Recently in moving Category

So, yeah, we're moved. Finally.  Officially. And, now, we're too damned exhausted to unpack our house.  Go fig. Well, we try anyway, but not much gets done at the end of the day.  It's hard to want to drag boxes around and try to find room for all the crap you really wish you had no attachment to and could have abandoned on the highway.  Okay, sure, it's all stuff we wanted, but why does it just sit there in the sun room?  Why doesn't it crawl to its designated spaces?  I know it can move.  Bits of it play hide-and-seek when I'm looking for things.  Oh, yeah, you think it's inanimate, but when was the last time you saw your keys?  Or, anything that's vitally important at the time you're searching for it?  The more you need it, the quicker it scurries away.  It's why you can never find your favorite pen that you know you just left on the cabinet, and why you'll find said pen in a shoebox under your bed when you're looking for your only good pair of panty hose. We moved all that damn stuff here; the least it could do is unpack itself.  It's very ungrateful. Either way, we're moved. It was actually a rather bittersweet moment before we locked the townhouse door for a final time.  I suddenly found myself standing in the empty living room crying.  I lived there for 8 years.  Because of the parental's divorce, the lack of good jobs/my mother's nomadic behavior, and several other issue, that's the longest I've ever lived in one place.  There were a lot of memories there.  My mom and I starting our lives over.  The insane roommate.  The awesome roommate.  The first Halloween party where I met one of my best friends.  Meeting my husband-to-be.  Facing down the demons given to me by my father and finally letting that relationship go.  My lost virginity.  Housing dear friends after Katrina.  Welcoming home my Todd the day after he moved in.  Silvara's passing.  Tabster's illness.  Changing careers and my life.  Wedding madness.  House madness.  Moving madness. It's amazing how much you accumlate in a home in 8 years, but it's also amazing how many memories you pack away in the attic of your mind in that same amount of time. It makes you kind of regret the several months of "Damn, I can't wait to get out of this place."  I felt kind of like I was ungrateful.  It wasn't an unwholly terrible home, just poorly maintained by the owner, old and new.  I guess, it's the way we deal with letting go sometimes.  It was time to let it go so that I can embrace the new. And, man, I love our house. Love! Lovelovelovelovelove! All I really have at the moment or pictures of the painting chaos. The Den: The walls are now a nice golden beige that is unintentionally close to the beige in the sunroom.  That fan is now in the office, replaced by a much nicer bigger fan. The Kitchen: We really didn't change it although it's not currently covered in assorted snack foods.  It's small, but very serviceable.  It might not look it but there is amazing amount of cabinet space, which is nice.  There is also a fridge now.  The mop bucket wasn't very good at keeping food cold. A rather sad pic of the Sun Room: There are 15 windows total, and, as mentioned above, it is currently filled with stuff.  Our entire townhouse packed fits in that room.  That should give you an idea of its size.  It is practically half the square footage of our house.  It's a wonderful room.  I spend a lot of time chilling in there, even among the piles of stuff. The Guest Room/Soon-to-Be Library Also known as, the Lunchmeat room.  There is no better way to describe the color than that.  It's not a deep burgandy (after several coats and curses).  You can kind of see in the window edges the original color, but it always looks better in pictures.  I have no idea why.  I think the ugliness was sentient and hid away for fear the camera would steal its soul...or I have rotten photography skills.  Take your pick. Our Bedroom: Okay, the green doesn't look great in this pic mostly because it was it's first coat.  It is a rather pea looking green, but trust me before you start scowling, with the deep reds in our bedding and accessories and the gold accents I plan, it's actually quite lovely.  It's extremely calming.  I love this color and this room. But, I hate that damn fan. It'll go soon. The house is in a bit better state now.  Granted, the sun room still looks like a big box store exploded in it, but the kitchen is mostly unpacked and the office is pretty much in order.  Our living room is no longer decorated in Chez Redneck Geek.  (Until the furniture arrived we were sitting on lawn furniture and computer chairs in front of a plasma TV.  Oh yes, we were stylin'.)  So, it's coming along.  As long as most of the house stays relatively in order, I don't feel so overwhelmed. There has been this strange side-effect of owning a house, though.  I clean.  All the time. Ya'll don't understand, I Hate To Clean. Hate it.  But, I feel downright uncomfortable if things are dirty.  My mom said it was because it was my house; it's not a house that someone else owns and we're living in; and there's a certain unspoken pride you feel when it's yours.  Okay, I can believe that.  My car was mine and I pampered it.  Then, I found out my asshole "father" had his name on it so it was partly his.  I've been rather neglectful ever since.  (Which is strange because I'm not normally neglectful of other people's things. I think it's because it was once mine and suddenly I feel I've been unfairly usurped.) I said a while back I would find a way to make sure the house stayed clean.  The hubby and I have been very conscious of cleaning.  