Tree Trimming

I can't help but laugh when I see our tree. (And secretly wish to run out and buy any other tree I can find.)

I almost want to deck it out in the tackiest ornaments known to man-kind.

It truly is horrible.

Like make-you-want-to-cry horrible. Or wish the Grinch down the road would come and take it.

It is tall and free so it does have some merits.

However, on a night when the kids were going crazy (and we were going insane) and I thought that the idea of trimming a tree would be another horrible experience (see last year), it turned out to be a wonderful time.

I blared on some old Christmas carols, the kids really got into decorating. Single lines from virtually every Christmas song known to man were strung together in one song by Jackson.

The experience even became (gasp) peaceful.

I think Jackson said it best as he sung out, "It's the most beautiful time of the year . . . "

It is.

Even if our tree looks a little funny. It has a lot of heart put into it, and inner beauty is most important, right?? (But Santa, if you feel impressed to leave a new tree behind this year, we won't be offended.)

** The next day Jackson came into the living room to admire the tree. "We really did a good job decorating it!" Yes, we certainly did our best.

Charlie Brown

Every day I drive past a house where a family has moved in about a week after us.

They have a beautiful, large window in the front, much like us.

They also have a gorgeous, exquisitely lit Christmas tree twinkling there.

We have a tree in our large, beautiful windows.

But it is only half-lit.

And exquisite, it is not.

We are hoping to finish lighting and decorating it tonight . . . but even after all of our work, it will not be the "Jones'".

For one, it is a real tree. About as "real" as you can get. We hiked out to a forest with our little family and Brad's dad. Saw the top of a tree about 30 ft high that looked like it could work.

After hacking it in a few places, we dragged it home.

It seriously gave "trimming the tree" a new definition.

First off, the bottom branches (or at least the ones that were there . . . since there were some bare patches) needed to be cut in half so it could fit in our living room.

Second, there were lots of bare spots through out. (Brad offered to use his family secret "fix it all" weapon--duct tape--and add more branches. Even sadder was that I actually gave it some serious thought.)

Third, the last 4-5 feet of our 18 foot "tree" isn't much more than a green, needle-crusted "shaft"

Fourth, right before the "shaft" is a nice little "crook" that we like to pretend "symbolizes" the shepards' canes.

Fifth, the trunk is too narrow to fit in our tree stand so we are supplementing it with scrap wood and cardboard from the construction site. (I'm currently on the hunt for some loose bricks to put in the front to prevent it from toppling over into our wall.)

Mostly, it symbolizes imperfection, but heart for me. (And a definite "free pass" to buying what ever pre-lit tree I find next year . . . regardless of the price.)

As a perfectionist, it is sometimes hard to let go of having the perfect Christmas display. However, the experience of trudging through the snow with the kids and their grandpa to find the best tree we could, was well, special.

And since we didn't have to spend $100 on a beautiful tree (or even $30 on a slightly disappointing tree) makes it even better.

Of course, next October I will be first in line for a brand-new, pre-lit beauty. And I am sure I will look back on our "Charlie Brown Tree" with a smile and fond memories.

Sifting . . .

The boxes are starting to come to an end . . . and floor space is becoming available.

Which is both good and bad.

Good because it means everything is finding a new home (even it it means hanging out in the dreaded basement indefinitely).

Bad because it is now showing the effects of not cleaning for the last two weeks . . . and having a constant stream of workers in our house. (Seriously, last week I had someone in here almost 8 hours of every day . . . and this morning one showed up at 7:15am!!)

Unpacking went quite quickly that first week when the house was novelle and the kids were so well behaved. Naturally, we never left our house so I had lots of time to get things done. And not having any appliances meant no cooking . . . or clean ups! (Great time savers!)

But, suddenly life was back up and running full tilt. Kids started school, Brad worked overtime to make up for the week before, and said workers came in constantly, messing things up and keeping me from being able to get things done.

I'm not sure when everything will really get "done," but we at least have a few rooms that are presentable to guests and places of refuge from "catch alls" such as my office. And, at least Christmas decorations are getting put up. That really helps make it feel "homey."

A Breakdown in the System

My records were meticulous.

Really, they were. Every box was colour-coded, numbered and then written up in "the master list" with incredibly detailed contents.

It came in so handy during those weeks where things were packed that should not have been packed so soon.

And, upon move in, looking for particular items was a breeze . . . check the master list, find the box, location, and number.

Highly organized.

Except for one little breakdown.

For some reason, my winter boots have gone off the radar. I've looked in all the laundry room boxes, all the family room boxes, and all the last minute boxes, particularly the unlabelled ones.

No such luck.

And, as Murphey's Law would have it, we've had mud, rain, and blizzards here for the past week.

Let's just say that my feet are getting awfully cold trudging through 1 foot of snow to get the kids to the bus stop and back.

So, Santa, if you are reading this, kindly consider bringing me a pair of boots. (I've tried to going to the mall to get a pair but they have THREE--THREE--pairs of boots in my size to choose from. And none of them seem to work.)

Moving Day

In honour of Moving Day, I thought I would write up "The Anatomy of a Move":

Phase One: Organization

This is where you start tackling your skeletons hiding in the dark corners of your basements and closets . . . trying to purge as best as you can.

