Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Fall Friday
Our peak color is over, but Mr. Molly took this gorgeous pic of our street (the green area in our cul de sac) one morning after his run. We enjoyed the trees soooooo much this year. Our neighborhood and our yard were just gorgeous. I have some more tree pics on my camera but they just never look as pretty in a picture as they do in person. So instead I'll just leave you with this one:
Friday, October 19, 2012
This Old House
Moving into the Dream House was certainly not the first time Molly has ever moved. In fact, growing up Molly once moved 4 times in 5 years. So come take a trip down memory lane with me.....
Molly was born in Williamsville, NY in this lovely house at 40 Gatewood Lane.
3 Bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 1600 sq ft. I will save you the time of internet stalking and let you know it's currently Zestimated at $165K. Molly lived there for 3 months in 1978.
At the age of 3 months old Molly moved to 41715 Greenwood Drive in beautiful Canton, MI.
This house was a comfortable 3 or 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, and 1,757 sq ft. It is currently Zestimated at $156K, which is probably not too bad for a suburb of Detroit. Molly lived there for 5 years.
In 1983 Molly's family went back East to Marlborough, MA and moved into a house at 44 Collins Dr. There are no good pics of this house online but it was an AMAZING house.
What you can see from this pic is that it now has a pool (definitely not there when we left in 1985) and you can see all the woods surrounding the house. Molly's Dad and I had lots of adventures in there. The house on Collins Dr. had 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and was 2600 sq ft. It is currently Zestimated at $424K. That's New England for ya.
After Marlborough we took a quick jaunt over to Jersey. Belle Mead, NJ to be exact. The house was located at 52 Ridgeview Dr. Belle Mead is a very rural township and it's kind of close to Princeton, NJ. I remember we used to go into the college town to get ice cream sometimes. There are 2 main things I remember about that house (we only lived there for 8 months); the horse farm behind it, and the drainage ditch next to it where we used to play.
This is a pretty terrible pic but you can see the house, 2 to the left of the drainage ditch, labeled $637K. You can also see the corner of the horse farm in the middle right.
This house on Ridgeview Dr. has basically no facts on Zillow because it was last sold shortly after we left it, in December, 1986.
After our very short stay in Jersey we went back to MA, this time in a little town called Medfield on 9 Stuart St. Again, look at the trees... god I love that about New England.
This house was 3584 sq feet, 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and is currently Zestimated at $629K. I can't even begin to list all the memories since this is where I grew up. I lived here from age 10 til 18 when I left for college.
I left for college in the fall of 1996, spent one more summer on Gartner Rd. after that and then in Fall of 1997 (last time this house was sold, by the way) Molly's parents went even further West, to LA. Now I never technically lived in this house but I did have a CA driver's license with the address of 39 Clermont, Newport Coast, CA and it was technically my permanent residence so I will include it.
Here is where you are going to see a real difference from all the previous houses. The house in Newport Coast was 2600 sq ft, 3 tiny bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms (remember, I never lived there) and is currently valued at $2,000,000. Yes, that is 6 zeros. Orange County is ridiculous. For the record, Molly's parents paid no where NEAR that in 1997.
I had to post the Google StreetView because it's of the BACK of the house and it's so appropriate that there is a gardener in the pic.
From there Molly's Parents and Molly went their separate ways. I lived in tiny apartments in Chicago and they stayed in LA for 9 years before moving to Nashville right at the same time I moved to the Old House. Now, I have made my last move for what I hope is a looooong time into my Dream House. And I'm also hoping that my parents have built their last house in Nashville (they built all the above houses except the California one) and they will end up close to the Dream House at some point.
Thanks for a life of adventure Molly's Mom and Dad!
Molly was born in Williamsville, NY in this lovely house at 40 Gatewood Lane.
3 Bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 1600 sq ft. I will save you the time of internet stalking and let you know it's currently Zestimated at $165K. Molly lived there for 3 months in 1978.
At the age of 3 months old Molly moved to 41715 Greenwood Drive in beautiful Canton, MI.
This house was a comfortable 3 or 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, and 1,757 sq ft. It is currently Zestimated at $156K, which is probably not too bad for a suburb of Detroit. Molly lived there for 5 years.
In 1983 Molly's family went back East to Marlborough, MA and moved into a house at 44 Collins Dr. There are no good pics of this house online but it was an AMAZING house.
After Marlborough we took a quick jaunt over to Jersey. Belle Mead, NJ to be exact. The house was located at 52 Ridgeview Dr. Belle Mead is a very rural township and it's kind of close to Princeton, NJ. I remember we used to go into the college town to get ice cream sometimes. There are 2 main things I remember about that house (we only lived there for 8 months); the horse farm behind it, and the drainage ditch next to it where we used to play.
