All Hands On Deck

Whoever said home-ownership was fun must have been joking. Only that it's not funny if you are a home owner in the Diaspora. Growing up in Kenya, it didn't occur to me that it takes a lot of effort to have good flower garden or yard, for that matter. I thought flowers just grow like weeds only that they are prettier.

The people who lived in our house prior to us seemed to have all the time in the world to tend after the house and the yard. For one, they didn't have children, and the wife was a home maker. Unfortunately for me, my wife re-entered the work-force and we have demanding kids and therefore don't have as much time on our hands. But the house is no respecter of person.

First was the mulching. Having done this 2 years ago, I decided it was not worth my effort to do it again this year. Instead I contracted a landscaper to deliver and mulch my yard for $200 inclusive of $75 for his labor. A week before the job his father passed away and I was back to square one. To cut the long story short I ended up doing the job on my own. 3 yards of mulch. Doesn't sound like much but it was no less than 30 wheelbarrows.

Then came the staining of the deck. If there is one thing I could change in my house, it would have to be my wooden deck. It took me 3 weeks to de-stain, wash, condition, stain and seal the deck. Together with a colleague from work we helped each other. Only that we are yet to finish his deck.

Even before I had finished with the deck, my trees were calling to be pruned. Since we have never pruned them before, this called for some massive work. Only after I had started did I realise that the gutters need to be cleared of leaves too.

Add this to all the work that we've had done to the house in the last few weeks and it feels like we are living in a new home. A fresh coat of paint, updated kitchen, new flooring and even new lighting has made our house look very different. And even after all this we still have a crew coming in to redo the master bathroom and the living room.

What makes me glad about this is that we are not doing this so that we can sell the house. Majority of people work on their house when they are about to move but we have no intention of moving. Unlike the first 3 homes that we lived in for less than 2 years each, we've stayed in this one for 4 years which makes it special, especially for our kids.

Even though we'll make our home more enjoyable to stay in, we'll have to live here for a few more years before we can recoup the investment. Which is okay with me although when we bought the house we hadn't planned on living here for more than 5 years.

Update; Deck stain picture changed