If we see it needs cleaning, we clean it.  There is an advantage to that because it means we'll have to spend less whole days cleaning the house. However, when I caught myself wiping down the clothes dryer, I had to wonder what kind of cleaning monster I had become. I guess we'll have to wait and see.  If you guys suddenly see a lot of posts similar to "Day 59: He moved the fifth knick-knack on the second shelf two inches to the right.  He might have to die." then it might be time for an intervention. And, on that note, I shall share what else we have besides amazing neighbors I've adopted (will share more on a later post) and a sudden anal retentive attitude towards cleaning.  Something I've mentioned before.  Behold our resident yard bunny: Our immediate neighbor thinks he lives on the side of our house.  He alternates between the front yard and the back, usually in early morning or evening.  He is brown, cute, and something I want to squeeze, hug, pet, and call George. But, mostly, his normal state of being is a blur. We'll see how he does after I plant the bunny garden next year. The next adventure?  Mowing. Now, that should be comedy. __________________ Thanks to everyone who helped us paint, move, clean, maintain sanity, or insanity in some cases.  Ya'll are seriously awesome. In case anyone was wondering, the cats are adapting as cats do.  It usually involves extreme neediness and random insanity that includes bouncing off of walls and getting themselves trapped in the pantry.  So, all in all, things are pretty normal.

...tired of it. Boxes... ...tired of them. Servants bringing the hubby and me silver trays loaded with fruits, veggies, cheese, fine wines, and gift certificates for unlimited visits to the Hot Springs spas... ...nowhere to be found. Life can be so cruel. ________________ At least the husband has his own personal massage therapist on staff.  Me? I have a cat who kneads my back for attention.  I guess whatever works.

So, the moving continues.  We moved all the big stuff we wanted to move over the weekend, got most of the painting done, and started the long process of unpacking and reassembling that which we disassembled.  There is still stuff at the townhouse, but it's making its way here one carload at a time.  This weekend will be all about cleaning said townhouse, which I'm absolutely not looking forward to.  (Ya'll, don't ever look under your clothes washers.  Ever.  Trust me on this.) I have pictures of the ongoing chaos, but while the wireless is up, the computers are not.  My little netbook is an awesome thing, but compatible with our camera it ain't.  So, the pictures will have to wait.  Which is a shame since some of them include pictures of the wild bunnies that visit our yard. As many of you know, amongst the hair-pulling stress of the move is the time you spend bonding with your new home.  Touching its various surfaces in a friendly yet not molesting kind of way.  Filling it with laughter.  Giving it a good cleaning.  Finding all the strange ass quirks leftover by the previous resident. The guy who lived here before was probably a perfectly nice guy, but he sucked at DIY.  Massively.  I mean, seriously, caulking a bathtub is practically foolproof these days with all the various little tools and stuff you can get to make it smooth and pretty.  Our bathrooms look like he gave the caulking gun to a three-year-old hopped up on Pepsi and pixi sticks. That's nothing compared to some of the ingenious wiring.  The light switch in the master bathroom is backwards.  The light switch turns on the fan and the fan switch turns on the light.  I've hit the wrong switch so many times in the last few days I nearly ripped the damn thing out of the wall.  I mean, whether or not he did it, how did that not drive him up the damn wall? Speaking of wiring, we might, in the future, have to re-wire this house.  I don't think all of it has to do with Mr. Fix-It, but there is some seriously screwed up circuitry going on here.  For instance, there are switches in the fuse box to which we can find no discernible connection.  One particular switch turns off an outlet in the den, two in the office, two outlets and the light in the library/guestroom, and the light, bathroom, and all outlets in the master room.  Another switch turns off just the light over the kitchen sink.  Now, we're going to see how much trouble we have, but we are suspecting we'll be saving up for a re-wire in the near future.  Of course, I realize that most of the funky wiring is because of the several remodels that happened in the 40+ years of the house's existence, but some of it is so oddball, I can't imagine why he didn't fix it. I mean, honestly, even if we're only in this house for ten years, there is so much we have planned in correcting such issues it seems almost unnatural that no one else thought of them.  Then again, maybe he did, and things changed.  Who knows? We haven't found bodies or body parts in any part of the house or under it, which is good.  I haven't located the ancient fraternity beer keg graveyard either, so we might be good. What I have discovered is lip prints on the shower curtain in the hallway bathroom. Yes, lip prints.  As in, lips covered in lipstick giving the shower curtain a big old kiss. You know, in a way, I can expect a butt print or even some strange genitalia art, but lip prints? I was taking a shower and notice a rather orangish blot and thought maybe it was a little mold from the moisture of the room.  Happens to shower curtains sometimes.  