Thanksgiving in the New House

What a great Thanksgiving and so much to be thankful for!  A beautiful new house, a beautiful family and great food- what's not to love about it.  Has to be one of my favorite holidays.

We Did It- We are moving in

It was Tuesday morning November 18th and the moving truck had arrived!  I sat down to begin the blog and got called downstairs with questions.  That was the last time I had a moment to spare.  We watched them load up the moving van and began to load up our cars.  At 2:30 the Van had left, we were putting Fred in my car and we were ready to depart Dallas.  It would have been much sadder if I was leaving the house never to return, but alas that was not the case since we hadn't sold the house yet.

Little Freddie did really well on the ride down.  I let him roam the car and after about an hour he settled down with the rhythm of the car and took a nap.  We got down to the new house and since we didn't have any furniture yet we had to spend the night in the cabin.  Fred wasn't sure what to make of all this and the first time he heard the train go by he just freaked.  He made sure I knew that Mr. Train was not our friend.  We went to our favorite Italian restaurant in McGregor, had pizza and a bottle of wine and called it a night.  The next day by 10:30 the movers had arrived, but there was an issue with our beds coming from Dallas and Mattress Firm had screwed up the delivery and SURPRISE no beds- yep one more night in the cabin.  

On Thursday morning I had to travel back to Dallas for a ribbon cutting at one of my properties with Prescott Group.  I got up and went over to the house to take a shower in our new bathroom.  The shower was very nice, with lots of hot water (cabin has a very small hot water tank in it and you learn to shower fast.  The trip to Dallas was uneventful and the ribbon cutting party was very nice.  I spent the night in Dallas at the house and let me tell you that was strange.  To be in my own house but have none of my belongings and my bed consisted of a mattress and box springs sitting in the floor of our old bedroom.  Yep, that was it, oh that and a lamp.  Caitlin had moved her stuff from storage into the main floor of the house and Alphie, her cat was following me around as if to say, "Hey where is that cat of your's? I miss him!"  The next morning I took care of some things and headed back to Crawford, with the car again loaded with odds and ends.  I stopped at a discount furniture place in Waco and bought a mattress and box springs for the guest bedroom and set the delivery for later that evening.  

The house was a welcome site even if it was loaded to the gills with boxes that needed to be unpacked.  I made up the guest room before going to bed that night because we were having our first house guests the next night.  Our friends Cindy and Scott Klingler came down to help us unpack.  They were a godsend!.  with their help we got the kitchen completely unpacked (with the exception of some boxes still in the man cave) and Scott and Jay got all his books unpacked- there was over a hundred books to be unpacked and put in the bookcases.  That afternoon we were going to smoke some ribs and chicken for dinner and I had used the stove for only the second time and made a mess of greens.  Well mother nature had other plans for the day.  At about 3:00 the skies opened up and we had a gully washer of a rain.  No way we could start up the smoker and it was so wet and muddy outside that to get to the car we had to put down flattened moving boxes and walk across those.  We ventured out for dinner- yes back to Luigi's for italian.  Only problem was, walking in the rain on these wet boxes that were sitting on top of mud.  you guessed it, I slipped the box slid forward and I landed in the mud on my butt.  I was quite a site, i looked like a poor excuse for a mud wrestler.  Everyone waited in the truck while I went back in the house to change.  The next day the sun came out, dried up most of the mud puddles and we were able to BBQ and use the shooting range.  We had a great time and the food was tasty.  I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am that they came down and helped.  It was so nice because they are just the kind of people who jump right in and help.  There was no tell us what you want us to do or waiting for us, they just started unpacking and saying where should we put these or what do you think of putting these here.  It was the best!!

Almost done!!

