We have finally moved into our new house, built by
Richmond American. I have missed blogging but more pressing needs have been at the forefront of my mind. For today's post, I have chosen about 20 of the snapshots taken over the last couple of weeks, some highlights. A brief description is with each photo.
More remains to be done before we can say we are all unpacked and settled in, but I am hopeful time for blogging will be more frequent very soon.
We closed on the new house and began moving small things immediately. The moving truck would not be delivering the majority of our household goods for another week. This picture was taken from our family room window. More houses are under construction in our neighborhood.
Beloved stands on a step ladder to hang a bed sheet on a tension rod in the powder room. This is our window covering of choice until the permanent window treatments are installed.
The garage floor was power washed and sealed during the first two days of ownership. A few days after that had opportunity to dry, we had our people come in to paint the walls and ceiling white. It's going to be a wonderful garage once Beloved has it all set up.
We enjoyed a couple of fast-food meals at the breakfast bar in the days before the furniture arrived.
Our new Sears Kenmore stainless steel refrigerator was delivered the day after closing.
A decorator from
JCPenney came out to the house to measure the sliding glass door in the kitchen nook for draw drapes and to show me the many designer books of beautiful samples. This is the fabric I chose. There will also be a sheer draw drape under this fabric. The drapery rods and finials are made of brushed nickel.
Our front lawn was delivered in a neat stack one morning and then quickly laid out by a fast-moving team of 6 men.
Furniture we had purchased for more efficient storage was delivered.
The new house has less kitchen cabinetry, so we bought this piece for the kitchen nook. I am using it to store my serving bowls, platters, and placemats. This is actually an entertainment center, but serves my purposes very well.
The representative from
Milestone Shutters came to measure our windows. I had to choose which width of shutter slats I want. Our previous house had the 3 1/2-inch wide slats (on the left). This time I am going with the 4 1/2 inch slats (on the right), to maximize our window views. These shutters are made of polywood and I highly recommend them. This is our third house in which we are having them custom-made for every window. They are an excellent investment, help with maintaining heat and cold from the windows, and are a great asset when trying to sell the house.
Back at the old house, the packers took two days to put everything into boxes. I specifically asked them to start with the kitchen so I would not be required to cook! (smile) Our packers, who were two very sharp gals, nodded knowingly and followed my instructions.
As if moving that week was not excitement enough, our 9th grandchild (5th grandson) was born on the first day of our packing! The family lives on the other side of the country, so we had to be satisfied with snapshots of the happy event. He came 2 1/2 weeks early, but weighing in at 7 pounds 6 ounces, and 20 inches long, he is healthy and doing just fine.
Beloved took this picture of how the movers staged our furniture on the driveway as they packed the moving van. In spite of the snowstorm earlier than week, we had gorgeous weather for our moving days.
After the last piece of furniture was loaded onto the moving van, Beloved busied himself with vacuuming the entire house while I cleaned bathrooms and dusted. This is the family room of the old house.
We locked up the house and made our way to our new town, about 16 miles from our former residence. We had dinner at The Blackeyed Pea, which is located a little over a mile from the new house. We will be regulars there for as long as they remain in business!
Our household goods spent the night on the moving van, and since we are too old to camp out (even on padded carpeting), we toughed it out at a local hotel.
As much as I enjoy cooking, I also like to eat out. We do what we can to keep the local restauranteurs in business. IHOP makes a great garden omelet. A busy day was ahead of us, so this hearty breakfast served me well.
The moving van pulled up in front of our driveway shortly after 8 a.m. as promised and began filling up the new house with all of our stuff.
It takes experience and knack with spacial concepts to pack up a moving truck so the contents have minimal shifting while in transit. Nearly every piece of furniture was wrapped with quilts that were held in place with the biggest rubber bands I have ever seen.
Mountains of boxes served as a temporary room divider between the kitchen and family room. That's Beloved sitting at the breakfast table, making a phone call.
I'm updating our decorating style with this house to less "country" and more contemporary with clean lines and not as many curios and wall hangings. This King-sized bed set from Walmart (for only $50) matched my new look just fine. (comforter, bed skirt, 2 pillow shams and 3 decorative pillows)
Our newest grandson was still strong on our minds through all of the moving excitement. We were delighted to see this picture with his eyes open. He is every bit as cute as his 7 siblings and 1 cousin.
The landscaping of our front yard was completed the week we moved in. The landscaping for the back yard has been delayed with our near-weekly snowstorms. The first thing they had to do was to create a sidewalk that connects the driveway to the back yard -- making it a lot easier to roll the lawn mower back there.
The completed sidewalk is a thing of beauty. I wanted one of these at our last house but it just never did happen. Note the rock: we live in a semi-arid part of the country, so xeriscaping is well-advised. We have more rock than grass, which cooperates with watering restrictions during times of drought.
This is our new doormat. As I type this blog post, we have been in the house 10 days. Every day the new place is seeming more like home. We are so glad to be moved and at this stage of the relocation process.
For the most part, all has gone very well. I have moved many times throughout my life, usually cross country. Moving is a stressful experience, probably more so as we age, even when it's just a few miles. I am glad we were able to do this now, before we get any older. Even good changes can be try one's patience as new habit patterns are developed. We are hopeful this is our last move this side of Heaven.
More pictures of the house interiors will be shared when the rooms are ready for visitors!
