Unpacking

Busy week! On Tuesday the movers arrived, well, the driver Eddie arrived but no one to unload the truck. Shades of loading in Glen Ellyn. Eddie got on the phone and got one guy here by about 9:00 and another showed uo just before 11. The three of them did hustle though and the truck was unloaded in far less time than it took to load it.

The house is now full of furniture and boxes and we are sorting it out and arranging. Sharon has u packed all seven wardrobe boxes and the bedrom is liveable. She is also catching up on laundry and unpacking and arranging the kitchen all while spending time on the telephone working with clients. Wonder Woman.

I feel I have mostly been carrying boxes from the basement up to the first or second floor or moving boxes from the second floor to the first floor or the basement. I discovered that it matters not how you lable a box or where you tell a mover to put it, they will put it where they want. Also, why did I bother writing "Fragile" on some boxes? It makes no difference to a mover, though I have not foiund anything broken yet (though I think a box with framed photos has a bit of glass rattling around.

The garage is full of empty b oxes to be broken down and the back of the Volvo is full of sheets of packing paper. It takes up a lot more room when it is used than when it was new. I guess that's why it works so well for packing. I hope to make a run to the Longmont Recycling Center today to get rid of some of it.

I am enjoying the light in this house. This morning when I got up and looked out the bedroom window at the blue sky, the mountains, the green, I couldn't help but smile. Every room has big windows and the house is much lighter and brighter than our Glen Ellyn house.

Back to unpacking!

Adventures In Moving

This week was moving week. After a weekend of hectic last minute packing and purging and a couple of last get together with friends, the movers arrived on May 31 to load us out. We were supposed to see a driver, Eddie, and two helpers. One help was a no show which meant that for the first three hour, two guys were doing it all. That and heavy rain at around 2:00 meant that our load out lasted from 8:00 to 6:45. Sharon and Katie loaded up the cats and headed out early on their way to Davenport. I hung at the house, adding lat minute things to the Miata, taking apart the hutch, and an entertainment center and watching the loading. I was a long day.

 

I met Sharon and Katie in Davenport and we spent the evening and the next morning with Kathy and Kevin and Brady before starting our drive. Destination: Kearney Nebraska. For us is was an uneventful straight shot across Iowa and Nebraska. By the way, you can have Omaha! Yikes, the traffic there is terrible. The cats did fine and handled their stay in the hotel in Kearney without too much fussing.

 

June 2 and off to Davenport! Our last leg was only about five hours of driving. The weather was beautiful traffic was light and except for an erratic woman in an SUV who tried to run me off the road, uneventful. As we crossed the Colorado state line I said to myself, "We're home!" We had a nice brunch in Sterling Nebraska around 10:30 and made it to Longmont at about 12:45. IT was quite a sight when we crossed the ridge and could suddenly see the mountains. Stan met us at 1527 Otis and let us in, gave us keys, and took off the lock box. Scott Von met us with garage door openers and we were in our new home. We unpacked the cars, blew up air mattresses, and Sharon and Katie did some basic shopping while I waited on our refrigerator delivery and set up our internet connection.

 

 

 

Last stop of the day was in Niwot where we met Chuck and Joan for dinner at Ajuaa. A good time was had by all and we went home to crash. Sleeping on the air mattresses is another story.

 

 

Closer And Closer

Tuesday is moving day and I still am feeling I am not ready because there are so many little things to deal with, to pack, to toss, to donate. I seem to constantly find something more. I consider the attic done, the back bedroom done, the front room done, the living room done, but I still have things in the basement, the front and middle bedroom, a TV in the back room, and four fish in the pond!

 

The move estimator said we would need four wardrobe boxes. I am up to six. We have far more small boxes than anyone could have imagined. For example I packed all of the books from the back room, expecting perhaps to get them all in 8 to 10 boxes. Double that.

 

We have gotten rid of all but four goldfish - these four are fast. The loveseat is gone, Kath's bed is gone, the recliner is gone. The gas grill is gone and the charcoal and Weber smoker are spoken for. On Saturday 1-800 Junk comes for a lot of stuff collected in the garage - and I am adding to it.

 

On Monday the movers come to pack the kitchen and dining room. I am so glad we are paying them to do this part. I am tired of packing!

 

Yesterday Kristie, acting as our "Attorney in Fact" signed all of the papers for the closing on our house in Redmond. We are no longer slum lords and a check should show up today. Looks like we doubled our money on that house - but now we will pay Oregon abd Federal taxes on the gain.

