...I was packing. We are up to 134 boxes, and I am really puzzled by what is in all of them. I seem to have most of what I need day-to-day, but there are all these boxes full of stuff. It must be Derek's stuff.
Speaking of stuff, I decided to follow a suggestion and start a wish list at Target for our new house. I was delighted to learn that, after 90 days, anything still on the list will be 10 % off, so we can buy things for ourselves. I was somewhat less delighted to learn that the clerk had set up the registry as a wedding registry. We are already married, have been for over 12 years. We are staying married, but apparently we are drawing out our the nuptial celebrations a bit.
You can look at our list at Target.com. You can, of course, give us stuff on the list, but you can also amuse yourself by critiquing our taste and wondering why someone would actually need a pink cotton ball holder (but it is unquestionably the cutest cotton ball holder in the world, it is pink glass and looks like a Depression glass candy dish!) Not to mention the personal benefits the list offers you. For instance, if you give us a croquet set or a serving platter, I am sure we will invite you over to play with it or eat off of it.
The best part of the gift registry was getting to use a little hand-held scanner that looked like a gun. I felt like a Star Trek cadet. And this very charming older lady thought I was registering for wedding presents and started giving me helpful advice for my marriage. My favorite tip? "Always keep a full cookie jar. You never know when you'll need it." Gee, maybe I should register for a cookie jar...
Target.com also helpfully suggests other items you might add to your wish list. I signed up for a pink soap dish and it helpfully suggested I buy soap to go with it. I added a cheese grater and it suggested I buy frozen pizza (presumably to go under the grated cheese?) I think this is what happens when a computer tries to think like a human. Amazon.com also does this when it makes suggestions. It once offered me a discount if I bought both the 2nd and 3rd editions of the same book. I bet there were few takers for that offer. I wonder, if I add a rug to the list will it offer me a vacuum? If I added pjs would it suggest slippers...or prophylactics? If I added aspirin, would it also suggest Tylenol, or relaxation tapes?
We have reserved a moving van and 2 professional movers for Friday, November 9th. We hope to stay in the house that night, since our bed will be there. Anyone want to help us finish up on the 10th?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
"You've Got Mail"
Well, actually, we've got mail! We stopped by the home tonight to see if it happened to be unlocked (it wasn't). However, we did peek into our mailbox, and there was mail! Our homeowners and auto insurance policies were being sent to our new address (even though we pointed out that we weren't moving in for a couple more weeks). And when we happened to check the mail today, there they were.
On another note, we are up to 130+ boxes -- some are big, some are small (books work best in boxes that aren't too big, and we have a ton of books!), but our apartment is starting to fill up with boxes. After making another trip to Goodwill today, I'm really starting to wonder how we have accumulated so much stuff. Oh, well, back to packing...
On another note, we are up to 130+ boxes -- some are big, some are small (books work best in boxes that aren't too big, and we have a ton of books!), but our apartment is starting to fill up with boxes. After making another trip to Goodwill today, I'm really starting to wonder how we have accumulated so much stuff. Oh, well, back to packing...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Insurance, utilities, etc., etc., etc.
Oh, the joys of homeownership -- and we're not even in the home yet!
I have spent much of the past week or so on the phone and internet, dealing with insurance companies, utility companies, and the like. And this was after Emilie and I have visited three different insurance companies in Bloomington to get homeowners insurance quotes. We finally found the best price on homeowners insurance and are going with that company. BUT, then you realize that you can get a better rate on your car insurance with the "multi-line" discount, so basically we started the whole process over again to get an auto quote. Finally, a week later, we have our new homeowners insurance and auto insurance lined up through the same company (with the coveted multi-line discount). And I just cancelled our existing auto insurance, so hopefully all of the insurance strings are tied up.
On the utilities front, that, too, has been somewhat of a struggle given the non-existence of our new address. I tried to hook up phone service though the company's internet site, but since our address doesn't exist, they couldn't do it over the web. I finally had to spend about 30 minutes on the phone with customer service one morning. Then they called me back last night to ask me more questions to which I don't really know the answer (do we have this type of junction box or that type, etc.). We finally got it all worked out, and hopefully they'll be transferring our phone service over to our new house just a few days after we take possession. (I'm not sure, but despite all of this new fangled technology stuff, and since our address doesn't exist, I think the customer service rep is literally going to be walking a handwritten piece of paper over to the technician, handing it to him, and telling him to go hook up our phones -- at least he can find our address on Google Maps!) Hoperfully, and knock on wood since we haven't heard for sure yet, starting our electric and water will be much smoother, since both of those services are already in place at the house and are currently being paid for by the builder.
