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BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!'
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Subject: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 16 Nov 02 - 09:56 PM As of 9AM Friday, I am a home-owner with my own 1/4 acre of trees and bushes to tend. Although I recognize that my stewardship of this tiny parcel is temporary, I believe that I have finally found "home". Say a prayer, light a candle and celebrate with me. Mary |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 02 - 10:02 PM Congratulations my dear......really.......We're really and truly happy for you!!! .........You may be less pleased when the water heater craps out on a Saturday night..........Try not to think about those things........ Spaw(:<)) |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: mmm1a Date: 16 Nov 02 - 10:04 PM Congratulations I hope you are very happy in your new home. mmm |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 16 Nov 02 - 10:06 PM What water heater? Doesn't the City of Portland pipe in hot and cold water? That's what it says on the taps. Damn! Something else to insure. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: katlaughing Date: 16 Nov 02 - 11:34 PM HeyaSins! Congratulations...a whole 1/4 acre!! That's wonderful! And, a house, too?! I'll put the tent away, shall I? I just sent you a small package, today. Didn't realise it was going to coincide with this great move, but it does seem appropriate. Watch yer mailbox, I sent it to your old addy. Sorry! luvyakat |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 16 Nov 02 - 11:44 PM Don't ask the LaughKat for gardening advice.
Sincerely, |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Bobert Date: 16 Nov 02 - 11:47 PM Mary, First of all I hope you got a 15 year motgage because in 15 years it will be yours and you can just tell those folks who lend money to take their *game* (money) and shove it. Pay it off, then sell, and go whereever you want go where you don't have to borrow no more dough from Boss Hog. Yopu do that and you win! They (the lenders) Loose. Enjoy your home as you make it *home*.... Bobert |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: artbrooks Date: 17 Nov 02 - 12:35 AM And pay an extra $150 a month on that 15 year mortgage and its paid of in 9! Congratulations...home ownership can be a bitch, but it sure beats pouring money down a rat hole (aka, paying rent). |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,Q Date: 17 Nov 02 - 01:12 AM Just looooooking at my new property tax. We paid off the mortgage in 15 years. The payments including principal were about 30% less than the taxes are now. Really a false comparison because money has changed. When we started, the cheapest entertainment for an evening was a pocketbook at 95 cents. Now the same paperback is $9.00. We had to rent for a couple of years when we got out of school, but we never regretted getting that first little house. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: greg stephens Date: 17 Nov 02 - 04:35 AM Well I just achieved the same sort of thing two years ago in Stoke UK and its great. Good luck. With your 1/4 acre you'll soon be self-sufficient. i dont know what grows well in Partland but here the amount of brambles ivy and nettles and couch grass I can get is fantastic. Dont be put off by any creaking noises the house makes in the night. This does not invariably mean it's falling down.Anyway it's always easy to find inexpensive tradesman who will turn out very quickly and cheerfully and help you with any problems that arise. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Hrothgar Date: 17 Nov 02 - 05:47 AM Congratulations! Now your teeth are the second most expensive thing you own! :-)) |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 17 Nov 02 - 12:12 PM Hey, Miss Kitty. I have two apple trees and not a clue as to how to care for them. Any advice. Thank you all...I think. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,Q Date: 17 Nov 02 - 12:25 PM Now you can start planning on getting that summer-get-away acerage.......? |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: CarolC Date: 17 Nov 02 - 12:28 PM Congratulations Mary! That's wonderful news! |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Amos Date: 17 Nov 02 - 01:11 PM Way to go, Sins. Never look back! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Tinker Date: 17 Nov 02 - 02:22 PM Mary, Congratulations -- the land found the right steward... Kathy |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,Q Date: 17 Nov 02 - 02:35 PM Lots of little articles here. Apple care: apples The guides here are a lot simpler and more practical than many. I went to school here. If the apples are not good for eating, make jelly, apple butter and cider. The cider made at the Ag section of this school was excellent. No preservatives. Drink when it reaches the right degree of hardness. