Workin' on my skillz

As many may know I have changed over from majoring in Education, to trying my hand at Graphic Design. As a part of that program, I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out Adobe's Photoshop. If you want to see my progress, view my scrapbook pages at:
http://www.scrapbookflair.com/caribear76

The pages here are part of my class assignments, and some are just for extra practice, enjoy!

Cha-Cha-Changes!

It should be obvious by now that I am playing catch-up with this already! Last night I posted about our new home, and today I thought I would give a peek into the things we have done since our closing January 23rd. Our house came short a few necessities. But, keep in mind it is almost 100years old, and it had been in the same family for that long! That being said, we realized that some things just don't change. For instance, our bathroom came with a tub - but no shower. The kitchen has a wonderful walk-in pantry, a itty-bitty little sink, and one appliance hook-up. That's it... no countertops... no cupboards... nothing else. So, the first project to be completed was by Joe and Grandpa Luedtke, to add the shower in. It is an interesting arrangement, as there is a full-length window right in the shower/tub area, added to the tiny problem of the tile not running the entire length of the area that gets wet. Joe came up with the brilliant idea of having not one, but two shower curtains to cure the window problem and most of the wall issue. I find that I discover something new every day in the old house of ours. For instance, the first time I took a shower I noticed the seahorse image left on the wall. Apparently they were in place for so long the paint faded around the wall-hangings. The next project was to give us a little bit of workable space in the kitchen. Joe and Grandpa Walt hung the cabinets that Joe's Mom gave us. Joe's cousin Josh helped get the cooktop hooked up, and Joe and CJ installed the countertop and shelf for the convection oven. With the tidy purchase of our refrigerator and the cooktop, we now have a mostly functional kitchen. We are short an oven, but no loss right now as everyone knows I am not a great cook by any means! While the boys were busy working on the kitchen, I was busy trying to put the pantry back in order. We had to remove part of the shelving and wall in order to put the shower in next door. In addition we removed the beadboard doors and partitioning as it just wasn't functionable. I love the beadboard doors however, so they will be moved into the mud room/laundry room. I spent some time removing linoleum and sanding the peeling paint down. After a trip to Dollar General I came up with a system to organize our food and dishes. I am pretty proud of my handy work! Keep in mind that all of these changes are temporary until we do the official make-over! The boys also took to the attic and re-installed wiring and some lighting. The original had to be removed prior to close as it was of the knob & tube variety (yeah raise your hands if you know that dinosaur term! lol!) and there was a lot of open splicing. Last on our list was a mailbox... uh huh - you heard me. So, apparently for the last couple of decades the little old lady who lived in our home had her mail hand delivered! It took us about a month to realize that we didn't have a mailbox! So here it is in all it's glory! Joe says it is the one with the detroit lean!

"It'll Wear Off..."

That is what we keep hearing from everyone! As I excitedly shoveled our driveway and sidewalks... at least 6 different times, our neighbor said, "it'll wear off, you'll get sick of it - houses are work." Oh boy! But it is work we look forward to! Joe and I bought our first home together on January 23rd. This 100year old house is the next step in our life together, a goal we had set for ourselves last spring, and we couldn't be more excited! Though this picture is from the listing, you can see the charming porch on the front. That is where Daddy and Joe's Mom met us the day we closed on the house. I don't know that I have words to describe how it felt when we pulled into our driveway for the first time with them standing on the porch to welcome us home. So, this is it! Our home at 1925 Division Street in East Troy.
Though we were aware the home was celebrating it's 99th birthday this year, we had no idea the history of the home, nor the special connection it has with Joe and I both. The saying, "It's a small world," could not have anymore truth to it in this case. The home was placed on the market as a result of an estate sale. The seller was the 3rd generation of the original builder. His grandfather built the home in 1910, and it was later passed on to his mother who lived there to her late 90's. We were aware that there was some disagreement among the relatives over the sale of the home as we had gotten it for a steal. Going into the closing was nerve wracking because we were aware of that tension. As Joe and I waited with the seller and his daughter, he told us where to find the spare key, and was so worried that we check the oil tank for the heating because he knew it would be running low. His daughter asked if we were keeping the skeleton key locks on the doors because she collects the keys and would like to have it if we were not keeping it, thus opening up a conversation that Joe and I agree helped them feel better about giving up a piece of their families history. We explained that though we plan on updating the home, our goal was to keep in place as much originality of the home as would be possible. Mr. Ottow and his daughter Debbie shared with us stories of sleeping in the attic and growing up around the home. It was as I was telling them about my fascination with our local history, and my disappointment that I found so little about our house, that Debbie asked where Joe and I were from. I still laugh when I recall her reaction to finding out that Joe was the nephew to her high school best friend, and that I had gone to school with her sons. At that point it seemed as though we had busted down the wall of tension and moved into a circle of people that cared very much for the same thing - this old house. I can feel the tears well up in my eyes when I think of Debbie insisting on giving us hugs at the end of the closing, and the warm hand shake from her father. Many people who grew up in this neighborhood and, have viewed the pictures, recall that the last owner was an AVON lady. If that is true, it is yet another connection for me... because I sell AVON too! Our little house will be undergoing some changes in the years to come, and we look forward to having everyone come out to see it! If you would like to see more pictures, check them out on my FaceBook or MySpace profiles. I am trying to get a web album together soon as well!