Our New House!

We closed on the house on Wednesday 10/25, started planning our move on Friday and started packing that night with the help of Barbara.  We rented a moving truck for Saturday and Sunday, figuring that we could move everything ourselves.  Or original plan was to hire movers for the second day to handle all the big stuff, but between Kevin, Ann and I, we were able to get everything but the couches, which are going to be left behind anyway.  Friday night, the kids and I wanted to stay the night at the new house.  Ann slept at the apartment.

We spent all day Saturday moving but Kevin had to work in the morning so he and I handled the big stuff when he got home at the end of the day.  We loaded up the truck and hauled over the first load.  We unloaded some things into the house, but most of it was just put into the garage.  We only unloaded part of the truck since it was getting late, saving the rest for Sunday morning.  We had moved the beds so, from that night on, we only slept at the new house.

Sunday, Kevin had to work and Sandy wanted Megan to help at her salon for the day.  So, it was just Ann, Barbara and me to move the rest in.  Barbara helped unload the rest of the truck then Ann and I went to our friend Mary’s house to pick up some things that we’ve had stored in her basement for a long time:  Ann’s old 50′s dining table set and our new dining table set that Mary and Tony bought for us.  This trip, everything was unloaded into the garage because it was getting late and we had to return the moving van.

 I don’t think I ever related the story of the dining set, so I’ll do it here.  About a month before we closed on the house, we were trying to find a nice dining set for our new, huge dining room.  For the last three apartments we lived in, I have always used the dining room or nook as my computer area.  So, Ann was excited to get a dining room again.  And, our new kitchen has a small “Breakfast Nook” area for her old dining set.  So, we planned on a classic Asian theme for the dining area and a modern Asian theme for the living room.  So, we set out to search for the perfect dining set.  Ann found these great chairs at an Antique Shop in Denver.  It has four chairs plus two more that were extra wide and had armrests.  We plan to repaint, recover and replace the cushions, too.  The material on the seats are nice with an asian block pattern on them but need to be cleaned up or replaced with something more traditional.  All six chairs went for about $180.  Then we spent the next couple of weeks looking for the right table to match it.  Meanwhile, we stored the chairs at Mary’s house.  Well, Mary is the Queen of CraigsList.  If you’re not familiar with that, it’s an online classified ads website where people can post ads and sell stuff for free in your local community.  Think eBay, but free and no bidding.  So, Mary found the exact same set on Craig’s List with 6 regular chairs (no end chairs) and the matching table with two leaves all for $190.  On top of that, Mary and Tony bought it for us as a house-warming gift.  Well, it turned out that it wasn’t an exact match.  The chairs were of very similar design, close enough for them all to sit together, but still different.  We intend to repaint and recover them all to match.  But, still, they are all very nice and look great in the room.  With both leaves the table comfortably seats 10 people and, with a little snuggling up, we can fit in all 12 chairs.  For now, we keep it with one leaf and six chairs for daily use.

Ok, flash forward again to the Tuesday after the move.  I paid one of the local marine fish stores to help me move my tank.  He showed up with a van, hoses, towels and lots of buckets.  It took two hours to move everything and get it reset in the new house.  I’m happy to report that the only loss was one hermit crab who was a bully and killed all my other hermits and snails anyway.  Everyone else is happy and healthy.  Last time I moved, into the old apartment, I lost several prized fish and invertebrates.  So, I was very happy this time.

Ann has been working on three different productions and I’ve been working my new Deep Rock Water job.  So, we didn’t have much time to do a lot to the house during the week.  But, the next Thursday, we got ourselves a Best Buy credit card and bought a front-loading washer and dryer.  We stacked them because we want to build in a nice multi-shelf unit and workspace on the left of them.  Also, the dryer vent would have required the dryer to stick out into the small room another 6″ to fit right.  The laundry room is a mud room coming off the garage.  It’s only the width of a hallway, plus an alcove for the washer and dryer and a very small coat closet.  Also, because our new living room is so large, as is the “Media Alcove” above the fireplace, our little 19″ TV looked tiny and was hard to see from a regular seating position.  So, we also picked up a Sony 32″ LCD TV on the Best Buy card.  No interest for 18 months, so we have time to pay them all off.

We also picked up a JCPenny credit card to order new couches.  Ann fell in love with a sectional that they had with Microfiber upholstry.  To her, most microfibers feel like plastic, but this one feels like suede.  And, we ordered it in an apple-green color which looks great against the wall and carpet colors.  We brough home a material sample so Ann could shop for curtains to match as well.  Those will take 8-12 weeks to show up, so there won’t be any pictures of those for some time yet.

As a move-in / holiday / Christmas gift for the kids, we’ve given them a budget of $400 each to stock and decorate their rooms.  So far, Kevin picked up a nice ceiling fan with lights and picked out a futon which we have yet to pick up.  He picked out some colors for his curtains and Ann is working on putting them together now.  Megan also has curtains that Ann is working on and just picked up a ceiling fan with lights, some paint and wood to refurbish her old dresser and she wants to go to an asian import store to pick out lost of decorations.  She also wants the same futon that Kevin does but her room is much smaller and she may change her mind about that.  She enjoys having her bed in the closet, which is huge by any standards, with its own light and small window.

This last Tuesday we bought a garage door opener and Wednesday I put it in.  I’ve helped a friend update an existing garage door opener before so I figured I’d be able to handle it myself with no problems.  Well, installing a new unit is a bit more work but 7 hours later we had a fully functional garage door opener with an outside keypad, inside controller and three remotes.  Now I just need to reorganize the boxes and stuff still in the garage so I can pull my car in.  Because of the way all curbs are designed nowadays, Ann prefers to just park on the street.  Also, we both have mid-size cars and fitting them both on the driveway and in the garage will be a snug operation.  So, since I’m working from a company van right now, I’d like to get my car inside and out of the elements.

We still need to make a trip back to the apartment some time.  There are still a few little things to move, all my fish tank buckets and all the cleaning to be done.  The old washer and dryer are to be picked up on Tuesday.  We were renting them from another company and we cancelled the service at the end of the billing cycle.  So, the apartment managers will be there to let them in and move things.  We’d like to have things cleaned up a bit before they get there.

Well, I think that wraps up everything that’s happened since we moved in.  Ann is still working hard on three shows but should be done after this weekend.  I’m planning a post-Thanksgiving dinner for Friday to bring friends to the new house.  We won’t have our couches yet, but we’ll have plenty of dinner seating, followed by drinks and games.  Kevin’s sick this weekend but his room was pretty much done the first weekend.  Megan needs to refurbish her dresser and throw out some old stuff so she can finish up her room.  I should have pictures of Thanksgiving at our new dining table, so I’ll post more then.

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