I don't get the bank...at all

So here we've been racing racing racing to get things done by March 3rd in order to not lose our rehab loan. We've obviously passed that date and accepted that the money was no longer available to us. Today, they get in touch with W2 and say he needs to file an extension. From all of the documentation they have sent us, we were led to believe that as of the 3rd we were done. According to them we had not shown enough progress therefore no due diligence, no money. We knew this to be wrong, but also understood that since we had only had one inspection equalling one draw on the loan that they could view our progress as lackadaisical in nature and would pull the loan. Whatever! They're the bank vs. us the frustrated and tired Rehab Warriors. We can't win.

But apparently the loan has not been pulled. Filing an extension will allow us access to the loan. Or that's what they would like us to believe. My skeptical self fears that this is just another hoop to jump through that will lead to days of waiting to hear, and waiting, and waiting...
Essentially adding up to more frustration. No thank you, is what i have to say. We have enough frustration. Thank you very much.

But then again, it could allow us to actually get the bedroom done, and maybe even the kitchen...

Nah, that's too much to hope.

We will once again load up the Rubbermaid tote with dirty dishes for W2 to load into the dishwasher at work tomorrow. I've switched to paper products, but you can't cook in them. And I'll suggest to anyone who finds themselves in the situation where they don't have a kitchen: Spend more on plastic silverware, less on paper plates. Cheap plastic silverware sucks.

siding and heat...it's a good day!

The siding guys are at the house working feverishly in our freakishly Spring-like weather. It reached 50 degrees today. I am anxious to see the progress they made. Instead of driving to the house on lunch, like I have been, I took the dog for a long walk through the fields at work. It's so beautiful I can't even do it justice with words. While we were out a red tailed hawk flew by, it smelled of moist earth, the trees are losing their winter wear and getting ready to bud. The whole thing is amazing.

Granted tomorrow we are expecting another snow storm. Whatever! I'll enjoy the Spring-like moments whenever we get them.

W2 took some time off today to go tub shopping with his dad. It seems they may have found one. I never realized how hard it is to pick these things out. When you rent, you take what you get. You don't give a lot of thought to the color of appliances, toilets, tubs, vanities, countertops, floors... You just roll with it. But when given the responsibility of picking all of these things out, it becomes a tad bit overwhelming. I like the color of white in bathrooms, but we have water that is very high in iron, so it would leave an orange hue on everything. I don't like that look. My mom always had bisque or almond colored appliances so I lean in that direction. But then I question, is it because it is what I know or because I actually like it?

I really just want a kitchen. But anyone who has read my blog knows that.

Furnace blower dies

Can't get a break at Casa su Rehab or maybe this was a break and we're ungrateful. Furnace blower died this morning, or so we thought. After a service call we learned it had just overheated. RGN Heating and Cooling took care of us and left us a used motor and parts in the event it happens again before we can install the new heating system. We just need to limp through this next 6 weeks. That's all we need. Then we'll be able to move forward with the new installation.

In the meantime, we're shit out of luck with the rehab loan. It's over. We lost the $25k. So now we do everything out of pocket. As is my nature, I can't help but think it will cut down on the length of time we will pay our mortgage!? I don't know, but I'm looking for the silver lining.

Contractors worked for a bit yesterday, but the weather was hellacious so they had to quit early. Weather continues to do what it does here in our neck of the woods, so they didn't work today either. Can't blame them, it was 50 degrees at one point this morning but is now 28. We've had torrential rain, sleet and snow...today. It's lovely and we here in the northeast refer to as Spring.

Siding goes up

The contractors have been good to their word. Working when they say they will work. With the exception of the day we had subzero temperatures, they've been there everyday. The front of the house is sided up to the part where there will be contrasting shakes. I imagine they will get that part up today. Our neighbors have commented that they like the color and the contractors have also said they like the color. It seems we've picked a likeable color. We'll see how everyone feels once the shakes are up. I am anxious to see what it looks like.

I've been tired, tired, tired lately. The kitchen is a total drag. Or shall I say the lack of one. I have a stove and a refrigerator. No counters, no sink. Just a stove and refrigerator. In order to cook, I must go upstairs to the bathroom, fill a five gallon bucket with water, haul it back downstairs and then find the pot or pan I need. You see, up until this point we have eaten out, every meal. It gets old. At this point, it is well past old. I look forward to cooking. I want to cook. I miss baking. All of it really. I have wonderful pots and pans, and cooking tools. I miss them. They are stacked in boxes in my dining room. I cannot get to them.

We were supposed to get the sink and counter top that are leaning against the boxes in the dining room, down to the basement and out of the way over the weekend. That didn't happen. W2 doesn't realize how much of a pain it is to prepare a meal in our house. So it's not that important to him to help with these things. But IT IS SUCH A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO PREPARE A MEAL IN OUR HOUSE!!! I just want to get out a couple more pans, maybe a measuring cup. I can hang with the best of them, honest. Hauling shit up and downstairs, to wash dishes, to get water, to water plants. All of it. It's like camping inside. But even when you are camping you have access to your stuff. Not here.

This too shall pass. I know. Just tired and a tad cranky about the kitchen.

HOLY SHIT WE HAVE SIDING!

Not all of it. But some of it. And some of it is better than none of it!

I turned into our road and nearly did a double take, not recognizing the home we have labored on for the past (nearly) 6 months. Such a shock to see activity and it not be our own. It damn near took my breath away. It did bring a tear to my eye...ok, now I'm exaggerating that was the frigid wind that brought a tear to my eye. But it sounded dramatic for a minute, didn't it?

