Bill the Builder

There's something really satisfying about building something that people will enjoy for years, something beautiful, something that just works. Bill gets to do this everyday on the job, and I got to see the process up close and personal as he skillfully rebuilt the back deck of the rental unit. 

The deck was in rough shape, but it had a lot of potential! (Seems to be a common theme around here at The Nest). Not to mention it was terribly unsafe, with rotted support beams and missing railings. So it was top priority since the tenants are moving in this week. I had no idea how much detail goes into building a deck! First Bill surveyed the situation. He called out unfamiliar words and numbers, like "4 PT four by fours" (that means four beams made from long lasting pressure treated wood) and I jotted down our stock list. Then we were off to Home Depot to gather the materials. 

Bill got to work the next day. Tearing out bug eaten beams and rotted peeling decking boards. He had to build strong supports for the stairs and platform, bring the railings up to code, and replace all the decking boards with brand new wood. It took a few days and I got to listen to him sing along to classic rock on the radio the whole time. Private concert anyone? By the time he was done the deck was super strong and sturdy and looked gorgeous! It needs a paint job but it's come a long way.  We hope the tenants love it!

It's really really REAL

Yesterday was offical move in day at The Nest! The day was not without its fair share of bumps and stress of course. Months ago I had hired movers off Craigslist (same guys I've used for my last two moves in the Boston Area) and secured my Uhaul rental... At least I thought I did. September 1 is known as the Great Musical Apartments Event in Boston. Due to the academic calendar many leases start and end at the same time and it seems like everyone is moving on this weekend. I arrived at the Uhaul center at 8:30am and apparently I had made my reservation for 7am pick up. They informed me that they had given my 10foot truck to someone else.... "What?!" I said. Apparently someone was supposed to call me, but I had not gotten any call. I'd love to tell you that my meditation and yoga practice has made me so centered and calm that I sweetly said "well that's a bummer" and began working on a solution. But that's not what happened. I had a melt down. I may have raised my voice a bit, and I definitely spent the remainder of my interaction with the Uhaul guy with tears streaming down my face. They were able to get me a much smaller vehicle to use, but only for a few hours before someone else had it reserved for the afternoon. I took the  keys and begrudgingly headed back to the apartment. The movers were no where to be seen. I finally called and somehow I wasn't on the schedule!! He said he could be there in a hurry, just give him a half hour. An hour later they had not arrived yet, they were on a bus coming from downtown though. And I could be found standing at the kitchen counter eating chocolate ice cream out of the carton. Why the heck not. 

Luckily my parents have a trailer that can attach to their van and they were able to come and save the day. Instead of making one trip with a big truck. We spent the day making trips back and forth with the trailer. Even Simon the turtle had to move (and I think he was even more stressed out than I was)

Finally at about 7pm the apartment was mostly empty and The Nest was full to the gills with boxes and furniture. Tomorrow I go back to clean and hand in the keys. It will be nice to have everything in one place, it's been tough to be in limbo for the past month. 

Theres still a lot of work to do before we have all the creature comforts! The stove needs to be repaired and the shower drain needs some rehab. But it's home sweet home!

Better than Crossfit

We were back at it this Saturday! Mom and dad came down from NH again and brought a heavy duty rototiller in the trailer. This time we also had help from our friends Matt and Lisa, they were superheroes I tell ya! I still can hardly believe how much they did yesterday and how hard they worked. The gave me such a gift!! I'm so grateful!

Since 40 Newman only had two off-street parking spots, and Arlington has an overnight parking ban, we needed to expand the driveway. Having a landscape comany come in and do this with a bobcat and trucks would cost thousands. There's only one other option, you guessed it, our own muscles. 

First we had to eliminate a 7 foot pile of brush and debris that we had built the first weekend we worked on the house. When we first cleared the jungle that was swallowing up the house, there was no where to put the junk we pulled up. Now it was resting right where we needed to excavate - let the disappearing act begin!

The town trash collector will take an unlimited amount of yard waste, as long as it's places in brown yard waste bags or bundled in three foot lengths. Lisa and I piled some of the stuff in my parents trailer to be sent up to the woods in NH. And what didn't fit, we chopped into three foot lengths, stacked in bunches on the driveway, and used packing tape to tie together. We had come up with a pretty good system by the time we could see the earth that was buried under the debris. 

