The new house

We are now in Wilmington. We have had a bunch of bumps but, we love the house.

Our trip up was interesting. While we no longer have children to complain about the long trip, one of our cats, Pumkin, complained most of the way up. He meowed and meowed. I believe that it cat talk, he was saying "Are we there yet." or "can I get out of my seat (cage)?" or "He's touching me!" When ever we tried to get him out of the car to use the facilities, it was a rodeo. We finally figured out that he was afraid that we would leave him somewhere. Since we moved in, he has been very lovable and will not get close to an outside door.

When we arrived, we were thrilled to see the "sold" sign. But, when we were on our way to closing, we received a phone call from the mortgage people with more requests. Needless to say, we did not go to closing on the day that we planned on but, two days later. However, the lawyer for the seller, allowed us to take possesion of the house on Monday and we closed on Wednesday.

That has been two months ago and we still have many boxes to unpack, and we still haven't found all of our dishes.

Right after we moved in, the city gave us new side walks and a promise of a new drive way. Which, we now suppose will be done sometime in the spring after the snow.

Speaking of snow, as you can see, we are getting used to snow again. However, shoveling is not fun. We had about six to eight inches to shovel.

As we bought the house "as is". We have had some nasty surprises. Our basement has flooded at least four times due to a problem with our sewer line just inside the house! We first had a plumber rod it out (175 dollars for ten minutes work). Then I did it twice and then the City did it for us. Both the plumber and the City told us that we would have to have the line dug up in our basement and then replaced. Last saturday we went to Home depot to rent a larger snake and we spoke with the plumbing specialist and he suggested using a bladder device to clean the pipe until we could have the money for the "big fix". Needless to say, we tried it and our lines have been open since. Yea!! We are hoping that our lines will stay open. The bladder cost us 12.00, while the snakes are 40.00 for four hours or more, depending on who I rent them from. As I was having to snake the lines every two to three days, this is a major improvement. We are using the bladder every three or four days, just to ensure the lines stay open. So far, so good.

Another surprise that we have had is our clothes washer. As it has been in storage for three years, it has not wanted to work very well. It is computerized so, it is just not a matter of banging on it (though I have tried.) When we first tried to use it, it gave us an error, of which I was told that we would have to replace the pump. But, then it started working. Then we did not use it for a month because of the plumbing and when we tried to use it, the lid switch would not function correctly so we couldn't use it. Barbara called Sears, and was told it would be 129.00 just to look at it. But, tuesday, I tried it, just for grins, and it worked. and has been working since. The Lord has really blessed us.