Busy Moving

Big changes have been taking place here.

A large portion of our furniture made it's way into this moving truck headed to our son's new home.

We've been getting by without family room and dining room furniture.  It was a wonderful opportunity to give the floors and baseboards a good cleaning.  New furniture has been ordered.

Once we got everything moved to his new home, we helped him get his condo in the city ready to sell.  He moved here after graduating from college and starting his career.  That was 12 years ago.

Once the place was empty, I felt a bit nostalgic thinking about how much has changed since he first moved here.  Another one of those "where does the time go" moments.

Even though he is now a grown man, I asked him to let me get one last picture with the city in the background.

The new furniture has begun to trickle in.

So far I am very happy with how it looks and functions.

If I ever get nostalgic for the old furniture I know where to find it.

Last Day of January

 This is the sight I saw when I opened the blind in the front bedroom this morning.  

Shortly after that I opened the blind above my desk and this was the view.  When we moved in it was rather quiet on our end of the street.  There were no homes across the street or to the left of us.

Looks like that is about to change.

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How are things looking in your neck of the woods on this last day of January?

Are you staying warm?  My gosh, it's been unbelievably cold for a lot of you.  Here it's currently 39 and sunny, yet I have on two sweaters and my slipper socks.  Wimp!

Tomorrow morning I'll be going to a new dentist for part 1 of a crown.  Double Wimp!!  I was feeling so good about myself while eating a healthy breakfast of Greek yogurt, berries and homemade granola.  That is until the part of the granola that seemed awfully hard turned out to be a piece of my tooth.  Ugh!  So, my white knuckles and I will be starting the new month off reclined in the dental torture chamber chair. 😁

Can you tell how excited I am?

Moving Along . . .

Shortly before Thanksgiving I took a break from packing boxes to take a stroll around the garden with camera in hand.  

 With all of the details required in making a move, the beauty taking place outside the house was largely going unnoticed by me.  One day a visitor commented on how gorgeous our trees were and as she was going on about the amazing colors, I decided it was time to take notice.

 Seems she was right.  Beautiful colors were all around the house that day.  I made my way to the side of the house that I rarely venture as the ground tends to be a bit soggy over there.

As I rounded the corner to the front of the house, I stopped in my tracks . . .

 WOW

In all the years I have lived here I had never seen this view from this angle.  The two sugar maples we planted specifically for their spectacular fall foliage and the Japanese Maple that provided a pop of red inside our master bathroom.

Somewhere between all of that beauty sits our long driveway.  Racing up and down the driveway going here and there didn't allow for a true appreciation of this autumnal beauty.

 After my little photo session I opted for one final cup of coffee on the patio.  Thinking about leaving behind this garden that I have loved so much started to make me wonder what the he** I was thinking.  :).  I had a moment of panic wondering if this was all a big mistake.  I took a sip of coffee and looked up.

 At first I was intrigued by the cloud formations and then I did a double take.  There amongst the clouds was a rainbow like I have never seen before.

 Rather than arching down at the ends, it curved up at each end like a great big happy smile.  In that instant I knew that the right decision had been made.  Talk about receiving a sign from above.

 In a few short days the moving truck arrived and life around here became a busy blur for the next week or so.

But now we are moved into our new home and becoming a bit more settled with each passing day.

Not long after the Christmas tree was decorated we woke up to a winter wonderland outside the window.

As I sipped my morning coffee and gazed out at our new view, I felt sure that the right decision had been made.

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It Won't Be Long Now

With just under a month until we close on the new home, things are moving right along over there.  We are still going for our weekly visits to check on progress.  Since it's been awhile since I've shared any photos here, I thought I'd give you a wee update.

Soon this will be the view from the kitchen sink.

 This angle gives the fuller picture.  In the foreground is the large island that will be replacing the formal dining room table.

You may have noticed that this kitchen isn't lacking in cupboard and drawer space.  I'm beginning to wonder what will be going into them now that I have purged so many of my belongings.

 If I am standing at the kitchen sink looking diagonally, there lies the great room.  On our last visit the builders had just been in to put blue tape on all of the areas requiring touch ups and further attention.  They seemed to do a very thorough job as there was blue tape everywhere.

 In the master bath I was going for a bit of decorative tile with a slight sea glass look to it.

And because I am itching to get back to playing with décor...

I found these mercury glass Christmas trees in the Habitat ReStore recently and instantly envisioned them on the bathroom counter.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but the countertops have little flecks of a seafoam color and little flecks of sparkle.  When the sun hits it just right it sparkles like a diamond or maybe a piece of sea glass :).

These little trees light up and I think they will be such a pretty night light during the holiday season.  Just to the right of the trees is the bathtub.  By the time this move is complete I'm thinking it will be nice to sink into that tub and relax by the light of the wee Christmas trees.

Pumpkin Talk and a Few Other Things

If you removed everything from the steps and porch, that would be how things are looking around here this October. This photo was from last year when I talked about my plans for those pumpkins in 

this post.

 The pumpkins were roasted, pureed and tucked into the freezer for future use.  It was quite amazing to see how many bags of the stuff I ended up with.  😉

With a move in the near future, I've been working at whittling down the freezer contents.

So, today I poked around the internet for a healthy pumpkin muffin recipe.  I found one that sounded interesting and gave it a try this afternoon.

I like muffins that are slightly sweet.

