July 21, 2006

• Pre-move Tour

  Up to the Minute News

  Internet access will be a bit up in the air, due to the move- obviously, once “two men and a truck” get here we’ll begin the heavy duty moving and this very computer desk will be transported away. From that point on, if the cable has not been turned on yet at the new location (it is scheduled to happen sometime tomorrow between 8 AM and 8 PM), I’ll be without access once we move the computer over. Of course, cable will still be on here temporarily- but once the computer is moved, that is that. I’ll try to wait until the cable IS set up to move our computer- since it is important to have our phone available to use, and I want to keep updates here.

  So, as much as time allows, I will be taking photographs and letting you guys know about the move as it is in progress!

  Tour of the House

  To prove just how nice this house is- because we move in and trash it I want to start out with a tour of the house prior to the move and even our initial cleaning. Yes, this is the house exactly as it was left- we bought it on an as-is basis. I think it is pretty incredible how nice they left it for a foreclosure situation.

  So, enjoy! Let us begin our tour.

  
  As we enter the ‘front door’- originally perhaps intended to be the back door, it is positioned best to be the front. I personally think it works just fine this way. It is hard to get a good angle since the room it small, but it is set up so that with two doors we could leave the front door open to get groceries in or greet guests and let out less air than normal. Here is where we will put the washer and dryer. Now, turn around with me and let us head inside.

  
  As we turn around, you will notice to the left is where we entered from. The next door- the visible one on the left- is bedroom B which will be Katrina’s sewing room and the guest bedroom. To the right is bedroom A, The Cave, which will be our den/computer room/my hangout. Now, follow me forwards and to our right…

  
  We see over here to our far right is Bedroom C- Conor’s room. It is the largest of the three “bedrooms” with the largest closet too. To our left is the general full bath.

  
  
  The toilet is taped up because it was still winterized at this point. A very nice bath for Conor and guests, and a restroom for guests to use. Conor may end up using our bathtub more often than not at first if Kat has her way. That, or it will end up being his “pool”. Now, let us go back out and look into the main house.

  
  This is what I will temporarily call the fireplace room- my Mom and Kat think it is the family room and a casual room, I think of it as the livingroom and a formal room, but we’ll figure that out. The kitchen and dining area is straight ahead, but turn around.

  
  We probably will not use it much, but here is the fireplace. What do you think- would this be a better casual room or formal one? It is smaller than the other room you will soon see- and has a nicer, more formal feel if you ask me. With a fireplace, and a nice touch, it could be a very nice place. Also, to me it seems the “formal room” being smaller is best.

  
  Turning around, we see the kitchen. That ceiling light and I have a very close but slightly abusive relationship. It likes to get up close and personal, but ends up hitting me every time. A tall person like me just does not go well with it. If we do not put something under it, we will end up having to put red tape on the floor in a square to warn me to avoid it. You see the built in counter-table there- but I hope for us to find a permanent table and the counter table can be an extra assist for food preparation or serving. Very nice, isn’t it?

  
  That is the fridge- the dreaded, gross fridge that I have completely reformed after hours of work. The rest of the cleaning, even the master bath, was quick and simple in comparison. But I did not mind it- I am good at detail work, and gross stuff does not bother me. Not anywhere close to how it bothers Kat. All of this came with the house like it is- and is in good condition. The dishwasher works fine, I tested the stove with my oven themometer and got an accurate reading- it hit and was stable at around 400 just fine. I’m really looking forwards to cooking delicious meals in this kitchen!

  
  To our left, the one fancy cabinet of the kitchen. Just fun to look at.

  
  Here I am sprawling in our other room- the one I call the family room, but Kat calls the living room. What do you think? This is bigger, but seems best suited for a more casual environment- I would like to call it, at least, the “casual room”. What do you think?

  Due to finances, our Plan A was to buy a washer/dryer single space combo- but those cost $600-700 dollars (without tax included) and while it would be a great blessing… unless God just handed us a few hundred dollars beyond what we will be getting from our SC tax refund, we just cannot afford it. So Plan B was to put it in the kitchen- we ended up with Plan C, which was to put it in the left corner (from the angle we are looking at) of this room. It is carpetted, but Kat will be getting a metal tray tonight designed to protect the carpet and catch any water from it if it defrosts. Mom thinks it will make this room kind of “junky” but- what can we do? If we put it in the dining room, it WILL be junky because it will cover up our windows. So, this seems best. It will do, methinks. If we ever get to get a single space washer/dryer we will use it- but we won’t be picky, God IS blessing us so much already!

  
  As you saw before, the master bath- doubling soon as Conor’s pool

  
  The shower- if we went further in, you’d see there is a seat on the other side as well. You don’t want to, not in these pictures, because I still had not cleaned the walls yet- I have now, don’t worry, but… don’t ask, just don’t ask. It was not bad, but you know that men just make… ah… messes over time. Any wives out there who clean up their bathrooms KNOW what I mean.

  
  Turn to our right, and see our large walk in closet! Katrina is VERY excited about this, and our white shelves in the kitchen that she installed will be promptly moved here. I am sure she has been eagerly plotting what to do with this den. Maybe she’ll put a mat in it and ask me to sleep here and call it the doghouse? Hee hee- it is just long enough to fit me lying down.

  
  And here I am, waiting with Conor while Kat takes these pictures- the freezer would go in the left corner, waay back there in this picture.

  I hope you all enjoyed the tour. I will try to remember to get outside pictures sometime- but the house is our focus now on the inside. Outside is not nearly as appealing: it needs landscaping and is not large at all, but there is a LOT of potential and it is not overgrown either. Not on our actual property at least. I have some ideas for planting some trees, bringing in a ton (literally) of dirt to cover up the red clay, and get some more grass going along with some garden space. We’ll also, for the safety of our house, need to build a “French drain” so that run-off from the hill that comes from the street to our house does not eventually cause foundation shifting. It will take a few weekends of work and about $400, but is a required investment in keeping this house safe and good for sale when we do move out.

  Thanks for coming along! We have some cleaning pictures too- I can’t show you Kat, since she was dressed more scantily than she would like to share due to the heavy duty cleaning and the heat (even with the air on). But, you can see some of what we did. She used the rug-doctor and home made cleaning fluid to really get the rugs clean and ready to live on!

  Tomorrow is the day! Tonight, Kat has invited me to go see Lady on the Water. Ahem, well, invited me to see it on my own- she gets the house to herself to clean and pack a little. It was HER idea, not mine, so don’t blame me. She does a better job sometimes if I am not around, since she… has her own style. Which sometimes involves seeing how far objects can be propelled across the room… and that style … conflicts… with my style preferences. Hee hee I have been eagerly awaiting it. I haven’t been much into most of the movies this Summer, but THIS one I have been anticipating.

  Quite honestly, I have been a little depressed lately- lack of social opportunities and constant baby care is wearing, but I’m very happy with where I am and I’m very blessed to be able to care for my son. I would not have it any other way!

  Sincerely,
  Patrick

  • 5:52 pm
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