Burning both ends
I have taken to making myself a cup of coffee in the late afternoon/early evening. This is the only way I can resist turning into a slug after Spencer's bedtime. Putting Spencer to bed is like taking a big fat sleepy drug. I'm already in bed, half-undressed, warm and cuddly. Why not stay there and read/internet/sleep? But no, I cannot because:
-Maureen's house sold pretty much immediately. Yay! But that big deep breath I took when I finally had it all cleared out for staging? Not so much. Now I have to find an estate liquidator that can work with the short closing date (I hear the buyers have cash. For a very expensive house. Cash. Sheesh.) The first guy I contacted took two days to tell me his schedule was too full. I have an appointment next Monday with another guy. I really hope this is a turnkey sort of deal--here's the keys to the house and the storage unit, come back when you have spun all that straw into gold, thanks.
-This weekend we are driving down to LA for Rob's wedding. Yay for Rob! I'm looking forward to it, but life is not being kind with timing. Also, driving to LA with two small children. Oy. (Rob is marrying a woman named Amy. This is potentially extremely confusing to Jack, whose aunt and uncle are Robb and Amy as well.)
-I really need a regular sitter. But finding one is a whole big task itself. I got basically no hits on a sittercity post for a weekly gig, but a few hits for our upcoming Manresa night with Julian (um, Julian, hope you don't mind chaos when you visit!) I only picked sitters to interview that have schedules that might work with my wed night classes. This should not be this hard, but it is.
-We are finalizing plans with the architect and contractor. Permits should be in within a month. This means we need to clear out.
My plan:
1. Clean out the shop to use as "crap we don't need for the next 6-9 months" storage (mostly done)
2. Clean out the cottage and turn it into an apartment we can cram into in the short term until our utilities are disconnected. Saves a couple of months of rent, gives us an onsite place to keep kids while the project is in process, and lengthens the timeline for finding a decently-priced rental...nearby if possible...with a yard...that allows pets...and has space for all of us....which may take a while to find. I have figured out a pretty good furniture layout, and have it basically cleared out. I also installed new wall cabinets in the laundry room so it can function as a better temp kitchen and storage space.
3. Sort through all our crap and sell/donate/pack/store it all. Never-ending. This of course involves much Goodwill and Craigslist. I hate Craigslist. Today I had one woman show up hours later than she said she would. Another woman promised to come by tonight and never showed. I don't know if I've ever had a craigslister not suck in some fashion.
4. Any furniture that doesn't fit in the shop or garden shed will have to go into a temporary storage. I'm thinking one of those fabric tent things you get for motorcycles/lawnmowers. Costs a lot less than a storage unit and movers on both ends.
Also, if you post a bed on freecycle, no one will take it. If you post it on craigslist for $20, you get four calls within the hour.
You know, I never made this many phone calls and had so many meetings at my office job. And my office job had shorter hours.
-Maureen's house sold pretty much immediately. Yay! But that big deep breath I took when I finally had it all cleared out for staging? Not so much. Now I have to find an estate liquidator that can work with the short closing date (I hear the buyers have cash. For a very expensive house. Cash. Sheesh.) The first guy I contacted took two days to tell me his schedule was too full. I have an appointment next Monday with another guy. I really hope this is a turnkey sort of deal--here's the keys to the house and the storage unit, come back when you have spun all that straw into gold, thanks.
-This weekend we are driving down to LA for Rob's wedding. Yay for Rob! I'm looking forward to it, but life is not being kind with timing. Also, driving to LA with two small children. Oy. (Rob is marrying a woman named Amy. This is potentially extremely confusing to Jack, whose aunt and uncle are Robb and Amy as well.)
-I really need a regular sitter. But finding one is a whole big task itself. I got basically no hits on a sittercity post for a weekly gig, but a few hits for our upcoming Manresa night with Julian (um, Julian, hope you don't mind chaos when you visit!) I only picked sitters to interview that have schedules that might work with my wed night classes. This should not be this hard, but it is.
-We are finalizing plans with the architect and contractor. Permits should be in within a month. This means we need to clear out.
My plan:
1. Clean out the shop to use as "crap we don't need for the next 6-9 months" storage (mostly done)
2. Clean out the cottage and turn it into an apartment we can cram into in the short term until our utilities are disconnected. Saves a couple of months of rent, gives us an onsite place to keep kids while the project is in process, and lengthens the timeline for finding a decently-priced rental...nearby if possible...with a yard...that allows pets...and has space for all of us....which may take a while to find. I have figured out a pretty good furniture layout, and have it basically cleared out. I also installed new wall cabinets in the laundry room so it can function as a better temp kitchen and storage space.
3. Sort through all our crap and sell/donate/pack/store it all. Never-ending. This of course involves much Goodwill and Craigslist. I hate Craigslist. Today I had one woman show up hours later than she said she would. Another woman promised to come by tonight and never showed. I don't know if I've ever had a craigslister not suck in some fashion.
4. Any furniture that doesn't fit in the shop or garden shed will have to go into a temporary storage. I'm thinking one of those fabric tent things you get for motorcycles/lawnmowers. Costs a lot less than a storage unit and movers on both ends.
Also, if you post a bed on freecycle, no one will take it. If you post it on craigslist for $20, you get four calls within the hour.
You know, I never made this many phone calls and had so many meetings at my office job. And my office job had shorter hours.