As usual, time is flying by way too fast.  I’m starting to feel like I’m never going to get the house purged and packed in time for our move next month – especially considering all the interruptions that happen All. The. Time. 

I feel like I’m stalled in the dining room (which, by the way, is only the first room of seven, plus there’s the basement, summer house and shed to deal with).  I had figured it would only take me a couple of days to sort through the piles that should have been in the basement but got relegated to the dining room after Hurricane Sandy.  I was wrong.

The dining room tends to get really  steamy, since it’s on the corner of the house that gets the full effect of the blazing afternoon sun.  And since Mother Nature seems to think we needed a heat wave spurred with extra humidity, it’s like a sauna in both the kitchen and dining room. 

Probably a good thing our bodies are made out of mostly water, since I’ve been sweating like there’s no tomorrow while trying to get things organized and packed.

It’s taking twice as long since there’s no room to maneuver, so I have to shift things to the kitchen to work effectively in the dining room, but when it comes time to make lunch, shift things back to make room for that.  And then shift them back to continue working, and back again to make room to make dinner. 

I’d forgotten how much easier it was to move when I was single – I never got interrupted in the packing process, and didn’t have to stop and fix meals for other people, just grab something and keep going when it was just me.  Plus I’m not just packing my stuff, there are 4 of us now.  I probably should have factored that into my time calculation. 

It’ll get easier – and go much faster – once I get to the point where I can take the table legs off the table and start stacking all the boxes in the dining room to wait for moving day.

The hubby has been working like a maniac getting the outside stuff done to make sure things look appealing for the next owners of our character-driven house.  He had to borrow some really tall ladders to finish painting the Summer House (which is still on the to-do list, because Mother Nature wasn’t very cooperative) and paint the barn (since both were still the original colors from when we bought the house, a blue-gray with black shutters and trim [that I liked to refer to as Psycho House colors]). 

His best friend came over and did the high part, since the hubby can’t do heights of any kind.  Between the two of them, they did a great job:

BarnFaceLift

Now the colors match the house, and makes the barn look much better than its 196 years, don’t you think?

Our next house most definitely will have central air.  It’s a must.  I have a wish list of amenities I’d like our next house to have – here’s hoping our house will sell quickly and we are able to get our dream home sooner rather than later.  If I had endless funds, I’d so want to buy this water-front house:

HouseShell

Isn’t it pretty? And the fact that it last sold for $1,599,999 but it’s currently for sale for a mere $376,200 right now. It was a foreclosure, but when you scroll through the pictures on Zillow, you have to cry a little for that house, because the previous owners stripped it bare on the inside.

They took out every last baseboard and door and window trim, completely removed the fireplaces, took out all the kitchen cupboards and counters, and even took every last light fixture, recessed or otherwise, leaving holes in the walls and ceilings. I can’t tell, but it’s possible they also ripped out the hardwood floors and carpeting, too.  I’m also betting that the furnace and hot water heater are probably gone, too.  The house is literally  a shell.

I imagine it ended up in foreclosure because it was condemned due to a failed septic. And obviously the owners wanted to get some value out of it before the bank took over, hence the removal of anything that might have value. It’s sad to see people do that to such a nice house, though – but the perfect canvas for someone to make it whole again.

Since I’ve been blathering on practically about nothing, let’s finish this off with a funny cartoon that Vandy had on Facebook a few weeks ago about how dinosaurs were created:

DinoCreation

Isn’t that hilarious?  Princess Nagger thought so.

That’s a wrap for this week – link up and join in the fun, everyone is welcome, random or not. Be sure to visit your fellow randomizers so they don’t feel so lonely.

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Keeping the random alive – feel free to snag a badge and play along – one for my wino friends:

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And one for my non-wino friends:

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I’m also linking up with two stellar ladies, Shawn and Impulsive, the lovely hosts of Talk To Us Tuesday. There are no rules so link away.

Seriously Shawn

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More Tuesday hops – if you’re stopping by here from there, please do me a favor and follow via LinkyFollowers – since I was robbed of my GFC followers when the cads at Google decided to boycott non-Blogger blogs. The Tuesday hops seems to have diminished – if you have one let me know and I’ll add you here, too!