Oh, and Emilie just reported that she delivered our change of address form to the Postal Service. She asked about our non-existence, and apparently got to go back and talk to the USPS boss in this super-secret office. Emilie has been assured by this boss that sometime, hopefully by the end of the week (maybe!), our street will officially exist. I never really thought about it much before, but I guess adding a new street means more work for the postal carriers, so they have to fight about who is (not) going to have to do the extra work. I'm sure seniority, union rules, and the collective bargaining agreements get involved and it is probably just a big, ugly mess -- you know how much of a pain in the butt those union people can be! (By the way, I'm allowed to say that since I am the union steward where I work.)
Let me just say it's a darn good thing we both have government jobs, otherwise I don't know how we would find the time to get all of this extra stuff done! (Of course I'm kidding! I, for one, always work a full 8 hour day plus only take a 30 minute lunch -- and that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
I have spent much of the past week or so on the phone and internet, dealing with insurance companies, utility companies, and the like. And this was after Emilie and I have visited three different insurance companies in Bloomington to get homeowners insurance quotes. We finally found the best price on homeowners insurance and are going with that company. BUT, then you realize that you can get a better rate on your car insurance with the "multi-line" discount, so basically we started the whole process over again to get an auto quote. Finally, a week later, we have our new homeowners insurance and auto insurance lined up through the same company (with the coveted multi-line discount). And I just cancelled our existing auto insurance, so hopefully all of the insurance strings are tied up.
On the utilities front, that, too, has been somewhat of a struggle given the non-existence of our new address. I tried to hook up phone service though the company's internet site, but since our address doesn't exist, they couldn't do it over the web. I finally had to spend about 30 minutes on the phone with customer service one morning. Then they called me back last night to ask me more questions to which I don't really know the answer (do we have this type of junction box or that type, etc.). We finally got it all worked out, and hopefully they'll be transferring our phone service over to our new house just a few days after we take possession. (I'm not sure, but despite all of this new fangled technology stuff, and since our address doesn't exist, I think the customer service rep is literally going to be walking a handwritten piece of paper over to the technician, handing it to him, and telling him to go hook up our phones -- at least he can find our address on Google Maps!) Hoperfully, and knock on wood since we haven't heard for sure yet, starting our electric and water will be much smoother, since both of those services are already in place at the house and are currently being paid for by the builder.
Oh, and Emilie just reported that she delivered our change of address form to the Postal Service. She asked about our non-existence, and apparently got to go back and talk to the USPS boss in this super-secret office. Emilie has been assured by this boss that sometime, hopefully by the end of the week (maybe!), our street will officially exist. I never really thought about it much before, but I guess adding a new street means more work for the postal carriers, so they have to fight about who is (not) going to have to do the extra work. I'm sure seniority, union rules, and the collective bargaining agreements get involved and it is probably just a big, ugly mess -- you know how much of a pain in the butt those union people can be! (By the way, I'm allowed to say that since I am the union steward where I work.)
Let me just say it's a darn good thing we both have government jobs, otherwise I don't know how we would find the time to get all of this extra stuff done! (Of course I'm kidding! I, for one, always work a full 8 hour day plus only take a 30 minute lunch -- and that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Time to pack like crazy!
Yes, it is now time to panic! There is so much left to do. Not just packing, but cleaning the old place, changing utilities, changing addresses, hiring a mover, and probably lots of important stuff that I am forgetting! And I can't really take any time off of work to do it. I was so sick I literally could not stand up two weeks ago, and I missed one day. It was a huge problem to find a sub and give her something to do and then play catch up. It was almost more work than just going to work!And Derek has a hearing on Halloween that will require lots of preparation time, including evenings. I appreciate the hopeful comments people have sent me, but I feel pretty panicky about getting everything done. I suppose some readers might not know that I have fibromyalgia, which causes joint pain and fatigue. When I overdo it, I feel like I was run over by a truck for at least a week. And it doesn't take much for me to overdo things, either. So I worry that I won't just be able to just pull a couple of all nighters to get everything done. (Learn more about fibromyalgia at this site: http://www.fmnetnews.com/basics-symptoms.php)
On a more cheerful note, we have been doing some shopping for our new house. We thought the lawn wouldn't be put in until spring, but here it is. So now we have to buy lawn toys. We got a rake, a hose, a sprinkler, and a little water-gun thing to water flowers (it goes on the end of the hose.) Fun, huh? And we have been window shopping for more stuff.
