Surprises

Jim Pullin (Kelsey's husband) asked me the other day what was the biggest surprise that I'd encountered since becoming a home owner. My immediate response was that I am one. I'm still a bit in shock that all this has happened. I think b/c I've been so lucky and nothing has gone terribly wrong yet, and I've spent most of my time decorating and doing things I'd do even if I were renting, it hasn't hit me yet. Trust me, I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that nothing has gone terribly wrong. Especially b/c the few things that have been my home owner responsibility I've managed to put off quite nicely.

First, I discovered some small holes in one of the side yard chain link fence. I was so proud of myself for going to The Home Depot to buy chicken wire and other recommended items (by the very nice gentleman who helped me). That was in December. I've done nothing about it. And then last week, I was in the kitchen, Buster was outside, and I looked out my kitchen window in the backyard and saw my neighbor dog in the backyard with him. Where did he come from? How did he get there? I wasn't worried b/c they've met and get along but I was curious. He's a big boxer. Did he jump over the fence? So I walked outside and he ran back toward the side yard chain link fence and pushed it up, like a large doggie door, and ran right under it. So, patching those small holes isn't' going to help the situation. Good thing I didn't waste my time fixing that, right?

Then, (and I'm sorry Mom and Dad for admitting to this) two weeks after moving in, my top dead bolt lock wouldn't work with my key from the outside. I could lock it from the inside and still lock the bottom lock from the outside (and set my alarm) when I left. I felt secure enough knowing my alarm was on and my small (but scrappy) dog would drive a burglar crazy with his barking but obviously this needed to be fixed. Again, this was in December. I didn't understand why it wouldn't work anymore. The key was the same. What had changed? But it seemed like such a hassle to deal with it? Was I going to remove the lock and bring it somewhere? Pay a locksmith to come look at it? Well, thank goodness, I didn't do either of those things. This weekend, Kelsey recommended trying a little WD-40 on it. We did, left for a run, came back, and the lock is working fine. So, once again, procrastination worked in my favor.

I know this won't always be the case though. But I have to admit, when I lay in bed and I hear something strange or different like a louder rumble of my heat turning on, I say a little prayer that I won't have to do anything about it. This isn't my nature, I tend to tackle things head on but until I find my husband, I'd like to focus on decorating.

So to all you homeowners out there, what 'fix-it' items do you recommend having around the house? WD-40 for sure. Duct tape? What else? Devon managed to use her college dissection kit to fix an electrical problem the other days so I guess you never know what may work. But I'm open to recommendations.

In the meantime, Ken and Jess came over last night and hung a few more things for me (that required a drill). The shelves that Devon stole from my last house and the adorable coat holders that Jess made for me out of wood, fabric and tree branch hangers from The Container Store. Next up, sewing my kitchen curtains. Maybe in February......