We're Buying a House!

Well, I can't figure out how to organize and narrate my photos in Google+, and I don't want to spam FaceBook with 35 photos and rhapsodic babble, so I am resurrecting this zombie blog to share pictures of the house we're buying.  I am SO EXCITED.

Many of you know that we've had a bit of a rocky road in the house search this summer.  We started looking in March, and we found one we liked in April.  We made an offer, got a verbal agreement after a few counter-offers, and then before we could get in to sign the modified contract, an investor swooped in and offered cash with no inspections.  Yoink!

Then in May, we found another house.  This one looked good in many ways.  It wasn't our dream house, but it had what we wanted functionally: fenced yard, fireplace, room for guests, and it was a great central location 2 minutes from Rick's work.  It was just a little small, just a little shabby, but we knew with time and effort, we could make it nice.

The sellers.... the sellers did not have their act together.  After weeks of uncooperative and downright obstructive behavior, they finally decided that they weren't ready to move after all and that they wouldn't sell.  That was a very unpleasant week, but we were reimbursed for our investments up to that point. So we reviewed our finances, began the search anew, and found THE ONE.

THE ONE was originally out of our price range, but it had just dropped for the 3rd time, which put it on our "maybe we can talk them down" radar.  And we DID!  Nobody had given them an offer for 8 months, which blows my mind.  This house is solid, spacious, and well-maintained, but it's a little weird.  I guess not all of DeKalb is willing to Embrace the Weird, but more fool them, because we're getting a heck of a deal, and we LOVE it.  There's nobody to outbid us, and it's already vacant, so we don't have to worry about the sellers getting cold feet.  I do believe the third time will be the charm.

Yesterday was the inspection, and we clambered all over and mentally placed furniture and made to-do lists and ooohed and ahhhed and generally bonded.  Prepare for the picture onslaught (and click on any you like to make them larger).  Some of these are grabbed from the MLS listing, some I took yesterday with Rick's phone camera, which is getting some clouding on the lens, so pardon the 80's-Mini-Series-Love-Scene quality of those.

Exterior front and back.  Built in 1970, brick and cedar siding, mansard roof.  And oh yeah, THAT DECK.  It's empty now, and when we move in it will have naught but our grill and some camp chairs, but there are many possibilities for the future of That Deck.

East side of the main floor: that's the front door.  Nifty switchback staircase on one side (it's similar to the stacks in the DeKalb library, which I love), all the wood you see is solid oak. On the other side is a family room space that flows into the dining room as you turn around  Double sliding doors lead from the dining room out onto the deck, giving  plenty of light (y'all know how I need my light).  Because there's an eat-in kitchen, we'll have separate tables for dining and for schoolwork (luxury!), and our academic materials and crafts and science kits and boardgames will go over here.

There's another view of the family-into-dining room area (the door to the garage is on the left), plus the view out that back door.  The landscaping is absolutely decadent, so I took several "views out the windows" pictures.

Moving westward from the front door, we move past the stairs into the living room:

The door on the right is a broom closet, and the one on the left is this groovy little half-bath, so very Mod:

Into the living room, behold the wood-burning fireplace, whose cheerful and crackling hearth will prevent me from turning into Jack Torrance in the winter.  The piano will go where those bookshelves are.  If the sellers leave the bookshelves, we will happily put them to use in the upstairs bedrooms.

The fireplace wraps around the corner, isn't that neat?  I didn't get a good shot of them, but there are two more sets of sliding glass doors that look out into the side yard.  Here, the kids explore while Rick admires the neighbors' impressive deck:

Meanwhile, that door leading out of the south wall of the living room brings us to some fancy additions that were made to the original structure.  Y'all, check out this bathroom.  Words fail me:

 

The toilet is behind the door.  Yes, the sink is missing (we'll put in a pedestal), but that's not really the point now, is it?  The point is that Seth and I will be arm-wrestling over whose turn it is to use the bathtub, there are no shower doors to clean, and I have privately named it The Key-Party Room, because I am classy that way.  :D

Just past the sybaritic bathroom is The Media Room (featuring more views out windows):

 

This room is enormous, and it's wired for sound, networking, everything you could possibly need for a fancy home theater.  Our little 25" flatscreen is going to look like a postage stamp in there, but boy, will it sound good!  We want to get a nice sleeper sofa in there eventually, so that guests can opt to sleep there instead of in the spare bed in the basement, if they so choose.  There are no bathrooms in the basement.

