One Month
- Plumbing and HVAC: Had the house's ducts cleaned
(which took over 6 hours since they hadn't been done in a LONG
time). Had cable run from one side of the house to the other.
Had our RPZ tested. (RPZ stands for Reduced Pressure Zone, and is a type
of backflow prevention device used in plumbing systems to protect water
supplies from contamination...or at least that's what Google tells
me.) Had UV light installed for our HVAC system (Per HVAC.com "An HVAC UV light helps
you stay healthy by sanitizing the air moving through your HVAC system,
reducing the mold and viruses distributed into your home’s
air." Since I have a lot of allergies and have not lived in a
home with forced air, I thought this would be worth the money.) Had
a smart thermostat installed so we can control the temperature from
wherever we are. (Hopefully this mean that we won't ever be walking
into a cold house.)
Furnishings: Movers brought in some furniture that we took (and stored) from the shore as well as few pieces from the house in NJ. (The NJ house is still fully furnished for the most part.) I also purchased some furnishings from Raymour & Flanigan (I'm still waiting since I didn't want beige, white or gray and had to order the color. I did get one chair that did not have to be special ordered, so we have one chair in the family room. Two, if you count the folding "director's chair" that can be easily transported from room to room if you want to sit.) I purchased a dining room table and chairs and a small kitchen table and chairs from EFO Furniture Outlet which I am also waiting for. (All furniture should be here before Thanksgiving...which is not a long time, unless you are waiting for furniture!) My husband has built a bench (with storage space), two night tables, two (different types of) computer desks, one office chair, and 4 bookcases (thus far).- Technology: My husband has set up more computers
than I know, as well as a media center in the family room. Our
office is pretty much complete while the rest of the house is pretty
barren, but we will get there. Believe me setting up everything has
been a BIG undertaking. (If you know my husband, you know
this.) I'm not going to say it's finished, because it never is.
It's always evolving!
- Landscape: Have met with the land care guy and
will have a fall clean up at some point. (We need a lot of trimming and
neatening up.) I have figured out how to clean the skimmer without
getting fish poop on me (mostly) and not getting (too) dirty. I
think I have also figured out how to "position" the float so
that the waterfall keeps running. It seems to be very temperamental,
so keep your fingers crossed for me.
- Seasonality: (Is that even a word?) I've
loaded the front stoop area with mums (I LOVE mums), a pumpkin and an
autumn themed front door hanging. Inside by the window is my (not
so) "spooky" display.
The leaves are changing outside and if it were sunny today I'd be doing some serious foliage viewing. There's always next weekend when I think we will be getting close to peak. Fall is a beautiful time in the Poconos. - Local businesses: In addition to going to some
large box stores (the aforementioned furniture stores) and two ShopRites, I/we have also spent time (and
often money) in the local grocery (where I will go every Sunday to pick up
a hard copy of the NY Times), thrift/consignment shop (because
you know I had to), two antique stores (one I loved; the other not so
much), candle store, and hardware store (multiple visits). We have
also visited our local library and gotten our library cards. (I even
took out, read and returned a book!) We've dined out twice!
Once for our anniversary at our much loved Skytop and then just the other night to
a local pub/restaurant to hear a friend
sing. (Okay, hubby had dinner and I just enjoyed some sangria.
We will be back next month to hear our friend again. Once a month
date night just might become a thing.)
- Neighbors: We don't have many, but we've met the
woman (as well as her daughter and her dog), who lives to the east of us
(on our drive) as well as the couple (and their granddaughter) to the west
(not on our road). Hubby also met the woman "up the road"
when he went to check our mailbox. (Yes, we had one installed and we
are getting mail! Most of it is junk for "occupant", but
we are getting mail delivered.) Our box (which is at the
intersection of two roads) is next to hers, so it's not lonely there anymore.
(There are not many mailboxes around here...I'm guessing most people have
a PO Box.) We have yet to see or meet the other two people/families
who live on our drive. I suspect that one is older and possibly a shut
in (diagonally across the street) as I've never seen anyone, but the
lights are on and I noticed seasonal decorations had been put up
recently. The other is a family with several school aged children
and I hope we will meet soon. While I like having our privacy (I
love our neighbors in NJ, but I think we'd all agree that the homes are a
little too close!), I also want to cultivate new friendships and get a
good sense of community.
What we HAVEN'T done
yet:
- Figured out some of the buttons and switches in the
house. We asked the previous owners of the house and there were some
that they didn't know either! We think they are mostly old, outdated
and/or apply to the security system that is no longer in the house.
Maybe somewhere in the world lights are flickering on and off as we try to
figure some of these out!
- Changed the numeric code on the garage lock. So
if you knew the previous owners and their code, you could break into our
attached garage. (The detached garage has no such lock...and you
could just pull up the door and go on in.) So if anyone wants to
break into any of the garages you could. Of course there's nothing
of any real value there...you could steal our full garbage can or even
fuller recycling bin (because we missed the recycling week while we were
away).
- Speaking of garages, I am probably going to park
my car in the detached garage when the weather gets cold. I still
haven't tried to back into it. I've backed pretty much up to the
garage, but haven't yet tried to align completely with the door.
This could be dangerous.
And finally, what we are
on the cusp of; feeling like this is truly our home. It's difficult with
two houses, both of which I love. As we spend more time in the Poconos,
my mind is finally starting to realize that this IS our home. (And not
just a space that we are occupying.) We've started to place personal
touches around the house; marking our territory as it were. Yet still I
haven't quite accepted that this IS my home. We're getting there,
but...it's a strange kind of thing. It has ONLY been a month, so...Maybe
when October comes around and we get (fingers crossed) some more furniture and
start putting up art on the walls, books on the shelves, etc. it will
feel more like "ours."
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