Saying Goodbye

We're in our final week at the farm and busy saying goodbye to all the wonderful people we've known here.

On Saturday, we were treated to lunch by friends from the local Ch*nese association, who have been so welcoming and supportive to us.  Unfortunately, many members were involved in a badminton match taking place at the same time, so it was a small, although warm, gathering.  We will always be grateful to Wendy, who brought us to the group.

Sarah and Wendy

Sunday morning, we bid adieu to our wonderful little church.  I think leaving this loving group of people is the hardest part of moving.  They embraced us, especially Sarah, and she blossomed and thrived in their warmth.  We wish we had found them sooner.

Pastor Betsy

Sarah's Sunday School teacher, Emily, and her babysitter Kelsey, who also helps with SS

Sunday afternoon, our back-door neighbors, Jim and Linda, hosted an open house in our honor.  It was a lovely way to spend a few more hours together and say goodbye.

Linda ordered a cake with five donkeys, three goats, and some chickens on it, and this is what she got!

Sarah cut the cake.

Linda, Jim, Sarah, Marie, and Ken (our other back-door neighbors)

On Monday, Sarah had her bangs trimmed for the last time by Connie, who, I'm willing to bet, is the only hairdresser who gives her clients (at least the adorable young ones) bags of M&Ms.  I can't believe I forgot my camera.

And, finally, today we went grocery shopping for the last time and said "so long" to Peachie, our favorite cashier.  She and Sarah often exchange notes and always share a laugh.

This morning, we received the good news that our current property has been rezoned, so all systems are go for the closing next week.  Tomorrow, the movers will be here packing, and Friday they'll load.  After cleaning this big house one last time, we'll head east on Saturday, stopping at Omar and Emily's for the night, then putting in two 10-hour days to get to my mom's Monday night (I sure hope the '96 GTI has another 1,200 miles in it). 

If all goes according to plan (which, amazingly, it has so far), we'll have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, and, by Christmas, be settled into the charming little colonial in the woods. 

Little Polling Place on the Prairie

Yesterday, we voted at our quaint little township hall for the last time.  There were no lines, as usual, and the poll workers had a hard time finding my hyphenated name on the voter list, as usual.  Their average age seems to have dropped dramatically, however, as it appears they had a new recruit.  We will miss the simplicity and charm of voting in the H*artland.

Last Long-distance Visit to Grammy's

Since we were renting a car this time, we brought her car seat.  Putting it in the plane seat was a pain, but Don was pretty good at it by the time we got home.

Sarah loves to cook with Grammy.  Lasagne here...

and apple crisp here

Riding my old rocking horse (talk about built to last)

Carving pumpkins with Heshy (aka Auntie Heather), Sam, and Forrest

 

Checking for remaining seeds with a flash light

Her cow Jack-o'-lantern

Supervising some heavy equipment work with Dad and Uncle B

Uncle George running the backhoe

Experiencing H*rricane Sandy with Dad

Riding the moving walkway on the way home

Penguin on Parade

Sarah told me weeks ago that she wanted to be a penguin for Halloween.  Since I knew we'd be in M*ssachusetts right before and was feeling a bit overwhelmed with move details, I found a pattern for a costume online and enlisted my mom and sister's help pulling it together.  They took Sarah shopping to buy the materials and cut everything out while Don and I were househunting (thank you!).  We put it together for a trial run there, then were ready to roll when we got back home late the night before the big day.

She wore it to school on Wednesday and marched in the 4K and kindergarten parade around the hallways. 

We went tr*ck or tr*ating after dinner and hit a whopping three neighborhood houses.  She was plenty pleased with her small haul (as was I).  I wonder how many years she'll be satisfied with a low-key celebration.  I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

I have to end with a shot of her with the plastic teeth she got at school.  She wanted to wear them with her costume, but I convinced her that penguins don't have fangs.