 The whole front garden was completely rootbound, so first we pried up long snakes and whole carpets of tangled roots. We also had to pull up some large stumps from the front garden to prep for rototilling. The come-along worked well for this. Pulling a 100 pound stump out of the ground with human power is sadistically satisfying! 

Here's Lisa showing that stump who's boss! 

Then my dad fired up the rototiller. This machine is a beast! Once the large stumps and roots were removed, the rototiller could chew up any smaller stuff to make planting and more excavation possible. Seemed like there were two different reactons to this machine. 

But it worked well! And later my dad said the rototiller had belonged to my Grandfather (thanks PopPop!)

We started digging and made a wide square hole about 10 feet square in the back and about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long in the front. I will need to call a landscape supplier on Monday to have them deliver a yard of crushed stone to create the driveway extensions. I still will have to spread it!

This was one of the jobs I was most concerned about. I knew it was going to be hard, but having Matt and Lisa pitch in was extremely helpful. And of course my parents too. We pulled it off and I'm really proud of us! Now we are all limping and sore. It sure was a great workout!

Day of Rest

Today is a beach day! Bill and I have been sore and limping. We've been working full time as usual, then squeezing in all the other tasks that come with new homeownership: trips to the bank, securing renters for the downstairs unit, arranging meetings with contractors for windows/electric/insulation/tree removal/appliance repair/etc, and just generally getting the place to a livable status by the end of the month! Phew! Intense. But so much fun. 

I haven't cooked meals in what feels like forever, and we've been grabbing "convenient food" which has me feeling out of whack. My muscles are sore, like really sore. I'm just tired! 

So here we are. One of our happy places. 

Don't get me wrong though, it's tough to put it on hold. We spent a few hours at the house this morning having internet service installed and I couldn't help but sweep up a few cob webs and windex the bathroom mirror.  BUT I am determined to really rest... Which means I can finally update the blog! So much has happened this week. Huzzah!

Mass Save = FREE STUFF!

Mass Save is a Massachusetts State program committed to maximizing energy efficiency state wide. It's been around since the 70's and every time you pay an energy bill in MA, a portion of money goes to find this program. This is part of what has made MA number 1 in the nation for energy conservation. We stopped at a table the had set up at the Somerville Art Beat Festival last month and signed up for a free home assessment. My home inspector had also mentioned and recommended it.

So, we booked it for the first weekend we were in the new house. Saturday morning Emily showed up, with her smart looking tool belt and cute sterling silver elephant earrings, to do the assessment. Emily is new to Bsoton. She moved here for the job with Next Step Living. She is passionate about Solar Energy as a sustainable way to power the future and she learned a ton about the other  aspects of energy efficiency like emissions, windows, and insulation. 

Emily marched through the house, top to bottom, taking measurements, drilling little holes in the walls to peer inside, and testing air pressures etc. She knew her stuff!  We had fun chumming around with her too. At one point, as she drilled into a wall in one of the upstairs units she let us know that she is a "really excellent stud finder." Oh, construction humor!

Emily let us know that replacing the windows and adding insulation would improve our efficiency exponentially. But first priority is the electrical. The electrical service to the house is 60amps, much less than the 2015 standard of 200-300 amps! Plus, the wiring is all knob and tube which is outdated and even dangerous. We had already planned on making these updates pronto. But Emily let us know about a number of incentive/rebate programs that could help. Music to my ears now that I'm officially house poor with a fixer-upper in my hands! 

Then, and this might be the best part, she went through the entire house and replaced ALL the incandescent light bulbs with new LEDs, replaced our old thermostats with programmable ones, and added water saving faucets and shower heads. Winning! 

I learned so much from Emily and I'm super excited to get some Next Step Living Contractors in to bring The Nest  into 2015! I'd highly recommend taking advantage of this program, even if all you get out of it is a whole bunch of light bulbs. But especially if you are a homeowner considering any of these types of home updates. It's free, well actually, you've already been paying for it through your energy bills. If you've had one in the past, still call, because you can be reassessed every 2 years. PLUS, if you have an assessment done and use my name or this link, I get a $15  Amazon gift card. Great for funding my book clubbing!!

If you are interested, click this link!

http://go1.nextstepliving.com/dc/bAPJSixkmCNUtuEECJ54vHC5fBMaT1-WplLmWTFr-E5xjMiKtrUUfn_1j9lqUEmnHCAGrCoJSEGM6YYgaJj8n1FjNHG5qDhRBXP6zMjmYrc=/Q0bN0OH0Ip1DX078600a4z1

First Weekend as a Homeowner!

