Closure, A Whole New Can of Worms

We closed on the PA house this morning, with only a few minor glitches. Bottom line: we are now the proud owners of a big ol' house!

Ben had to go to work afterward, but Eliza and I went over to measure and plan. Unfortunately my happiness balloon was almost immediately deflated when I knocked a hole in the previously-mentioned soffit, only to find this:

Inside the dreaded soffit

I believe this is a "waste water" pipe coming from the two toilets upstairs. According to my handy-man sources, it probably cannot be moved, at least not without a LOT of hassle. Phooey! Maybe we will just have cabinets with a giant pipe running through the tops on this wall?

The next section of soffit revealed yet another pipe, but this one was much smaller. I think this one could be moved fairly easily. Alas, it was very close to the opening and didn't make it into the pictures. The third section of soffit, which goes over the refrigerator, is hiding even more plumbing:

Way at the back on the right, you can see what I think is the cold water line going to the refrigerator. Again, this should be pretty easy to move (I hope). I put a call into the plumber to see what he can do. Fingers crossed for good news!

Farewell to a Home

The closing went off without a hitch for 337 Henry Clay yesterday morning. It didn't hit me until a few hours later that we'd never be inside the house again to say goodbye. The two years that we lived in it were full of memories, mostly happy. I took a look back at our pictures from those years and picked out a few to share.

My pride and joy, aside from Jonah

 The whole house was a labor of love, as most old houses are, but the kitchen will always hold a special place in my heart. We built it as a family, from the floor up.

Dad giving a tiling lesson.

The island created a perfect circular racetrack for small boys.

Zoom!

The oven and counters held some pretty creative handiworks.

 

And then there was the fire. It made a huge mess, but in the end, we were all safe and the damage was pretty minimal.

Aftermath of the infamous hat fire of 2008.

Elsewhere in the house, there was a lot of play time.

And outside, there were cars to be washed, balls to be kicked and gardens to be nurtured.

Thanks for the memories, House. Treat your new family well. You were a great pit stop on our big adventure.

Home Again, Home Again

The kids and I have had a busy couple of weeks. Jonah started his spring break last week, so we (the kids and I) drove to Kentucky to leave Jonah at Camp Nina's for a week. They are of course spoiling him rotten. Eliza and I came back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday the 22nd, along with a car load of stuff from the house. After a few days at home, off we went to visit one of my "oldest" and dearest friends in Atlanta. It does make me feel a little old to say we've been friends for almost 20 years. We had a blast hanging out, eating out, watching British TV ("Coupling"), shopping and checking out the awesome Georgia Aquarium.

Me, Eliza and Carey

Eliza is a pretty good little flier. Minimal fussing, lots of napping and charming of fellow passengers. We came home on Monday.

On Wednesday, Jamie brought Jonah home, and the house is alive again with little boy noises (all three of them). We have been mostly hanging out at home, but we did make it to the Carnegie Science Center with Jonah's little friend. The robots were a big hit, especially the one that plays air hockey against the humans.

Cheesing with R2D2

We also made lots of good food and hung out to watch some agonizing UK basketball. I ended up asleep on the couch during the second half, but woke up long enough to see the heartbreaking end. Better luck next time boys!


Things are moving right along with the sale of the house in Lexington as well as the purchase of the house here. Inspections are all complete (us--2, them--4), terms negotiated, dates set and hoops jumped. We close tomorrow on the Lexington house! Woo-hoo! We still have some details to iron out with the new house, but we're getting closer. This week's goal: start packing up the attic.