The box spring made it safely home on the roof of the RAV4. I had some ratchet straps that I don't use often enough to really understand how to use them correctly. Happily, they worked well enough.
Because we live in an area of suburban sprawl that is still developing, there's a lot of "churn" in the online marketplace. People moving out. People moving in. Buying new furniture and getting rid of old furniture. Wide selection to choose from and many bargains to be had.
We've got to furnish this place up in FLX, and it's not our primary residence so we're not looking to spend big money on furnishing it. Normally, this would be kind of a fun opportunity; but it's complicated by the distance.
We're going to head up there in September, assuming the closing goes through this month, to take possession and basically learn how to light it off and shut it down. We'll only be up there for a week, but we're going to need something to sleep on. And we have nearly enough "stuff" to supply another house. Flatware, cookware, tools, towels, quilts, extension cords, etc.
So we're going to pay some service to drop off a big trailer here. We'll fill it as much as we can and they're going to haul the thing up to New York. We'll fly in and rent a car and be there the day before it's supposed to arrive. Weather permitting. One night on an air mattress.
The challenge is, storing this stuff for now. We considered renting one of those storage units, but it's only for a few weeks, and we weren't certain they'd let the trailer sit there for three days. Frankly, we're not sure the HOA is going to be happy about it. "Forgiveness is easier than permission," and so on.
Anyway, we're stashing it in the garage and Mitzi's office (the spare bedroom) for the time being.
Once we get up there, I've got to figure out how everything works with this radiant heating in the floor. It has a mini-split for AC, but it'll also heat I'm sure. Basically need to make sure it doesn't freeze. Because of the rather unfamiliar nature of the environmental controls, I won't have a smart thermostat to monitor the internal temperature. So I'm going to buy another weather station with an interior sensor. It'll give me data on the local weather as well, which will be interesting to track as time goes on.
I'm also getting a couple of networked cameras, just so I can see what's going on outside the place. Our nextdoor neighbor is the seller's father, and I think I mentioned we met him and that he's a very nice guy. I'm sure he'd kind of keep an eye on the place, but I want to have "eyes on" myself. Mitzi's daughter and son-in-law may come up sometime while we're not there. I'll let them know how to disable the cameras. Ian puts tape over his phone camera, so I'm sure he could do the same but I'd rather not deal with the adhesive residue.
It's kind of exciting. Jack linked to John P. Weiss' post this morning before I could. It resonated with me as well. "Old guy angst," begins to intrude. I think this place in New York is going to be something of an antidote for that, at least for a few years.
I'd told Mitzi that I wanted to cover the front patio or porch. The other morning, on my walk, I realized that that would obscure the sky from the kitchen window. Worse, the stars! We may look into a retractable awning at some point, but for now we're bringing a big umbrella we have out back but seldom use.
Brad, the seller who built the place, estimated covering the porch would cost maybe as much as $10K anyway. That made me swallow hard, but I figured we could swing it. Now we don't have to.
We do want to put in an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) next to the place, in lieu of an addition, to offer another bedroom for family and guests. It won't be a full-on "tiny house." More like a hotel room, though I think we'll go tall so we can add some loft space for kids. Toilet, shower, sink and power. A little closet space, some sort of HVAC. Maybe go with interior wood instead of drywall. Been watching a lot of YouTube videos on tiny home construction and shed conversions. A lot of clever ideas out there.
We could get "really small," (Steve Martin reference) but we want guests to be comfortable too. So we'll see. Again, apart from probably having to deal with a contractor again, and writing checks, it'll be fun and exciting.
It was 100°F here yesterday. Flooding in upstate New York. All things considered, I think I'd rather be in New York. Ask me again in February.
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 15:51 Saturday, 10 August 2024