The before the Before photos...



Don't say I didn't warn you. It's pretty ugly. These are the pictures I took on January 31, 2001, shortly after I bought the house. The contents you see are not mine! Click on the pictures for more detail, especially the floor plans. And no, these floor plans were not scribbled on a napkin in crayon. I drew them on Lily's coloring paper. With my own markers, not her Crayolas. (She won't let me.)

This first shot is standing in what will be our bathroom, looking towards the stairs. Note the lovely vibrant green paint on the wall. This was the color of my kitchen for about 5 minutes - as soon as I moved in the painter was there to cover it up. And no, it's not the flash. It was really that green.

This next shot is taken from the bottom of the stairs, looking into what will be the bathroom area. That's the old no-efficiency furnace you see. You can also see where the old HWT is - right smack in the middle. We took it out and converted to a tankless water heater that is the size of a suitcase and mounts to the wall next to the furnace. WAY better.

This is taken from what will be the corner of the bedroom, looking into the new bathroom area. The bath is going to be accessible from both sides, inside the bedroom and also from the hall.

This is the laundry room. We have replaced the washer and dryer with a stacking front loader and dryer combo to save some space. So far, the only appliance left to replace is the oven. That's my end of reno treat, along with Bryan's flat screen TV. The wall on the right hand side of the washer has been removed - this is the nook under the stairs and landing. The new electrical panel has gone under there, and we will put in cupboards for storage along the walls. The laundry room is the storage area for now, and will be done last - we need to strip it back to the studs, redo most of them, do some plumbing for a new laundry sink, and rewire the room. There will be soundproof insulation in all the interior walls of the basement, for both sound and fire protection.

Ah, the mural. Isn't it lovely? Painted on velvet, it is truly representative of the 1970's rumpus room era decor. The previous owners must have been fairly conservative, as they didn't install shag rug on the floor, instead opting for the ubiquitous 12x12 vinyl composite tile. Thank goodness. I can't imagine what creatures would be found in 40 year old shag rug.

This is the view from the end of the room, under the window. The string hanging in the middle of the picture is the pull cord for one of only 2 lights in the whole space. Isn't the faux fireplace great? The owner actually apologized that she wasn't leaving the fake fire for the fire place. She gave it to her nephew. Poor guy.

The bar. I don't think a lot of parties happened here. The fridge probably held a lot of orange soda and root beer from the old Pop Shoppe up the road. Note the contrast between the 1960's bark cloth curtains and the 1970's colonial style print on the vinyl wallpaper.

And here is the plan for the space. I can't wait for everything to be done. We're only beginning, but it will be so much better. Play space for all!

The next set of pictures will be shots during and after demolition, from pretty much the same perspective as the ones here.

Cross your fingers! (Edited)

Bryan is at the very top of the waiting list to take his second year apprenticeship classes at NAIT. Classes start Monday, so we are waiting for the call that means he is in. Chances are very very good that someone will drop out or not show up on the first day, and then he's in. We need some positive "get off the list" thoughts please!

** He got the call from NAIT this morning! He is in and starts classes on Monday at 9am. Thanks to everyone for the good vibes!**

The house will be quiet without him here, but it means he's getting ahead in his training, and when he does go back to work it will be with a significant raise in pay. Can't argue with that!

The renos are progressing - demolition is about 90% done, just 2 small areas to take out. Our electrician was here yesterday starting work on the panel upgrade. Once this is done, we won't have to worry about the breaker tripping every time we make toast. (For fun, the entire kitchen is on one circuit, so you can't make coffee and toast at the same time. Or microwave and use the dishwasher. It's a gamble!)

The subfloor and framing materials will be delivered on the 7th, with the subfloor install the following weekend. Then we can start some of the framing before we have to stop to tear up some concrete to put in the bathroom plumbing. (Still have to get the permit, water lines marked etc...) I have the order for the bathroom stuff ready to go - the Despot got over it's Scroogeness and gave us a 20% discount coupon at Christmas this year (last year was sweet nothing...not even a lump of coal) so we save $600 on the bath items plus we qualify for a $500 rebate card from the store. AND we can use the receipts for all these items as a tax credit in 2009. Anything that saves me money is a good thing. I'm cheap. I hate paying full price for anything if I don't have to.

I know, everyone wants to see some pictures. I have to scan some photos, but I will post them as soon as I can. The basement pics I have were taken in 2001, shortly after I signed the papers on the house, but while the previous owner was still here. So everything is VERY old-lady. Wallpaper and pink sheer curtains, and an untouched 1970's basement rumpus room. You'll see.

I will be taking progress pictures from the same angles so you can compare the before, during the rene, more during the reno, still during the reno, are they done yet? during the reno, and finally the after pictures.

Now that we are at this stage, I'm getting more excited about what it will all look like when it's done. I can't wait to have play space for all of us. Even better is that we will be doing most of the work ourselves - with the exception of the furnace, electrical and carpeting.

On the home front, Miss Lily is 90% potty trained. I am so proud of her! She's been dry overnight 6 nights in a row, and doesn't need a Pullup during nap time. She had one accident at playschool, but it was her first day there in big girl panties, and she was too busy having fun. (She made it to the bathroom, but not in time.) My little girl is not so little any more.

Watch for house pictures soon!

Pfffft!

