Friday, July 5, 2019

While You Are Waiting

Most of us are probably waiting for something. 
Waiting is hard. 
I'll admit that, the other day, I was not waiting well. 
Last Monday, I got up and hit the ground running. 
I pulled every can of current paint colors down in order to do touch ups. 
Then I made a list of the colors that we didn't have anymore. 
I headed to Sherwin Williams to fill in the missing paint. 
The powder room was a custom mixed color. I had some of it and did touch ups but it wasn't the same color any more. You could see every touch up dot. 


The interior of the darling Red Brick Ranch was painted Repose Gray.


Since it seemed not to be, I wanted a touch of that house in our house. 
The powder room doesn't look that different since it was already a grayish blue color before but it is all clean and fresh.


I like it.


I'm thinking about this faux tin for the ceiling. 


Later that day, I did the first coat on the closet doors in the hall. 


On Tuesday all the doors got a second coat. 
Wednesday, my realtor and I went house hunting. 
As soon as I'd had my coffee on Thursday, painting resumed. 
Our black garage door was the first touch up of the day. 


Don't ever paint doors black. 


This is what happens as soon as you close it. 


The next twelve hours were spent painting baseboards and window sills with oil based paint. 
Yuck, yuck, yuck!
The weekend was spent celebrating with friends turning 60. 

July 1st, I decided to tackle Jonnie's room. It hadn't been painted since 2010. 
It had a lot of nail holes, scuffs and scrapes. 
This is where my patient waiting turned into impatience. 
I thought I remembered that Jonnie's room took a little over a gallon of paint. It was an off white so I only picked up a gallon. I thought for sure that it would cover it. 
I asked for their mid-range paint in quality and price. The sales guy recommended and sold me Captivate. Let's just say it wasn't captivating at all. First of all, unbeknownst to me it was paint and primer in one. I hate paint and primer in one. I didn't need to prime since we were only covering off white. Each roller full of paint only lasted one pass down the wall. How annoying is that?  It was terrible. This was supposed to be a 4 or 5 hour job.
Soon, it became abundantly clear that the thick gloppy paint wasn't going to make it around the whole room. There were errands to run anyway, so I found a stopping point. I got dressed and headed to the paint store. They didn't have any more Captivate in flat.  Two of their other stores did but they were each 20 minutes away. I was not captivated at all. 
The sales associate wasn't the least apologetic that they were out of paint during a sale and a holiday week.
At this point, my blood pressure was reaching the point where I could have cooked a chicken.
 (I'm not sure where that came from except that I see a lot of Insta Pot recipes for chicken. I don't own an Insta Pot so the recipes are meaningless to me. Isn't an Insta Pot a pressure cooker?)

A good inspirational song came on and my blood pressure returned to normal.


I got home and I resumed rolling clotted cream on the walls. Clotted cream might be an exaggeration. Maybe it was more like melted vanilla ice cream. Sour cream? Yogurt?
The paint seemed to pull a previous blue color through the off white.
It was bizarre.
This room took two full coats and some spots took three.
It was a 10 hour job but


it's done and I'm happy.

In the midst of the painting frenzy, we were notified that ours was the back up offer on the darling red brick ranch. We all thought it was odd to be informed of that. We tried to put it in perspective and not get our hopes up. A few days later, we were asked for checks for earnest and option money. A week later our checks were cashed. It was still strange. We were getting our hopes up once again.
The first buyers option period ended on July 4th. I thought maybe they knew the initial buyers were backing out and they couldn't notify us that the house was ours until then but we heard this morning that they are moving forward with the house.
All that to say:
A week and a half ago, we thought we didn't get it. We were sad but moved on.
Then all the carrot dangling got our hopes up even though we tried to be even-keeled about it.
Not getting it again is almost more disappointing because in the mean time we began making plans and taking prudent steps.
(I almost knew where each piece of furniture was going.)
In the waiting, I looked at every home that is for sale in a 30 mile radius.
There is currently nothing for sale that fits what we need or want.
Bill's been asking to move for a few years. He really wants a one story house.
I wasn't open to moving. I love this house. We've worked hard on it.
We found two houses that were just darling and seemed perfect for us.


The Sinking Bungalow and The Red Brick Ranch.
As I stated, our town is horrible about preserving the past. They have torn down most of the older homes for stadiums and the university.
I finally found two houses that were reasons to move rather than to stay.



There was a housing boom in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The flippers are buying up tons of properties.
The competition is intense.
I didn't love this house when we bought it. Bill loved it. I grew to love it.
The last few months, I began to feel that I could love something else as much or more.
 We felt that God was leading us to make a move.
It is discouraging to see something that seems so perfect for us go to someone else.
Of course, I do realize that there are aspects we cannot see. Maybe the neighborhood isn't as good as it looks during the day. Who knows.
There are always things we don't know.
We see a small part when God sees the big picture.


