The Great Lightening of 2019

Lighten-ing - not the cosmic kind.  The 'letting go of stuff' kind. 

The photographer just left and if we do say so ourselves, this house looks AMAZING.  Just don't open cupboards, drawers or closets.  And our garage?  Yikes.  Now that the pics are done, we can return normal things to their normal places.  My toothbrush back to my sink.  The toaster back on the counter.  Only for the pics is 'nothing on any surface' required.  Now that those are done, we can go back to normal a bit.  But wow.  It sure looks nice.  I hope our new house will look just like this daily - everything put away.  I can't wait.

It does feel so wonderful to feel this great 'lightening' - of stuff.  Of our long awaited home.  Things are moving and happening and it feels great.  Really great. 

The cleaning crew is scheduled for Tuesday but we're cancelling.  We've cleaned every nook and cranny and (as always) have identified a lot of things they never get to.  But that's OK.  I'm sort of looking forward to 'keeping house' as part of my retirement activities.  It's a good work out and you feel super satisfied to see things looking shiny and clean.  And even better knowing you did it yourself. 

After a lot of debate, we've decided to both head to Reno/Carson City on Friday morning.  We can load up both cars, get to storage, check on the house and enjoy a nice dinner.  J. will head home on Saturday morning.  The house goes on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) on Friday - signage will be up as well and a lock box in place.  H. is prepared to vacate the premises as needed on Friday to allow people to see the house - we're hoping he has a steady stream of people in and out -

We worry about leaving him alone.  We have our reasons for that worry - but we remind ourselves that he's getting ready to move to Houston so...he's going to have to deal.  And keep himself on the right path - all by himself.  Failure is not an option. 

Tomorrow, we'll work a lot in the garage - getting things squared away in there and returning things we stashed in the garage back in to the house.  Within reason.  It really looks nice and we want to keep it that way for the 'showings'. 

We've been joined by a family of doves - a mom, a dad and two babies.  They come down and hang out on the fence most evenings - wary and watching for cats but still 'visiting'. 

Panic at the Disco

After years of sort of bemoaning J.'s obsession with Sirius radio - the concept of PAYING for radio was hard for me to accept but he loves it - we signed me up so now it's in my car, too.  Have to say I love it - especially for those long trips to/from our new state.  Lots of variety.  Many memories floating back from my younger days and when the kids were younger.  We listened to all sorts of music as they were growing up and hearing those songs floods my heart with warm fuzzies.

As I was preparing to head home yesterday morning from Atlantis, my predominant thought was 'I can't wait until 'driving home' from a night here is only 35 minutes instead of hours'.  I do think I will still spend the night at Atlantis on occasion for any 'event' they are having - as well as to ensure that I can have a couple beers and not be driving.

It was a fun week of play but it's good to be home.  Next planned visit up is Labor Day weekend and it's very likely J. will stay home - we plan to list the house that Friday and he is OK with staying here.  (I have a slot tournament up there that weekend which keeps me 'booked' a couple times over the days I'm there....).

We went to the lighting store and looked around a bit before J. headed home on Tuesday.  Got some great ideas for lighting and fans and brought home lots of catalogs to peruse.  Also know how to get to their website and search for specifics.  We're a long way from needing to finalize lighting but it was good for me to get some ideas percolating about our decor.  This house is very different from any house we've ever been in - and wrapping my head around how and what to incorporate in the common spaces has been hard.  But I feel like I'm starting to visualize how it will look and I'm super excited.

I did trek to Carson City on Wednesday to check out a new casino - where a lady won $15,700!  It was so exciting to hear her scream 'did I just win $15,700 dollars?' and when the host said 'you did', she just hollered with joy and glee.  It was fun.  She was in shock.  I would have been, too.  I played a little bit (not much) but it was fun anyway.

On the drive home, I saw a horrible accident.  Knew it was bad when the CalTrans signs were flashing 'lane closure accident ahead' - 10 highway patrol cars, an ambulance and a truck that was unrecognizable as a truck - it had head-on into tree.  It was awful.  And a couple exits up, they had closed an overpass closed and a Life Flight helicopter was waiting.  Prayers for the people in that truck and their families.

My new theme song is by Panic at the Disco - High Hopes.  I sing it at the top of my lungs pretty frequently these days.  It's an uplifting reminder that anything is possible.

Soon to Be For Sale

We've been working like crazy and the house looks great - H. scrubbed the driveway with the power washer and it looks really good.  We planted some pretty plants in back to fill in where we took out the wildflower garden.  Wildflowers look beautiful for a bit - and then they look like an overgrown, gangly mess shortly after blooming.  We bought some perennials that will hopefully spread out and fill in.  Knowing the new owner might rip them out made spending some money on them hard - but we're doing what we can to brighten things up.

