Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Moving Forward...Looking Backward!

Do You Like My new Digs???
July, 2013

Thanks so much for your support and feedback after my last post!  I was so excited to tell all my Blog Friends about our move.  I knew somewhere down the road I'd be writing that post, I just never imagined it would be this soon or would transpire in one week's time!  I can assure you that even though the reality of moving 14 years worth of "stuff" has set in, there has not been one single moment of buyer's remorse or doubt that we've made the right decision.  We are so excited and every time we drive by, we look forward even more to the day we move in.  Speaking of moving in, closing is still set for August 1 and we plan to move the following week.  Although the condo is move-in ready, we are going to paint the three bedrooms in colors more to our liking and why pass up that opportunity while the rooms are empty and nothing has to be moved or worked around.  

There is still the little matter of selling our current home.  We've had lots of interest and a successful open house was held this past weekend.  But it is an older home (73 years old) with the creaks and cracks inherent in purchasing an older home.  Since we didn't anticipate moving for at least five more years, we've kept it in the best shape we could and that should be to our advantage now.  It's just a matter of the perfect buyer coming around who wants this beautiful old Cape Cod just like we wanted it 14 years ago.  

It has surprised both of us that we aren't feeling a bit more nostalgic about leaving our house and yard, but we attribute that to the fact that we've changed along with our priorities and the joy derived from working in the yard and maintaining the house just isn't there anymore.  We'd rather be spending that time with friends, heading to the mountains or taking advantage of the many fun things to do in our community.  We see lots of weekend jaunts to explore nearby places in our future - time that has always been devoted to "house" things.  Perhaps in the back of our minds, we always felt that when Bill retired, we'd have time to do both.  But with retirement on the backburner for at least five more years, that plan went out the window.  It was one or the other and we choose travel/adventure over yard work/home projects!!

Did I mention my sun porch?

Storm door opens to a good-sized patio - door on the left goes into the breakfast room.

Do you like my kitchen?


Picture on the left is standing in the breakfast area.  There is a large pantry on the other side of the refrigerator and at the far end of the cabinets on the left is an entry into the dining room.  The door leads through the laundry area and into the garage.  This is at least twice the counter space I've EVER had and lots more cabinet space as well.  

As for the blog, please bear with me during this time both with posting updates and with commenting on your posts.  I seriously considered taking a "break" until we were moved, but just didn't want to.  The blog is important to me and I told myself I'd MAKE time to post something regularly.  Perhaps, I aimed too high.  I am simply exhausted most days purging, packing, dumping, recycling and taking care of the business details of moving.  So I read YOUR posts for awhile to stay in the loop, but do it quickly usually just staying in my reader so please know that I am here even if there isn't a comment from me on every post.  

As excited as I am about the move, I will admit there is a twinge of regret that I am not leaving this Friday on Summer Adventure (Part 2) which was a couple of weeks in Colorado.  This trip was totally planned and highly anticipated by both of us, but especially me as it was going to involve at least two visits with Blog Friends that were already confirmed.  I will miss that and hope to reschedule it soon.  And next time around, there will be no anxiety about who will mow the yard, water the plants and take care of the house while we meander around the country!  

Please tell me about the last time you moved.  Why?  When?  Local/long distance?  Would love to know your stories!

(If you'll share your stories, I've got a couple of really funny ones I'll share in my next post!)

19 comments:

  1. We moved 7 times in 5 years before we landed here (CO, IL, CO, CO, MD, NY, VT). Now, we're getting ready to move again, but we don't know when (I can say it here, just not on my own blog: we're looking for a new job, and we're aiming for the Seattle area if possible!) We've been here for 13 years, and it was perfect when we moved in. Now, we're... done. We've changed, things have changed, and we feel like it's time to go. I think it's interesting how we change like that! It'll also be interesting to see if I have issues leaving the house my children were raised in or not. :)

    Love the new place!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was thinking about this the other day. We are not big movers in our family. When I was a kid, we moved when I was in first grade, and then did not leave that house until I was 25! As an adult, I moved to Wichita Falls TX at 29, and left at 36 to come back to California. I've been in this house ever since!! Pretty boring stuff. I was thinking about it because I am daydreaming of moving to Sisters, Oregon, a town I love to visit. And the house I am dreaming about is in a 55+ gated community where they take care of your yard!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I moved 2 miles away from my parents into a condo right after college graduation. I lived there several years and then bought the house across the street from my parents. I left the condo with no regrets. I was ready for an 'outside' quite the opposite of you right now. LOL!! I spent one of the happiest years of my life in the house across the street from my parents. 65MD and I got married a year and a week after I moved there. He had this funny notion that I would live with him in his house, which is about two blocks from my condo! I remember times in that house very fondly. But of course, I love living with 65MD in our house now too.

    We talk about moving to a lower maintenance place in our retirement years too. Those years are much farther away and we're talking about moving much farther as well, maybe Central America.
    Lori

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've lived in 4 houses/apartments in my whole life. Clearly, I'm not a mover. :) And yet, my "I want" list includes a number of areas in which I'd like to live for 3-6 months, just to experience the local culture.

