WELL - it's been a little while and I suppose I should update a little.
We are closing on the OLD house Feb 4th for 31K below assessed value and are very happy. Mowing two lawns, shoveling two driveways was a pain in the . . . ass (yea - I said it!!).
But it's all good.
So what have we learned in the last 214 days about our house?
The fireplace is GREAT - we are saving money on cold winter days by only using it to heat the main room. I did a lot of research and you do save money this way. Not a lot but not heating the entire house saves money.
I have also learned that my amazing sub woofer is not AS amazing as it was because of 17 foot ceilings!
We both have learned just how much our dog sheds when you have royal blue carpeting in the master bed room. We wanted ONE room not like the other rooms. The house has a earthy look through out and we wanted a room that was different.
Also it is odd that one room has been named the "quite" room. Not on purpose but it just happened. Even guests notice how one room, without us trying for this feeling is . . .peaceful. Our pets go there when there is loudness and it is just a very passive, peaceful room.
The lawn came in very well but has a lot of Quack Grass which hopeful with over seeding and fertilizer at the right times will make it . . . . . go away. BUT, I'm not anal about it.
We planted two clumps of Heritage River Birch with one more planned to create a triangle. It will be a little forest in that area with three Basswoods, two Purple Ash and three clumps (nine total trees) of Birch.
We planted a Autumn Blaze Maple on the other side of the back yard and while it is leaning (bending) it is growing (more on that later in the spring).
One thing we learned is the deck is wonderful! We would sit out at night and watch shooting stars in the darkness every weekend. It is better then what we expected.
I have a 140 sq ft butterfly garden in the works with planting in the spring and the final backyard project is putting in a patio for the basement walkout.
In the front yard we planted a Don Wyman Flowering Crap. This summer we plan on planting another Autumn Blaze Maple and some other less leafy tree on the other side of the house. Perhaps a Black Tapulo the 2008 Urban tree of the Year but we're still looking at trees. We want a large one but not as leafy as Maple - maybe birch?? hmmmm!!
It's odd how both of us had the same feeling. Here is had a very nice house but as long as we had one house still for sale, we never REALLY were 100% "in" this house. Now with the impending sale all of a sudden the new house is seeming more and more like our own.
We love living in a small town of 4,500 people. WAY more friendly then living in Madison which was friendly for the most part. But the attitude here is more relaxed and happy. People greet you with a smile and it feels like they mean it. On the left is a photo I took of the main street!ANYWAY - we are having an open house at the 1 year anniversary - your all invited.
Rod and DJ
