|
May your new house Tomte welcome you with open arms!
|
Quote:
|
Yes , I like those lines of Elspode's too . Many years ago , I decided that I did not want to buy a house for those very reasons . I don't know how it is in America , but there is an obsessive house-ownership frenzy in the UK . People are worried sick , and up to their eyes in debt and speculation . I prefer to live , eat and drink like a queen , and have experiences of different places .
My house is in my family , and I have my ancient language in my head . I don't wear a hat , so home is also wherever I hang my bag of books . I wish you all the best in your new house , Elspode . |
Thanks, guys. Housing is pretty much insane here in the US as well, but *much, much* less insane here in the Heartland than it is elsewhere. When I showed the pics of the place to my old girlfriend (who lives in hills above Dodger Stadium in LA), she thought I was buying a million dollar spread. She was actually shocked when I told her it was 165k.
Today was tantalizing and frustrating at the same time. We were to have closed yesterday, but our mortgage company didn't get the paperwork done in time, so closing is pushed to Monday. However, we had arranged with the owner to be able to start moving stuff over there today, despite the fact that she was not in fact going to be moved out yet. We didn't get to go over there until 5:00 because she *still* wasn't done (she told us she'd be done by noon), and so all we were able to haul over was three carloads of boxes and our considerable potted plant collection. Well, that, and the camper, which *had* to be moved so that the PODS truck can transport the very, very full PODS container on Monday. The whole family is pretty excited and energized about the new place, though, and spending some time over there today just reinforced that. Still much, much work ahead. |
Best wishes for a quick n easy move 'spode and many years of building new memories :)
|
HTML Code:
Still much, much work ahead. |
We have the house. The owner and her elderly parents (yeah, seriously...this woman's children and friends hosed her out so badly with the help she was expecting, she was crying telling us about it. Her mom and dad must have been at least eighty. We kept offering to help, and she kept putting us off) loaded up the last of anything she was going to take at about 6:30, and drove off as Mrs Elspode and I were earnestly scrubbing the bathrooms and kitchen counters. We were left with a bounty of boxes (about ten times more than we actually need. To think, we actually went out and bought a stack of boxes last week. Sheesh), a bunch of decent wood planks and such, a stack of cinderblocks and bricks in the back yard, and a pile of appliance manuals and phonebooks. Also, about twenty odd keys to the doors and padlocks of the place.
Tomorrow, if I don't have to kill any of my coworkers, I will sign the closing papers at some point during the day. We have now moved over six carloads of the "small stuff", as well as cleaning supplies and whatnot. Our coven met on our new front porch (more a front patio, truth be known) this evening, and we determined where our new coven space would be. We will be holding all open Sabbat rituals at our new place from now on out, so we had a lot of details to discuss. After all, hosting upwards of fifty people eight times a year takes some logistics. Mrs Elspode and I have a pretty good idea of where everything is going to go when the furniture gets moved next weekend. The moving truck is reserved, address changes have been submitted, cable/Internet/phone goes in tomorrow, utilities have been in our names since Friday, POD is delivered tomorrow, youngest son has already bought the paint for his room (it seems he doesn't care for pink for some reason) and started taping the trim this afternoon...busy, busy, busy. I have indoor pics to show you all, but I'm headed for bed soon as I have a hellish day tomorrow at work. This is all pretty exciting for a guy who has essentially lived in the same place for over 35 years. |
Els, it's really good of you to take the time to share your excitement about your move day by day! I, too, wish you very many years of building happy memories in your new house. It is SO great to move into a house which is just about everything you've ever wanted (I know, I've done it!) and then do/get done the last little bits that make it perfect (I'm doing that, too!).
All the best to you and your family! |
Thanks, Limey. 19:30 CDT, and I'm just now finishing up at work. Now I have to go to the new house, stuff a sandwich in my face, and start helping unload the PODS container. Long day.
The title company still doesn't have the paperwork. No closing today. Not happy about that... |
Good luck with getting everything settled in your new home, hon. It's so crazy trying to get comfortable, but as soon as you do, the house instantly feels like you've never not lived there. Have fun creating tons of new memories!
|
Thanks, Brooke, and welcome to The Cellar. Kinda feels like I've always been here, too, and I'm still a relative newbie.
|
Wishing you a speedy and uneventful move Elspode! Man, we accumulate a lot of 'stuff', don't we?