On closer inspection, I realized what it was and was suddenly awashed in various mental scenarios that would leave lip prints on the shower curtain. A woman, lacking toilet paper or tissue in which to blot her newly-applied lipstick, decided to use the shower curtain? The previous owner was a transvestite who wore just a little too much make-up and bumped into the shower curtain on his way into said shower and left a puckered mark. Someone really loved that shower curtain.  Someone who hated to leave it behind.  There was just no room in the moving truck.  She stood there, weeping, telling it over and over again she was sorry for abandoning it even after all they had been through together.  It was her friend, her confidant, that which kept her bathroom floor dry.  As the horn honked outside, calling her to a new destiny, she gave it one last kiss goodbye... To tell the truth, I believe someone was freaky-deaky.  I mean, there's a dimmer switch in that same bathroom.  Who puts a dimmer swtich in a bathroom?  Oh, no, this was no ordinary bathroom; this was a bathing room of lust.  I bet if I look hard enough I can find left over remnants of the mounts they used for the trapeze.  Oh, yes, serious fetish play probably went on in that room involving lipstick and shower curtains. I am not looking for the YouTube video for it. That which has been seen cannot be unseen.  Better to live in ignorant bliss. But, that situation definitely lends a possibly interesting story for the hole in the wall in the back bedroom. ___________________________ Yeah, we knew home ownership would be a lot of work, especially at the beginning, but dude, the weekend project list is getting longer and longer. Pretty soon it will need to be broken up into chapters.  "The House: Chapter One - Adventures in DIY Correction and Other Hilarity."

My feet are threatening to leave me; I'm covered in paint; but I'm happier than a cat rolling in a catnip bush. It has been a very long, very exhausting, but very productive day. We, along with several of our dear peeps, spent the entire day working on our house. I have to do the inevitable and traditional pause to reflect on how awesome the words "our house" are. Our house. Our house. Our house...in the middle of our street... Wait, that's not right. Anyway... Todd spent the day running network through the house, which required him to crawl under the house like some giant vole and contort himself between beams and rocks to drill holes and shout things at a friend as he was feeding cables and wires through said holes.  And, yes, while he's sore and exhausted, he's a happy geek boy.  I get the feeling doing the actual job sucked a lot of monkey ass, but he sees the dirt on his clothes and feels the ache in his knees only for a while.  In the end, the convenience of network anywhere in the house is a convenience that makes him shrug off the struggles to get it there. I spent the day with my lovely, lovely sister-in-law and several lovely, lovely friends taping and painting.  Mostly taping.  Lots of taping.  Ye gods, there was a lot of tape.  I'm thinking I should change the entry title to "Painter's Tape: The Sticky Side of Hell".  It took us hours to tape.  But, after the tape came the priming and painting which went fairly quickly.  We didn't get it all done, but a huge chunk of the work was knocked out. To all those who helped: Damn, we love you guys.  We owe ya'll tons of slave labor love. Tomorrow, we continue painting and Todd, like a dedicated techno geek, will tinker with the network some more.  I don't know if we'll get all the painting done tomorrow, but if we can at least get the walls and some of the trim done, I'll be happy. Now, Super Husband seems to think we can start bringing some boxes over.  While a great idea, there is no place to put them.  Except the sun room.  One thing I did notice, it was the one room not defiled with random mounds of crap.  And, because of that, it was the one room we all congregated to when we needed breaks. So, I'm thinking no. However, we do need to move boxes. I'm going to aim to get the "library" finished so we can move the books.  If we do that, then we can pile boxes of books and knick-knacks in there, and at least feel like moving is happening without crowding out the one room we have to just spread out and breathe. It wouldn't be so important, I think, if it weren't for the fact our current abode is filled with towers of "boxen"* as Todd calls them.   I told him that while it seems insane, I just need one space that's not filled.  One space that doesn't make me feel claustrophobic. Granted, this is speaking to a guy who spent most of the day under the house with support beams on his chin, but that should emphasize my point. So, we'll try to compromise. Either way, our house was filled with love and laughter today, our first real day of bonding with it.  Okay, it was filled with love, laughter, and a helluva lot of curiosity at random findings like the hole in one bedroom, the non-tacked down molding in a bathroom with the dimmer switch, the painted tile in the other bathroom, and the fact the hot water heater is set to "lukewarm".  But those, honestly, had their funny side.  Except for the hole.  I'm still pissed about the hole.  (I'll have pictures of it later since I left the camera at the house in my exahausted-filled stupidity.)  But mostly, it was filled with love and laughter.  We had people we loved there and there was laughing between the groans of exhaustion. It was a long, but a good day. ______________________________

