Cabinets Up!

Raul, our new contractor

After some misunderstanding, we hired a new contractor. Raul is great. he works with his brother-in-law, Elisio. Together they work efficiently and masterfully.

Elisio aka Junior and Raul working it out.

 

Before

After! New cabinets, appliances and tile flooring.

So Fernando, the granite man, told us that the we had to reinstall the cabinets to properly accommodate the granite.

Fernando is a granite fabricator.  He gave us great advice, sent us to MG Granite and referred us to Raul. He explained the procedure, his delicate cuts with his diamond blade working a sink hole around a solid piece of granite.  Pretty cool, no actually pretty hot! We had to wait for the rain to stop before we could start working on the granite installation.

Fernando and Jesus.

Water, Water, Bells and Whistles

Thanks Leigh Adams for the great plants.

So much rain.

So....we moved in to a great spot in the 'Dena in December and it rained for days on end. We also discovered that our garage was not waterproofed and that it rains harder the closer you get to the mountains.

We persisted with our move, continued our renovations with Mac, but AT&T never arrived Uverse and it would be weeks before we could install our phone, internet or TV. And what do all wired Americans need--INTERNET ACCESS and Television.

It rained all day and all night!

So...we waited and I became very familiar with my BlackBerry. We cancelled Uverse after the weeks of "we are sorry, but our phone lines are down all over the area. New service will have to wait until we can dry out the line." I gave up the idea of Uverse, cancelled the order and went back to regular service. We finally got the line hooked up between December 31 and January 3rd. Still working on getting the service correct, but this is at least a start.

Oops! Accidents Happen.

Often, exhaustion can lead to grave error. Accidents happen. Luckily, no one was injured or hurt. Here's the story. Moving too fast, exhaustion from this grand move, Allah knows best.

The Uhaul truck was loaded and ready to roll. I got in my Honda CRV attempting to back out of the drive way and avoid hitting Rohan's car. Kareem parked under the tree, very close to my car. He never parks his brand new white Volvo under the tree. I backed out and slammed right into the back of his car. So sorry Kareem!

Ouch! Oops. So, needless to say, it is an expensive fix. Needless to say, I am totally embarrassed and won't be able to live this one down. But, no one got hurt. My car suffered some damage, but I bought a car ready made with dents because I knew it would be impossible for me not to dent it. 

So, it's a call to the AAA insurance company, an inconvenience for Kareem and something we don't really need right now. But, Allah always has a plan and a reason. Masha Allah!

Mā šhāʾ Allāh (ما شاء الله) is an Arabic phrase that expresses appreciation, joy, praise or thankfulness for an event or person that was just mentioned. Towards this, it is used as an expression of respect, while at the same time serving as a reminder that all accomplishments are so achieved by the will of God.

Learning How to Wait!

"Those who patiently pursue - HERE! The faster you want something to work, the more you will have to wait."

- True words spoken by Rasheed Ali

Computer generated 3-D rendering of kitchen with cabinets.

From drawing to 3-D rendering to boxes to my kitchen.

IT'S NOT HGTV! The thing to remember about a simple remodel, is that there is nothing simple about it.  The other thing to remember is that it will take longer than you think. The third thing is you will learn a lot along the way and hopefully meet really cool people.

Bruce, our granite man at M&G.

Take Bruce and Aaron from M&G Stone. Although we only intended to pick up the granite for the kitchen, we ended up with an entire set of beautiful boxes. Inside the boxes are cabinets, lots of cabinets. They took our designer's drawing and generated a 3-D color model.

Aaron, our cabinet man at M&G.

Hope the instructions are better than Ikea's.
Won't worry too much because MacArthur will come to my rescue, as he has done so many times before.

Endless Possibilities!

From the original MLS listing

Our West Loma Alta mountain cottage is described as a 


"Spacious traditional 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Altadena. Property includes vaulted beam ceilings, light and bright kitchen with breakfast area, laminate and carpet flooring, and a large backyard with endless possibilities. This is an adorable home waiting for its new owners."




To us, it was a familiar place; a spot where once the beat of the drum was alive and flowing from room to room. It is only natural that this would be the spot.