My family just moved 3 weeks ago (apt to house) and I have never been so exhausted as I was during the 5 days it took us to get everything from point A to point B. We lugged carload after carload and then a moving truck crammed to the top with furniture X 2. My former step-daughter works for TJ Maxx (clothing store) and unpacks the boxes, so she brought us stacks of bundled boxes for us to use. After the thickness of the pile of bundled boxes reached 3 feet, I was like...omg, NO more boxes! But guess what, we used every single one! If it's possible, take it slow and don't overdo it. It is nice to unpack a room and set it all up so you have at least one spot that isn't total chaos :) . And when you get a chance, I'd love to see pics of the inside. I'm very shocked at all that you got for $165 also, as that won't buy you 1500 sf house on a 60X60 lot here in Clearwater. Maybe I should move to the midwest! Stormie |
The move is in progress. We are closing on the new house at 3:00 today, finally, six days late.
I now own two houses, and can't really live in either of them... :) Big move from the old place to occur on Saturday, with an open public ritual held in our new backyard on Sunday. I have a busy life. While on the way to the new house on Tuesday, Mrs Elspode spotted a tiny kitten in the middle of the six lane urban artery, 350 Hwy, and wheeled to the side, ordering me out on a rescue mission. The little guy's eyes were sealed shut with infection, essentially rendering him blind. It was blistering hot on the asphalt, and he has blacktop stains on his face, paws and tail. He was emaciated from starvation and anemic from fleas. She rushed him to an emergency vet, and now, only two days later, the little guy is becoming quite spry, eating like a horse, and responding to the vitamins, antibiotics and eye goop very well indeed. He is as yet unnamed, but the barely six week old kitten will go to live with my cat loving oldest son next week. Steve has been unable to have pets in his apartment, so here' s yet another benefit to our move. |
:)
I am so incredibly happy for you Elspode! |
Quote:
|
Oedipus or Homer (because of the eye issues)
or ... Sticky, Tar, Double Yellow ... What color is he? |
He is orange stripey. I believe that he was named "Raden" this morning over breakfast burritos. Raden is a Chinese thunder god, I believe.
We spent our first night in the new house last night. Not on a bed, mind you, but Mrs Elspode on the couch and I on the loveseat. Didn't matter, as we were, and are, exhausted. We got a bunch of stuff moved yesterday, and I finished off my son's apartment today. Now we've got to get him a bit better set up in his new place, but at least we're completely *done* with one of the dwellings we've been dealing with. Our old home has a long way to go yet. We brought all the cats over last night, and they are totally freaking out. We won't let them outside until they've had a week or two to get used to the new place (i.e., until they realize that this is where the food lives). Durga in particular is about half crazy. She only ever comes into the house to eat anyway, so it is especially important that she relate food to new house lest she try to find her way back to the old home. Tomorrow, the birds. I'm making this post from my living room couch on the laptop over the now functional wireless router. Little steps...little steps. We also had our first sabbat ritual in our new backyard. It was awesome. Everyone was nearly giddy with the coolness of the vibe. The biggest reason we bought this particular place, next to having a residence for my son, was to have a place for our coven and community activities. If today's attendance of 50 was any indication, we're going to be rather successful at that. We even had angry neighbors call the police because of the parking situation. Off to a great start.:) |
:D
|
That is a remarkably good likeness of this cat...
|
Quote:
Awwww!!!! That kitten is extremely lucky. It makes me sad and happy at the same time when stuff like this happens. I am sad because a living being was in that condition, but happy that it is going to turn out all right. You are both wonderful people to help this poor guy out! And congradulations on the progress. Like you said, little steps. You will get done eventually. :) In the meantime, I will be sending many good vibes your way! |
At last, I have five consecutive free days to attempt to get the hell out of my old house completely and into this new one. By Friday night, I could be sleeping in my bed again instead of on a loveseat. I could have my desk and my desktop computer and a chair instead of sitting on the floor, typing on the laptop which is sitting on a box.
