More odds and ends while squirrels rule the mind

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This is the plaid that is coming out.

As we are prepping for a move to the new home, you may see more snips and snaps instead of full length essays. The crazy squirrel inside my head refuses to stay focused.

Like a leper – That should be a new Madonna song. This week I had to check bank balances for our upcoming home purchase. I had a good idea of our balances but I needed someone else, preferably from our credit union, to confirm it. I had to call for an appointment. I’m good with that. When I got there, I had to call and say I was in the parking lot. Someone came out. I did banking business standing outside in the cold with nothing to write on while cars were zipping by. I had no idea they would not let anyone in. My regular bank limits the number of people but you can go inside and sit with a person. Another sign of the times I won’t miss.

Priorities – Yesterday I went to the home we are buying. I parked in front and pulled out my Starbucks app to see which store was closest. The one I’m using now will still be the closest but I will be a mile farther. Somehow that make me feel better knowing that I could continue my insane routine of getting a mocha every day.

One small project – A realtor came in yesterday for the first go through. I asked if there is anything I should do to make the property better for a sale. She suggested I remove some wallpaper in the kitchen. I’m one of those old-timers who likes wallpaper (no teapots or roosters!) especially in a kitchen with white cabinets and a hardwood floor. I realize it’s not in vogue now although “they say” it’s coming back. Removing it is not a big project. It’s only one wall. She also suggested I downsize the cat stuff. What? Are three cat trees too many? How do I explain to them that they cannot have beds in every room? It’s only temporary. I have no idea how to explain that the new house has no screened porch for them. Moving is hard.

76 thoughts on “More odds and ends while squirrels rule the mind”

    • I’m in the center between two although my drive to either will be a little longer than my current drive. I wanted to stay local for things like Starbucks, pizza, grocery stores, etc. A long time ago I lived about 25 miles of out the city an it was a real pain if you ran out of something. No one ever stopped by. I guess I’m more of a city or town girl.

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      • Luckily cats are amazingly adaptable. For 6 years Freddie has enjoyed night romps on the roof deck (and roof) but a couple of months ago I started locking the cat door at sunset. I thought he would go bananas having his freedom curtailed but he is quite happy snoozing in my office in the evening and curling up on the bed at night. As soon as I open the cat door in the morning he is ready to go! Once in a while I forget to lock the door and he still stays inside… As long as they have access to windows to look out I think they’ll be happy!

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        • Sometimes it’s for my convenience too. I will put Sasha out there if I’m trying to get Gracie to eat. Sasha steals food. The new house has a lot of room to roam so I’m hoping they’ll be happy with that. We got the “bylaws” of the community and catios are not allowed. I understand they don’t want ugly attachments but they can be done very nicely. Also we are at an end and backed up to a tree line so no one would see it anyway.

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          • HOA rules go both ways. When I moved out of a 500-unit complex it was because the rules were too restrictive. Now I live in a 4-unit HOA and it is chaos… we have rules that nobody is required to follow. I’m looking forward to moving back to a larger HOA where there are some rules… but at this point I have no idea when that will be.

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    • The funny part is that I had put away a lot of the cat things — toys, beds, dishes, etc. At the end of the tour she told me to downsize the cat stuff (as if I hadn’t already). We have 3 cat trees and when the showings start maybe I’ll put 2 in the cat room but they live here too.

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  5. Everything has gotten so complicated. Our banks have closed all their drive-thus for the 2 branches close to us – darn they even closed the closest branch ( the one with stupid annoying people who didn’t listen in training). You can do just so much online.
    Glad your morning coffee routine will not be impossible though.
    Realtors always trying to show you they are the “experts” and want to show you they earn their keep. All the tv home/deco shows are talking wall paper. That little table area looked so inviting.- and I’m not a wallpaper person. Besides, as a close older friend who worked in a big name real estate office here once told us – no matter what you do – paint, paper, recapped, you can’t guess what the new owner wants so do not drive yourself crazy trying to please the invisible buyer. Neat, good curb appeal with nice backyard a plus and vacuum- and being in a hot market is all that’s needed. (envious of your wall paper knowledge and skills…I tried to remove some…once…only once…ended up accepting the “SW pueblo all texture” which remained which was OK for that area…we did remove all the sheetrock in a room once determined to get rid of a pattern (OK we did some insulating outer wall and getting rid of stupid holes from bad shelf hanging attempt of previous owner…we were young, energetic and intrepid then HAHA)
    I feel for the cats – strange people smells and change are disturbing, but they will love exploring – and new sunny windows!
    Hang in there and be firm – your house is ready and beautiful! (sorry for the length, again)

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    • I painted the wall and don’t like it near as much as the wallpaper. The invisible buyer! I’ve gone into homes where they painted to get a better price. Only problem was that they painted it gray (all the rage now) and none of my stuff goes with it so I immediately saw a big project before I could move in. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We looked at one house. Original layout was great but the owner had turned the dining room into a ginormous mud room, then moved the washer/dryer into the master bath. All very weird. For us anyway.

