June 28, 2006
Who am I kidding? I have absolutely no idea what day it is. It's all a blur. (Plus, do we count from when we left Philly, or from when our stuff actually arrived in the house???) The first couple of days we could really see progress by the end of each day, but now that things are a bit settled, it just feels like we're spinning our wheels because the progress is not so apparent. I know I did stuff today, but I can't even remember what it was and you sure can't tell. It feels like we just move stuff from one end of the room to the other. Every time I look for something specific, I can't find it - I don't think we've reached Critical Mass of Box Unpacking yet. Which is why I shouldn't be wasting time typing this message!!!
And what's with this weather? Is this "climate change" or just bad luck? Our neighbors tell us we never flood because we're at the top of a small incline - who'd have thought that would be so important so soon after moving in? I really feel bad for all the stranded travelers and folks forced to evacuate (or watch their homes fall into the water). It puts our own minor troubles very much in perspective!
Stay dry and I'll write more soon (just one more day without a proper computer!)
=)
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
We're in!
I’m writing this on a cool and rainy Monday morning at the local Panera Bread (which has free wireless), next door to the grocery store, which is my next stop (we don’t have cable, phone or internet until Friday). We’re (finally!) in our new house. It’s exhausting to pack up a house, but it’s just as exhausting, in a different way, to live out of boxes and try to find a place for everything.
Things may be even more chaotic than normal moving chaos, because our very fine PA movers put all the boxes in the back of the truck and all the furniture close to the door so that the furniture would go in the house first. But of course the order was reversed when the stuff was loaded into the storage unit - the furniture went into the unit first and then the boxes. The second team of movers ended up putting the boxes in the house first and the furniture last. The net result was that we had all the furniture in the middle of the rooms and boxes all around them. Yesterday we finally got the furniture basically arranged, and now we’re tackling boxes. It took me two days to find the silverware and dish drainer, which I came across about midnight last night, literally in the bottom box in the last stack of boxes – I was almost convinced it got left behind.
Saturday night Larry got stung by a bee right on the side of his nose whilehe was outside our garage (we’re pretty sure there’s a nest somewhere). It seemed fine at first but the next day it started to swell and this morning he looks like he went several rounds with Mike Tyson. He went over to the Urgent Care Clinic – they said it looks like it’s infected (apparently not uncommon) and he started a 10 day course of antibiotics. No end to the fun.
Caleb watches lots of videos, but Alana prefers to putter around; they both like to “help” move boxes and lift furniture – it’s quite endearing. Casey prowls around a lot and Rudy has picked the landing of the stairs as his favorite sleeping spot.
We’ve eaten in lots of local restaurants, most of which have been very good. There’s been no Welcome Wagon or covered dishes from neighbors – I guess that era is over. But we have met several people in the neighborhood. Next door is a family with two kids, a boy 4 (Jacob) and a girl 7 (Maddie). Many of the houses around us are older couples, but there seems to be a few younger families in the neighborhood.
Silver lining: There is a babysitter behind us and the family next door uses a nice neighborhood girl named Caitlin.
Things may be even more chaotic than normal moving chaos, because our very fine PA movers put all the boxes in the back of the truck and all the furniture close to the door so that the furniture would go in the house first. But of course the order was reversed when the stuff was loaded into the storage unit - the furniture went into the unit first and then the boxes. The second team of movers ended up putting the boxes in the house first and the furniture last. The net result was that we had all the furniture in the middle of the rooms and boxes all around them. Yesterday we finally got the furniture basically arranged, and now we’re tackling boxes. It took me two days to find the silverware and dish drainer, which I came across about midnight last night, literally in the bottom box in the last stack of boxes – I was almost convinced it got left behind.
Saturday night Larry got stung by a bee right on the side of his nose whilehe was outside our garage (we’re pretty sure there’s a nest somewhere). It seemed fine at first but the next day it started to swell and this morning he looks like he went several rounds with Mike Tyson. He went over to the Urgent Care Clinic – they said it looks like it’s infected (apparently not uncommon) and he started a 10 day course of antibiotics. No end to the fun.
Caleb watches lots of videos, but Alana prefers to putter around; they both like to “help” move boxes and lift furniture – it’s quite endearing. Casey prowls around a lot and Rudy has picked the landing of the stairs as his favorite sleeping spot.
We’ve eaten in lots of local restaurants, most of which have been very good. There’s been no Welcome Wagon or covered dishes from neighbors – I guess that era is over. But we have met several people in the neighborhood. Next door is a family with two kids, a boy 4 (Jacob) and a girl 7 (Maddie). Many of the houses around us are older couples, but there seems to be a few younger families in the neighborhood.
Silver lining: There is a babysitter behind us and the family next door uses a nice neighborhood girl named Caitlin.
More fun (and some general rambling)
June 26, 2006
I'm sitting on our porch at 10 p.m. writing this email, because Larry discovered that we can piggyback on someone's internet connection from out here, probably a neighbor or some local wifi. Some moths are dive-bombing the light above me, but other than that, it's rather pleasant.
