I'm home

It's Thursday night. That means it's Pour House night. I was worried that House would be too far to comfortably walk from. We just got back after drinks and a good meal. (Not to mention after passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, braving the storm.) Now we're home. And it's not just that we're within the four walls and under roof. We're home.

I like this feeling :)

Good morning, house

Yesterday I slept all the way until six in the morning. This was a big deal for me, because all this last week I've been up at two, or three, or four instead. I took a load over before eight, and we got doughnuts for us, John, and Suzanne. I took another load after that, and waited for the internet guy to show up. After my car was empty, I didn't really have a lot to do, so I decided to rake the yard. I will probably never again be so happy to rake my yard, but I was happy, because it was my yard. While raking, a car pulled up to the house and I heard, "I told you this was my route!" It was Beth, a friend from work. I liked standing in my yard, with a rake in hand, talking to a coworker. It made me feel very adult, which hopefully I will someday come to terms with.

Alex, John, and Suzanne showed up before internet guy did, so I helped them unload some things from their car, and then they went to work on making a cover for the cistern in the basement. The finished cistern cover is a thing of beauty, but I heard it was a real pain at times to install, so I was happy to be on team Move Heavy Stuff rather than team Drill Into Concrete.

Alex got the U-Haul to the apartment by about 12:30, and that's where we met Kristi, Bill, Doug, and Liz. Without them, I literally don't think we would have been able to move out of there. After two loads with the U-Haul, all of our worldly possessions were transferred to the house. That includes a couch, a recliner, a hall tree, a dining room table and four chairs, three bookshelves, the mattress, the box-spring, the bed frame, two dresses (drawers out,) a vanity, a rocking chair, a TV and TV stand, a computer desk, a trunk, and several end tables.

Po was the last thing to move. I went and got her while Alex dropped of the U-Haul. We'd locked her in the bathroom with her food, water, and litter during the move. It was hard to hear her meowing and scratching at the door as we walked by, but better than letting her escape. Moving her was probably the hardest thing for me, and that includes when the recliner got stuck in the front door. I got her in her carrier easily enough, but as soon as I closed the wire door she started crying. I don't know how Alex moved her from Ohio to Wisconsin, because I was a wreck just moving her a few blocks away. I put her food and her litter box in place, and then I let her out. She's been varying degrees of brave so far, and I don't know if she's actually eaten any food yet, but she's found pretty much the whole house and is exploring right now.

Alex is in the recliner, I've got my feet up on the couch, and the sun has just risen enough now that the light is coming in the dining room windows. I am very sore, very tired, and very very happy.

Accidental Retirement Party Crashers

Every Thursday night, Alex and I go to the Pour House. It's hardly a block from our apartment, and the owner and bartender both know us by name. The food is delicious, and the drinks are tasty, and the atmosphere is pleasant. We went tonight after we'd moved two car-loads of stuff, and were stunned by the number of people there. It at first appeared to be standing room only, but we found the one empty table and sat. Apparently there was a retirement party for a physician's assistant who has worked at the Dean Clinic for at least 22 years, and has only taken two half sick days off in her whole career there. She filled the clinic with laughter, and patients as well as coworkers loved her. We didn't know her, neither of us had ever met her, but there were heart-felt speeches from relatives and coworkers, and finally the PA herself, and that was enough to give me a very clear picture of what a pleasure this woman took in her job. There was a lot of love for this one person tonight, and I was genuinely glad to have been there. I only hope to have as many good stories told about me one day, and with even just half as many people who showed up tonight.

So far we've moved: Almost all of the kitchen, all of the clothes on hangers, the little bookshelves, all of the books, all of my crocheting gear, Alex's laptop, the camping equipment, some - but not all - decorations and posters, floor lamps, a side table, our window unit ACs, most of our fans, blankets, towels, the blow-up bed, all DVDs and their shelf, my planters, the video game consoles... And... I'm not sure. It has been eight solid car loads, and you can tell a big difference in the apartment, but it just doesn't sound like all that much. Oh well, I'm very tired, very full, and very pleased with how the day has turned out.

House!

Today we closed.

I feel this bears repeating:

On July 29th, my big sister said: "My advice: Find the perfect house for you. Don't settle on something that doesn't feel right. And when you DO find the right house, don't get your hopes up because BUYING A HOUSE IS THE WORST. It'll take for ******* ever and you'll be really frustrated and pissed off." 

Our house is beautiful and... so dirty. I spent two hours scrubbing the kitchen cabinet and walls. Thankfully, it made a noticeable difference. Alex installed a shower head, and put up shower curtains. Almost the entire kitchen has been moved over, though it's still just in boxes. Honestly, we both did a little less and a little more than I thought we would. The number of boxes we moved highly exceeded my expectations, but then again, so did the time required for scrubbing. This house is going to provide us with some good stories, like the spot you shouldn't step on in the kitchen, and when the pipe Alex installed exploded. (It didn't technically explode... it just... well... separated forcefully...)