Backyard is very functional

This is a musician's house. Drummer, Steve Gutierrez says that Santana rehearsed in the garage before the drywall went up and this was the refuge for many a musician back in the day.


The house feels creative. There is an energy and calm about it. It is so quiet there you can hear yourself think.


This house was built in 1963 and has a contemporary feel. We have a lot of work to do to restore the wood beam ceilings. Already the kitchen has turned out to be a pleasant challenge. 

Open 60's Design. Great windows!

Original MLS listing picture of kitchen

I can see myself doing a photo shoot in the living room.

How We Got Here!

Barbara King

When I looked at the house today, I realized that the journey to here was about 2 years in the making. Barbara DuMetz-Maupin suggested that we meet Barbara King. By the time we met Barbara King (Coldwell Banker), we  were already frustrated with the search.  She suggested that we go through the Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Program to better get prepared for home ownership. Luckily the class was just starting up.


We had champagne desires and apple cider money. Barbara never discouraged our dreams of home ownership, but had the ultimate faith that she would help us find what we needed. She entertained all of our crazy request to write offers below asking price and she followed through with all of them, until she handed us keys. Thank you Barbara King.

Wilda Black was our instructor with an attitude. She had an iron fist, but the information she imparted was valuable. Thank you Wilda Black.

Every Monday for six-weeks we attended class and learned about financial responsibility, credit, grants in Los Angeles. Wilda helped us understand how to work with credit in today's volatile market and the classes were very important in learning how to understand the real estate market in today's economy. We worked on our getting our credit over 700 so we could get the best rate and re-routed our finances to make them more healthy. The class was great.  I suggest that others who want to buy a home take any class you can like this one.

Robin Goudeau-Williams

Then Barbara King introduced us to Robin Goudeau-Williams of Synergy Capital (Division of American Capital Corporation).  Robin is the most patient and honest mortgage engineer I have ever met. I call her an engineer because she worked with us and put together a winning package. She is a numbers genius and very knowledgeable about real estate sales. We always felt comfortable, always felt that she had our best interest in mind. She picked up and delivered our paperwork in a timely fashion and we never felt that we could not do this. Most important, her advice about what we would need after we secured the loan, was equally as important. Thank you Robin Goudeau-Williams.

So if you want the impossible to happen, then you should talk with these fabulous ladies.

Here is the information:

Barbara King, Coldwell Banker

barbara@barbara-king.com

388 South Lake

Pasadena, CA 91101

Cellular: 626-319-0315 --------------------------------------------- Robin Goudeau-Williams (626) 376-3835 Cellular (626) 795-0514 Fax rlwilliams15@gmail.com Synergy Capital Division of American Capital Corporation

Kareem and the Tree

Kareem is terribly bothered by the tree in the backyard. When we saw the house, the first thing we said was, that is the "tree that grows in Brooklyn."


It did't bother me at all.  Rather is was rather a familiar sight and we have a tree like that where we currently live.

But the tree really bothers Kareem and he has had a battle with it from day one. Matter of fact, he is on a mission to get rid of it and has a multitude of reasons why he should cut it down.


The only problem is, the tree's roots, trunk and most of the branches reside on the other side of the neighbor's side of the fence. So, it is not our tree. He can only cut the branches on our side.





The tree is several stories high and is very prolific. I have heard every reason to cut it down--from it is a killer tree to it is a nuisance. I am convinced, but it doesn't bother me that much.

If you care to read about it (from Wikipedia)

Ailanthus altissima (pronounced /eɪˈlænθəs ælˈtɪsɨmə/^[1]), commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, or in Standard Mandarin as chouchun (Chinese: 臭椿;pinyin: chòuchūn), is a deciduous tree in the Simaroubaceae family. It is native to both northeast and central China and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genusAilanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics. 

The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres (49 ft) in 25 years. However, the species is also short lived and rarely lives more than 50 years. It has become an invasive species due to its ability to quickly colonise disturbed areas and suppress competition with allelopathic chemicals. It is considered a noxious weed in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and several countries in southern and eastern Europe. The tree also resprouts vigorously when cut, making its eradication difficult and time consuming. In many urban areas, it has acquired the derisive nicknames of "ghetto palm" and "stink tree".