The Saga of our Disney Dream home - It's about time!

[franandaj]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and replies. Im too exhausted and overwhelmed for individual replies right now. Round three with the kitties went pretty well when you consider the task. It took a while and I had to dig the white things out from under the couch. We lifted it up and I caught one of them. The other ran towards the bedroom but Fran had shut the door so Darcy caught her as she doubled back. Boy did we have a choir of new on the way to the new house.

We left Fran at the house with the cats and went back for trip #4. Thats when we grabbed all the stuff we forgot it trips 1-3. This morning we slept in til about 8:15 when I got the call that DirecTV was on the way. BTW that walk in tub was heaven at about midnight last night!

I had some time to relax while they hooked up the TV. Darcy and her brother got there around 2PM and she and I are back at the old house gathering an SUV load of stuff like charging cords, pots and pans, cleaning supplies and whole long list of stuff. I hope to get back in the tub again tonight but a little earlier.

Most of the kitties are content in their new place. They are happy to have found their furniture again after seceral hours without it. Mr. Tesla LOVES the place. He is running around playing purring, and basking in the sunlight that steam in the many windows. We may have to make some changes but I'll tell you about those when I'm not post in from my phone. Gotta get back to work!

ETA: I forgot to mention that by the end of the day I had taken 21,680 steps or 8.9 miles!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm tired just reading about it!

Awesome that you're in and I hope you can get some down time soon. 8:15 is not sleeping in enough!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hope you're getting some well-earned rest.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that on the whole things have worked out well and the kitties are settling in. I hope that today is not quite as tiring.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Wow, what a day! Glad you got all the kitties rounded up and at least Tesla is enjoying the new digs. Get some rest....they is plenty of time to unpack! Good job on all the steps!

Jill in CO

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to see and read that you and Fran are getting settled in at your new house and it looks nice.

 

[Linda67]

Very pleased to hear that you are finally in your new home
It sounds like you have had an exhausting few days to say the least!

 

[kaoden39]

Welcome home!!


I am thrilled to hear that you are home!!

 

[ACDSNY]

Sounds like a few rounds have been knocked out. I'm glad the kitties made it over and are settling in. Good luck with the rest and enjoy the tub.

 

[rentayenta]

Wow! Glad the kitties are getting settled. I know how potentially stressful moving can be for everyone.

Now begins the unpacking. Good luck girl and way to go on the steps!

 

[Leshaface]

Ugh I hate moving! Have only had to do it twice in my life. Once when I had pretty much nothing, and once when I had only enough to fill a 750 square foot apartment. That was tiring, can't imagine how you feel. Thank goodness for that tub!

 

[YoYoAurora]

Yea! I'm so happy for y'all! Sounds like the kitties are settling right in, as are the two of you. Congratulations on the steps - that was a lot of walking!

Enjoy your new home!

 

[dhorner233]

I have missed so much but, I'm so happy to see you are moved in! I'm sure it was a chore moving the kitties! But you are all there now! So happy for both of you!!!!

 

[Misskitty3]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and replies. Im too exhausted and overwhelmed for individual replies right now. Round three with the kitties went pretty well when you consider the task. It took a while and I had to dig the white things out from under the couch. We lifted it up and I caught one of them. The other ran towards the bedroom but Fran had shut the door so Darcy caught her as she doubled back. Boy did we have a choir of new on the way to the new house.

I can only imagine what moving multiple cats must be like.....how many cats do you have? Do they each ride in their own crates or do some share crate space while in the car?

 

[Luvchefmic]

I can only imagine what moving multiple cats must be like.....how many cats do you have? Do they each ride in their own crates or do some share crate space while in the car?

I would imagine some reacted like this



and some may have reacted like this



sorry I couldn't resist I know it can be quite the adventure moving animals and then getting them used to a new place Between my husband & me with an SUV & the cab of a U-Haul truck we moved 8 dogs from NY to FL
Sounds nuts but looking back it was fun !

 

[t_daniels]

How am I just now seeing this???

This is the coolest thing. If I could get DH on board, I'd do it.

Subscribing. And frantically showing off the thread to dh, because I have zero shame.

I'll work on catching up! Those chandeliers. Gorgeous!!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great you are settling in. I am pleased the cats are finding their paws I know it takes time. Pleased that you found them under the couch! Thank heavens for the tub!

Hope you are getting some nice rest

 

[pharmjenn]

Alison
I was just browsing the Disney Store sale and saw they have HM items on sale. I thought of you guys and your delayed HM room. Have you seen them? I love the tray
http://www.disneystore.com/haunted-mansion-serving-platter/mp/1334688/1000352/

 

[franandaj]

I'm tired just reading about it!

Awesome that you're in and I hope you can get some down time soon. 8:15 is not sleeping in enough!

