The end is starting?

We had our last meeting with the architect this week.  The final plans are going to the printer today and we should have them next week.

Several bits we have learned:

*Pay attention to details.  I am really terrible at this!  Jackie caught some things that we didn't like and so we changed them.  If she wasn't looking, we would have had some things we really didn't want or like. Nothing major....but the kind of things you'd say.,"What was I thinking....." and would bug you for as long as you owned the house.

*Ask if you are not sure.

*Don't go with all the ideas you see on House Hunters.  For example:  I always thought the little closet 

with a toilet thing was a good idea.  You could settle in on the pot, have a coffee, bring your paper, relax in privacy while someone else brushes their teeth.  I am a kind of germophobic person.  When I get done using the toilet, I have to wash.  Can't do that in the little closet with the toilet cause there is no sink.  What seemed like a neat idea isn't for some people.

*Measure twice.  The plans called for a double garage door and single....after much thought, we opted to change that to 3 singles.  Architect asked if we wanted 8 ft  standard or 9 ft doors....we said huh?  So I went to the old house and measured the openings....we had 9 foot doors.  Someone, I won't say who, said that was not possible...we had 8 ft doors.  I asked how we could have an 8 foot door on an 8ft. 8 inch opening?  After a long discussion, back into the car, back to the house, remeasured the door with a witness present and .... voila, we had 9 foot doors on the old house, so that's what we put on the new.  

*Everything costs a lot.

*There is not enough money to do everything.

*Time will tell how much of our plan needs to be altered.

City mouse and the country mouse.....sort of

Country mouse loves to stand out in the night air and listen to the coyotes and owls hooting.
City mouse stands on a mini deck and hears the traffic whooshing past.
Country mouse loves to stand out in the dark of night and look at the stars.  Sometimes in just his boxers, because it was dark.  And isolated.
City mouse stands on his mini deck hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights.  City mouse realizes he is looking almost into the family room of the people next door.  City mouse feels slightly perverted.
Strange, for a guy who grew up in Chicago to enjoy the solitude of the country as much as I do.  Maybe it was growing up in Chicago that did that.....listening to police cars, domestic disputes, one stabbing (actually the stabbing part was quiet, it was the yelling before and the howling after that wasn't), car doors, unwanted music........ and made me love the quiet of the night.
But all mice need a home, and ours is a good one, though temporary.  After all, when it snowed last week I didn't need a snow blower or Beth to help me out....the association fees take care of that.  This summer, when it is 90 and humid, I can sit on my mini deck with a cool lemonade and watch someone mow the grass and trim around the bushes.  I can get to like that.  Of course, there is always Emily's to keep me in mowing shape.
The unit itself is very nice....well built, good appliances, great looking floors and trim.  OK, maybe it needs a paint freshening, but it is a nice unit.
We go to the architect Wednesday to go over some minor changes.  Well, I say minor.  But when Jackie suggested moving a toilet over about 20 feet and putting it on a different wall, there by sliding the vanity over and knocking out a closet, I did get a little worried.  Turned out there was an easier solution.
Once we get the final plans, the builder will gather all the costs.  He will give us a price that will make me mess my pants and then we will start deciding what to eliminate.
Jackie will say I am unreasonable.  I will counter that I need airfare to Switzerland.  Unlike the Congress, we will reach a compromise.  Which means she gets what she wants and I still go to Switzerland.
In the meantime I will try to adjust to the noise and the restrictions standing out on the mini deck have....such as wearing more than just boxers and a smile while looking for the northern lights!

Holy cow it is cold.

OK, settled in, watching the Packers do their best (worst?) imitation of the Chicago Bears, and I notice I am freezing.  I have on two sweatshirts and am under an electric warming blanket, drinking a hot liquid.  Jackie said, "Turn up the heat if you are cold."  I did.  Two hours ago.
Next house will sure have some sort of gas burning fireplace to give me a warm feeling.
Planning is a funny thing.  We have worked with an architect for about three months on a new house. We have looked at the plan, liked it, had other people look at it an comment and all seemed fine.
But the rental unit has some features that the new house will have and we don't like it.....hence we need to make some minor modifications.....so living here can in the long run be a good trial in some cases.
I sure liked using hence.
Tomorrow the kitchen sink gets fixed and we will attack the clutter ln the table, counter, ottoman, floor, closes.......hence we will be busy.