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have officially bought a house! Yes, after weeks of The Waiting, one lazy contracter, and an incredibly stubborn appraiser, we finally got to close on the house today. There has been much happy, wiggly puppy dancing from yours truly along with the odd squee and at least one instance flopping on the sun room floor. I don't have videos of my happy dance, but insert your own and I'm sure it will suffice. I tell ya'll, we were on the edge of our sanity towards the end.  Super Husband woke up yesterday morning ranting, "Someone needs to make a goddamn decision on something!" You see, it's been raining here non-stop for about 17 days which apparently was the cause for an amazing amount of delay in finished the sunroom supports, according to the contracter.  Todd went out there a couple of days ago to find no one there. This on top of the contracter telling him earlier in the week that he was going out of town on Thursday.  Dude, it has to be Done By Thursday!  So, he called our agent who called the selling agent whose response was basically, "Excuse me?"  Apparently, they were telling him people were working on it despite the opposite happening.  Now, I understand that the rain was a factor, but when the selling agent fired the guy and brought in someone else, they got it done in two days.  Wow.  That's the difference between someone who really cares about the job getting done correctly and efficiently and someone who doesn't take into consideration how his laziness is affecting other people. And, don't get me started on the long-ass scratch on the wall left by the same idiot.  The only reason I haven't demanded his number so he can fix it is because we found the matching paint in the storage room.  It seems minor, but dammit, this is our home, and he had no business being irresponsible, especially when they were going to get paid $4000 for the job! Either way, a better person was hired, and with some serious begging from our real estate agent, the appraiser finally decided enough work has been done to the room to let us close. So, tomorrow, we have a bunch of awesome friends and family coming to help us do the whole painting thing.  This should be hard work, but fun as hell.  I love our peeps! And, I have to tell you, that's the greatest thing about getting a house, being able to share our happiness and our space with our loved ones.  I am under the firm belief that a lot of laughter in a home practically embeds itself in the walls and hides in the corners.  Brick and mortar remember far deeper than even we humans can, and a lot of joy in the stone makes for a jolly home. Maybe I ought to embroidery that. "A lot of joy in the stone makes for a jolly home." Yes, it's cheesy, but I like it.  Nyah. Anyway, I will take pictures of the chaos.  I don't expect our helpers to really want their pictures blasted on the internet, but I'm sure there will be much to share. To the paint brushes! ____________________________ My wonderful sister-in-law, who is brilliant managed to give a name to the horrendous color in one of the back bedrooms.  I had been trying to define it ever since I gasped at it.  Fushia, mauve (Todd said mud)...it was such an strangly odd color of ugliness that it had no name.   Becky figured it out at first sight: Lunch Meat.  Yes, we have a room the color of lunch meat.  I'm have tempted to paint sliced olives on the walls and call it Pimento Loaf.  I think I would get served divorce papers.

So...the waiting... Dude!  The waiting! That's the worst of the house-buying experience. You find the house. Then, you send in a bid. Then, you wait to see if you get the bid. You get the bid, and then you wait to see if the inspection is kosher, which there is always something no matter how minor, and you hope it's all minor. Then, you wait to see what the seller will repair. Then, you wait for the appraisal. Then, you wait to see if the seller will fix whatever the appraiser didn't like or wait to see if the seller will still sell the house if the appraisal was less than the value for which he/she was trying to sell it. Then, you wait for any repairs. Then, you wait for closing. Add to that the insurance thing, the packing thing, switching utilities thing, the purchasing of things like a fridge thing...painting, wiring, minor repairs, moving... They do not show this on those HGTV shows. I should be bald now. I do have new grey hairs.  I'm too young for this shit. Now I know why we weren't all smart enough to do this when we were younger. And, I will say, it could definitely be worse. This could be a money pit.  Or this could be like when one of my patients was dealing with a house. She and her husband were building one in the Carolinas.  They were due to close in the summer.  That happened to be the summer Hurricane Isabella was blowing through.  They had no knowledge of such storms, but the builders did and wanted them to close before the storm came in so they wouldn't be responsible if the house blew over.  Luckily for my patient, the bank was closed.  But, because of the stress of the house thing, all they bought for the duration of the storm was some wine.  She and her husband spent the storm passed out. You know, all things considered, I could see worse ways to spend a hurricane. Either way, it could be way worse. But, still, the stress sucks. And, yet, after this, we have to buy furniture. The wrestling match over that will be seriously fun. Heh. __________________ Oh, yes, the people who help will be paid in alcohol and food.  Probably pizza.  The weekend after we get fully moved and out of our townhouse, I intend to spend alternating between a drunken stupor and a continuous happy wiggly puppy dance.  The puppy dance will be funnier for those who chose to come watch.

