House For Sale

The minute we moved into the Civano house we started working on the Rita Ranch house to get it ready for sale. After much painting, floor installation, new sink and counter tops, it is listed for sale and can be seen here. Know anyone who needs an great house in SE Tucson in a good neighborhood with EXCELLENT neighbors? This is the house.

And what else have we been up to? Well, way back at the end of March (???!!)we had a great dinner with fellow HouseBloggers from This Old Crack House
Really, Gary's not as bad as everyone says.... and who else would listen to my stories of mixing paint with powdered milk, lime and pigment and not glaze over and run for the door? We had a great time and it was good to connect with o-Hi-ns.

Then we moved-y'all know what that's like-grueling.

We also took time out for a couple of days in Puerto Penasco-fabulous-as we cross the border (S to N) I always have to ask, "We are going back because....?" We ate shrimp, read, beachcombed, napped, read, beachcombed and ate shrimp. What could be better? Thank you, Kathy and Tom. This picture is the essence of the trip.

Now we can work on finish details at this place. Finish, you say! What could possibly be left as you've moved in? Plenty, I say, plenty. Trim details, landscaping, garage or as we like to call it-Disaster Area! All in good time, all in good time The Civano house is performing well, it stays about 5 degrees less than the ambient external temperature without air conditioning. It hit 100 Saturday and we turned on the air; with the thermostat set at 82 it keeps the place comfortable.

Rick and I went camping on Mt. Lemmon last week. Just an overnighter to check out our "new-to-us" Starcraft pop-up truck camper. No pictures as I forgot the camera. It was a cool, green respite at the beginning of a long hot summer.

Now for house pictures. I'm starting with the kitchen because it got the most questions at the Nosy Neighbors home tour. I'm also going to give things a Do-Again Scale, 1 wouldn't even think of doing it again and 10, in a heartbeat.


This is just after the lime paint had been applied and the kitchen sink is in its CoA mode.

And this is Nick, mid-cabinetinstall.
And the completed (well, the handles aren't on yet) kitchen. To the left, under the stovetop is a spice rack. Didn't think I'd like it and I don't--I LOVE it! Holds much more than I imagined it could. Drawers directly under stovetop hold pots, pans and lids and right now the silverware as the island which will hold the utensils is not completed. Under the sink is the garbage and recycling with a little curtain. I find that much easier than a door for places that get accessed frequently. then it's my Craigslist dw which works beautifully; quiet and actually cleans dishes. Amazing! Placement of the dw allows things to be put away when clean without moving much at all. The only difficulty, and it's a function of space not design, is the lack of space to the left of the dw. You can also see the built-in cutting board on the counter above the dw. Very handy.

The wall oven with a cabinet above which holds the microwave and cookbooks. Below are 2 huge drawers for crockpot, small appliances, plastic storage container and various miscellaneous articles. To the left the crowning jewel, costing a king's ransom, the pull-out pantry. I agonized over this purchase but it was definitely worth it.

Do Again Scale on the kitchen-10. Anything I'd change? I would have measured the diameter of my glasses so they would fit more easily on the shelves of the dishrack. I might have had a bin type door on the front of the undersink-but maybe not. I would have come up with a viable idea for the backsplash sooner. Sooner than, I still don't have one... The lime paint is fragile and not easliy cleaned, so I may just put a coat of latex on it, just not sure yet.

Really, once we get the island built this will be just what we need.