Saturday Morning Coffee: I Like to Move It Move It

Thanks for stopping by this morning. Seeing you is just what I needed. Fancy a cup of coffee? Come on in and sit a while.

I’m sorry I haven’t been available these past few weeks. Life, am I right?

I suppose things haven’t really slowed down since Krystal and I went on our 9^th Anniversary trip to Covington, Georgia. Thanks to the generosity of family over the holidays, we were able to stay in a fabulous B&B, The Twelve Oaks. We were there on the weekend of a big Georgia vs Alabama football game, but we didn’t let that ruin our stay. We made acquaintances with our fellow lodgers; remarkably, three of them spoke German as a native language! I had a blast with that. Krystal enjoyed talking to the family from Australia, on their way from visiting family in Iowa.

We took the “Vampire Stalkers” tours, the only official tours of the Vampire Diaries and Originals television series. We even know a spoiler about the series finale of The Originals, but if we post or share anything about it, the executives over at CW will be all over our case. It’s already happened to others.

I had intended to take a leisurely Saturday, sort through our pictures, and fix you up an interesting show-and-tell. Our house had other plans.

In the space of a few days our septic froze, the floor began buckling in even more places than it is already, and the coup-de-grace: the heat pump decided this would be the perfect time to let the condensation pan rust and disintegrate completely, sending water all through our living room ceiling.

With the house literally falling part around us and lacking the necessary funds or equity to make repairs, we found ourselves at the end of our long struggle with home ownership. To the internet we went in search of an apartment.

We found plenty, but Smokey proved to be somewhat of a difficulty. Many places that were available, in our price range, and worth the rent being charged also had a NO PETS policy. Thankfully, Krystal kept searching and within a week we’d found a place that ticked all our boxes.

That also meant Smokey had to make a trip to the vet – his first in over 9 years! He handled it like a champ, though.

So, for the past two weeks or so, we’ve been sorting and moving. We have almost everything done, too, and we already have three “flippers” interested in looking at the house.

I guess that means I’m just another Millennial (even though I’m not) killing the housing market. Sorry, but things would be different without the massive amount of student debt. This is just the way things are.

This was one of the first truly “adult” things Krystal and I have done all on our own. Everything else to this point we’ve had help or assistance or advice. This is something we knew needed to be done, so we sat down and figured out how to do it, and then did it. Well, Krystal figured out how to do it. Major credit to her.

True, we’re a lot tighter on budget now, but we have a place that isn’t actively trying to kill us. Krystal told me she jumped up and down in the living room just because she can, knowing she won’t go through the floor.

Smokey’s handled the move and change in routine a lot better than we thought he would. We thought for sure the move would kill him. If that weren’t enough, he no longer has the run of the house 24/7. We’ve set up the second bedroom just for him (making sure he can’t get caught in or damage any of the blinds) to stay in while we’re gone during the day and asleep at night. When we’re home, he’s out with us. Technically, out with me, since he never wants to leave my side. Krystal says he must run and jump while we’re gone just so he can sleep on me when we’re home. I don’t mind.

The move has been good. It’s what we needed. Sure, it’s also messed with my nerves – change and all- but it’s been the best couple of weeks that I can remember. Now comes the task of sorting and consolidating nine years of stuff that we collected simply because we had the room for it.

I’ve already had to say goodbye to more than a few books; I trust they find new homes through the Library and its book sales.

Krystal said I have to wait to post pictures until we get everything decorated. Ah well.

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What have you been up to?