Moving Weekend

Past moving experiences: Home to Auburn (everything fit in a car) ---> Auburn to TX (everything fit in a car & minivan) ---> TX to MD (moving company did everything) ---> Five year love nest to long term home (HOLY COW CALLED IN FOR BACKUP THERE'S NO WAY WE COULD HAVE DONE THIS ON OUR OWN!)

By Friday afternoon before the big move I was spent, overwhelmed and unsure of how things over the next 48 hours were going to go down.  Matt had been working hard all week (rightly so) which left me solely in charge of scenes like this:

But friends came to the rescue (as hoped) Saturday morning with fresh outlook and energy!  When help arrived around noon Matt and I already had a full day.  We picked up our U-Haul (With a little disappointment... our reserved big truck was given to someone else on accident and all they had was a cargo van.  We knew it would be doable, only take a LOT longer, which it did.) Then drove to our storage unit (aka a family member's basement) to pick up a huge furniture load and take it to the house.  Upon arrival we found the... get ready... brand new AC not working.  At all.  On July 30th.  No air conditioner.  But thankfully those two events were the most of our worries that day.  Everything else went smooth as butter mostly due to our patient friends, some of which stayed with us until the very end... when the U-Haul was returned around midnight.  Though they deserved more, all we had the energy to do was feed them pizza and Oreos in our nearly empty apartment.

Sunday morning...  Pictures speak louder than words...

Somehow we made it to church that morning (I think we were desperate for air conditioner) then packed the last of our things, spackled and cleaned until sundown. 

Our day (and apartment phase of life) was complete when the love of my life suggested we eat leftover pizza upstairs for one last dinner on the rooftop...

Air Conditoner

The people we bought our house from were so very kind.  Their kindne$$ came out in $uper beneficial way$ for u$.  Knowing the 23 year old air conditioner unit was nearing the end of it's life they left us with a good chunk of cash to aid in it's replacement.  I'm so glad they did!  Because the unit did not survive our latest heat wave.  D-e-d.  Dead.   (The thermostat got up to 90 inside.)  Thankfully we were already lined up with a company to do the work.  They were simply waiting for our phone call.  This past Tuesday a four man team made magic happen when a new handler was installed in the attic, a 15 seer thing installed outside, and in place of the old dial thermostat in the hallway, a beautiful new glowing digital one.  And, while they were at it we had them and install central heat as well.  You know, just to make sure we spend all our savings before we even move into the house.  Hah.  No, it really wasn't bad, thanks to those kind kind kind sellers.  And rebates!

So now we have brand new central AC and brand new central heat as well as original baseboard heat for back up.  Bring on the seasons. 

Let me procrastinate from packing a wee bit longer and share a few photos with you:

First, the "15 Seer thing" outside by the driveway.  Two days prior the weeds there were knee high and thick as wool.  Matt and I worked some weed pulling magic.  The spiders kept us company.  UGH!!! I get the heebie jeebies just typing that!!!  But it's true.  Big enough for appetizers.  AGH!!! I'm itching all over!!!

The spot in the foyer ceiling where the air handler sits in the attic.  Take note, because this and one even smaller hole is what the workmen had to work with.  And, do you see any lavender anywhere?  Neither do I, thank goodness!

Back in the hallway there is an itty bitty doorway leading into what we'll use as a broom closet, but it's primary purpose is attic access.  When I showed the workmen what kind of space they would be working in, I could tell the would remember their day at this house.  Only one had to, you know, squeeze in a little.

There are two giant steps (shelves) up to our non storage friendly attic.  Though there is a pink plastic swimming pool up there.  And pool nets.  Strange. 

The view below is in the attic from the broom closet access hole (above) down through the foyer access hole where the handler now sits.  And the right side photo captured an element of the day.  Dirt, debris and one gray wall color that still has multiple personalities.  But we really like them this time :)

So that was my Monday and Tuesday.  Hanging out with men from Baltimore who have tattooed arms, try to refrain from cursing when in ear-shot of a customer, make jokes that remind me of 10 year old boys and put their shirts back on when indoors.  They were a riot. 

Wednesday I found a great gaggle of moving boxes for free off Craigslist.  Woo hoo!  Yesterday I bid farewell to our blue bathroom.  Two years of color was worth the effort of two coats of primer.

And today I'm packing up.  Closing shop.  Putting our stuff in cardboard boxes.  And trash bags.  And luggage.  And the guest room bathtub. 

Yard Crashers

Potential, not perfection.  That's what we looked for on our house hunt.  Can you envision it with me now, all that potential hiding in there?

Hooray for potential!!!

Taming the jungle.  Matt's parents were crazy for volunteering, but they knew we couldn't have done it without help. 

Welcome to the jungle!

And voila!

Elves came to assemble a new lawnmower and clean out the garage. 

Trash from garage

Those elves hard at work again. 

A quick visit with part of the Robinson family tree.

A gazillion bottles of Gatorade later... it was a phenomenal and fulfilling transformation.  Hiding in the rough were crepe myrtles, dogwoods, azaleas, day lilies, peonies, iris bulbs, a rose bush and a hydrangea bush.  And once the mowing and edging was done we unearthed a brick border along the front walk.  It was a miserable week in the middle of July, but payoff was worth it!

