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 Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:49 pm
This'll just be my photo-update thread, mostly of stuff that's not necessarily regarding Saphi
Our massive yard (as in 50x60 feet) - hopefully at some point I'll be able to make her some kind of outdoor enclosure so that she can enjoy it too; we were planning to redo pretty much the whole fence because Bella keeps getting out, now we're thinking just replace the back gate (it's a b***h to open) and add more chicken wire up to prevent her getting out (except for the white stuff, because it's fairly Bella-proof-safe). Until something's done, Bella is only out there if tied up, because now that she knows she can get out she does it all the time (I had her on a leash, because we were working on agility; let go of it for a minute, she headed for the gate and was about to climb/jump out [right infront of me and all], so she's for sure not being loose out there anymore);
I'm also planning to remove, or at least considerably chop down, the lilac that's beside the house (it's prettier than the other one, but I don't like the location of it) and I wouldn't mind getting rid of the big tree beside the shed/all the others could use a trim to get them away from the power lines, and next year I'm hoping to start a small vegetable garden in the dirt alongside the house (under the little window, behind all the weeds) - it's just me so I don't need much, especially since mum/grandpa have a big garden - I'm thinking carrots, maybe bell peppers, and maybe a couple potatoes/a bit of peas
 
 
Bella and Zoe play agilities
  
  
-and I'll add inside pictures at some point - getting ready to replace the carpet, so I may do some before/after stuff-
All images thumbs to keep down on the massive-ness
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:13 pm
Sneak peak of the flooring (it's still in mum's truck, which is hanging out in my driveway for now -something to do with having the motorhome and trailer in their driveway?-)
more accurate portrayal of the colour
Just for fun, a shmooshy kitty
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:13 pm
I wish I had a yard. gonk Your yard looks amazing.
And them are some happy dogs and one smooshy kitty pants. emotion_kirakira
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:33 pm
Punkin Avis I wish I had a yard. gonk Your yard looks amazing. And them are some happy dogs and one smooshy kitty pants. emotion_kirakira
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:35 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ Punkin Avis I wish I had a yard. gonk Your yard looks amazing. And them are some happy dogs and one smooshy kitty pants. emotion_kirakira When we lived at our mobile (2 bedroom, 2 bath, single wide, gosh I miss it) the yard was super tiny and we shared it with the land ladies horse. O_o At least we didnt have to mow. And she wouldnt allow us to have cats. D: Which we did anyway with Freyja and they never found out. Are you renting? Or the house is yours?
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:37 pm
Punkin Avis ~ Aki - Fairy ~ Punkin Avis I wish I had a yard. gonk Your yard looks amazing. And them are some happy dogs and one smooshy kitty pants. emotion_kirakira When we lived at our mobile (2 bedroom, 2 bath, single wide, gosh I miss it) the yard was super tiny and we shared it with the land ladies horse. O_o At least we didnt have to mow. And she wouldnt allow us to have cats. D: Which we did anyway with Freyja and they never found out. Are you renting? Or the house is yours?
I own (can't afford to rent on my own).
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:44 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ Having Zoe, I'd hate to have a tiny yard.
I own (can't afford to rent on my own). D: Out of curiosity...how much is your mortgage? Id love to buy one day but WA is way too overpriced for its own good. >,< Im spending 800$ a month for a tiny 1 bedroom apt. D:
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 2:59 am
~ Aki - Fairy ~ Punkin Avis ~ Aki - Fairy ~ Punkin Avis I wish I had a yard. gonk Your yard looks amazing. And them are some happy dogs and one smooshy kitty pants. emotion_kirakira When we lived at our mobile (2 bedroom, 2 bath, single wide, gosh I miss it) the yard was super tiny and we shared it with the land ladies horse. O_o At least we didnt have to mow. And she wouldnt allow us to have cats. D: Which we did anyway with Freyja and they never found out. Are you renting? Or the house is yours?
I own (can't afford to rent on my own).... and here I am lamenting that I have to rent because I can't afford to buy my own place!
What I wouldn't give to own a house! smile
Your yard is awesome though! I guess it takes a lot of mowing though? I hate mowing, it's the bane of my existence when my parents go away and they want me to regularly visit their house and mow their lawn... although it was worse when Dad had his hip operation and would sit there and watch me while I was mowing. Gah, the awfulness!
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:06 am
Freddus ... and here I am lamenting that I have to rent because I can't afford to buy my own place!
What I wouldn't give to own a house! smile
Your yard is awesome though! I guess it takes a lot of mowing though? I hate mowing, it's the bane of my existence when my parents go away and they want me to regularly visit their house and mow their lawn... although it was worse when Dad had his hip operation and would sit there and watch me while I was mowing. Gah, the awfulness!
