Hat on Top, Coat Below
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Achievement Unlocked
December 3, 2015
On November 9th, our house went on the market, an important milestone in the move to Idaho plan. We’ve never sold a house before, having stayed in this, our starter house, for 25 years. We haven’t sold this one yet, either; we’ve had some showings but no second showings and no offers. This is not a great time of year to sell a house, I understand, but we first saw this house during November and closed on it in January, and two other houses on our street sold just this past October, so it’s not like no one buys houses in the fall. Just no one has bought ours yet. Maybe the people who are scheduled to come see it tomorrow will be the ones. I imagine the house will sell to people a lot like us, who are more concerned with location and functionality than frills like granite counters and stainless steel stoves. Or maybe it will go to people who want to put their own stamp on the place and will immediately repaint all the rooms, even the ones we just had done, and replace the flooring and cabinets and countertops and window treatments and appliances and everything else we’re leaving behind. That’s fine. It’ll be their house then.
I didn’t think I was especially sentimental about this place since so many of my best memories of the years we lived here are from times we weren’t here but rather away on one of our many vacations. Yet as we’ve dismantled the rooms, stripping much of the personality and removing excess furniture and other stuff, I’ve regretted not documenting how things were before we started. Sure, I’ve taken some pictures over the years, but not with an eye to remembering how we had the furniture arranged or how much stuff I crammed into the guest room closet. Though I guess I didn’t need to, as I have those images in my mind, same as I can picture the bedroom in the first apartment Mr. Karen and I shared back when it cost money to buy film and develop prints and I took far fewer photos than I do now.
I would love to be able to write a post before Holidailies ends that we’ve sold the house. If that doesn’t happen, that’s okay; we’re not in a huge hurry and our plans for winter will proceed regardless. Would it have been better to get the house on the market sooner? From a selling it in a timely manner, probably, but I felt stressed out plenty with the pace we did it at, so from a mental health perspective, I’m choosing to believe we did the right things.
On this date in 2014: To Everything There Is a Season
2013: Creepier Than Elf on a Shelf
2012: Getting Better
2007 through 2011: No entries
2006: Eye Candy is Better Than No Candy at All
2005: No entry
2004: Catching Up, Again
2003: Bad Logo on the Rise
2002: Winter
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One Comment
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:56 pm
I was sure that I wouldn’t miss our house when we finally sold it — surprise! I did have some twinges of nostalgia for it. I still do, but I certainly don’t long for it. It was just a house. I have the memories; I don’t need the place.