Catching Up

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks for several reasons. Mainly, all work on the house ceased for about a week and a half. I don't know why, you would have to ask Doug. But moving on past that, David was sick for about a week and we dealt with that for a few days. Work has resumed in a much slower fashion than before so let's see what's happened.

Remember this? This was the door of death that opened into the basement stairwell. Very dangerous.

It now looks like his.

Yes, it swings into the hall, like it is supposed to. This definitely turned into an all-day project for Doug because of the way it was installed originally. There was nothing behind the doorjam on the right side. They had just run the sheetrock up to it and put some trim up. He rebuilt that section so that it would be done right. The door is a hideous color and had lots of hooks and locks on it. A lot of the doors in this house have hook and latches that seem unnecessary. It's a little creepy to think what they might have needed to lock in with all these latches.

Work has also proceeded in the TV room. Pictures of that next time.

Update on the temperatures in the house. Kansas is not supposed to have these kinds of winters. We thought we left all that behind when we left Wisconsin. However, we are having one of the coldest winters that people can remember for a long time. If the sun isn't shining, there is no way to get the house above about 65 degrees except in the one room that is insulated which is Rachel's room and our room which is the smallest and has two vents. We are completely use to living in 6 layers of clothes and a blanket. Yesterday, when it was cloudy, I just gave up, turned the downstairs thermostat to 55 and told the family that we are living upstairs until the sun shines again. I covered the openings to the stairways at both ends of the hall upstairs with blankets and we did manage to get it to a comfortable temperature in the bedrooms, tv room and upstairs bathroom. Comfortable meaning about 67. Today the sun is shining and the downstairs is warming up a bit. I can't wait until spring, the season of warm weather and insulating!

Update on the "to-do" list version 2.

1) Repair the hole in the bedroom ceiling-DONE

2) Move the phone cords in kitchen

3) Change the "death trap" door on the basement so that it swings into the hall instead of out over the stairs. -DONE

4) Cut out the built-in stove which is a piece of junk and put in the stove we brought with us. A major kitchen remodel is probably 5 years away.

5) Put a closer on the back door so that it doesn't slam when people go in and out.

6) Put the weatherstripping on the front door.-DONE

Three out of six ain't bad!