gttim's Profile

I also suggest re-purposing the rooms. I would be knocking down walls to open up the room that is now the "middle of the house" bedroom.

Nice they got a good home. A blogger I read recently had to give up a cat. He wasn't allergic, it was just that the new addition did not seem to be happy with the home or the other animals- dogs and cats. It stayed hidden away all the time. He decided it was best for the cat and found it a new home. He just visited, and the cat was incredibly happy with the home, people and one dog. Probably more happy than it ever would have been at his place. It was out and about playing diva. A happy ending for all!

I bought a condo 6 years ago and moved in. The upstairs neighbor started in on me immediately about doors and cabinets shutting too loud. She complained of other stuff with little notes. I live a fairly quite lifestyle and the neighbors all told her they had no problem with me. Finally she banged on my door one morning and complained that my "extra evening" activities were too loud, with the young lady standing behind me. I told her we live in close proximity to 5 units and there was gong to be some noise. She said "Very funny!" I told her to %&$* off and never speak to me again. She hasn't in 6 years. The perfect neighbor! We hear each other and it is no big deal. I try to keep my noise down if I know she is home, but I do get to live my life. On two occasions I have asked her to take an air purifier off the floor because it was causing some weird reverberation that was really loud! Louder than the actual machine. She did. I do not turn on my bass amp if she is home. My dog barks, as dose my GF's when they are over. They only bark if somebody or some animal is outside. They are supposed to do that. I do not worry about it. We now coexist!

Sheetrock in is yours. Take it down. Don't worry about it. You do not need permission for minor repairs and such. You can change shower curtain rods, install shower doors, put up a bathroom cabinet, crown molding and such. Unless you have super restrictive documents. It is good that you checked the docs, however. If it is not specifically mentioned, you probably do not have to worry about it.

When you buy a place, in the closing documents you agree to be governed by a set of documents if they exist. Nobody has to give them to you. It is your responsibility to ask for them, get them and learn them. I read mine before I ever even considered bidding on my condo. I like them. People cannot trash up the place! I have asked the COA to enforce rules. I have also been on the board. It is amazing what people think they can do.

That dog is an identical twin to my mother's old dog. Oh, and a beautiful house. I really like the leather dining chairs.

I grew up listening to vinyl. I remember the needle hiss and crackly sound from worn out albums. Even from new albums. I get none of that from CDs or even high quality digital files. I have no desire ever going back to vinyl. I do, however, like analog amplifiers. Those do seem to add a little bit of warmth that digital amps are lacking- true with instrument amplification.

For photography, some B&W film and color slide film produce incredible images, but digital is just so much easier and is always improving. Digital not only changes the way you develop, but the way you shoot- you can shoot to your hearts content and then edit in camera or computer. You no longer have to develop a bunch of film to pick and choose your best shots. I had to learn a new way to shoot, but one that awards you with higher quality pictures.

I lived next to train tracks for years in college. It got so I could not even hear them anymore. Now I live 2 miles from an interstate highway, but the sound can travel up the river to me. I used to hear it. Rarely now.

I would hate to see those windows covered, but you could always cover any in the bedroom when you sleep. Also whit/pink noise or music when you go to bed. I have no noise coming in my bedroom, but I like going to sleep with music. It distracts my mind and I fall asleep quickly. My iPod timer turns it off after 30 minutes.

When I bought my condo, every time I went to Target, I bought one or two of the wall plates that cover the light switches and electric sockets. I bought the nice ones that looked like good trim. 3 or 4 months later I had replaced all of the plates without feeling the pinch of buying them all at once. It really made an improvement.

Agree with somebody above: Glasses, plates, and stuff. Large serving platters leaned against the back. Cookbooks and such. Maybe baskets on the bottom few shelves to hold other stuff. My GF has a house, and would kill for that storage!

I used to have some Elk skin moccasins, that were very much like the Quoddy. I would really like to have another pair, but not for $375. There were wonderful, however.