We think our house is beautiful - recently reinforced when our neighbor shared her worry about 'who will we get in the house' - looking for the good neighbor component.  She said 'your house is beautiful and it will sell quickly'.  I hope she's right. We've worked so, so hard and it looks so (SO!) much better - but the realtor said 'keeping decluttering'.  At this point, we're ready to just put things in bins, label the bins by room and move on.  Nineteen years here and there are just so many' things'. Thankfully, he said 'when the photographer comes, it's OK to just do room by room - example:  coffee machine.  It's OK to leave it out and move it of the counter when he's taking pics of the kitchen'.  It's supposed to look like no one lives here.  Feels frequently overwhelming but we're getting there. 

I notice things that sort of irritate me and I know/wish we could do better.  Example:  there was a small 'jar' on the kitchen windowsill with miscellany in it.  I ask J. 'do you know what this is'?  And he promptly gets a Ninja cup and snaps that piece back on the cup.  (It's the 'cover' for the drinking hole).  It's been on that windowsill forever - so why wasn't it put back on the cup as soon as it was missing from the cup?  Things like this - times a million - boggle my fretful mind.

We signed all the documents to officially engage the realtor and begin the process.  We are tentatively planning for pics on the 28th and then the house will go on the market on the 30th.  That's Labor Day weekend and we have plans to go to Reno/Carson City - but we'll change those plans.  We're going to think about it - realtor doesn't seem concerned about waiting a week if we want so we'll just have to see where we are as the weekend approaches.

The listing price is way below what Redfin says the house is worth but those websites have home prices all over the place.  High, low and everything in between.  We trust our realtor who used comps from within a few miles of our home and we want it to sell fairly quickly.  Better to conservatively price it and who knows!?  There might be gobs of interest and it will inch up a bit.

We're heading up to Reno/Carson City on Monday for two to three nights.  (I will stay three for sure because I have a slot tournament event; J. will likely head home Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning).  I'm ready for some play and some down time.  We also have an appointment at the lighting vendor on Tuesday morning to make lighting choices.  Will be fun.  There will also be (of course) two cars loaded to the roof with stuff to trek to storage.  I'm starting to think we should have rented another large unit - but we'll see.

It All Begins with a Foundation

We successfully did an up and back trip today - rented the 2nd storage unit and unloaded two cars full of stuff.  We stopped by the house site - I had carefully prepared J. for his disappointment upon seeing nothing but dirt.

Instead of crushing disappointment, we were elated to see this:

I know it's hard to visualize the spaces but trust us - it's the beginnings of our house!  J. was able to identify each room - me, not so much - but progress is wonderful!  Next, they add 'cross beams' to the foundation and then pour cement.

We headed to Reno and went to Atlantis for food, restrooms, a 'break' from driving and a little play.  Then we hopped in our two cars and headed back home.  We are home just before 8PM - a very long day - but we did it.  It's good to know we have that 'option' for those times when we just want to get stuff out of the house and up there and can't wedge in the time to be gone for multiple days.

True Blue

The rifle badge is the Expert Infantryman Badge and the medal is for 'True Blue' - no recorded errors.

That smile....when you know you are a bad ass but are trying to stay humble. 

Way to go, Sgt. B. - we love you!

Kerfluffed

Day three of the torture known as painters in the house. It was supposed be two days of chaos but it's morphed into three.  I'm disappointed in the entire process and much of the result and have reached the point where I just want them the heck out of my house.

The walk through that generated the quote that resulted in the contract we signed appears to have been poorly communicated to the folks actually doing the work.  It's been three days of 'gotcha' as we remind and cajole about things that need (still) to be done.  Example:  at the end of a(nother) long day of painting, the owner of the company stopped by - and did his best to convince us to skip painting the stair bannister.  One of the primary reasons we decided to paint was ensuring that things that needed doing got done - and he was proposing that they'd wait to do that until after we're out.  (There's an agreement in the service contract that they will come back and touch up anything missed once we've taken down everything and the house is essentially empty - if we notice anything at that time, they'll fix it).  He also made several comments about 'so you're doing an 'as is' sale'.  Um, no.  An 'as is' sale is what you do when you have major issues you have no intention of repairing.  Bathrooms with torn up tile, flooring that's a mess, etc..  In a million years, this house would never be an 'as is' sale.  We refused to not get the stairs done - so he said it would be done tomorrow (now today).

And as we discussed the stairs last night, we reminded 'and the front door isn't done either'.  He said 'oh, you want the front door painted too'?  YES!  JUST AS WE SAID WHEN YOU DID THE FIRST WALK THROUGH.  Like it's a total shock to him that we want the front door redone.  We put on new hardware and now it REALLY needs it because there's a difference in the area covered with the new hardware vs. the old.

