A Labor of Love

While some couples toasted their love for each other on a weekend getaway, a night out at the movies, a romantic candelit dinner in the remote corner of their favorite restaurant, or some other romance fueled lovefest inspired by retailers, Mike and I shared our love for our little bungalow and painted the downstairs bathroom.

Our vision was for an"Outer Banks Bathroom". We painted half the walls a deep blue (actually called Saxophone Solo) and left the bottom half (wood that looks like tile) and trim white. Mike installed new nickel towel rods and tp holder. And we got a new shower curtain (the wrinkles need steamed).

One day we would like to have white bead board on the ceiling and tile on the floor. Not there yet.

Progress!

We have been in the house for over a week now and it is livable. For proof, here is a picture of the first thing I baked in the kitchen. Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, y'all! Mmmm. These were made on Thursday night and then enjoyed by my coworkers on Friday.

The weekend was nice. Both sets of parents were in town (basketball tickets had been purchased pre-home purchase) and were a tremendous help. Dad and Mike got the new TV functioning but the wall mount didn't happen. That will have to be a later success. Gene and Mike installed a new screen door on the front porch that matches the white trim. See below:

The moms were quick to unpack boxes and help organize. Diane also came by on Friday and helped with organization in the kitchen. Who knew I had four bottles of distilled white vinegar?

As the sun set this evening, Mike and I were cleaning up the junk on the front porch and met some nice neighbors who were on a run with their dog, Thunder. This chat, in addition to the neighbors across the street visiting last night, made us feel already at home in the Wiles Hill community and we think we're gonna be just fine here.

Firsts

Our closing last Thursday (Jan. 29) lasted about an hour. The sellers are such nice people. They brought a two-page history of the house written by a lady who called it home for 60 years, Suzanne. Suzanne sold the house to the sellers we purchased it from and Mike and I make up the third family to own the home. If I get really ambitious this week, then I will type up Suzanne's account here. It is such a nice thing to have for our home.

The first thing I brought to the house was for the front porch. The neighborhood had to know we had arrived (See below):

The sellers left a nice surprise for us in the kitchen:

Thursday evening brought many firsts. We had our first meal (thank you Sheetz). Mike's was a bbq sandwich and mine was a hotdog with ketchup and cheese:

We had our first house guests. Alex and Jack brought along Sam and Bobbi to check out the place. Here are Alex and Jack:

Mike insisted on staying in the house that night, so we had some things to move.
With Jay's help, we moved our beds and the big brown couch. The guys actually got it upstairs and it fits into the room we want to call our "TV/Family Room." So exciting.
Here are Mike and Jay on Thursday evening:

Here is the Big Brown Couch!!! (with Mike, Diane and Jason) We are going to do something about that awful paneling:

Rachel and another Jay helped move a carload of crap over: Mom and dad came up on Friday evening and then we did a little furniture shopping on Saturday. Mike and I picked out a dining set and some night stands, but the real deal was a chair for the living room. On Saturday evening, I created a little peaceful corner of the living room so Mike could relax for a while. Here is our new chair with Mike relaxing in it:

But how relaxing could it be? This was what he was looking at (and it has gone from bad to worse since the pic was taken):

I'm afraid to even look at the kitchen. Here is its current state:

Dad has many projects in his mind for our new house. This wasted space in the kitchen is going to get an overhaul that includes more cabinetry and counterspace.

Come see us soon!

Today's the day

Closing at 3 p.m. today. Who has a truck and wants to come to Morgantown?

Update on the closing

Our agent got back to me and said the lawyer suggests closing on Thursday or Friday this week. Gee, thanks. We are glad our landlord, Kent, is being understanding and letting us move when we can. He hasn't rented our apartment yet. Lucky us.

Cross your fingers!

The day we did not close

We had the utilities put in our name at the house, starting today. The utilities at our apartment are back in our landlord's name starting today. BG Al and Momma Jo were coming up with the truck as were Jeremy and Jennelle and their big pickup. We were to close at 3 pm today.

Did we?

Nope.

**sigh**

So this lady and her husband owned the house back in 1941. She died in 1957 and he apparently remarried. The guy and his new wife sold the house in 1963. No survivorship clause has been found from the original wife and so the lawyer isn't certain there are no heirs to the house. This means there could be someone out there who decideds to come claim his/her house. Which means he/she could walk up to the front porch, ring the doorbell we have yet to buy and install and say, "Get outta my house."

So we're (patiently?) waiting to hear what the next step is. Our contract expires next Thursday. Hopefully something can happen before then. Didn't I already point out nothing is ever easy?

Don't pack your swimsuits for your visit. You may not need them

******

Mike went over to the house on Friday morning to meet the realtor and check out this water issue. The sellers were nice enough to unscrew some of the drywall in the part of the basement with the leak. There doesn't seem to be a problem with the foundation, and it was actually dry when Mike was there. Looks like (to us) the problem may lie in the downspout being too close and the wall is actually not drylocked back there. Two fixes that will be made. Hopefully our basement won't see a lot of water (at least not more than previous pictures you've seen here).

We went on a packing frenzy last night. I should take pictures of our apartment. I'm horrified every day when I come home. I hate it. I cannot wait to get things organized and in their rightful place. We all know I'm not a neat freak, but this is just too much for me to handle. I miss our lil cute apartment already (because it ain't anymore!), but I'm excited to see how the bungalow will progress to "our cute lil bungalow." So exciting!!