Floors and Foundation

Posted by zyllah – August 15, 2008

So yesterday I went out to see the house so I could shoot a pic of the actual lot.

Much to my surprise they had actually *started* I was never so pleased to see concrete!

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While I was out there I met two oh so very chatty kids who live somewhere in the subdivision and one of my new neighbors. Very nice. She had the floor plan I almost chose. How she fits five kids in it I’m not sure. Anyway I am glad I have a nice neighbor. She appeared to be a bit amazed we’d purchased such a large house for the 2 of us. Maybe it is too big for us. I don’t know. I bought thinking it would be good to have the space if we ever actually spawn. Besides it’s not like I won’t use all the rooms we’re getting. Anyway…I found some more flooring I kinda like and I’ve ordered samples. I know we’re probably going to get it locally but I very much want to see what they are like in person and test them for durability. I’m not really looking at tile or carpet yet since I am less concerned with it. I already decided to do grey carpet and grey tile. He likes doing a simple pattern so I was thinking a light grey with a darker grey accent. I wish I could do subway tile but the labor would probably jack up the cost of the house and I’m not sure it would be worth it. Oh maybe I’ll add bead board to the half bath downstairs. That would add a charming touch. So these are the ones I ordered. I found them here.

That’s Vulcan Oak. What can I say I love oak.

That’s Wenge. It might be too red

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That’s a distressed mahogany.

Also going to try and head out to the local place to see what they have. I did go there with my mom but I want to take Justin to show him. Since he unexpectedly seems to have opinions. Which makes me happy. I was getting a little stressed out thinking of making all the choices on my own.

Remind me why I love cats?

Posted by zyllah – August 15, 2008

So yesterday morning I woke up and found this:

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Actually what I found was the yarn stretching between two rooms with the scarf still attached. Squeak is by far the most yarn aggressive cat I have ever had. Like if she sees me knitting, she hops up in my lap to put a stop to it.  She is the devil, but she also spent over an hour last night rubbing her face against my back and licking it. So sometimes I guess she’s sweet. Having five just means I’ve had to officially accept the idea that I am a crazy cat lady.  In other news the new sock is coming along.

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Like I said I am unofficially competing so I’ve decided to give myself till the end of the month.  Mostly I just am sick of the projects and want them out of the way so I can move on to greener pastures. This weekend I’ll hopefully get through most of the 2nd sleeve for basic black. Then I can focus on the finishing. Of course since I’ve yet to even cast on for the sleeve….But I have a fool proof plan. A new Falco audio book! How I love the romans in all their bloodwashed hardheaded decadence.

Floors and Wood and Tile Oh My

Posted by zyllah – August 14, 2008

Like I said yesterday this week I am concentrating on flooring. Since all other choices do need to go with the floors. It makes sense to me to sort of start there. So after I got home from knitting last night I was graced with the husband not being totally distracted so we went to lumber liquidators site to check out what they had. I know that’s probably not where we’ll get the flooring but I wanted to see what sorts of floors he liked. The only real shocker was he really liked this cork floor. Of course I’d never let him put in cork except perhaps in a kids play room or art studio and even then I think I’d try and do a cork ‘rug’ Anyway it turns out we like mostly the same things, dark, hand scraped, interesting grain. So that’s a bonus. So we weeded it down to 9 choices.

1. 1/2″ x 5″ Potomac Plank Handscraped Engineered Flooring

Comments: Most expensive of the ones we picked but I love the texture. Nice not quite too dark color.

2. 7/16″ X 4″ Nocturnal Maple Quick Clic Floating Engineered Flooring

Comments: Might be too dark but its nice because its not super red like a lot of the other ones. Also on the “most expensive’ list.

3. 7/16″ x 4″ Yukon Oak Quick Clic Engineered Floating Flooring

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Comments: Love the grain. But I love dark oak.

4.Kahlua Maple Handscraped Engineered Flooring

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Comments: Might be a tad too red for me.

5. 1/2″ x 4-3/4″ Tobacco Oak Handscraped Engineered Flooring

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Comments: Love the oak, love the lack of red.

6. 5/16″ x 2-1/4″ Select Brazilian Redwood Flooring Prefinished

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Comments: a bit too red for me. But for a not as dark as the others choice it’s not bad.

