Closing Day!!!

Nearly 4 months ago we found a house that looked like it might have good potential in a town that we had a feeling we could love, Maynard. It clearly needed a lot of love and was full of tenants that could be considered boarder-line hoarders but the bones were good and the neighborhood was lovely. After a bumpy road with a lot of "hurry up and wait" moments and weeks, we are now the proud, new owners of 3 Third Street.

The next month or so will be devoted to cleaning it out, demolishing the bathrooms, and repairing and repainting walls. Our goal is to move in early April. As we progress I'll try to chronicle some of our adventures here. 

Yesterday we did the walk through and to our dismay the hoarders had left a ton, quite literally I'm sure, of stuff behind. The Seller had a junk removal company come today to start emptying. Meanwhile, Justin and I started pulling down broken shades, pulling out one room of the grossest carpet, and other cleaning. Friday will start the real work once the house is emptied. 

Here are some images for the "before" comparison. Sadly, they don't come close to conveying the skeevy, skin-crawling grossness and the smell of it all:

Justin pulls sticky balls of goo from the ceiling above the stairs

Can't wait to get this fireplace roaring next fall!

Shattered glass top on stove, non-functioning microwave, and  missing doors

Note the cracked, water stained ceiling and soon-to-be-filled in pool

Lucky for you, you can't smell pictures!

Who carpets closet shelves?

The same people who consider this wall repaired.

Here is a sampling of the junk that was left in the attic

This tub will be gone in a matter of days

We're wondering if they knew they had a vacuum since there was no evidence it was ever used!

This will be the kids' room...

...after we remove the carpet from around the heater!

Despite the one-of-a-kind ambiance the paneling provides, we'll be tearing that down!

The bar may stay though, just with a make over.

Any guesses what an "Octopus Room" is?
(a small tiled room in the middle of the basement)

I'm excited to have a work space!

Trip to Nanny's - Day 2

Our visit continues to be fantastic. The kids are all doing wonderful, which can be hard in the home of a 93 year-old with years of breakable memories around. It's fun seeing Luke and Cadence together. They are going to be trouble together as they get older! Sunday was a quieter day with church in the morning and monster naps for some (including Nanny). Here are some of the ways we played:

Making joyful noise (you can't call it music...)

Found a puzzle in the closet. We don't know who to thank for leaving it. Grace, perhaps?

Fun times with an old coffee percolator and a laundry basket

 And a finally a bath was in order for all!

Trip to Nanny's - Day 1

On Friday afternoon, Scott, Cadence, Justin, Anna, Luke, and I began a trip to visit Nanny in Salisbury, MD. Collette wasn't able to join us since the NH school vacation week doesn't match up with the MA schedule. While she misses her little girl I'm sure that part of her is enjoying her own mini-vacation :) Here are some pictures from our first day:

 We're wearing out Nanny - and the weekend is just beginning!

Next, a trip to Ben's Big Red Swings:

And then a walk through the zoo:

No more monkeys swinging in the tree.

Luke and Cadence helping to pick up pine cones in the back yard

We finished off the day with a belated Christmas Dinner with Mr. Burley. 

I can't remember the last time we ate dinner in the formal dining room!