This is a pretty terrible pic but you can see the house, 2 to the left of the drainage ditch, labeled $637K. You can also see the corner of the horse farm in the middle right.
After our very short stay in Jersey we went back to MA, this time in a little town called Medfield on 9 Stuart St. Again, look at the trees... god I love that about New England.
This house has 5 pics online but 3 of them are of the outside b/c the setting is just so pretty:
So the Stuart St. house was 5 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, 3260 sq ft and is currently Zestimated at $680K. I lived there from age 8-9yrs and what I remember is that off of my parent's bedroom there was their closet and then on the other side of that was a huge playroom for me. You could also access this playroom from a second set of stairs in the family room. Many a game of "Barbie" was played in that playroom.
After that we went back West (are you dizzy yet? how about bored?) and settled in Chicago for 9 years. The suburb was the famous Naperville and our address was 1307 E. Gartner Rd. I even remember our phone number, because in those days people had home phones and not cell phones.
Before I show you these pics I will preface that they are from Zillow and are NOT OUR FURNITURE. That was for Molly's mom... don't want her reputation to suffer.
This house was 3584 sq feet, 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and is currently Zestimated at $629K. I can't even begin to list all the memories since this is where I grew up. I lived here from age 10 til 18 when I left for college.
I left for college in the fall of 1996, spent one more summer on Gartner Rd. after that and then in Fall of 1997 (last time this house was sold, by the way) Molly's parents went even further West, to LA. Now I never technically lived in this house but I did have a CA driver's license with the address of 39 Clermont, Newport Coast, CA and it was technically my permanent residence so I will include it.
Here is where you are going to see a real difference from all the previous houses. The house in Newport Coast was 2600 sq ft, 3 tiny bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms (remember, I never lived there) and is currently valued at $2,000,000. Yes, that is 6 zeros. Orange County is ridiculous. For the record, Molly's parents paid no where NEAR that in 1997.
I had to post the Google StreetView because it's of the BACK of the house and it's so appropriate that there is a gardener in the pic.
From there Molly's Parents and Molly went their separate ways. I lived in tiny apartments in Chicago and they stayed in LA for 9 years before moving to Nashville right at the same time I moved to the Old House. Now, I have made my last move for what I hope is a looooong time into my Dream House. And I'm also hoping that my parents have built their last house in Nashville (they built all the above houses except the California one) and they will end up close to the Dream House at some point.
Thanks for a life of adventure Molly's Mom and Dad!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thank God for Community Helpers
This week in school my 4yr olds are learning about Community Helpers. This means people whose job it is to contribute to the betterment of the community. They were given choices of what kind of community helper they wanted to be when they grow up. I wish I could remember all the choices but it was your typical Fireman, Policeman, Plumber, with a little spice thrown in (pun intended) like Baker and Artist.
I would like to give a shout out to the Community Helpers who are going to be enhancing the Dream House over the next couple of weeks. Starting with the 2 most important:
CL: In Pre-K they didn't have Cleaning Lady as a choice on the board but I would say our CL is an amazing Community Helper. She keeps me neat and sane every other week. She's an amazingly strong person with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. Thank you for enhancing the Dream House CL!
I don't know if she would want me to put a pic of her on my blog so here is her FB profile pic.. it sums her up nicely:
Bug Killer: Another wonderful gift that Cindy left me (in addition to the rug stains and disgusting blinds) were these special friends:
They are called house centipedes and they are mostly in the basement but sometimes on the first floor. They are pretty much harmless to people but they can get to 3-4 inches long and they run super-fast and they freak me the hell out. I HATE THEM. Even CL hates them and she's not afraid of anything. So tomorrow the Bug Killer is going to come and spray for these suckers and hopefully they will be gone forever. Thank you for enhancing Dream House Bug Killer!
Chimney Sweeper and Fireplace Converter: Chimney Sweeper should definitely be on the Community Helpers list in Pre-K. These guys do almost as much in preventing fires as the Firefighters. Jacks of all trades, they also serve as animal control and handymen. Anyway, it turns out that Jim and Cindy never ever not once used their wood burning fireplace in the 7yrs that they lived in Dream House. Since Mr. Molly is not a lumberjack, we do not desire to use it as a wood burning fireplace either. Thus, the Chimney Sweeper is going to come out and clean it (who knows what's in there considering all the dead birds in the furnace vent) and then convert it to gas log. All hail the Chimney Sweeper, thank you for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note: Chimney Sweepers will also clean out your dryer vent. This is extremely important if you have hoodlums in your neighborhood who like to stick Styrofoam cups in your dryer vent.
