Saturday, March 13, 2010
Moving in and moving out (03-13-10)
We moved today, with much help from friends and family. Thanks to all!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Moving in and working out (03-10-10)
The house is already full, but I'm moving more boxes over today.
Every time I walk by the fireplace in the living room, and see the hearth filled with a foot of the finest light powdery ashes, it makes me think of the box of ashes we found in the laundry room a few days ago. I now regret returning it; I think the yard would have been a great place to disperse them.
I decided to clean out the hearth. I swept the ashes up carefully and filled two paper grocery bags. I set aside a few small things that haven't burned all the way: part of the header to a legal document, a torn piece of photograph, a negative...
In the middle front of the fireplace, there is a spot of hardened glue. The previous owner ripped out a plaque that used to be glued there, one of her "Home Sweet Home" or "My Heart Belongs Here" like she had everywhere in the house.
Mysteries and unanswered questions abound. Why so many ashes? Why not dispose of one's private papers by shredding them the old-fashioned way? Why rip out a stupid plaque and leave the fireplace damaged? This is too weird.
Every time I walk by the fireplace in the living room, and see the hearth filled with a foot of the finest light powdery ashes, it makes me think of the box of ashes we found in the laundry room a few days ago. I now regret returning it; I think the yard would have been a great place to disperse them.
I decided to clean out the hearth. I swept the ashes up carefully and filled two paper grocery bags. I set aside a few small things that haven't burned all the way: part of the header to a legal document, a torn piece of photograph, a negative...
In the middle front of the fireplace, there is a spot of hardened glue. The previous owner ripped out a plaque that used to be glued there, one of her "Home Sweet Home" or "My Heart Belongs Here" like she had everywhere in the house.
Mysteries and unanswered questions abound. Why so many ashes? Why not dispose of one's private papers by shredding them the old-fashioned way? Why rip out a stupid plaque and leave the fireplace damaged? This is too weird.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Cleaning Out the Shed (03-09-10)
I thought that a good cleanup of the shed would make a world of difference. But a closer look reveals that all the shelving and ramshackle built-ins will have to go.
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| Junk! Out! |
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Moving in and bugging out (03-09-10)
I take a truckload of garden plants and miscellaneous things over to the house with Julia. We take the black and white cat with us. He does not look very happy; he promptly finds a hiding place behind the furnace and refuses to come out. I leave the cat to his own devices to take Julia to school.
I then rush back to the house to meet the pest control guy. This guy whose pickup truck is embellished with violent cartoons suggesting mob-like dedication to the task, is all smiles. I tell him about hearing that there were big spiders around, and I think we may have carpenter ants in the shed... No worries. He's gonna take a look and tell me all about the problems. He does in fact spend a good amount of time in the crawlspaces under the house and under the shed. When he emerges, there is a look of concern on his face. There are bad news, indeed: the insulation is installed upside down and rats are nesting in it; there may be wood boring beetle damage; there is carpenter ant damage in the shed; and, not to frighten me in any way, there is an "amazing" amount of spider eggs under the house…and they will soon hatch, by the thousands. The cost for treatment may seem high, but bugs get throughout a house by crawling up the walls and wherever there is an opening, -such as a heat register-, there is a way for them to get in. All said with a greasy smile and assurances, his company's services are guaranteed to the tee. There will be spraying, dousing, drilling holes and fumi-gating. Total eradication, no more, no less.
I am not sure I can trust this guy.
I then rush back to the house to meet the pest control guy. This guy whose pickup truck is embellished with violent cartoons suggesting mob-like dedication to the task, is all smiles. I tell him about hearing that there were big spiders around, and I think we may have carpenter ants in the shed... No worries. He's gonna take a look and tell me all about the problems. He does in fact spend a good amount of time in the crawlspaces under the house and under the shed. When he emerges, there is a look of concern on his face. There are bad news, indeed: the insulation is installed upside down and rats are nesting in it; there may be wood boring beetle damage; there is carpenter ant damage in the shed; and, not to frighten me in any way, there is an "amazing" amount of spider eggs under the house…and they will soon hatch, by the thousands. The cost for treatment may seem high, but bugs get throughout a house by crawling up the walls and wherever there is an opening, -such as a heat register-, there is a way for them to get in. All said with a greasy smile and assurances, his company's services are guaranteed to the tee. There will be spraying, dousing, drilling holes and fumi-gating. Total eradication, no more, no less.
