We Moved (incase you missed it)

I am sure this does not come as a shock, we have been here several months and we move all the time but I have not officially blogged about it yet. So after our big RV trip in late May/early June we moved out of our house in Knoxville, stayed with my parents for a few weeks and in mid July we officially moved in to our house in Westfield. We closed on June 24 but it needed A LOT of work (still does) so we spent a lot of time cleaning, painting, cleaning and more cleaning before we could live there. And by 'we' I mean the kids and I. Rick was already living there but I didn't feel too sorry for him. It was his fault we had to move anyway.

Now I guess it's time to talk about the house. This house is stupid. I mean, really stupid. The people that built and designed this house were not right. I will never again buy a house without looking at it first. I realize most people wouldn't do that anyway but we didn't have a choice. Millie was still in school in Knoxville so we couldn't just leave and look at houses for weeks on end. We had to have a residence as soon as possible so that Millie would have a school to start in August. The timing of the move couldn't have been worse in terms of trying to take time to find a house we loved. So basically we found one online that seemed ok.

The problem with online buying and using a realtor who is so terrible they should be publicly tarred and feathered is that no one is really on your side or helping you out. Online you can't tell that your basement smells like dead bodies and an abandoned pet store, that the living room or bedrooms have no lights in the ceiling, that the lights for the master bath room are not actually located IN the bathroom but just OUTSIDE the door, that the basement that was listed as FULL, is actually not full and is tiny, that the kitchen cabinets, although more in number than our other house, are too narrow to fit most of our small appliances, pans or dinner plates, that the house is covered in a layer of soot from the previous owners smoking in the house, that the house stinks like cigarettes and cat food, that about half of the lights are basically placed or wired backwards (up is off, down is on), the garage is actually smaller than our garage in Knoxville was which I never thought would have been possible (Rick has about 1 inch in front and in back of his truck) and that the extra bedroom I was so excited about is now my craft room because the basement was too small for my tables, so much for having a guest room.

So that is just a few of the things that make this house stupid. I am still really irritated about this move and that we were so rushed to make a decision that I can't see myself ever being happy with this house. That being said, as stupid as this house is, I am very happy with the neighborhood, the town, our neighbors, Millie and Reed's schools and our church seems pretty good too. Those were the things that lead us to this particular location to begin with, thus leading us to this house that seemed like it "would do".  Everything we need, grocery, bank, both schools and our church are all close enough that we ride our bikes most of the time.  That is pretty neat and not stupid at all so I guess it balances it all out and makes it ok.

We are not going to just sit by, though, and let this stupid house fester. I mean, it is where we will live until we are moved again.  We have already taken action! We have painted 90% of the inside, got some new door handles (this house was all about the brass hardware), bought a new refrigerator, bought shelves for the third bay in the garage for all our tools, bikes and such, painted some of the brass interior lights, installed ceiling fans (with lights!) in 3 of the bedrooms, installed new toilet seats and shower heads, removed all existing landscaping and replaced with new and planted 6 new trees in the back yard, painted exterior lights and ordered and installed blinds on the windows in the dining room and kitchen. That sounds like a lot but we have much more to do. Rick is almost finished with the plans for a screen porch and deck. When that is over we (I) still need (want) new kitchen and bathroom counters, lights, mirrors and faucets, crown molding all around, new hardware on all interior doors (brass must go), stain the existing light oak floors a darker color, add hardware to the too narrow kitchen cabinets and figure out how to get ceiling lights in the living room so we can use it at night.

Most people may think this all sounds fun but trust me, it's not. When you know you will probably just be forced to move again against your will, you just see yourself throwing money down the drain because if the past proves anything, it will prove that we will take a loss on the sale of this house just like we have on all the other 3. Thanks a lot, been a pleasure, NOT!! It basically just means we live in a constant state of trying to make a home feel like ours just to hand it over to someone else on a nice perfect platter. I try not to be bitter but I can't help it.  I'm kind of over it.

Now, if anyone is actually still reading this rambling jumble of my thoughts and gripes, here are a few pictures of what we have done on the landscaping.

Before landscaping...

After landscaping...

3 redbud trees. I have planted a redbud tree at every house we have lived in in honor of my grandfathers, Nelson Reed (Red) and Albert John (Bud). So at this house I planted 3, 1 for Nelson Reed (Red), 1 for Albert John (Bud) and 1 for my new guy, Reed Albert.

3 pear trees, for no reason other than my neighbor behind our house sits out and smokes while staring in our back sliding door. Now we don't have to stare at each other.

There you have it! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?