I apologize, mateys, for the lapse in posting recently.
As the famous Willie Wonka once said,
As you may have read earlier (the Captain doesn’t presume you
read what I post here), we bought a house right before Thanksgiving.
It was “move-in ready”, which the First Mate wanted, but
also a “fixer-upper”, which the Captain wanted.
How can that be, you ask?
The house had been “flipped” five years earlier. The most
recent owner did very little to the house – to the point that there were still
old paint cans in the floor of the hall closet and piles of renovation
materials in the garage.
The home inspection revealed a few things that needed to be
addressed, but not urgently, and we had a few of our own ideas of things to do
before moving in.
First order: paint the master bedroom and redo the closet
system, making that most important space our own.
Correcting some electrical issues followed.
Then, with the help of shipmates with trailers and trucks –
we moved some key pieces of furniture and began living in our new home less
than a month after closing.
Then the Captain pulled up half the carpet in the family
room downstairs and installed a nice “fake” hardwood floor, which then enabled
us to bring over the saltwater aquarium.
This area will be for our in-home library.
Just kidding!
Actually, it will be our Tiki Bar, complete with a dart
board and possibly someday a pool table.
A couple days later we headed to California for the
Christmas holiday.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we both contracted the
Flu!
Captain’s Note: We both had received flu shots, but
this was Type A – rare, according to the walk-in clinic doctor, who prescribed
Tamiflu even before examining us.
I am still not convinced I had the full-blown flu; perhaps
the flu shot I received lessened the symptoms. I had chills a couple nights
(similar to what I experienced when I ate a plate of bad shrimp), but during the
daytime I felt fine.
But I am still coughing and sneezing – despite seeing my own
doctor’s P.A. last week, who prescribed an antibiotic for my self-diagnosed
sinus infection.
But the work continues. According to our plan, every trip to
our former town (and where I still keep my office) requires bringing back a
load of our “stuff”.
And our new home – which seemed so large when it was empty –
is now feeling just a touch crowded!
Something’s gotta go!
A lot of things!
Captain’s Note: The rule for this move is, if it
doesn’t have a place this time, it’s gotta go!
New carpet was installed last week in the other half of the
family room, so now we have no excuse for not moving the rest of our “stuff”.
And it will (hopefully) feel like home.
We have already had some unexpected guests…
Note to PETA: Each was treated with all due respect
and courtesy as they were escorted from the house.
And if you will grant me a moment of honesty, the Captain
realized recently that the feelings he was feeling were feelings of grief.
Although we chose this move, there is still some sense of loss as we clear out
the house we called “home” these past four and a half years.
Good times.
But better times are yet to come!
