Welcome to my garage....

We are now under contract to buy this house in Lehi.  It is a true new Utah home..."Welcome to my garage.  I like that I have garden space right in the front.  The window is the kitchen window.  You walk into a nice little foyer.  Perfect for our little bench that was given to us years ago that sat in our attic.

Here is a photo of part of the kitchen.  I like the color scheme for most of the house.  There are only a few rooms that we will repaint.  There is a pantry on the opposite side of the kitchen.  It's small but I like that.

Here is a view of the kitchen and dining area.  My husband likes this type of table.  I think we sell these at work, so perhaps when there is a good sale going on we will get this type of table.  I like that the floors are not carpeted.  And the windows with all the light.

This is the upstairs formal living room area, right next to the dining area.  Again i love all the windows and light that we will get.  The door goes to the back yard.

The other wall of the upstairs living room.  I like the color's of this room.  It will be empty for awhile as we do not have any living room furnature.  Perhaps I can find a nice rug at work too.

This is the master bedroom.  This photo does not give you much to go by.  We will most likely paint this room a different color.

This is part of the finished basement.  It also doesn't give you a good idea of how big it is.  It is a lot bigger and has two bedrooms down there too.  My daughter wants a basement bedroom.

Here is the back deck.  I hope that someday we can make it a sceened in porch.  Then Kitty could go out on it too.

Sandy, Riverton, Lehi....OH MY!

Sandy.... Sandy is where we live in the apartments.  Sandy is where we had wanted to find a house.  Most of my first home hunting photo's were houses in Sandy.  What I've learned is houses in Sandy are expensive.  I don't know why but they are.  This is a very nice house in Sandy near where we live.  The asking price is $274,987.   A bit over what we would like to spend.  It's a cute house and I'm sure we could fit all our dreams in here, but I don't want to be house poor.  The houses we could afford in Sandy, well they were old and needed work.  And really I've done that already, and really don't want to do it again.  Plus they were not near where we wanted to be, and the children would still have to change schools and their new friends would not be able to walk over to the house. 

Riverton.... Next I looked at houses in Riverton.  I wouldn't have minded living in Riverton as it's near where I work.  This huge house actually was in our price range, but it has absolutely no yard.  That's how new houses are built out here... Big house, little itty bitty yard.  I actually did not walk through this house.  Other houses in Riverton were a little old.  Or they needed work or were not big enough for the dream.  Also the housing market out here is moving fast.  I'd see a house we'd try to schedule a time to see the house and it would already be under contract.  I think in the last two weeks I've looked at 16 houses.  My husband has been brought out to see three.

This house is in West Jordan.  I haven't actually gone out to look at a house there yet...  This is the newest type of development.  These houses look cute don't they, but again you are so close to your neighbors.  You look out the window and see what's for dinner next door.  I just didn't like that.

Here is the back of the house.  Just a little too close for me.  There has got to be some balance somewhere!

Lehi Oh My!... We wouldn't mind living in Lehi, as my husbands friends live very close by. This house was really pretty cute.  The one thing I didn't like was that the garage was right next to the living room, and so the inside entrance brought you into the living room.  The carpet there was light colored.  My husband wouldn't want to be out working on the loud car right near the living room.  This was also a tri-level house and he really doesn't like them either.  It was also close to all the neighbors.

Here is another cute house in Lehi.  It was a little on the small side for us.  Again it had the different levels and my husband doesn't like that type of floor plan.  It did have a nice yard, the neighborhood seemed nice, though I think there was one questionable house. 

This house in Lehi has potential.  Don't think that this is a small house.  It has a lot of space.  It is a corner lot so we wouldn't have neighbors surrounding us, it backs up to a road, but not a main road.  It is fenced in.  And it is in our price range.  Across the street is farm land.  So this is a house we are thinking about. I'll share more sometime this week.  Wish us luck on our house hunt. Oh so this house has the same space inside the house and size yard as the house at the top.  Yet this house is about $50,000. less.  This house I think might be newer too. It is deffenitely a "Welcome To My Garage home.  But the door from the garage to the house goes into a cute entry way.  Much better for all.
G.G.