Meanwhile, it's long past dinner time, and neither of us slept well last night, so it's time to eat, sleep, and go back to it tomorrow.

Walk Through

Tonight was our walk through of the house. When we got in, we saw a note from the sellers. They are leaving us the dining room table and four chairs, a rug, a nice side table, the lawn mower, a weed whacker, several ladders, and various gardening implements. There's a great old metal desk in the basement, and the blue phone is still there too. They replaced the sink in the basement with a brand new one, which was so sweet considering we did not ask them to replace it. The fridge was plugged in and seemed to be running well, and all of the burners lit successfully on the stove. The walls in the kitchen and in the bathroom clearly need a good scrubbing, but the wallpaper looks like it's in pretty good shape. The carpet in the kitchen was tacked down too well for us to tell what was under it, but it honestly looks like it's in good condition too. The bedrooms are at least as big as we remember them, and the living room and dining room surprised me with how huge they are. There's so much beautiful space to work with, and it becomes ours tomorrow. I'm not sure I really believe it yet. October 22nd seemed so long ago back in September, and now it's tomorrow.

Yay house :)

Little things

The apartment we currently live in is above a small, cute shop. The thermostat for the apartment that we live is in the small, cute shop. That means that the landlord gets to, essentially, decide when our heat turns on and off. While they have been very good about keeping us warm enough, I've been extremely thankful for my two big, fluffy, red blankets. The other morning, long before I'd had my first cup of coffee, I sleepily wondered when the heat would turn on at the house. Then I realized that the heat would turn on when I (we) told it to. I (we) would be in charge of the heat. I will curl up next the radiators, probably still wrapped in a giant red blanket, and laugh manically. Oh the power.

I submitted a change of address to the post office, and got utilities transferred over. The wonderfully nice lady at the utilities office called buying a first house a very good kind of stress, and wished us luck on the closing.

My boss texted me to tell me that I have a beautiful burning bush outside my house. She called it my house. I did a very small happy dance. It was very small because the apartment is filled with boxes, and if my happy dances get too large I am in danger of knocking something over.

We close in a week. In one week and one hour. We will have a house.

I looked up the house online. It is now listed as, "Not for sale." That's right. 'Cause it's my house.

I don't blog.

I don't blog.

I had a blog. I think it started back in middle school. I had it all the way up until Alex and I started dating. After rereading some of my older posts, I realized that was a part of me that really didn't need to be kept alive online. Since then, I've never had the urge to blog - other than the occasional guest posts for Cogito Ergo.

So what am I doing here? Well, Alex and I are buying a house. I was never the little girl who dreamed of her wedding. I was the little girl who dreamed of her house. Well here we are, closing on a house exactly four months after our wedding (awwwww.) I thought it would be fun to start this so we (see: I) can document our progress. It is a very old house, built in 1900, and the most recent interior updates may well have been in the 60s. (Just a guess, by looking at the wallpaper.) Being so far away from Ohio now, I also thought this might be fun for friends and family to see. So here we go.

Our little apartment was made much more little yesterday when we packed the majority of the dining room, all of our books, and the vast majority of the kitchen. There were a great many little conversations over found items and, where do you think this will go in the house? I've only been in the house once, and Alex only has me beat because he's been in twice. The next time we get to go will be the 21st, once the electric has been updated and the radon mitigated. I took all the unframed posters off the walls and put them in tubes, and Alex boxed up all of our DVDs and video games. We were both amazed at the amount of difference it has made just having those things boxed up.

We'll start moving things on Tuesday the 22nd, the day we close. Just little things, stuff we can fit into our cars. The real move won't happen until Saturday the 26th, when we're getting a U-Haul. Last time we moved, we vowed to never move again without the help of paid professionals... Well... We'll see how we do on our own.

Figuring out what needs to be fixed first has been a personal favorite topic of conversation. The only bathroom currently doesn't have a shower, so that's a priority. The cistern in the basement doesn't have a proper cover, so that's another. The kitchen has - literally - no counter space, so that will be interesting for a little while. We'd like to add a second bathroom and fence off the yard, but those are projects for down the line.

I'm really just stupidly excited. Our little apartment has taken very good care of us, but we've yet to feel comfortable with inviting more than two people over at a time. I can't wait to actually have room where people can come, relax, and visit. It will be a while before the house looks nice enough for guests, but the possibility of having people over is a little thrilling. Having a destination for Rakases, Hildrethes, Rosenbergs, Kerrs and Pattersons sounds really, really nice.

So. I guess I blog now.