Sunday, September 30, 2007

More than you wanted to know about our house!

Some of you my find this post really boring. Sorry. I'm mainly posting this to show mine and Matt's parents so they can see how we are living. It is hard for them, as well as us, as you could imagine. I know the slide show is really long...

I took pictures of every room. We are still awaiting furniture in the living room therefore, the living room/dining room have yet to be decorated. I am hoping it comes in within the next 2 weeks!

The biggest downfall of the house is the kitchen. There is a very small refrigerator built into the cabinets. This is very common in the German culture. They go to the market pretty much daily to get what they need. They don't buy in bulk like we do back home. The Air Force provides us with a very basic refrigerator/freezer which you can see in the picture. Of course, we can't bring our own refrigerator due to the different voltage requirements. We would blow ours up! This also causes us to have to plug various appliances into transformers so that we can use them. Its pretty easy though. The cabinets themselves are very few in number and are quite cheap looking. There is no dishwasher, which would be ok. However, there is not even a full size sink! We have adjusted and that is actually going fine. The biggest thing I miss is a garbage disposal. Who knew I used one so much!!! Matt had the bright idea of making a kitchen island. So, we headed out and found two pieces of duplicate furniture and backed them up one to another. Matt bolted them together and we covered the top to protect the wood and taa...daa... we have a kitchen island and a little more storage space!

Now, lets move on to some things I like! It is definitely the most spacious house we have had. The hallways are very wide and its mostly tile throughout. I love that it is 2 story. We can tell the kids - well, the boys, to stay downstairs. There are no closets, so I guess thats another downfall. However, the military issues you wardrobes of which we put the majority into one room and call it our walk in closet, ha..ha. Seriously, we have gotten rid of a lot of clothes due to such limited hanging space. They are all stuffed full of clothes and such! When you start thinking about all your coats alone (for a family of 5) you can easily fill up more than one wardrobe. We have managed though and it is really not that big of a deal. Let's see... the kids rooms are very big. Actually, they are as big as mine and Matt's room with the exception of Jordyn's which is a little smaller.

The laundry room. Ahh... this must be my favorite room. I've never had a sink in my laundry room so I absolutely love this. It's big and spacious and I can leave the ironing board up, hang clothes, have tables for folding, sorting laundry baskets and more... :-) I am going to enjoy every minute of this room. I don't even mind doing the laundry! I do still despise putting it up, however. lol

The pictures of the heating oil room is a large room with two tall - about 6 foot tanks. This provides the heat for the house and water. You'll notice in the pictures the white radiators on the walls. I don't know how, but these actually put out a lot of heat! I was a little worried at first, but we have already tested them out. We have already had the tanks - 1/2 filled. It cost about $1500. We are projecting to have to fill them again in Feb/March so it is quite expensive! We don't have a heating bill, but the yearly costs is much higher than what we are used to. Oh - and the bathrooms are heated through the floor. It feels really nice and cozy!

I realize this is probably more than you ever wanted to know. I find it all interesting and thought some of you might to. Others of you probably wish you would have skipped the whole post. LOL

7 comments:

The Traxsons said...

I love that you posted all of the details of the house and the pictures! Now I feel like I know where you live :) Very cool :) I too love that laundry room. I don't know that it would make me want to do laundry, but it's very nice! It would have to sort, fold, and put away the laundry for me to truly enjoy it. Ha!

Greg, Kristy, and John Lleyton said...

Jolee...thanks for sharing. It painted a good picture. How funny that they make the laundry room so big! It is beautiful where you are.....i love the views! Arent you enjoying all of the room! I look forward to seeing more!

Mandy said...

It looks like you are well on your way to making that house your home! :) Didn't Matt have that Blue and White striped shirt (in the laundry room pic) back in the day? :) I'd miss my garbage disposal too. Wish I had your laundry room!

Terri said...

Great description! I feel like I've seen it in person. :)

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to let you know I've been reading your blog and am enjoying every minute of it. I am glad you gave so much description because I was just a little curious. :) Thanks for letting us into your new home. I am constantly thinking of you and your family and lifting you up in our prayers.

amy said...

What a great idea! When you're overseas, it's so nice to be able to let family and friends see where you're living, how you're living. Makes us want to visit Germany, that's for sure! You're house is great. Is it military or on the town? If it's military, maybe we'll switch to airforce! =) Glad you're happy and getting settled. The kids look like they've adjusted so nicely!

Anonymous said...

I am glad you reminded me of your blog in your email. I hadn't checked it in a while. I LOVE your house! It's so interesting to see you they live over there. How do you keep pictures up on the bathroom tile walls? Can't wait to see more pics!

Shannon