New Buddies

This week we had a barbecue for all the people who helped us move.
In general, I'm not a people person but I've been working very hard to branch out and be around crowds more often so why not host a get together for the 30ish people who were involved. (Thankfully not all of them could be there)
I've really appreciated the new friendships that have blossomed around Chris and I this year. While I was showing one couple the house the wife stopped at the fridge and asked about a picture that I drew for my grandma probably 17 years ago (one of those trace and draw)and she was amazed because she had the same set of tracers. Ah, kindred spirits, maybe we'll have a coloring party. Maybe it's just my mild nature but I think everyone should have friends that they can just sit and color quietly with.

Farm Town

Well, it's been a little while since my last post. I would like to say that it was due to all the moving. I mean it was a pretty big deal packing the boxes at our place, packing up the remaining items in my grandma's old house, painting and carpeting the new place at the same time finishing the last minute items at the old. That would be a totally acceptable excuse, but alas I was much more focused on playing Farm Town. It's a game on Facebook that I've have become addicted too.
You start out with farm land and 6 plots that are in different stages of growth and then you harvest or hire someone to harvest your crops, sell them in the market place and plant more seeds. The more money you make the more expensive seeds you can buy. You also get experience points for every action, whether you plow your field, help a neighbor who's out of town or harvest someone else fields (you can make a lot of money that way), the points raise your farming skill level and the higher you go the more you can do, for instance I was just able to buy a larger farm, I also have the option to buy a farm house but they don't produce any money so why should I bother?
Yes I am truly addicted, I had to take short breaks while we were moving in so I could check on my farm and harvest my crops.

Cabbages and Kings!

"The Time has Come!" The Walrus said, "to talk of many things. Of shoes, and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings."

My Life in Receipts

While emptying drawers for the up-coming move I found a large collection of receipts. It was neat to look back on purchases from long ago.
I found the receipt for my first and only pair of roller blades. (I still prefer skates). Receipts from trips to Texas, Colorado and Sun Valley. Gifts I purchased for friends. My formal dress for the homecoming dance. My wedding ring. Snacks for parties. Wedding decorations. Hotel reservations for our honeymoon. Home repairs. And baby items.
My adult life captured in a pile of receipts. Happy memories.

Trip to Texas 1999


Trip to Colorado 2001


Cathedral Pines Camp 2001


Homecoming 2002


Our Rings 2005


Our First Home 2005


Our Little Lady
March 2009

Super day!!

Well today was a great day!
We finished the electrical. Since we moved in there were capped wires in one of the closets, we didn't go into that closet so it wasn't that big of a deal but for the FHA we needed to put a fixture or something on it so that the wires wouldn't be exposed. Arwen and I sat in the closet with the flashlight while Chris shut off the power, when he came back he opened the existing fixture to find that the wires weren't hooked up to anything and there wasn't any power. We both looked each other, Chris pulled the wires out and put the cover back on. That was the easiest fix of the whole house, right up there with replacing the batteries in the smoke detectors (yeah that was one of the buyer's requests).
Anyway. Tomorrow my dad and Chris are going to replace the main water valve. We've planned it for when the kids are napping, can you imagine watching 5 kids with no water?
After the main is finished we'll replace the valves under the kitchen and main bathroom sinks.
There's more to do but I'm excited with today's progress so I won't go into it.

Good enough

I find myself with a lack of interesting stories.
Chris and I accepted an offer on our house and are planning on closing May 15th. The fellow who's buying will be getting and FHA loan which means Chris and I are working our tails off to bring the house up to the lofty FHA standards.
This past week has been a whirlwind of repairs including but not limited too scraping, priming, painting the outside of the house, repair the roof, up-date some plumbing and cut a hole in the wall to move some dirt in the crawl space.

I'm having an inward battle doing all these projects. The perfectionist in me would really like to have it just right, the paint, the electrical, all of it. But as it is I don't have the time or motivation to make it all that it could be.
I'll be leaving this home at "the standard" but not excellent.
How good is good enough? According to the governments FHA standards no cracked or peeling paint, no exposed wires, grass and whatever else the appraiser can think of.

A word to the wise

For all you folks out there who have wood siding let me take this moment to encourage you to just save up and buy some kind of metal siding. Low maintenance, lasts for a long time, good stuff.