Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Last week, my neighbors in the adjoining unit confirmed that they are moving out sooner rather than later -- possibly as soon as this month. I've been circulating their Craigslist post among my social networks, in hopes that friends or colleagues will join me at The Hilltowne Square Jamboree™.  The message I sent out is below:

"I live in a duplex in Chapel Hill (off the N bus route), and my neighbors recently told me they're moving within a few months and will be selling their 2-BR, 1.5 bath unit. They haven't even listed it yet, but since I am the only other occupant in the building, they're giving me and my friends first dibs.

I would love for some like-minded folks to move in, who would enjoy developing our spacious yard (i'm thinking gardens, composting, bbqs, and native habitat restoration) and possibly other shared improvements to the building. One other neighboring unit will be available within the next year, so we could create our own planning department neighborhood (there are three duplexes total, and all three are currently occupied by information and library science graduate students!!)

Comparable units sold for $115-$123k between 2006-07. Pictures and improvements are posted here.

Email me with questions -- and please pass this on to others who might be interested. I look forward to scheming with you."

Kitchen Makeover

Okay, okay, I know you are all dying to see photos of the kitchen makeover. After much deliberation (and sampling Benjamin Moore's Pale Avocado and Sweet Caroline), I decided to paint the kitchen Richmond Gray, which is a shade lighter than Sag Harbor Gray, which I was originally imagining for the living room. Turns out that the brighter greens appeared too bluish-cold against my red-orange counter tops, whereas the gray actually has a warming effect. It's so hard to see how green the wall is in the photos, but the results are lovely, and provide a subdued backdrop for my red, orange, and green accessories. A few highlights:

• Note the original Oh So Lovely Peach-colored paint, discovered behind the stove. This picture also shows off the greenness of the Richmond gray best, since you can see the peach, white, and strip of gray next to each other.
  
• Also, take a look at photograph of my cabinets, before and after a fresh coat of wood stain!
• Finally, check out my new appliances: a microwave, toaster oven, and RED rice cooker.

Having posted these, I realize that there aren't any panoramic views of the entire kitchen AFTER. I'll have to take some more pictures during our next sunny day.

The Crawl Space

Since my home is in the Bolin Creek floodway fringe the building was built with an 8" high crawlspace in case of the 100-year flood. It gives new meaning to Lord-willing and the creek-don't-rise. Nevertheless, the state of my crawlspace was pretty abysmal when I moved in, and despite my requests to the sellers to remove their debris, it remained a termite buffet under my house. Moreover, the insulation under the floors had been installed incorrectly, and was therefore falling to the ground.

On my parent's last day, Dad took it upon himself to clear out the debris and secure the insulation using a nifty invention of galvanized wire, cut with a 45° angle tip to dig into wood floor joists. He also attached the dryer exhaust to the outside vent, so moisture was no longer vents directly into the crawlspace. 

In the end, we removed at least 6-7 trash bags of cardboard and other waste, two bags of plastic milk jugs, a few bags of rocks and pebbles, a spray bottle, and several gallons of muriatic acid (for cleaning bricks.) Although I don't reckon I'll spend a lot of time in my crawlspace, it's comforting to know there's nothing living, dying, rotting, leaking or decaying down there.

Future under-the-house-projects will include: replacing my water heater with something more energy efficient, insulating the plumbing, closing off the deck to make secure storage for bikes, tools, gardening supplies, or ... chickens?