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35 Comments

  1. The barn looks fab. That poor house! I have to say, that as good of a deal as somebody’s going to get on it, I can’t imagine how much work is going to have to go into it! Wow, they really did a number on the poor place. Good luck with the packing – you can do it!!

    1. Thank you, Gretchen! 🙂 It’s nice to have the barn match the house again (we had the house painted by professionals a couple of years ago, and we finally got around to painting the barn and Summer House ourselves to match…heh!) Isn’t that house cool? Crazy how they pretty much just gutted the place before they let the bank take over. For someone with the cash flow and connections it would be such a sweet deal! Thanks for the luck – I sure need it! LOL! 🙂
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

    1. I wish we could buy it – it would be so cool to own a multi-million dollar home for such a song…but alas, I’m pretty sure it’ll take at least $100,000 to make it whole again, and we don’t want to get sucked into having that much debt. Plus, we need to sell our current house before we can buy another one, so we’ll be in ‘hurry-up-and-wait’ mode for a little while. 😉

      I did find THE perfect house I would love to get, but I’m not ready to share and possibly jinx it in case the timing turns out perfect – it has everything on my ‘want’ list and more, and in our price range. Here’s hoping it’s still for sale when our house sells so we can snap it up! 😉
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  5. We’ve got the heat and humidity too – I don’t think we’ve had such a wet summer since I moved to Ohio 8 years ago. I don’t envy you having to pack up an entire house in such weather at all!
    Jan’s Sushi Bar would like you to read ..Very Berry Baked PancakeMy Profile

    1. I know what you mean, Jan – this is the first time in 16 years since I moved here that it’s been this hot and humid this early on in the summer. Usually it’s been reserved for mid-to-late August, not June and July! Murphy’s Law – had I known Mother Nature was going to have an extended hot flash, I would have done all the packing during the winter months. 😉
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  6. I was thinking the same thing about painting: when we painted the first baby’s room, it was such an easy project. This time, with two kids, both my husband and I had issues organizing our time and not being annoyed by interruptions. Nothing is as simple as it used to be! Happy Tuesday.
    Claire would like you to read ..Random (Talk to us) Tuesday – Nothing comes easyMy Profile

  7. Moving is HARD! You know I just went through it myself. You try to do things to save money and just end up second guessing yourself the entire way!! But we got through ours and I know you will too. My best advise is to pack a very special box that has all of your “necessities” because no matter how well you label your boxes, they are piled to the ceiling post move, it’s really hard to find the one you want. Here are the items we went without for the first week that I wish had been packed in a special box: sheets – was so tired I slept w/o sheets the first night or two, towels – we had to make do with like one towel – hmmm that’s all that comes to mind right now but just make sure you have the critical stuff that is needed right away packed in a box that goes with you – not in the moving van!
    Rachel M. would like you to read ..Random Tuesday: I declare war against Earwigs!My Profile

  8. man… I didn’t even know you COULD gut a house like that!!!! I will say, the outside is beautiful though.

    The barn looks so cute! Don’t you hate when you do projects you should have done forever ago – but now you’re leaving? When we cleaned out our old house to move, got all the junk out, it didn’t look as bad as I thought before 🙂

    Good luck on the packing… that’s just a form of torture, I think.
    Rebecca Jo would like you to read ..Your Life….My Profile

    1. I was flabbergasted with everything they did to strip out that poor house – stuff like that never crossed my mind!!

      I love the way the barn turned out – and you’re right, doing all the projects we’re doing (that should have been done years ago) makes it a little harder to leave this house behind. But I’m definitely looking forward to being back ‘home’ in Washington, and since this was our very first house, I of course have a wish list of things this house was lacking (like A/C) that I definitely want in our next house. I told the hubby that I want our next house to be our last house – then I won’t have to worry about my pack-rat ways, the kids can deal with it when I’m gone! (evil grin!)

      I could not agree with you more – packing really is a form of torture!! LOL! 🙂
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  9. Moving is trouble but settling is the KING of troubles . I can\’t imagine the tactics of house owners , they just ruined things inside out while leaving { almost every time} .

    1. It is sad, isn’t it Emmy? I’ll have to keep track of it and see if someone makes it as amazing as it once was! Wish it could be me, but I’ll have to ‘settle’ for one that I won’t have to rebuild on the inside instead. 😉 I’m so happy the barn finally got the coat of paint it’s desperately needed – sure made a major improvement! And thank you – I hope we can sell quickly too so we can buy a house out West and not live in my parents basement for too long… 😉
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  11. I saw your beautiful barn on facebook this morning. Nice work! I can’t believe it’s almost 200 years old!

