...Buyer #2, Mr. Better Offer! Hooray!
Let the packing games begin!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Inch by Inch, Row by Row
And so we wait and my head is filled with questions that are insignificant and cumbersome all at once: Do I divide my perennials and bring duplicates of them with me, without having any idea what horticultural treasures may already be in place at the new house? Do I dig up the mock orange that grows outside of Harrison's room, the one that once grew outside of my bedroom window when I was a child? What furniture should we bring, or ditch altogether? What color will we paint the living room, the room that we both agree must be the first room painted? How on earth are we going to move without movers? And while we're talking about that, might it not be intelligent to hire some movers, if only for the big furniture?
There are things here that my heart will ache with missing, like the gardens in front of our porch that we made rise from the dust with our bare hands, lots of labor, and the sheer will to make things grow. It is, if I say so myself, a place of beauty and I will hate leaving it behind. In weak moments I will miss the completedness of our house here, the fact that the rooms are all painted and the curtains are hung, that the artwork is placed just so on the walls. But I know, too, that we can make more gardens rise from the earth, that we can paint rooms and tile floors and tidy up kitchens and make bathrooms sparkle and eventually it will shine just like this house does. And I know, too, that many of these concerns are about trivial things and that our reasons for moving (more house; less yardwork; walk-ability to downtown, library, and parks; a community with greater diversity; proximity to our target school; better financial positioning) far outweigh the trivial unknowns we are about to face.
I know that the most important things, memories and family and friends, are coming with us no matter where we go and that knowledge melts away all fears, leaving me filled with excitement for this new adventure.
There are things here that my heart will ache with missing, like the gardens in front of our porch that we made rise from the dust with our bare hands, lots of labor, and the sheer will to make things grow. It is, if I say so myself, a place of beauty and I will hate leaving it behind. In weak moments I will miss the completedness of our house here, the fact that the rooms are all painted and the curtains are hung, that the artwork is placed just so on the walls. But I know, too, that we can make more gardens rise from the earth, that we can paint rooms and tile floors and tidy up kitchens and make bathrooms sparkle and eventually it will shine just like this house does. And I know, too, that many of these concerns are about trivial things and that our reasons for moving (more house; less yardwork; walk-ability to downtown, library, and parks; a community with greater diversity; proximity to our target school; better financial positioning) far outweigh the trivial unknowns we are about to face.
I know that the most important things, memories and family and friends, are coming with us no matter where we go and that knowledge melts away all fears, leaving me filled with excitement for this new adventure.
Pending!
We accepted the new offer and put our first offer's 48 hour contingency into effect last night, so now we wait to see if the first people can get alternate funding for their purchase. They have until 9pm tomorrow to come through, otherwise the second (and better) offer will be the one that gets the house. Once we know for sure we'll remove our 48 hour contingency from the "green" house, as we call it, and we'll start packing!
And speaking of the green house, the crabapple trees out front bloomed last week and the were spectacular. Being the totally annoying hopfeul purchaser that I am, I drove past and shot a picture out of the window:
And speaking of the green house, the crabapple trees out front bloomed last week and the were spectacular. Being the totally annoying hopfeul purchaser that I am, I drove past and shot a picture out of the window:
Sunday, May 17, 2009
An Update
Four showings this weekend. I am so tired. A new offer coming in tomorrow and these people do not have a house to sell. Keep your fingers crossed!
What have I been up to, aside from keeping the house clean?
Bread baking. Crusty white bread from the old, orange Betty Crocker; I know the recipe by heart now. It is so, so good and the actual working time that it requires to make two loaves is about twenty minutes...it takes me longer than that to go out and buy bread at the store. Why have I been buying bread all of these years? Harry and Emma are in fresh baked bread Heaven these days. As soon as they see me take the flour bag out of the cupboard they start begging for a slice of warm bread and we have had some really interesting conversations about yeast, flour, and chemical reactions. It's awesome.
Sewing. I got a new book for myself, Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, and I have been busy building up my summer wardrobe and making a few overdue baby gifts. The gifts are overdue, not the babies. This book is lovely and full of good ideas, and I have actually made clothes for myself that I can wear, in public even!
Making granola. Flora gave me a great recipe and we've been making our own snack food ever since. It is the perfect mix of sweet and crunchy and you cannot even imagine how good the house smells when it is baking. Yum.
Finishing up pre-school. This Friday is Harry's last day and this week will be full of extra activities and special treats, after which the unscheduled days of summer stretch before me for what seems like miles. I have seriously got to get something planned for these summer days.
Sick. The last weeks of pre-school just wouldn't have seemed right without just one more illness, I suppose. We've all been stuffed up, sneezy, coughing, and wheezing, with the added fun of having pollen season at the same time. We're feeling better now, but the last two weeks have been endured with a slight edge of grumpy.
I'll let you know about the other offer when we know more...
