The moving part is almost over...tonight is our first night as citizens of Dublin. The whole last month has been a blur, a nightmare and a dream come true. Now it's time to plant ourselves in a new place. Here's the back story...our house was on the market for almost 3 years. I was beginning to think - no - make that believe, that it probably wouldn't sell for another 2 or 3 years. Got a little complacent and comfortable about that idea. Then, whoosh, in a flash, the house sells. We were on our last day of extended vacation (see blog about "the roadtrip") when we get a call from our agent that the house is being shown. A week later, another visit, three days more and an offer. Since this is only the second house I've ever sold I was expecting it to be a lot more complicated with multiple roadblocks. Everything sailed along...financing, appraisal...and next thing I know, we're scheduled for closing in 10 days. That's when it really hit me - we're leaving this house. We had less than 30 days to pack up 30 years of stuff. Fortunately, the buyers extended us up to 30 days to vacate. We're trying to finalize everything before the 15th of Nov. I'm exhausted, unreasonably emotional about leaving this house and Jonesboro, ecstatic about being practically next door to my grandchildren and feeling very weird about living in an apartment temporarily. The house closed without a hitch on Oct. 27th.
We're renting a place about 5 miles from where we're building. Hope to be able to keep a close eye on things. It's also about 5 miles from Brin, Todd and grandkids. Yeahhhh!!!! (I think!) Hope we all don't get on each others' nerves. The rental is cozy (shall we say small) and Briggs, Tommy and I are on top of each other. The living room is so small that when we sit in the couch/recliner, our feet are practically IN the TV. With a big screen, hi-def television, Tommy says he feels like he's in the front row at the movies. Space limitations have required us to put the freezer in the dining room alongside the washer and dryer. Tommy's desk is now a folding table and the second bedroom is floor to ceiling storage. The hallway to the back door is currently filled with Christmas boxes and decorations. Brin insists we put up a tree and I'm sure Jacely would be hugely disappointed if we don't. On side note...Brin & I took Jacely and JD to see Santa tonight. She was so excited and full of bravado until it came time to climb up in the the guy's lap. Nope, wasn't happening! She watched several other kids go first and she kept saying, "I need a minute." Finally, finally she agreed to go up there for the required picture but she still wasn't sitting on his lap - JD had to do that. The ice broke a bit when she asked him where his reindeer were and finally, after much prodding, announced that what she wants for Christmas is "a man." I kid you not! She's 2 1/2. Have no idea what that means or where it comes from...she wants a trailer, a horse, a truck, and a man. I foresee a lot of years living that down!
So anyway, this is supposed to be about the new house and the process building it. I predict a few ( okay, maybe a lot, but I hope not) detours along the way. I hope the story will be worth telling. So far, we have the land...a nice two acre spot in the middle of a pasture. The road is lined with a stand of pines about 20 feet deep. The land is mostly level with a gentle slope toward the back where the property line parallels a grove of mature hardwoods. Just through the "woods" (as I call them) is a small fishing lake. While we don't have a view of the lake, it's mighty close. We think we want to orient the house slightly askew to the road line, with the front facing south. Tommy plans to build a large workshop first on the rear corner of the property, to accommodate his wood shop and a "man cave." He also wants a two and a half car garage with a bonus room above for our car, truck, and "soon to have" golfcart. There just might be a little room left on the property for the house! I'm trying to think in terms of downsizing but I have my doubts about Tommy! So far, we've cleared a driveway, got a mailbox and an address, got a building permit, perk test for the septic tank and put in an order to run electricity. We have a long way to go.
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