been a while...

So we moved into our house at the end of October, and as you can imagine its been non stop ever since! The first week we here in New York were hit with an early snowstorm, that due to the leaves still being on the trees, took many of them down, including the one across our road right onto our power line! Queue no power for 6 whole days. No heat, no light - nada. And to say it was freezing is an understatement! Luckily we had hot water, for an as yet unknown reason, and with having a fireplace we could have some heat during the day. Sadly the children missed the chance to play in the first snow of winter in our new home, as it was just too freezing in the house to warm them up again. They also missed Halloween - which of course was very upsetting - seems to be their favorite day of the year! Non stop unpacking and painting, buying bits and bobs for various rooms, then boom the holidays hit. As of the day after Christmas we have a new addition to the family - an 8 week old Newfoundland Landseer puppy. He is adorable, but was ridden with fleas - so that plus the non stop night whining has been a challenge to say the least! I'm really hoping for a break when January comes. Although I'm determined to get my party business up and running so that will clearly take up some time. Still a lot to do around the house - funny how something like losing power for a week can seem to set you back for months!

keeping fingers crossed

So we got word on Friday night that our buyers bank is to sign off on their mortgage today, Monday, and so closing has been penciled in for next Monday the 24th, for the sale, and the day after for the purchase. Needless to say I am crossing all digits that it goes as planned, but who knows after all we've been through these past few months. We visited the house on Saturday and its all cleared and cleaned and ready for us to move in. I spent yesterday picking out the furniture and appliances we need, for what must be the millionth time, but this time it felt more real than ever. If we don't hear from our buyers lawyer by the end of today I may scream, but it can't go on forever right? So here's hoping this is a done deal :)

saga continues

It really feels like I started this blog a lifetime ago. So many upsets and setbacks have happened over the past 8 months I can't believe it hasn't been longer. As of now, we are still in our city house, and still waiting to move into the house we made an offer on. The problem now is with the buyers of this house. They still have not got their mortgage signed off on. We have been ready to go for the past 3 weeks. And believe me, the frustration and sadness of the state of our lives just now is overwhelming. We are living out of boxes, which are piled in every room. The children didn't start school in September on the weekly promises from the agents that it would only be a few more days.. a few more days. So now they are behind by a month, and will be starting Monday in a local public school, seen as their private one wouldn't take them back for such a short time. But really who knows if it will be a short time. Our lawyer is today issuing a time is of the essence giving our buyers 2 weeks to get their act together or face being in default. Which is the same time we now have, or face losing our mountain house. Selling a house is really in my opinion more stressful than divorce, or anything else for that matter. Especially when there are children involved, I hate the fact their little lives have been put on hold for the whole summer, now the fall, going into winter. Hoping for some news, some good news in the next few days, or I may just pack myself in a box, and come out when this is all done.

onward

So we have found another house, that passed inspection with mostly flying colors. It is a 5 bedroom, 2 living rooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 fireplace spread, and suits our needs just perfectly. There is a large almost acre garden, and it is set 600feet up a mountain so lots of fresh air for my asthmatic daughter. Also it is still the same great school as the termite-filled house, and there's a school bus, so all in all - great. We made an offer which was accepted, and now the waiting game has begun. The buyer of our house was on vacation for 2 weeks (with no one covering him?!) and so there was the first delay. It is now almost a week since he got back, but still no word. Although our buyers have paid deposit, and all contracts have been signed, they could still jump. This being my biggest fear, as then we are left with starting the whole selling process again from scratch. Argh! Meanwhile I have been planning the new house to keep myself busy. I have chosen paint colours and designed my garden front and back! Also the children and I have been packing up not needed stuff, and still it feels like the house is full. Really hoping to hear from our lawyer in the next few days with good news, so we can start working out dates for closing and moving. It is now too late in any case to move in time for the children starting school, as that's only 5 weeks away, so we will need to put them back in to their old school for a while, which is not the disruption I wanted for them, but cest la vie. We are off to Disney World for the first week of September, so I'm hoping that will be a welcome break for them and us. At least it will take our minds off all this uncertainty.

not to be

So turns out after inspection, we found that the big blue house is wracked with termites. Very sad about this, but also glad because at least it was so bad, that it was easy to see, and not a future problem for us after purchase. Heading back out to look at more houses this afternoon. We have found one we like, but it's a little different than we first imagined, so we'll see. On a plus note the buyer for this house has signed on the dotted line, deposits made, so all is going swimmingly this end. I know it will work out in the end - Que sera, sera!

quietly happy

We accepted an offer on the house today, and made an offer on the big blue house. I don't want to be too excited about this, in case of a jinx situation - but - I am smiling on the inside. We still have an open house to go through this weekend, and the hope would be that we get a higher pre-approved offer, but if we don't we could be in contract this time next week! Also as the buyer is a mainly cash one, there shouldn't be any of those nightmare chain type hiccups. Now if only the house we made the offer on comes easily - all will be well in Bramble Cottage.