It will be a while before down time, but yes, I do hope that we get some soon!

Hope you're getting some well-earned rest.

Sunday I got a little bit with a massage, but still hit the ground running on Monday.

I am glad that on the whole things have worked out well and the kitties are settling in. I hope that today is not quite as tiring.

Corinna

I think they kitties are getting about 10x as much rest as I am!

Wow, what a day! Glad you got all the kitties rounded up and at least Tesla is enjoying the new digs. Get some rest....they is plenty of time to unpack! Good job on all the steps!

Jill in CO

We still have plenty more to bring over, but must un pack what we have here. Everyone is doing pretty good now except for one of the white things, and even she is almost OK. Tesla is just happy anywhere. We might be able to get him to travel!

Nice to see and read that you and Fran are getting settled in at your new house and it looks nice.

Thanks!

Very pleased to hear that you are finally in your new home
It sounds like you have had an exhausting few days to say the least!

OMG! I thought I was going to die those first few days. It's getting better a little at a time.

Welcome home!!


I am thrilled to hear that you are home!!

Thanks!

Sounds like a few rounds have been knocked out. I'm glad the kitties made it over and are settling in. Good luck with the rest and enjoy the tub.

I will. Except the tub. It's leaking!

Wow! Glad the kitties are getting settled. I know how potentially stressful moving can be for everyone.

Now begins the unpacking. Good luck girl and way to go on the steps!

Actually we can't unpack what we haven't packed. We still have to bring over the stuff from the other place!

Ugh I hate moving! Have only had to do it twice in my life. Once when I had pretty much nothing, and once when I had only enough to fill a 750 square foot apartment. That was tiring, can't imagine how you feel. Thank goodness for that tub!

We haven't moved in 17 years! This is going to be one heck of an undertaking! I don't know how long it will take to get what we want out of the other place and then have the Estate Sale. Fran looked at it today and said, "It's going to be a year before we are out of here." Before that she was saying 3 weeks. I hope it's somewhere inbetween!

Yea! I'm so happy for y'all! Sounds like the kitties are settling right in, as are the two of you. Congratulations on the steps - that was a lot of walking!

Enjoy your new home!

We're really enjoying the new home, the key is now to get out of the old one!

I have missed so much but, I'm so happy to see you are moved in! I'm sure it was a chore moving the kitties! But you are all there now! So happy for both of you!!!!

Yes! Us and the kitties are really liking the new place. They didn't have a hard adjustment since it's so much bigger and much nicer. Plus they have many more cat trees and sun spots to enjoy!

I can only imagine what moving multiple cats must be like.....how many cats do you have? Do they each ride in their own crates or do some share crate space while in the car?

I would imagine some reacted like this



and some may have reacted like this



sorry I couldn't resist I know it can be quite the adventure moving animals and then getting them used to a new place Between my husband & me with an SUV & the cab of a U-Haul truck we moved 8 dogs from NY to FL
Sounds nuts but looking back it was fun !

They all reacted OK in the end and we are here. I'm just glad that part is overwith!

 

[franandaj]

So I think I’ve posted a few cryptic things about the house on here and Facebook, but I thought I should post a proper update about us getting into the new house. The main determining factor about moving in was that we needed to be in town with no trips planned for three weeks minimum from the day that we moved in until the next time we left. It was either June or August.

Since Fran couldn’t stand another day in our old house we picked June. The first piece to put into place was scheduling Sleep Number to come disassemble our bed and come reassemble it. That ended up happening on the first night of our WDW vacation! So all that was left once we got home was to pack up the necessaries, get the kitties ready and have Gale’s guys move our stuff on the day that Sleep Number was going to reassemble our bed.

Tuesday the 10th was our last night in Apartment #1 on the SN bed. They came to pack it up around 5:45PM on Wednesday. I think that we spent the whole day with Darcy packing up the contents of my dresser from #1, Fran’s desk and various other little things. We left Darcy to supervise these guys while Fran and I picked up the truck. I then took Darcy home and Fran ordered a pizza for dinner. We went to bed with Olga much later than I wanted, probably around 11 or 12PM.

Fran had set the alarm for 4:30 Wednesday but we didn’t get up until about 5:15. We got dressed, fed the cats and I think I made me coffee. Ryan and his helper showed up around 6:00AM and they got right to work. First they moved a big China Cabinet that was all in one piece, then they moved Olga’s bed and finally the SN bed. We did stick a few other things in there like the electric lift chairs that we had and one manual recliner and some random boxes, plus Olga’s cat tree and the dresser from #1 bedroom. It was probably around 9:00 that we headed over to the new house.

Fran made a breakfast stop at McDonald’s and we all enjoyed our carb and calorie filled breakfasts before getting back to the task of unloading the truck. It took a couple hours to get everything out and into place and by that time the guys from SN had showed up to assemble the bed. Me and the guys headed back to the old house while Fran watched the SN guys who finished promptly and left before she even knew it. She came back and took our order for Subway sandwiches while we prepared the second load.