It seems there is a WIDE range of sweetness levels when it comes to muffins.  Some might as well be cupcakes (hello grocery store bakery muffins).  

These were made with a small amount of honey and a nice variety of the fall spices that seem to taste so good at this time of year. 

The recipe can be found here if you would like to try them.

In other news,

Specifically, moving news...

Since my last post our house has been "under contract".

Closing dates were established, papers signed, moving trucks scheduled, inspections completed and the boxes have been filling almost daily.  Then, out of the blue, the buyers withdrew their offer and we are back to square one.  More than a tad disappointing.

We are set to close on the new house in mid-November and were happy that things seemed to be working out well with the timing of both closings.

After hearing this latest development yesterday my mind headed where it seems to always go first... worry land.  

Then I decided to head in a different direction and keep busy.

Heaven knows there is plenty to keep busy with around here.

Packing, more packing and keeping the house sparkling for future showings.  If all of that doesn't keep me moving in a forward direction,  I'll keep working on this plan:

It seemed to work pretty well today.

The Shape of a Week

One week ago today the house was officially put on the market.

Rooms were cleaned, carpets vacuumed and all traces of "us" removed.  The stage had been set.

Right away the showings began and we quickly established a routine to get all the blinds raised, lights on, personal items stashed, tote bag packed and scram.

Meanwhile, Brett's mom and sister had driven up from Florida for a visit.  Mid-week we took them into Charlotte to see our oldest son's downtown condo.  From his 15th floor, the signs of city living loom large and the skies had begun to darken.

Thing were looking very inviting around the pool until large raindrops sent us back indoors.

Back on the homefront the showings continued and a few offers trickled in.

With talk of a hurricane named Florence on the horizon we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather on Thursday and have lunch on the patio.  The last of the watermelon tasted especially sweet on this late summer day.

Friday brought a 3rd offer and a request for a 2nd showing.

It also brought more warnings that Florence might make her presence known in our part of the state in the form of power outages and prolonged heavy rain.  It seemed like a good idea to stock up on groceries and water.  Since there were no afternoon showings I spent a few hours in the kitchen preparing a few things to keep us fed.  

The granola jar is stocked.

A loaf of banana bread awaits.

The flashlights, candles and oil lamps are handy.

Cars are filled with gas.

The last task will be filling the bathtub with water.  If the power were to go out, this water would be necessary for toilet flushing.

This morning the news coverage is heartbreaking to see so many areas along the coast being flooded. My prayers go out to the people who are being directly impacted and also to the many people who are working around the clock to help where they are needed most.  

Azaleas in August

Do you grow the Encore variety of azaleas?

When we re-landscaped the backyard a few years back, the plan included several of them.

Prior to that we had only spring bloomers.

So, while strolling through the garden this morning, I was caught off guard by them blooming their little hearts out.

For a brief moment I had to wonder whether it was April or August.  My mind still equates azaleas with Easter and springtime.

No matter the month they sure do make a beautiful statement.

Late summer also brings the blooming of the ornamental grasses.

This one also makes me think of springtime as it is called "Little Bunny".

As we prepare to hang the For Sale sign, I am appreciating the special attributes this home provided.  This view outside our bedroom window will be hard to leave.  I think I'll even miss the frog chorus that has become such a part of late spring and summer.

However, the time is right for a new place to call home and I look forward to blooming where I am planted.

A Visit to The New House

Sunday is the day we drive out to the new house to check progress.

Things are moving right along and yesterday I remembered to take some pictures.  

The driveway and windows are in.

I realize the building process may not be too exciting for some, but I'm recording it to look back on the process as it unfolded.

If this holds any appeal to you, I invite you to step through the front door and take a peek.

This week we were surprised to see all the drywall has now been installed.  Every time we visit the place is immaculate inside.

It's kind of hard to make sense of the whole layout at this point , but here we are a few steps into the front entry.

The large opening to the right is called a "flex room".  In other words, use it for whatever you want... a dining room, office, living room, etc.  

Just past this room is a small courtyard with the kitchen across from it on the left.  The long vertical piece you see on the left will be a large island.  

Past this area will be the family room on the right.

The kitchen table will sit in front of the door wall at the end of the picture.

Have I confused you yet ;).

Now, about that kitchen...

It's the room you are looking at here and the room that sold me on the floor plan.  Doesn't look like much now, I know.

The vertical piece in there is another island where the kitchen sink will be.  In the foreground (with my purse on it) is the location of the island previously mentioned.  This will become our new dining area.  No more formal dining room for us.  We're going casual this time around.

Family room view.

Fireplace coming soon.

Master bedroom window view.

I'm already picturing my reading chair positioned there.

By the time we finished checking things out yesterday we were nearly melting.  The heat and humidity continues!

While standing on the back patio I spotted this sign of things to come.

🍁🍂🍁

They are estimating our house to be ready for move in by late November - early December.

This house will be going on the market September 1st.  It may seem to you like I've been talking about this for ages and should be moved in by now.  Ha!  A lot has been going on behind the scenes with getting this one ready for selling and purging our belongings.  I think the end is in sight and, at this point, will be relieved when the For Sale sign goes up and order must be restored to the rooms.

It's been all consuming and that also explains why I haven't been commenting on your blogs much.  I try to keep up with what's happening out there in blogland but just can't let myself get too sidetracked or I'll never be done with the work at hand.

I hope you are all enjoying the waning days of summer.