What have I been up to, aside from keeping the house clean?
Bread baking. Crusty white bread from the old, orange Betty Crocker; I know the recipe by heart now. It is so, so good and the actual working time that it requires to make two loaves is about twenty minutes...it takes me longer than that to go out and buy bread at the store. Why have I been buying bread all of these years? Harry and Emma are in fresh baked bread Heaven these days. As soon as they see me take the flour bag out of the cupboard they start begging for a slice of warm bread and we have had some really interesting conversations about yeast, flour, and chemical reactions. It's awesome.
Sewing. I got a new book for myself, Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, and I have been busy building up my summer wardrobe and making a few overdue baby gifts. The gifts are overdue, not the babies. This book is lovely and full of good ideas, and I have actually made clothes for myself that I can wear, in public even!
Making granola. Flora gave me a great recipe and we've been making our own snack food ever since. It is the perfect mix of sweet and crunchy and you cannot even imagine how good the house smells when it is baking. Yum.
Finishing up pre-school. This Friday is Harry's last day and this week will be full of extra activities and special treats, after which the unscheduled days of summer stretch before me for what seems like miles. I have seriously got to get something planned for these summer days.
Sick. The last weeks of pre-school just wouldn't have seemed right without just one more illness, I suppose. We've all been stuffed up, sneezy, coughing, and wheezing, with the added fun of having pollen season at the same time. We're feeling better now, but the last two weeks have been endured with a slight edge of grumpy.
I'll let you know about the other offer when we know more...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Because 'Happily Ever After' is Really Just the Beginning of the NextStory
Once upon a time a boy and a girl fell in love. They got married, bought a house, sold it, bought another house, sold it, bought another house, and for awhile they lived happily ever after. And then the boy and the girl wanted a family so they brought home a rabbit and a dog, and then another dog and for awhile they lived happily ever after. The boy and girl went on to adopt two gloriously funny and wildly wonderful kids and they lived happily ever after.
And while the boy and the girl were living happily ever after with their two kids, two dogs, and one house rabbit, they found a house that they loved. It was a beautiful old house, full of architectural detail and the kind of quality craftmsanship that is difficult to come by in this day and age, and they wanted this house. They wanted to be the family to bring it back to life, to make it shine and glow from the inside out with love. But this house was right next to a sometimes stinky paper mill and the work it needed was big and scary. The boy and girl let this house fall away, although sometimes they would look at the pictures they had taken of it and they would dream about the "what ifs" with a mixture of relief and regret.
And then one day the boy and the girl were driving through the same fun little city and they came across an open house sign. On a whim they went in, bringing with them their wild and funny kids, and the girl fell in love all over again as she watched her children laugh and play in the big open rooms on the old hardwood floors. Over time the boy fell in love, too, with the idea of pocket doors and a grand old staircase, a fireplace with original tile and a neighborhood within walking distance to the very cute downtown and the very nice parochial school. The boy and girl looked at each other with big questions in their eyes, then they talked and talked and wondered and worried and thought and crunched numbers, until eventually they decided, in a very grown-up and well-thought-out way, that this house should not slip away, that this house could shine from the inside out with their love, that this house could be the place where their children could grow up surrounded by history and community.
The boy and the girl made a leap of faith in the form of an offer, they negotiated, they got the house, and they put their own house on the market. And then the boy and the girl accepted an offer on their house. They were nervous and excited, and they lived happily ever after.
And while the boy and the girl were living happily ever after with their two kids, two dogs, and one house rabbit, they found a house that they loved. It was a beautiful old house, full of architectural detail and the kind of quality craftmsanship that is difficult to come by in this day and age, and they wanted this house. They wanted to be the family to bring it back to life, to make it shine and glow from the inside out with love. But this house was right next to a sometimes stinky paper mill and the work it needed was big and scary. The boy and girl let this house fall away, although sometimes they would look at the pictures they had taken of it and they would dream about the "what ifs" with a mixture of relief and regret.
And then one day the boy and the girl were driving through the same fun little city and they came across an open house sign. On a whim they went in, bringing with them their wild and funny kids, and the girl fell in love all over again as she watched her children laugh and play in the big open rooms on the old hardwood floors. Over time the boy fell in love, too, with the idea of pocket doors and a grand old staircase, a fireplace with original tile and a neighborhood within walking distance to the very cute downtown and the very nice parochial school. The boy and girl looked at each other with big questions in their eyes, then they talked and talked and wondered and worried and thought and crunched numbers, until eventually they decided, in a very grown-up and well-thought-out way, that this house should not slip away, that this house could shine from the inside out with their love, that this house could be the place where their children could grow up surrounded by history and community.
The boy and the girl made a leap of faith in the form of an offer, they negotiated, they got the house, and they put their own house on the market. And then the boy and the girl accepted an offer on their house. They were nervous and excited, and they lived happily ever after.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)