movin' on in

So we looked at a bunch of houses, and we found this one we liked that's about 20 minutes from Alta and Snowbird, and 25 minutes from Solitude and Brighton, and it pretty much had nothing in common with our last house, so we bought it. 

We got the keys a week ago and immediately started sleeping here, despite the For Sale sign still being in the front lawn (actually, H pulled it out of the yard on Wednesday, not able to stand it any longer) and the lockboxes on the doors (actually, H had a locksmith come and change the locks so the lockboxes were soon moot; as of yesterday, the front door lockbox had mysteriously disappeared but they forgot the one on the back door).  As we did in our first night at the apartment, we had our sleeping bags, the aerobed and a cheap bottle of champagne which we swigged straight from the bottle.  Because all our stuff was either at the apartment or still in storage.

Bedroom, day 1

We had initially planned to do some painting in a couple of rooms before we moved stuff in, but then we got so excited about moving in that all painting plans seem to have fallen by the wayside.  That's okay: this house is the antithesis of so many others we saw in that it is NOT straight out of the 70s and was in move-in condition.  Sure, we still need to buy a refrigerator and a washer and dryer, but cosmetically, it needed nothing.

We started moving stuff in earnest last Friday, with a trip to the storage units, and then trips on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, as well as transporting stuff out of the apartment.  At this point we've got all the boxes out of storage, and most of them unpacked (if not actually put away); 95% of the apartment stuff is here; and most of the furniture from storage, with only the biggest pieces - like sofas, armoire, pie safe, etc. - still languishing, waiting for us.  The moving has been surprisingly easy, no doubt mostly because the memory of packing is so distant, but also because H is Wicked Strong and can lift heavy things.  Our hands are a little raw from opening/breaking down boxes, and feet and backs and elbows are sore, but it seems to be going quickly and if the weather cooperates, we could bring the rest of our stuff here this weekend.

We have lots of wineglasses - and note the fabulous light fixtures!

The house is bigger than our last one: both vehicles fit in the garage, with room to spare; there is more than one full bathroom which will be lovely for when we have houseguests; there is more than one guest room so our home office gets to have its own space; the kitchen is huge, and sort of a great room concept, which is fantastic since that's where everyone hangs out, isn't it, the kitchen.  It's really starting to feel like its OURS now, as we bring in our things and figure out where they go.  It's fun.

The basement rumpus room or rug merchant's hall

B is handling this move pretty well.  We made a point of bringing her crate, her bed, her toys and (of course) her food over right away, so she'd feel more comfortable; and as we bring our furniture in, I think she's realizing that this is home.  The yard is not completely fenced in (a project), but it should be easy to do which will mean that we can sit out on the deck and she won't have to be tied - which will be more fun for everyone.

The mudroom: great for gear (and H's favorite room)!

Oh! And we met our across-the-street neighbors, who stopped by after church on Sunday to introduce themselves.  They were super-friendly, and nice, and asked if we needed any help.  The wife did say, "I'm just going to go ahead and get this out: [we're] LDS" but that was the end of it. And as we were clearly not LDS (working on a Sunday morning, and H wearing a Sunday River Brewpub t-shirt), it's entirely possible that she'll report back to the other neighbors about us ... and we'll never see any of them ever again.  I'll keep you posted.

Sorry this is so long and rambling and disjointed.  As you might imagine, I'm fairly distracted at present. I promise more concise cohesiveness in the near future.  And more photos, as the house pulls itself together.