 I knew all along that if it was meant to be, it would be.
I like closure. This would have been closure on the leadings that we feel.
Rather than ask "why?" we will move forward in faith. We'll put one foot in front of the other. We will continue to get our house ready to sell but also ready for us to live in and love.
I'll continue to look online at houses that fit our criteria. I'll probably go see some in person.
Bill has told his boss that he may have to bolt out of work to meet me at a listing.
It could take a while. We're ready for that.
Bill has spent the last two days tackling every repair we can think of.
We are taking a big step and we are finally getting the wood floors that were such a draw in the red brick ranch.
We've always wanted wood floors.
It didn't take long to realize that the huge expanse of tile in our living area was a mistake.
I noticed when I was house hunting that so much tile in the living area looks cold.
 We were both really afraid that our house wouldn't show well because of the tile.
 Grout is terrible to take care of. 
So we are getting it all taken out on Monday. Our guy said it could take three days.
Let's hope it pops right up.
Tomorrow morning we'll go pick out our wood floors. Carpet will follow at some point.


I really kind of hoped we could sell our house with a flooring allowance instead of having to do this ourselves but why not enjoy the flooring while we are here?

I apologize if this is a free thinking type of post.
I blame the paint fumes.

I, of course, realize that in the grand scheme of things that all of this is not that important.
As I've prayed about our future, I've told God that I don't know why He should care about houses and neighborhoods, etc. He seems to care about how we minister to those He puts in our path.
So while we are waiting, that's what we'll do.
Katie 

9 comments :

  1. Katie, I love hearing your "thinking out loud". You encourage me by sharing your thoughts on the waiting and how God motivates and moves us. I for one love hearing other peoples experiences and viewpoint on this type of situation. We've moved so many times, some people just don't understand but it's been at God's direction. Following His lead is such an important act of obedience. Believe me, you'll be blessed in what you're doing. His timing is everything. be blessed.

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  2. Something will come your way and work out. I understand me saying this doesn't help any.

    It's hard when you get your hopes up and it doesn't happen.

    I admire your faith.

    Cindy

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  3. Katie,
    I have loved reading your posts where you are "thinking out loud'....It gives one a personal view of who you are and what is going on in your life and I believe that is what blogging should be about...Not just decor, recipes, DIY projects. etc. A post like this is exactly why I chose to keep blogging...Not for money or to look at professional sites but for personal connections and friendship.... I am sure you were disappointed when you were not able to purchase what you think could have been the house of your dreams not only once but twice. I would be livid...But as an objective observer, I can only think that something else is waiting for you whether it be discovering that the home you currently live in is supposed to be where you are or another dream house is waiting on the horizon for you. Either way, I really look forward to hearing about your journey...Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us... And I do enjoy chuckling at some of your comments...We seem to think alike in certain circumstances...
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  4. Katie, you are so smart taking care of all the painting, etc when you are not so rushed. At the rate you are going your house will be brand new when you are done. I think wood floors will be a good selling point..Who knows, after you are all through, the people you sell to might be yourselves!..Hope you had a Happy 4th..Judy

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  5. I'm so glad I read this post. We are in the process of building a house so we can downsize. We are builders so since we couldn't find a house we had built that was for sale in the area we wanted we bought a lot to build on. I'm having trouble letting go of some things we've accumulated over the last 47 years of our marriage. We fill the move will free us up from a house that is way to large for us and a lot that isn't flat. We live on the lake and love it but at this point in our lives we don't need it. What we need and what I want are 2 different things. Finding a house plan has been difficult for me. I keep wanting to have some "what if" room. What if our daughter and her 2 kids have to come home for some reason, what if we need care in the future, what if my mother in law needs to move in with us. I need to let go of the what ifs so we can move forward with what we feel that God is calling us to do. It's hard for me. Thanks for the reminder that God knows best and when the plan is found and the move is made it will be perfect for us.

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  6. I love your free-thinking posts. It's writing from the mind and heart, not necessarily for the blog post. You'll find the right house for you in time. Until then, enjoy your current home and what you've done and are doing to it. It will shelter you until the right one comes along.

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  7. Ah yes, paint and fumes. It's a wonderful post, Katie, despite being born of frustation. I so hope you find the perfect house for you (a one story is a good thing as we get older and I have one, but to me they will never hold the charm of an older home with a staircase!) I love how you've done your home and boy -- that's a lot of work going into it only to say goodbye. But necessary, I suppose, for the best price. I will send many good vibes down your way in hopes that the stars align and at the right time, right place, right price.

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  8. Oh goodness, Katie, you've been doing a lot of work! I read some of your newer posts, too. I admire you for getting things done and enjoying your own home until something right turns up!

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