So we worked all weekend on the patio/shed and got it under roof and shaded!  We worked through the 100 degrees but this will save us hundreds of degrees this summer in the heat!  We stopped at 3:00, went for a lake swim, renegotiated our contract (see previous post) and the went to dinner on Steve and Steph’s boat.  It was a lovely way to wrap up Memorial Day weekend!

 

…and a well-deserved lake nap!

 

Today is race day at the Indianapolis 500.  My brother-in-law and new sister-in-law have been at the gates since well before daylight.  George, an experienced and well respected blogger on all aspects of Indy racing, lives for this day each year!  We follow his postings on Oil Pressure and we could have been sitting with he and Susan today enjoying the smell of burning rubber and feeling the excitement of the crowds.  But alas, we sold our tickets and opted to stay close and hammer nails on the new garden shed/patio and prepare for our transition to Virginia.

It’s a good thing we decided to stay close because today we need to respond to a new offer we received just last night.  The buyers of our NC house have decided to counter their contractual offer by less than $25,000.  The appraisal (which was conducted by a boy who arrived with the platte of the neighbors house in hand) came in lower than their agreed upon offer and even tho we don’t have contingencies based on the appraisal, they now want to NEGOTIATE!?!  I am open to any and all suggestions for what our response should be.

So as I gaze out our open hangar door watching planes take off, I sure don’t want the deal to fall through!  We are way past the due diligence date and very much into packing and moving and this glitch has us stumped.  Our buyer is due to visit us next week to learn about the house.  One possibility is to wait until he is here and just work directly with him.

Yesterday was a productive day as Steve (our way handy neighbor) and I notched the rafters and Jack hung hardware.  The temperatures were approaching 100 degrees (99 to be honest) but we made great progress.

By 11:00 today, Jack wants to stop working and watch the race.  He and his family used to make attending the race an annual event so as I travel to go visit my Mom in Blacksburg later today, I will think on all of this and hope that an answer will present itself!  Stay cool!

In 1976, I was a senior and college and in starting my new life, I purchased a Norfolk Island Pine.  It was in a 4-inch pot and stood a stately 6 inches tall.  I have moved that little tree with me from state to state for 35 years.  As the house has been on the market the last three years, we have had to de-clutter and moving Miss Pine out of the house was a choice I had to make.  She has grown overtime was just massive in the front hallway and had to be indoors in the winter.  I tried to sell her to a good home on craigslist but had no takers. My good friend, Vicky (bless her soul) offered to “foster” her for a few years while the house was on the market.  Thank-you Vicky!  I am so grateful to have Miss Pine home now. She made the trip back on Sunday in the back of the truck, losing a few screaming fronds, but all in all weathering the ride.  I added the link above and noted that according to a horticulturalist these wonderful trees can grow to 200 feet.  Yikes!  It’s a good thing our great room in the new house will be 35 feet tall.  What then?Meanwhile back in the basement of crates, Jack has completed 6 of 8 crates to store the RV-10.
They are masterful but I still worry about getting them loaded!  Stay tuned for that.

I have been packing inside.  I have even packed some things off the walls and windows (like my stained glass).  I don’t want to make it too stark in the house as the new owner is visiting next week (the 30th) to learn about the nuances of the house.

As I left my coffee cup on the table and Jack left his hot tub towel on the kitchen counter,  I had a feeling this morning that for the first time in 3 years, we are leaving stuff about.  I am not tediously picking up as much as before we had a contract.  When we leave to run errands, the house doesn’t have to be tidied for a potential house showing.  It’s like really living in a home!  It’s comfortable and I yearn for that time in our new home.  So just like Miss Pine, it’s about the comfort of coming home!

So I am packing like a wild woman.  I want to save the legos, blocks, puzzles and children’s books for grand children as well as any kids who may stop by Bedford Landings (I am a Child Development person you know!)  But I have to stop and ponder some of the tired raggedy items.  Jack has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want to sell or give away his childhood rocking horse.  So does that give me a bye on Whitney’s Dolly, Samantha an All American Girl, and my childhood doll that permanently winks?  Whitney used to cry when Dolly was out of her sight and now she wants nothing to do with her.  Samantha is probably a collector’s item but I don’t have the box!

My children used to be scared of the one-eyed doll and I can’t even remember what her name is. She has been relegated to the attic until Destiny came along (now 6) and changed her clothes a few times. When Whitney (my daughter) and Katie (my niece) were about 6 years old, Mom dressed them (there were two; one for my sister) and gave them to the girls as a gift.  The girls were terrified of them and couldn’t sleep at night with them in the same room!  I have drug that doll as I moved from Virginia to Missouri and to 5 homes in North Carolina.  I can’t imagine anyone being endeared to the poor thing but I just can’t part with her.  I would welcome a home for her.  Maybe there is a doll collector who could give her a hair transplant and laser surgery!  Suggestions welcomed!  Maybe that skin horse could carry her away to meet the Velveteen Rabbit!

When we arrived back in New Hill, the grass was about a foot tall and it has been raining so much, finding a way to get outside to mow has been a challenge.  Tuesday, I finally found a window of time to mow.  Some parts were so wet, the grass just folded down and the next day was standing back up so I had to do another swipe and touch up many spots on Wednesday.

All day long, Jack was hammering and tapping in the basement.  I knew what he was doing.  He was building a structure around the RV-10 wings that he has already built.  He wants them protected once in storage. I was busy packing books; his Hardy Boy series, his American Heritage resource books and all of his Lord of the RIngs, Harry Potter, and Flashman novels.  Still I hear him hammering and tapping.  By the time American Idol was nearly over (9:30 or so), he came upstairs proudly announcing he was through with one of the 5 crates he needs to build.  The thing is gi-normous!

The tail cone in the background is next.  Can you imagine?  Five of these must be moved out of the basement and into storage.  Hopefully there will still be room for the lamps, beds, couches and books!