Our final stop on the tour of the first floor is the kitchen.  The lovely, spacious kitchen.  It was expanded when the additions were made; the area where the sink and oven are is original, and the eat-in area with the refrigerator is the expansion:

Soooo shiny!  I love the backsplash.  Behold, I will finally have a dishwasher!

Let me tell you, we have looked at a LOT of houses these last few months, and most "eat-in kitchens" mean "we've put a table in the kitchen and you can mostly squeeze around it."  Not so here.  Look at this space (and ignore the stupid wallpaper).  There's even a little writing desk area across from it where you can sit and do paperwork.  I'm seriously thinking of putting a little 10 gallon fish tank there.

And the view out the windows is lovely:

Yet more counter and cabinet space, just because. You can see the divide between the original and the addition here:

The view into the dining room area:

I hope the sellers leave that table.  We'll find out later this week.

Before we go upstairs, I just have to show you some goofy shots of the ceiling, because the more I look at it, the more I love it.  Plank and beam, all through the family/dining and living room:

Now, to the second floor!  Fewer pictures, because empty bedrooms are not very remarkable.  There are 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms up there.  Well, the master bath just has a shower, but that counts as full these days.  The master bedroom has this delightful little west-facing balcony:

I'm going to have a little container garden with herbs and tomatoes up there.  It has a screen door, so on nice days, the cats can enjoy fresh air from On High.

Here's the kids' bathroom (again with the goofy wallpaper, but I like the floor),

And here's the view from the top of the stairs.

Going aaalllllll the way down the stairs to the basement, I took this picture of the doorbell and 70s-era partridge print because it amused me:

I actually rather like that wallpaper.  It's RETRO.

The basement is mostly unfinished, but one corner of it is partitioned off with some faux wood paneling on the walls:

That's a radon detector on the stool.  We'll have the results of that test tomorrow (it has to run for 48 hours).  This room was clearly used as a spare bedroom, but it's a little cramped for our spare queen bed, so we'll probably just use it for storage.  We'll put the bed in the main area.  It's unfinished, but it's a lot more spacious:

Don't freak out about the cracks.  There were 6 vertical cracks in the foundation walls, but they've all been professionally fixed, and the inspectors recognized the business card and said that the guy does a good job and guarantees his work.  They also assured us that there would normally be no moisture issues around those settling cracks in the floor, but we've had a lot of rain this past week, and the float switch on the sump pump was stuck.  The sump well was nearly overflowing when we arrived.  The inspectors jiggled it, the pump kicked on and started draining it, and it's in good working order.  Sticky switches are a common issue, you just have to keep an eye on the sump during rainy weather.  After dealing with the CREEK that's been running through the basement of our rental unit due to a leaking window, this is really no big deal!

Following that wall around to the back, we have the house guts and laundry hookups.  I'll be delighted if that worktable and shelving stay, because they'll be perfect for cutting and curing soap!  I haven't made any since we moved up here due to lack of space.  We're going to have to get an electrical line run for our dryer, because the hookup is for a gas dryer.

AND THAT'S EVERYTHING.  What do you think?

Out and About

The cessation of snow and ice has led to the resurgence of field trips to explore the area, and I'm finding more and more things to develop a fondness for in this strange land of Northern Illinois.

Arboretum

 The other week, a friend from knit group very generously invited the boys and I to come to the Morton Arboretum on her member pass, and that was a lovely day. I learned quite a bit about local flora: myriad varieties of oak and magnolia (not the ones I'm used to) and maple (so many maples!), ash and beech and birch and larch and spruce. Lilac is a novelty, as are cherry trees and crabapple, viburnum and peonies. Holy wow, PEONIES.

 There were tree houses connected by rope bridges for the boys to climb (they even convinced me to haul myself across the skyway once -- Trixy kindly but firmly declined), and ponds where you could wade and catch tadpoles. I was out in the sun for hours and got burnt -- but not heat exhausted. I seldom got burnt in Florida, because I couldn't be out in the heat long enough. WEIRDNESS. I like it.

 Feel-Good Farming

 Last week, the boys and I went on a homeschool group expedition to an organic farm. I still haven't really connected with anyone in that group, but the tour was excellent. Farmer Nate knew what was up. We learned about microgreens and soil blocks and transplant shock and bacterial pest control and the importance of living soil. We saw the greenhouses and portable hoop houses and learned how they're able to grow spinach even with snow outside. We learned that after mid-February the angle of the sun shifts so that it no longer has to shine through so much atmosphere before hitting ground, and that's when you can harvest enough of its energy to start seedlings. It's like scientific magic.

