Two More Months

That's all...just two more months in this apartment, foundering, floating, unmoored.  That sounds ridiculous, but one thing I've learned in this uprooting/replanting of myself is that I am not an apartment person.  It was fine for a while, and then--as time dragged and my house in my previous community didn't sell--I talked myself into, "Apartment living is great!  No lawn mowing! No maintenance!" all of which were total lies.  The box I live in is really beautiful, roomy, with a lovely view of the woods, plus noisy neighbors, nowhere to go outside that's not public, and a dirty stairwell. And it has zero feel of being part of the community.

But said house finally sold, and I spent the next several months stalking Zillow and looking at houses that just didn't work for me, so it was incredibly fortuitous that I met C&M at a house concert.  In our usual get-to-know-you chit-chat, we discovered that I was looking for a home, and they were (maybe) looking to sell one.  One that was, seemingly, in the right location...the right size...and the right style for me.  Really...fortuitous, and I still shake my head, because 2 months later, I'm the proud owner of this sweet old lady.

She and I are becoming very close, because I'm taking her down to the bones in some places, and perilously close in others, bless her heart.  The former owners have let me wander in and out at will, and she's been inspected by a structural engineer, several friends, a home inspector, my parents, the insurance appraiser, and still, she's hung in there. I've spent countless evenings wandering the property, measuring, thinking, researching, and still--she came out on top. She's stuck with me now.

Or, maybe it's the other way around.  I've also signed onto projects with a contractor (who, thankfully, doesn't think I'm crazy, but then, why would he when I'm paying him money?) and I can see my tiny version of "The Money Pit" looming. The first night I was the legal owner, dear friends helped me toast her, and then I started pulling wallpaper, because that's what I do.  Especially after a couple of glasses of wine.

Tonight, after countless lists of projects and things to buy, I spent the evening wandering Home Depot and tossing things into the cart. The contractor will call me soon, with a start date, and I'm still fussing over a bathroom vanity, of all things.  But I'm incredibly happy about it, because I'm about to become re-rooted again, in a lovely community in which I'm beginning to see where I fit, and where I will write the next chapters of my life.

For a pre-reno/early vision view of my sweet old lady, see the photo album here.  Stay tuned. We have a long ways to go.