7. Select 3/8″ x 3″ Casa de Colour Prefinished Aztec Cherry Stained Flooring

Comments: too red I think.

8. 12MM Bond Street Teak High Gloss Laminate

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Comments: I like it and it is economical however reviews said footprints showed because it was so high gloss.

9.Dream Home – Nirvana V3 8mm x 3″ Havana Mahogany Laminate Flooring (Single Strip)

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Comments: This is my favorite of the not really dark ones and hey I think it might be the cheapest.

Also we decided that we’re going to go with one flooring option in the downstairs. So wood in the kitchen for me. I just think the house will flow better if its not chopped up with different floors. Later on I’m going to look at some other sites and see if I find anything else I like.

You’d think I was a member of the writer’s strike…

Posted by zyllah – August 13, 2008

I’m not sure why I quit posting I just know that I did. Part of it was habit I suppose, part of it was lack of stuff to say in public. However I am trying to get back into the habit of writing every day since it’s a good one to have when you have an unfinished novel laying around. Maybe I should start off small with shorter works? At any rate between this and my knitting, cooking (not started), and house blogs I think I should have a wealth of material to write about. As far as I know the only one that ever gets read is the knit blog. I can’t wait to move. Mentally I think I already have moved. Only about 2.5 months left here. Anyway the new house is going to be awesome and there is so much more space. Thank god. I didn’t think we’d last another three years in this house. It’s double the size and it has a big garage. Hopefully we’ll get to stay in it long enough to make some money and enjoy it. I also have a new story idea brewing but I dunno the other one I have been working on would be an easier sale. So I think I’ll hold off and wait. Anyway yesterday was fairly productive but today needs to blow it out of the water so I can get things moving. However I will leave you with the latest editions to my farm…

So now that the lot issue has been settled…

Posted by zyllah – August 13, 2008

So I called the builder and he claims the lot is clear but at least now I’m sure of which one it is. I’m going to go out there today and check it. I think it is from what I remember so I’ll have an updated lot picture tomorrow. In the meantime I’ve been trying to decide on metal for the fixtures. I rather like bronze but nickel might be a better selling option. As much as possible I want this place to look high end. I think it will I have a good eye and I’m good at decorating. So it should be fantastic. I found a rug I quite like except I’m not sure where to put it. We have two rugs currently. A room sized one that my inlaws gave us and a smaller one I picked up at target way back when. The both need cleaning and I’m not quite sure how I want to do that except perhaps in the last week before we move I’ll manage it. Ideally I’d like to keep them in the garage and clean them before we move them into the house so they can be pristine and dry. Anyway our 1st floor will be all hard surfaces so I need a rug for the living room, one of the dining room, one for the entry and a smallish one or two for the kitchen. I like to have a rug in front of the sink and the stove. Also we might end up putting a hard surface up in the bonus room. So we have two and need at least two more. I found one that I think would be perfect for up in the bonus room. I don’t quite see it as entry way or dining room material.bonus rug

Justin even likes it. I think it is probably a bit too dark for the living room since our furniture is so dark. Also on the agenda at some point is getting that chair I bought recovered. My slip cover experiments didn’t work so well. I might try doing it myself but I think I’m going to price having it reupholstered. If it’s cheap enough I’ll just go that route. Although I’m not quite sure what fabric to go with. I mean I know what type of thing I would like but it might be cost prohibitive. I just checked and yeah a hundred or higher a sq yard is way out of my budget. Especially for a chair I don’t even particularly care for. I mean I like the chair but I got it mostly cause I wanted a chair and it was a good brand and it was cheap. Perhaps the better option is just to stick that chair as is upstairs in my yarn room or office and get new for the living room? I already know what I want in the living room. I’m thinking a brown leather settle and morris chairs. Now see if I do that the rug above would totally work. I just have to convince Justin that’s the way to decorate. He has a thing about furniture for slouching as opposed to furniture for sitting.

I’m kind of all over the place with the design stuff I really need to focus on one thing at a time. So I think this week will be flooring. I have to decide if I’m going to tile the kitchen or do wood/laminate. Since from the flooring will depend all the other choices I make downstairs. I think the house would flow better if all the downstairs had one flooring. Its mostly open anyway. However I am sure tile would be better in case of any water accidents. Oh decisions decisions.

