8 posts tagged “home sweet home”

I'm almost done unpacking.  We got through a lot of boxes this weekend and I'm down to three.  Yay!

I can't believe how much clothing I got rid of, but I feel like a great weight has been lifted.  It all fits into my hanging space in the closet and five dresser drawers and there's room left over.  I still have a bunch of shoes to go through, but I think most of them will be donated along with the clothing.  To help me keep track of my clothing, all of my outer-wear (shirts, jeans, etc.) is hung in the closet.  I think if I can actually see what I have I'll know what I'm wearing and, more importantly, what I'm not wearing.  The dresser drawers hold underwear, pjs, shorts, sweatpants and the like.  I lurve lurve lurve having the space to organize; it's a relief beyond belief.  (Hey, I'm a poet and know it!  Yes, I'm a dork, too.)

- Doing laundry in my own laundry room
- Having the cat box in my own laundry room instead of under my desk/kitchen table
- Having my own desk in my own room instead of having my computer on the kitchen table
- Having a kitchen table that doesn't have a computer on it
- Being able to let the dog out without having to use a leash
- Having a walk-in closet
- Having a real kitchen (triple the counter space!)
- Having a full-sized fridge
- Having a dishwasher
- Having a garage to dump my/our stuff in
- Having my books (most of them are unpacked) available (I've already re-read the Little House series)
- Having a long enough hallway I can throw something for the dog so she can play fetch
- Having a huge hot water tank so I can take long, hot showers without having to turn the water off (six gallon water tanks suck)

I know there's more to be happy for but that's all just off the top of my head.  Believe me you, I know I'm lucky compared to most of the world even when living in the RV.  I really am grateful for all of the above and then some.

Into the box the computer goes.  I'll see y'all on Friday.

I now own 99% of a home.  Yep, 99%.  Because I'm a first time home buyer, I don't have to pay the luxury tax on our purchase.  The mister has previously owned homes which would normally put our tax at about $1800.00, but because we've made me the majority owner, the tax will be $32 and change.

Mum was a lifesaver packing-wise.  We got everything packed that could be packed except what's still in use.  Yay!  Tomorrow the mister and I will work on the rest of the inside stuff and get it all ready to be put on the truck.

Re:  the title.  Did you ever do that as a kid?  "It's only two more sleeps until we go to Disneyland!" and variations on that.  It's one of the things that both the mister and I did as kids.

I kind of panicked today - I suddenly felt very overwhelmed by what needs to be done before we move.  Panicked enough to be in tears about it.  The mister can't really help, there is so much stuff to do outside (in the boot and storage shed) that he really doesn't have time to help me inside.  Mum to the rescue.  We IM'd a bit and she said she'd come up tomorrow and give me a hand.  I really hate having to have anyone help because I should be able to do it on my own.  It's a freakin' RV; there's not that much here.

I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me

It amazes me how quickly this whole home buying process has gone.  Well, how quickly it's gone since we signed the counter-offer.  Finding a place took a long time and was something I'd rather not go through again.

We're visiting the vampire blood-sucking bottom-dwelling scum sucking lawyers this afternoon to sign the loan documents (actually, I don't have a problem with lawyers, this is the first time I've ever had to deal with one).  The official closing date is next Monday and we move on Wednesday.

That whooshing sound?  That's time flying by.

Everything was hunky-dory on the property inspection.  There are a few things that need to be done but the mister can do about 75% of them himself.  What he can't do is a couple things the roof needs (a turbine or two and some tarring and gravel spreading on the flat roof over the garage to cover the exposed membrane - the roofer should have done this but didn't for whatever reason).  We also need to get an electrician in to see to some double-tapping and have him add a sub-panel if we need one.  What's gonna be fun is finding the tradespeople to do the work.  With Vancouver's boom happening, they are in very short supply.

We're getting most of our crapola in the RV packed up and moved to our storage locker so the moving company can move it.  There will be some stuff from the RV that we'll be moving and the mister has pre-ordered a truck for that.  I get to move the wee beasties.  Puking and peeing and pooping and yowling, oh my!

We see the lawyers the 18th, closing day is the 23rd and possession day is the 25th.

In other news, the mister is home on day three of feeling icky.  Mostly a chest cold, I guess.  He's not sleeping well and his head is stuffed up.  Me, my throat has been sore for the last few days and my left ear aches.  Shoot me.  Please?

Oh, there are a few photos of the new place up at flickr should anyone want to peruse them.

It looks like our search for a home is finally complete.

The property is half of a duplex that we saw this weekend for the second time. There was an offer ahead of us with a 48 hour contingency (meaning the potential buyers had to sell their house within 48 hours of the owners giving them notice that they had accepted a back-up offer). The other buyers weren't able to sell, so we moved into first place. Our only conditions were/are financing and a property inspection. Our mortgage broker just let the mister know that financing is in place. The property inspection has to be done and approved by us by October 11. There shouldn't be a problem with getting the inspection scheduled and I don't believe there's anything wrong with the property.

The details:
As mentioned, it's half of a duplex. There are two bedrooms and a den, one bath (with room to add a half bath at some point), a large living room with a nice stone-faced wood burning fireplace, a kitchen that has plenty of storage/counterspace and a dishwasher, a laundry room, tons of storage, a garage and a gorgeous backyard with a natural looking fish pond and three fruit trees (apple, pear & plum). It's in a nice, quiet, established neighborhood with lots of big trees. It's much closer to shopping than we are here and it's about 15 minutes to the commuter train. All the appliances are included and, although older, in pristine condition (fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer & dryer). The current owners are an older couple who have kept the place immaculate and the husband is a handyman who has done some nice tweaks to the place. He's hinted that he's leaving all the garden tools (including the lawnmower) in the cute little shed in the backyard. If not, we'll deal with it.

Lest you think the place is perfect, there is some updating to be done. The place needs paint and flooring, but not because it's in bad shape, it's just really dated. The current owners have owned and lived in the place for 16 years and they updated then but nothing since. Plus, as I said, they're an older couple - our tastes do not converge in any way that I can see.

I'm so glad we ended up in a house. No strata rules - I can be a crazy cat lady if I want (just kidding, but I'd like one more), we can have birdfeeders (the first place we offered on said no birdfeeders - wtf?), we can get another dog (although I doubt we will), I can put whatever plants I want wherever I want!

Photographs will be posted as soon as I can take some.

Two more cats?