i didn't feel weird. i wasn't excited. maybe a little relieved that it was all over, and thinking that it really wasn't a big deal, there really wasn't anything to be nervous about. everything went off without a hitch. the roys were in a tighter spot though. having just received the money for the house that they're selling, they had to go to another lawyer's office where they'd turn over the check to the seller of the house they were buying. the hours between the two appointments, they were essentially homeless. we saw them one more time back at the house, where my parents and i were already there surveying the new place, making notes of what needed to be repaired or replaced. the roys came back for their cats which they purposely left in the condo (adjustment anxiety? cats are high maintenance!).
i then spent the rest of the day taking photos of the condo, getting images of the empty apartment before things get fixed and stuff starts arriving. i walked around the house snapping away and thinking, hey, this belongs to me! those are my walls, my floors, my windows! i think i'm still letting it slowly sink in that i own property now.
foyer and living room... the front door has an old fashion manual doorbell that you ring like you would a bicycle bell. two things in the living room i don't like: the textured plaster ceiling and the ceiling fixture light. both will likely be replaced. the kitchen seen from the living room has a nice contrast of red walls (actually dark pink, but looks red from a distance) against the green outside the backdoor. the color of the living room is currently too dark, making the living room appear smaller. i'll have to go with a lighter color. the living room gets the least sun because of its northern exposure, but from the bay window i can see down three different streets. but don't let the photos fool you, the living room really isn't that dark (the windows are overexposing the photos).
kitchen... pink walls? i'd like to go with another color. i'm very much a believer in color theory, how they trigger emotional responses, and i'd like the kitchen to be in food colors - red, orange, yellow, green - south of the border colors! i think the kitchen is the heart of this particular property, and it'd be a dream come true if i can get cable hookup in the kitchen, then i could hang out here all the time.
other rooms... while the rest of the condo has hardwood floors, both bedrooms are carpeted. the previous tenants owned cats, so the carpets sort of smell like animals. my father and i spent some time pulling up the carpet in the master bedroom. linoleum lies below the carpet, new hardwood floors will have to be done for the bedrooms. there isn't much to see about the bedrooms, they're small at the expense of a bigger kitchen and living room. likewise the bathroom. i've seen some spacious bathrooms in my house searches - bathrooms with marble tubs and separate showers, bathrooms with multiple jacuzzi jet heads - and this isn't one of them. at least there's a window in the bathroom (i don't know why, i've always felt that was important). it's got a weird smell too, like some sort of unidentifiable soup or shampoo. hopefully a scented candle can drive away the smell. there's also a walk-in closet opposite the bathroom.
master bedroom |
master bedroom (de-rugged) |
second bedroom |
walk-in closet |
bathroom |
bathroom |
self-portrait |
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though the garden is just but a fraction of my belmont backyard, there were enough new and interesting plants to keep me busy photography wise. surprisingly, there weren't a lot of ferns (i thought there was). for the area between the condos, i'd love to grow some ferns since its a shady strip of dirt. that area has a lot of potential for shading love plants. the great thing about the garden is not only do i have my own flowers, but adjacent neighbors also garden, and their flowers sort of creep into my garden as well.
i returned to belmont at 3pm, where i had lunch (i didn't want to eat in the cambridge house because there was a lot of dust from pulling up the carpeting). close to 5pm i went out for a run, having not ran since last thursday, 6 days ago. i probably only ran 1.5 miles, taking a major shortcut along the way, and doing a lot of walking as well in the warm late afternoon weather.
i saw a webworm moth today. i've seen these before, they always look so extravagant, like they're wearing an ermine coat. pretty moths, not so pretty and pesty caterpillars.