Plumber: This was a choice on the Pre-K wall but surprisingly not a Community Helper that any 4yr old picked as their future career. This is despite the drama that ensued in the classroom when the boys' toilet overflowed twice. My son has PTSD from this incident and now is constantly worried it will overflow again. In Dream House, the toilets run randomly and sporadically and we don't know why. The plumber will come and figure it out. So far Mr. Molly's solution is to literally turn off the water to our toilet during the night so that it can't run. I do not find this an acceptable solution. Thank you Plumber, for enhancing the Dream House!
Sump Pump Cover Fixer: Jim and Cindy were kind enough to install a back up battery on their sump pump when their basement flooded in 2007. However, when they did this they broke the seal on the sump pump cover. We initially were concerned that this would let in radon, but the home inspection showed normal levels of radon. Instead it's probably letting in the beautiful bug you see above. Thus, it needs to be resealed. Thank you Sump Pump Cover Fixer for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note: My TX readers may not be familiar with sump pumps since they don't have basements. All you need to know is that this is what happens when you don't have one:
Landscaper and Tree Trimmer: Another one that didn't make the Pre-K list, much to my dismay. Our yard guy mows every Friday in the summer and helps us monitor our sprinkler system. Now he has been enlisted to trim our trees. We have a couple dead branches in the back, and in the front one of the trees is touching the house. I am wondering if he will somehow get rid of all the leaves too. Regardless, this dude is important and vital to the outer appearance of Dream House... thank you Landscaper!
I'm sure some of the most special Community Helpers; Ms. Heather, Ms. Anita, Ms. Amanda, and Ms. Nicole would be proud of this post supporting their learning theme this week. Thank you Teachers for molding the minds of my children during the day so we can go to work to pay for the Dream House!
I would like to give a shout out to the Community Helpers who are going to be enhancing the Dream House over the next couple of weeks. Starting with the 2 most important:
CL: In Pre-K they didn't have Cleaning Lady as a choice on the board but I would say our CL is an amazing Community Helper. She keeps me neat and sane every other week. She's an amazingly strong person with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. Thank you for enhancing the Dream House CL!
I don't know if she would want me to put a pic of her on my blog so here is her FB profile pic.. it sums her up nicely:
Bug Killer: Another wonderful gift that Cindy left me (in addition to the rug stains and disgusting blinds) were these special friends:
Chimney Sweeper and Fireplace Converter: Chimney Sweeper should definitely be on the Community Helpers list in Pre-K. These guys do almost as much in preventing fires as the Firefighters. Jacks of all trades, they also serve as animal control and handymen. Anyway, it turns out that Jim and Cindy never ever not once used their wood burning fireplace in the 7yrs that they lived in Dream House. Since Mr. Molly is not a lumberjack, we do not desire to use it as a wood burning fireplace either. Thus, the Chimney Sweeper is going to come out and clean it (who knows what's in there considering all the dead birds in the furnace vent) and then convert it to gas log. All hail the Chimney Sweeper, thank you for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note: Chimney Sweepers will also clean out your dryer vent. This is extremely important if you have hoodlums in your neighborhood who like to stick Styrofoam cups in your dryer vent.
Plumber: This was a choice on the Pre-K wall but surprisingly not a Community Helper that any 4yr old picked as their future career. This is despite the drama that ensued in the classroom when the boys' toilet overflowed twice. My son has PTSD from this incident and now is constantly worried it will overflow again. In Dream House, the toilets run randomly and sporadically and we don't know why. The plumber will come and figure it out. So far Mr. Molly's solution is to literally turn off the water to our toilet during the night so that it can't run. I do not find this an acceptable solution. Thank you Plumber, for enhancing the Dream House!
Sump Pump Cover Fixer: Jim and Cindy were kind enough to install a back up battery on their sump pump when their basement flooded in 2007. However, when they did this they broke the seal on the sump pump cover. We initially were concerned that this would let in radon, but the home inspection showed normal levels of radon. Instead it's probably letting in the beautiful bug you see above. Thus, it needs to be resealed. Thank you Sump Pump Cover Fixer for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note: My TX readers may not be familiar with sump pumps since they don't have basements. All you need to know is that this is what happens when you don't have one:
 |
| Not my basement, and I don't know those guys |
Landscaper and Tree Trimmer: Another one that didn't make the Pre-K list, much to my dismay. Our yard guy mows every Friday in the summer and helps us monitor our sprinkler system. Now he has been enlisted to trim our trees. We have a couple dead branches in the back, and in the front one of the trees is touching the house. I am wondering if he will somehow get rid of all the leaves too. Regardless, this dude is important and vital to the outer appearance of Dream House... thank you Landscaper!
I'm sure some of the most special Community Helpers; Ms. Heather, Ms. Anita, Ms. Amanda, and Ms. Nicole would be proud of this post supporting their learning theme this week. Thank you Teachers for molding the minds of my children during the day so we can go to work to pay for the Dream House!
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