I am not sure I can trust this guy.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Moving in and sweeping out (03-08-10)
Gary rents a bigger truck and we load it up. He decides to take the black and white cat with him for the trip. A couple of people from church come by to help along. Things get taken out of the rental house that shouldn't, such as food and pots and pans...
When Gary gets to the house, immediately runs upstairs to hide in the room that will become my closet and stays there the entire time.
I start cleaning the shed out. I see a what appears to be a large sinister spider by one of the windows and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't pounce on me unexpectedly.
Sweeping takes me a couple of hours. There is so much crap in the shed, all I can do is dump everything out the door: old rusty tools, boxes of nails, floor tiles, pieces of lumber. A dumpy looking dresser with drawers has been nailed to the walls and is attached to a hollow core door supported by wobbly feet, meant to be used as a makeshift workshop space. I start removing the drawers and notice a very sizable amount of sawdust. I suspect there may be carpenter ants in there...
There are so many boxes, they get taken in anywhere in the house, willy-nilly. I never realized we had so much stuff... I am overwhelmed by how much we need to get rid of.
When Gary gets to the house, immediately runs upstairs to hide in the room that will become my closet and stays there the entire time.
I start cleaning the shed out. I see a what appears to be a large sinister spider by one of the windows and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't pounce on me unexpectedly.
Sweeping takes me a couple of hours. There is so much crap in the shed, all I can do is dump everything out the door: old rusty tools, boxes of nails, floor tiles, pieces of lumber. A dumpy looking dresser with drawers has been nailed to the walls and is attached to a hollow core door supported by wobbly feet, meant to be used as a makeshift workshop space. I start removing the drawers and notice a very sizable amount of sawdust. I suspect there may be carpenter ants in there...
There are so many boxes, they get taken in anywhere in the house, willy-nilly. I never realized we had so much stuff... I am overwhelmed by how much we need to get rid of.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Moving in and cleaning out (03-07-10)
I take a carload of stuff over to the house by myself. I decide to get organized and to clean this grimy house from top to bottom before the bulk of our things get moved in. I decide to focus on the floors in the laundry room, but before even getting started, I get distracted by the hallucinatory checkerboard pattern in the laundry room closet and start ripping it out.
The seller's agent shows up at the door to pick up the seller's mother's ashes. She hands me the check for the seller's one day of rent and congratulates me for "making a great deal." I want to laugh at her; I only foresee problems ahead.
We make another trip with my car and Gary's truck in the evening. Gary gets there before I do ans tells me he saw the greenhouse taken away in one piece on a truck; all the garden pots are gone.
I bought a beautiful fragrant Daphne yesterday to plant at the new house; I am still on the lookout for a self-pollinating semi-dwarf cherry tree :)
We make another trip with my car and Gary's truck in the evening. Gary gets there before I do ans tells me he saw the greenhouse taken away in one piece on a truck; all the garden pots are gone.
I bought a beautiful fragrant Daphne yesterday to plant at the new house; I am still on the lookout for a self-pollinating semi-dwarf cherry tree :)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore...Or Does She?.. (03-06-10)
Now that we're in our new home, Gary and I go about checking things out in the empty house, opening doors and drawers. The main part of the house is dusty, filthy even. The seller took the carpet runners off the stairs; something was ripped from the front of the fireplace mantel, leaving it damaged.
While I rummage around the part of the house (the family room) that had previously been used as a rental space, Gary calls me, his voice urgent. Her points to a shelf in the laundry room cupboard, where, next to a box of Miracle Grow, there is a white cardboard box. He tells me to read the printed label on top, bearing the name of a local crematorium. I open it to look inside. There is an open plastic bag filled with ashes. Looking at the label again, I realize that the seller has left her mother's ashes behind. In a cheap cardboard box. On a shelf. In the laundry room. Next to a box of fertilizer.