It was 4 below zero when I left for work this morning, so no siding will be going on today. And they're predicting 14 - 18" of snow tonight and into tomorrow, so no siding will go on then either. It sounds like Monday is the next day we will activity on the house.

But for now, I can actually see what it might look like, one day, if we ever finish!

Ha! Progress!

My father in law is an asshole

I know I've stated this before, but it is a sentiment that bears repeating. Good God, he continues to screw us over. In every way possible. Back in October he had us order our siding because it was special order. Come to find out today, only the cedar-like shakes for the peak of the house were special order. Totalling up to about $400. Versus the $5000 we've been paying interest on since that time. We could have ordered the special order stuff then and held off on the rest until two days prior to the contractors starting.

He's given us bad quotes on everything he has quoted. He screwed us over with the bank, almost costing us our rehab loan back in December by being careless with his remarks when the inspector was at the house. He hasn't been at the house to help until just recently. He causes W2 stress on a level that is off the charts. He can't be at the house now when we need him to make sure the contractors do what they are supposed to.

And the most frustrating thing for me is that we can't let him know how we feel. It kills me. I just want to scream at him.

chicks with tools

My inlaws came over to help this past Sunday. Dad, Mom and Sis. Dad and W2 worked on framing the closet and bathroom in what will one day be our bedroom. Mom, Sis and I worked on cleaning up (cuz that's what women folk do, dontcha know?) in, what will be our bedroom, then down to the apartment to clean that up as well. Sis, is an avid cleaner. She loves it. Lives for it. Great...go ahead and clean!! So when we finished our assigned projects she moved on to using our beloved Dyson to vacuum any and all available surfaces in our home. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you dear sis! Not that I don't vacuum, but I will admit to losing sight of the mundane day to day chores of keeping a house, when we are constantly traipsing up and down stairs with muddy boots, lugging 2 x 4's, sheets of sheetrock and plywood and what not...every day cleaning has gotten lost in the midst...I'll admit. So I totally appreciated her love of cleaning and her willingness to apply it to our home.

While Sis was vacuuming, Mom and I tackled flipping the mattress on our bed. W2 and I both suffer from bad backs. We suffer more because we are about 2 years past the point of needing a new mattress. But new mattresses cost money and any and all money we have or have access to, goes to the house...not a new mattress. One day there will money for that. That day is not today. So I rely on all sorts of tricks to make our mattress last until that time. One of which is flipping it periodically.

For any of you readers who have not slept on a mattress well past it's prime, let me describe our sleeping situation. W2 and I are not small people. There is therefore a crater in the middle of our mattress, where we have slept most often. This crater does it's best to claim our bodies throughout the night. Regardless of anchoring a leg over the side of the bed, using pillows to prevent the slide, hanging on for dear life, I find myself solidly in the middle of the crater come morning. W2 claims I hog the bed. I claim I want to be closer to him ;) Regardless of what we claim, the truth of the matter is we end up like a pile of puppies in the middle of the crater with our backs twisting and contorting in our efforts to stay on the edge. It is our nightly routine. This quest, if you will.

I am sick of the quest! So I decide that I am not only going to flip the mattress but I'm going to put one of the many sheets of plywood we have between the mattress and boxspring. So Mom and I strip the bed and stand the mattress up on end, she has to stand in front of it to stop it from falling down. While I run down to the garage, grabbing Sis along the way to get the plywood. Sis, not so handy, but as I've mentioned, willing to help. So we get the 8' sheet of plywood in the house, after moving a refrigerator and a piece of cabinetry we are able to navigate the plywood up the stairs. At the top of the stairs there is more navigating to do in order to get it into the bedroom, but we're determined, and where there's a will, there's a way. In it goes!

We get it to the bed and flop it down and....it's too big. A king size bed is not 8' long (But wouldn't it be great if it were?!) I am a determined woman. I am rehab warrior #1. I will not be defeated by this size discrepancy. I march my happy ass into the addition, where W2 and Dad are working, to get the sawzall! I tell W2 not to worry when I am questioned about what I am doing, and I march my happy ass back into the bedroom. I proceed to saw the plywood, where it lay, propped on the foot board and the boxspring. I saw while my mother and sister in law plug their ears. I saw until the damn battery quits. In the middle of the board.

But I am not dissuaded from my quest. NO! I run downstairs and get our batttery operated circular saw to finish the job. By this time W2 has come into the bedroom to see what the hell I am doing. His dad asked him where he was going and his reply was "W1 was just in here to retrieve a saw, I now hear saw sounds coming from our bedroom, don't you think I should go see what she is sawing?" W2's dad thought he had a good point!

I use the circular saw from the other side of the board planning to meet the line. I'm sure you can imagine where this is going. It doesn't match. But I learn that it doesn't match because the battery in the cirular saw ALSO DIES!! I am cursed with poorly charged batteries. We have two rechargers but apparently we've fallen behind in keeping our four batteries charged. As you can also imagine, I'm not giving up. So I kick the board, breaking it in two, and lay it down. Of course this doesn't cover the entire mattress so I must continue to switch back and forth between the two saws and piece together the remainder of the plywood in order to create an even surface. But I prevailed. I am the master of those damn power tools. I can complete a project on my own.

Sis vacuums up all the sawdust. Mom, Sis and I then flip the mattress, put it down, and make the bed. I then flopped down on it to see if it was all worth it.

I couldn't tell! Can you believe that!?

It's been two nights since then and it is better, but boy was that disappointing in terms of instant gratification!