So Much Going On!

I still feel I have things in hand but there is much going on - on three fronts; Glen Ellyn, Redmond, and Longmont. In Glen Ellyn the buyers is asking for things not in the contract, probably not a biggie but something to deal with. Paperwork for Redmond - Oregon Income Tax Withholding on the sale and some VA stuff. The appraisal is done on the Redmond house and is good. Going to the underwriter next. In Longmont the builder is refinishing the wood floors.

In Glen Ellyn packing continues and I am feeling good. Today I packed a wardrobe box with my keyboard, a quilt and our winter coats. I filled and sealed one large box and two mediums and one small with wall art and photos, books, knick knacks, and assorted other items. I filled a large flat art box with two large format pieces from the living room. Three large pieces to go. I am out of large packing boxes and feel I might need a few more. Today I took two goldfish to Melody for her pond. I wanted to take her three of four but the fish did not cooperate with me. They all went deep as soon as I started dipping. I might need a bigger, longer net.

I'm tired.

22 Days!

Starting Over

Moving to Longmont is giving us a new start in life, not that we needed a new start. As I go through our house and seperate what we aremoving from what we are dumping ad what we are giving away I ponder our almost 22 years in this house and the almost 27 years since Sharon and I married, and the almost 28 years since I moved from Austin. As an aside, I am disposing of somethings I moved from Austin then. Do I really new two life vests from my sailboating days on Lake Travis?

When we unpack in Longmont it will be in a new home in new surroundings. We will have new experiences and meet new friends. We are commencing quite an adventure. This change is both frightening and exciting. I am ready, though the events leading up to moving out of here have me quite nervous. I keep repeating, "It will all work out."

I've got a garage full of items goings to the photography teacher at our local high school, Glenbard West. I've got a growing pile for Goodwill. And, I've got items for friends and neighbors. The fewer boxes I have to pack the better as pointed out to me yesterday by Nate from National Van Lines. We are paying for weight and distance.

Events

As I lay on the CT scan table today I thought that our lives are a series of events. Some we look forward to and some we dread, but then we are in them and then through them. I dread these scans, the IV, the Iodine infusion, the aftermath, and then the results.

I try not to worry about events, thinking that planning is more useful than worry. However, as much as I don't want to worry, I do. My current worry, or dread, is moving. I want to move but the process is rough! Getting our house ready to put on the market has been a pain and taken longer than I tought. I still have a lot to do - almost all in the basement. Once we have a contract on the house I can get down to more packing and also looking at moving companies. Of course there is also the issue of showing and selling the house. Nerve racking. Will it sell quickly? Terms? How soon do we have to be out? The house has been on the market for only a few days and I have had to leave multiple times as it has been shown. I still have lots of work to do to clean out the basement. Don't make me leave! I'm up to 10 trips to Goodwill. They know me now.

I Have A Dream

I have a dream. We will get a full price offer on our house, 60 day close, no contingincies. A nice dream.

Yesterday our agent came with a photographer and they rearranged much of the house for photographs. They did the attic and everything on the first floor. Afterwards I tried to put things back in place. It is odd being in here though. I have removed so much that I am hearing echos as I move around the house. The living room, dining, room, and the attic are especially prone to echos.

I've finished the attic and main floor and the laundry room. I've still got a lot of work to do in the basement as well as odd and ends in the rest of the house. Starting tomorrow, I have to make sure the house is ready for showings each day. Bed made, kitchen clean, no dishes in sink, no shoes or clothes left aroound. I like it neat but this is going to be hard.

Yesterday I drove to Elmwood Park to see Bernard and to give him a box of stamps from Stan Meade. Bernard seems to be doing well and was appreciative of the stamps. His house is packed with stuff. He collects so many different things and they are everywhere.

The drive from Glen Ellyn to Elmwood Park then back to Menards and then on to Fresh Market and finally home had me thinking about urban sprawl. The entire trip was though congested urban areas. I am looking forward to being in Colorado to get away from this. Yes, you can certainly find that in the Denver area, but where we will be we can avoid moost of it.

I read today that Illinois has the second highest property tax rates in the country. Gosh, at the top when Illinois genrally ranks at the bottom of many lists. We are also first with the highest number of local governments in the nation - 6,994 local governments. Illinos is dead last in funding of public pensions.

