On The Road, Again

On Friday afternoon, our landlord stopped by to let us know that he's thinking of putting our rental home on the market later in the spring or early summer.  When he left, the Emperor and I sat down, looked at each other, shrugged, and started house-hunting in earnest.  We've got one property in our sights that would do very nicely, if the current owner came down in price.  I've contacted our real estate agent and am waiting for him to schedule a viewing of it.

All of this means that mentally, I'm already starting to plan The Packing.  Because we'd be moving about a mile away, this won't be a full-on packing job as it was when we left 'Way Out West to come here to Smack In The Middle, but it will be a packing job just the same.  I'm thinking that for some of the goods, we can just put stuff in the car, drive it over, and then put it away where it's supposed to go --  things like hanging clothes and kitchen appliances.  Some things would need to be packed at least a little bit, like my china and the books.  I won't have to worry about having the new house's carpets cleaned, because the one we're looking at has hardwood floors.  It does mean that I should start thinking about area rugs.

The house we have in our crosshairs has three bedrooms on the main level and a basement.  One bedroom would be for us, one would be for guests, and the third would be our library and office.  I envision using the library as a television room, too, depending on how much space there is.  I want the library to be upstairs because I do not want to have to haul those books downstairs.

The craft stuff would go in the basement.  That means I have to pack my craft room pretty well, because I want to have movers take the boxes downstairs for me.  The basement has at least four nice cupboards with shelving, one of them with a sink. There would be space for the Emperor's leatherworking bench and a place for all of his tools.  I could set up my sewing table.  There would be space for my fabric, yarn, and craft books.  There's a laundry space and bathroom downstairs, too.

Another part of the plan includes hiring movers for a couple of hours to handle the big pieces of furniture.  We don't have a lot of big stuff -- a couch, the entertainment center, some dressers, the china cabinet, the beds -- but I do want help with the books and the stuff that will go in the basement.  This particular house doesn't have a washer and dryer, so we'll have to buy those.  I've been wishing for a front-loading washing machine for years and now I might get it.

I didn't want to spend my summer moving again, but I don't really have a choice.  Part of my hesitation in buying a house has been my antipathy for moving.  However, if we go ahead and buy a house it will be the last time we have to move until after I retire.

As the story unfolds, you'll read about it here at Orchard Ranch.  While we wait to hear back from our real estate guy, I'll keep knitting on the Hana Lace Scarf -- I've got one whole repeat on the needles now and have started on the second.