Reflections on 7-Year Adjustable Mortgages

Don't worry, this post isn't really about mortgages. Seven years ago today, I closed on my house. At the time I had a 7-year adjustable mortgage, and seven years sounded like an eternity. Well, those years have flown by (and I've refinanced) and lots of house things have been accomplished. As a summary of where I and my home remodeling team have been, here's the rundown.

• Removed all the hearts and pink trim, wallpaper, and ceilings.


• Replaced the air conditioner


• Remodeled the basement and downstairs bathroom


• Replaced the windows


• Remodeled the hall bathroom


• Greatly enhanced the deck.


• Cut down all the overgrown-ness in the backyard and added grass and flower beds


• Cut down two dead trees and planted two new trees


• And now the kitchen!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something big. We've come a long way, so thanks to my team.

Cabinets are in! (almost)

The install work for the cabinets has nearly been completed. The last cabinet can't go in until the counters are installed. Until the counters are in, it still isn't too usable, but it looks like a kitchen again! I wish the stove was black to match the microwave, but I don't want to buy a new stove right now.

The biggest change is the new pantry cabinet. I'm not used to having anything on that wall, and it seems big enough to hold everything I had in my old cabinets! There will be a second cabinet to the left of it.

I really like the knobs, and I'm glad I went with a light paint color since the cabinets are dark.

Last but not least, the last cat was installed last night. I'm glad I only went with two of these as they take up a fair bit of room.

Cabinet Baby Steps, and a Unique Feature

There have been a few delays in the installation, but most of the cabinets are now in. It is hard to take a picture because the fridge is smack in the middle of the kitchen, but this gives you an idea of how they look.



These cabinets also came with a unique feature.


Luckily they seem to have passed the feline inspection, which is pretty rigorous and thorough. Hopefully today I'll be able to get some good pics.

Cheese Control

This is old news and I meant to post it forever ago, but you need to know about the inequality of string cheese. Just look at the variance in the five string cheeses pictured. They vary in length from 3.25" inches up to 4.5". That's craziness!

Milest00000ne

What, two posts in one day? Well, I knew I needed to start posting on the kitchen, but I can't miss sharing this milestone that was reached yesterday.

And I drove nearly every single one of those. Only 9 miles on the car when I bought it!

Kitchen On!

You know, like game on! The kitchen project is officially under way. There is no going back now as the old cabinets were removed and hauled off this morning. Here are a few before photos. The lovely vinyl flooring was previously hidden under laminate flooring, and it is very smelly.

And a few pictures of how everything looks today.

Also today the sink came. You probably can't see it in this picture because it is hidden under the mat on the porch. Thank you UPS for putting it securely out of view!

Plastic Bag Shadow

I was actually going to post about something else, but then this happened to me so I changed topics. This afternoon I walked to the library to return my books. I decided to put them in a plastic Walmart bag for carrying. After I dropped the books off, I walked to Lowe's and recycled the bag. [I try not to get plastic bags in the first place, but sometimes it happens and then I use them to empty the litter box.]

Anyway, I recycled this one in the bin at Lowe's. When I got home from my walk, there it was, white Wal-mart plastic bag back at my house attached to my rose bush. "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag"... is following you?