The Lot

Posted by zyllah – August 12, 2008

Ok so originally I wanted this lot

ALL the way on the end. However, like I said I was convinced by Justin that when they built the house on the other side of us I’d regret it. Anyway last night I drove out there to see it and I’m not sure because I stupidly forgot the map but I think there is a pole right in the middle of my lot which means it will be in the middle of my house. Since they haven’t done anything yet I’m hoping they approve a change so that won’t be the case. On today’s agenda for the house is talk to the builder about the lot, call another mortgage company to try and get a better rate and/or call my original mortgage company to start turning it into an actual application. I swear the fun never ends!

More Yarn Please!

Posted by zyllah – August 12, 2008

So this weekend was pretty decent. I finally finished that sleeve. Except for you know having to rip out a bunch because I’d dropped a stitch. Oops. Anyway so I finished the sleeve and added a few inches to my scarf.

Sunday we went and picked up our new to us TV. It’s HD but a tube tv since I don’t like flat panels. Also I’m too cheap to spend that much on a television. However he did want HD for his xbox and I wanted another tv for the new house. So anyway a few hours of having *fun* with cables led to the scarf’s growth. I also started a house blog in an attempt to spare you my endless blathering about it. Though I probably will blog about setting up the dye studio in the garage. I added a sink to the garage specifically for it. I still need to get off my ass and do something with my cooking blog and perhaps start updating my not so specific topic blog. Essentially I’m trying to get back in the habit of writing every day since I have that novel I want to finish. I also have another one that’s, at the moment, more interesting to me brewing. It’s rather more Big Idea Sci Fi rather than Paranormal fun though. So I’m better off trying to finish the fun one first since it seems ridiculously easy to get published in that genre these days.

Anyway on to Yarn Pron…

First up we have Sundara’s first seasons club mailing for winter. It’s called Granite falls. I rather like it and was considering Juno for it.

This is classic elite’s water lily. I had wanted this yarn for about a year when it came up on sale at patternworks so I bought a sweaters worth. Of course now I’m not so sure. It’s very pretty in the ball but I’m not sure I’m in love with it knit up. This might become a feb lady. However, Sarkasmo kinda convinced me it would make me look pregnant. I’m thinking since I carry my weight in front and I’m busty perhaps not the most flattering look for me.

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This is something I got off destash for like 12 bucks. It’s a sweaters worth of online superwash merino. How could I resist? The color is a bit too rusty for me but it would either look good on my mom or be spectacular overdyed.

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Last but certainly not least is Dream in Color’s Gothic Rose. As a not so recovering goth….This is the worsted size and I originally bought it to make another clap. However since then I’ve realized I did buy enough to make a sweater (maybe) so I’m not totally sure.  Meanwhile Justin wants the pillow I’m making him out of it. Can you believe he picked smooshy over malabrigo? Might be for the best since it is superwash. Anyway I was thinking of some kind of woven texture stitch with a plain back. I’m just going to buy a nice pillow form and sew the cover around it though I am going to do it in such a way that I can remove it for washing.

The Story So far…

Posted by zyllah – August 10, 2008

So not that long ago when Justin reenlisted and we discussed you know things, I said perhaps we should revisit the house issue. I didn’t think our existing rental would last us another few years. It’s very small (sub 1000 sq ft) and when I was pregnant one of the most stressful aspects to me was where the heck was I going to put the kid. I know people have done it in 1 bedroom apartments but I really didn’t know where I put her. I had always looked because I love houses the way I love well lets say sushi to keep it clean and there was a house I was oh so very interested in. It was inexpensive, had all the upgrades one could want, and large. I did nothing to go see it. I wanted to wait till they were more desperate and would drop the price. Of course it sold. Anyway…In the midst of looking I decided to broaden my horizons a bit and found a nice looking prospect. I went out that day to see it with Claire. So we met out there on the way to knitting and fortune smiled upon us and one of them had an unlocked back door. For the first time I really liked what I saw. It was *not* a ranch with a bonus room. It had tile and wood floors and an actual laundry room. So I went to knitting and then came home and told Justin about it. That weekend he was kind enough to give up some of his gaming time so we could go out there.