    And how completely sad that the previous owners of that BEAUTIFUL house stripped it. I was wondering why the huge price difference. Maybe you could buy it and make it whole again?

    Thanks for being loyal to our link up! We pretty much suck.
    Impulsive Addict would like you to read ..A BIG SURPRISE for TTUT!My Profile

    1. Thank you so much, IA! 🙂 It is hard to believe the barn (and Summer House and House) are almost 200 years old – lots of character for sure! 🙂

      It is sad the previous owners stripped that gorgeous house, isn’t it? I so wish we had the financial stamina to buy it and make it whole again! But I suspect it’ll cost about $100k to do that, and my preference is to buy a house we can move in and enjoy right away without a lot of work involved. 😉 I found another awesome one that’s for sale that has a killer kitchen and master bedroom and bath and awesome property (those are at the top of my ‘want’ list) – I’m hoping it’s still for sale when our house sells so we can snap it up! And it’s one that will be ‘move-in ready’. 😉
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  12. Glad you liked the cartoon. Science humor gets us every time.
    The barn looks great–much better colors. Hope the packing process smooths out–or Mother Nature takes pity and cools things off some.
    VandyJ would like you to read ..Random TimeMy Profile

    1. You’re my best source for fun Science humor and cartoons, Vandy! 🙂 I agree – much better colors, and now it looks ‘perkier’ than it did when it was drab with the blue-gray and black. 😉 I think once I get the first (and most complicated) room purged and packed, the rest will go a lot more smoothly. From your lips (or fingertips) to Mother Nature’s ears – here’s hoping she takes pity and cools things off at least for a few days of relief! 😉
      StacyUncorked would like you to read ..Packing in a Sauna, Barn Facelift and Dino Creation – Random Tuesday Thoughts RebelMy Profile

  13. Wow! That is a nice barn!

    That is a darn shame what happened to that house. People can be so horrible sometimes!

  14. First of all, NO AIR! You poor honey! The humidity this year is mega high. Drink lots of fluids. Your barn looks brand spanking new. Hubby & his buddy did a great job. That house that’s selling for a song in comparison to the real price is gorgeous, but you’re so right…. too sad, but the possibilities… I could see through a cloud what I would do already! ~hehehehe~ How could people be so stupid!!! Anyway, Princess Nagger has done it again! `snicker-snicker` hehehe, lol, bwahahahahahahaha She is such a hoot! You know what’s even funnier? I could see it! Yeah, that makes sense! LOL
    XmasDolly would like you to read ..Show off Tuesday! Reviews & Give-AwaysMy Profile

  17. I don’t envy you with all the work that comes along with moving. Especially in this heat and humidity. It’s soooo hard to get anything done when you get interrupted.

    The barn looks fabulous! I love the colors. That house looks beautiful on the outside, but what a job on the inside. I can’t imagine taking that on.

    I had to laugh about how dinosaurs were created. Clever!
    Elle would like you to read ..Floating Around in the Pool & Monkeys. Must be Tuesday.My Profile

  18. Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I could stand not having central air. Well, I could if I had to, but I definitely don’t want to! I love that dinosaur cartoon. I’ll have to show my boys. Good luck packing. I haven’t had to pack and move since having kids. I can imagine it’s much more difficult.
    Dawn would like you to read ..Freezer jam – check one off the list!My Profile

  20. I envy you and I don’t envy you with your upcoming move. Obviously, I envy you because I know you’re moving somewhere you really want to be and that your impending dream home is all that more closer to realizing. I don’t envy you because of the headaches you’re underway with – throwing out, organizing, packing,… And, while I would love to be doing what you’re doing, I hate the thoughts of doing the task you’re up to your eyeballs doing. lol But, if I’m given that opportunity then I hope I can find time to laugh about it all and simply roll with the pouches. Thanks for the randomness. It’s great to visit again! 😀

  21. Your packing status is stressing me out, so I can’t imagine how you are holding up! That stripped house? Insane, but the view is still there! 🙂
    Andrea would like you to read ..Randomly delayedMy Profile

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