last dance

phew.

emotional day. big time.


it was the last day that we could say "good-bye" to our old house. it was hard to have to hang on to it for 3 weeks after we moved. kind of like the blanket that you knew you had to finally give up. or a toy that you were too old to play for. a comfort that you had outgrown.

it was not our choice to hang on to it for as long as we did....but i'm glad we were able to.


our first home. we lived there for nearly 11 years. changed nearly everything ourselves. brought both of our babies home to that home. so many memories. a long time.


the kids had one last dance in the living/dining room.

this was a special little playhouse. their grandpa olsen helped daddy build this. even Aidan had a part with this project. they played in this EVERY DAY until the snow was too deep and the air was too cold. but as soon as it melted and they could make a path...it was played in again. so hard to say good-bye....we all know that we won't have anything in this caliber again.

Aidan and grandpa olsen built this flowerbox. great memories. soooo happy that i'm a shutterbug! i have some amazing photos from that day it was built and installed.

this pear tree was not much taller than the fence when we bought the house. it does need pruning. but the leaves were so lush. and it provided a beautiful background....pruning the top became something we chose to avoid! and yes we got pears. every year.

this apple tree was only planted two years ago. this was the size of the pear tree nearly 11 years ago. amazing to compare.

the neighbors with whom we shared this fence are honorary grandparents to our kids. we already miss them. i do look forward to visiting and peeking over the fence to view the growth and changes in the yard. half of the yard was messed up with the building of the garage....so the new owners will have a bit of a clean slate to work with as they green things up and put on their personal touches.

both of the kids had one last climb on this tree. it really is not the greatest climbing tree. but they both hung out here a lot.


our first little home was built in 1949. the same year that the community school was built. we learned that the property the school used was once a dairy farm. i think the original farmhouse or an old barn (now converted to a house) still stands on the original land. even last Christmas we still got mail for the man who had built the house! last summer Zbig told us that the house was too small for his family (in the 1950's), so they rented it out; while they had purchased and lived in a house that was larger and closer to downtown. after their children left home, they returned and retired. the next owners were a postal worker and an airline stewardess. they did not have children. then came the family which we purchased from. they were both academics and she had completed her Ph.D at the UofA just before they moved. they also had a one year old at the time. Barb is insistant that the home attracts "nice" people! i was concerned about who would be living there following us and the care they would have for the house. we renovated nearly everything during the time we lived there. for awhile we had seriously considered a demo and rebuild. it took us a long time to process the fact that we would then need to destroy all the work we had done! painful. however we knew that the way it was presently done was no longer working for us and we simply needed some space. it came down to the cost. the financial decision and the physical decision. would the cost of re-building be the best choice? it was tough. it was either to stay and work it out creatively or see if there was a possibility to purchase a home that would meet our needs. truly all of the details were God's handiwork. that might sound fluffy, but it's true! the new owners fell in love with the house immediately, and that love stayed. how fortunate we are that they loved the house as it is and saw the beauty that we did. i don't expect the paint colours to stay. or the little details we added to make it our home. but i feel assured that they are the type to not let it waste away....these old homes do take more time to care for. it would be so tough to visit Zbig and Barb, and see the house fall apart. as the city grows in size and condos seem to be multiplying, we have wondered how long it will be before the house becomes replaced. will these new owners be the last? or will it be spared? sixty years ago it was just a field for some dairy cows.....

i closed the door behind us for the final time. we are now only welcome as guests.

i studied the view from the alley. the new garage. the lush pear tree. my beloved clematis. so green. it was so beautiful. it was exactly as we had hoped for when we planned the placement of the garage. so private. a sanctuary. no longer for us to enjoy.

we had grown accustomed to people walking by and staring...starting with the south corner where they could get a view of the backyard...then you could see them study the house...the front yard. a compliment.

no more.

but pride that we were able to uphold a home that was well built. and has been filled with happy people. and lovingly cared for by several owners over the years. love.

lots of tears today.

we're moving away from some very special people too. we haven't known them for long. it was our kids that enabled us all to meet and get to know each other. so nice to not have to run away from a problem community, but to leave with tears and sadness. and if any of my amazing neighbors are reading....please note that you are only 20 minutes away from us....and that includes bridge wait times!!!!! after all these years the community is building a brand new playground that includes a fancy splash park. we do not have a splash park here. sooooo we are definitely going to arrange some large group play dates with all of yous!!!!

how wonderful to have tears and be sad about a move. we are blessed.

sold!

the deal was signed and the cheque delivered on Friday.

the stickers were added to the sign on Saturday.

and we are still celebrating!!

