Warming trend!

As of noon today, we have heat in the house! Hallelujah!! Just as the first floor was registering 40 degrees, the HVAC folks finished up the install of the new heating unit.  The gas company did its part and within an hour, my husband reported that after an hour, the house had warmed up to 50 degrees on the first floor.  The second floor will be finished on Monday as one of the technicians they need to have in order to punch through the roof is on another job site today.  That is fine...a finish line has been spotted.  Besides, we can always live on the first floor if we need to for a few more days or use the portable heaters until Monday rolls around.  I am so excited! Never will I ever take for granted a heated room. 

Still looking for that USB cord!!!

47/53

The saga of the big chill continues.  The warranty company sent their incredible contractors out to inspect the heating problem.  One rocket scientist said we needed more insulation.  Done.  Still cold air blowing out of the vents.  The second genius decided the way to fix the heater is to replace all of the windows in the home.  Brilliant.  When I spoke to the warranty company, they said it was time for us to get our own opinion and if there was a "mechanical" problem found, they would have their technicians complete the work.  Ha...fat chance.  Needless to say my husband and I do not trust them to do any work of this substantial nature.  The HVAC company we had come out has recommended replacing what we have with a unit that is meant to heat/cool a home of this size.  In addition, we have decided to uncap the natural gas and have that as an option vs. an electric only home.  They started the work today to bring in the new equipment. 

So what does the 47/53 mean as the title of this entry? Those are the steady holding temperatures downstairs and upstairs respectively in our home.  Our daughter has been staying with her grandparents since Monday after school.  My husband and I have heaters in our bedroom and bathroom upstairs, which is tolerable.  We have down comforters, flannel night clothes and we vacate the house during the day.

We are keeping our fingers crossed on the installation.  This weekend the weathermen predict that it will warm up a tad before plunging into the low teens on Sunday.  YIKES!

PS: Regarding pictures....during the move we have managed to misplace the USB cord for the camera.  As soon as it is located, I will share lots and lots!  Until then, stay warm!

And the renovations continue...

My aunt called me this morning to remind me that I haven't been blogging and there has been activity in my house that needs to be shared.  She is correct on both counts.  We have moved most of our things in to the city house and have been sleeping there since Sunday.  Christmas decorations are slowly coming out of their tubs and are being sprinkled around the house here and there.  However, my husband has been tackling the biggest "new" project we have going on at the moment - heat.

Right after Thanksgiving, another cold spell arrived and we noticed the heater that we thought had been fixed was not keeping pace with the cold air.  No matter where we set the temperature, the first floor remained cold.  The technician came out for a second time and basically told us that the heater was firing up fine but there is no insulation under the flooring on the walk-in level.  My husband bought roll after roll of insulation and has been stuffing the rafters in the basement in hopes of warming up the place.  Unfortunately, yesterday morning the thermostat registered at 57 degrees.  Thankfully, our bedrooms are on the second floor and we did not suffer in that condition.

Today, we had another heating and air company come out and give us a second opinion, which was not good news.  They are recommending that we pull everything that is in place and covert to an new system which would include gas.  The current system is all electric and should only be used as a back up system we have learned.

Needless to say, we are frazzled, furious and frustrated.  Home inspection? Why did we even have one?  Sellers?  Now we know why you did a short sale so the house could be sold "as is."  I am baffled.  For the past two weeks as the house didn't heat I remember asking my husband, "how did a family live here before? Certainly this isn't all new?" 

Lots of phone calls will be made today to see what can be done.  Meanwhile, starting tomorrow we are predicted to have the coldest weather of the season hit.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

'Tis the season!

It is hard to imagine that today we celebrated Thanksgiving and now we are moving on to Christmas!  I am playing with Christmas card designs and thought I would share a template I have been working on with Shutterfly.  Tomorrow we start decorating the house as our home is on the route for the Marietta Tour of Homes.  Can't have a naked house with company in town! :)  More soon...

Love Hope Faith Religious

Unique party invitations and greeting cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And just when I posted about Halloween, in a blink of an eye it is Thanksgiving!  I can't believe I haven't blogged and kept you up to speed on what has been going on.  The truth of the matter is I have been too busy to sit behind the computer and peck out an entry.  Why? Because we have been MOVING!!! :)  Can you believe it?  I still can't.  I keep pinching myself.  It sank in a tiny bit when I was unloading some boxes and was heading back to the truck when I stopped and stared at my furniture in the house.  That was a bit of an epiphany for me that all the months of waiting and working had finally paid off.  We still need to move our "living quarters" in but for now, everything else is in the city house.  Right now, I must dash off so I can finish preparing our first Thanksgiving dinner in the new digs.  I owe you lots of pictures of newly painted rooms and freshly buffed floors but until then, I wish you and your family a safe and festive Thanksgiving.  May you enjoy the many blessings He has bestowed upon you! 

Boo!

As always, I cannot believe how quickly time flies.  The pictures I posted yesterday were taken before Halloween.  Since the end of October, Halloween, Election day and a two day board meeting at work plus a weekend work trip has kept me from uploading pictures for you to enjoy.  Below are a few pictures from Halloween.  The new 'hood has an annual Halloween parade for the kids to enjoy before trick or treating.  We also put up some Halloween decorations.  We may not live here but from the outside, you sure wouldn't know it! We hope your family had as much fun with your ghosts and goblins as we did.

The princess doesn't want to leave the house

A few pumpkins and spooky window treatments

Spiders and tombstones

The yard is the perfect place to watch the parade go by!

Hello November...

Seriously....it is November.  Thanksgiving is around the corner.  I wonder if moving is?  The interior of the house is finally done.  For the most part, I think we are really happy with our choices.  A few of the shades weren't as dark as we thought they would be or they were too close to another hue in the adjacent room.  However, I think once we have furniture and our personal touches in the rooms, it is really going to be a perfect fit.  I am not 100% thrilled with the pictures below but at least you can get an idea of what we have in the rooms.  Also, the last task is to clean up the hardwoods.  Last week they started replacing some horrible patch work where the radiators used to be.  My fingers are crossed for completion by next week.