Dream Home 2.0

We got back from M*ssachusetts Wednesday evening.  Although I had doubts about finding a home we'd love as much as our current one, I think we did it.  The new place is distinctly different from ours, but also quite similar.  It's as close to perfect as we could hope for, and we believe it was meant for us.

After starting with a search of western M*ss. and southern V*rmont and New H*mpshire, we had gradually focused in on an area within half an hour of my mom's.  Over the last two months, we thought we had seen all the online listings that might work for us. Then, a week or so before we left, I did one more search, with more flexible parameters, and came upon a charming little colonial (CLC) in the town where I spent my first eight years and where we were married 10 years ago.

We flew out on Wednesday with a list of five homes to see Friday (our realtor, Wanda, couldn't meet until then).  On the way to my mom's from the airport, we drove by the CLC and became more convinced that it should be ours.  We called Wanda that evening and asked her to let the sellers' agent know we were interested so they wouldn't accept an offer before we could see the inside.

Waiting for Friday was torture.  We drove by all the houses with my mom on Thursday, and none was as attractive in terms of location, appearance, and amenities as the CLC.  On Friday morning, we left Sarah with Grammy, met up with Wanda, and started down the list, leaving the best for last.  Our anticipation built throughout the morning, and, fortunately, we were not disappointed.

The house was built in 2000, a year after our current home, and has many of the same features, including an open floor plan, rec room in the basement, and bright, sunny rooms (not to mention central vac).  It is roughly half the size, however, which is a good thing.  It also has some nice touches like hardwood floors, hickory kitchen cabinets, and a wide staircase to the second floor.  And, it has an attached, two-car garage, a feature we had all but given up on having.

The setting is splendid.  It's on 1.7 acres, much of it wooded (with stonewalls running through) and has forested conservation land with hiking trails across the street.  The lot is steep and beautifully landscaped with native stone and plants (no need for our riding lawn mower).  It is much more private than our current yard.

Then there's the location, location, location.  My mom is 10 minutes away, and my sister and her family are 15.  It's a short walk to town, which boasts a recently updated library, market, restaurant/brewery, elementary school, and the country store where I worked as a teenager.  The "artistic, musical, and countercultural hub" (according to W*kipedia) of N*rthampton is also just 15 minutes down the road.

We drew up the offer in the driveway.  After a couple of counters (and two more tense days), we had a deal Sunday night.  Monday morning, we met the owners at the house for another look and to locate the property boundaries.  That's when we started to sense this was pre-ordained....

Peter and Michelle are probably in their 40s, with a three-year-old daughter from Eth*opia.  They are from M*nnesota and W*sconsin and love the outdoors.  They have chronicled the bird life on the property and nurtured the native plants.  When Peter remarked, "It's kind of like living in a tree house," it was uncanny, since Don and I have said the same about our current home many times.

We headed to the bank to apply for the mortgage, and that's when things got a little bumpy.  The bank with the best rates didn't have a mortgage officer on-site, but we were able to make an appointment with her at another location for that afternoon.  We headed home for lunch and soon got a call from her saying the bank was closing due to H*rricane Sandy, and she didn't have any time available Tuesday morning.  We were flying back to W*sconsin Tuesday afternoon, so that put us in a pickle.

She called back a little later, however, to say she'd had a cancellation and, as long as the bank was open Tuesday morning, she could meet us then.  We settled in to ride out the storm and see what the morning would bring.  When we went to bed that night, the wind was blowing like crazy, but we didn't lose power.  Tuesday dawned calm and clear for the most part, and we were able to get the mortgage application done before heading to the airport.  Our flights were even on schedule.

We've now begun the final countdown at our W*sconsin home -- 15 days until we say goodbye and head east.  There's still an element of uncertainty, as we need approval for rezoning this house to satisfy the buyers and an acceptable inspection report on the new house to proceed, but I have faith things will work out.  We'll spend a few weeks at my mom's, then move into the CLC in mid-December.  Looks as though I'll need a new blog title in 2013....