My Grandmother is giving me her china and a china cabinet to put it all in. We have looked at china cabinets a lot. Most of them are either very dark wood, ornately carved, with gold decorations or really rustic and countrified. I just want a very simple one, in medium oak, that is somewhat smaller than a bus. Apparently this will be hard to find. We have also been looking at rugs (to protect the new carpet in the dining room, of course), a little table to go behind the couch (which will be in the middle of the big room), and a cute little table and chairs for the "breakfast nook." I think the breakfast nook maybe known as "little room with no furniture" for a while. I have had a hard time not buying things on sale, though. Like the cute little fireplace toys (oh, I mean "tools"), light blue guest towels, and American flag I saw last week. All stuff I want but don't NEED, and all on sale. Hide my credit cards!
On a more cheerful note, we have been doing some shopping for our new house. We thought the lawn wouldn't be put in until spring, but here it is. So now we have to buy lawn toys. We got a rake, a hose, a sprinkler, and a little water-gun thing to water flowers (it goes on the end of the hose.) Fun, huh? And we have been window shopping for more stuff.
My Grandmother is giving me her china and a china cabinet to put it all in. We have looked at china cabinets a lot. Most of them are either very dark wood, ornately carved, with gold decorations or really rustic and countrified. I just want a very simple one, in medium oak, that is somewhat smaller than a bus. Apparently this will be hard to find. We have also been looking at rugs (to protect the new carpet in the dining room, of course), a little table to go behind the couch (which will be in the middle of the big room), and a cute little table and chairs for the "breakfast nook." I think the breakfast nook maybe known as "little room with no furniture" for a while. I have had a hard time not buying things on sale, though. Like the cute little fireplace toys (oh, I mean "tools"), light blue guest towels, and American flag I saw last week. All stuff I want but don't NEED, and all on sale. Hide my credit cards!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Staking our tree
Well, they stood our tree back up on Friday and staked it, so hopefully it will stay in place. Now we are just keeping our fingers crossed that there was no serious damage to the tree and that it will be able to recover.
Other than the tree, the other exciting news is that they gave our house its first cleaning (see the vacuum tracks?). That, of course, means that our house is currently the cleanest it will ever be!
Other than the tree, the other exciting news is that they gave our house its first cleaning (see the vacuum tracks?). That, of course, means that our house is currently the cleanest it will ever be!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Mourning our tree
For those of you faithful readers who were frantically searching the internet to help us identify our brand new tree -- never mind! I arrived at our homesite today to see a very tragic (or maybe "dramatic" is the better word!) Emilie lamenting the loss of our brand new tree.
You know how I mentioned we were excited because we were supposed to get a lot of rain last night (which would help our lawn)? Well, it also stormed this morning, and apparently our newly planted tree just couldn't hack it. But this is not without a silver lining...the storms that are blowing through right now created a very vivid rainbow.
You know how I mentioned we were excited because we were supposed to get a lot of rain last night (which would help our lawn)? Well, it also stormed this morning, and apparently our newly planted tree just couldn't hack it. But this is not without a silver lining...the storms that are blowing through right now created a very vivid rainbow.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A yard! And appliances!
They seem to be settling into a routine with constructing our new house. We go about a week with nothing much happening, then, just like Emeril -- BAM! Today they installed our new lawn, a tree, six bushes, and most of our appliances! BAM!!!
We had been getting pretty jealous -- most of our neighbors had their lawns put in about a week ago. Unfortunately, ours was delayed by the installation of the "water pit" -- RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the front yard (you can actually see it in the picture, just a little to the left of the tree). This is apparently the water meter, and I guess it must be for the whole entire block, because nobody else seems to have one! Does that makes our house extra special? We haven't really had a chance to positively identify the tree yet, but our best guess so far is some type of dogwood. And neither of us has a clue about the bushes. Along with our lawn, fortunately, has come some rain (they are forecasting up to .5 inches of rain tonight), which will be great for helping our lawn, tree, and bushes to take root. Of course, unless we get constant rain for the next few weeks, I suppose we now have to go out and buy some hoses and a sprinkler or two.
