Random 5 for January 24, 2021 – Moving, spam, transition, pond, boxes

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This is the new house! Most of the living area including the main bedroom is on the first floor.

Some excitement – We have been going over to the new house almost every day. We have met all the adjacent neighbors. All seem nice. No spidey sense alarms went off. The next door neighbor has a delightful dog that came over to greet us. She’s a beigy-white poodly mix of some sort. Smallish but she is a flirt, coming around with a wiggly tail but not quite wanting to be petted. Someone told her we live with cats. She’s deciding if she approves of more cats in the hood.

More people working from home? – The spam on my computer email has kicked up considerably while the WordPress spam has not. The emails are for selling things like male enhancers. Seriously, know your customer. There were a few stating I won something if only I’d give my banking info so they could transfer it there. Nothing from the Nigerian prince.

Side effects of packing – As we are packing, walls are getting bare. It’s like living in a new home with no personality. I still have the ancestor pictures going up the stairs but that will come down shortly too. So sad. It’s almost as if we are stripping it down to the ghost of the house.

Will they or won’t they – The house buyers aren’t sure they will keep the pond. They have two young daughters and may prefer more yard or patio space. The local wildlife will miss it as it’s a drinking spot for many critters, especially in the winter. Our home is zoned for a zoo. When I moved here there were several ponds in the neighborhood. Most people have taken them out. At this point there is only one that I am aware of. Ponds are not a lot of work but they take some maintenance. People who rarely go outside or prefer to run in parks or on trails don’t want to do it.

Boxes – Our cat Gracie loves the boxes and paper that is always out for packing. She will expect to have empty boxes in the new home as part of the décor. It’s her jam.

So how was your week?

 

 

 

66 thoughts on “Random 5 for January 24, 2021 – Moving, spam, transition, pond, boxes”

  1. Gracie will be in her glory with boxes galore once you move. If I were the new owners, one look at any photos of that pond and flowers, by the time Summer arrives, I wouldn’t have any doubts. At least give it a go for one season. After you move, unpack and settle in, it will be Spring and you can sit down and take a load off your feet after all this commotion of moving.

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    • I am looking forward to moving just so I can sleep in one day. Right now every day is packed full of chores to do or appointments. Many people don’t want the work of a anything outdoors. When I moved here, there were three other ponds on my street. Now it’s just mine and one up the street but that one doesn’t have fish.

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      • Yes, being on the go everyday on a normal basis would be tiring, let alone during COVID when you have to think twice about everything you do. Do they have people who maintain pools, like a landscaping service would?

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  3. So glad the new neighbors are looking promising! I hope the new homeowners decide to keep the pond. It is so lovely, and does seem to reward your efforts in the treat of wildlife visits and a peaceful vista! Cats definitely love the box part of moving 🙂

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  4. I have less spam on WP, too– but also less on email. I don’t know why the spammers aren’t messing with me, but thank goodness. I can understand why your buyers may let the pond go. It’s work, and I’d guess there’s a learning curve involved. Still it is a lovely feature on your property.

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    • There is some work, mostly cleaning it in the spring. The rest of the year it’s not much as long as the tubing doesn’t spring a leak! 🙂 They could get a service to come out but I wonder if it’s more of a safety issue. Their kids are 2 and 5. Too easy to drown.

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  5. In my more energetic years, I would reclaim entire backyards and turn them into gardens – herb, rose, veggie, you name it. Plus a pond. One home was particularly lovely, in my humble opinion. Broke my heart to learn that the new owners took it all out. Even the pond. I get it – the couple had babies. But still…

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    • I do that too. I have beautiful perennial beds here but over the past 5 or 6 years, I took them out to simplify the work. We sold to a young couple with two kids. The oldest is 5 so I understand the concern about the pond. It’s just so dang beautiful in the warm months. I’m hoping that they hold off until at least summer so they can see it, then make the decision.

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  7. Looking good Gracie! I hope they keep the pond. We found out that our new house used to have a pond. Now it is a cemented in round patio. Wish it were still a pond. We also have a round cemented in fountain and a cemented in barbeque pit. We have a lot of cement and bricks going on. I guess someone felt it would be easier to get rid of it all. Happy moving. Hope it goes smoothly and the dog is cat friendly. I hear they can be.

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  8. That’s a beautiful house. I’ll bet you’re going to love it. It’s perfect that all the main rooms are on the ground floor. It will be sad to leave your beautiful pond behind. I often drive on a road that’s only a block from our old house. For some reason, I never feel like going even a block out of my way to drive past it.

