The "New" House

We took possession of the "new" house on Monday the 13th.  On Thursday the 16th we had a permit in hand to begin the remodel. We started the demolition on Tuesday the 21st, and by Friday the 24th, the house was gutted in and out, and the yard was cleaned up. The attached pictures show the before & after.
Joyce has been busy getting the "old" house packed up as we have to be out of here and on the road on the 31st. Kristin has been here helping with the packing. She leaves for Austin next Wednesday, and by then things should be in pretty good shape.So far I have just moved some of the garage stuff as I've been busy at the "new" house. We've pretty much made the decisions relating to new window size and locations, siding type and color, etc. so the work can progress in our absence. We will be heading out in the motorhome on the 31st, headed for the east coast. When we come up from Arizona in December, the house will have new windows, new siding, new electrical, new plumbing, new heating system, and sheet rocked. Then we will need to know what we want to do for cabinets, fixtures, appliances,  trim, paint colors, etc. When we get back from Arizona in the spring, we're hoping that it will really be a finished "new" house. We have total confidence that Randy will get it done.

After

During

During

Before

After

After

Before

I will be bringing the motorhome down this weekend as we need to get it loaded up too. We are scheduled to be in Maine on the 18th of September, and plan on staying there for 3 or 4 weeks. Then we will move down the east coast where we will most likely pick up I-10 to head west. We will probably arrive in Apache Junction around the middle of November. We'll be traveling with 2 other couples. Maybe then, we'll be able to sleep more than 4 or 5 hours a night!
Don't know why the picture post in the middle of the text, but here are some before & after shots.

Renters

We are now officially renters. Our sale was final yesterday (Friday), and our "buy" will be final on Monday. In the interim we are renting back our ex-house until the end of the month. The 31st will find us headed east in the motorhome with the state of Maine in the windshield. It seems a little odd to know that we no longer own the house that we've occupied for 20 years. It looks the same, but seems weird.
As for the replacement house, we will have possession on Monday. With a little luck, we should have a permit to begin the remodel work on Wednesday. We plan to start work as soon as possible, and consult with the Electrician, Plumber, and the HVAC person before we head off into the sunrise. If all goes per plan, the house should be habitable by the time we get back from Arizona in the spring. We have a lot of confidence that Randy will "Git Er done".
On another front, Kristin and boyfriend Cody arrived from Austin Thursday night. This is Cody's first visit to Seattle, and he's trying to get acclimatized. Seems odd for someone to be wearing a long sleeved flannel shirt when the temperature is around 80. He's used to 100 degrees with more humidity. He finds it interesting that he can wear a jacket in August. But for me, it's perfect shorts, sandals, and Hawaiian shirt weather. Cody heads back to Austin this Tuesday, and Kristin is here until the 27th. We'll be putting her to work with some packing and moving. Since we're only going about half a mile, we can do it all with a pickup truck.
Today we're having a BBQ for some of Kristin's friends. Josh, Brynn, and Colt will be here. He was 2 weeks old yesterday, and starting to look a little bigger. Mom and Dad aren't getting much rest yet, as he's on a pretty intense feeding schedule. These will be their "good old days!!"
Enough for now, and I'll try to get some pictures of the "new house" for the next edition. Ernie