    LOVE the new place! I especially like that it has a front porch, but that sun porch is nice, too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a gorgeous home! We are currently (it will be 10 years next month) in an end unit townhome. I do have to say though, I miss having a yard. We have a lovely fenced in patio, with an 18 inch deep 'garden' on 3 sides, but it's not the same. I don't have the backyard privacy it looks like you will have. People walk by my patio all the time, and sadly THAT fence isn't 6 feet tall, it's only about 4.5, and so I see them, they see me. I love everything else about this place, though. It's two story. Although my knees are better now that I'm down 50 lbs., our next move will definitely be a one story place, and I'm hoping for an older (detached) home, but about the same square footage. (1300, 3 bedroom. Nice size.) That won't come until there is some inheritance money though, and I am in zero rush for that to happen, if you know what I mean. :(

    I'm so happy for you! Do what you need to do, and don't worry about us here! We'll be waiting patiently! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your new home is lovely! I'm excited for you. And yes, I'd much rather be out having adventures than stuck home doing chores. Good luck with packing and moving and hope your old place sells quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the kitchen!

    We have moved so many times. The hardest move was moving our house and business from Illinois to where we are now. John and I each drove an 18 foot truck towing a vehicle on the back. I wiped a lot of that memory out of my head. We have been in our current house for 6 years, which is the longest I have lived anywhere in 20 years since I left my parents house.

    Get lots of rest while packing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm so happy for you... Someone, when you find the perfect place, you just KNOW that it's for you... Sounds like your two have made the right decision... Hope you sell your house soon. Like you said, just the 'right' person HAS to come along.

    We last moved when we bought this house in 2002... We KNEW the moment we saw it that it was for us... We never looked back...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE the new digs!!!! Congrats Sharon!

    My last big move was from MS to here in TN. We stayed with David's parents for all of a month before I started house shopping. His parents had offered to let us live in their home (since his mom was in school in middle TN and his dad flew all the time) for a year or so, but after living with them just a week, I knew it would never work. I LOVE my little 3/2 1,600sqft home!!! It's perfect...for us.

    Can't wait to see more pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That really does look like a great home! The rooms all seem so open and airy. I know we will downsize to a townhome or even an apartment in the coming years for many of the same reasons you wrote about. We plan to retain the cabin though as long as possible.

    When we moved to Minnesota over 27 years ago from California, my sister and I drove with our 5 kids (4, 5, 7, and 12) with a U-Haul trailer ahead of my husband and the rest of our belongings. We were stopped picking up groceries in Utah. We loaded everything into the vehicle and closed the tailgate, or so we thought. We had not driven a couple hundred feet down the road when I saw a bunch of stuff flying out of our car! Some suitcases, toys, and of all things, our son’s hamster and hamster cage fell across the street. Well the cage burst open on impact and little Speedy made a beeline out of his open cage. We stopped immediately, but, he was gone. I always think that somewhere in Utah there is a little hamster speeding along side of the road!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Definitely, It's a beautiful digs and best to live. or yes, Internal and external area both are Nice, neat and clean. so, congratulation for new digs.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very nice new place! The last time I moved was from my house to Bangladesh! It wasn't a permanent move however, only a 4 year stint. I learned it was very important to say healthy goodbyes...goodbye to my kitchen where I had prepared so many family meals, goodbye to my kid's rooms. Life is a journey!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The new digs are lovely! I really think its the perfect solution for your travelers and I pray that your home sells soon. No worries about not commenting on other blogs - my goodness you have your hands full right now with all the moving chores.

    The last time we moved was 1997 - into this home that we had semi custom built. It was loads of work for us but so worth it and like you we had no regrets. Our kids loved this house and in fact they still do as adults and would hate to see us sell it. For now we think we will stay here after hubby retires. We are going to wait and see how much we travel and how much time is left over for yard work and household chores and up-keep. I can't imagine down sizing and purging furniture right now. Maybe after our adult children own homes and we can gift some family furniture to them we will feel better about it. For now we are happy here.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very nice!!!
    My last move was from a three bedroom mobile home to a four bedroom house! It was so nice to be able to not trip over each other all the time!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. We moved 3 times in 8 years, but have spent the last 9 years where we are now. Each house got smaller...the next move is to the RV, the smallest yet. As you know, I camp in a tent cot and last night someone passing by my site exclaimed about how anyone could camp in something so small. The fella with her said "all you need is someplace to sleep." I smiled and kept reading my Kindle.

    ReplyDelete
  16. How exciting! I love your new place :-)

    The last time I moved it was in 2000 and I have now lived in one place longer than any other place in my life! Between the time I was born and 2000 I moved a total of 20 times. Mostly locally and mostly because I didn't own the place!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your house is old and classy. I'm sure that you'd find it a new owner. Just be patient and give it a little more updates to make it look more appealing in the market. Staging your home is the best thing you can do to increase its value. Good luck on your house selling adventure!

    -Calvin Mordarski @ CityBlockTeam.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Have you found a buyer for your old home? If not yet, have you tried listing it on any online mortgage websites that list homes for sale? It would be a great help if you want the house to get sold immediately. Meanwhile, how was it living in your new home? I hope everything went smoothly. Armandina Skerl @ Churchill Mortgage

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think having a home is really a matter of finding a place that suits your needs rather than having the best looking house on the street. So while you did make a big change with the move, I'm sure it's a very welcome one. That said, how's the selling of your house going? I think that even with it being an older home, it's still of good value if it is well-maintained. -Fred @ M.R.S. Commercial Real Estate Consulting

    ReplyDelete