New Years Eve 2023!

We needed one room that we can relax in…so we set out to unpack the boxes to make the “family room” feel like home.

Jen approved me re-doing the powder room…because there is a smell in there that makes us keep the door closed and makes it not worth using. So we went to Lowes and picked up a few things. We started with waterproof flooring, some toilet parts (wax ring, floor bolts), a vanity with the sink, and 3 new toilet seats for each of the bathrooms.

During our home inspection, one of the things that didn’t work was the shower in the main bathroom. No water movement through the shower. He said it was the shower control knob. This was not a big deal because we can shower in the master bedroom bathroom and I like epsom salt baths. I decided to troubleshoot it anyway…because I could! Turns out it was a clogged showerhead. While we were out we also stopped at HomeDepot to pick up the new shower head. I wanted the same one that we had in the old house (that I brought with us)…also got a curved shower curtain rod! I have gotten spoiled!

There are locks everywhere but there is only 1 key, so changing out the locks or having them re-keyed will probably be a project in itself! Since the shed is stand alone and a very easy fix, I changed out that lock. My bike and some tools are out there. Next up is the garage door lock! (there isn’t one). The garage door also needs a new door seal and possibly replace the springs (and if we ever put the car in there, we will need a garage door opener).

The spare bedroom now has a bed. I will eventually hang the bedroom TV in there. I decided not to put it in the master bedroom because the only time is it on is when Jen is sick and wants to do a “True Blood” marathon. Now she can be sick in there! HaHa!

One of the most frustrating things about moving is now matter how organized you THINK you are, you are NOT! Seek and Find is a real pain in the ass! It only took 3 weeks to find the lag bolts and remotes for my main TV.

Now I can relax a little!

Not sure what to do about this…one of the previous owners did NOT provide a forwarding address and according to the USPS, there were many family members having their mail delivered here…or they all lived here…totally unsure!! Well, they got a Kansas City Steak delivery as a Holiday gift!

We will call Kansas Steak and have them stop future deliveries, but if we ‘return it’, they would technically need to destroy it. After a few discussions on how to deal with it, we are having steak for dinner 🙂 I will not feel bad about it either!

and a little Irony…this time last year, we were in Kansas City…and I don’t think we had time to try any of the steak houses.

UPDATE: 2024-12-24 we received a Christmas Eve delivery…yummy steaks!

So many calls to make, so many things to shop for, so many things to unpack! We drove down to Tractor Supply Company and the Home Depot to buy some sort of temporary fencing and price shelving units. Neither of us has been in a Tractor Supply Company…this was different!! It’s like a hardware store with a petSmart in it. (except they sell baby chicks and NOT puppies). We found some temporary fencing for the “dog yard” until we decide on how we want to deal with it. I hope they adjust to the new place/smells/things!

No matter how tired I am, my desk and PC are the first things that need to be set up because I will be back to work on Wednesday. FIOS should be up an running first thing on Tuesday.

I am guessing that Jen’s immune system is exhausted! She was up most of the night throwing up. It could also be that we haven’t been around a whole lot of people and someone was a carrier for some kind of stomach bug.

When we started planning the sale of the Morton house, there were a few things I wanted to bring with us, the shower head and the living room curtains.

The showerhead is one of those ones that has 2 heads, one stationary and the other on a hose. It was fairly expensive and there was no reason to have to go out and buy another…so I put the old showerhead back on before we even showed the house. Installing it in the master bathroom shower was one of my 1st small projects…The shower in the main bathroom needs a plumbers help (according to the home inspection) I will pick up another one of these for the main bathroom

The curtain rod was a birthday gift to Jen, remote controled so that it didnt matter that the couch was in front of the curtains…this was a pain in the ass to remove and transport 🙂 It hung out of the back of my truck with a flag tied to it…I was happy that no-one stole it (or any of the other things in the back of the truck) during the move. But this will look nice in the new picture window.

I still can’t find my pillow…

We need a washing machine, so mom and dad decided to get this for us as a house-warming gift…let me tell you, this is just as bad as buying a new TV…too many brands, too many features, too many price ranges. Mom and I have been back and forth with choices and dad is reading all the Consumer Reports. I just want one that washes clothes 🙂 We finally found one that will be delivered/installed on Saturday…I’m sure we will have plenty of things to test it with!