Our kitchen is coming together nicely. As you can see, they've installed the stove and refrigerator, and the dishwasher is next to the sinks to the right of the picture. We're still waiting on the microwave and range hood to be installed above the stove. They also installed our washer and dryer! We're really excited about that -- we've been using coin-operated laundry machines going all the way back to our early days as freshmen living in Moore Hall on the K-State campus. (Yes, that would be just over 14 years of paying to do our laundry!)
After some gentle prodding, they also finally installed our third "hose bibb" (so we now have one on both sides of the house, as well as in the garage). Despite all of the builder's assurances that "Oh, yes, that gets installed later on, don't worry about it," I'm not convinced. They basically had to knock a hole in the finished wall beneath our icemaker rough-in to run the water line out to the faucet...
Fortunately, they have since patched the wall back up!
So, everything is coming along nicely. We haven't heard anything more, so we assume we're still scheduled for a November 1 completion date with a November 7 closing. There are obviously still a few appliances they need to install, and a few other items like the glass doors on our fireplace and the lamp in our front yard need to be put in, but everything is looking good. Then they can do the final touch-ups.
Oh, and the Postal Service still doesn't know that we exist. Somebody who will remain, shall we say, "anonymous," had the smart idea of actually trying to mail something to us at our new address. Unfortunately, it was returned to sender as "no such street." (Which, of course, is really kind of funny when you think about it, since we have been driving up and down that strip of asphalt in our neighborhood for a couple of months now. Only the USPS could claim that a street that clearly exists does not, in fact, exist.) Thanks to anonymous for trying! Hopefully it will actually work if we try again in a few weeks?
We had been getting pretty jealous -- most of our neighbors had their lawns put in about a week ago. Unfortunately, ours was delayed by the installation of the "water pit" -- RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the front yard (you can actually see it in the picture, just a little to the left of the tree). This is apparently the water meter, and I guess it must be for the whole entire block, because nobody else seems to have one! Does that makes our house extra special? We haven't really had a chance to positively identify the tree yet, but our best guess so far is some type of dogwood. And neither of us has a clue about the bushes. Along with our lawn, fortunately, has come some rain (they are forecasting up to .5 inches of rain tonight), which will be great for helping our lawn, tree, and bushes to take root. Of course, unless we get constant rain for the next few weeks, I suppose we now have to go out and buy some hoses and a sprinkler or two.
Our kitchen is coming together nicely. As you can see, they've installed the stove and refrigerator, and the dishwasher is next to the sinks to the right of the picture. We're still waiting on the microwave and range hood to be installed above the stove. They also installed our washer and dryer! We're really excited about that -- we've been using coin-operated laundry machines going all the way back to our early days as freshmen living in Moore Hall on the K-State campus. (Yes, that would be just over 14 years of paying to do our laundry!)
After some gentle prodding, they also finally installed our third "hose bibb" (so we now have one on both sides of the house, as well as in the garage). Despite all of the builder's assurances that "Oh, yes, that gets installed later on, don't worry about it," I'm not convinced. They basically had to knock a hole in the finished wall beneath our icemaker rough-in to run the water line out to the faucet...
Fortunately, they have since patched the wall back up!So, everything is coming along nicely. We haven't heard anything more, so we assume we're still scheduled for a November 1 completion date with a November 7 closing. There are obviously still a few appliances they need to install, and a few other items like the glass doors on our fireplace and the lamp in our front yard need to be put in, but everything is looking good. Then they can do the final touch-ups.
Oh, and the Postal Service still doesn't know that we exist. Somebody who will remain, shall we say, "anonymous," had the smart idea of actually trying to mail something to us at our new address. Unfortunately, it was returned to sender as "no such street." (Which, of course, is really kind of funny when you think about it, since we have been driving up and down that strip of asphalt in our neighborhood for a couple of months now. Only the USPS could claim that a street that clearly exists does not, in fact, exist.) Thanks to anonymous for trying! Hopefully it will actually work if we try again in a few weeks?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Carpet
You know how I just mentioned that some days there is little progress, while other days there is major progress? Well, today we saw some major progress...they installed our carpet!
Unfortunately, we have also recently found another of those little "surprises" -- a broken window!
Either somebody is taking pot shots at our window with a BB gun, or perhaps a small rock got kicked up by some of their heavy machinery. At any rate, we'll have to make sure they replace our window before we take possession of the house!
Unfortunately, we have also recently found another of those little "surprises" -- a broken window!
Either somebody is taking pot shots at our window with a BB gun, or perhaps a small rock got kicked up by some of their heavy machinery. At any rate, we'll have to make sure they replace our window before we take possession of the house!
