May 24, 2008

365 Days and 30 minutes ago....

We walked into our house for the first time as its owners. It was kind of a surreal moment, to say the least. It was a Thursday afternoon, and we had no idea when the title would be recorded, so we gave the previous owners until 5pm to leave.

Of course, they took advantage of that, and the fact that it was memorial day weekend to to have the power and water shut off on us, pettily hoping that that they could screw us over and force us to be uncomfortable until the next Tuesday.

Happily, however, Pasadena Water and Power are AWESOME and everything was back on by Noon, Friday.

It's been a crazy year. Somehow we've managed to rip out two wall heaters, install a ceiling fan, a chandelier, change two more light fixtures, fix another ceiling fan, install a brand new bathroom sink, run a water line to the refrigerator, cap off a number of useless pipes, completely replace the plumbing for the shower and the kitchen sink, and install a dishwasher. Oh, and hang lights on the pergola, rip out three trees, hack away a number of bushes, and plant two rose bushes, azaleas, calla lilies, carnations, lilacs, hydrangea, and two summers' worth of garden.

Not to mention replacing a broken window and installing an alarm system. And bringing home a new puppy.

Wow. That's a hell of a lot more than I realized.


This weekend's project? Why plastering the holes from the plumbing job and repainting the bathroom, of course. And hanging our Anniversary present to ourselves:



Cardinals singing in a magnolia tree above a creek. And it will look fabulous above our bed, so who cares if it's a mass-produced IKEA painting? It makes me happy.

More pictures on Flickr as soon as I have a moment to download from the camera, probably late tomorrow!

Posted by caltechgirl at May 24, 2008 05:38 PM | TrackBack
Comments

WOW! That was a quick year! CONGRATS! And happy anniversary, CTG & hub!

Posted by: Marie at May 25, 2008 05:37 AM

happy anniversary!

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at May 25, 2008 06:11 PM

A year's gone by already? How time flies. And the progress you've made on the house is impressive, too.

BTW, my blog suffered a major meltdown and is being reconstituted at a new site. The new URL is www.weekendpundit.org You may want to update your blogroll as the old site has just plain up and disappeared!

Posted by: DCE at May 25, 2008 07:51 PM

Wow...a whole year?! So much accomplished in that time. And I greatly admired how you have handled this recent episode with the thugs. The important stuff, (the babies), are fine, as are y'all. A good year, indeed.

Posted by: Mrs. Who at May 25, 2008 09:34 PM

More puppy pictures!
Oh, and happy anniversary in your home! :)

Posted by: pam at May 27, 2008 05:08 PM

Happy anniversary, CTG. I hope the next years are filled with much happiness.

Posted by: zonker at May 27, 2008 10:43 PM

Congrats on your new home and your anniversary. Too bad those old California homes almost always have to be extensively remodeled whenever a new owner moves in.

Posted by: diamond dave at May 28, 2008 04:43 PM

It's already been a year? Holy crap. It seems like yesterday that you were dealing with all the shenanigans to get the place. Wow.

I love that picture. It's calming and serene. Perfect for above your bed.

Posted by: Lauren at May 30, 2008 01:19 AM