Home Improvement

Our little cottage is quite cozy, even though it is furnished in a style some might call "early marriage" or "thrift shop antique." It's actually half of a duplex. On the main floor it has a living room and dining room plus a small kitchen. The kitchen was redone a year or so ago. There is no dishwasher or garbage disposal, which we miss. The refrigerator is VERY small -- it fits under the counter top, sort of the size of a dishwasher in the US. There's a washing machine in the kitchen, next to the frig, under the cupboard, and also rather small by US standards, but adequate. The dryer and a large chest freezer (plus paint, tools, etc.) are in a shed behind the house, so one has to go outside to get food to/from the freezer or to dry clothes. But the wiring is such that the washer and dryer can't be used at the same time, so laundry gets spaced out anyway.

Upstairs, there is a tiny office, two fairly good sized bedrooms, a full bathroom (tub, no shower), plus a separate little room with a shower stall only. There is no basement, so storage is very limited (the shed, two closets). Clothing goes in three, old fashioned wardrobes (as in, The Lion, The Witch, and The...) which don't hold much, but how many suitcases can we bring? So for the two of us, it's quite nice.

One glaring problem was the carpet -- at least 25 years old in the two rooms with "newer" carpet (we found a 1986 newspaper under it), and God only knows how old in the several rooms with "older" carpet. There was also "older" carpet in the bathroom, which had gotten wet and developed a rather strong odor. I petitioned Luther College for funds for vinyl floor in the bath, and for replacement of at least the "older" carpet. Our request was granted for replacing all of the carpet in the house, if we could do it cheap. The installers come tomorrow.

Mary and I volunteered to rip up and remove the old carpet, which results in a significant savings. But ever notice how one do-it-yourself project leads to another? The toilet (source of the water that soaked the carpet) had issues and needed to be replaced before the new vinyl: Call plumber. Some places had been painted since the old carpet installation: Touch ups needed. Steps and floorboards squeaking: Use electric drill to set wood screws. Electric drill puts wood screw through water pipe: Call plumber on Sunday evening. That's how our day is going. We only hope the plumber gets here before the carpet installers tomorrow (and that our luck improves).