{and yes i admit to still having tears in my eyes....it was a tough decision....even though we all know that it was a smart decision}

only a few more days before we can celebrate the purchase of our next house. what a whirlwind!!! we are truly, truly blessed.

normal

in the midst of the abnormal


there is nothing like living in your house feeling like you are living in a hotel. or living in a hotel when the concierge may visit at a moments' notice. and if the concierge does the white glove test and you fail, then you are not welcome to visit the next time.



the truth is i do not make our beds everyday. sometimes i am not quick to throw out food that has gone bad in my fridge. usually you have to carefully step around the toys. often the floor goes for a week without getting swept. it is common to see traces of spilled milk or other lovely food messes under our table. i am thrilled when the dishwasher is not full of clean dishes and the sink is not full of dirty dishes. no one complains when they have to search a laundry basket looking for clean underwear because i'm behind in putting the clothes away. it is rare to find a clean window or mirror or any shiny surface. dusting gets done when it is obvious that dust is noticeable - like when the kids have drawn pictures in it.


so to get up every morning and get the beds made and looking hotel-like. all of them. and beg the kids not to sit, lay or jump on them!

dust. sweep. mop. clean.

it is nice to live in a spotless house. but it is not living! each mess is like a catastrophe because it means that "getting ready" that morning will be longer.

last Friday our house was officially listed as 'for sale'. i knew there was a strong possibility of showings, so it was done up.

Saturday, we knew we had showings, so it was done up.

Sunday, we thought for sure it would have showings, so it was done up. no one came.

Monday, as a precaution, it was done up. no one came.

Tuesday, same thing. done up and no one came.

Wednesday was a busier day for me, so i did not do it up. we did have a showing scheduled for after supper, and i thought i'd have time just before making supper. BUT, someone wanted to see it that afternoon. can you believe it?! i begged to let them come after 5pm. they came the next morning at 9am.

so Thursday i had to race out of bed. race to clean. and in a major lapse of brain activity i bribed my darling children with waffles. with syrup. if you have kids, you know how this story ends. as i'm cleaning the syrup off the table and floor, i notice that our showing is EARLY. of course.

and this morning we did the same thing. our buyers wanted to look over the place one last time with their home inspector. i am proud of our home, so i did it up! one last time.

the kids and i stayed home and got to meet them. they are such lovely people. and their agent was a hoot! as i went to shake their hand goodbye, i changed my mind and hugged them. and then i cried. they left. and i cried some more.

we have prayed for the "right buyer" for this home. prayer answered.

we have prayed for the "right home" for us. we have confidence it will be answered, and we think it may have happened already.

God is GOOD!


and in non-house news.....
Aidan and his playschool class had a special tea for the moms today. it was very special. they sang songs and were totally adorable! they made goodies for us to eat and drink. they made gifts and a card. and they even served us!!

i am a lucky mommy!

say what??!

wow!

the second person through our house -- after being "on the market" for 7 hours -- made us a great offer.

less than 12 hours after the sign was up, lock box was placed on the door, marketing began....we were signing our agreement to the offer.

oh, wow, oh, wow!!

now we have to find ourselves a house.....QUICK!!!

{we're sooooo happy to have this problem!}

it's for real

for several months we knew this day was coming.

we've been packing boxes of items that we don't use everyday.

for the past month we've been working nearly around the clock finishing projects and putting the finishing touch on everything.

i've been shopping for decor to pretty up the place even more. like the shelves that have needed baskets but we never bought. the pillows that i've always wanted, but couldn't justify...got 'em!!

never mind the never ending cleaning. it does feel good to have a clean house. but i detest having to live this way! i like clean....just not "picky clean". {i do agree with Aidan....it is BORING}

for some reason all of those things on the above list never seemed totally real. real was opening up my e-mail and seeing our house listing. real was getting our own keys delivered to our house in a 'lockbox' hanging from our door handle. real became really real when we got the sign added. for real. wow.


this will sound totally obnoxious. and it is! but after the amount of time we've spent "polishing" i think we've earned the right! we had some professional photos taken of our house and they turned out AMAZING! i find myself staring at them and in awe. this place looks good!


my friend, Erin, was asking me how our downstairs bathroom turned out. i can't believe i forgot to take a photo of the finished project! unfortunately i never took any photos of what we started with.

