House Buying

The deed is done. I stand here with the smoke still coming out of the barrel and him lying on the floor in a pool of blood....................

Closing uneventful except I asked for a new survey 3 or 4 times prior to closing, and while they charged me for it, they never ordered it. Supposedly they are taking care of that now. I show up in nice shirt, long pants, dress shoes and a blazer. The lawyer is one notch above pajamas. Apparently, like the Catholic Church these days, you can show up dressed like a street urchin to settle a sale.

I have a toy office set up in the kitchen to keep the project going. The Genl Contractor arrive 1:45 with the locks and locksmith. They use keypads rather than keys so one must know the secret code[s] to get in. The locksmith reminded me of a blonde Edgar Allen Poe, petit, wiry, strange beady eyes and very tweaked. He does good work, so I guess any peculiarities on his part should be chalked up to his artistry. His boss said that Patrick was "different" but excellent. At least if I lose my keys, I can still get in.

  

Todd, the Genl Contractor, his boss, Mark, owner of the company, and I, the frightened owner, spent 2 and a half hours going through absolutely every little bit. New aluminum side shades for the back, like the ones Auntie Em had on the farm house, I asked for blue & white [my high school colors], dehumidifier for the basement,  correcting the drainage for the washer & dryer, they completely reconfigured and redesigned the access to the master bath to be ADA compliant, added little side shelves for the sinks, we are putting a fan out in the screened in porch, much discussion about the kitchen splash back [most of which cannot be answered without some info from the Pewabic Pottery people who struggle to return phone calls.....], mutual agreement that the swing arm for the TV is going to be expensive.. There was a discussion about what a crappy paint job had been done on the ceiling with satin finish paint, and we all know it should be flat matte. Exactly what is going on with the fireplace mantle, everything is more expensive than replacing it. A protracted debate about where to put the dumpster,  the ideal place is apparently directly in front of where the EZ Box unit is going to go.  Best reasonable guess is that it was a $5,000 additional expense day. Agreed to provide bottled water, chocolate, and will buy lunch on Fridays for the crew, starting next week. Wrote a large check           . 

Some of the local flora is attached. I now own a fig tree; memories of David Zehmer making her justly famous and fabulous aromas and fig preserves bubbled up to the surface. Final picture was a wise realtor who knows how toi calm the savage breast.