I’m a tweener right now. Probably most of us in the Northern Hemisphere are! A “tweener” is what I call a person who is stuck between one weather season going out and another struggling to get in. In other words– we’ve reached the end of our tolerance for one season, and are eager to get into the next! While I like the snow and even the cold, I am sick of the ice and ice dams. Yet, I am torn, because I am one of the very rare people who dislike spring. Spring is wet, soggy, damp, cold, muddy. I am chilled more in spring weather then I am in the winter! I think it’s because spring is so clammy and damp. I dislike it. So I’m a tweener. Ready to see the winter go, but not really eager to see muddy spring come. Hmmm….
In other news, we got approved for a home equity loan! HURRAY! I used credit cards and cash for the renovation expenses last summer. The cards had good promotional rates, which have now ended. So we applied for a loan and got approved. I like the scheduled payments, I like the routine. I’m praying with all my heart that we can get this loan paid off very soon, because we have the entire UPSTAIRS of the house to do yet!! Then, we tackle the exterior– we’ll need a new roof, new siding…. *sigh*
I am relatively new to home equity loans. Any kind of loan, especially on my beloved home, makes me nervous. It’s all out of pocket, all on our own. It is a REALLY gratifying feeling, though, to see your home’s value skyrocket because you sweated it out one summer. I am so proud of my kids, who helped with our renovations– thanks to our persistent work, we increased the value of our home AND “earned” money enough to refinance everything with a little extra, too. No wonder it’s called sweat equity! I am so thankful for my kids. I couldn’t have done this without them. And now, of course, comes the paying it all off!!! Which reminds me, I better get back to work….




:) I’m a married mom of four teenage children. We live in Upstate New York. We bought an old 1855 home and acre property, over 10 years ago. We've been in the slow, agonizing process of living in the home while (trying) to renovate it. When I'm not renovating, I'm a freelance writer and blogger.
We've learned to dig a French drain, plant huge flower and vegetable gardens, wire a circuit panel, install furnace ducting, understand the enigmatic complexities of the plumbing system, and more. It's been *quite* the adventure.
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February 11, 2011 at 4:32 am
Congrats on the approval!! Nice, now you can pay off the credit cards since their promotions ended. We have quite a bit of work to do here with our house too. We need a new roof, new furnace, painting, cellar walls weatherized, other weatherization, new floor covering in kitchen/dining room/bedroom and bathroom. Oh gosh, why am I listing it all??? I am getting overwhelmed just typing it. I better end this.
P.S. I love Spring, while I don’t care for the very beginning of it….the mud, the icky dirt everywhere… but after that comes the beautiful parts!!! The flowers, the birds, the pastel colors…
February 11, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Well we are really glad you got that loan. Now you can start working again. WE can’t wait to hear all the reports. It is always scary I think to take out loans but probably better than using a credit card.
We are really looking forward to Spring too. Can’t wait for those little flowers and trees to start popping blooms.
Have a great week end.