the waiting game - part deux

Still no buyers. It's quite soul destroying to have people walk around your house and walk out never to be seen again. We've had over 35 viewings now, and no real offers. The last guy went awol. I feel like I'm stuck in a perpetual state of waiting, life on hold til that one day comes when someone actually shows us the goods and signs on the dotted line. I feel very much stuck, and the children are feeling it too. They constantly ask to go on the deck, that is the only garden they've known. All the promises of moving to a big house with a big garden seem like a dream at this stage. So they work with what they have, which isn't much. I also got a little freaked out by the super from the apartment building's husband saying he saw the children on the deck, and my how they've grown. My fear of course is if he can watch them, who else can? The park is full of unsupervised children running amok. I spend most of my time there telling them not to push my children at the top of the climbing frame, or not to walk up the slide when my children are coming down. A very stressful experience for all. My Grandmothers health back in Scotland, is deteriorating, and me not feeling settled is making that all the more difficult to deal with. My Mother and one of my brothers who were to visit, are saying that they'll wait til we move. So I don't even have that to look forward to, not knowing when we'll sell etc. We're having an open house again this weekend. I'm trying to clear out the basement more, touch up paint, clean, change things around, but at the end of the day I know it will just take time and patience, two things I lack. Le sigh!

developments...

So we held open house yesterday, and again today, however someone actually made an offer last night! Our agents have told the potential buyer to get pre-approval so it can be an official offer, but its certainly encouraging all the same. I let the agent for the house we want know and luckily it is still available :) I may yet find out what color the peonies in the garden are before next year!

the waiting game

So our house is open for viewing as of Thursday, really hoping someone makes an offer quick smart. I think I would be pretty heartbroken to lose the house we made an offer on, even though I know there are more fish in the sea and all that. As its nearing the end of May, if someone did make an offer, and we accepted we likely wouldn't close until July - which would still give us time to settle in before school starts again. So I am ever hopeful. Its been an uphill struggle getting this house ready to sell, what with gas leaks, whole new gas pipes, roof leaks, new roof, endless painting, packing and storing - I'm ready for a holiday! Just that hope though that this time next week we could have an offer or 2 to consider, is very exciting. I would love for the children to get to enjoy the huge gardens and space before the cooler months set back in. And I of course would love to relax before the school run takes over!

fingers crossed

So today we made an offer on a wonderful 150 yr old Colonial style house, with double frontage, large decks, on an acre of mature landscaped gardens, and the most beautiful old weeping pine trees. If it all looks this good at this time of year I can only imagine what it will look like by midsummer. It is a big house, perfectly sized for our needs. I am happy and excited, but also know it will be a process, rather than a quick fix. I'm hoping to get the work finished on this house in the next week or so, then we can list it for sale and hope for the best. I do know however that if the house slips through our fingers another will come along, but I really do have a good feeling about this one, so time will tell..

Slowly but surely

It seems no matter how much I pack, how much I tidy away, how much I organize - it doesn't make a dent on how much is to do. The endless spackling, sanding and painting trim which when done I don't really notice is so soul destroying. Today I threw some red wood chips down out front, now that made a difference. Not that I love that look, but it does seem to give the impression of being tidy. On other news, we're going to view a house on Saturday. Its a beautiful 100 year old farmhouse in Rockland County. Perfect location for train and schools, and sits on a big 2 acre lot. In an ideal world we will be able to sub-divide it into the house and under an acre and leave the acre+ that is currently somewhat of a junk yard with old run down barns and a boat (!) Doing this means both the price and taxes will come down. It needs work, but doesn't everything? An interesting weekend awaits!

Making a start

I made a start on the bathroom today. I know potential buyers won't be inspecting the walls with a magnifying glass - but I am, in fact I should have taken out shares in the Spackle company! I've decided to do one room at a time. Doing bits around the house in various rooms, just wasn't cutting it. I hated that feeling of having done a load of work, but not being able to actually see a difference. I made a start out front over the weekend, weeded, bagged up all the trash people throw in my garden. I planted some annuals for that all important "curb appeal", tomorrow I'll put down mulch to fill in the gaps. I feel if people start noticing it as being a lovely front they'll be more interested in the house when the for sale sign goes out. Onward and upward.

Scottish Belle

A little about me. I grew up in the beautiful South West of Scotland with my wonderful artistic mother, 3 fantastic brothers and a menagerie of horses, pigs, goats, hens, ducks, geese, dogs and cats. J M Barrie himself, played on the very river of the town where I was born. It was the summers he spent there with friends playing pirates and such, that he drew inspiration from when he wrote Peter Pan. To find out more about this see Moat Brae, Dumfries, which is a lovely Georgian mansion, sadly repeatedly under threat of being knocked down by council bigwigs. If it were mine I would build a statue of Peter Pan and have a wonderful garden to commemorate its importance.. but as I'm sadly lacking the funds to buy overseas property - I consider it a dream, that may one day be realized. Presently, I reside with my adoring husband in his hometown - Brooklyn, New York. After 7 years and the arrival of 4 children, we have decided to relocate out of the City that never sleeps, and hope to find a more rural house so that the children can finally have some space and we can start a new chapter of our family adventure. I've started writing to take you all on the journey with us... getting this house ready to sell, finding our new home and what we get up to along the way. As anyone who has a brood as large as ours may tell you - you just never know what exciting thing could happen next!