Moving!

What a difference a week makes. 

Last week, I was driving my friend’s Lotus, pulling over periodically to take calls from my realtor as we settled on a price for a small townhouse I wanted to buy.  Today, I just pulled out of the deal (due to many factors, among them too-complicated financing until I can sell the house that Man and I foolishly bought this summer before everything imploded), and in a couple of hours, I am meeting my new landlord!  It all happened fast, but the bottom line is I am moving in exactly a month, and January 29th will now be known as Freedom Day.

The place I’m moving to is pretty cute, it’s 2 bedrooms, so I can store all the stuff I want from the house and will use when I buy something later next year, and it’s pretty well equipped for me to get back on my feet.  It’s in a whole new area to me, so exploring the neighborhood is going to be Fun, and the best part is that Baxter is welcome to be there with me.  I am picturing lots of well-deserved puppy joy as we get settled together.  Bliss.

Getting through January will be easy, I think.  I’ve built in tons of time where I don’t have to see Man AT ALL, I’m finally at a point where I hardly ever feel like crying about all this (I know I’m doing the work I need to here, and it’s taking me to good places – it’s refreshing to be finally thinking about MYSELF and not giving a lick about, well, anyone that doesn’t matter to me and isn’t making my life BETTER) and at the end of it, I will be gleefully On My Own again.  Also, there is lots to go through at the house, and I have a geee-iant list of things I have to do, arrange for, and find before I can move.  January is gonna go fast!

House Tales

It all started in May.  I got home from visiting some friends for the weekend, and Man handed me one of those MLS flyers for a house up the street.  He thought we should go look at it.  I scoffed, laughing off the big price tag, but came around soon enough with wanting a little peek inside.  We called our realtor and arranged it.

We’d been toying with selling and moving for a long time, never intending to stay the seven years we had in the townhome – our neighbor was driving us Mad, the train nose was still waking us up and interupting conversations, and it wasn’t fun anymore.

Our first visit to the house was fairly brief, but given the opportunity, and a more impulsive husband, I likely would have signed an offer on the spot: big, open layout, all on two floors, big kitchen, yard, hot tub….etc etc.  We loved it.  We slept on it.  We visited other houses on the market to see what the comparables were.  We slept on it some more.  We visited it again.  We thought some more.  We made an offer on Thursday, June 17, and it was accepted.  I was at a yoga class while it all went down, and came out to find my iPhone exploding with texts from Man: call me call me call me call me!

June 22nd – a second offer was accepted on the same house, so we had 48 hours to remove our subjects, make the bank comfortable with us owing for two houses and a LOT of money, inspections, appraisals etc.  We did it.  With an hour and half to spare, we did it.  The house was ours.

Meanwhile, the townhouse was listed, was being shown, but the bottom was falling out of the market.  Crap.  We staged, and cleaned, and vacated, over and over and over again.  Exhausting.  Poor Baxter’s routine was upside down and he was feeling persecuted for shedding.

August 31 – we took possession and I clung to it.  I moved as much as I could to make it a liveable home as quickly as I could.  We sat on furniture we had in storage, we lived without all the stuff still staged in the other house. We waited.

After an offer that went down the toilet, we received another, and it was good.  SOLD!  Then not so much!  We moved all of our furniture anyway, then changed out the carpets to make it look buyable (word to the wise: dogs are not gentle on houses!)

Finally, we have furniture, we have each other, and we have a Home.  We love it here.  Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a home to be happy in.  There is still loads to do, and many, many before-and-afters to follow, but here are a few snaps (taken with iPhone, as camera cord is still AWOL):

Entrance etc - Master Bedroom is the door at the top right

Great Room, with Baxter

Kitchen, obviously.

Now, we get settled, and I start thinking about the next goals, plans and strategies.  It’s time to return to my school work, coaching practice (so sorry I neglected you!) and the enjoying of life.  It’s grand.