We call our agent, who laughs at the news of our discovery. The call he makes to the seller's agent gets an unusual response: put the ashes out in the yard and the handyman will pick them up tomorrow along with the garden stuff!
I am in shock. This is creeping me out. My heart sinks. Did we make a mistake? The accumulation of every aggravation we've experienced with the purchase of this house (which I haven't written about) is too much to bear. Gary says we'll make it work and stick it out for a couple of years and see how we feel about it then.
While I rummage around the part of the house (the family room) that had previously been used as a rental space, Gary calls me, his voice urgent. Her points to a shelf in the laundry room cupboard, where, next to a box of Miracle Grow, there is a white cardboard box. He tells me to read the printed label on top, bearing the name of a local crematorium. I open it to look inside. There is an open plastic bag filled with ashes. Looking at the label again, I realize that the seller has left her mother's ashes behind. In a cheap cardboard box. On a shelf. In the laundry room. Next to a box of fertilizer.
I am in shock. This is creeping me out. My heart sinks. Did we make a mistake? The accumulation of every aggravation we've experienced with the purchase of this house (which I haven't written about) is too much to bear. Gary says we'll make it work and stick it out for a couple of years and see how we feel about it then.
She's finally leaving! (03-06-10)
George, our agent calls to say that we may get the house after 5 PM (Yessss!!!) I don't know how he managed to pull this off, but the seller is finally moving out!
In the late afternoon, we load Gary's truck and take a load of stuff to our new house. George is waiting for us at the house; he gives us a bunch of keys, way more than we'd ever expect to need for this house. before leaving, George gives us a present: small figurines of a duck a bunny (totally like George to tease us like that)...
In the late afternoon, we load Gary's truck and take a load of stuff to our new house. George is waiting for us at the house; he gives us a bunch of keys, way more than we'd ever expect to need for this house. before leaving, George gives us a present: small figurines of a duck a bunny (totally like George to tease us like that)...
Friday, March 5, 2010
Delays...again! (03-05-10)
Guess what? We ARE the owners of record, but we don't have the keys AND the owner is not moving out!
We're supposed to get the keys and possession of the house at 5 PM. Her agent doesn't answer our agent's calls or messages.
She didn't want to move out by the date of closing and she has apparently decided to take her time as she pleases.
I am furious; Gary looks beat and sick.
We're supposed to get the keys and possession of the house at 5 PM. Her agent doesn't answer our agent's calls or messages.
She didn't want to move out by the date of closing and she has apparently decided to take her time as she pleases.
I am furious; Gary looks beat and sick.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
We're Homeowners! (03-04-10)
I was teaching my adult art class in Hillsboro today when I got a phone call from the escrow agent letting me know that the transaction had been recorded. I felt mixed feelings at the news. The house is now ours. Yipeee. I am a bit apprehensive; the last few months have been extremely frustrating.
Gary is getting sick.
Gary is getting sick.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Almost there! (03-03-10)
WE SIGNED DOCUMENTS!!!
But we're not done yet. Now, we're negotiating the date when the seller will finally move out... And, would you believe? We managed to get her to agree to not rent back beyond March 5th!
But we're not done yet. Now, we're negotiating the date when the seller will finally move out... And, would you believe? We managed to get her to agree to not rent back beyond March 5th!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Buyer's Lament (02-23-10)
A poem by Pascale Steig
House sold; moving on
Looking for a house
Alas: slim pickings.
Frantically looking
Days on end, reading the ads
Hoping for wonders
It's all said in code
Where "Lovingly Restored"
Means total mess-up
Mongrelization
Of styles, periods, and uses.
Sage green, brown and grey
The tiles, all the same
Gone the trims, the cabinets
Gone, the wood built-ins
The windows, vinyl
Gone, the charm, the history
The doors, hollow core.
Done in the name of
Updates, home improvement:
Obliteration
My heart beats faster
For two words: "Historic Charm"…
Perhaps this is it..?