My dream home that turned into a major fixer upper...

Here it is the East Coast Cape Cod in the West!  Oh how cute this house is.  I like the ivy growing up the front of the house but have been told that that is not a good thing!  The garage was big enough for my husbands car.  The area while far away from where we are now was not to bad.  It was near good schools and at first walk through I thought I'd found my dream home.  Of course I'm not to good at seeing the problems. 

So from the front of the house doesn't look like it would be small?  This is the back of the house.  This house has some major space.  One thing we have learned is that it is not common for a house to have both a swamp cooler and Central air conditioning.  And this house has both which you can see from the photo.   The big box on the top is the swamp cooler and the big box down at the bottom is the central air.  I loved the yard, it was maybe a bit big for what we wanted.  It had a weeping willow tree, a fruit tree, and another tree which I'm not sure what it was.  It also had a wild flower garden on the side, just calling to me.

Here is the front entrance.  They now have staged furniture in the rooms to give you an idea of what the house could look like.

You walk from the living room into the dining area.  It's hard wood floors and a real wood stove not gas.  The door takes you into the Garage.  I like the bow window.

This wall divides the dinning area from the Kitchen.   So here is where my husband found issue, there is a vent on the dining side of this wall and the wood on the floor is heavily water damaged.  And his question is what caused that?  And is it fixed or still a problem.  The only thing is there is no water source by the wall.

Here is the kitchen.  It looks nice in the photo's but it is probably the original kitchen from when the house was built.  So it's pretty old.  Re-doing a kitchen is a lot of work.  Believe me I've lived through that.  And if you don't do it yourself it's a lot of money too.  I could live with this old kitchen, but should I?

Here is a view of the master bed room.  So much space and closet space too!  OK so the carpet in the upstairs needs work too.  My husband didn't like that all the carpet was different.  The bathrooms were very small, but I could live with that too.

Another view of the master bedroom.  There are two big rooms like this in the upstairs and then two nice sized rooms.  They all probably needed new carpet.  I could have lived with that.  The basement though was also totally unfinished, and the roof was the original roof too.  There were also 4 very big dead trees in the back yard, we also were not sure about the heating and air conditioning units.  That all adds up to work and money!  So as we went through the house together with the realtor, my very much dream home became another "Victoria Fixer Upper."( I call our old house the "Victoria Fixer Upper".)  And really as much as it was cute, I can't go through that much fixing up again. 
Well wish me luck as I head out again today to look at more houses.
G.G.

In search of a new house, what I'm learning from this process..

A house, A house I'm looking to buy a new house.  Doesn't this house look nice from the outside.  When looking at photo's of houses on line it is hard for me to know if a house will be big enough for all our dreams.  Also I know nothing about Utah and the area's that are good and bad.  Thus the need for a good realtor.  So the first step in our house hunting was finding a good realtor, or more a realtor I felt comfortable being with.  We met with two and though both I'm sure were good, I choose the Lady realtor.  Since I have to do the majority of the house hunting I needed to feel comfortable.  Today will be our second day of driving around and looking at houses.  The photo's for this post are from our first day.  We looked at six houses.  This was the house we looked at with the first realtor.  It is pretty.  It is very typical of Utah houses.  The Garage right there in the front of the house.  We say (my husband and I)  this is the "Welcome to my Garage house". I really thought that the house would be big inside.  I have a lot to learn.  It was actually quiet small.   It would not hold all our dreams.  Plus it was very near the railroad tracks.  I think I want to get away from that.  We lived by railroad tracks for 14 years.  So I really don't want to repeat that.

Here is a house that from the outside looks nice, yet it was a bit too old.  It needed a lot of work.  I like the brick houses as they feel cool inside.  But this house just needed too much work.  I also think that this house had a funny smell to it.  Most of the houses we looked at on the first day were vacant.  These people had dogs I think.  The realtor told me that to get rid of the smell takes work and money.  I really want a house that you don't have to do too much work on.