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Ebbie Date: 17 Nov 02 - 03:12 PM Congratulations, Sinsull! I have a couple of acres in Oregon- even though I no longer live there, I like knowing that if everything goes belly up, I have a place I can raise a garden and contemplate my belly button, not necessarily at the same time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Mudlark Date: 17 Nov 02 - 03:44 PM Congrats on becoming a homeowner. As the old timers in Arkansas used to tell me, "Once you got your own place, they can't starve you out!" (What with prop. taxes is Calif. I'm not so sure that's true here...) I know your piece of the planet will thrive under your love, respect and care... |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: katlaughing Date: 17 Nov 02 - 03:52 PM Dear Sins, Advise you obtain as many guttersnipes as possible, have them ground to a fine dust, and add them to your compost heap. With the shit they collect and spew, it will become great for packing around your apple trees. Kind of like making lemonade from lemons, only more odiferous. Yours ever, Miss Kitty |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Micca Date: 18 Nov 02 - 06:39 AM When I played Rugby and got kicked in the "unmentionables" I had a coupla "achers in Kent" does that count? Glad you are getting settled, and I will give you an expert opinion on any Cider you brew, if you like!!! hope to come and "view the Estate" at some time, and How is the Fair Alice???? these days.. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Hollowfox Date: 18 Nov 02 - 12:00 PM Best wishes! |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 18 Nov 02 - 05:29 PM Alice pines for you Micca. She sleeps with me but I am barely second best.Come visit the "estate" anytime. There will always be a warm bed, full bottle, and hot food for you. Kat - what the hell is a guttersnipe? And what compost heap? Sounds like something else I need to clean like the kitty litters. Kendall and I have had a minor disagreement on the decor. My bedroom, formerly the kitchen, has 1950s vinyl tiles in non-descript beige. I can't put down carpet - thanks to Ed's preference for any carpet over litter. I want to go with wood. Home Depot has some fairly inexpensive parquet squares which a local handyman can lay. The Captain thinks it is unnecessary. I want opinions from ladies only to avoid the obvious nonsense I am liable to get about the handyman laying anything. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: AllisonA(Animaterra) Date: 18 Nov 02 - 05:32 PM Mary, that's just wonderful! Congratulations! Now you have all winter to "nest". I hope I'll get to your neck of the woods soon, but if you're back this way, you know you have a place to stay! |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: katlaughing Date: 18 Nov 02 - 05:51 PM guttersnipe = a gargoyle, esp. one which spews garbage off of a roof compost heap = a pile of leaves, leftovers from salad-making, vegetable matter, etc., mixed together in a container usually in a corner of the yard, letting it "cook" until it turns into a nice mulch. Sometimes people add manure to the mix. If you use Feline Pine, once you've cleaned out the tootsie rolls, you can add it to the pile, too.:-) Draw your own conclusions.:-) The bedroom floor...if the room is well square without too many cuts to be amde to accomodate doorways and built-ins, you can DIY. My daughter and I did our kitchen floor that way BEFORE we found out you are supposed to start in the center and work your way out. If it were me, I'd hire someone to lay the parquet. That's the only kind of lay I'd pay for besides a bunch of orchids.*bg* |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Tinker Date: 18 Nov 02 - 06:30 PM Of course it's a perfectly good floor(albet 50 years old) and you don't need to replace it from a functonal view point. But of course I'd put down the parquet. This is about a bedroom and a sanctuary not a laboratory. Go for it. Kathy |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Amos Date: 18 Nov 02 - 06:34 PM Parquet is probably the best path, Sins, but look under the lino and make sure you don't have some ancient New England oak under there. If you do, buy or rent a sander and refinish the wood flooring underneath. ut not of it is plywood sheeting or some kinda trash under the lino. Back when lino was "the latest thing". more or less, people made terrible blunders in basic taste and often covered perfectly good oak flooring with it (or, worse, with paint.) A |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: harpgirl Date: 18 Nov 02 - 07:31 PM I'd put down tile if I were you, Sins. It's indestructible, can be covered with throw rugs, and could be a good kitchen floor if the house gets converted back. Better resale value than parquet. I had my kitchen and laundry room tiled and it looks great! Alsoo easier to keep clean than vinyl and parquet. What's under the linoleum? Is it oak? If so, have it restored... my girly opinion...hg |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,Q Date: 18 Nov 02 - 07:46 PM You said no males, but tile is a good suggestion. Covers a lot of faults, many patterns, easy to lay, scrubbable. Buy a few extra because there always seems to be someone (kids, spouses, visitors) who will drop a sledgehammer on them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: harpgirl Date: 18 Nov 02 - 07:49 PM ...also you can get just about any kind of tile you want in a host of colors. I chose a whitish tile about 10 inch square with light brown grout that pulls the kitchen colors together. It cost me about 1500 for the tile and the work in both rooms including new "three quarter round" around both rooms. Yellow tile with a darker grout might look great. If you seal the grout the cats can't really mess it up at all. I also recommend a compost heap. I have several around my yard and I always have a good source of rich brown dirt for planting. Dig a pond, as well. They are simple and provide hours of enjoyment...Alice inspired me to do that. Now I have two! It attracts neighborhood kids, which I love! One more thing, I refinanced my house a couple months ago with a home equity loan. It just went down from 4.75 to 4.25. Of course it will go up along with prime but in the meantime my loan is going down much faster than it