Saturday 21 July 2012

My own little space

Well, life is beginning to take on a bit more of the focus that I wanted it to, before I injured my shoulder.

On Monday, I bought a house!!!



It's a teeny tiny thing at 628 sq. ft. but it has the cutest yard and great potential for renovating into a more open living space inside.

(Not my furniture or chiminea, but the gazebo and shed are.)

Despite needing some updating on the decor (the recreation room in the basement [yes, it has one - and it's fully finished!] is good ol' 70's style with dark wood paneling on the walls, gaudy patterned carpet on the floor, and a "stucco" ceiling that actually extended 1/4 the way down the walls), it is structurally very sound. The roof shingles are only 5 years old, it has a mid-efficiency furnace, central a/c, a central vacuum, two bathrooms, some newer vinyl windows and updated insulation in the roof and the basement walls.

Short term plans are to just move in and breathe a sigh of relief at not being a tenant anymore! (Did I tell you my neighbour upstairs decided to vacuum her carpets at 7:25 one morning this week? Which is not only rude and inconsiderate [I've been working evening shifts all week] but also against city noise bylaws... grrrr!!)

Long term plans will be to knock out the wall between the living room and the front bedroom to open that space up, then knock out the wall between the living room and the kitchen, replace all the cupboards (to better utilize that tiny space) and to install a breakfast bar on the counter between the living room and kitchen. That will make everything very open and much more spacious so the house won't seem so small.

It has a lovely screened in gazebo in the backyard on the patio and with the addition of my BBQ and a firepit, will become a cozy spot to hang out, grill some great food and relax. I may even (one day) get a hot tub to put out there!!

It is in a small (pop. ~13,000) city north of Winnipeg and will require a 40 - 45 minute commute, but it's straight down the highway and given the hours that I work, I should miss most of the traffic congestion completely! Definitely a worthy compromise for having a nice little house to call my own.

Now to start packing... again. (I think my family hates me... I've moved so many times.)

12 comments:

  1. Happy New Berth Day to you! Good luck, too

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  2. You SO deserve this! Good for you!

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  3. Awesome news, Pam! It's adorable and you can have a dog again if you so choose!

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  4. I love it! Good on ya! Wish I could be there for the housewarming! :¬)

    xxx

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  5. Nice looking house and yard! Congrats to you and the kitties!

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  6. CARAMBA!

    best wishes and all - now I need to know what the hell a "gazebo" is. And a hot tub? Bloody luxury!

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  7. I like it. You like it but do the cats like it?

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  8. Dinah: "Berth Day"!! Hahaha! I love that! Thanks.

    Hope: I don't know about deserve, but it was "right time, right place" and it happened lickety split!

    Andrea: Thanks, but no dog. At least not for quite a while. I've come to appreciate the freedom with just the cats.

    Map: Thanks, and I wish you all could be here for the housewarming! It will be sometime in September, perhaps. Will let you know the date. Maybe you'll win the lottery before then and can make the trip!! xoxo

    LX: I'm sure the kitties will have lots of fun exploring their new digs! They'll have stairs again. Lila loves stairs... She goes up and down as fast as felinely possible! (She's so crazy!)

    Mago: Caramba indeed! This is a gazebo. Keeps the mosquitoes at bay so you can enjoy the outdoors without getting eaten alive.

    Pat: Shhh... I haven't told the cats we're moving yet. Don't want them to be bugging me about it too soon. It's a surprise! ;-)

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  9. You MUST post photos of the basement. What's gaudy to one person is retro-hip to another. Now you'll be ruined for apartments.

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  10. UB: I'll try and remember to take some photos to show you. Believe me. It's gaudy... not retro-hip! And I've been ruined for apartments for a long time. I spent about 25 years in houses before last year. I have never liked apartment living.

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  11. That is just marvellous news.

    You and the kittehs will be much happier in your own space. Without noisy neighbours hoovering and fighting etc.

    Fantastic news.

    I wonder what else is round the corner for you? Oooo...!

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  12. That is wonderful! I am so happy for you and your furchildren!

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