 This house was another no.  It wasn't in the best of neighborhoods, and again it was near the railroad tracks.  For me from the outside it looks big, but inside you realize that it really is quite small.  It had a large yard, but the railroad is behind the yard. It also needed work and updating.  I sometimes wonder if I will find a house.

Another thing I learned, Photo's can be deceiving.  I didn't even go into this house.  Why?  Because the driveway actually slants down ward and pretty extreme at that.  It doesn't look like it from the photo but it does.  And my husband will not have a sloping drive way.  This house is also near the local High school and a block from the football stadium.  I would say it would get pretty noisy when the games are being held.

So here is the photo of the house we liked.  It has a garage that would fit my husbands car, it has enough bedroom's and bathrooms.  It has a great mountain view, and a nice lawn.  But it might just be a tad too small.  All the dreams we have might not fit in this house, and so we continue to look.  Because when you buy a house your stuck with it for a long time.  I want to find the right house without feeling pressure.  It's hard as I get so many conflicting opinions of late on buying a house.  But I know my husband wants a house and a garage.  So we are looking and looking.

Both my husband and I like this type of rambler/ranch  house.  Here are some of the photo's from the inside.

The dining area.  I really liked this part of the house all the light!

The kitchen.  It's small but really nice and the cabinets are really hard wood.

The mountain view.  Wow.  Beautiful.  Just wish that there was just a little more room inside.

Well soon I'll tell you about the house that I really loved, but found out it was a huge fixer upper.  I have to say I'm bad at realizing that!  So glad for my realtor and my husband for pointing out all the issues.  I don't want another supper fixer upper.

G.G.

My quest to find quiet in a loud world....

Have you noticed how loud the world is?  It seems really hard to get away from all the noise we make.  Even alone in my apartment I have noise.  There is the humming of the dishwasher, the sounds of the people remodeling the buildings, the birds chirping, the stream rushing by the front, the wind blowing in the trees, cars on the street, the air conditioning unit below me.............. 

The noise is worse when my children are home.  My daughter has to listen to music constantly, my son's computer beeps away.  Plus all the other sounds.  There are times I wish I could find a quiet noise free spot and just enjoy the sound of nothing.  Of course the only problem would be that all the noise has caused my ears to ring.  Anytime I get quiet, my ears ring.  It makes it hard to fall asleep.

I've been reading a couple of good books and one of them talks about the need for quiet.  That inspiration and revelation come when we can find time to be quiet and listen to the Lord.  As I've read this I've looked for ways to add quiet into my day.  It makes the noise around me seem even more loud afterwards.  But it has been so nice to have those moments.  (can you figure out what color these tulips are?  I'm slowly adding color. My new flower/photography journey.)

So if you would like to read a good book about caring for your soul, and finding quiet, pick up the book " Simplify..A guide to caring for the soul."  By Carolyn J. Rasmus.

Do you think this photo is 100% color?  If you would like to read a good fiction book, that has family mystery and history in it read " The Silver Boat"  by Luanne Rice.  If you have Irish ancestors this is a good book.  I picked it up the other day and could not put it down.  The cool thing is that it talks about family names and places that I have researched on.  I so connected with this book.

 Here is the photo at 100% color.  I find it interesting to see the difference in the color value.  I want to do up prints and frame them in stages. 

Here they are with 150% color saturation. It is amazing that there is such difference.  I'm starting to feel less stressed.  This is our first month that we do not have to pay for the house and all it's issues and rent and all the utilities out here.  Which means I've been able to pay off almost two of our credit cards with our extra income.  I can't wait to have them all paid off.  Then save for the new house.  I have started to look.  It is a little fun.  But not quiet ready yet. 
This week I started to help do indexing.  It seems very easy.  I hope to help out at least twice a week.  I also got to the temple twice this week.  The woman who looks like my grandmother was in the Celestial room and oh to walk in and see my grandmother how I cried, and thanked God for all my blessings.  I know she will be there waiting for me someday when I cross the veil to the eternities. My husband talks of someday moving back to New Jersey to retire, I can't possibly think to move so far from the temples.  Perhaps we'll summer in New Jersey.  I can't move away.  I hope soon to go to the temple three times a week.  That is where I find the best quiet and peace.  I signed up to have my DNA tested through ancestry.com, so pray for me that I'm one of the lucky ones who gets picked.  I've always wanted to do this. 
Have a great weekend.
G.G.

