…but, with another round of sweat equity, that poor, rundown, weirdly decorated, rat infested, smelly house became a thing of beauty. We had purchased it as a foreclosure against some house flippers in a fairly tense bidding war, which we eventually won. The previous owner had died of Lou Gehrig’s disease and his daughter and grandchildren, who lived there with him, tried to keep up with the house payments and repairs on the behemoth but it eventually became too much. Again, it was no small feat to restore the house to a glimpse of its former glory but with its sale, it allowed us to upgrade once again.
At the beginning of the year, the thought of moving seemed comical and didn’t even cross our minds. A few months into 2017, a realtor mentioned someone was wanting to buy our house with cash on hand. We laughed again and shrugged it off–I mean, the house was really starting to look good, Jack had a great commute, and we were about to have a baby. That all changed with a neighbor decided to sell his farm, adjacent to our house, to the encroaching warehouses. That sale to was a bit too close for comfort and that’s how we ended up at New Harmony. The house is comparable in size to our first Indiana home but this time, the land is nearly three times as many acres as we had. There will be some repairs that need to be done but it’s fairly superficial to what we’ve already tackled. As with other houses we acquired, it occurred due to sad circumstances. This time, divorce. It was met with resistance by the owner who didn’t want to leave and after being here a few weeks, I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to have to leave either.
I told Jack I felt a bit disheartened that every time we bought a house, it was due to something tragic, almost like we are continually taking advantage of people but he said he said he sees it as helping people out of houses that otherwise, no one would want to buy, then turning around and making the world a more beautiful place by renovating and restoring them.
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| We had a lot of time spent waiting in the car the past few months, which Kate used to practice her pen balancing skills. |
So, after three days and multiple showings, appraisals, inspections, negotiating, a bit of threatening (hey, we’re nice but we’re not pushovers) and moving day finally arrived.
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| Jack and Sterling figured out how to get that big, giant table downstairs without breaking anything! |
There was a lot of heavy lifting and Henry was the first to volunteer. Just stay out of his way with the moving dolly…
And all the chickens? They came too so we could continue to have a supply of fresh eggs. Of course, the move stressed them out and they started molting, so we barely get any eggs…but I think they’re finally getting used to their new home. Sort of.
I think the cats have a sixth sense when it comes to moving. They woke up the morning we were going to transport them to our new house and promptly scrammed. We tried to bribe them with breakfast, with treats, with scratching along the backbone but they weren’t having it. So we turned that job over to the girls and some of their visiting friends and before too long, everyone was securely in their carrier.
Ironically, the horses were one of the easiest things to move. Hook up the trailer, put on the halter, open the door, climb on, shut the door, done.
I wish I could say that the kids have their beds set up, but that would be a lie. They’ve been roughing it since we moved, since we’ll soon be painting and getting new carpet. First, they started down in the basement…
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| Where’s Zoey? |
…but that was quickly taken over by unpacking. It had to go somewhere and at least now, they’re in their rooms.
There are also plenty of weeds to pull. Someday, I hope to be able to catch up with them. That may be wishful thinking, though.
It’s not been all work though. We still have plenty of time to hang out in the barn (yes, it’s as fun as it sounds!)…
…and groom the horses. The fence is perfect for climbing up and getting a good vantage point.
At the end of the day, we spend a few minutes playing pool. I think I’m getting better, though Jack may have something to say about that. He comes up with a lot of silly rules that seem to work in his favor.