Wow. What a weekend. Mom and Dad drove down from New Hamshire to help out. And boy did we accomplish a lot.

There was a LOT of cleaning to do, and my first priority was to get unit #1 ready to show to potential renters. Mom and I mopped, steamed, polished and scrubbed. We started with the refrigerators. Yikes. But now they both look good as new!

On Friday, I got to work cleaning out more of the abandoned belongings and junk that was left behind by the previous owners. Some treasures, a lot of trash. This included a mountain of STUFF left on the sidewalk. Over the course of the week it had shrunk somewhat. People had adopted some of the more valuable items like dishes and mirrors, and we bagged up the rest. It was shrinking, but was no where near disappearing. There were options of storing the trash and putting things out but by bit for the town trash collectors. But we had bigger fish to fry. This project is a constant balance between taking a DIY approach to everything, sometimes the more time consuming and tricky way but usually cheaper, and springing to call in the professionals. Finally on Sunday I caved and called all the junk removal companies in the area until I found someone who would take the job (last minute on a Sunday). Thank you Matt from Dispro Disposal! 

Bill changed the locks. And this wasn't simply replacing old with new, he had to drill new holes in the door to allow the 2015 version of latches and handles. We picked out a gorgeous shiny gold handle for the front door. Who knew you could fall in love with a door handle?!

My Dad and Bill chopped and uprooted a veritable jungle that was swallowing up the house. Removing all that vegetation was important because it was holding moisture against the house which can cause mold and rot. See before and after below. I only wish the photo did it justice!

We used an engine hoist to pull out huge stumps. Unfortunately it was damaged partway through the day. But before that it put a good dent in the landscaping!

 Mom and I pulled vines off the siding, some of which had crawled all the way under the vinyl! 

We weeded and tilled the narrow garden between the city sidewalk and the road. It was crummy spotty grass before. We uprooted Hostas from the front garden (Mom is a serious pro at this painstaking job) and moved them to take the place of the grass. 

We piled tons of plant debris in the backyard, staging it to run through a chipper shredder that will rent next weekend. 

We smelled gas in the kitchen and called National Grid. They sent a technician out to the house. Matthew was speedy, professional, and fun and got to the root of the problem right away. Turned out the stove and oven, both probably installed in the 60's were leaking gas. Double yikes. They will need to be repaired or replaced, but for now the fuel will be left off.  Thanks so much Matthew from National Grid!

But probably the most fun part of the weekend was meeting all the neighbors! Newman way has a great community vibe. It's quiet enough to hear a pin drop at night and neighbors wave and trot over to each other's yards throughout the day. We met Ann, the spunky silver haired woman who lives next door. She's a former landscape architect and was dear friends with the previous owner. We met Meg who owns the flower shop on the corner. We met Chris and Suzie, they lent us tons of tools. Jennifer next door, who gave us a memorably warm welcome. Ariel who rents an apartment next door and told us to expect some baked goodies because her roommates can't eat all the lovely things she makes. Gary, a mechanic, and his stocky and loud but sweet pitbull Blue. There's Bill who lives down the street with his wife and daughters. Mimi and Ben who live directly behind us and cheered on our progress. Everyone had kind things to say about the previous owners and welcomed us with open arms, happy to see us breathing new life into the house. It's an honor!

My Dream Team

This is my dream team: my dad Spencer and my Uncle Brad. There's no way I could have done it without them. Not just for their moral and logistical support, but also financial. Money is such a taboo topic, even writing this I hesitate. But I feel so compelled to tell it like it is, because all the times people chose not to just further reinforce the misconceptions and mis information. My Dad and Uncle both pitched in for my downpayment. Even though I had been saving for years, having their help brought my financial profile to the point where this was possible. I'll admit, I relate to this with profound gratitude, but also some guilt. I'm fortunate! But at one point Todd let me know that 95% of his clients have help from family. That's the nature of the beast at this moment in history. So I am grateful and I don't take it for granted. 

My Uncle Brad has shown me the world, has been a cheerleader for all my endevors, and has always shown up when it mattered most. 

My dad has been my chief problem solver, has a way of being both protective and laissez-faire, and always been available to coach me through life's twists. 