The farm supplies restaurants in Chicago as well as more local Whole Foods-type grocers. After the tour, Seth told Farmer Nate that he planned to be a chef in a restaurant some day. Nate confided that he had BEEN a chef, and he got so interested from talking to his organic suppliers that he made the transition to farming, and now he still dabbles in haute cuisine with his own produce. Talk about creative control.

 The farm also has bee hives, which we unfortunately did not get to see. We did purchase raw honey from their market, though, and I had to exercise great control not to purchase one of every flavor: they had lavender-infused, cinnamon, rosemary, and cocoa honeys. So intriguing, but so expensive, alas.

 Suburban Sun-Dancing 

Yesterday, we all went on a field trip with the church's RE group to the home of a retired Lakota Sioux sun dancer and his wife. We learned about the medicine wheel and the prayers to spirits in the 7 directions, we got to smell burning sage and sweetgrass and cedar, see the sweat lodge, and participate in a pipe ceremony. I sat in their living room while the drum beat and they sang in a language of First Americans, and I marveled that my white self was being granted this experience. It's a really good thing to be taken out of your usual modes of cognition sometimes and to glimpse that others' can be so different, and that it works so well. I feel this morning that we're all aliens with a common planet.

 Well. My teapot is empty, and laundry awaits. Happy June, everyone.

Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow...

So, Thursdays include Art in our homeschool schedule, and naturally the boys decided to make valentines in honor of the day.  I'm busily checking over their math work, and Seth asks, "do we have any white paper?"

"Sure, look on the shelf."

He finds it and starts applying scissors.  "Do you know what I'm going to do with it?" he asks slyly.

"White valentines?  That will be pretty," I murmur absently, then Gabriel and I settle in for a round of American history.  Oh, Columbus, you magnificent nutjob.

Midway through the lesson, Cupid struck:

Seth made wings and attached them all by himself.

I just about died.  That kid.

It kind of looks like Cupid has been into the Magic Dust.

So, Happy Valentine's Day!

In other news, Rick scored these yesterday:

We're all big Gaelic Storm fans, and I can't believe they're coming to teeny-tiny DeKalb!  I look forward to checking out the historic Egyptian Theatre while we're rocking out.  It'll be the boys' first concert, and we're all very excited.

Tiny snowmen

The snow we got was pretty dry and powdery, but by using some buckets from the sandbox we were able to pack it well enough to make a few pint-sized snowmen.

Let it Snow... Please...

Okay, there probably aren't many adults who say that, but we promised the boys Winter Wonderland when we were pitching this whole, "Move Away From All Your Family and Friends" idea, and so far, they haven't been impressed.

We DID have a White Christmas.  The first big snowstorm of the year swooped in 4 days before, and it left enough on the ground to count as we celebrated.  This past week, though, it warmed up into the mid-50s and rained a lot, and they've been quite disgruntled.

Mother Nature must have heard their grumbling, because she threw a bit our way last night.  All of my guys are out in the yard experimenting with Snow Sculpture right now:

Yes, Rick is wearing a Marvin the Martian hat.  I know you're jealous.

Well, I finally registered the kids for music lessons through NIU.  Seth will study piano, and Gabriel will study violin.  On Friday, we took the Family Heirloom (my great-uncle's violin that hung on Grandma's wall for 50 years -- thanks again, Aunt Becky!) to a violin shop over in Sugar Grove, and they're going to refurbish it for use.  New pegs, new strings, new bridge and tailpiece, smooth out the fretboard (there was a fancy term for it that eludes me at the moment), the works.

It turns out, though, that it's too big for Gabriel at this time.  So we have also rented a half-sized violin from them for his use -- it was surprisingly affordable.  The restoration is going to be a bit steeper, but it'll be worth it.  And hey, with two working violins in the house, maybe Gabriel can teach me a tune.

We're learning the states and capitals to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw" right now, so my ultimate goal is to have Gabriel play it on fiddle, while I back up on dulcimer chords and Seth sings.  It will be epic.  Seth wants to be a YouTube celebrity.