did with a conventional mortgage and at the rate I am paying it, I only have six years left on the loan. Plus I get to manage my own tax payments and home insurance. I cut my interest payments by more than half. One more thing. If you like rosemary, plant one in full sun and baby it until it gets good and rooted. Then you will always have rosemary for lamb and stuff! hg (very enthusiastic about women owning their own homes) |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 18 Nov 02 - 10:59 PM The linoleum is original from 1957 and has concrete underneath with some plywood according to the previous owner, a builder. Good tile or real parquet is out of the question financially. The wood parquet tiles, tongue in groove, will cost under $300 for materials. Real wood or stone tiles will cost four or five times as much + labor. Do it myself? I have. And worked from the middle out for a perfect kitchen floor. Neither my knees nor my back are about to withstand that again. Gardening will have to wait until spring. We have our first snow/ice cover. And I want to see what is already planted before I go disturbing any perennials. Meantime, I have lots to do inside. Just being able to reach for a book to look something up without rooting through a toppling pile of cartons will be a treat. I had an herb garden in NYC and a pumpkin patch. Maybe... |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Mudlark Date: 18 Nov 02 - 11:09 PM True, tile is scrubbable and indestructible, except for falling sledgehammers, but it is a cold floor, and somehow, in cold winters a parquet floor sounds a lot more appealing to me. The only complaints I've heard from people who have parquet floors is dirt/dust/etc. Especially if the wood is dark, like teak, every footfall shows up. Butt... Less of a problem in a bedroom, than in a living rm or entry way. It sounds like a lovely way to make the room your own, and at a relatively reasonable price. Anyway, you get to. Everybody gets to do at least one big thing to their new house...think of it as a christening... |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: mg Date: 19 Nov 02 - 12:04 AM I vote for parquet, with a couple of throw rugs. I would never have wall to wall carpet in a house..it just collects dirt...and I am a bad bad housekeeper...mg |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 19 Nov 02 - 07:35 PM It will be parquet. Kendall recommended a handyman who will visit tomorrow and help me purchase supplies. The floor will be down before move-in day. Maentime, I found a lovely little package outside my door today with a treasure and an award certificate. Thank you kat and NightOwl. Both will have a place of honor in my new home and I expect will be there to remind me that when times are tough that I have friends. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 30 Nov 02 - 05:15 PM I am in my new home and (obviously) have set my computer although I may have a virus... If anyone is coming through Portland, ME, PM me for a meal, a bed, and some music. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: CraigS Date: 30 Nov 02 - 05:32 PM Advice to new home-owner: Paint green patches on apple trees with paste of lime and water during winter. Renew floor when cat dies. Prune trees according to expert advice. Be certain to slam door if confronted by door-to-door banjo or melodeon salesman. Do not admit more than one person with bagpipes at a time. Hang sign saying GOD BLESS OUR MORTGAGED HOME, wait several years. Good Luck! |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Charley Noble Date: 01 Dec 02 - 09:55 AM Tuned in too late for the kitchen floor. Too bad, but you can always spread sawdust and straw over the new parquet. The kitties will love it, as well as all your folkie friends!;~) Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Micca Date: 01 Dec 02 - 10:01 AM Sinsull, I am already looking forward to visiting! love to Alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Amos Date: 01 Dec 02 - 10:26 AM And the green patches of lime paste -- what are they for, Craig? A |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 01 Dec 02 - 10:44 AM I was afraid to ask. My cats are trained to a litter box but much prefer carpeting, hence the parquet. No floor renewal required. But I did get a phone call from my sister-in-law who had just installed a very expensive and beautiful Oriental rug - my gift to her when Ed turned it ito his private litter box. Supposedly, I will get it back when Ed dies. But I doubt it. It took three cleanings to get it "fresh" if you know what I mean. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: katlaughing Date: 01 Dec 02 - 11:08 AM Haha! Ms. Lovee has taken the carpet-preference route and we are not going to have to rip up and replace a lot sooner in the "cat room" aka as my office! The little bee eye tee see aitch! Good to hear you are all moved in, Sins! |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 02 - 12:23 PM Mary, I did the same search this spring when I bought my house and the half-acre on a creek in Fort Worth. I bought a fixer-upper so I could afford the location and land I wanted, and have made huge strides on the house (it was sound, but nothing had been updated in 25 years). Do some research before you go plunk your $300 down at Home Depot for their parquet-in-a-box. Visit a couple of places like this or this to see what materials cost, what equipment is needed, how to measure, etc. (These came from a Google search on "Hardwood Floors.") Then look in your local phonebook under hardwood floors and go take a look at what real wood looks like and costs in your area. Much better