Closings and openings

First off, I have never had a check for that much money in my life.  I had hundreds of ides, but since it was made out to both of us the check had to go (I stress had) into the bank and the money not be used.
Guess that is the thing about selling a house that is good....you get the do re mi.
Packing the final two days was a little weird.  We have several boxes with all sorts of stuff in them....no rhyme or reason, there micght be sponges with books; or candy with glasses; or papers with chocolate ....I have a lot of chocolate.
The two car garage is full of paint to be recycled, electronics to be recycled, donations for  a resale shop, my recycling....and two cars, barely.  Actually, I have to back the Honda out to get the van out because I need to park close to the van to get the Honda in.
There is stuff in the garage tha is  not ours.....two huge garbage cans, two recycling buckets, an electric scooter....but we are the renters.
Ah.....renters.
While I was doing dishes last night I reached under the sink for a new garbage bag and the box of bags was sopping.  Seems the faucet leaks.  Nice thing to discover on a Friday night at 10.  Actually, leak is not the best description.  That implies a drip or two.   The faucet gushes.   It's a Niagara Falls of leaks.  It's a wall of water rolling over the edge while Mickey frantically tries to control it type of leak.  We will not be using the sink for a while.
But the worst part was the smoke alarm.  There is a sense of irony in the heavens after all.  When I finally went to bed, and was in the middle of a great night's sleep, I woke up.  No idea why until I heard the chirp.  Like a demented cricket.  Then another.  I realized I had no ladder to reach it at 4 a.m., no battery to replace it at 4 a.m., no expectation it would stop at 4 a.m.
 37.  That is what I could count to before the next chirp.
Or sure, sometimes it came at 33, sometimes at 39....but I may have been counting faster or slower.
Put my head under the pillow.  No help.
Slept with my arms locked tightly above my ears.  Great help until my left arm fell asleep and I mistakenly took that as an early sign of a heart attack.
37.
Tried a pillow.  No help.
Went to the living room and tried the couch.   No help.
Went to the upstairs bedroom, closed the door, slept on an unmade bed with a pillow over my head.  Big help.  Slept until almost 7:30.
My biggest confusion is how Jackie could sleep through the whole night and not even get bothered by it until I sat down with my morning tea?

As time goes by

Feeling a little sad tonight.  Last night in the house.  When Jackie and I built this house in 1992 it was our dream house, the one they would carry us out from.  Was it perfect?  No, but we didn't want a perfect house.  We wanted one with character, charm....something different.
This used to be a cornfield.  In fact, when I was out riding my bike I passed it one day and it was corn, the next day it was a subdivision.  I don't remember what we paid for the lot, but it was a fortune back in those days.
We paid off the lot and built.  Steve DeGolier and I bought 200 pine trees from the state and I planted some on Mill Pond and some here.  The trees have grown nicely.  We put in two sugar maples in front and each fall the trees turn a burning orange and a firey red before dropping millions of leaves.
We moved Martha, a white pine Emily got in third grade.  I dug up Martha from Mill Pond and moved her to a new spot in our lives and she, like us, thrived.
I planted gardens, and bushes, and apple trees, and more flowers, more bushes, more trees.  I've watched them grow and wither.  We even have one I didn't plant, but it was allowed to stay and be part of us.
Summers I would spend my afternoons and evenings on the breezeway.  Sometimes sweating, doing my crossword, drinking tea.   Listening to the sounds of the birds, coyotes, owls.....and some strange music on my cd player.
Tonight Wendy, Jackie and I watched three deer frolicking in the back yard...acting like young kids.
I don't want to leave.  But watching Jackie haul herself up the stairs makes me realize I really don't have much choice.
So I've done my packing of stuff.  I've tossed, recycled, donated, saved.....but there are some things you just have to say goodbye to.
I had hoped it would be cold tonight so I could have one final fire and a toast.  But it's too warm.  And my corkscrew is packed.
I can't tell you how much I hate MS.  I can't tell you how much it hurts me to watch Jackie struggle into the house or up the stairs.  I can't tell you how many nights I've prayed for a cure.  Or the number of mornings I have asked God for one more miracle in my life.  But I guessed I've used up my quota with Julia, Emily, and Jackie.
What I can tell you is I've wandered the house, touched the walls, caressed the doors and said my good byes.
And that I am sad.