Tonight was spent picking up a free portable dishwasher, courtesy of a friend who had been looking to get rid of one. Bonus! This freed up the money to pick up the riding mower I'm getting in the AM. Unexpected expense for today was oldest son's air conditioner failing to keep up with the 102 degree heat in his barn attic loft, and so $350 later, he has one three times the size freshly installed. Part of what has made this housing transition more difficult is the fact that I have had two households to deal with...Stephen's, and ours. In addition to getting his new AC installed, I also got him onto the wireless broadband connection. Fortunately, that was simple, but he isn't setting any broadband records...11-18 mbps, as opposed to the 54 mbps we're getting here in the main house. Still, it is over 20 times faster than what he had with dialup, and it works quite usably. He's pretty damn happy with it, anyway. New kitty is settling in with Stephen quite nicely, but two of ours managed to get outside today. One came back, and one has not. We'll see what happens. She's a wild thing, and perhaps she's just getting the lay of the land. Busy day tomorow, as usual. Nite, all. |
Quote:
|
A child?
|
Quote:
Only problem was that it was noisy as hell, especially as it discharged into the sink. |
We were actually going to buy a new one, on purpose, so as to not have to lose any cabinet space. We do have a perfect wall for it to park against when not in use, though, so it was a good solution. It is a Whirpool, probably about six or seven years old, but it looks and works like new, and is reasonably quiet.
|
Did the explorer cat ever come back?
|
Have been offline for a few days. Am really glad that things are moving along nicely for you, Els. Continuing to send good vibes from Scotland (and England next week when I'm on holiday!).
|
Durga is now three days gone. We are officially concerned, but there was really nothing to be done about it. We had kept her in long enough that she was literally insane, shredding part of the curtains and dashing from room to room, yowling at the top of her lungs. I still hold out hope that she will return.
We're still pretty crazy busy. Old house is mostly empty now save for fridge and garage. As if things weren't stimulating enough, my father, whom I haven't seen in 15 years, pulled into my new driveway with his camper today and is staying over for a day or two. We are also expected to attend a family reunion tomorrow. It isn't that I don't want to go, but damn...we still have a lot of work to do, and we're down to a week to do it in. We've been putting in twelve hour work days the past couple of days, and it is going to be cutting it close to be done at the old place by next Sunday. Pretty much bedtime now. More as I am able. Thanks for all the good thoughts and words of encouragement. |
Quote:
Actually, I wish I could go to that family reunion of yours. Sounds like a Hoooot. |
Did you tell him you moved....and where? :whofart:
|
He came, he saw, he left. Dad pulled out about 4:00 this morning. It was a pleasant, if brief and none too intimate visit. Not that our relationship has ever been terribly intimate or close. Interference with the business of moving out and moving in was fairly minimal. I guess we lost about a half day of efforts over it all. Still got the fish tanks moved and my computer desk and computer set up, complete w/new wireless connection installed. The family reunion was also a brief affair, by necessity. None of my favorite cousins were there, but I did see a couple of relatives that I had not seen since I was 12 or 13.
This whole house-buying and moving process has been fraught with odd coincidences and things that would have seemed unique or strange even if we weren't going through all of this. I find it to be something of affirmation that we are doing the right thing, as though the Powers That Be are coaxing us along with little clues and hints somehow. With each succeeding day of being in the new place, I become more and more certain that this is a place we were meant to be for some reason, and that my time at the old place was well and long over. The overarching sense of rightness associated with our new home is palpable and ever-present, and it is a satisfying and encouraging feeling for me. Now, if we can just get done and rid of the old place in the next ten days... |
Quote:
|
The new "owner" is a guy who will effectively rent out the place to cultivate a FSBO situation. When it sells, he pays us an agreed-upon price.
Getting everything out of the place and the flooring laid by 8-15 will save us $400.00, so we're motivated. |
So...Here We Are
Three months. It has been three months, nearly to the day, since the PODS container was dropped in the driveway of 13130 Sycamore in preparation for getting the hell out of Dodge and on to a fresh locale. I had finally decided that 37 years in one place, in one suburban town, was enough. I was finally prepared to leave the known for the possible, the staid for the transitional, the familiar for the mystery.