Unfortunately for us to see any of them meant we had to spend time with a shark real estate agent who was out there. So we saw a bunch of them (oddly not the floor plan we ended up choosing) and there was one that both of us really liked. It had the most fantastic upstairs and just tons of closet space. So at the end of the day the shark was supposed to email us. Of course she didn’t. Probably because we hadn’t done anything besides say hey lets go look. Let’s just say I was not terribly impressed. Besides really I couldn’t stand her utter phoniness. Our bank has a real estate program where they help you find an agent and if you go through them the agent gives up a percentage of the commission and you get it back after you close so I knew I wanted to go through them anyway. I thought it was a good way of buying window treatments. Anyway so I’m all jazzed up so I get pre-approved and reopen my file with the bank. They ask if I want to use the same agent as from our previous search but I decided not to. I wasn’t totally thrilled with her and since we flaked out last time I was worried there would be lingering animosity. Anyway so Agent #1 calls us. I was hoping to get everything in motion before Justin left since I knew he would be gone for a long time and I was pretty sure we wanted to build and that takes 60-90 days. However she was really busy. So I let it slide for about a week before I felt that I was getting ignored. In the meantime I had spoken to my builder and made some comment and he gave me the name of someone he had used a lot. However I had weird issues with using someone so closely aligned to the builder so I called the program up and asked for someone else.

So I met with him and that week we met with the builder. Justin was unable to go since he had worked all night the night before. By this time I had been out there looking several times sometimes with Justin and sometimes by myself. We had it narrowed down to two different floor plans. The one we both liked initially and the one I ended up choosing. So they answered all my questions and the agent had some very good ideas I wouldn’t have thought of. Then we get a call saying the VA can’t find him in the system so we have to fill out some paperwork (this is still pending) So Justin was then leaving so things went to a standstill. Which was ok because we still hadn’t chosen. One of them was very contemporary and had this open 2 story living room it also had a main floor master with 2 walk-in closets. The upstairs was fantastic too. Two decent bedrooms, an open lofted office/sitting area and a huge huge rec room. Lots of closets everywhere. However, it didn’t have an entry way and the kitchen/dining area was just too small. We would either have had to steal room from the living room and master or poured more foundation. Also I’m just not really a contemporary sort of girl. The other one is much more traditional but it would have meant essentially losing two rooms. It had an entry way and a living room, dining room, kitchen on the main floor with all bedrooms upstairs. However it did not have any sort of bonus/rec room. I was really torn but I kept thinking about that small kitchen and how the heck would I decorate using one color throughout most of the house. Anyway I went back and forth.

So while Justin was gone my mom came up for a week before I was supposed to go down there for a family party. We went out there and spent about an hour or so in each house going over them. She agreed with me that the more traditional one was the better floor plan but also that we needed to add a bonus room. So Justin gets home and we talk about it and finally he says just to pick the one I like. As long as it has more storage space he’ll be happy. So I chose the more traditional. It had a couple of things going for it. 1) I think it would show better 2) there weren’t already a bunch of them out there. So I email the agent and give him the list of upgrades and we wait to hear back from builder John for the final price. And we get it and I get sticker shock. However I went back to the bank and amended our application to the higher price and it passed. So then at the last minute Justin decides he wants a jetted tub which I had wanted anyway but hadn’t asked for since I already had added a bunch of upgrades. I also was talked out the lot I initially wanted because of noise since they would then have to construct the house on the other side. So Friday after everything was checked and signed he came by for our check and they’ll start Monday. Anyway…if you want to see the photo tour of the house that I took click on the picture below.

The Summer Hiatus

Posted by zyllah – August 9, 2008

Yes I have been gone for quite a while. Well Justin took for about 5 weeks for work and I settled into a completely lethargic state of lots of tv, some knitting, a visitor and some traveling. Anyway I guess I should do a wip update first and then move on to less embarrassing things.

1. Basic Black

The back, both sides and almost one sleeve are finished. I am not in mad love with the yarn (debbie bliss merino dk) I find her stuff to be over priced for the quality. I have chosen to do the sleeves in the round up to the sleeve cap because well makes sense to me. Who would want to seem up sleeves?

