.  So, I replaced that switch with a digital timed switch so the lights are on at night and off during the day.  It has built-in logic to adjust to changing sunset/sunrise times based on the area you live in and has a random element to give a lived-in appearance.  Because we have 9′ ceilings and recessed lights in the upper stairway that is impossible to reach, even with a ladder, I picked up one of those bulb changes on the end of an extension rod.  It has lots of attachments, including large bulb, small bulb, suction cup, broken bulb changers and even a duster attachment.  With this, Megan was able to change all the bulbs in the house.

The whole family had a sit-on-the-floor dinner at the new house, Barbara and Henry included.  I picked up the kids early this week because they have no school tomorrow.  The kids had plenty of time to play with Henry at the new house.  The cable guy is showing up some time between 8am and noon tomorrow to hook up TV, cable and Internet, so I’ll be there first thing.  The kids will start their packing right away and we’ll try to get a small moving truck for Sunday.

And we even got $127 back!

We’ll start some real moving this weekend!