Hello sweet friends and lovely readers! I hope everyone is having great summer so far. I’ve been away from blogland for a bit now and I thought I might explain why just in case people think I’m ignoring them which I’m not.
We took possession of our new house on June 26th very late in the afternoon and with no time left to do much in terms of moving. The movers came bright and early the following day (June 27th) to move the furniture while we were tasked with moving all the boxes. The movers finished with the old house around 4, but still had to unpack and set up everything at the new house. The boys and I stayed behind that day to pack up my dishes in the garage. We were completely out of boxes by then so dishes made it over to the new house completely unwrapped and unboxed – just in the back of our vehicles. Amazingly, there were no casualties – at least that I’ve discovered so far. Meanwhile, at the new house, hubs and everyone else who was helping kept moving the boxes in. It poured rain that evening and in the haste to get everything unloaded, chaos quickly ensued. The movers finally finished about midnight but there were boxes and garbage bags (because we ran out of boxes) filled with stuff everywhere. The next morning, middle son and I went back to clean out the garage in the old place as the new owners were taking possession at noon that day. It was pretty crazy even though I had coordinated the cleaning ladies to clean the house and the Got Junk guys to take away all the garbage in the garage. I remember that it was 12:02 when Tanner and I finally pulled away from the old house. Phew! It was definitely the move to end all moves and if I’m ever foolish enough to move again, I will never ever agree to such a quick possession of the old house. Lessons learned for sure.
In any event, here is where we are today, almost two weeks after possession. Still buried under boxes and bags. This is the island in the kitchen; as fast as I clean it off, new stuff magically appears. Someday I’ll have an island that doesn’t have anything on it.
The hallway leading to the garage door.
The front entrance, which is actually not too bad. Before, you could barely get in the door. Progress has been made.
The eating area in the kitchen. We sold our previous kitchen table and chairs and have no replacements yet and these are the dining room chairs that we can’t get in the dining room.
My “command post”, as hubs calls it. It feels like I talk to bankers, lawyers, insurance agents, and tradespeople every other day, if not every day. Sigh.
The dining room that we can’t get into yet…
The pantry in the spice kitchen. It’s not quite how I like the pantry to look…
The living room, also not too bad, at least as of this morning.
Our builder offers a complimentary concierge service; these people arrange for transfer of utilities, garbage bins, mailbox keys, and reusable packing bins. The packing bins are borrowed and need to be returned so the emphasis in the last couple of days has been to get them all unpacked (all 50 of them) so they can be picked up by tomorrow’s deadline. We had already asked for a week’s grace. Everything else will have to wait. Like the garage, although it’s somewhat better now that all the blue bins are unpacked.
So that’s what has been occupying my time lately. I had a little bit of time this afternoon to unpack my baking stuff and arrange it in the spice kitchen. This is one tiny area of the house that is nearly done, although I am missing my bee skep Bundt pan from Williams Sonoma that was a birthday gift a couple of months ago…
Except for finding a place for my wine glasses. But that’s another story.
And last, but not least, we have Potpurri. We lost our sweet kitty, Fox, in May to kidney disease, and if she could have talked, she would have wanted us to rescue another kitty like we did for her and Sam. And so we did. Potpurri is 3 years old, and at 3.2 kg, is a tiny girl and a very mellow cat. She is a tortoiseshell cat that loves pets and is quite the purr machine, hence her name. We love her to pieces as we have loved all our kitties. I’d like to think that Fox would have approved. And one more positive note, today (July 9th) is the first day of my retirement. Yippee! I still have mounds of paperwork to fill out before I actually collect a pension (in addition to the mounds that I’ve already filled out lol), but tomorrow is another day.
And on that note, wishing everyone a glorious rest of the summer!
P.S. It felt really good to do something normal and write a blog post.
Oh my gosh, Kim! Retirement!! I’m so happy for you – Congratulations! I know you’re going to have a wonderful time, paperwork and all! As to moving, you’ve totally jogged my memory – I’ve been in that Boxes-Everywhere situation almost too many times to count! At least you have the green rabbit supervising everything on the island! 🤣 I’m already loving your oven wall and your living room – what a beautiful fireplace! I’m so sorry to hear about Fox though. You must miss her so much. Is that Potpurri (LOVE that name!) all cozy in the living room chair? She must feel right at home already! I’m so glad you filled us in on all your goings-on. I can’t wait to hear about the next steps. Congrats again on your new house and your new freedom!!
Oh my gosh is right Barbara – it’s been absolute insanity here for the last 2 1/2 months as we prepped the old house for sale and packed up for the new house! This is definitely not how I would have chosen a move to go, but it is what it is, and we will get through it although it’s probably going to take more time than I thought. Yes, I’m ecstatic about retirement, in spite of the paper work and that I have to go back and help out. I’m lucky to have had a fabulous job and absolutely fantastic people to work with, so it’s really not that much of a hardship for the next few months. I miss Fox incredibly – we were so bonded, if that’s possible to be. But she had such a beautiful soul and I know that she would have wanted us to rescue another kitty (or two). Potpurri is an absolute delight (they named her that at the shelter and we kept it – so perfect for her) and I’m thinking that she might like a companion so we will look into that. She has definitely made herself at home lol. I’ll try and keep you posted as to next steps. Thanks for visiting and your comments my friend and I hope you are having a wonderful summer!!
Kim, I knew you were moving, but I have missed you. I am tired just looking at your boxes and thinking of all you have done and continue to do. I can’t wait to see when you are finished unpacking and organizing. I am hopeful you will share some updates. Congratulations on your retirement! After you adjust, I know you will love it! Be sure to take care of yourself!!
Thanks so much Pam and I’ve missed you too! I’m really tired of seeing boxes too lol and I will share some updates as I work through this mess. I am happy to be “retired” – retiring from government service is definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s been about 8 months in the making and my replacement can’t start until the beginning of November so I’ve agreed to go back on a casual basis for August, September, and October to help with the wait-list. But it’s all good and will help pay for some of the inevitable expenses that come with a new house. It’s quite hot here this week and I can’t help but think of you because it must be very hot where you are and at least we don’t have the humidity. I hope you are staying cool and take care down there my friend!
Oh Kim, wow, what an ordeal you have been going through! I do hope you will love your new house once you get settled…yikes, I can’t even imagine! I keep telling my children that I’m sorry I have so much stuff they will have to eventually deal with! Just take it one day at a time…I have missed your fabulous tablescapes, just think, once you get settled you will have a whole new space to tablescape in!
Oh my goodness Jenna – I can’t wait to be settled in either! We’ve moved a number of times and I consider myself reasonably seasoned but this move was something else. I’m pretty sure it was the tight timeline on the closing of the old house that threw a monkey wrench into everything. But we will get through it. Thanks so much for stopping by and your comments my sweet friend. I am imagining those wonderful ocean breezes at your lovely beach house and I hope that you are having a great summer. Take care and I will be back to blogging soon I hope!
Oh my sweet friend – you have been a “tad” busy! Wow! But so worth it…the sneak peeks of your new home – it looks beautiful!! Such a huge undertaking…your family did an amazing job! And dear little Potpourri – so precious! Congrats to adding a new family member. Take care….it’s been hot here the last few days….with a rain warning in effect for tomorrow…
Hi Charlotte! Yes, indeed, we’ve been a tad busy and I do hope that you are right in that it will all be worth it in the end. I have a vision for this house although it becomes a bit blurred amidst the current chaos but I’m trying to hold on to it to get me through. Thanks so much for your comments and visit. We are hot here too and I hope that you are enjoying your lovely pool in this weather. Take care yourself sweet friend!