 

Almost Done

We are winding down our stay in Longmont. Everything seems to be coming together on our house. This past Thursday we did a walk through with the builder and on Friday we received a message from the mortgage company that we had conditional approval for our loan. This weekend we sent them the additional documents they are looking for. We are scheduled to close on Wednesday morning. The cash from Fidelity should show up in our account here on Tuesday morning. I've arranged for gas service to the new house but have to visit the City of Longmont for electricity, garbage, sewer, etc. on Tuesday. We've taken lots of pictures and many measurements. We've visited furniture stores to look at furniture we might need and a nursery to talk about landscaping. We have discovered restaurants and grocery stores and liquor stores and other shops around Longmont. We have looked at refrigerators at Lowe's and Home Depot. This week we will start packing the car for our return and clean this house. We have entertained guests and had lunches and dinners with friends. It has been a busy visit to Longmont! Whew!

Hard to believe that in a few days we will own a home here and the next time we are planning to be here it will be to move into our new home (though I suspect it will be do do a final walk through after the builder passes it on after their lease.) Did I mention the builder is leasing the house back from us for up to six months? This takes some of the pressure off of selling our house in Glen Ellyn.

The weather here is quite something and I have a lot to learn about it here. Very different from Chicago with different dynamics at work. I will have fun getting to know the patterns for all of the seasons. I am fascinated that Longmont weather is not Boulder weather is not Denver weather.

Oh, and the stars are so much brighter here - and more of them! Telescope in my future?

Weather etc.

Yesterday is was partly cloudy here in Longmont. We had full sun a goof part of the day and clouds on the east and west in the late afternoon - beautiful clouds in the west and southwest. It got up to about 50º. In the Chicago area it was sunny also but barely made it above 0º. My neuropathy has been better while here. Weather? I think so. THC lotion? Perhaps a part of it.

We had a wonderful dinner Sunday night in Niwot at Colterra. Fine dining with good service, a nice setting, and delicious beautifully presented food. The creme brulee is not as good as Sharon's, but then hers is pretty hard to beat! For about the same cost as Sugarbeet in Longmont which is supposed to be the best, Colterra puts them away. It is a Boulder level restaurant closer to Longmont. Niwot is a neat little community.

And on the topic of Niwot...Niwot was named after Chief Niwot or Left Hand who was a leader of the Southern Arapaho. I now know why we have the Left Hand Grange, and Left Hand Brewing, and Left Hand Creek, and Left Hand Valley. Niwot and many of the Arapaho were killed at Sand Creek. Read about it. Sad. However, because Sharon and I are left handed, perhaps this is a good omen. I need to visit Left Hand Brewing this week.

Things seem to be coming together on the house here. I think this all may work. We talked to Tom Walter, our Fidelity Advisor, we talked to Blake Schaeffer about a loan. I've gotten things moving on selling the house in Redmond, Oregon. Looking good so far. I am pulling reports online for accounts and wages and everything else that is needed for a loan application.

Moving?

The Jordans have found a house they both agree on and like a lot. And it seems early on in the Colorado experience and feeling this may be the one to make them commit to leave Glen Ellyn. If everything comes together this could be ours. Lots of space, great for cooking and entertaining, and a wonderful, expansive view of the mountains from the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. I am amused that ten years ago on my birthday weekend we looked at and bought a 2006 Miata. Here we are on my birthday weekend looking at and putting a deposit on a house. The house is a bit more expensive than a Miata. Three bedroom, two and a half bath, a small loft upstairs, a small office downstairs, an almost 1,000 sf basement, small low maintenance lot, backs up to a greenbelt, three car tandem garage, the coolest master bath with a soaking tub, hardwood downstairs, very nice carpet upstairs, laundry room upstairs attached to master bedroom closet, lots of cabinet and drawer space in the kitchen. No double oven. Heck we can't have everything.

Changes

While trying to sleep last night I was pondering our potential move to Longmont. We don't have to move from Glen Ellyn, at least not right now, but I think we eventually might. Should we move now and where do we move? We've been in Longmont for two weeks and certainly like the weather, the people, and the proximity to the mountains. But should we make the move? Can we afford the move? How do we swing buying a house while ours might still be for sale? How do we handle the logistics of a move? So many questions.

The hardest part of the move is the move. And, for me, it is getting rid of all my accumulated "stuff", most of which has no meaning, it is just accumulated things.