New Year's Resolutions

• No more wheat. Not even "just a little."
• No more sugar.  I mean it.
• At least 20 minutes of exercise per day.
• Knit/crochet more.
• Practice the dulcimer more.
• Attend church weekly.
• Update blog every weekend so that extended family doesn't kill me.*

Happy 2013, everyone!

*I have no idea where to start.  The backlog in my brain has reached critical overload.  Ask me a question, any question!

"But It's a Dry Heat..."

Rick had the 4th of July off from work, so we decided to take the kids to Chicago to see some sights and check out the Field Museum.  We would never have planned a day outdoors in July in FL, that's just crazy talk.  But we're in the North, now!  It's not that hot!  The humidity is lower!  All of the seasons are now ours to enjoy!

Holy Flaming Heatwave, Batman!

Yeah, we dragged the kids all over downtown Chicago in record high temperatures. 102 without the heat index, tied for July 4, 1911.  Perhaps it wasn't the most stellar parenting, but by golly, they got a good dose of culture and exercise and Quality Family Time, whether they liked it or not.  ;)  And we took pictures.  You can click here to see all of them, but I'll give you some highlights.

Here are the boys outside of Ogilvie Transportation Center, their individual personalities firmly on display.  We're able to take the train in from Elburn, and it's just under 2.5 hours total travel time from our house.

Behold the big shiny buildings!

By the time we'd walked to Millennium Park, we were really feeling the heat, so we headed straight to the Crown Fountain for relief.

 





After a quick spritz, we went to ooh and ahh over the Cloud Gate sculpture.

 

We wandered around the park area for about 2 hours, checking out the amphitheater and the gardens, then we collapsed on a shaded bench, where a friendly passer-by offered to take our picture.

We're melting... meelllllllltiiiiiinnnng!

We had some trouble locating the subway station that would take us to the museum, but we stumbled into this nice little skyscraper/fountain/garden niche where the kids and I took a load off while Rick scouted to find it.

 

Eventually, we made it!  Here they are, inside the lovely air-conditioned Field Museum, newly-purchased Annual Family Membership stickers fresh off the press, standing in front of a T-Rex named Sue.

We explored the Genghis Khan exhibit, which Gabriel really enjoyed.  He's old enough now to read the plaques and look and ponder things, rather than just rushing through.  There were enough Mongolian sabres and whistling arrowheads and trebuchets and giant triple crossbows for launching 6-foot flaming spears to fuel his battle fantasies for weeks.  He also appreciates the philosophy and culture, though -- we learned that the Mongolians were the first people to use a bow on stringed instruments, which was relevant to his interests as a future fiddler.


Seth's choice was Underground Adventures, where you "shrink" to 1/100th of your size to explore soil science from a bug's-eye point of view.  I was really impressed with this exhibit -- soil science is not something I've ruminated much upon, and there's a lot to it.  This made it very accessible and thought-provoking on many different levels.


We had to rush through the Egyptian exhibit, because the museum closes at 5, but I hope we can go back when we have more time.  We just scratched the surface of what The Field has to offer.  Two hours of air-conditioned intellectual stimulation was a nice start, though.


Back out into the heat we trudged, and we took a moment to appreciate the lake-front view with its adjacent skyline.

Then we began our quest to experience authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza.  On the way, we saw that Columbus Drive had been blocked off by police barricades.  "Perhaps they're preparing for a 4th of July parade, how nice!" we thought.  Then there was a synchronized double-take:

putting the "wave" back in "heat wave"

Yyyeah.  It was so hot, the pavement buckled.  Luckily, no one got hurt.  That's just nuts!


Our pizza quest ended at Lou Malnati's which turned out to be absolutely worth the walk.  The interior was cool and dim, the friendly waitress kept the ice water flowing, and the food was fantastic (and very reasonably priced).  Gabriel declared that the pizza was "indescribably delicious."

A Quest Fulfilled

By the time we got out of Lou's, the sun had begun to set, and it wasn't quite so miserable outside. We took a leisurely walk toward the Sears Willis Tower, enjoying statues and gardens and architecture along the way.  We finally got there, said, "yep, that's pretty tall," then dragged ourselves back to the train station.  It was dark when we pulled out, and the kids got to see a few stray fireworks out the window to complete the 4th of July experience.
We're planning another trip in 2 weeks for Seth's birthday.  We'll be spending the bulk of that excursion inside the Museum of Science and Industry.

I trust that it's air-conditioned.