All's Well With The Well!

We got word last Friday that Fannie Mae had (FINALLY) given the OK for the well pump to be repaired. That repair took place Monday. The sample was sent to the lab for testing and was declared "clear" this past Wednesday. We are still on track for a closing date of February 28th. I think I am going to worry, right up until we sign the closing documents and I have the keys in hand. Now to pack, pack, pack. We are planning our actual move for the second week in March. The first week in March will be spent scrubbing the place, top to bottom. It looks like I will just barely meet my goal of being in the new place by spring.

Which will be good news for my bees. The weather is starting to warm and they have begun to emerge from the hives. As soon as I see them out flying, I'm feeding. Yesterday I placed feeders in my yard for the first time this year.

 

The hive to the far right may be a dead out. Or it just may not be getting warm enough for the bees to come out and fly. Time will tell. It looks like the other 2 hives came through the winter just fine.

 

There isn't much time for handwork right now, however I did get inspired to begin knitting again after a 3 year hiatus. I saw a hat on Ravely with a ring of peace signs and decided to try to replicate it. Mission accomplished. This is my new favorite hat.

 

 

 



And We're...........Still Waiting.........

I'm sure those of you who have purchased a bank owned property can sympathize. Fannie Mae moves at her own pace. In fact I question whether she moves at all. Maybe it is like watching a sloth? You have to stare at it all day to see any progress. It's now been a full week since my last post and we still have not heard as to when the well pump will be repaired. We are assured that there is no reason it won't be. But no one can say when. We are also assured that ours isn't the only property caught in the Fannie Mae bottle neck, awaiting repairs. Meanwhile, the husbeast and I have been busy planning our attack for when we finally get possession.

The house needs just about everything you can imagine short of construction. First on the agenda will be a thorough scrubbing, top to bottom. Next we will need to fix one of the loose toilets. The remaining filthy carpets will be pulled up. The bedroom will be the first room to be overhauled. I refuse to sleep in it as is. That room will be painted and carpeted immediately. As it stands, we only plan to carpet 2 rooms. The bedroom and my loom room. The carpets will match the wall paint. Speaking of paint, here is the palette we have chosen.

 

The top 3 swatches are the exterior colors. The yellow on the right will also be the paint for the kitchen and mud room. The olive greens are for the living room, vestibule and hall. The tans are the bedroom, sewing room and both baths. The teal is my loom room.

 

We have also been planning what furniture and appliances we'll need. Thursday morning we were having breakfast in one of our favorite restaurants, Shakabrah Java , and the subject of burl coffee tables came up. We used to have a large burl table in our living room, years ago, but we sold it when our youngest nearly put her eye out on it. We loved that table a discussed how we'd like to get another for the new house. I immediately hopped on Craigslist and found this beauty in Lynnwood, WA, for $150. My husband grabbed it on his way to work. The timing was perfect. It had been on Craigslist for less than 24 hours. What are the odds? I think it was meant to be ours.

 

 

Now we just need a leather sofa and chair, and we'll be set.

 

So, still we wait. We are both getting impatient. We're trying to keep ourselves occupied. I recently sewed myself this dress. That kept me busy for 4 days.

 

Now I have a quilt kit that I can start. And there's always packing and de cluttering to do. Moving day will arrive, eventually. My hubby bought me this book today, to help me plan and dream.

 

 

Photos Of Winlock Property: Full Basement

This property doesn't have any outbuildings so the fact that it has a clean, dry, FULL basement was very attractive. Both my husband and I have hobbies that require a lot of space. The basement has 2 access doors. One is in the mud room and the other is on the side of the building.

The door from the mud room to the basement.

The access to  the attic is right above the landing.

Looking down the stairs. You have to

watch your head at the bottom. Low clearance.

Ah, there's the dryer hose. No matter, I'm putting

laundry area down here, out of the way.

Looking back towards the stairs. Now we'll pan right.

From the outside this would be the front right corner

of the building. Some storage cabinets. Nice.

More workbenches along the wall and a big table.

One of the previous occupants was a saddle maker.

That's what that doo-hickey is for. Been there a long time.

It looks like someone starting finishing that far corner.

This is the door that leads to the side of the house

with the orchard and pasture. We want to put a

covered patio just outside the door. There is hot

and cold running water to the left of the door. I

will eventually put my canning kitchen out on

the patio. I'll also barbecue, make soap, etc. outside.