First, I would like to announce I love our agent at Pulaski Mortgage.  We totally forgot about fixing the interest rate on the loan, but she didn't.  I got a phone call the the other day with and announcement of 4.5% and a half percent origination.  We locked that shit down!  (Incidentally, ya'll, if you want to buy a house and have a down payment, do it!  You'll not get a better time than this!) Second, I would like let everyone know that apparently it is very likely we will be closing on May 15th, the original date we set for closing. It appears the seller found someone to do the repairs on the addition despite the short notice and the consistent deluge of rain.  Apparently, he's figured a way around the $4000 price tag as well.  All I can say to that is "Can I buy you a case of beer?" Super Husband apparently also managed to get ahold of the insurance guy and get things rolling that way. So, barring fire, flood, alien invasion, or worldwide annihilation via fire, flood, or aliens, we should be closing in a couple of weeks.  (Notice I don't say zombie apocalypse.  Ya'll, if I can't keep this closing from going through because a few zombies, I'm a sad excuse for a bitchin' babe, in my not so humble opinion.) The packing continues... ________________ I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the chair deconstruction that happened this weekend.  Super Husband looked at the very-much-needing-to-be-junked chair, weighed the fact we have no truck with which to haul it away and the fact it really is too horrible to give away, and came to the conclusion that surely it must come apart.  His favorite quote of the night? "If at first you don't succeed, find a bigger hammer."  A pile of splintered wood, cushioning, and ripped up fabric later, and we had a nice pile of ex-chair to put in the dumpster.  I so should have taken pictures. I don't know why I didn't.  If nothing else, the boy seemed very happy in his endeavors.  All hail furniture destruction!

I have met the most amazing people in the SCA. The aren't just my friends; they are my extended family. These are people who go to great lengths to be there when you need them, and I try to do the same. They are fab. They are wonderful. And, apparently, when the Universe decides we must have a Good Thing it does it to the point of nausea. That sounds stupid, huh?  Yeah, there is definitely such thing as too much of a good thing. I am thrilled to announce that one married couple and two single friends have closed on houses.  I am thrilled to announce that we are looking for a house.  I'm even more thrilled to announce we may have found a house. Yeah, I know that was fast, but you have to see this place.  Entertaining Heaven. This is all wonderful news. I just wish it wasn't all happening at the Same Time. We are all very happy to be able to help each other through the chaos that is moving, but damn, if we ain't tired. Apparently, the Universe decided that those of use still not homeowners would be so this year, but, in order for that to happen, it has to happen within a four month period. Damn Universe always has a catch. As I said, we are all happy to help each other, but we're getting a little worn out.  If the Universe could see fit to declare we all need week long vacations, paid, in the Cayman Islands, by say, oh, next month?  I figure if it can pull off massive house purchases in our group it can pull off lots of sand and drinks with little bits of fruit in them. Can't blame a girl for trying to look out for her tired peeps. I'm thinking when this Season of Moving has come to an end, we need to spend our time planning a whole lot of housewarming parties.  The these are new places that need to be filled with the laughter of friends and family in order to show the neighbors just how scary we really are. Good times. On another note, Jax, a very awesome blogger gave me an award!  My very first! Here's the description: "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers." That's very cool.  Thanks! Now, time to pass it on! The criteria for accepting the award is that you must post the picture and the meaning of the award on your blog (see above). Now, don't anyone be jealous.  I can't pick everyone to recieve this award.  I read many blogs and love them all.  But, some times it's just nice recognize a few people hiding in the corners who might not get noticed otherwise.  If I didn't choose your blog, it's because either you're really popular or you will be eventually. :-) Arzu's World of Cookies and Lasers Diary of a Crazy Rabbit Lady, Too. The Inspired Phoenix Phrogmom's Weblog The Wigglebutt Blog You guys are awesome.  Everyone in my blogroll and soon to be in my blogroll is awesome.  Keep writing.  Keep laughing.  Keep inspiring.