How reading about flowers led to finding ancestors

For the past couple of weeks I've been reading lots of books, and one book was called "The Language of Flowers."  by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  Well I loved the book so much that I had to buy it on my nook so that someday down the road I can read it again. At the same time I bought the companion book " A Victorian Flower dictionary, the language of flowers companion.  In this book they have picked several flowers that are illustrated and then talked about paintings that have the flowers in them, and have also added poems about the flowers. In this book I came across a poem written by Robert Herrick. (this illustration above is of Robert Herrick).  I have Herrick's in my family line.  Which made me decide to find out how we were related. What I found was very interesting.

Robert Herrick was born in August of 1591 in Cheapside London.  His father died soon after he was born. He eventually became a poet.  His father was the brother of my so many greats grandfather.  The greats are too many to list.  He never got married. 

His poem that I read about was about the Daffodil.  It's meaning according to the flower dictionary is "New Beginnings."

To Daffodils

Fair Daffodils, we weep to see

You haste away so soon;

As yet the early-rising sun

has not attain'd his noon.

Stay, Stay,

Until the hasting day

has run

but to the even-song;

And, having pray'd together, we

will go with you along.

Robert Herrick.

Here is a picture of my direct line ancestor Sir William Herrick.  He lived at Beau Manor Park in England. He was born in 1557 and died 2 march 1652. 

Here is a portrait of his mother Mary Bond Herrick.  I think she lived to be 93 years old.  That has to be seen as really old way back then.  It will be fun for me to find stories about these people.  I thought it was so cool that I could see what they looked like and where they lived.  This is part of the reason I love to research family history.  You never know what you will learn about those who came before you.  I look forward to reading some of Robert Herrick's poems.   Especially since some have to do with flowers. 

Hope you continue to search for your ancestors.  Please share what you find some time.

G.G.





Simplify....What I hope to do now that my house is sold.

I just finished reading a really good book called "Simplify a guide to caring for the soul"  By Carolyn J. Rasmus.  It was such a good and inspiring book to me that I had to go out and buy it.  I want to read it again and mark all the quotes that I like, and work on the different "to do" lists that she gives at the end of each chapter.

Each letter in the word SIMPLIFY is used for a chapter.  S=Stillness, I=Integrity, M=Mercy, P= Prune, L=Let go, I=impossible, F=Fortify, and Y= You.

With our house sold, I feel as if a great weight has been taken from our shoulders.  I now just want to rest and set my life in order.  I want to relax and have time to think about what I want with my life out here in Utah.  I don't want to rush into finding a new house, I want to take  my time and learn about the area and the schools.

So many people seem to want us to rush out and find a new place.  But my husband and I feel like resting.  We have been struggling for so long.  A break is nice.  Plus a summer sitting by the pool sounds lovely to me.

We had our first Easter away from extended family.  There was no rushing, no time schedule, it was just us wandering about the temple grounds.  Looking at the flowers, and having a relaxing day.  I hope we go to the Temple often.  That is one of my new goals.  To go one Saturday a month to the Temple with my family.  I go weekly by myself.  I never realized how much learning could come from attending the temple weekly.  Things come to me and it's like wow!  That is such a blessing from this move.

So here is to a new and simplified life.  I'll share more as I can.  My goal is to blog every Friday.  My first step in my new simplified life is to put it in order and make time for the things that matter most.
Hope you enjoyed my flower photo's.  I took 162 photo's this weekend.  Most of them came out really nice.  Can't wait to print some out for my photo cards.
Have a great weekend.
G.G.