It lasts a few weeks (if you are lucky) until you realize you way too much crap to spend your very limited time on.

Phase Two: Semi-Organization

You are still making lists of things that are going into boxes, but the purging is now relegated to anything moulding or furry and lifeless--those items that you cannot determine get thrown into the box for future sorting. (But hey, at least you have record of an unidentified object in box 78!)

Phase Three: Dumping

Just grab armful after armful of junk and throw it into a box. Colour-coded sitckers and box numbers are appreciated, but are not necessary at this point.

Phase Four: Trash

If you are still finding junk lurking beneath furniture, on top of furniture, or breeding in closets, just throw it into a garbage bag.

You haven't realized it existed until this point so you probably don't need it, right?

Phase Five: Cleaning and Breathing

You can take a deep breath, right? All your hard work over the last two months has paid off and everything is packed . . . you just need to do a quick cleaning job. And, since it's 6:30 am and the movers won't be here for 2.5 more hours, you're in great shape, right? Absolutely . . . until you open your kitchen cabinets and realize that all the expired food you've been housing wasn't able to go out with the trash last week as planned because you ran out of garbage tags.

Can we say Panic Attack??

And somehow all those "last few things" are taking up far too many boxes. (Seriously, how can so few things fill up an entire box??)

Phase Six: Pack Rat

Have you ever seen the movie Labrinth and paid any attention to the trash lady? Yup, if you live where they limit your garbage (and the garbage man himself refuses to help in a trash emergency) you have no other choice than to pack your trash and garbage up with you.

The bright side is that at this point, all those millions of boxes that seemed as though were too many, are now used up and all that is left are trash bags. (Just be sure to label the bags with bedding and last minute stuff clearly!)

Phase Seven: Empty

(For the most part . . . just need to come back and pick up your Christmas lights that are still hanging and of course, all your bags of trash.)

Delivered

Our Life In A Garage (It may not be pretty, but it sure sped things up on moving day.)

Even though the house closed on the first, we didn't move in until the second.

Which made us very glad to have listened to others and move the day after closing . . . our keys weren't in our hands until at least 5 pm on the first.

It did make appliance delivery and installation a little annoying though. Being out in the country there are only certain days that Sears delivers. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. (Closing day was a Tuesday.)

(We ate a lot of crackers in the interim and made some good use of our mini fridge, mini freezer, and convection oven.)

Moving Day went pretty smoothly. Of course there are always moments of panic when you think you have everything packed and then find a cupboard miraculously full of food.

And the garbage, oh the garbage!! I have been getting rid of stuff for the last year, but especially the last month or so, buying extra garbage tags . . . but somehow the 25 tags we bought the last few weeks ran out far too soon.

I found myself standing on the curb at 8 am on closing day with $10 in an attempt to bribe the garbage man to take our stuff. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He refused and I was left, cash and trash in hand, wishing I had tried the cookies instead.

The movers we got were super fast. I thought that while they were loading I could get to cleaning the whole house . . . but it was quite a bit of work keeping up with them. They loaded every room with amazing speed. And, the fact that we had the majority of our boxes in the garage waiting for them helped tremendously.

Fortunately, the weather was really good. The temperature was very comfortable to be outside without a coat, and the rain stayed away until the late evening. The ground outside our new place was pretty dry . . . which was amazing since only the day before we were wading in calve-high mud.

Usually packing the truck takes way more time than unloading, but this time it was the unloading that was time consuming.

I had all the boxes colour tagged and had several maps around the house and entrances to direct them to which room each box needed to be placed. It worked for the most part, but as the afternoon wore on and the sun went down, lighting was an issue. (Next time I need to have glow in the dark colours on the boxes.)

Now as I sit here in flurries and subzero temperatures, I am so grateful that things went so well on moving day. It really made it easier. And as the forcast calls for blizzards in the next few days with freezing rain . . . I am SO grateful that we had an early December closing . . . and that Someone up above was playing with the weather. (This was the first year in about 80 years that our area has not had any snow in November.)

Sealed

Usually, a Pre-Delivery Inspection is just that.

PRE-Delivery.

Ours wasn't. (Although it really frustrated my plans of the "perfectly" planned move, it didn't surprise us given the frustrations we've had with the sales staff over the last few months.)

In fact, we had pretty well closed before the inspection started.

It was a good thing that most of the house was approved by us . . . there were several things that either weren't complete, or had problems of one sort or another. But, since there are always problems with a resale . . . and it is your financial responsibility to fix them--as well as endure the fixing process--we take great comfort in the fact that we only need to endure "the fixing." And that will be annoying enough, I think, after our experiences this week with phone, cable, appliance deliver and set up this past week.

The Good:

The House

The house overall looks stunning. I mean, really. I pinch myself several times a day to make sure I'm not just dreaming. And even then I only feel like we scored some great deal on a rental. It's really hard to believe that we own this place. (Or we will in 30 years. ;) )

Dining Room.

Foyer and main floor hallway.

Grand staircase

Avery's Room.

Jackson's Room.

Boys' Bath.

Jayden's Room.