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  6. I like that little kitchen nook Kate and I like wallpaper – there is wallpaper in every room in this house and wainscoting in the kitchen … the realtor wouldn’t like this house. It is Early American furniture and done in country colors with a country theme.

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  8. Interesting about the bank. I have a form that needs to be notarized soon, and the two banks we have both require appointments for non-drive-thru banking services. Now I’m wondering if they’ll come out to us too. Glad to know your Starbucks will remain the same — there’s something to say for continuity in one’s life. – Marty

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  9. Good news about Starbucks. That’s going to be rough explaining to the Sassy Cats that a screened porch is no more… yikes! But you said there were plenty of windows… windows are great to do some Kravitzing. Every time we have moved, adding a four seasons sunroom was a priority. Moving is hard, you are so right.

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  13. I had plaid wallpaper in my kitchen until two years ago when I did the kitchen reno, and I kind of miss it. My beige walls just look too beige now….esp when wallpaper is coming back in, although I have no idea if plaid is. If I were you, I would have left it for the next person, but you have to keep these realtors happy. Maybe it would be better to keep the cats happy. I had a 7 year old tear my old wallpaper off and she had great fun with it!

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    • I’ve never had a cat that ripped wallpaper although I understand they like grass paper! It is down and I’m painting the wall today. I already don’t like it near as much as the plaid. It was a very subtle plaid and didn’t yell early American but the realtor thought it best to get rid of it. The houses we looked at were mostly terminal beige or (egad!) gray.

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  14. Applaud to your wallpapering skills. I’ve put it up, and I’ve taken it down and both requires some skill, hard work, and patience. This year there’s no patience so I’m glad there’s no wallpaper. 🙂 My friend who just made the cross country move certainly did store ‘stuff’ before they started coming through. They packed a lot of boxes and stored them and extra furniture so it had that ‘not lived in’ look. 🙂

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  17. I’ll admit, I don’t envy you trying to make the house marketable while keep those who rule the roost happy. Realtors just don’t get that. Ugh. Have fun with the wallpaper. And yes, it is very much in vogue. An interior designer friend (who I affectionately refer to as a pillow tosser to her chagrin) recently told me that about wallpaper to which I said, “Umm, yeah. No.” To be fair, I do like wallpaper but have plaster walls and am too old to deal with smoothing them out for wallpaper. That’s why paint you paint every year, right? And I wonder why my list of friends is so small. LOL

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  18. Hi! We have moved twice in the past 12 years. Only to move back to our home …. as we hadn’t sold it yet. Stupid I know. I live in my computer room so need no more room or less room. Rearrange nothing in there/here and nobody better touch anything …. not even the dust.

    After four years I decided to move back to my blog again. No new approach or new ideas. It used to be so easy. Slowly slowly see who is around.

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    • There have been times when we would have backed out of this if we could without losing money. The house is what we want but the timing is wrong. So much other stuff going on in our life and then the pandemic too. If we live through this, we can live through pretty much anything.

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  19. Many years ago, my husband and I decided that our marriage wasn’t strong enough to survive installing or removing wallpaper so there isn’t a speck of it to be found in our home. You have my sympathy removing it. When we bought this house it was COVERED in wallpaper. That’s how we discovered it was our kryptonite 😳

    … and OMG the poor cats! Since is going to be TRAUMATIC!!

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  20. The credit union thing is crazy! They really should have told you that, and given you the option of waiting until there was room inside to do your banking. Glad the move is proceeding along, and you can continue on with your same Starbucks! Nice that not everything is going to be disrupted 🙂 You are right, the cats are going to be a little put out for a while. But soon they will have a new place to explore!

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  21. Your move makes me want to downsize with no idea where to start. Woe is me if I ever really do move. Redoing an entire wall would be out of the question when I can’t even pack up things that haven’t been used in 30 years!

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  24. Moving is absolutely misery, The only good part of it is that if you do it well, you get rid of a lot of stuff you don’t need anymore. When I moved from Berkeley 20 years or so ago, I had an entire garage full of boxes and I hadn’t opened them in more than 5 years. I ended up keeping one box of stuff from the garage…the rest went bye-bye. Good luck with everything. Hopefully your house will sell quickly so the cats are inconvenienced for too long, not to mention you.

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    • I’ve done a few interstate moves and they are the worst. Everything is done in one day. At least we will have the option of moving some things prior to the BIG move. I have a few serving dishes that I don’t use anymore. I like them but if you don’t use them what good are they?

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  25. Good news about your Mocha in the Mornings!

    I don’t believe that I’d want to do my personal banking in the parking lot. Even the drive through is better than that.

    Moving is tough. Especially with pets. In the middle of a pandemic. During the Holiday Season.
    That’s why that “crazy squirrel inside [your] head refuses to stay focused.”

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    • I don’t recommend it. It was windy and cold and impersonal. It’s a credit union without a drive through although I would have taken up too much time in a drive through. I was really annoyed. While I was there only one other guy came and he must have made a deposit because someone came out and took something from him and he left. Part of my problem was that the guy working with me had no access to his computer outside so he had to keep running back as I asked more questions.

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