Sunday, March 09, 2008

Moving


We are moving. We are moving...I think it is finally sinking in. We have been in this home for over 10 years and have been looking on and off. This is such a big change for me, one that is both welcome and at the same time very frightening. I have become so comfortable here. Every time I walk in the front door, I am at peace. That IS how a home should feel. I know that I will feel at home in our new place after some time, but it is still change and the "unknown. Where will I grocery shop, what Vet will we use, how far away is the closest Starbucks? (We found that out today as I HAD to know.) But, it is time and we were both ready. It all happened so quickly. Jeff went out riding on the "bike" last weekend and came home with a bunch of flyers. He looked on the Internet all day. I thought it would pass...on our way to Lowes, we ended up looking at houses for 3 hours. Then another full day followed. The last home we looked at, I told Jeff as we drove up..."this is the one." And it was. It had everthing we wanted in a home and more. We went back today to take some measurements. It will need new kitchen counters and hardwood flooring in a few rooms. We will have that all done before we move in. As I sit and write, I keep wondering how it will feel. How long will it take before it is really "home." But the biggest question is, how will I possibly pack up and move my studio!!!! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Here is a front photo. It has a 3-car garage, but one got cut off in the photo...

6 comments:

Lost Aussie said...

Good luck with your moving, I hope it goes smoothly and the new home is what you wish it to be.

Kelly Snelling said...

it really does look like The One! i'm so happy for you. and i'm laughing about starbucks. :0) is it in the same town where you live now? i just think it is very exciting. all new haunts to explore, new restaurants to try, new people to get tangled up with when you are walking the dogs. :0)

Maija said...

It look so lovely! Congrats on your purchase. My hubby and I had a similar bike/house experience when we lived in Maryland! Must have been fate for you!

Anonymous said...

Oh! Congratulations! I hope you settle into your new home quickly!

Tracie Lyn Huskamp said...

OH LORRAINE... I am so HAPPY FOR YOU.. the house is BEAUTIFUL.. It was meant to be!!!

xoxoxox

Angie in AZ said...

Oh Lorraine, it's gorgeous! Chuck and I have been married 22 years and have moved A LOT! Like gypsies! I'm sick of moving but our house really is too small but I won't leave the neighborhood so we keep looking but the ones I really like that would work are way out of our price range even in a buyers market! Anyway, my secret to packing is this:
Get a spiral bound notebook. You will make 3 columns on it, the first is small only for numbers, the second small for a room code, and the rest of the space for stuff. So, you need to come up with room codes like 'k' for kitchen, 'mb" master bath, etc... As you pack a box, give it a number on all 4 sides of the box as well as the room code. I would use black marker for most stuff but if the box contained fragile things, I wrote everything in red marker. keep your notebook handy and for the coordinating number, write the room code and then in your third and largest column, write down the major things you are putting in this box. In case you are putting a lot of things in the box, don't number your pages ahead of time cuz you might need two lines for writing contents, just number as you go. Now, when you move, the room codes will tell what room the box will go in. Once you get in the house and you are wondering, "what box is the toaster in?" You pull out your handy dandy notebook and look for a "k" box, find the toaster listed in contents, and there ya' go, the toaster is in box 9. "Oh look, there it is!: By doing this, you save time writing contents on all 4 sides of the box since you can't control a bunch of guys and you know they will put the contents list facing the wall every time if you only wrote it on one side. Having the notebook also helps save time from digging if you don't label boxes at all! AND, down the road, it comes in handy for boxes that are left unpacked for a while, you will know what is in them. What I did on our last moving day was go to the new house ahead of time and tape signs up on all rooms with my room code. Before hauling all the boxes over, I had a pow-wow with all the moving hands and told them the plan so they knew that the box code needed to match the room code. They didn't do it perfectly but they did pretty well. It saved time moving boxes through the house later for unpacking. You can be at the new house playing director as they bring them in and that will help too. Believe me, I've used this method through many moves and it really makes it go smoothly. If you want to get really weird about it (sorta' Martha Stewart-like), once all boxes are packed and your list is complete, you could put the list into the computer (or do this as you go at the end of each day) and then have your list categorized with all the "k" boxes listed together, all the "mb" boxes listed together, etc. Can you tell I can really get into organization! :) Anyway, good luck!