AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1224
Yes, that is pretty rude! We are mostly taught that if you don’t have something nice to say, just say nothing. Advice can be given if asked for, but to just say something like that, especially to a stranger is truly rude! I would probably have cussed him out to return his rudeness, so you guys are probably much nicer.
OK…the painters have left my house (they will return to do the exterior in the spring)…now I can start putting more things away and start hanging pictures and putting furniture and rugs in place!!!
I’m glad he opted for “ha ha good one k thanks bye” but I’m glad he was there to handle it! I think my response would have been snarky and that has gotten me in trouble before.
I can’t wait to see the pictures of your house!! Unpacking boxes and putting everything where it belongs is the only fun part of moving imho.
3 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1226
Well, I signed the contract and made a deposit for the exterior work to be done on the house. Since it won’t be done until the spring, there is nothing to show…except for the “before” pictures…
All of this will be gone. It will be replaced with a large front patio and retaining wall.
Looks like you have excellent tree shade, even if the lawn is super boring. Is there room for chairs before it starts sloping down, if you want to sit outside before the porch gets finished?
2 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1228
The front “porch” is really just big enough for Amazon packages to be left!
When it gets done, there will be a front porch big enough for chairs as well as a seating wall and most of the lawn will be planting beds. We are trying to get rid of as much grass as we can. It’s hard to tell in the pictures, but the house sits on a pretty steep hill so the retaining wall and walkway will be more level and safer than it is now. That was my main goal…safety and accessibility. Most of our friends are now in their 70’s so walking uphill can be problematic.
Here is an AI rendering of the house without the retaining wall…
Ooh, very sophisticated looking. I like the MCM (I think ) style of the doors in the rendering.
3 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1230
The patio and walkways will be stone and slate so it won’t feel as MCM as much. My husband likes that style but I am more “cottagey”. The inside is all out craft woman gone ballistic and put up all the things…lol.
@Immaculata Honesty doesn’t require actually saying things, so yes this guy was just rude. For some reason he believes that his opinion matters. Like, at all.
I have a hard time imagining an American letting someone who has come to buy something into their house at all let alone enough to understand the layout! Obviously, big furniture or something might be the exception, but I think many (or most?) of us would do what we could to have that thing be in the garage or on the porch. Fake friendly stops at the driveway! At least with strangers. I have taken something as large as this to a public location to sell to a buyer myself. Of course, there is a factor in being female, but even when TheMisterT is around we would meet on the porch when we lived in the city.
@AIMR Oh, you must be excited to have your interior ready and comforted to know the exterior projects are solidified with contracts! Now you can settle in for the autumn and winter and really get to nesting.
3 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1233
I really need to make a cushion for the bay window for my cats to sit/sleep on. Right now, I am using an old mattress pad to protect the paint!
I also have some curtains to hem and maybe a few mats for some tables, but, I mostly look forward to knitting in colder weather. The deer and squirrels have been a source of amusement for my cats and me.
Funny, if someone suggested meeting me at some parking lot somewhere instead of at their home, I’d probably think they were a crazy serial killer who wanted to bundle me in their van. Most people don’t have porches, driveways or garages in my city, I have met people in the foyer of their apartment complex before, but typically people just give their home address and let someone come to their home.
When I’m alone, I always make sure that I put the thing in the hallway (see, that’s why we have a hallway!), close the door between the hallway and the living room, but I also make sure that the curtains are open on the entire front of the house. That way, all the neighbours can look inside ( we don’t have a yard, our door opens onto the pavement directly). We live on a little square where everyone knows each other and strangers stand out. The neighbours directly across from our house are retired and the man is watching the street all day. It annoys me sometimes, but it also feels very safe. I also don’t sell valueable stuff when I’m alone and I make sure I only meet during the day. I imagine selling a brand new iPhone or expensive tools attract a whole different crowd than small things I’m usually selling or trading for a bar of chocolate (is that a thing there? Small things are often traded for chocolate or wine here).
Mr Imma sometimes sells more expensive things (music gear) but usually that’s a friend-of-a-friend situation, the local scene is pretty small. As a precaution, he lets those people try out the gear in the living room, but strangers are not allowed into the studio. Studio’s are broken in all the time here and we don’t want to risk giving someone ideas.
3 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1236
I’ve been lucky when selling things and I usually try to meet them outside with the item already out or near rhe door.
On another note, I just finished one of my off-season window air conditioner hiding places. Theres no room in our house to store these thing and the basement is two flights of stairs away.
I imagine the relative distance between dwellings is a factor in the different understandings of safety between our countries!
I think Americans are too suspicious to trade food for items with strangers for the most part. Or would consider it not useful to trade for something readily available and easily acquired - taking chocolate for an item would maybe be viewed as just a kindness to help out the person who needs your small item. It’s probably technically illegal in most states to trade alcohol! Trading is often legally considered a financial transaction like selling and there is specially licensing required for selling alcohol. I imagine apps would restrict this, just like often restricting firearms listings. Of course one can give alcohol to people of age.