I hate mowing; and the compost pick-up people probably hate me after I mow, because it means a ton of bags for them. And shovelling snow (my driveway is sixty feet long, single vehicle wide, and gravel [yay for flinging rocks into the front lawn to haunt me in the summer when I have to mow]; plus I have to shovel some in the yard, so that I can make it to the back gate to take the garbage out, and so that Bella can have room to do her business because the snow last year was I think deeper than she is tall in spots)
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:20 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ I don't know for sure what rent is around me, I think around the $800-$1200 mark, probably, but if I were to rent out my house I'd probably set it around $600-$700 (plus some utilities?) - such amounts are out of my budget at this point in time. So I said goodbye to my savings account instead.
I hate mowing; and the compost pick-up people probably hate me after I mow, because it means a ton of bags for them. And shovelling snow (my driveway is sixty feet long, single vehicle wide, and gravel [yay for flinging rocks into the front lawn to haunt me in the summer when I have to mow]; plus I have to shovel some in the yard, so that I can make it to the back gate to take the garbage out, and so that Bella can have room to do her business because the snow last year was I think deeper than she is tall in spots) Is that rent per month? We pay $210 per week, which is significantly less than we paid when living in Adelaide, for a much better house. I would love to own a place though, but I've never done some serious research into costs... it can't happen until I've gotten a job, anyway! One person's (undependable) casual income does not make it feel very safe for buying...
I should be sympathetic about the snow, but I mainly think it's cool. There's a grand total of one permanent town in Australia that gets dependable snow and I did spend an awful lot of time there when I was younger (my dad was the principal of their very small school), but there was no need for shovelling... the snow plough used to come around and clear it all out, and everyone just walked on the snow! I ... think the snow plough used to clear the driveways as well, mainly so the Snowy workers could get to work! (It's a company town, for the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Company... although I think they may have had a name change).
It seems like a smart move for you to buy your house. That way paying of your mortgage actually gets you something in the long run, not like rent where I'm just paying for a roof over my head now, that I won't be able to access after my contract runs out!
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 9:16 am
Freddus ~ Aki - Fairy ~ I don't know for sure what rent is around me, I think around the $800-$1200 mark, probably, but if I were to rent out my house I'd probably set it around $600-$700 (plus some utilities?) - such amounts are out of my budget at this point in time. So I said goodbye to my savings account instead.
I hate mowing; and the compost pick-up people probably hate me after I mow, because it means a ton of bags for them. And shovelling snow (my driveway is sixty feet long, single vehicle wide, and gravel [yay for flinging rocks into the front lawn to haunt me in the summer when I have to mow]; plus I have to shovel some in the yard, so that I can make it to the back gate to take the garbage out, and so that Bella can have room to do her business because the snow last year was I think deeper than she is tall in spots) Is that rent per month? We pay $210 per week, which is significantly less than we paid when living in Adelaide, for a much better house. I would love to own a place though, but I've never done some serious research into costs... it can't happen until I've gotten a job, anyway! One person's (undependable) casual income does not make it feel very safe for buying...
I should be sympathetic about the snow, but I mainly think it's cool. There's a grand total of one permanent town in Australia that gets dependable snow and I did spend an awful lot of time there when I was younger (my dad was the principal of their very small school), but there was no need for shovelling... the snow plough used to come around and clear it all out, and everyone just walked on the snow! I ... think the snow plough used to clear the driveways as well, mainly so the Snowy workers could get to work! (It's a company town, for the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Company... although I think they may have had a name change).
It seems like a smart move for you to buy your house. That way paying of your mortgage actually gets you something in the long run, not like rent where I'm just paying for a roof over my head now, that I won't be able to access after my contract runs out!
I was kind of raised being told to buy as soon as possible rather than renting, because of the whole "if you decide to move at some point, you'll get something back (by selling), as opposed to renting where you're just paying somebody else's mortgage and will never see that money again." So I just lived at home until I was almost 22 in order to save up enough and find something suitable.
Now, we're trying to get my older brother and his family into their own place instead of renting (I'm not quite sure how they can manage the expense as I'm pretty sure he doesn't make much more than I do but has a family of four to support [she doesn't work, because she's raising the kids]) - harder finding something for them, in their price range, though, as they need a place with at least three bedrooms and over 1000sqft, and a lot of the stuff that meets those needs some major updating (they're not diy fixer-upper-types)
-most of the stuff currently on the market in that range is older and more suited to the kind of thing my younger brother and sister-in-law would need (a couple bedrooms, some space (800-1000sqft), a yard; crappy kitchens, though, with no counter space [though maybe it's just me that needs that])
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 7:33 pm
~ Aki - Fairy ~ Rent around here is usually a monthly sum. Mortgages it's more up to you (mine's twice a month).
I was kind of raised being told to buy as soon as possible rather than renting, because of the whole "if you decide to move at some point, you'll get something back (by selling), as opposed to renting where you're just paying somebody else's mortgage and will never see that money again." So I just lived at home until I was almost 22 in order to save up enough and find something suitable.