By the end of this week, I was sick…I tried to work, but at some point, I had no choice but to go lay down…for just a few minutes…but was out for a couple hours. I am grateful for my co-workers!!

during:

after:

the shed too:

So, today is closing day…on selling the house in Morton, and buying the house in Coatesville. I joked that we would be HOMELESS (between the two places of settlement). We left the hotel to be in West Chester at 10am…took about 30 minutes to sign papers and hand the keys to Joe and Lexi…when we left there, Raz needed to come with me in my truck, because she was plucking Jen’s last nerve, we met Mike at the house in Coatesville for the walk through and then we had lunch at the purple diner (across the street from Amkor Karate) with the parents before we headed over to Exton to buy our OldNewHouse at 1pm! This took so much longer, everyone knew each other, the soon to be ‘former’ owner and the title company folks…and our finance guy…they chit chatted what felt like hours…it kinda was.

Our friends, family and the movers were all there at 2pm waiting to start moving things in and we hadn’t signed yet…

As soon as I stepped out the door, I called them and said go for it…start unloading! This went semi-smooth, but the 20+ minutes it took to get HOME, I probably got 5 phone calls…where does this go? where does that go? Once we pulled in, it got a little less hectic, but now the speed factor has kicked in. The movers were unpacking the pack rat container also…so Paul, Katt, Shirl, Jen, mom (Janice) and dad (Richard) were all directing traffic and keeping the dogs from being under foot…Jen had also ordered an insta-cart and pizza to be here when we got home…this was an awesome idea!! TP, cleaning stuff, napkins, utensils, etc

Little Guys were gone by 4pm, Paul and Katt had left to go pick up kids, the parents went to their hotel and Shirl hung out with us for a couple hours trying to get us somewhat organized.

The next few days will be hectic, PackRat will be picking up the “dumpster” first thing tomorrow morning…McHugh Roofing will be here on the 6th and I need to empty the storage bin in Downingtown before the 8th.

tomorrow morning the movers come, bright and early…so EVERYTHING needs to be boxed up and ready for them. Guess what, I need to work today…the 2nd phase of this big project is going to be put into production today…we start at 7am and the goal is to complete 7 customer moves. As much as I want to say we are ready, I don’t think anyone is feeling confident…but we will push through with high hopes! done by 2pm is the hope!

The house packing…I feel like we are in a good place with that…but every time I turn around my thought is…oh, we cant forget that.

UPDATE : we did not get done work until 5-6 pm, it was borderline brutal! The good thing is…work pays for dinner…no matter what we want (within reason)…so I let Jen choose, since she has to put up with me working and not getting anything else done. We had filet mignon at Outback! But again, I didnt get much packing done! I’ll get up early tomorrow!

for Mitchell Ave:

Home Inspection 11/15 -LIBERTY INSPECTION GROUP -Chris- got to meet the potential new owners…I like them!!

The things that he chose for us to fix seemed weird to me, not because the attention wasn’t needed, but because there are bigger things I would have thought were more important. The biggest thing was a split rafter in the attic on the back side of the house, this was probably caused by the leak we had after we re-did the kitchen. Scott spent an hour up there adding a sister rafter…DONE! The new attic fan wiring needed to be put in the junction box…DONE! A GFCI outlet needed to be installed near the washer (even though this was not even close to the laundry tub…DONE! The toilet needed to be tightened…DONE! And the weirdest thing, the Inspector said that the sump pumps needed backflow prevention installed. The sump pumps come with the sump pumps…Scott tested them and everything is in working order…DONE!

FHA Inspection 11/21 -Leo– Everyone is telling me that this is the Inspection that I need to worry about…

They normally don’t tell the homeowner what needs to be done until the report comes out, but since the timing was critical, he was nice enough to give me the “list”

The basement throne needed to be ‘removed’, but we can just remove it and sit it on the floor and temporarily plug the flange. Reason being, partial privacy walls and no exhaust fan. This is something that will NOT matter once the loan is underwritten for the new buyers…they can pick the toilet back up and put it back in place…

We will need to cover the wires in the hallway that are dead, but go to the emergency OFF switch to the heater. This has been that way SO long, it wasn’t even on the radar (should say, my radar)

We may need a railing to the attic, but since this is a ‘storage space’, it may not be an issue. Turns out, he didn’t even add this to the report.

Paint the exterior of the basement windows…not sure why the exterior paint would be a health and safety issue considering that licking the paint chips would probably be impossible…but go figure!

The new owners came over and did the painting, I pulled the toilet, covered the outlet box…Leo came out the next morning and ‘re-inspected’…we are good to go!

UOC – Ridley Twp – waste of money!

This is just another way for Ridley Twp to put the screws to you…occupancy inspection/certificate. They check the ‘public sidewalk’ (not one), driveway (gravel) and railings on steps. so who gives a shit what’s on the inside…what if all of the copper was stripped…or sewage pipes filled with cement…you know, unlivable?? And to top it all off, we are being charged double because the side lot is considered it’s own ‘parcel’.

as of 12/1…we are ready on the Mitchell Ave side! am closing on 12/4