We Exist!!!
So, over the past few weeks we've been paying close attention to whether or not our new house exists.
When I say "exists," obviously our house exists, we've all seen pictures of it and Emilie and I have been wandering around inside it. But the fact that we know it exists doesn't really matter -- the real question is does the internet know the house exists? (It has been quite a pain getting homeowner's insurance quotes when the companies can't even pull up the actual location of our house.)
Well, I checked today on Google Maps, and I'm happy to report that we do, in fact, exist! That will make it much easier for people to get directions to our new house!
Now if the U.S. Postal Service could only figure out that we exist -- we have neighbors moving in within a matter of days and the USPS website still has no record of Meeting House Lane. I guess it may be awhile before we're able to get mail. But I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, you know how all of those federal government agencies are! :)
[And yes, I know that the Postal Service is only a quasi-governmental agency.]
When I say "exists," obviously our house exists, we've all seen pictures of it and Emilie and I have been wandering around inside it. But the fact that we know it exists doesn't really matter -- the real question is does the internet know the house exists? (It has been quite a pain getting homeowner's insurance quotes when the companies can't even pull up the actual location of our house.)
Well, I checked today on Google Maps, and I'm happy to report that we do, in fact, exist! That will make it much easier for people to get directions to our new house!
Now if the U.S. Postal Service could only figure out that we exist -- we have neighbors moving in within a matter of days and the USPS website still has no record of Meeting House Lane. I guess it may be awhile before we're able to get mail. But I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, you know how all of those federal government agencies are! :)
[And yes, I know that the Postal Service is only a quasi-governmental agency.]
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Subtle progress, major progress
As we get closer to a finished house, we have begun to realize that some days result in very subtle (or at least unexciting) progress, while other days seem to have great leaps forward. For example, over the past week we have seen the electrical plates installed in the house...
But we've also had sinks and toilets installed...
And also our water heater (not subtle, but also not very "exciting")...
We've also continue to find unusual stuff around the house, like this...
Yes, that is a rusty nail sticking into a Powerade bottle (which has some liquid at the bottom). This was just sitting on our kitchen counter. I don't have a clue where this comes from or what it means, but Emilie suspects that it is the result of target practice with a nail gun. Any thoughts?
But we've also had sinks and toilets installed...
And also our water heater (not subtle, but also not very "exciting")...
We've also continue to find unusual stuff around the house, like this...
Yes, that is a rusty nail sticking into a Powerade bottle (which has some liquid at the bottom). This was just sitting on our kitchen counter. I don't have a clue where this comes from or what it means, but Emilie suspects that it is the result of target practice with a nail gun. Any thoughts?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Door knobs and closet shelves
More progress today, especially on the fixtures side of things...
They installed our cool lever door knobs
And a deadbolt and peephole on the front door (which they apparently haven't painted burgundy yet)
Shelves in all of the closets
And in the bathroom -- a mirror, towel bar, and a shower door (for which Emilie is reading the cleaning instructions -- they basically recommend just soap and water -- I guess our shower door will always be clean!)
They installed our cool lever door knobs
And a deadbolt and peephole on the front door (which they apparently haven't painted burgundy yet)
Shelves in all of the closets
And in the bathroom -- a mirror, towel bar, and a shower door (for which Emilie is reading the cleaning instructions -- they basically recommend just soap and water -- I guess our shower door will always be clean!)One day, lots of progress
We went by the home on Saturday to see what had been going on. There wasn't really much progress, but we did happen to meet the nice guy who was doing the finishing work on the cabinets (i.e. now that the vinyl flooring has been put in, he was coming back to lay the little strip at the bottom of all the cabinets). Our driveway was marked off, but hadn't been poured yet.
But when we went by the home on Monday, tons of progress had been made!
They poured the concrete for our driveway
They stained our fireplace and installed most of our lights and light fixtures (notice the ceiling fan and spotlights over the fireplace)
We have sinks (but they aren't in place yet -- well, I guess they are in place, but the aren't installed yet!)
Oh, and they gave us a mailbox!
But when we went by the home on Monday, tons of progress had been made!
They poured the concrete for our driveway
They stained our fireplace and installed most of our lights and light fixtures (notice the ceiling fan and spotlights over the fireplace)
We have sinks (but they aren't in place yet -- well, I guess they are in place, but the aren't installed yet!)
Oh, and they gave us a mailbox!
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