Unwanted Guests in the Spectacular Rental

They are putting in sewers, aprons, curbs, sidewalks and streets on Bluff Avenue. A much needed improvement. The construction on the block has sometimes made things difficult. Most weekdays the cars need to be off the street or driveway at 6:30am and we can't come back until after 4:00. The house is in the middle of the block so if I have to lug things in and out of the car it can be a pain. The construction workers have been really nice. On occasion they have even helped carry groceries down the street. The Village has been good about keeping us informed and when there have been issues, they are on it and make it better. It's nice to see things working so smoothly. All in all, it will all be worth it when it's finished. There has only been one problem. Well, actually, a million little problems.... ANTS IN THE HOUSE! All the construction has stirred up these little buggers and their making the spectacular rental their home. I declared all out war today and dropped ant poison everywhere. DIE YOU PESTS!!!

When will it begin...

I wish I had an answer! After 4 site reviews with the Village we still do not have a permit. It's been so frustrating. At this point I have such mixed emotion about even building in La Grange. We are going on vacation for a few days. While we are gone our realtor is showing a few builders the property. If they're interested in buying it, we may just sell and look for another town to build this house. We need to make a decision and get on with it.

Glad this week is over...

After our house sold we had to move out quickly. We needed a rental and there aren't to many available in late November that will take two dogs. Our lovely realtor, Dawn Foran, found us the only one in La Grange that would take dogs and was reasonably priced. We snapped it up. This place is a trip, to say the least! Having lived in new construction or renovated homes for most of my life you get used to things a certain way. Things that when I was going up we're extravagances are now considered necessities; like a microwave, a self-cleaning oven, a dishwasher and a wash machine that actually works without having to stand over it. Anyone who knows me knows I like things tidy and everything in its place. That's not necessarily so in this house. We're a bit crammed in. The dressers don't fit in the bedrooms (so they are lined up in the dining room), there is only one shower (our last house had 4), Jack's head just barely clears the ceiling in his basement bedroom, the kitchen sink leaks, it's drafty, there is glitter on the dining room ceiling that has bright orange walls, only 3 windows open on the first floor, there is no heat in the second floor bedrooms, funny electrical issues and ducky curtains in the kitchen. The list is small! So I've decided to give up the idea of order and as long as it's clean, I will accept it for what it is... a temporary home until we move. Now construction has started on the block. The Village is replacing the sewer system so the street is torn up and down the whole block. It has rained buckets this week, so with that comes mud! We can handle a little construction, right? I need to get over it, but the only think I can't get over is the plumbing! A few weeks back we had a small flood in part of the basement. It was clean water with some tree roots. In old houses it happens. Our landlord is a very nice man. He was here and on it in no time The pipes were roded out and everything was cleaned up. Then it happened again! Last Tuesday Evan and I sorted the laundry all over the floor and wouldn't you know it, the same corner of the basement flooded and our clothes were floating in it. This time it was stinky, gross, disgusting sewage.... YUCK! Thank God the landlord was on it right away. We only lost about $250 worth of stuff. Not too bad, considering. I've spend most of my week dealing with plumbers and clean-up crews. I sure hope this is the end of it so I can go back to laughing about this place and not swearing about it!

We've Hit a Wall

This house was a chance to build something different; to design and build something outside the box, with fresh ideas and be environmentally conscious. At the start of this process we had a meeting with representatives from the Village of La Grange. All agreed to work together and be open to new ideas. Apparently that isn't so. Our first site plan review was rejected. For our second submission, we felt forced to incorporate a system that is illogical and less than earth friendly. Now we've failed round two. We feel depleted and frustrated. I think it's time to re-focus and calmly discuss with the Village a solution that perhaps allows us to meet in the middle thus satisfying us both. A decision may need to be made. Can we do it or should we walk away? I'm really not sure. I don't have much faith but we need to look into an acceptable compromise. If that can't be done, we need to consider clearing the property and put it back on the market.

We're taking a little break in paradise. We'll have lots of house news to share when we get back!

Ready, Set......

Keep your fingers crossed it's a GO! The plans go to the Village of La Grange tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed they get approved. If they do, we're off and running!

Appliances

We went to ABT this weekend to start the hunt for energy star appliances. I'm glad to report that there are a lot of options and ABT is a great place to go check them all out. We had a very helpful sales lady who really listened to what we wanted and pointed us in the right directions... and they offer fresh baked cookies and coffee! With my list in hand I'm going to shop around for the best price, but I have a feeling we will end up back there. I know it seems a little early to start shopping before we've even knocked down the old house, but we like to have things ready for the bidding process. Tony and I are good about making decisions and sticking to them. We are confident in our choices and rarely second guess ourselves. It makes the process go a lot smoother. Making decisions early in the process also helps with scheduling. Keeping things on time helps things go smoothly so we can move in just that much sooner. Also, we left the kids at home so no "I'm so bored" whinning and it was fun hanging out with Tony for the afternoon. :)