View from top of landing. Beautiful, yes. But we have since learned that we need to invest in house coats because the construction workers can see EVERYTHING up here. ;)

The Master Bath

Of all the gross counter tops I had to choose, I gave the least thought and hopes to the master bath counter top. I figured we'd be replacing it soon anyway and went with something that seemed tolerable. Well, it turned out beautifully. Really. Had I known it would have been this nice, I would have done the kitchen in the same. And I would have let them do a molded back splash so that I wouln't have been in the situation we're in now: needing some kind of back splash, loving the counter top, but not being able to find something to match the floor and wall tiles and the counter.

Master bath cabinet and counter top.

In fact, the whole master bath is beautiful and will be even better once we get our sconces, mirrors, and accessories in there. Oh, and shower walls. (Apparently, those are still on order.)

Brad's closet.

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom (again)

My closet.

The Kitchen

I seriously never thought it was possible to run out of things to fill kitchen cabinets with . . . but I have. At least 3-4 remain empty while others are mildly full. (Of course, we haven't gone grocery shopping in about 3 weeks so after tonight it may be different.)

The cabinets are gorgeous . . . but so high maintenance. And with all the future work to be done on our place, the dust is just going to pile. (I've decided I need to invest in some great dusting equipment.)

The Tile

When we were making our selections, it was basically choosing between white white tiles, grey white tiles, beige white tiles, aqua white tiles, and some very horrible shades of brown?? I was really worried that the tiles would be too white and impossible to keep clean.

Well, the tiles are still pretty light, but they aren't as pristine white as I was expecting and I really do like them. Maybe even enough to sweep and mop them every hour . . . because honestly, every time I have cleaned them, someone walks into the house and tracks clay, mud, and gravel in and I have to start all over again.

The Fireplace Mantle

Turned out wonderfully. So glad I upgraded to it.

The View

Okay, so out the front we see excavators and dump trucks, but since no one has bought beside us, we have fantastic views of trees, blue skies, and local landmarks. Out the back is beautiful too since our neighbours have gorgeous back yards. (We like to pretend that our property extends to theirs.)

The Bad:

Avery's Bath Room

You can't really see the detail in the inserts, or even how the colours on the floor go/don't go with the counter top. They do kind of go, just wouldn't be my first pick.

Not a huge fan of how it turned out. However, over the last few days it has started to grow on me. Perhaps it is because that is the place we have been showering in, but with the curtain pulled over the bath tile, I can forget about the tacky inserts in the tiles (which I am still not convinced I would have ever picked out).

The Flat Panel TV Conduit
Are they supposed to end in the basement? We were quite positive we asked them to make it come out of the wall to the left of the fireplace. What are we going to do with a cable box and DVD player in the basement hooked up to our TV?? I sense that they might be ripping up our wall in the near future.

The Kitchen

Most of the kitchen is beautiful. However, the counter top is a bit nauseating. It's faux granite. And I hated it during selection, but it was the only one that I could really have chosen to match the rest of the kitchen. I really hope we get to know a wholesale granite dealer soon. (Which is highly possible given that our entire community is made up of Italians . . . who are in some kind of construction.)

The Master Bath

Um, shower doors and walls would really be helpful. Really.

The Hot Water Heater

We started the inspection in the basement and it didn't take us long to realize that the drains were working. Because there was water gushing out of our hot water tank! YIKES! (Fortunately, they fixed it for us before we moved our stuff in the next day.)

The Powder Room Toilet

Missing water. And a hose to connect it to the water system.

A Curved Wall

In between a coat closet and the kitchen. Not sure how they will fix it.

At any rate, we signed and sealed the deal, hoping that these little things (and other things) would soon be fixed.

Signed

Signing day.

It finally came.

It definitely wasn't as fun as we imagined. Well, a lot of that was probably undue stress that we caused because we left the mortgage to the very last second.

In our defence, it did work to our favour since we got an awesome rate. But it caused quite a bit of panic and confusion on the parts of our lawyers, mortgage brokers, and set us back two days in our packing schedule.

Cold feet got to me, I have to admit. Much like what I imagine most other people get before their wedding day.

"Am I making the right choice? Should I have stuck it out with my ex?" (See here and here .)

As I drove through the town where we almost bought last spring, a little bit of pining for our first house love broke through.

Should we have bought that one months ago? We would have had grass. (And more than just four blades--even that is being generous since we will be sitting with a pile of mud for a year before they sod.)

We would have had neighbours. Like people ones instead of empty lots and exavators.

We would have had a big, beautiful house that we loved. . . months ago . . . and not be stressed for the last few days. And not be moving into a house that we haven't really seen.

But, we also would have been stuck in a three bedroom house . . . with a mortgage double what we have now.

And, we would not be living in a really cute, quaint town with a ton of community spirit.

I think that is what we are most excited about. In fact, this weekend, there is a big Christmas festival. We can't wait to take a break from unpacking to check it out.

It certainly made signing all those dotted lines easier. (Not that there was any choice at this point!)

So, everything is signed.

Money is transferred.

Everything is ready to go as soon as we seal the deal on the inspection. (Which ironically takes place after we will have closed. YIKES.)