CHAPTER TWENTY SIX .. WE DID IT!!!!

Had a rough time sleeping last night stressing about everything that wasn't done at the villa and should we or should we not sign the closing papers!!  I woke up at 3:00 this morning and could not get back to sleep so I snuck quietly into the kitchen got a cup of Coffee from the Keurig and worked on Chapter Twenty Five of this thing!!!  Wouldn't you know it .. the worry was all for nothing ..

 Went to the other house this morning and were amazed to see that almost everything was done!!!! Fairies must have been working all night!!!   We had running water .. the stove, microwave and dish washer were hooked up, faucets were on all vanities and bathtubs .. stools were all installed and usable .. and Steve was in the process of fixing the big hole in the vinyl left by the wrongly placed flange in the MB .. and the cleaning lady had been there very late last night and came in while we were there to finish up!!!   The inspector for the Occupancy Permit came in .. that's why we went there .. to see him .. and he lets Ken follow him around.  Everything was up and running .. he checked every faucet etc .. discovered a leak under the basement bathroom sink .. and Jim fixed it while he was there!!!  He gave us our Occupancy certificate and we were off to Continental Title to sign papers .. lots of papers!!!  What a relief it is to have that part of it done!!! 

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!  The deed is done!!!  

Planning to work at the villa tomorrow carrying what we can upstairs and whatever other things we can get done.  Mary and the kids and Beth will be coming to help .. everybody else will be working and missing out on all the fun .. LOL!!! 

Would you believe we got home this evening and we have no running water!!! Called the emergency number and reported they are supposed to call back!!!!  If it's not one thing it's another .. LOL!!!  Guess maybe we should have stuck with having the movers come Wednesday .. we've got running water at the villa .. LOL!!! 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE .. CLOSING DAY!!!

Closing day is here at last .. we're supposed to be closing on our house AND the villa back to back at 1:30!!!  We're a bit uncertain about things at the villa!! There are several things that are not done yet .. and several repairs

I called Tim yesterday afternoon to see if he could possibly meet us at the house or this morning .. turns out he is at Lake of the Ozarks vacationing with his family.  I told him we would like to have it in writing that the various things that are supposed to be repaired will be repaired before we close.  He said there is a one year warranty on everything in the house .. the man (don't remember his name) who will be at the closing will explain it to us.  He also said an inspector is supposed to be there at 11:00 this morning to check things out before giving us an occupancy permit.  We don't see how he could possibly agree to give us an occupancy permit when the appliances aren't installed and so far there is no running water!!!  Ken and Tim have had a running banter about whether or not the villa would be ready to move into on the 30th and last time we talked to him Ken told him if the place was ready to move  into by the 30th he would take him AND Ashley out to lunch.  Ken took the phone and told him it looked like he would not be taking them out to lunch .. that the house hadn't even been cleaned up yet .. carpet fuzz .. grime on the floors .. stickers still on the windows .. blah blah blah.  Time called back later and said he had gotten hold of his cleaning lady and she would be there at 6:00 and work all night if need be and the place  would be clean.  Later I thought perhaps we should have told him there was no water and the appliances hadn't been hooked up yet but assume he knows that?????? 

Anyway .. not sure what's going to happen at closing .. we may or may not sign the closing papers on the villa.   Also .. there was supposed to be a walk-through inspection on this house before closing .. unless it was done without informing us that hasn't been done.  So .. once again we are in the land of STRESS!!!! 

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR .. MOVING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Saturday .. the 28th day of June!!  Time for the fun to start .. did I say FUN??????  The kids are coming we're gonna start moving the boxes and boxes and boxes and "small" stuff into the basement of the villa.  First step ... going to Festus to pick up the 14 foot U-Haul ..

Mileage on the U-Haul  .. 791657 .. just playing it safe!!!  Checked the gas gauge too!!!

Ken was feeling like a macho truck driver .. LOL!!! 

The fun all began around 11:30 .. Madonna and Derrick showed up and we were off and running ..

It wasn't long before everybody was here and we filled up .. the U-Haul .. Madonna's van .. Walter's car, Theresa's Jimmy and Beth's truck .. every vehicle was filled to the top ..

Sidney pole vaulting over the sidewalk with a metal pipe in the yard next door .. LOL!!!! 

I should have taken a picture of the nice .. clean .. EMPTY .. basement before we left yesterday .. it's definitely not empty any more ..

After our second trip .. the U-Haul is empty at last ..

Sidney's doing the cleanup .. they charge you $50.00 if they have to clean up after you!!! 

Break time .. LOL!!

After the second trip .. the basement is even fuller!!!! 

Don't worry .. it doesn't ALL stay down here .. a big part of it goes upstairs or into the garage  after we get moved in!!! 

 A tuckered out crew .. but they're still smiling .. most of  'em anyway .. LOL!!!  Left to right .. Madonna, Ken, Sidney, Lydia, Elizabeth, Mary and Walter.  Theresa and Derrick left before we got to the picture taking!!!! 

Our neighbor Anita was kind enough to take a couple of pictures for us!!

Hmmmmm .. we don't LOOK like we've been working our buns off all day .. but believe me .. we have!!!  Since we could only put stuff in the basement all that stuff on the U-Haul and in the vehicles had to be carried through the house and down the stairs OR around the house to the back to walk-out doors .. LONG trip!!!  Thank God we had lots of terrific help!!! 

The good Lord was good to us .. except for a very brief sprinkle of rain as we first got to Festus we had sunshine all day .. after all was unloaded and everyone was at last headed home .. the rain started ..