Time for a fun quiz...how will you do??

 Toss or Save

It seems every time I turn around, I have to make a decision.  Let's see how well you know me!

Emily made this in maybe second grade.  The head is loose, the wings fell off, and the glitter is all gone.  There is no recycling number on the bottom of the dish soap bottle.

So....did I save it or toss it?

things under beds and in closets....just lurking

OK, I admit, I am a somewhat negative person.  I think that is why I got into journalism many years ago, journalists are somewhat negative and sceptical.
Been moving stuff.  Help from David R. was a help.  Then the realtor called.  The rental unit we are renting has someone looking at it, possibly to buy or else they wouldn't be looking.
I immediately go into homeless mode.  Jackie says don't worry.  I worry.  Most of the night.  Into the day. Call the realtor.  She says don't worry.  Whew.
I honestly had an idea if the rental sold, I would cover myself in gray paint and call myself St. Joseph.  People could bury me in their back yards and their houses would sell.  I would just tell the moving guys to leave the truck in the driveway because we'll be loading up in a couple of days anyway.
Meanwhile the struggle to empty the memories and subconscious, Uh...I mean house.....continues.  Instead of playing solitaire, or reading Facebook, I should be packing up the stuff in the basement.
But my legs are tired, my head is sore, my arms are dead......so I am resting.
Until tonight, when I go to bed and worry about the basement not being packed.

If ya can't see it or smell it, does it exist?

Radon.  This is a natural occuring element in the earth.  Radon has not been a known problem until a few years ago, when scientists connected radon exposure with higher incidences of lung cancer.  When you sell a house, it has to pass a radon inspection.  The standard is 4 something, ours registered at 6 in one side of the basement and 8 in the other side.  Some houses in Sycamore and DeKalb register in the 20s and even in the 30s.
What's the fix?  We are in the process of having a passive removal system installed.....a plastic pipe goes out of the basement from the sump pit, up the side of the house and above the roof line.  The cost is around $900.
When we worked with the architect on the new house plan, he had this funny looking pipe in the middle of the basement.  When I asked, he explained it was a passive radon venting system.  Installed in new construction it costs about $300 and blends in with the design of the house.
So we are including it in our new construction.
The gas is a problem for prolonged exposure.  So if I was living in a basement it could be a concern.
Spending $300 extra to put  in the pipe could save me $600 or more later, if radon is a problem.
Closing is tentatively set for Jan. 16.....moving day is Jan. 11....so I'm just guessing when our first major snowstorm will hit.

The New Year and old regrets

OK, we've lived in the house for 19 years.  Every year we put lights up at Christmas time and each Epiphany we take them down.  So why have I never taken a picture of the house with lights?  More importantly, why did I wait until New Years Eve to do it?  It's not the best shot, but when I am sitting in assisted living someday, drool running down my chin, I can look at the picture and ask myself:  Where the hell is that?
Moved boxes yesterday....four wonderful workers came to do the bulk of the lifting.  Among the items moved were:  a parking meter; Jackie's grandmother's China; my wine making supplies; 10 plastic tubs marked simply 'pictures'; two boxes of 78 records; and a box marked 'Emily's childhood.'
Boy did that bring back memories!  Emily's childhood. Some of it carefully preserved (ok, tossed in a box) for maybe 28 years, on its third move; dusty...perhaps.   Musty smelling....definitely.  But that is what memories are.
As lovingly carried it in to Emily's I showed it to her.  Opening it, I pulled out the Care Bear ballon, the tower made of poplicle sticks and filled with erasures.  She looked at it wide eyed and said, "Wow, I can't believe you saved all that crap."
And that sums up the basement move....I can't believe I've saved all that crap either.  But it's there.....in Emily's basement.