to buy it locally than through the Internet--if you have problems or defective pieces you can drive back and they'll help you. If you can put down the handyman stuff you can put down the real stuff. The trick is to be patient, and sleep in another room for a while as you do the floor as time allows. We played musical bedrooms in my house, where I'm single-handedly putting down 2000 square feet of ceramic and porcelain tile. I opted for tile over the concrete slab because I live in a floodplain. I doubt it will ever flood--the problem here had to do with a poorly designed bridge that was replaced several years ago. (The bridge was too low and the crown of the road too high--resulting in a dam when water rose, and it backed up and once got the carpets wet in the den in this house.) I've finished the tile in three bedrooms, my office, two halls, and the den. I still have another hall and the sunroom, where I'll do dark floors to get the solar gain in the winter. Part of this will replace a parquet floor that was damaged when the hot water heater burst for previous owners. If it's worth spending $300 on, then make that money do as much work as possible. You may find that adding a bit to your budget will pay off very well in the long run. Learn how to do it yourself ("DIY" is not a dirty word if you do the job right!)--and you'll find that if you do the research first so you know what questions to ask, and have poked around measureing and looking at the edges and doorways where you'll have to put quarter round or some sort of joint they'll offer lots of useful information. I just did my first big event--Thanksgiving for friends who have had us to their home for several years now. Everyone knew my house is a work in progress, but I pushed myself to get the den floor as close to completion as possible. It looked marvelous, and we all had a lot of fun examining the work I've done and what I have left. The support was great, and I'm all the more charged to keep going. So look at this as an opportunity to learn something new, to add true value to your house (the real wood will add value, the parquet from Home Depot won't add nearly so much, in most likelyhood). You'll beam every time you set foot on it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 02 - 02:52 PM P.S. If you pull up the old lineoleum be careful. It probably contains asbestos. Regardless of the flooring you put down, you're supposed to jump through all sorts of environmental hoops when dealing with the old stuff. My inclination would be to carefully break it into smallish pieces and box it for the trash in such a way that it isn't so heavy to attract notice or liable to break free and be exposed in some way. Probably illegal as can be, but you don't want the old stuff under the new flooring. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: GUEST,Q Date: 01 Dec 02 - 03:21 PM Good advice from Stilly R S. The cheap parquet tends to "dish" after a while, I have been told. You say tiles are expensive, but I got mine at a sale at Home Depot, cheaper than parquet. Rented a tile cutter and put it in. Wear a mask when taking up old floor coverings, and keep it slightly damp. We broke up the old lino from our kitchen and managed to get it into the garbage pickup, but it was not (at least visibly) asbestos-based. Near us, the military returned land including an old school to the Indian nation a few blocks away from us. The school was laced with asbestos materials. The government paid for the demolishing of the building, which was good for the tribal finances, since work with removing asbestos is expensive and transfer to a proper disposal site also is expensive. For most of the house, we have real hardwood floors. My daughter recently built a house and found that the installed hardwood would cost little more than the supposedly cheaper plywood with carpeting. Decent carpeting is expensive! In our short-season climate, we have no real apple trees (sob!), only crabapples. They do make good apple butter and jelly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: SINSULL Date: 01 Dec 02 - 03:49 PM Thanks, guys. I appreciate the advice and support. For now, I am sleeping in a spare bedroom on a futon and unpacking box after box after box. If I don't unearth a hairdryer soon (I have two somewhere) I will have to buy one. Other than that I am managing. The cats love this place but are somewhat annoyed at me for dropping cold white stuff on their backyard. Just seeing Baby Fred up any one of many trees makes it all worth while. We are very happy. Mary |
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Subject: RE: BS: 'It's the land, Scarlett, the land!' From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 02 - 11:57 PM I bought a wet saw at Home Depot for $100 and have gotten my money's worth out of it, with all of the tile I'm doing. Those tile cutters are great for straight easy cuts where you're not shaving small bits off of tiles, but there's a lot more breakage over all with them. For the job I'm doing, I've save much of that 10% overage by not breaking tons of tile along the way. I was able to tile an extra room with that leftover tile. Home Depot will let you use the manual tile scoring cutter for nothing, I think, just returning your deposit when you return it. I think the PBS program Hometime did an excellent segment on putting down good wood flooring. It isn't complicated, it's just the usual process of getting your subfloor prepped, then having all of the tools you need to do the job properly. You could probably visit the PBS site to get a link to that program, then find a way to view the program or order a tape. SRS |