This time we took all the cat trees from the house, big televisions from the living rooms, Fran’s desk, office size copy machine and more assorted boxes. Fran left our Subway order at the new house and went to get Darcy. The two of them arrived while Ryan and I were eating. Nacho (the other moving helper) skipped lunch as he wasn’t hungry so that he could unload and get out of there sooner. It’s a blur to me everything coming in the house, but I know we had to move a few things to other rooms to get stuff in the right place and we still have to find a place for Fran’s desk, but we got everything in and out of the truck. We put the cat trees where they were supposed to go and then went to return the truck and go for round three. Get the cats.

I already told you a little about this and boy was it a task to herd our cats. Some of them ran right into the carriers and we just shut the door. Others went kicking and screaming, but we got them all. By this time I think it was 5PM. We got them all to the new house and brought inside by 6PM. I was paranoid about the neighbors seeing how many cats we had so I drove the SUV with the majority of the cats inside the gate and closed it. Then we brought them in the back door.

As I said before, there was no shortage of mewing on the way over! We put some cats in the bedroom and some in the living room. We made sure to set up the litter boxes before letting them out. Before we returned the truck we had made all the beds with the dirty linens from the other house, so that the beds would smell like the appropriate cats. They are all about smells!

When I let them out everyone behaved as expected. The white things darted away and hid. Tesla was like, “la la la la…what do we have here, what’s this? What’s this? What’s this?” Basil (bagel) stayed inside his carrier and we didn’t even realize this until we tried to pick it up and put it in the garage.

By 8:30ish we were convinced that they were as happy as they were going to be and I took Darcy home. Fran called in an order of Thai Food once I dropped Darcy off and I picked it up on the way back to the house. It’s nice that our favorite Thai/Sushi place has a branch on this side of town that opened about a year ago. It’s rather convenient to stop by on the way home from almost anywhere and the order was ready in less than 15 minutes! No waiting for delivery and the food was still hot!

I used the tub about midnight and was finally in bed by 1AM about 19 hours, not my normal day! The next morning I canceled my standing Chiropractor appointment because DirecTV was coming to install our TV service. That took a good 4 hours and then we picked up Darcy.

This is how most of our days have gone. We make a trip to the old house once a day for all the stuff that we have realized that we can’t live without. Sometimes it’s food sometimes it’s body care items, but whatever it is we still have a long ways to go.

My everyday dishes are still at the house, we got the silverware a couple days ago, but for those who have been reading along you know we have at least 4-5 sets of Mickey/Pooh dishes here and at least 2-3 sets of Mickey Silverware, so we aren’t eating off the floor with our hands.

Some annoying things. The refrigerator still doesn’t cool to below 40F. When the guy left Friday we installed the temperature gauge that the previous owner had in the fridge. The lowest temp we saw was 46 degrees. Today the guy came by and the fridge was at 40 when we got home. He has suggested that we install a solar powered exhaust fan up in the attic. Temperatures in the attic get up to 120 degrees and that causes the cooler room not to cool enough. He will give us the model number and we’ll buy it (gift cards, you know) and he will install it.

At least we have our mini fridge for meats and dairy, right now all we’re putting in the cooler room is sodas, wine vegetables and fruit. Hopefully this will be fixed next week.

Also over the weekend I noticed that the tub is leaking. It only leaks while it is filling, once it is full there is sufficient pressure to keep the water from escaping. I am waiting to hear back from them when they will send a technician by. They wanted to send one tonight, but we would have had to leave for band so that wouldn’t work.

The kitties love the place for the most part. Here is the fun part. I have some pics for you all. Now here is the Kitty City in the dining room next to the family room. To show you how happy the kitties are here are a few pics.



Tesla Relaxed



Milo Relaxing



Molly Relaxing



Now this is Kliban who is sitting on a chair that we will be getting rid of. She follows the sun spots from the sky lights across the living room and dining room so that she can sleep in the sun all day. Then she moves to the afternoon sun that comes in the family room door and falls on the cat tree there. I’ll have to get a picture of her on that one too.



This is the living room cat tree set up. Eventually the table on the right will be going as will the boxes so it will just be cat trees.



This is the view looking back from our living room into the dining room. I don’t think Architectural Digest will be wanting to visit us anytime soon, but the cats are happy.



And this is looking into the family room. My chair is most prominent. Unfortunately the litter boxes have to go on the far wall because they are necessary and I didn’t want them in the living room or dining room so by default they go in the family room.



I’m hoping that once we get some of the boxes put away it will be easier to “clean up” for company to come over. At least for the housewarming party. But that’s where we are at for now!