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    • I did a lot of work on my last house. Periodically (once or twice a year) I would drive by. They did some things that made it better. They replaced the siding and changed out the front door. On my last drive-by (several years ago) they had taken out all the large trees in the front. It’s looked so bare and was missing that curb appeal that mature landscaping gives. I was so sad I haven’t been back.

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  9. With it being cold and the pandemic thing happening it could be difficult to meet people but sounds like the neighborhood is a friendly one. It is true that a house is not a home until personal stuff is put in place. And of course, the cats have to be there.

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    • I’m working on not being judgey. Any sort of outdoor work is not something people want to do. There is only one person on my street that does any yard work. Everyone else hires out. I loved getting my hands dirty and will miss that. I have a small border planting that I will work with and that will scratch my itch.

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  11. Great about the neighbours and no spider sense alarms. You remind me how leaving a house is always sad, even when it is time to move on, Kate. I am happy to see how life is moving forward for you and your husband and your fur family.🙂

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  12. I have wondered about your pond, Kate. We have one, too, and I’ve enjoyed hearing more about yours over time. I am sure the wildlife will indeed miss it if it’s not maintained and that makes me sad. Surely we understand we can’t expect other people to prioritize the same as we do, but it’s hard nonetheless. I often think of the features in our home that I already know will not “cut it” for another homeowner. In our neighborhood the lots are quite large (for Los Angeles County) and the homes older. The current thing to do is buy them for the lots and then knock them down and rebuild huge homes, which leaves no room for things like ponds. I am delighted you’ll have a new home soon and it will begin to take on your personalities. I look forward to hearing all about it as you do!

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    • When I lived in north New Jersey, people did that all the time. Buy a house, knock it down and build one that was way too big for the lot. I’m letting it go. Maybe I can do a water feature on my deck. I will miss my frogs most of all.

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  13. Boxes and cats = perfect together. That’s the best part of moving for them. Moving is hard work and it’s often hard psychologically as well ~ we invest so much in one home before relinquishing the keys to strangers.

    I can see why they would want to remove the pond, but that’s sad for the critters that are used to having it as a watering hole (and fishing spot).

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    • People have different lifestyles. The young couples in my neighborhood are not outdoor people in the way I am. Many of them walk or run in the nearby park but wouldn’t think of mowing lawn and pulling weeds for exercise.

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  15. Yes, the spam has picked up.

    I’m still trying to clean my shop up. You know, the one that was the landing zone for everything from our former large residence, to the bungalow. Michelle just can’t seem to part with anything. Me? Unless it has some super sentimental attachment, it can go. I would love to have my shop for doing things in.

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    • The longer this takes the more ruthless I get. I’m getting rid of things I like but have no room for. I’m not a sentimental person so at least I don’t have that. It may be a while before we can put a car in the garage! 🙂

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  17. That’s a shame about the pond. What I’ve learned from our neighbors with young children is the parents spend a lot of time shuffling the kids back and forth to school, sporting activities, etc. that they never seem to be out in the neighborhood. The house looks great! Let’s hope the dog next door isn’t a barker.

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  18. Your comment on the male enhancer spam reminded me of my mother exclaiming incredulously about all the Viagra communications she was receiving, after she first set herself up to receive email. “Don’t they know I’m a woman?!” No mom, they absolutely don’t know that. Nor do they care that they are flooding your inbox with this crap. Delete, delete, delete.

    Your new neighbourhood sounds lovely, and I love that big window in your new house! It will be a shame if your beloved pond goes. I’d rather have a yard full of ponds and rocks and bushes than a lawn.

    Deb

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  21. If I had a nickel for every ‘opportunity to increase my manhood’ I’d have ended up being a porn star instead of a blogger! I guess spammers just send out to everyone, rather than a targeted group. Something about numbers I guess.

    All the best in your beautiful new home. Looks like a great neighborhood. Happy living out of boxes for a while. No doubt Grey Gracie will enjoy it.

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  22. Moving date is getting closer. I am trying to decide if your first floor is our ground floor. We had our first proper snow storm last night and my granddaughter went sledging for the first time.

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    • The first floor is the ground floor. There is a walk-out basement because the property slopes down. Snow! Yay! We’ve been lucky (with the moving). We are in our first real snap of cold weather and Monday through Tuesday is a snow storm although it seems to be losing some steam. We have been able to cart a lot of stuff over there ourselves to get a leg up which would not have happened if we had a lot of bad weather.

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