Monday, October 17, 2011

Self Sufficient

Every day my husband and I become a little more self-sufficient.  Home-ownership, in all its glory, hasn't exactly been easy for two twenty year olds who have no prior background in home improvement projects.  Since we've bought the house we have become quite adept at wallpaper removal, painting and trim work, texturing ceilings, building mail boxes, installing sump pumps, and switching out electrical outlets.  We've dabbled in some light gardening, both flowers and vegetables, but haven't really enjoyed the weeding and upkeep. This weekend we have entered the uncharted territory of tree removal.

When we'd moved in there was a beautiful Elm tree next to the house.  Unfortunately since we've moved in, it decided to die.  With the last few storms we've had and the sorts of winters upstate NY goes through, we opted to take it down prior to it taking out a portion of our roof.  A friend of my sister's offered to assist us in the removal as it's sort of his thing, and Saturday was slotted as doom's day for Mr. Elm.  Well, this tree didn't want to go out without a fight and decided to bend a few gutter clips on the way down.  I guess it could have gone worse, but now we'll have to add "mending gutters" to our repertoire of skills.   Justin purchased a chainsaw (insert manly grunt here) and together we managed to dismember the tree into firewood and dispose of the less useful branches in a matter of a few hours.  

As sore as I am today, it does feel good to look back on one more household item we've managed to tackle successfully.  Now to get the guts to demolish and reassemble the upstairs bathroom on our own.

Do you have any successful (or unsuccessful) home-ownership stories to share?  Any tips or tricks for do-it-yourself bathroom restorations?

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