I am in Dallas busy packing up the house and Jay is in Crawford overseeing the final pieces.  Today the delivery people brought my new chairs for the barnwood table and they look good.  No good stories tonight, just going to post some pictures of the almost completed house.

my closet

Jay's Closet

Pantry shelving

Our new very expensive hand crafted dining chairs

 The screened in Porch and patio with rock wall. Fred Miller's (the cat) new home.

the carport

The crazy last rush

I haven't seen the new house in 2 weeks!  I have been busy getting ready for the mammoth moving sale and packing the house.  Movers come on Tuesday the 18th to move us out.  On top of that work with my client here in Dallas has had me very busy.  Even though I don't have 18 assets this budget season I am still working RE and it IS budget season, plus we had to make a change in management on one of our properties and that is never a walk in the park. This one has been more like the Never Ending Story (some of you are familiar with that book and movie).

The old house is a disaster with boxes and paper and piles of things everywhere.  I have decided that my things are able to have babies, because I clean out a closet, a day later I go back in that closet and there is more stuff.  Where is it coming from is my big question.  

Last weekend we had a 2 day sale and made about $1800.  Not bad, but even with that much stuff going out the door we still have 13 boxes, 2 large bags, some furniture, art work, an area rug and a trunk (I have filled with stuff) remaining for Salvation army to pick up. that doesn't count the toys we took to Good Will and the clothes and books we took to the womens shelter.   Almost enough stuff for another sale..... no, no, no, never again and really never again!

I have also decided I will be collecting NO new items for any of my collections, no new knick knacks and only pictures I really love.  If I buy it, it better be because I have an immediate use for it and not just a one time thing- unless it is disposable!!  The only exception to that rule is kitchen items.  I still love kitchen stuff!  Speaking of Kitchens  here are 2 pictures with the travertine backsplash in.  Color in the picture isn't very good, but you get the idea.

I also have to tell you that I am not the kind of person who can eat every meal out.  I like to eat home cooked meals in my kitchen.  For the last 2 weeks we have had to eat almost every meal out and though I love good restaurants I am tired of restaurant food.

Last Sunday our across the street neighbors, Jeff and Lauri Harrold did a little going away party for us.  It was so sweet of them and as usual when Lauri is cooking, it was delicious.  Her sister made cookies for dessert and they were the most gorgeous homemade cookies EVER.  We had such a great time, and we are going to really miss them.  Jay and I have been very lucky and blessed when it comes to great neighbors and great friends.

  

I'll close this entry with 2 more pictures of the house in progress.  Next blog will be written from the new house!

Great room wall

cabinet in the bedroom for knick knacks, pictures and the TV

 

The Home Stretch

We have begun counting down the days until we move to Crawford. Less than 20 days! When I got there last weekend so much was being completed.  The granite was all in and looks great.  Michael our excellent tile guy was busy installing the Travertine back-splash.  Jay and the electrician had been working on the over and under cabinet lighting.  It is using LED rope lights and is quite cool.  The concrete guys have been here and poured the walkway to the carport and the sloped approach to the carport from the road.  It has been like a little beehive here- (except that all the little worker bees have been male instead of female like real bees). They will be installing the flooring this next week, and we have ordered window coverings for the bedrooms and bathrooms that will be installed the following week along with our closet systems.

 Jay and I spent all day Saturday staining the walls in the Great Room.  We had some issues okay lots of issues and I am not going to go into them here, let's just say there was no blood, we are both still alive and the room got done... barely.  I'm not happy with it but it is what it is and once we have furniture in there it will be fine (I hope).  The downside of that little venture was that Jay re-damaged his shoulder and rotator cuff.  No I didn’t do anything to him.  It was from over working the arm with 14 ft high walls.  He has been in major pain since then and is going for an MRI today.  This is not what we needed with all that still needs to be done, and all the packing we need to do.  Ahhh life, never easy, but somehow you just muddle through.  Moving Van is scheduled to be here on November 13^th  and to unpack us on the 14^th.  We are having a big garage/estate sale next weekend and hope to get rid of lots of things we don’t use so why take them with us!
Here are a couple of pictures.  More to come!

kitchen really doesn't look this yellow- but it is very yellow.

Inch by Inch we move forward!