Alas, alas, no.
With walls, leaning to the side,
The house is crooked.
It smells; well, it stinks
Unkempt, drafty, moldering
Unfit for humans.
The agent, he smiles;
If not this house, another...
...Or another yet.
House sold; moving on
Looking for a house
Alas: slim pickings.
Frantically looking
Days on end, reading the ads
Hoping for wonders
It's all said in code
Where "Lovingly Restored"
Means total mess-up
Mongrelization
Of styles, periods, and uses.
Sage green, brown and grey
The tiles, all the same
Gone the trims, the cabinets
Gone, the wood built-ins
The windows, vinyl
Gone, the charm, the history
The doors, hollow core.
Done in the name of
Updates, home improvement:
Obliteration
My heart beats faster
For two words: "Historic Charm"…
Perhaps this is it..?
Alas, alas, no.
With walls, leaning to the side,
The house is crooked.
It smells; well, it stinks
Unkempt, drafty, moldering
Unfit for humans.
The agent, he smiles;
If not this house, another...
...Or another yet.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Frustrations (02-20-10)
I am getting fed up with a certain real estate transaction... Our seller seems to be unpredictable and difficult to deal with.
The home buying process ought to be simple: one makes an offer and the offer is either 1.) accepted; 2.) countered; or 3.) rejected. There is no sorcery to this; unless it is our situation, of course :(
The home buying process ought to be simple: one makes an offer and the offer is either 1.) accepted; 2.) countered; or 3.) rejected. There is no sorcery to this; unless it is our situation, of course :(
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Garden Gnome Wanted (02-18-10)
I want a swell garden gnome, like the one I saw at the Garden and Patio Show.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Yard and Garden Show (02-13-10)
I raced through the Garden and Patio Show today (there was too much to see and not enough time to do it). A lot of the displays were aimed at the new suburban markets: dull concrete patios with fire pits, stock shrubbery, run-of-the-mill fence designs...
I am tired of living among boxes in a rental house. I want a house of my own. I want a garden of my own.
I am tired of living among boxes in a rental house. I want a house of my own. I want a garden of my own.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
I wanna move! (01-30-10)
I am having a bad case of (rental) cabin fever. At least, the rental house has great water pressure and the water is really hot.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Some good news...and some not so good (01-21-10)
The sewer scope was done today. Good news: The sewer line is okay.
We're still at the stage of negotiating repairs. Negotiations still underway...(since December). ...Still negotiating... (this has got to be the longest process ever to buy a house!)
We're still at the stage of negotiating repairs. Negotiations still underway...(since December). ...Still negotiating... (this has got to be the longest process ever to buy a house!)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
We found a house...I think (01-19-10)
Monday, January 18, 2010
House Inspection (01-18-10)
The house sale is "pending" (we are the buyers).
The home inspection was today (and it was scaryyyyy)...
The home inspection was today (and it was scaryyyyy)...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
All these efforts for nothing...so far (01-14-10)
So far, we made FIVE offers and several counter-offers on various houses...with no satisfactory results.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Back at it with another offer... (01-03-10)
Despite my feeling ill with a raging toothache, we made (another) offer on the "Ducks and Bunnies" house...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Still looking... (12-28-09)
We looked at houses today... Time to consider pros and cons again. It's totally a drag, honest.
I can't think of how many houses I've looked at that, and the minute I walked in, I wanted to walk out right away.
We've seen it all: stupid floor plan, close-in but minuscule house, dumpy, massive fixer, steep driveway, no yard, no convenient bathroom, really nice but unaffordable, an abundance of Home Depot kitchens...or a really cute house, but far away from the city. There is no perfect house out there.
I can't think of how many houses I've looked at that, and the minute I walked in, I wanted to walk out right away.
We've seen it all: stupid floor plan, close-in but minuscule house, dumpy, massive fixer, steep driveway, no yard, no convenient bathroom, really nice but unaffordable, an abundance of Home Depot kitchens...or a really cute house, but far away from the city. There is no perfect house out there.
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