WEEK 57: Almost to the End

Well, Friends, we are almost to the end of the new home build journey. 

With the exception of a few remaining items on the punch list, our new home is generally completed. We are still waiting for additional pieces of furniture to be delivered, decorative carpets to be ordered, and wall art to be purchased, but those will happen in Phase II once we get all of the "stuff" we already own sorted and properly stowed in cabinets. Goodwill, The Vets Organization and Salvation Army love us!

Our move from the rental home where we lived a few miles from here has gone well. We had a mover come in and move all of the heavy and unwieldy items that remained from our various furniture sales, but we really had very little left. The rest of the small household items we handled on a daily basis over the course of 3 weeks, which made it easier to move and organize as we went along. Now that we are completely out of the rental, we can move at our own pace and get back to a normal life with other activities.

Backyard

These pics were taken at dusk, so I'll apologize beforehand for the lack of color. 

The backyard is mostly complete with the exception of the fire pots on the pool. These have to be inspected by the gas company (so we don't blow ourselves up!) before they can be piped and filled with glass beads. Hopefully this week.

The Ramada, or Pergola (who knows?) area and BBQ are done. We're still waiting for a fan to be delivered, so that should be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if my wine staves chair will survive a purge or not at this point. I need to refinish it and make that decision.

Most of the furniture is still covered since the pool is at 56F, and it has been a balmy 60s during most of the days. Great golf weather, but pool dips get a bit chilly. 

Just as I was going to post this, along came the pool people to install the fire pots. Here's a nightime pic with the fire pots and fire pit turned on.

We're still missing 4-5 landscape pots, and those are slated to come in February, which will improve the look and fill in the empty spaces.

Interior

Here are some quick pics of the main part of the house. Again, decorative rugs, wall art and furniture are still missing, but things are starting to fill in per the original plan. Thankfully, we purchased new furniture almost a year ago and avoided the long delays now where furniture deliveries are out almost 9-12 months because of backlogs.

Most importantly, we did manage to get all of our TV/stereo equipment ordered and installed last month, and everything works! (Brown table is a stand-in for a new piece.) The TV wall is scheduled for floating shelves next week, and rock the week after, so it will look very different in a month or so.

Our dining room table finally arrived, along with the chandelier, which I had to assemble. (90 glass pieces which took forever!). 

Of course, the most important appliance of the house was installed during the move - the wine coolers! It is pretty much full at a 400 bottle capacity, so we have to drink it down given that we have a couple of additional cases that didn't fit. Somebody has to do it!

Better view

This last year has been a fun journey (for the most part). Downsizing, and losing all of the space you've become accustomed to in a big house, has been an adjustment for us. Having said that, we are blessed to have the ability and resources to make the choice for an alternate lifestyle that fits our objectives (Lock and Leave) going forward.

To that end, thank you, Family and Friends, for joining us this last year on what we hope will be our last home before I start drooling on my shirt. As always, if you're in town we'll always have a bottle of wine, a good dinner, and a warm bed for you if you're so inclined to visit.

Until then, stay safe!

John and Jan