Four Years Later, 3/2021 - #7

 And just like that...four years have gone by!

I began this blog March 12, 2017 and it is almost exactly 4 years later. Needless to say, so much has happened since that last post.

Firstly, Charlie and I are now retired.  We were pushed into it slightly earlier than planned due to shut downs from the pandemic, but we are happy and healthy and it worked out okay for us.

We passed papers on the sale of our house November 16, 2016.  It was purchased by a very nice young couple with two little boys. Although I have admitted to not being the sentimental type, I had an awful lot of dreams about that house. I would be sneaking in and hiding there, hoping the new owners wouldn't see me. Interestingly, that young family sold the house less than 3 years later. I often wonder if somehow a part of me "haunted" that house and maybe I scared them out! After it was resold, I stopped having those dreams! 

On March 21, 2017, Charlie's oldest son, Shawn lost his 5 year battle with cancer. He faced it bravely; he fought for a long time. I give credit to amazing doctors who tried so hard to save his life. But some things are just not meant to be. Shawn was only 49 years old. 

Our in-law apartment was completed on August 19, 2017 - exactly one week after my granddaughter was born. Since then, a grandson was added to the mix as well and it is not uncommon to now hear the  trampling of elephants across the upstairs floor, which is our ceiling. It has been a wonderful living arrangement with our children and grandchildren and I am grateful to my daughter and son-in-law for wanting us to join them. This is multi-generational living at its best!

 I love and am so proud of our apartment! I was able to design a layout that worked best giving us an open floorplan and maximize light coming into the space. And I made sure Charlie's needs would be accommodated as well. We downsized further with our move getting rid of just about everything, including our bed. This allowed us to get furnishings that fit the new space properly, things we loved.  Turns out, we didn't need much.

We have adjusted well to life in our new small hometown and continue to explore different parts of Massachusetts. We enjoy discovering new restaurants, hiking paths, parks, making new friends and participating in the many activities this area has to offer.

The House - #6

If you are going to do something, do it right!

The process of preparing our house for sale was an awesome task.  I had a big "to do" list and 5 months before I wanted to put it on the market in October. I knew I just couldn't go through another winter in that house.

The minute (literally) our tenants vacated the premises, I was upstairs cleaning and clearing.  I had been chomping at the bit!  My daughters and my husband will tell you, I am not easy to live with. I am a little OCD about my home and that can drive everyone a little crazy. I get it.

First, I had the window company come to measure up all the windows to be replaced. I had the upstairs of the house professionally painted (I did the downstairs myself), we had the hardwood floors refinished, I painted all the trim inside the house white, we replaced light fixtures, had the tub reglazed white, replaced flooring in the office, had the carpet cleaned downstairs, repaired the exterior bricks on the chimney and had it waterproofed, repaired exterior stairs to the basement, cut trees, power washed the cedar shingles, had the heating system and electrical inspected and tons of little things more... the house was clean and looked good. I had been willing to invest some money to make this house right. It was not perfect, but ready. I had gotten rid of most of our furniture and staged the house very sparingly. We had even put our cats up in a "luxury cat B&B" for several months so they were out of the way for most of this process.

Our realtor who had seen the house early on was so pleased with how it now presented! I knew this would make her job easier, but even more importantly, it was a feeling of pride in myself. We decided on a selling price (me pushing for more and our realtor relented) and were ready for an open house. Happily, we never even made it to the open house as anxious buyers came to see it beforehand and we received two solid good offers within a day or two of putting it on the market.  We settled on the offer even more than the asking! We were thrilled to know the hard work had paid off!