By the time we got this big guy back to our driveway in Hillsboro it was pouring down!!

Thank You Lord for holding that rain back until our work was done for the day!!! 

TIME TO ORGANIZE ..

Monday, the 29th .. Ken and I were a bit surprised that we were even able to roll out of bed .. but roll out we did!!!  First project of the day was to return the U-Haul!!  Cost wasn't bad at all .. $29.95 for the truck, 79 cents a mile .. we put a 113 miles on the odometer .. fill it up with gas .. $30.00 which was a whole lot less than we thought it would cost us!!!  Around $160.00 .. not bad for allllllll that stuff we moved!!!   That taken care of we made a run to the Bread Company to visit with "The Bunch" .. we didn't want to miss the celebration of Bill Siever's 80th Birthday!!!  And then we headed to Sawyer's Ridge to do a bit of organizing on allllllllll that stuff in the basement.  

Everything being moved upstairs (we're letting the guys from Two Men And A Truck do that on moving day!!) and the stuff that goes in the garage was put on the wall by the stairway. 

Computer / Office boxes were stacked on the wall where the computer area will be. 

Work Shop stuff over in the Work Shop area!! 

Storage stuff and furniture and lawn chairs in the storage area

Holiday stuff under the stairway .. for now anyway!! 

 

And the "beyond" area ..

The ladders .. adirondack chairs .. old garden cultivator .. long burgundy shelf will no longer be piled there when we get moved in and they can go where they belong.  And the totes will be over in the storage area when we get shelves in .. all will be livable SOMEDAY .. I hope .. LOL!!! 

And just a bit more on the wall beyond the "beyond area" .. LOL!!!  

We had originally scheduled Two Men And A Truck for Wednesday but in looking at the house .. there is no way that's going to happen!!!  The upstairs still has not been cleaned up .. the fuzzy carpet mess from when carpet was installed is still all over the place .. the hole in the master bathroom floor has a "plug" in it but vinyl still has a big hole .. water is not on yet .. appliances are not hooked up.  And there are a few things that need repaired.  While we were at Hardee's eating a quick lunch I called and rescheduled the move for Friday to give them more time to get stuff done AND it gives us a break too .. and I think these old bodies need that break .. LOL!!! 

  

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE .. CLEAN UP!!!

After a morning of more packing and digging and Ken mowing the yard .. we headed off to Sawyer's Ridge with a broom, a dust pan and a waste basket to pick up some keys and do a bit of cleaning up on the basement at the villa and to see how they're coming along .. 

Great news .. the carpets are now down in both bedrooms and on the stairs to the basement!!! 

The rubbed bronze shower door has now been installed on the shower in the Master Bath!! 

And the mirror has been installed over the vanity!!

Carpet and shelves with clothes rods installed in the closets ..

Ahhhhh .. and the black appliances are sitting in place waiting to be hooked up!! 

And the kitchen faucet has now been installed on the sink!! 

Mirror and light installed in the hall bathroom ...

The place was pretty messy and floors especially tracked up and dusty and dirty ..

 We both worked on the basement a while .. had a quick lunch at Hardee's then we went back home and loaded Ms. Betsy's back end with boxes from the garage .. and headed back .. Ken carried the boxes to the basement and finished cleaning on it while I worked on picking up and sweeping up the mess upstairs .. the hardwood .. wondering why I didn't take a picture of everything after we got it cleaned up .. Duhhhhhhhh!!!   

We chose to try to get our boxes moved this weekend because it was supposed to be sunny .. maybe a chance of light showers .. it was very beautiful and a little bit cool and breezy this whole time .. then just as we started home the skies started getting dark and before we got to Hillsboro it was pouring rain .. we are very much in hope that it did NOT do this in Festus and there is NO rain tomorrow. Cross your fingers .. say your prayers .. we need a nice long SUNNY DAY!!!!  

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO .. WE JUST MIGHT MAKE IT!!!

It's beginning to look like they just might have this place finished by the 3oth after all!!!  These pics were taken Thursday, the 25th ..

The first thing we noticed was that the outdoor lights on the front of the garage and the porch were installed!! 

We have door knobs and locks at last!!!  

The railing, ceiling and fan are installed on the deck!!!  

Countertop and kitchen sink are on in the kitchen!!  Whoops .. the appliances are white and we ordered black!!!  I sent Tim a text message and he called me back and promised the appliances would be changed out Friday!! 

Master Bath .. the flange  for the stool has been moved and faucets and lights are installed!!  

Hardwood and trim is all down in the great room .. 

Notice the grids are in the windows finally .. Yayyyyyyy!!! 

Basement Bath .. stool is in ..tile installed on the front of the tub .. but still no vanity.  I'm not crazy about the tile on the tub .. looks too much like the vinyl on the floor .. but  that's my fault .. I chose  it!!! 

 Discovered a hole leading outside to the right of the basement bathroom .. they'll have to take care of that!!!

Rain gutters are up .. downspouts not finished yet. 

They are supposed to put a door on the shower with rubbed bronze trim to match the faucets. 

The hall Bath!! 

That's it for this trip!!  We were told the Hopkins crew would be installing the carpet in the bedrooms Friday.  And since the knobs and locks are installed on the outside doors we will be able to move stuff to the basement Sunday .. Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!  Ashley called and said we could come to the office and get a set of keys .. we went to pick them up yesterday and guess what??????  Wrong keys and she didn't have another set there .. LOL!!!  Going in sometime today to pick up what we hope will be the right set!!! She also told us the appliances had been switched and we now have our black appliances!!