Never let it be said that when the going got tough, I just crawled in bed, pulled the covers over my head and said, "It's too hard!"
This is our new home in Three Oaks, Michigan.
We saw it on Saturday. We mulled it over on Sunday. We made an offer yesterday. And it was accepted today. (And an hour after our contract was accepted another offer came in. Thank Bob we got ours in when we did!) We close on December 29th. (Record speed. My head is spinning a little.)I already have plans in my head to dig up the raggedy shrubs in front and replace them with climbing roses. I will enjoy being able to cutmy own flowers to bring inside. And I love the soft, oppulent look of mounds of rose bush.
Three Oaks is a lovely community ninety minutes drive from Chicago. It is 5 miles from Lake Michigan, so the prices are not as steep as on the lake shore, but it is very popular with young, creative, artistic people. It is a town with a population of 1,700 which is able to support a professional theater, an art cinema, a silent film festival, and six art galleries. On Saturday evenings everyone packs a beverage and snacks, grabs their lawn chairs and walks to the park to hear music at the band shell.
Myfanwe really loves the style. It's growing on me. Although I expect I will end up having to learn how to paint furniture so that it fits with the shabby chic cottage decor.
Some day in the not so distant future I will take out all of the upper cabinets, patch the wall, and put up open shelving. The upper cabinets are -- I kid you not -- only 8.5 inches from the counter top. My coffeemaker won't fit on the counter. Neither will a microwave. Or a vase. Or a glass of milk. And I'm thinking of taking an occupational therapy class at the Lighthouse For The Blind before I chop anything on the counter, cuz I won't be able to see what I am doing.
Doesn't this look lovely!
So once again, the inspection is Friday. It's a pretty full day. I will drive to Michigan for the inspection. Meet with the insurance agent. Stop by my real estate agent's. Drop by the mortgage broker. Drop a load of stuff for the house at a friend's place to store until the 29th. And make it home in time to make dinner for the first night of Chanukah! But (ptew, ptew, ptew) I won't have to drive to Michigan again on Saturday!
The plan is still to ring in the New Year in the new home, enjoying the quiet, peaceful nature Harbor Country. I need to make a note to myself -- somewhere betwqeen now and the 29th I need to get up north and buy a mezuzah!
All country homes need a name. What name do you suggest? I think Norbert and Myfanwe would like something Harry Potter-ish -- The Burrow, maybe? It's not hobbitty enough to be Bag End.
KNITTING
I have been making slow but steady progress on the Cathedral Window. I am on row 22 of the last 49 rows before the edging. Pictures soon -- but I'll warn you right now, it looks exactly like a placenta right now. But when it is blocked, I think it will be beautiful.
I think a shabby chic cottage in Three Oaks is just SCREAMING for some hand knit doilies, don't you?
8 comments:
What a lovely little house! I smiled my way through this post including the kitchen. But, yes, the kitchen cabinets need work.
How will you get the house all fitted out while planning for Norbert's Bar Mitzvah? I can't believe it's only 78 days away.
You absolutely need lace doilies. I think any large chairs will require antimacassars as well.
OMG. I love it! But I refuse to get too enthusiastic until the inspection is done. In the short term buy a big wooden board and lay it over the sink for any knife work! I'd say you'll last a week before you'll have those cabinets ripped out.
x
Oh, Sinead, I hope you are wrong. I'd at least like to make it through the winter before I start ripping stuff up!
But you are right, I will do it. And I won't put it off a long time. I will probably wait until I find the shelves I want at a good price.
Plus, I will want to have the place looking nice for when you visit! Did I mention the local wineries? (They are probably pedestrian, but people do say some nice things about them.) And you will love Dryer's Meat Market, which makes their own liver sausage -- "We sell Liverbest, not Liverwurst" -- and cures their own bacon. It's only a 5 minute stroll from the house.
Got a Google Alert about my home town, Three Oaks. I lived there from 1947-1970. I still make it back to the All Class Reunions. By the way, it's Drier's Meat Market. You can't beat their baloney. I'm miheart on Raverly. I'll be following your blog to keep in touch with my dear little town.
Doilies and Lace Curtains..
It's adorable, Aidan!
Oh, this house is even cuter than the first! Hope all goes well this time.
Assuming all goes well - a friend of mine bought a house many years ago, from people who had lived in it forty years, always intending to take down one wall and make two rooms into one. The day of the closing she picked up the hammer and tore out that wall, because she knew if she didn't do it RIGHT THEN, it would be forty years and nothing done. She also took down the upper cabinets down and put more countertops on them.
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