I think its finally safe to say that the place feels like home.
Nicole’s priority has been the kitchen and living area — we’re resigned to the fact that the main floor will be constantly covered in toys for the foreseeable future, so we aren’t putting any of our nicer furniture up there. We got a old CRT TV that Ben can bang on while he watches Super Why, and we’ve basically left the floor space open for running, stomping, dancing and rolling.
My priority has been the basement — my Bat Cave. Its going to be a kid free zone, which means its safe to keep our nice things down there. The good TV and the home theater equipment are in there, and surround sound is great to have in a decent sized room. My office is a pretty much perfect space, with a giant desk and lots of storage space. I’m re-thinking putting a wall up, because I like the extra room — and I like the fact that I can sit on conference calls from the couch! There’s a little work I want to do on the built-in TV cabinet, but since I was originally planning to rip it out, the reduced scope of the project is pleasing. The walls need some touch up paint, and the ceiling needs work in a few spots… but the room is still pretty much awesome.
The hot tub turns out to be a lot of work — not that I’m complaining. Getting the bromine, alkalanity, hardness and pH balance just right is really, really hard! We’ve already had to dump all the water once because it went all misty looking, and we couldn’t get it clear again. I’m told its an art, not a science, so I’ll just have to keep working at it.
Our bedroom is tiny… almost too small to fit everything in there, in fact. But that could have something to do with having the largest, heaviest dressers ever made! We inherited them from Nic’s grandma, and we really shouldn’t complain, because they were free and better than nothing, but it is kinda tight in there. As long as Nic doesn’t get pregnant again, though, we can squeeze in there fine.
We haven’t met any of our neighbours yet, although we’re doing our best to look friendly and open to it. It woulda been nice if someone had come by and told us about things like garbage day (which we missed, and now have to keep a giant smelly bag of diapers in the garage for another week) but I suppose people don’t do that kind of thing much these days. I know we will if someone moves in near us!
Overall, home ownership definitely comes with some new challenges, but the rewards are totally worth it. I maxed out my stereo watching Star Wars the other night, and there was no one around to bang on the walls and tell me to turn it down!
New York in a week, Alpha kick-off when we get back, and a whole bunch of cool fall evenings to be spent in the hot tub under the stars. Life is good 🙂