You know it's not going to be a good day when you go out to run a quick errand and find out you have a flat tire.

What should have been a 15 minute run over to Walmart to buy storage totes turned into a 3 1/2 hour waste of a good afternoon.

I pulled out of the drive, and the truck felt funny. I got out to look and found one of the back tires was flat. Not just low. FLAAAAAT. I drove back home. Looked at the tire again. Swore.

Then I called my dad. In 8 years of owning the Mazda, he was lucky enough to never have a flat. Which meant that he didn't have a clue about how to go about changing it. But he did have an air compressor. He topped up the tire enough to get me over to Canadian Tire so I could get it repaired. Yay! $23 and 45 minutes and then I could get on with my day.

Yeah. I know. I tempted fate the second I thought that. And Fate, that fickle creature, kicked me while I was down.

My first hint should have been the grumpy lady at the key cutting station. She didn't smile. Or blink. Or say hello.

My second sign was when I was returning plumbing parts. Bryan did some work for my Auntie Ann this week, and as you should when repairing a toilet, he bought every part he might need on the first trip.

I went through the routine "No, nothing wrong with the parts, we just didn't need it for the repair...yes, the other part worked." Then the clerk handed me $3.15 for the $18.99 part I was returning. Umm, what? She didn't bother to look at what I was returning, she just refunded the first thing on the receipt. After we corrected that, I discovered my cell phone was dead, so I had to borrow my dad's. (He followed me over to the repair shop to make sure I made it there OK.)

I went back to the automotive area and asked them to call me on the cell as I would be running over to the McDonald's across the parking lot to have a cup of coffee.

45 minutes later, I get the call that the car is ready. Only it's not. Non-repairable tire. Ugh. Two new ones will be $399 + tax. Ugh. I tell them I need to make a call or two, and that I am heading back. I called home and explained it to Bryan, who already knows. It seems that the request "Please call me on my cell first." was a difficult one. Sigh. I called my dad to see what he thought. I had to leave a message as he was out walking the dog.

When I got back to the shop, there were no other customers, and when someone walked out from the repair area, he ignored me and picked up a phone to gossip with a coworker. The next person comes out, asked what I needed. He has to ask the guy on the phone what is going on. GUY #1 DOESN'T PUT DOWN THE PHONE! He tells me that it can't be repaired and that now the SUV need 2 new tires. He finished his call, and then disappeared into the back. When he comes back, he told me that at first he thought the car was a 4 wheel SUV, but since it isn't he can sell me different tires for $299 + tax. I called Bryan, he says we should just go ahead, so I give them the OK. This should take an hour or two, according to the guy at the repair counter. Fine, I decided to walk to Walmart and then walk home and wait for the call.

Still with me? Let me recap how wonderful CT has been so far.

• Grumpy lady at the door.
• Incorrect refund.
• Didn't call me on my cell as asked.
• Can't repair my tire.
• Ignored me at the service desk.
• Almost sold me the wrong tires.

I headed out the door, and made the trek across the parking lot. When I got to the crosswalk, my dad called to tell me that he is pretty sure the spare tire on the Mazda is a full size spare, and that if CT can match up with that one, I will only need to get one tire. $150 sounds much better than $299, so I headed back to the shop. When I got there, they told me that they can't do the replacement at all, as someone had just broken their tire balancing machine. I said a rather rude word. I told them to put the spare tire on the car and that I would figure something out. They asked me to wait 10 minutes while the spare was put on and then I would be on my way. I wandered around the store for 15, and then came back. They said it was ready, and then I had to wait another 1/2 hour to get my keys back. At least they didn't charge me to put the spare on. What a mess.

(And just to make it really fun while I waited for my keys, I was stuck in the nostalgic hell of 1980's junior high school slow dance tunes on the Muzak. Careless Whisper. Really loud. All that was missing was a disco ball, short awkward boys and the smell of gym socks.)

Getting back to my car, I found out that the spare is not a full size tire, so Dad's idea wouldn't have worked. But I'm glad he suggested it, as I probably would have gone to Walmart, walked home and then had a call from CT 2 hours later, telling me they hadn't done anything.

After Walmart (had to finish my original errand after all!) I drove to Mom and Dad's to drop off his cell and let him know what happened. Argh!

At home, I called the place in Sherwood Park that replaced the tires on the Focus. They were great to deal with before, so I figured that they would be the best place to go. I wasn't disappointed. First, they thanked me for coming to them after my experience with CT. This is before I have even committed to buying new tires from them. He checked his records and found that Dad had the tires put on the Mazda in 2003, and being 2009, they are probably due to be replaced. The first quote was a bit high - you don't need top of the line Michelin's on an 8 year old vehicle! He found a better set for me for $410, and said he could have them there within a couple of hours and complete the replacement right away. I said I would call in the morning to set things up.

Bryan called in to them while I got ready - they said to come in at 3pm and that the replacement would take about 1/2 hour. I got there at 2:55. When I walked in the door, the tech greeted me by name and told me that it would be done within 1/2 hour. I walked over to Safeway, bought a few groceries for homemade pizza night (inspired by Jay!), grabbed a latte from Starbucks and walked back. I was in the shop at 3:30, and was back on the road by 3:37. WELL worth the additional $100 over the CT price.

My car is fixed, I have my totes, I made our Friday night pizza and all is well. And I will NEVER take my car to CT again.