Happy or Sad?

I recently got the question if I'm getting happy or sad that it is almost over.

The answer is happy. I can see how beautiful, comfortable and welcoming our new home is going to be and I'm getting excited to live there. It will feel VERY rewarding living there after having had the vision, work and investment (time and money) put into it. The saying blood, sweat and tears is definitely applicable.

The answer is sad. Because there will be a void when it's all over. From the time spent making calls, checking in on progress, working at the property, paying bills, updating budgets, negotiating the best deals and yes, of course, blogging about it all. I will also be sad to leave our current house. Where we made a house our home. Where we started our family. Where we were close to parks, bike trails, schools and friendly neighbors. Living at The Triple V will probably seem a bit lonely, and maybe even inconvenient, until we settle into our new norm.

My green thumbs

If you know me, you know that a love of flower gardening is in my blood. My mom and Aunt D are wonderful gardeners, who picked it up from their mom. Even my brother is a pretty great flower gardener! I've spent the last 10 years gathering the best cuts from their, as well as my back neighbor's (can you say Garden Walk?) yards. Not to mention the $$$ I've invested in picking up various plants from garden shops and nurseries.

There are lots of great things about gardening; seeing what works-in what soil & what light, blending the colors, the exercise, being outdoors and lovingly watch your garden grow each year.

So, all of that being said you knew I wasn't just going to leave my garden and start over. BUT (and it's a big one) the new house is NOT ready for landscaping. AND (and it's a big one) our current house needs to be ready soon to go on the market. So, what to do?  Find a place to build a flower patch and transplant all my favorites. And pray to the gardening gods that they make it.

Step 1: Weed wack, then roto-till

Better than an ox & plow, but still a real PIA

Step 2: Dig up the best cuts and load up the truck

Load 1 of 2

 Step 3 & 4: Plant & plant some more!

Half way there

The tools

Step 5: Show off (my green thumbs)

Diagram so I don't forget what was put where

A very special thank you to my hubby and my mommy for all their help!

How do people live like this?

So, I've been steadily working my way through the list of things that need to be done to get our current house ready to go on the market. As I de-clutter and find new places for all that stuff that's on the countertops, dressertops, nightstands, tables, I wonder to myself how people live like this. You know, with everything tucked away. And then I find myself wondering how we ever didn't live this way....I LOVE IT! I don't think keeping it this way will be the challenge. I think the challenge will be in the cleanliness. Because now that you can see the countertops and dressertops, you can see the grime and dust more easily.

Also, I've come up with a quick "to-do" list for showings...
Take laundry hampers with in car
Take dog bed, gate and water/food dish with in car (and dog, LOL)
Put shampoo bottles, razors, etc out of shower, put under sink
Take dish strainer and coffee maker
Wipe down counter tops
Quick Vacuum
Take out garbage
Turn on all lights and ceiling fans

So, to wrap up this post I will just put this one last thing out there....please contact us if you know anyone who's looking for a:
Lovingly cared for split level located on a quiet cul-de-sac within perfect proximity to schools, parks, river, and bike trail! 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, fenced yard with large shed
(obviously I'll leave the real listing to the professional).

Say goodbye to "The Beast"

If I never see you again, it will be too soon

"Neighbors"

This past week we got our garage doors for the Outbuilding.
Once again I have to say, they look so pretty.

We also got some insulation done in the house. This was much to my surprise. I didn't think any of that could start until the rough framing inspection had passed, but my contractor assured me that putting the foam on the truss heels would not be in violation.

Lastly, and most importantly, our electrician has started. We've asked him to do the outbuilding first, since that should take a mere couple of days. Once he is done we can schedule the inspections and assuming all goes well (and I can sweet talk the inspector) I'm hoping to go straight to Certificate of Occupancy. The siding might be in progress and the final site grading won't be done, but really the OB should be ready to start receiving some storage, so we can get our current home cleared out a bit and much more presentable for potential buyers.

Here's what you've been waiting for, the title of this post. What does it mean? Well, it means that the deer aren't our only "neighbors".....

The real visionary of our team is....

Remember not so long ago when I said Alex wanted black knobs, which I vetoed b/c the hinges were silver. Well, here's the order I placed tonight...b/c hinges can be changed out and hubby wanted black knobs.

Product Description		Unit Price	Qty	Total
	Schlage F59-PLY Plymouth Single Cylinder Interior Pack from the F-Series Finish: Matte Black	$40.09	1	$40.09
	Leaves the Warehouse in 1 to 2 business days
	Schlage F58-CEN Century Single Cylinder Exterior Entrance Handleset from the F-Series Finish: Matte Black Options: Free Keying Option: Keyed Alike	$86.50	1	$86.50
	Leaves the Warehouse in 1 to 2 business days
	Schlage F51-PLY Plymouth Keyed Entry F51A Panic Proof Door Knob Finish: Matte Black Options: Free Keying Option: Keyed Alike	$31.27	5	$156.35
	Leaves the Warehouse in 1 to 2 business days
	Schlage B60 Single Cylinder Grade 1 Deadbolt from the B-Series Finish: Matte Black Options: Free Keying Option: Keyed Alike	$34.98	4

Wells are deep and have water-Part 1

I was so happy on Friday, Sept 4th when our well contractor showed up. They went about 50' down that day. The following Monday they got another 75' or so. Tuesday was a bit of a wash out. Wednesday they were down to 223' in clay, so they placed the casing. Thursday was another 40'. Monday (9/14) they were back and at lunchtime I was informed they were approaching 280' and were not finding any water in the limestone.  Now they were headed towards the shale.

There were going to be a few options:

1) Keep going

2) Acidize the well and hope that opens up some veins for water to come thru

3) Start over 

When Alex stopped by after work, I was happy to hear they found water at 304'. It was coming in at 8-10 GPM and so we all agreed that the acid was not going to be needed.

The next crew is scheduled to come out on 9/28 to set the pump, trench the line and connect to the tank they set in our basement.