Getting Settled

Two days after the move, I took the day off from work to attend a study workshop in the afternoon, and was finally able to spend a few minutes getting to know our new home, and more importantly, locating my clothes so I would be able to get dressed in the morning. Here’s a few shots of how the house is shaping up with our furniture in place - almost! (a week and two days later, as I write, we are much more settled in, but have yet to have a minute to take more photos)

Comments transferred from previous Blog:

VP

Such a perfect house for youir style and your furniture! It looks welcoming already. Thank you for sharing this process. I know it takes a lot of your time...time you don't have right now riding your crazy train. Your mommy loves you lots.

Saturday, September 11, 2010 - 12:18 PM

Moving Day

Moving Day went off without a hitch on Wednesday, August 25th (it’s a week and a half later that I write this). The biggest issue was the rain that had been falling for about 4 straight days by this point. But, all in all, we made it here, and were very happy with the movers. 

The next morning, we had a visit from an energy auditor. We are looking into making a bunch of improvements, and he came to tell us about various loan programs and rebates that are available. The best part was he gave us new efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, a new low flow shower head, and two programmable thermostats. All of which he installed...for free. Pretty cool. 

Project Two - Windows

One of the big projects we plan to take on soon is improving the energy efficiency of our house. We are looking into getting a state sponsored energy loan which will hopefully help with the replacement of all the windows, converting the oil boiler to gas, and possibly adding some insulation to the roof. It will take some time to go through that process, so we elected to replace three windows before we officially move in...the basement (old windows shown above), the kitchen and the laundry room. These windows avoided any need for contractors to walk on our newly re-finished floors, and we won’t have to move the washer and drier out of the way later on. Most importantly, we we finally get around to the rest of the windows, we know we have one room where we can safely confine the cats while there will be big gaping holes in our walls...like this one in the basement below.

Here’s a before shot of the kitchen window. We are replacing it with a casement for a larger uninterrupted view of the back yard, and we think it will be easier to crank the window open instead of leaning over the sink to close a double-hung. I left the house today before the windows were finished, so stay tuned for the final results. 

Comments transferred from previous blog:

CHRISTINE

New windows make an amazing difference in life! I like the approach of some now, some later as well... smarty pants!

Monday, August 23, 2010 - 12:59 PM

Pre-move Weekend

Pre-move weekend began on Thursday with the arrival of my mom to assist with packing. By the time I got home from work, she already had the dining room well under way. Friday, she was joined by Gina where the packing in the dining room and kitchen continued. Bright and early on Saturday morning, Greg’s merry band of movers started to arrive. Above, Eric, Jeff, George and Greg are taking a breather while waiting for our pizza lunch to arrive. The yellow van in the background belongs to our next-door neighbor, but below is a look at the six vehicle involved in the moving caravan. Steve and Doug were also involved. 

Back at Beechwood, it looked a little like this:

It’s been an incredible long weekend. And even though I keep freaking out, I am incredibly grateful for all the help we have had from friends and family, especially since my mind and time has been occupied by my upcoming exam. 

Comments transferred from previous blog:

CHRISTINE

Definitely be grateful... I'm so all set with packing and I haven't even started!

Monday, August 23, 2010 - 01:00 PM

He's a Moving Maching

Greg made four trips to the house yesterday...after driving two hours back from out vacation. I helped unload one. He did one by himself, and two with the help of our friend Steve. He is indeed a moving machine. This is what the bulk of those loads look like in the temporary storage area we’ve set up in the corner of the basement. And below, is tonight’s load waiting to be taken out of the truck. 

Comments transferred from previous blog:

CHRISTINE

Go Greg! Go Greg! Go, Go, Go Greg!!!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 12:38 PM

VP

Such organization. Such a fantastic garage.  Take care of that moving machine.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 02:33 PM