That sounds kind of sad actually We are definitely not a crime-free country, there are a lot of people here, including millions of immigrants from all over the world, but we typically have a lot of trust in people, as if we live in a small village where everyone knows everyone. It’s why we don’t understand why Americans would want to arm themselves to the teeth (and I don’t mean owning a hunting weapon for self-defence when you live around bears or mountain lions) or live in gated communities or send their kids to expensive private schools.
I think people actually feel the other way round about trading for chocolate / wine - we feel it’s a kindness that someone is willing to take that old sofa so we don’t have to spend money to get rid of it And some people have complex feelings about taking something that’s offered for free. So trading for a bar of Toblerone or your favourite bottle of wine feels like a win/win for many people. In my country “trade for a bottle of wine” ads are fine on Facebook Marketplace and in groups but maybe their policy is different in every country.
We have a complicated history. We’re descendants of people who fled authoritarian governments (one of my ancestors helped incite our revolution!). As to private schools and gated communities - where I live is very close to high crime areas and our public schools are terrible, and both are only getting worse. If you can afford to get your kids out of danger, you do it. Though, even sleepy neighborhoods are seeing horrific crimes lately. I could send you news articles just from my area that would make your blood run cold. I really don’t go anywhere after dark anymore, though plenty happens in broad daylight. My state just got rated the most violent in the nation. But, you should hear my sister’s stories about her city (New Orleans). It’s weird and unsettling to see your home change so much. I remember being a kid and we didn’t even lock our doors, you could leave your bikes in the driveway overnight, and we roamed the suburbs unsupervised for hours.
That being said, I have bought things from people on FB marketplace. If they’re in the right neighborhoods, it’s no big deal to pop over to someone’s home with cash. We usually end up knowing some of the same people, lol. We don’t really do the food thing, though, not with strangers, anyway. So many allergies and food sensitivities these days.
How sad that your area is becoming so extremely unsafe! It’s hard to find the way out - it does feel like a viscious circle, a place becomes less safe, people are more wary of others, don’t want to get involved, so a place becomes even less safe etc. Obviously no one wants to see their loved ones or themselves getting hurt, so we are all careful and watch what we do. But when all the good people stay inside, the bad people rule.
How cool that your ancestors were involved in the American Revolution! When that stuff happened, where my ancestors lived, it was basically the Wild West. They lived in an area so remote, such extremely poor soil, full of swamps, that basically no one cared much about it. It was owned by several royal families and lords, most of them never even visited. It was at that time one of the few areas where Catholicism and Protestantism were both legal, probably because no one cared enough to send troops to enforce a state religion. Inside the villages, there were locals that kept the peace, but the countryside was full of dangerous swamps and dangerous gangs. My ancestors were part of a gang too, they lived in sod houses in the middle of a swamp and the gang leader eventually ended up hanged.
We had planned to continue painting over the weekend, but I unexpectedly had to finish some work on the weekend, so we didn’t get around to doing it. We probably won’t get around to it this weekend either, as we’re visiting friends, but work has promised me a few days off next week to make up for the overtime last week. I hope to get half of my craft room painted. It’s an L-shaped room with an open attic / mezzanine and I’ve decided we’re tackling that in two phases, so I don’t have to move out all my stuff completely, we’ll just push it to the other side of the room.
We’ve already bought all the paint, the only thing we still need to buy to finish the bedroom and craft room is new floors. We’re still on the temporary vinyl. I’d love to get new floors so it all looks completely finished, but realistically it’s not in the budget this year.
4 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
1242
When did curtains become so expensive?!! I have made curtains for almost all my homes, but when I priced fabric, lining, hardware, etc., I decided to look at ready-made. Holy cow!
Hubby has a tablecloth over one of the windows in his den…it might stay there for a while…yikes!
I did buy curtains for the primary bedroom…the windows are tiny and ugly so I covered them up with four panels of peacocks and paisleys!
Tip, if looking for curtains for a porch or outdoor area…or just temporary, check out shower curtains. Lots of options and reasonable prices. We added curtains to our three season room this way. Mildew resitant and fun.
) style of the doors in the rendering.
We are definitely not a crime-free country, there are a lot of people here, including millions of immigrants from all over the world, but we typically have a lot of trust in people, as if we live in a small village where everyone knows everyone. It’s why we don’t understand why Americans would want to arm themselves to the teeth (and I don’t mean owning a hunting weapon for self-defence when you live around bears or mountain lions) or live in gated communities or send their kids to expensive private schools.
And some people have complex feelings about taking something that’s offered for free. So trading for a bar of Toblerone or your favourite bottle of wine feels like a win/win for many people. In my country “trade for a bottle of wine” ads are fine on Facebook Marketplace and in groups but maybe their policy is different in every country.
But, you should hear my sister’s stories about her city (New Orleans). 
It’s weird and unsettling to see your home change so much. I remember being a kid and we didn’t even lock our doors, you could leave your bikes in the driveway overnight, and we roamed the suburbs unsupervised for hours.
