Saturday, September 19, 2009

New house!

The internet crashed yesterday.....that was annoying.

Bought the house yesterday....that was pretty cool. And pretty slow. Goodness it took a while.

Yup, now we're landowners here.

We went over today and cleaned it up a bunch....the little back.....hmmmm...... I don't know what to call it in English, it's a pati in Catalan. It could be a garden, but it is walled on every side and the ground is paved in either bricks or concrete.

Anywho, this space out back was an inch and a half deep in earth and leaves et al, then weeds on top of that. We had to clear all that out, and under it all we found a sink, a safareig, which is where laundry would have been done, and what may have been a barbeque, or an outdoor oven for cooking when it is too hot to do it inside. These outdoor areas were not really spaces for relaxing in as we think of them, they were work spaces and storage spaces. It is an interesting transition.





There were also walls in the living room made of fabric. Those are gone too. THAT was a gross job. The fabric had been painted many many times and the paint must be full of lead. Masks around for everyone.




Below is one of the two pie safes, for lack of a better name, that we pitched. It's a classy place, there was both indoor AND outdoor pie safes. What more could you ask for?



One of the biggest local organisations, that amongst all else it does, runs weekly activities for kids was having sign up day. Virtually everyone we know in the village and a lot of people we don't came by, and they all had a peer in. Many of them wouldn't come in even when they were invited. Their kids had no such inhibitions. Youngest ran tours for a good part of the afternoon. One guy gave himself a tour. A middle aged guy, I'd NEVER seen before just sort of let himself in while I was down the street pitching out some garbage. I came back while he was in there, said Hola. He kept looking!!!

Bold as brass.

I didn't offer him a tour.

The place looks better, but we're going to make it worse before we're finished.

More tomorrow.

More long hot showers too when we're done.

10 comments:

Angel said...

YAYAYAYAAY!!!!!!! I love all the descriptions you give and the pix! How much fun...hard work, yes, but FUN!!!!

Hula Girl at Heart said...

How exciting! I love the pics and can't wait to see more. I'm all about remodeling ya' know. Are you tired of it yet? I am. But really excited.

J.G. said...

Yahoo!!! Congrats and all good things that go with. Even in its transitional state, the house is lovely.

Too bad you couldn't ship me the pie safe. I would love it and its funky green paint. :-)

Would "patio" be the right word for the space in the back? Even though it was a work space originally, now it can be your secret garden. Just be sure and lock the door so people don't give themselves tours!

Vancouver Isle Doug said...

Great post. Love the house descriptions, first thing that came to mind of your outdoor workspace was courtyard. Sounds interesting. IKEA is great. I dream as I page through their catalogue, drooling over the kitchens, and we are planning a trip to Seattle so IKEA will be a definite must. Can't wait for pics of the progress on the house.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! This sounds like a house full of treasures waiting to be found :). I guess you'll have lots of fun with the renovations too.

Beth said...

Felicitations on becoming a homeowner!
Thanks for the photos.
Oh my, what a lot of work ahead! But how lovely it will be when it's all done!

oreneta said...

Beth, glad you like them, there is more coming!

Hula, no, I'm not tired of it yet, I know I will be at times, but I still think it will be nice. Now to go down to the ajuntament to see about getting legal ownership over that bit of land at the front. And I have to get the utilities into our names and get an architect and insurance....

JG, Patio might do.....the pie safe is a bit grungy...not sure you would want it.

Doug, Courtyard...that might do. Is there not an IKEA in Vancouver????

ElP, I hope so....that it will be fun anyway.

Beth...yeah, you know how much work we have ahead of us...*puff*.

Alice said...

Haha! When my parents were having a conservatory built my dad hired a video camera and recorded everything from the patio being torn up to the ventilation being added in the floor... It made for thrilling viewing believe me... and my dad remains interested in it to this day!

oreneta said...

Parents are so weird no? Weirder still that I am one of them now and can see my weirdness, yet still indulge in it! I am probably content with stills though.

Vancouver Isle Doug said...

I believe there are TWO IKEAs in Vancouver, not to mention one in Seattle. One of these days.....roadtrip!