Finally AJ brought out the center island for the kitchen and the painters were able to get it painted on Saturday.  All that is missing now is the lazy susans for the corner cabinets and the little device that holds my mix master in its little garage.  Jay and Stanley were able to come up with a solution to fix one of my cabinet shelves in the cabinet I was going to use as a China Hutch.  AJ made all the shelves too small to accommodate any serving pieces and with a little ingenuity and a saw, they were able to give me a longer shelf in the middle.  The Stove was installed this morning. The granite guy will be out either today or tomorrow to measure for the countertops and then they will schedule for the flooring to be put in the house.  Like I said inch by inch, we're getting there.

New stove with vent-a-hood that has infrared heating for plates

 Now for the unveiling of the exterior light fixtures.  Notice the Miller Brand on the sides It is J M L.  Cool, don't you think?

Jay and I have decided to schedule our move for November 13th or 14th.  Can't believe it is just a month away.  So much to do and now so little time.  Here I am typing away on my blog when I need to call some movers and get some quotes, then book them.  Then I need to figure out the date for our BIG garage sale.  Oh plus I still have work and Caitlin's birthday and Jay's Birthday.  Guess I'm about to be a very busy girl!  So that's all for now folks!!

It's October and we are still in Dallas

Thanks to a few issues- AJ the most unreliable carpenter in TX and a housing market in Dallas that has dried up and blown away- we are still living in Dallas and will be here for the next 30 days at least.  To say I am frustrated is to say that the Pope is Catholic- just stating the obvious.  AJ has now promised to deliver the rebuilt cabinets four different time and all four times he has not shown up nor has he called with a reason why.  The great room is full of my cabinet doors and shelves all of which still need to be installed so we can get them out of the great room and stain the walls.  Plus until he gets done we can't install the granite in the Kitchen which means we can't install the backsplash or the pluming fixtures or the flooring and so on and so on and so on!  They are however working on the patio, porch and carport.  All things we added when we thought we would get over $700,000 for the house.

Last week we purchased all the light fixtures except the one for the Kitchen- hey what's the rush RIGHT??? and our friend Jimmy Don (who does some amazing metal work) has finished making our exterior wall lights- they look fantastic and were designed by Jay to compliment the house design.  Sorry no pictures yet, you have to wait with anticipation for the unveiling of the finished product.  Need something to keep you coming back week after week to read this blog!   

Now about the house.  It has been on the market for over 30 days now and we have had no showings.  There have been 3 open houses and the house looks good, but there are also 3 other houses similar to ours on the market in our neighborhood.  They are in the same price range and they have had no showings as well.  I hear talk about the hot housing market, but it seems that is for the houses that are $250,000 and less.  We had no trouble selling the rent house, but it was in that lower price range.  I asked the realtor about lowering the price by $20,000 and he said he believes if we want some action we are going to have to price it to sell and that means a price under $700,000.  He also believes that unless we need to get out from under it, we should wait for the right buyer to come along.  So I guess for the time being we will wait for that special buyer who really wants this house.

I do have a couple of pictures this time for you.

This is the Kitchen at night- still missing cabinets, shelves and hardware

  

here is our mail box

So Close, Yet So Far Away

 

Sorry,no pictures this time.  I am having issues trying to load them on to the computer.  Promise new pictures next week!  So those of you who just look at the pictures will need to do a little light reading this week. :)

We are seeing progress and lots of little things are being completed like connecting the power so we can test light fixtures and connecting the plumbing at the man palace.  Next week they are to pour the concrete for the carport and the landing off the back door that will gradually slope to the carport.  Currently it is like a 13 inch step down from the slab to the ground) not really what we had in mind when we said NO STAIRS at the new house.  

Michael finished the shower and it looks great and Jay has finished the frames for the mirrors in both bathrooms.

All the cabinets have been installed and painted but we needed to meet with our Builder to discuss the fact that I am still not happy with the kitchen cabinets.  To add insult to injury there was a $4,500 CO from the cabinet maker for my specialty cabinets.  In my real world where people respond when you ask them for things like the plans or a return of a phone call or email, I would not have not had a problem with the change order as we added a lot of specialty cupboards and drawers plus cabinets in 3 extra rooms but the kitchen still didn’t work and now I noticed that the cabinet designated to be my china cabinet was not built as I wanted and covered up the light switches for the kitchen. 

