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| | Here's what the house looks like now |
|  | | The Great Remodeling Project
As many of you know, we were in the continual process of remodeling our home when a broken hot water pipe wreaked havoc. Many of our improvements were "washed away." After almost two years of fighting with the insurance company, changes in direction on how we want to fix the house, and lots of other crazy things, we're finally under way. Lots of fun, so we thought we would share!
March, 2005
Some folks commented that the pictures from the celebration didn't show what the house looks like (my mom complained, "all the pictures are of people!"). Good point! If you weren't at the party, you're probably wondering what the house looks like - so here are some pics. But for the best effect, you'll have to come for a visit!
click here to see pictures |
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| | |  | | March, 2005 - CELEBRATION OF THE COMPLETION OF OUR RE-CONSTRUCTION PROJECT!
It was a very happy occasion for John and Helen, and even more so because so many of our friends were able to join us for our celebration. Hopefully this will be just the first of many parties to come.
We also celebrated the promotion of our sensei, George Lyons, to 6th Dan (although we members of Bucks County Aikido already knew we had an extremely talented and gifted teacher) and the promotion of Patti Lyons to 3rd Dan.
Thank-you to all who came to celebrate and also to those who were there in spirit.
click here to see pictures |
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| | | Bucks County Aikido Fundraiser |
|  | | 2004-12-11
On December 11, members of Bucks County Aikido helped us with our remodeling. In exchange, we made a donation to the Fund Drive for Chiba Sensei. Chiba Sensei is our Aikido teacher's teacher, and he is also the head of USAF-WR (United States Aikido Federation - Western Region) and Birinkai International. To learn more, go to www.aikidopictures.org.
John and I could not have asked for a more hardworking crew. We got an amazing amount of work done, and we are getting so close to moving back in (and, we have a fully functioning kitchen!). Thank-you to everyone who participated.
Click here to see pictures. (make sure to click "NEXT" to see the entire set of pictures) |
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| | | It's starting to look like a house again! |
| November 18, 2004
A lot has happened in the last 6 weeks.
1. the cabinet debacle was resolved - our cabinet order was transferred to another kitchen store. John negotiated a great discount since we figured our deposit was lost. But then...the family who owned the bankrupt business decided to refund our deposit (out of moral, not legal obligation - it gives me hope in humanity!)
2. the drywall is up and some has even been painted
3. we tiled the kitchen floor & the cabinets were installed this week
4. the new roof is on, and the siding is going up as I type
Next steps: continue painting, get countertops installed, get appliances hooked up, get remaining flooring, lighting, move in, die of exhaustion...click here to see pictures of early re-construction, but the best way to see the progress is to come for a visit! Soon we'll have a guest bedroom again. |
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| | |  | | The Project is finally underway!!! October 1, 2004
Demolition is almost over, and we're getting ready for drywall. But another hitch in the plans - we finally ordered our cabinets, and now I've just learned that the company we purchased our cabinets from is liquidating. We won't know for another week what will happen to our deposit or our cabinets. This is truly an exercise in patience!
See the demolition pictures |
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| | | THE SAGA CONTINUES - 2004-08-16
So, it seems we must make a change of direction again. We received some quotes on our remodeling project, and it was enough to send us into a deep depression (it was about 75% higher than we expected!).
After miring ourselves in self pity, I decided that we should move, but alas, that was met with its own challenges. Although we could sell our house (as-is) for a profit from when we purchased 4 years ago, we realized that our house is actually nicer than a lot of other houses on the market (even in its present condition!!!).
So...our latest, and hopefully final, plan is to fix up the house and move back in. No remodeling, just fix it!! Too bad we didn't think of this a year ago...But at least we have a plan now! And the house will be nicer than before, with an updated kitchen, new roof & siding. | | |
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