Albi Custom-Built Home – Post-Possession Craziness
Our New House – What a Mess
Our new house is a mess. There are SO many boxes everywhere. There is still furniture to build, TV’s to mount and we don’t know where anything is! On move-in day we we're crazy busy trying to get the essentials setup and put away, build the kids' beds and our own, get food in the fridge for breakfast and the kid's lunches for school the next day, everything in a rush. All day Thursday, both Nancy and I had been driving back and forth from the old house on 'E' in our vehicles with not a minute to stop at the gas station that we kept passing on every trip! At 11PM, going back to the other house for yet another load of little things, I ran out of gas… right in front of my driveway! It’s a lucky spot and I am also lucky that the Petro is open 24 hours so I am soon on my way with a Jerry-Can full of gas.
Drapes – Just in Time – Impressive Service
Window coverings are an important thing to consider. When your windows are completely open to the viewing public you feel exposed, especially at night! We plan for the drape company to be there right on possession-day to install our custom drapes! They arrive just as the movers leave at 7:30PM. They continue installing drapes until almost 11:30 PM… what service! I have never been so impressed with the work ethic and care put into making sure we were all 'covered' up. The drapes look absolutely amazing and we are so very happy, Lynne’s Window Treatments gets a 10-out-of-10 from me, just superb.
Closets / Pantry / Barn Doors – Looking Good
We removed all the wire shelving from the master closet and the pantry. These are major storage areas so without the shelves installed right away we had nowhere to put our stuff! We have Cherish Storage Solutions there on possession day at 11:30, right as we wrap up our possession walk-through and leave to rush off to meet the movers. They work hard all day and get things about half done but need to come back on Friday to finish. We are incredibly happy and impressed. I can't believe how good they look! Friday we also have the barn door people from Liken Woodworks arrive with our two barn doors, one for my office and one for the ensuite entrance. The office door is absolutely massive and very heavy! They struggle with it but it all fits perfectly. I thought to have backing installed prior to the drywall going up so they glide nice and smoothly! Everything is really coming together now!
Deck / Screened-in-Room / Fence – Wait We Need to Unpack!
There are still many other things to get done. We didn't intend to time this so closely together. The fence is scheduled to start in two weeks, the deck in three weeks and the screened-in-room in four weeks. Now that we are finally in and the interior work is basically done, we continue to unpack, organize, and unpack some more. We have a bridal shower planned here in eight days for a friend of Nancy's. Nancy is back to work and busy as ever with report cards to write and year-end preparations. She works until midnight every night and goes in on the weekend, too.
Bonus Room – A Bonus if You Have Kids
I do what I can during the days, juggling the kids' school schedule and my own work. The nice thing about the bonus room is that I can continue unpacking in the kitchen/dining room and still hear the kids playing upstairs in the bonus room. I guess that's a bonus! We manage to get most of the house ready for others to see it just in time for the bridal shower party!
Comments from Friends
Some of the comments from friends are, "Wow," McMansion!!! lol," and "Did you guys win the lottery?" The truth is, almost two years ago, now, we did some calculating and figured out that if we had a legal rental suite, it would help pay for the mortgage. The tenant moves in a day after us. So now rent is coming in. How else could we afford such a luxurious house? More on that in a future blog...
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