Yesterday at about 7:30 PM, I handed over the keys to the house that my mother and stepfather bought from my aunt and uncle when I was not quite 13 years old - to a perfect stranger. I had just taken one last walk through the place where I smoked my first joint, got my first blow job, built my first marital bedroom, raised my only birth child, nursed my paralyzed mother, held my mother's wake...and found that I could, in fact, leave it to someone else, someone who might make their own memories there. Today, for the first time in three months, I did not walk into my Grandview home and pack something, clean something, paint something, throw something away. I carried nothing from house to car for transport to my new house. I picked nothing up from the old front yard, watered nothing that grew in the flowerbed, turned off no forgotten lights or dripping faucets. Today was my first full day living solely in my new home. I awoke in Raytown, went to work from Raytown, returned to Raytown, helped my son put things away and hang pictures in Raytown. Tonight, I sat on my front porch and listened to the cicads and the small fountain make their buzzing, burbling sounds. I stood in my back yard and realized that I might actually be able to mow it and pull its weeds this week. I smiled when I considered that I will be able to attend band practice for the first time in a month. My grapes are ripening on the vine, and my winemaking friends are jockeying for position to get a share of the harvest. As summer wanes, a new life begins for my family and me. Thanks to everyone who has thought of us, sent us good thoughts or major juju. It worked. We're here. At long last, we're *just* here. |
Would you care for a mint Julep or bourbon and branch water, Suh? ;)
|
You cain't serve a mint julep that'a way! You've got to put a little slide into it, son!
Either will do fine, thanks. :) |
Very nice. Peace to you and yours.
|
:thumb:
|
Congrats on finally being in your new home :)
|
Great, Big, Giant SIGH. Ain't life grand? Savor, savor, savor.
|
Fantastic! And thanks once again for sharing with us the joy of finding a place that is Just Right. My move to my current habitation was equally a homecoming to a new place, and you've just reminded me of how good that feels!
|
OK Els, it's TTGTGTGTG!
(time to get that get-to-gether to-gether or else it's got something to do with genetic sequencing ;) ) |
Finally took the time to dump some pics taken of the inside of the house the first day we started moving stuff in.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elspodepics/ It looked a lot more roomy, then. |
That's a really nice looking place. I like the front yard a lot with that nice shady tree and the long porch outfitted with chairs. I can picture hanging out on that porch in the shade.
Also, I'm very envious of that barn with the apartment. You've got a nice place there. But you already knew that, didn't you? |
Indeed. I'll have to shoot a pic of the porch now that we've inhabited it. Got some planters with herbs, a small fountain and a fish tank (!) on it. Great for your of-an-evening sittin' needs.
|
Very nice home! Congrats!
|
Quote:
|
It is a truly egalitarian, seriously blue-collar place. The West side approaches sluminess in places, the East side has old farmhouses on one side of the street and near-mansions on private lakes on the other. 'Tain't boring, that's for sure. 350 Highway (formerly US 50 Hwy) runs right behind my place about 1/8 mile or so, and there's pretty much every sort of business, from retail to car lot to industrial, sited all along it.
In truth, I *prefer* an area like this. I like the multiculturality of it. I like the matured trees and established lots. I like the mixed age demographic, the ease of access to the places to buy stuff, and the fact that, despite all of the nearby hubub, my own street and chunk of neighborhood is amazingly quiet. |
Els, you don't know how happy I am that you've got your piece of paradise and are setting up home in it. Stick insects ("walking sticks") and all ... It just makes me smile ... I suppose it's good to know that some people do get lucky, are happy, that it works out some of the time ... :earth:
|
Trust me, Limey...we are in a rare time of life here, a time where we are seeing more roses than thorns. My family suffers the same trials and tribulations that everyone else does, and perhaps even a little more. If you doubt this, read many of my past posts.
I think what is different right now is that we are so consumed with the whole process, that there's little time to dwell on the difficulties. Even as we savor the newness and continue the hard work of setting up Home, we have job difficulties, two of four cars broken down and four drivers in need of them, one child entering treatment for major depression and suicidal ideation, a frighteningly dwindling bank account, the loss of two of our four cats...in other words, Life Goes On. We just had to get tougher recently. The new Home is the reward for that toughening up. |
I find that attitude inspirational. I wish my boyfriend understood that. The downward spiraling has to stop sometime.
Happiness is out there to be had, if you are willing to do the work to find it. Thanks for the reminder, els.:) |
Quote:
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:12 AM. |
Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.