Now, we're trying to get my older brother and his family into their own place instead of renting (I'm not quite sure how they can manage the expense as I'm pretty sure he doesn't make much more than I do but has a family of four to support [she doesn't work, because she's raising the kids]) - harder finding something for them, in their price range, though, as they need a place with at least three bedrooms and over 1000sqft, and a lot of the stuff that meets those needs some major updating (they're not diy fixer-upper-types)
-most of the stuff currently on the market in that range is older and more suited to the kind of thing my younger brother and sister-in-law would need (a couple bedrooms, some space (800-1000sqft), a yard; crappy kitchens, though, with no counter space [though maybe it's just me that needs that]) That makes total sense to me - I'd far rather be paying off my own home than paying rent, but I just haven't ever reached a point where I could. I had two years where I was reasonably paid, but it was only me and my family told me to rent... and then, ever since, I've had sod all money. We do have some savings though that we're gradually building up and, hopefully, when I manage to get a job as well, we might consider getting a house. Eventually.
((Partly it's scary because my sister bought a house and couldn't afford it and it ended up being sold again... but, then, she's an idiot. She had one son, was struggling with the mortgage payments so Mum let her live in our family home (the last of us had just finished school, so Mum was moving to the company town where Dad lived, which left the family home empty...), so sister was living in a house rent free for two years, while renting out her own house, which indicates to me that she should be double paying the mortgage... yet she wasn't. Somehow she ended up selling her house, pissing away the money (plus having two more kids while neither she nor her husband had a steady job) and then whining like an idiot when my parents retired and sold their house so she had to go and actually pay money to live, like all the rest of us have to.
Which, she's an idiot, and I'm relatively sure I'm not, but I can still remember all that whining about how she had no money and blah, blah, blah...))
Also, you're not the only one that longs for counter space! And kitchen drawers... I rented two places in a row that had only two drawers and it sucked.
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:37 pm
Freddus Also, you're not the only one that longs for counter space! And kitchen drawers... I rented two places in a row that had only two drawers and it sucked
I don't have a ton of counter space here, and I'd love to have more, but it's better than a lot of (larger) places have. Storage-wise, it's not a ton compared to some places, but it's enough (little cupboards to the side of the stove are food storage, under the sink is cat food storage, big cupboard is pots/pans/other cookware; the drawers are enough for utensils, cloths/towels, cutting boards, a couple cookbooks; the desk is great for a microwave stand, the rest of the cookbooks, and some of Bella's crap); I opted for the open shelving rather than cupboards up top because it keeps it lighter/brighter in there and I'm the sort of "organized" that likes to be able to see everything.
my kitchen when I moved in (two links)
Considering how much counter/storage space we had in the kitchen at the old house (two links), it's obviously hard to find anything satisfactorily comparable now (I did, however, as a standard quite dislike the tile countertops, though -other than that it was okay to set a hot pot directly on the counter)
Some of the places under $160k in my town:
One place. Have to admit I kind of like the above-counter cupboard setup, except that it goes a little low
Another
This one has decent counter space, but a dreadful layout
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:34 am
I like your kitchen - it's gorgeous! Although, I would assume that if I had open shelves like that, it would take about five minutes before Minstrel and Nightshade had everything all over the floor. They're too bratty for me to ever have anything other than closed cupboards. smile
My worst problem with counter space is that I pile dirty dishes/shopping I haven't unpacked/watering cans/paperwork/whatever is in my hand at the time, all over the bench and then there's no space to do the normal kitchen related duties like cook and feed cats. (I mean it about the watering can, by the way, it was in the laundry but now it's on my kitchen bench. I don't know why). So even though I have a fair bit of room, there's often about 30cm of usable space.
... those other places are weird. Very odd layouts. Like the the last house my partner's parents lived in where the toilet opened up on the kitchen. (Why would anyone even do that?! Ew). And the first one has the smallest amount of bench space I've ever seen.
As for the whole owning thing, I think part of the problem is that I have no real idea of what the payments would be like, as anyone in my family who has recently bought a house has done so on a much, much grander scale than anything I would ever be able to afford. It's one of the nice things about the city I'm currently in though, there's actually houses that are comparatively cheap. I'm still not even going to think about it until I can get a solid job though, as I know that no bank would give me a loan in my current jobless situation! smile
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 10:44 am
Surprisingly, Saphi's never bothered with the counters/shelves (other than the initial training of "no cats on the counters" ). Probably because, like you, mine are always so covered in crap that there's no room for her to be up there.
A lot of the places around here have layouts that I simply don't like. Not only in the kitchen, but in the whole house. Old and new alike. It's why my plan/hope/ideal is to be tear down this place and rebuild when I'm ready for more. I'm going to have so many opinions and particulars about design and layout that the planners/contractors/whatever will probably hate me, but I'm going to be the one living in it, not them, so should it not be my way?
Payments are, to an extent, kind of what you can make of them. Definitely something you have to talk over with whoever you get the mortgage from when you're at that point, but some real estate pages may also have "mortgage calculators". Financial institutions may have something of the sort as well on their websites.
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