OH and the biggest issue of ALL… the center island being too big also makes it impossible to get my stove or fridge into the kitchen, let alone ever move them to make any repairs or cleaning!!  Had I seen the plans (my favorite tag line of late) I would have known that to get everything I wanted in the island would have created this massive counter and would have said we need to redesign.  I’m not a builder or a designer so I expect the professionals to notice things like this and bring it to my attention.  Guess I’m back to my version of the real world and not the real world I live in!!  Anyway to make a very long story shorter, the builder agreed to get AJ to rebuild the center island about a foot shorter and a few inches less wide.  It will still be tight, but at least now we will be able to get the appliances in the Kitchen (small details….) He is also getting AJ to rebuild the cabinet to be used for the China Hutch and surprise surprise we found the missing light switches when we removed the top half of the cabinet.  

We are about a month behind, but should be moving in the first week or so of November.  The other disappointing situation is the sale of our Dallas house.  It has been on the market for 3 weeks and zero showings.  We have done 3 open houses and have had good traffic, but no one interested in making an offer.  It seems the other 3 similar houses listed in my neighborhood have also had no traffic.  We are all priced in the same price range and the smaller homes in the area are even more expensive on a price per square foot basis.  Looks like it is going to take us a while to sell this place.  Just want I wanted 2 mortgages!  Guess I need to keep working!  Good thing I am enjoying what I’m doing and having the House in Dallas will give us a place to stay when we come to the city for work or play.  So I think this is called making lemonade out of lemons!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE CABINETS

They say good things will happen, have patience.  I am a little (okay a lot) short on patience, but AJ called me on Tuesday to ask me a couple of questions and said he would be there that day to start delivering my cabinets.  Sure enough at noon Jay called to tell me the first load had been delivered.  When I got there on Friday the house was full of cabinets.  We did have some issues.  Issues that wouldn't have been issues if we had ever seen the plans but since we didn't we had to make some adjustments.  One issue was that my center island was way bigger than I had envisioned it.  It had all the items I wanted in it, but because of that it became this behemoth.  To correct the problem would have meant redesigning the entire cabinet and to make sure I got all the elements I wanted it would have most likely meant many of the others too.  I did not have the time or the patience for that exercise.  So now my spacious kitchen will be a lot less spacious but it is still a great kitchen.  We did have to change one set of cabinets, because the design now didn't leave enough clearance to get the refrigerator or the stove into the kitchen.  I'm still not sure about the stove, but we did fix the side where the refrigerator slides through. 

The offending cabinets have been removed to be reworked- it will still be tight.

The entertainment center in the bedroom looks great but i forgot to take a picture.

Here is my seat with storage for shoes in my mud room  I LOVE IT!.

There was also an issue in the bathroom.  Turns out the bathroom specs were for a standard tub and it was built out and plumbed for a standard tub- however the granite and marble guy who made the tub and bathroom countertop made a bigger tub.  It didn't fit.  So everything had to be modified to make it fit.  The plumber was really not happy!  If it looks okay in the end and I am assured it won't leak where they had to cut the drywall I will be okay, if not................  

The next interesting story is our tile guy Michael.  He is a perfectionist so as a result he seems really slow, but I would rather have slow and right than fast and problems.  When I got to the house and went to see how it was going in the shower I realized that the seat he was doing was not what I wanted.  I got a little upset, not at him but at us for not providing a good picture of what I wanted.  Michael said he was at a spot that if I wanted him to change it he could, we would need to order more tile and that would delay his completion, but he could make it like I wanted, no problem.  I love guys like this!!  He was so sweet and came to work on it on Saturday just to make sure I liked what he created for me.  So as a thank you I steamed some of my Tamales and we all (Michael, his assistant, Jay and I) had Laynie and Belinda's homemade tamales for lunch.  It was a good day.