it isn't granite and glass! but it is a far cry from what it looked like when we moved in!!

this house was built in 1949, before basements had much use. apparently. i am guessing the basement was finished in the 70's given the style and such. quite possibly this bathroom was the first project. because it looks like they made all their mistakes in here! thankfully the plumbing and such was done well. with a higher ceiling, additional light, excellent paint job, new taps and hardware....the work of 2 professional carpenters and 1 professional painter....and the taste of a cute couple! hey, it has been MANY late night to get to this point, no regrets about bragging!


now we wait. and try to keep everything still clean and shiny.

changes

today is another big day. our house gets professional photos done for the listing.

it was a late night. and it will be a busy day today.

would you believe that i washed windows in the dark last night? i was curious how they would look this morning...i am very impressed. they look amazing!

the living room and dining room is nearly ready. just a few little things need to be adjusted. the new paint colour doesn't appear too different from the old colour. but it is a few tones darker and looks fabulous. too bad we hadn't done that before.

i wanted to show off the new ceiling and our new light! we kept the same colour in the kitchen and only needed to paint a few walls to freshen them up.

our bedroom no longer has a shop-vac as part of our decor. we stepped up the bedroom style with new curtains and pillows. and i highly recommend not using your dresser as a coin collector...or lost item storage place! we'll see how long that lasts. up until recently our bedroom also became the zone for items that needed to be removed from young children.

the bathroom had a dramatic change with the tile and new colour on the walls.

our handy-dandy-super carpenter also added a frame around our large mirror. i love this mirror! we have a banjo style countertop in our little bathroom, and the mirror runs the entire length of it. amazing.

i want to share photos now that the decorating is nearly done. so much of our decor stuff got packed when Aidan started to walk. lots i had forgotten we had. but i also realize now how little we had added since we became parents. i think i may start to add more interesting items now that the kids are wiser not to touch everything. we'll see how they do in this next little bit.

our house will be officially listed for sale by the end of the week. most of the hard work is done. but we still have a teeny bit of work before it will be ready to show. i am nervous about getting the kids out of the house for those times and making sure nothing gets forgotten....like laundry left out or toys dropped behind a door....but i am more nervous about "strangers" walking through our house and peeking in my dishwasher or closets.

i am getting excited about moving on. and up. my tears for leaving this adorable little home are lessening. i'm sure our last day here will bring on a new round of tears...but some happiness that the next owners will surely enjoy this home as much as we have.

sentimental day.

fast forward

painting is nearly done.

we only have a few boxes left to pack this weekend.

the yard is nearly cleaned up. a flower bed and the garden patch remains. and all the toys...ugh! i took a look inside at the playhouse and there is some work to do inside as well. there has to be a better system for their outdoor toys to be organized.

cleaning and organizing is ongoing.

house inspection is done.

papers signed with our real estate agency. {we have the best realtors!!}

i was very, very tired this weekend. Kris had to work yesterday, so that was a major bummer.

i woke up with a migraine. sigh.



our tulips that have been here forever. they are definitely old. their blooms only last for a few days at the most. but i haven't had the heart to throw them out.

some daffodils. snowdrops? or something. i had forgotten that i had planted these! aren't they delicate?

our pear blossoms. they bloom in bunches like this. very pretty.

our yard is phenomenal in the spring. three fruit trees that blossom. tulips. bunches of iris blooms. daylilies. the climbing clematis that has spread over most of our back fence.

i have some frames hung that held photos of family and friends. but they can't be seen while we're selling the house. one of those "rules". i went back into my photo library and printed out photos of flowers from our yard and added those to the frames. we love how it turned out. they are all straight out of the camera. however, i think they would be totally fun to photoshop and adjust! it's on my list of fun things to do when i have the time and energy....

not too much planned for the day. maybe we'll finish up a few things around here. we're really missing family fun time. fun time that does not involve our house or other peoples' houses! right now the kids are enjoying playing together. i'm sure they're drumming up some kind of trouble. they have so few toys out to enjoy these days, so it is interesting to see what they do with their imagination. {some days mean interesting is 'oh! how cute is that?!'; while other days it is 'whatever where you thinking??!!? stop that at once!!'}

onward, ho!

i'll share our "after" photos some time this week. {i'm learning to not make promises these days.} i am taking photos, because it will be good to remember what "perfect" looks like! even if it only lasts 15 minutes...