We're in!!!

It has been a very busy week for Brian and myself.  I have been working on the house, when not at work, and Brian has been busy reading applications for the Dartmouth class of 1014.  I have ripped up carpet in the hallway and part of the dining room, which is a lot of work!  I am hoping to try removing the staples used to hold carpet padding in place with an ice scraper, as pliers take a long time!  It does pay off, as we found maple flooring that can be revived.  We have a lot more carpet to remove, as we are going to replace the worn brown carpet in the family room, hall, and landing with a lighter color.  We had a few friends over to help us paint and have completely changed the tone of the bathroom and freshened up our bedroom.  I even fixed the cracking wall in the bedroom with joint compound (which I now know is different from Spackle,which is used to fix nail holes.)  I washed the walls in preparation to paint and it was gross, partly because there is dog hair everywhere.  I doubt most people wash their walls as often as they should.  I spent hours cleaning the old fridge and stove-top; the kitchen was pretty filthy.  We have slowly been moving our stuff into the basement, as I want to clean everything before we organize.
We have had little time for entertainment this week, but we did make it to a showing of an old dark comedy, The Loved One, centered around the funeral and burial business.  It was funny, but very odd and long.  It was worth watching, but not one to recommend.
The flu visits seem to be slowing down the last few days (though it may peak again) and I am still working 3 days a week.  The weather has been great, but Brian keeps thinking about the winter and ways to avoid cabin fever.  Perhaps we will make a get-away in early spring.  We are looking forward to decorating the house for Christmas and preparing for the holidays.  We are also excited for a visit from my mom and sister, who plan to help us get the house in order and suitable for us.

House pictures. . . before

Here are some pictures of the house before we have redecorated and moved our possessions into it.  Sorry if it is dark, there are not many lights and the sunlight was drowned by Hurricane Ike.  Kitchen, Dining, Office, Landing, Bathroom, Bedroom 2 (den).

Land Barons

We have a house!  Sorry for the delay in writing lately; part of the reason is the decisions and packing related to the move.  We closed on Friday the 13th, after our walk-through.  I was not sure what Brian's reaction would be to seeing the house, as he had not been there since before we put in the offer, 2 months ago.  Of course, it was different without furniture.  It seems pretty empty and uninviting without furniture or our tastes reflected in the decor (the lack of light fixtures doesn't help).  The only hang-up with closing was a typo.  After signing most of the paperwork, Brian noticed that only a few documents had the address correct, most listed the location as a street not avenue.  So, it made for a longer morning with more signing, but nothing to worry us!  Oh, and the soil came back cleared by the EPA, so we should not have to worry about oil.  We have a lot a packing to do, but have chosen a few paint colors and are trying to figure out the flooring priorities.  We do not like the dark brown carpet in the family room, halls, and stairs, nor the fact that each bedroom has very different carpet.  The dining room floor needs help, too!  We need carpet advice.  I am also not sure how much of the trim I should paint.  Most of the trim is new, very plain medium wood.  Can I paint it in some rooms and not others?  Does painting it decrease the home's value if the wood is not original?  We hope to get some projects done while we move things into the basement this week, then move everything before Thanksgiving.  It is a bit overwhelming
Brian has been watching a lot of football lately.  TCU has been winning games by large margins and was highlighted on ESPN today.  The team may be invitied to play a college bowl game this year.  Brian organized a tailgate for last week's Dartmouth vs Cornell game, and was surrounded by Cornell fans.  Apparently Dartmouth fans do not tailgate (they also have not performed well the last two years).  The game was not very competitive, but it was interesting to see a Freshman in his first game go from a nobody to the star.  He led the team to win for the first time in double overtime.  Both of us have enjoyed watching Mad Men.  Although many are talking about the season 3 finale, we do not want to hear about it, as we are only half-way through season 2.
I have been working quite a bit, and it is busy!  We have been seeing flu, likely H1N1, in our clinic, sometimes leading to pneumonia.  I have been a bit sick for a month, and was much worse at the beginning of the week until I was treated for walking pneumonia myself.  I have been giving sooo many flu vaccines, which is complex this year with different types, different strains, and different ages of patients.  I will be working less in December, when I can work on the house.  Brian has begun reading applicants for next year's Dartmouth students, and he must finish "early decision"  applications this month.  We did find time for a trivia night and a lovely reception at the Dartmouth library.

Get outta town!

We have a tentative closing date!  It had been hard to get the paperwork done when Brian was gone.  Now, we need to get homeowner's insurance and pay for next year BEFORE they will set a closing date.  This is odd, as we have to have an insurance coverage start date and we won't know that until there is a closing date!  I guess we will see what we can do.  Apparently, we have to wait a week to set the date after all our insurance stuff and paperwork is complete.  We also have no more information on the oil in the soil (that sounds like the name of a good album).  We hope to close on Friday the 13th.
It has been a big week, with Brian returning on Tuesday night.  He was supposed to be home the night before, after 16 days on the road, but the bad weather in Houston delayed his flight to Dallas for several hours, so he returned to the comfort of his parents' house.  If he had taken the flight late, he would not have made the flight and bus connections to make it home.  He thought things were going smoothly the next day, as he flew from Houston to Dallas on time, but then had no plane to go to Boston!  He arrived in Boston 1.5 hours late, and by some miracle, he from the plane to his luggage and on the bus to NH in 10 minutes!
While Brian dominates college fairs, I had my turn this week.  I went to Saint Anslem in Manchester to represent Maggie's Place at a fair to recruit long-term volunteers.  The campus minister who set it up looked familiar and was talking up Maggie's Place to the students.  She had been there on a Spring Break trip from her college in Boston.  It happened to be the year I was there and I hosted her groups!  How strange.
I enjoyed a break from the unseasonable weather and busy work schedule to go to join my sister in Florida.  It was great - 7 hours at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios to do our favorite rides and the food and wine festival (yummm), followed by 2 days on the beach at Disney's Vero Island resort.  Michelle and I learned archery (with sad equipment) had s'mores on the beach, and got just a bit sunburned.  The Atlantic coast had high rip tides and ocean storms, causing dangerous swells that made for exciting play.  The storms brought up a lot of shells, which hurt our feet!  Luckily the weather has been better this week, making my transition easier.
I finally finished reading the Bourne Identity, which is WAY different from the movie.  I do recommend the book, but be forewarned that it is loosely connected to the movie.   It has been a slow time for entertainment news, so let us know if you have any recommendations.
We had a nice dinner to celebrate Brian's return and ran into the father of a family for whom I nannied.  They are buying a house we liked, only 2 blocks from our new house!  It will be nice to know some of our neighbors.  Halloween was spooky with warm weather and leaves blowing in strong winds.  We attended a low-key party, without any crazy costumes.  I have started seeing H1N1 in my patients and giving the vaccine.  This is early for the flu, so I am not sure what will happen when it peaks.