These two guys have been a huge support my entire life. They've really made sure I learned how to be savvy and independent. What a gift! Maybe it's because I remind them of their mother. I'm told that at times I resemble my grandmother Jocye in image and in spirit. I never met her. I'm flattered. 

Grateful grateful grateful. 

Closing Time

Time to Celebrate!

We did it! It's hard to get my head around how many steps there were and how many people were involved in getting to this point. We scheduled this day, August 5 2015, as the closing date many weeks ago. But since then there were many twists and turns. Responding to the many questions and requests from the lender was the toughest part. They needed to know every detail of my financial situation before they would approve and then clear my loan to close. Every time I sent them something, it seemed like they needed three more things! I had a few nights of fitful sleep, and a few days of urgently canceling my afternoon patients at work to run to the bank or bunker down at home to take care of business. A few things helped: Almost daily morning meditation, trying my best to eat timely healthy meals, prioritizing my relationships despite the busy-ness, and always considering each twist a good opportunity for some off the mat yoga- looking for the deeper meaning, the lesson, or the gift in it. NOT easy sometimes.

But today is finally the day that the keys are in my hand! Of course it turned out to have its own share of unexpected twists and excitement.

Yesterday, without letting each other know, Bill and I had both independently decided to swing by the new house to take a peek. We both laughed as we drove down the street, me going north, him headed south, and saw the other one through our windshields. What a sweet surprise! We noticed them moving furniture out, lining trash on the street and wondered to each other what kind of state it would be in the next morning when we came for our walk through at 9AM.

I started the day with a jog and a shower. I put on my big girl pants and we made our way to the 40 Newman to meet Todd and his assistant Josh. We shook hands excitedly. "This is happening!!" Then we turned to look at the house. Yep. We were right, there was a huge pile of .... stuff.... on the street. More than the Trash Guys would collect in one pass. The inside of the house was also full of both trash and treasures. There were piles of towels, a bed that was still made up to sleep in, a box of family photos, food in the fridge, and a vacuum cleaner, to name a few things. Well, we certainly had our work cut out for us. The contract had said the house would be delivered "broom swept." And broom swept it was NOT, to say the least. We would work something out with the seller's lawyer later.

Todd snaped a few photos of us and we headed to my lawyer Nicole's office. We sat at a big wooden table and I signed my name and initials about 70 times. Nicole explained what each document meant. I skimmed a few, but mostly just signed and signed. Many homeowners in my life warned me it would be this way. Finally, the stack of paper got smaller and smaller and before I knew it, Todd was handing me the keys! But not before I wrote a few more huge checks, scraping the bottom of the barrel!!

On cloud nine, we drove away. We have a house!!! Ready for the next step of this adventure, we planned to head straight home and put on scrubby clothes and get to work. First I needed to stop for gas. Unfortunately, as I pulled out of the bay of pumps I scraped my entire passenger side of the car along a barricade that was not visible to me from inside the car. The crunch was loud. I stopped and took a breath. Then we got out of the car to assess the damage. Yeah. Not good. Really bad actually. There's never a good day for a car accident, but today? Really? Well, I'm pretty proud of myself for not having a melt down, but how could I? It's a good life! My friend Kathy's mother would always say "If it can be fixed it's not worth getting upset about." So, a little bit in shock, we drove away. I called my car insurance company right away to make a claim. This in and of itself was tricky because I was scheduled to switch carriers that day (to bundle my car and new home insurance).

Oh well. What's one more thing on my plate. And talk about first world problems. All in all, I AM BLESSED!

So, we got some slices of pizza and headed over to the house. The very first things we brought over to the house were: gloves to get to work on cleaning and repairs, two rolls of toilet paper, and this plaque I made with our mission statement. Then it was time to start playing house!

The Champ!

Bill has been a champ! He has been there for the stress and the tears of this roller coaster and I am so excited to be on this journey together.

This has been an period of intensity and change for me and for Bill. Although I am the only one on the deed, this project belongs to both of us. But not only that, Bill has been in the process of finally completing a record that has been in the works for 5 years! That project too, took an immense amount of heart and hard work. 

Check it out on iTunes now!:

Through it all we've been intentional about making time for our relationship. Stopping everything in the evenings to have a meal together, or heading to the beach for a few hours to recharge. And most importantly, we have stuck to our commitment to communicate. It hasn't always been pretty, especially when it comes to tricky topics like money, but it always makes me feel a little closer and more secure in the relationship.