As I escaped into the garage this morning, I realized that the back door between the hallway and garage hadn't been painted either.  I cannot stress enough how 'paint all doors and all wood trim' was  a part of the quote, supposedly - but so much is still undone.

I showered in the downstairs bath this morning (my bathroom) and noticed so many wrong things - paint used to paint an area that doesn't match where they left off.  (Same paint and same color but possibly different 'finish' (matte vs. semi-gloss) and/or all paints are slightly different from color if they are mixed separately.  I get that.  But this?  No.  Totally different 'tone' from one space to another.  Door touched up with paint but really not repainted?

The owner stopped by again this morning - entered through the open garage - to announce that they couldn't match the stair paint and it would be another full day of costs to repaint.  Again, trying to get us to give up on getting that done.  I told J. 'fine, just get them finished and out though I'm disappointed and don't understand how painting that could be an 8 hour job.  I'm completely an amateur at painting but I could do it in 1/2 that time but whatever.  Get them out of here ASAP 'cuz I'm over it'.

The owner agreed to do the stairs for $250 - which I'm fine with.

So now we'll have painters here again all day - lovely.

On a great note, B. earned his Expert Infantryman Badge this morning upon completion of a TWELVE MILE ruck march in full gear.  Started with 64 attempting to qualify, 23 qualified and started the testing process and 8 finished and earned the badge!  We are so, so incredibly proud of him - when he sets his mind to something, he is unstoppable.

And another positive note - the district will be refunding the premiums that came out of my last check - completely in agreement that those deductions were in error.

I'm heading to the bank - we're now handling all of H's money which requires some replenishing of our petty cash for when we've covered his.  It's all fine. It's just sometimes a full time bookkeeping job but I'm up for the task.

Then I'm heading outside to work on the yard a bit more and then upstairs to continue to cull out my bedroom - getting clothes out of the closets and dresser to pack up -

I'll keep working on our 'as is' house.  As is and I hope it sells in a week.  It just might.  Fingers crossed.

Wacky Ideas

The backyard and patio are looking BEAUTIFUL.  The power washer has paid for itself many times over in the look of the yard pre and post washer.  Getting the pool deck really clean makes it look so beautiful - I can't wait to have it all tidy and see the pics the realtor's photographer will take.  It's looking super pretty.  I'm going to get some flowers to plant in some of the areas - the wildflowers are still blooming but they cycle in and out - and the faded ones need to be pulled out on a regular basis.  The pops of color some flats of pansies will give will add a lot to the look.

J. and I have the crazy idea to get up super early on Saturday and head up to Reno with two cars loaded with stuff.  Stop at the storage unit, rent another unit, unload and then cruise by the house.  I'm bracing J. to not see any change - but we're sure hopeful there will be foundation work in process.  J. pulled the contract we signed which states close of escrow is planned for October 30th - though there is also language that the date is subject to change with agreement by both parties.  So....we're aiming to be out of Tracy by end of September and we'll see how it goes with the house in Carson City.  

We've got so many boxes ready to move up and we're so motivated to keep things moving on the packing front - so the trip up would be great.  I had reservations for Friday through Sunday nights but I cancelled them - we figure if we're there and too tired to drive home (or if I hit a hot streak on a machine and don't want to leave - LOL - ) we'll get a room.  

H. works 3:00PM to midnight on Saturday so he can take care of Chloe.  He'll be up in the morning to take her out, feed her, give her shot and take care of her until he leaves for work.  She'll get her 'dinner' around 2:30, shot, take her out.  He'll be home for dinner around 7 and we think we'll be home 9ish or 10ish for the night.  

It's wacky but we can do it!! 

The painters are here again today and I spent all night ruminating about the things they didn't do (at all or very well).  It's OK - they are doing stuff today and might need to be back for another day and that will cost extra (time and materials is the agreement) but the house has to look good - that's the whole point of hiring them!

I received my last check from the district for the five paid days in July plus paid out vacation - a nice, tidy sum.  Irritated to see deductions for things like disability insurance and life insurance which are essentially paying for August?  I've made a request that those premiums be refunded to me - having disability insurance for a month where I have no earned income is a waste of (my) money.  We'll see how it goes.  The new CBO said she'd check into it ASAP - haven't heard anything yet.  

I feel super tired today - almost to the point of feeling 'sick'.  Been working outside a lot so probably need hydration and food.  I miss the days of J. packing me breakfast and lunch so I always knew what to eat.  It's a daily crap shoot lately and I don't do well unfed.  Need to stay in a routine.