2. Leyburn Socks

Frogged. Cute pattern but off the food the sock was distored by the slip stitch-ness of it. I enjoyed it at first but I felt this mounting dread of SSS so I decided to do a simple garter rib instead.

3. Scrunchable Scarf

Moving along. I did end up purchasing two additional hanks of malabrigo just in case. I know its completely different dyelots but I’m hoping by alternating skeins one old, one new, one old it will work out.

Ravelympics

I am unofficially competing in the wip event. Laugh at me as I attempt to finish up existing projects! I know I will. I have the buttons to sew on wicked, basic black, the garter rib socks and the scarf. Considering recent events I think its going to be entertaining as I flail away and fail.

Wicked

I decided that in the end I would never wear it so I have given it to my mom. Which is funny because she is TINY (4’11″ and not even 90 lbs) . I am not tiny but she swears the fit will be fine with a turtleneck.

The Big News

We finally bought a house. It’s kinda funny how things turn out. I always look at houses. Anyway back in May there was this one older home I was totally in love with. Not so much from the outside but the inside was really nice. It sold. So Justin and I said you know if we’re going to be here we should probably look at buying. I didn’t think where we live now would last us another three years. Size wise I mean besides I’m sick of paying someone else’s mortgage. Anyway one day I decided to get over my snobbishness about Oak Grove and see what was available there. So I looked and saw an interesting subdivision so that night on the way to knitting Claire and I went and found one that was unlocked. I was very impressed. It sounds like small things but they were things you don’t often see around here like actual tile not vinyl in the kitchen and wood or laminate in the living room. So that weekend I dragged Justin out there and he liked it too. It’s also even closer to where he works now. So we looked at a bunch and eventually it came down to two floorplans. Then he left for his trip. So when my mom came up I dragged her out there and we spent oh about an hour in each house discussing their various pluses and minuses. Anyway the general consensus was one had a fabulous upstairs and master bedroom but the rest was meh. The other had a great first floor but the upstairs was meh. So when he got back we discussed it and went with making the fabulous first floor less meh upstairs so we added a bonus room. The other one did have this neat lofted sitting area/office that the one we chose didn’t but over all its a better house. If you want to see the one mine will be based on click the house below to see the photo tour I took.

Tomorrow I’ll show off my yarn acquisitions and go over other things.

Vaguely Tagged Meme

Posted by zyllah – June 27, 2008

I’ve been in the midst of house fever so I haven’t been knitting that much or taking pictures of things other than food. So just to have something to post….

1.What was I doing 10 years ago? Hmm well I was 21. Which means I Had just moved back to St. Louis from a failed relationship/move to Montreal. So I was going out a lot and looking for mr wrong. I was also working my ass off to save enough to go back to school. Fortunately I was a cocktail slugger at a casino and the high rollers loved me.  Even though at the time I didn’t care for the job the one thing that broke me of most of my shyness was being a waitress so it was a good thing.

2. What are 5 things on my To Do list today? A) Finish this blog post B) Catch up on email C) make sure all my paperwork is in order for my long separation from my husband D) Clean up the house E) Meet with builder and ask questions.

3. Snacks that I enjoy? Hummus and Puff onion paratha ( I know I’m mixing countries but its very good), Japanese Gummi, Gyoza/potstickers, Samosas, Pretzels and cream cheese

4.Things I would do if I was a billionaire: A) Start a school in the middle east for victims of ‘marriages of convenience’ (this delightful practice allows people to sell their daughters into essentially legal prostitution and most times the families do not want the girls back which leaves them limited options other than prostitution) B) Buy a huge craftsman home or build a replica of gamble house C) Buy a horse and train for eventing D) Fund a rescue for failed racehorses E) Start a business that specializes in restoring historic homes and modernizing them but keeping in the spirit of the original period.

5. Places I’ve lived: Miami, Chicago, Clarksville, St. Louis, Montreal

6. Jobs I’ve had: Waitress, Cocktail Slugger, Tech Support, Cook, Cared for an elderly woman, Dog bather, Bookstore Clerk