Heat Wave

HELL-O today was a hot one!  No, not just hot.  It was scorching, broiling, blistering, sweltering, scalding, humid, muggy, hotter than blue blazes hot.  Heat index around here was 118 degrees.  Holy cow.  Or as Mom put it, holy cooked cow!!!

Paint Palette Preview

Paint is temporary.  Compatibility with one's spouse is forever.  Many thanks to mine for helping me through our lavender foyer fiasco.  Funny how little things can be so emotionally overwhelming.  During the heartbreak of seeing grape cotton candy on our walls I quickly forgot it often takes many tries before finding the right paint.  Behr's Manhattan Mist was our first color of choice, but after allowing two coats to dry for two days it was obvious we needed a second color. 

Ed at Home Depot was just what the physician ordered.  (That was for you, Dr. R)  Ed patiently answered questions and consoled our disappointment of the bluish gray having turned purplish.  I knew he knew our frazzled state of mind was genuine when he offered to mix a new color for $5 instead of $30.  An undercover "ooops" gallon.  Thank you Ed!  We walked out with Behr's Gentle Rain and crossed fingers.  After a couple brush strokes we knew we were on the right track.  The difference was so darned subtle.  Can you even tell?

The new gray is painted around the thermostat and the old "lavender" is everywhere else on the wall.  So darned subtle.  This picture does not do it justice.  I didn't even try to take a better picture.  Didn't want to remember it.  But it's soooo much better now!  I wouldn't have believed the difference if I hadn't witnessed it firsthand.  While we're here in the hallway, take a peek at its history.  Strawberry sherbet, orange sherbet, primer and builders beige.  Ohhh if these walls could talk... 

Now to the point of the post.  Without further ado, here's the paint palette we stumbled into.  Light gray, white, navy and dark gray.  Better known as Gentle Rain, Tailors Chalk, Velvet Evening and Gray Area.  With no lighting and no furniture the results have been hard to gauge, but we think we love it! 

 

For now, we're done painting.  Hallelujah!  Still working on the yard.  More details to trickle in as the days, weeks and months continue.  Thanks for checking in!

My Bed

It's after midnight and I can't sleep.  There's drama in the paint department.  Did you know once on a wall beautiful grey can look like lavender?!?  Freaking lavender.  No bueno.  Also interfering with my Zzz's is anxiety over this week's major task: attacking weeds and what-not in the yard.  That begins tomorrow at 7:00am.  And while pondering through thoughts on my pillow I realized I ate out for every meal this weekend.  For six meals.  Six different restaurants.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I'm half amused and half disgusted.

I should close the laptop, turn my thoughts off and crawl back into bed...

My Bed

My bed, My bed, I love my bed.

It rests my feet, it rests my head.

It brings me sleep from dreadful days.

It clears my brain from misty haze.

It rests my neck, it rests my back.

I love to spend time in my sack.

It rests my eyes, it rests my heart.

It brings each morn a brand new start.

It rests my hands, it rests my toes.

Whatever else it rests, who knows.

So even though it’s seldom said.

My! Oh how I love my bed.

~ R. Riecke Gernon ~

No Pictures

I was going to divulge more info and pictures of the house tonight, but I can't get any to upload.  Boo.

We're still living in the apartment right now.  Have a few weeks left on our lease we're taking advantage of.  Timing is perfect in our eyes.  No rush to pack here and ample time to paint there.  So we're slowly getting familiar with the house.  Learning some quirks (and perks) before the flood of reality completely sets in.  Hopefully that metaphor comes no closer to reality than the small leak in our master bedroom window I discovered during Friday's rainstorm.  Thank goodness for our home warranty!  Regardless of what else the house has in store for us, I have no doubt we'll love it.  Even the 1958 pink bathtub.  Maybe.

In the meantime we're savoring the amenities of our apartment.  Even called maintenance to unclog our bathtub drain last week... because I could.  Didn't even try to do it myself.

Aaaand we have roommates right now.  Surprise!  Aaron, Angela, Pierce and Harrison have been living with us for a few weeks while they are in a transitional phase themselves.  In preparation for their big out of state move, their house has been rented.  But they need to stick around for work, so they're bunking with us. It has been a surprisingly easy and fun time!  Especially since they've been cooking supper for us. 

Hope you had a pleasant weekend in TX, AL, SC, IL, MO, GA, MD, NM, TN, DC and anywhere else you may be reading from :)

Happy Independence Day!

Can't say our holiday was patriotic or celebratory, but it was exciting in a whole new way.  We started a massive sanding, taping, priming and painting project in the house!  We also had our first meal there.  Pizza & Coca-Cola.  Does that make us patriotic?  Maybe in a consumer kind of way?  And we took advantage of Home Depot's paint rebate offer.  Surely that qualifies us as patriotic consumers.  Unless the paint was made in China.  Or even worse, England.   

Back at the apartment up on the roof we watched fireworks across the horizon.  We will miss that view terribly, but will gladly, happily and willingly replace it with the one above.  A backyard all our own, even if it is full of bugs and wild weeds.  Our little plot of America the Beautiful.  God bless it.