The back wall of the basement. There's an old woodstove

there. The real estate listing claimed the house had a

fireplace. Yeah, if you count an old, rusty, disconnected

woodstove. The ad also included the basement square

footage in the "finished" square footage of the home.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Half Bathroom

This room is not being used to its full potential. There is plenty of room to put a corner shower in here, which we will eventually do. For now I will look for some kind of armoire to use as a linen closet. That is something the house lacks.

We'll pan around, left to right. The

window is to the right as you enter.

 

The toilet is to the right of the window.

On the back wall, to the right of the toilet, is the

sink with a little mirror over it. Very sparse in here.

The corner next to the door.

In between the sink and the door is all this room.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is good sized. Plenty of room for all our furniture. It has a long closet with built in shelves at both ends. The carpet in this room will be one of the first things to go. Based on what we find underneath we will either sand/paint or re carpet. I am leaning towards the latter for this room. Carpet makes a bedroom extra cozy.

Looking into the bedroom from the hall.

The closet would be to the left as you go

the doorway. The window is to the right.

View from the far corner looking towards the door.

It has a large closet with mirrored doors.

The one sold wall. The bed and nightstands will

go up against here with plenty of room to each side.

The one window. The door to the half bath is open.

Looking at the doors to the half bath and the hall.

The full bath is at the far end of the hall.

The shelves on the right side of closet.

The right side of the closet has this closed off pass through

that would have looked into the living room area. I have no

idea what its purpose was. Something to do with the school.

The shelves on the left side of the closet.

You can see what looks to be a closed off

doorway on the closet back. Not sure what

that light switch is for. I just noticed it.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Main Bath

This room needs some work. The toilet is loose and leaking and there is a gap at the base of the tub surround. The floor coving is fugly. But we should be able to fix it up easily enough.

The window over the toilet. We were

happy to see the ceiling fan...until we

discovered it vents directly into the attic

instead of to the outside. Easy fix.

A little alcove for the sink.

With towel holders. I think that may be

a medicine cabinet over the sink. I didn't

notice that knob before. Will have to look

inside next time I visit.

Looking towards the door from the sink.

The bathtub is to the left. Needs a shower

curtain rod. The bathroom is small

but it's laid out well. Should work great.

Another towel rod behind the door. And

robe hooks on the back of the door.

The tub is filthy and there is a gap

where the tub surround meets the tub.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Vestibule

This is another cool feature of the home. It has an actual vestibule. Complete with interior swinging glass door.

Looking in from the living room.

Looking back into the living room. You

see the archway to the bed & bath areas.

This rear wall of the vestibule is lathe and

plaster. It had been wallpapered and

then the wallpaper was painted over.

All but the back wall is covered in bead

board. Both sides have identical windows

and coat hooks. Visitors will use this

entrance. I need to find a parsons bench

or wicker settee to put in here.

The front door has these panels on both sides.

We have already picked out the new front door

with matching side lights.

The light fixture is dangling.

The same wood floor as the living room.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Sewing Room

I am so happy to be able to have two separate rooms for my hobbies. A loom room and this sewing space. Again, I'll be able to close the door on my crafting chaos. I should have plenty of room in here for a large cutting table, ironing board, shelves of sewing books and most of my cabinet sewing machines. I will probably keep my 3 treadle machines out in the living room where they can double as side tables.

Looking into the living room. I will remove the

clothes rod from the closet and replace it with

shelves for storing fabric. I may decide to carpet

this room as there is a big spot where the wood

floor was patched with plywood.

With the door closed.

The other end of the room. You can see where

the floor was patched. I think this room was

where they kept their dog. The carpeting has

already been removed and the floor is a mess.

Photos Of Winlock Property: Living Room

One feature this home lacks is a dining room. This is fine since we do not entertain much. We don't have a dining room in our current home, either. In both homes the living room is large enough to also hold our dining table.

Looking into the living room from the kitchen.

The right half of the living room. The kitchen is

straight ahead. The vestibule door is located to the

right. The arched doorway, to the left, leads to the

master bedroom and both bathrooms. The corner,

to the right of the kitchen door, is where I plan

to put my dining table. It isn't very big.

The second half of the living room. There is a built

in bookcase next to the door to my sewing room.

This is the corner where the propane stove will go.

We'll be able to vent it out through the wall.

Looking into the sewing room.