I forgot a tidbit in my previous email - the first evening we were in the house, we discovered that the previous owners, or the property mgt co, turned off the pilot light of the hot water heater (the water never got hot when I [tried to] wash dishes). Larry had to relight the pilot light . . . luckily the water heated up faster than we feared (within a couple of hours) - we thought we were going to have to take cold showers - fun!
Larry and I spent a small fortune at Lowe's today (they honored the 10% off coupon we'd gotten for Home Depot). Bought a lawn mover and hedge trimmer, ceiling fans for the bedrooms, some shelving brackets for the basement, new toilet seats for all three bathrooms, and a few other things. Homes are money pits - I'm here to testify.
I took the kids to the SPCA today. The process of getting a dog is so much more complicated than it used to be - they have lots of rules, and our "application" will take several days to be approved (!) We saw a darling "terrier mix" that we consider a hot prospect, but he just arrived today (a local stray) and all pets must be there for 5 days to rule out being claimed as lost. He's such a sweetie, I'd be surprised if he isn't just lost. We'll know next week.
I did get a nibble on a job I applied for at the university. It's the only response I've gotten to the three jobs I sent resumes to . . . and there hasn't been any other remotely viable listings since last month (I've checked plenty). I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high on this position (just b/c I'm desperate!) - they probably have lots of applicants. But several people who know the area have assured me that I won't have trouble finding a job. . . Gads, I hope they're right!!!
We *are* (slowly) learning our way around the area by driving to stores and restaurants. We'll be old pros soon enough and won't remember how lost we felt these last few days. . .
This is turning into a minor novel, and I'm going to be sorry if I don't hit the hay soon. Can you tell I'm just avoiding facing more boxes?!?!
Thanks for your calls and emails. They feel a bit like a shout in the dark - it's all so overwhelming here and I don't have any support system at all yet.
More soon!
I'm sitting on our porch at 10 p.m. writing this email, because Larry discovered that we can piggyback on someone's internet connection from out here, probably a neighbor or some local wifi. Some moths are dive-bombing the light above me, but other than that, it's rather pleasant.
I forgot a tidbit in my previous email - the first evening we were in the house, we discovered that the previous owners, or the property mgt co, turned off the pilot light of the hot water heater (the water never got hot when I [tried to] wash dishes). Larry had to relight the pilot light . . . luckily the water heated up faster than we feared (within a couple of hours) - we thought we were going to have to take cold showers - fun!
Larry and I spent a small fortune at Lowe's today (they honored the 10% off coupon we'd gotten for Home Depot). Bought a lawn mover and hedge trimmer, ceiling fans for the bedrooms, some shelving brackets for the basement, new toilet seats for all three bathrooms, and a few other things. Homes are money pits - I'm here to testify.
I took the kids to the SPCA today. The process of getting a dog is so much more complicated than it used to be - they have lots of rules, and our "application" will take several days to be approved (!) We saw a darling "terrier mix" that we consider a hot prospect, but he just arrived today (a local stray) and all pets must be there for 5 days to rule out being claimed as lost. He's such a sweetie, I'd be surprised if he isn't just lost. We'll know next week.
I did get a nibble on a job I applied for at the university. It's the only response I've gotten to the three jobs I sent resumes to . . . and there hasn't been any other remotely viable listings since last month (I've checked plenty). I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high on this position (just b/c I'm desperate!) - they probably have lots of applicants. But several people who know the area have assured me that I won't have trouble finding a job. . . Gads, I hope they're right!!!
We *are* (slowly) learning our way around the area by driving to stores and restaurants. We'll be old pros soon enough and won't remember how lost we felt these last few days. . .
This is turning into a minor novel, and I'm going to be sorry if I don't hit the hay soon. Can you tell I'm just avoiding facing more boxes?!?!
Thanks for your calls and emails. They feel a bit like a shout in the dark - it's all so overwhelming here and I don't have any support system at all yet.
More soon!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
The disaster continues
June 24, 2006
It's now Saturday morning and I'm again writing from the hotel because the movers' "small" job Friday morning of course turned into an all day deal and they were never able to move our stuff. It may be a blessing - we were all exhausted by Friday afternoon and it would have been a *very* long day if the moving had actually occurred. We're waiting to hear from them now and I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be in the house, with our stuff, this afternoon. It's a gorgeous day here, so that's a plus too.I'll be in touch on the other side of this - keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
It's now Saturday morning and I'm again writing from the hotel because the movers' "small" job Friday morning of course turned into an all day deal and they were never able to move our stuff. It may be a blessing - we were all exhausted by Friday afternoon and it would have been a *very* long day if the moving had actually occurred. We're waiting to hear from them now and I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be in the house, with our stuff, this afternoon. It's a gorgeous day here, so that's a plus too.I'll be in touch on the other side of this - keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Clarifications
June 22, 2006
Hi gang,Here's the deal - the previous owner was transferred by their job and some kind of property management company took over the house. So it's not that anyone is there - the family is long gone (the house was on the market since last November). The hold up is only paperwork or just cussedness ("you said you wanted to close on the 30th!") or some legal mumbo jumbo. We're pretty miffed at our mortgage company b/c it seems like they should have known what was going on (at least should have known that the mgt company wasn't expecting to close on June 21) - Larry's been on the phone with them almost daily for a couple of weeks, faxing forms and emailing stuff. But being annoyed serves no purpose - at this point we're resigned to our fate and just trying to deal with living out of our car and suitcases.
