The walk-through went well. I am so happy to see that not only did they mow, but they also baled it all up, so now there are three huge round bales of hay on the property... Something that, if kept properly, could feed our bunnies all winter. of course they had no way of knowing what a blessing this would be to us. The holes in the upstairs ceiling and wall have been repaired, the roof patched, and the house cleaned out. I walked around the yard and found some interesting plants that I will have to identify. The flowers over the cistern look like they're getting ready to bloom.
Tony tried unsuccessfully to use a wire hanger to unlock the door. When we were out of time to get to the closing, the real estate agent took us in her car. Not only did she get us to the signing within the time we needed to be there, she took my set of keys (after having stopped by for us to grab them on the way) and proceeded to drive 40 minutes back to the house with a family member who then used my keys to unlock the car and drive it back again! Fortunately the vehicle was returned a the very end of signing because it also had my photo ID and the check for the down payment on the house!
The sellers were in another room, and they asked to meet us in person. They were very nice folks, and we are grateful for them sticking through the long delays along the way to let us buy this property. A couple of them gave us email contact so we can ask questions about the property if need-be. I would love to hear all of their stories about the house... but I don't want to sound weird by asking. I'm so excited that they are also happy with our plans for gardens and birdfeeders and wildlife enjoyment. And the kicker of it all? Their mom (the lady who owned the house before) didn't drive either. So she and I are really a lot alike. I think I'd have liked her quite well had we met. Unfortunately she passed away after suffering from dementia. A horrible disease to be sure. I'm glad we can honor her memory with gardens and bird feeders in the yard again.
So today we signed on a house. We bought a house. We now have a home. We are officially homeowners! Let the homesteading begin!
Miss #4 brought along the flowers she got for her birthday and left them there. They will be the first flowers for the new gardens. Since we won't be sure when we will be returning until we make our official move the first week in August, we're not moving the rest of the garden plants, or the animals until we're completely moved in so they don't miss out on daily care.
We took some mental notes of things that we needed to repair or replace, things we needed to remember to bring next time we go out. Soap, hand towels, garbage bags, and such. We remembered the toilet paper this time at least.
We already called to have the electricity put in our name - as of tomorrow the bill is ours. Tony looked it up and it looks like we should be eligible for internet out there. We will call later to ask about cost to install it. We need to figure out who does garbage services out there, and we're going to need a mail box.
Eventually my parents joined us with dinner and cake, and we celebrated together for a while. When we were all thoroughly tired and ready for a good nap, we (reluctantly) left home to go home... What a strange concept.
Wading through the next three weeks until we can officially move out there permanently is going to be difficult. But I hope that today's fun evening is incentive to the kids to get their stuff packed up all that much sooner. I think Tony is planning to make a few trips out there before the big move to haul some boxes and stuff out little by little on his early off days or days off.
Today we left the two bird houses, the bat house, and the yard games. I think we're planning another trip out on Sunday to drop off whatever the kids and I can pack up between now and then.
But for now, it's been a long day, and I am exhausted. I'm off to bed. A happy camper, with my mind full of all the ideas I have for gardens and orchards, beehives and birdfeeders, butterfly watering stations and bat houses, I'm sure to be quite busy in the weeks to come!