Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Independence days - Week 6

Man, I can't believe we are on week 6 already. I really thought we'd be moved by now and I'd actually be making progress on this challenge. Oh well....

1. Plant something - not this week

2. Harvest something - strawberries and snow peas still

3. Preserve something - nope

4. Prep something - I ordered some row covers on sale for when we are able to have a big garden

5. Cook something new - not this week

6. Manage your reserves - I inventoried the freezer this week so that I know exactly what we have and what we need to use. We made good progress this week at using stuff from the freezer.

7. Work on local food system - my favorite farm market opened last week and we went and got some stuff there

8. Compost something - ongoing every week

9. Learn something - I've learned a lot in the last week about roofs and septic systems and wells and water quality

10. Store something - I ordered some pasta microwave meals for Mark to eat for lunch so he doesn't have to go out, they will also make good emergency meals. I didn't really store anything else this week.

It wasn't a very good week, but I was distracted by a bad inspection report on the house we wanted to buy. Nothing is totally decided yet but we are leaning toward walking away and finding something else. We got back a bad well report today, the water is contaminated and most likely the well would need to be moved. It was the final straw, this house wasn't meant to be.

12 comments:

Deb said...

I'm sorry Christy - but it's better to find all this negative garbage out now instead of after you bought the place. I know it's dissapointing but obviously it's not the wonderful place you were meant to have - that one is out there still waiting for you :) Keep your chin up!

Danni said...

Sorry, Christy. :-(
Your voice sounds strong, though, which makes me feel like it's all for the best and that you are excited to find a much better place for your family. You'll look back years from now and shudder at the house you "almost got". :-)

linda m said...

I am so sorry to hear about the house. Maybe it is the good thing you haven't sold your house yet; this gives you more time to find another place in GA. I have confidence that you will find something even better than this one. Just keep thinking positive thoughts :)

Melody said...

I'm sorry. :-( It is always hard to walk away from a house that looked so perfect in the beginning. Something better will come along, I just know it!

Have a great day!

Christy said...

Thanks for the support everyone. I'm feeling ok about walking away from this house. I am worrying about finding something else though. Mark and I don't agree on what we want and it was an acheivement just to find the first house. I have a feeling I'm going to end up sacrificing more than I want to to keep the peace. I need to identify what I absolutely need and what I can do without.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry the house didn't work out, Christy. We went through a few heartbreaks too before we ended up here, in Eric's family's home. And now I'm grateful we didn't end up in those other houses that I REALLY wanted at the time because this fit. I know how disappointing this is, and how heartbreaking and infuriating the limbo can be. I'm really hoping you find where your family belongs soon. xoxo

Nancy M. said...

Good luck on finding a home. Hopefully you will find something perfect for your family!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh man. I could read from the start in your typed words the disappointment. I'm so sorry.

I do understand how you feel, though.

I fell head over heels in love with a particular house before we bought this one. Actually I fell in love with the property, the land.
It was laid out perfect for what I wanted to do and the lcoation was better than here in many ways.

But the people who owned it had, several years ago, decided to add onto it's 1500 sq feet, but without permits.
They added on another 1500 sq feet, but the house was a mess! They didn't 'shore it up', basically didn't attach it properly to the main part of the house so there were gaps under the floors where they were coming apart, and even light coming through in the attic roof!

And that's not all, they used uninsulated irrigation pipe in the house's crawl space for all of the home's water system....even when they must have realized that we get below zero temps here in the mountains quite often.

And the house had no real heating, except for a few electric baseboards and the one pellet stove.....for a 3,000 sq ft house. Ack!

We tried to be fair, though because we truly wanted that house. We had several contractors come in and give estimates on what it would take to bring the house up to code and then we offered that option, so we could pay to get the house repaired, to the home owners, which brought their asking price down about 6,000. They refused.

Then the owners even tried to keep our deposit, until we threatened them with a lawsuit and turning them into the county inspectors for not having permits.

I know we weren't meant to have that house and that we were meant to be here, but I still think about what could have been.
I still feel terribly sad about having to give up that house, though.

And I feel terribly sad for you, too.

Just know that the perfect house for your family WILL materialize. Don't give up. Hang in there, k?

Christy said...

Luckily, I guess this wasn't my perfect property. I loved the pond but the property was narrow and long and I wasn't thrilled with that. There were also things about the house we didn't like but it was the best we found last time to GA. A few new places have come on the market that look pretty good, so I'm hopeful we'll find something we'll all like. If we can find something pretty good, I won't look back on this house with regret.

Chile said...

It's sounds like it's better that you didn't buy this house, but I am sorry that your search must continue. It can be so hard to find the right place. Be careful not to "settle" just to get the process over and done with. You'll have to live with the decision for a loooong time.

frugalmom said...

Bummer. The whole house hunting thing can be a real drag. There were a few places in our prior house searches that we loved. I remember loving the house, but not being fond of the area. I also remember trying to come up with reasons as to why the house would work...even tho I really knew that it wouldnt. Im sorry that this house didnt work out for ya. Keep looking. I just know the right one will some along soon.

Anonymous said...

After the bad well report, definitely sounds like that isn't the house for your family.

We've been there and it stinks. BUT when the RIGHT one comes along and you've moved in and settled, it will be joyous!