P.S. Larry is off work until June 30th. It would be nice if we could spend that time settling into the house instead of hanging out in a hotel. But at least we can start finding our way around Syracuse. Last night we went to Mike's ice cream near our house, on the recommendation of our waiter at Red Lobster.
P.S.S. So much for our perfect moving in day (which was yesterday and only yesterday) - it's supposed to rain for the next 5 days. Oh, and Alana has a raging head cold (though she seems better today than yesterday, so maybe that's on it's way out).
Hi gang,Here's the deal - the previous owner was transferred by their job and some kind of property management company took over the house. So it's not that anyone is there - the family is long gone (the house was on the market since last November). The hold up is only paperwork or just cussedness ("you said you wanted to close on the 30th!") or some legal mumbo jumbo. We're pretty miffed at our mortgage company b/c it seems like they should have known what was going on (at least should have known that the mgt company wasn't expecting to close on June 21) - Larry's been on the phone with them almost daily for a couple of weeks, faxing forms and emailing stuff. But being annoyed serves no purpose - at this point we're resigned to our fate and just trying to deal with living out of our car and suitcases.
P.S. Larry is off work until June 30th. It would be nice if we could spend that time settling into the house instead of hanging out in a hotel. But at least we can start finding our way around Syracuse. Last night we went to Mike's ice cream near our house, on the recommendation of our waiter at Red Lobster.
P.S.S. So much for our perfect moving in day (which was yesterday and only yesterday) - it's supposed to rain for the next 5 days. Oh, and Alana has a raging head cold (though she seems better today than yesterday, so maybe that's on it's way out).
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Complete freakin' disaster
June 21, 2006
I'm writing this on Wednesday night from our hotel, because we DIDN'T CLOSE ON THE HOUSE TODAY. As unbelievable as it may sound, the seller isn't ready - they claim they thought the closing was (still) set for June 30th (the original date). Our mortgage company is working hard to move the date up to this Friday, because that's the last day for our guaranteed interest rate. Larry spent literally hours on the phone today, and after all that, he met the moving truck at a storage facility and watched them load our entire house into a 10' X 30' storage unit. Even the moving company guy (Ralph, from Poland) felt sorry for us. We figure it'll cost an extra thousand dollars for the storage unit and a second team of movers. Hopefully that'll get reimbursed by Larry's company. Meanwhile, we're cooling our heels in a hotel, after rushing to pack up everything by the 20th (10 days earlier than originally planned). It's almost surreal. On the bright side, we're here . . . . I took the kids to the YMCA, which has a lovely playground right next to it. And we stopped by the house and picked up our mail (!) What a ridiculous situation.
Silver linings:
The drive up went very well.
The hotel is very nice and has a pool (though of course I don't have my suit).
The cats are settling in nicely to the hotel room.
The weather has been beautiful today.
We're right across from the ice machine (hey, I'll take what I can get).
Thanks for all your good wishes (Janet, your lovely card was waiting for us.)
I'll keep you updated!
I'm writing this on Wednesday night from our hotel, because we DIDN'T CLOSE ON THE HOUSE TODAY. As unbelievable as it may sound, the seller isn't ready - they claim they thought the closing was (still) set for June 30th (the original date). Our mortgage company is working hard to move the date up to this Friday, because that's the last day for our guaranteed interest rate. Larry spent literally hours on the phone today, and after all that, he met the moving truck at a storage facility and watched them load our entire house into a 10' X 30' storage unit. Even the moving company guy (Ralph, from Poland) felt sorry for us. We figure it'll cost an extra thousand dollars for the storage unit and a second team of movers. Hopefully that'll get reimbursed by Larry's company. Meanwhile, we're cooling our heels in a hotel, after rushing to pack up everything by the 20th (10 days earlier than originally planned). It's almost surreal. On the bright side, we're here . . . . I took the kids to the YMCA, which has a lovely playground right next to it. And we stopped by the house and picked up our mail (!) What a ridiculous situation.
Silver linings:
The drive up went very well.
The hotel is very nice and has a pool (though of course I don't have my suit).
The cats are settling in nicely to the hotel room.
The weather has been beautiful today.
We're right across from the ice machine (hey, I'll take what I can get).
Thanks for all your good wishes (Janet, your lovely card was waiting for us.)
I'll keep you updated!
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