Lessons in homeownership
When I owned my co-op, I thought of myself as a homeowner. I guess, technically, I was. But it was NOTHING like houseownership. I’m learning a whole lot about the differences between the two in this first week in the house.
For example:
1. Apparently knowing what can go out for the garbage man and what can’t, and how it needs to be wrapped up, and what days are for what recycling etc is more complicated than the super at my apartment building made it look.
2. We woke up with no heat yesterday. That meant peering into our cold, dead furnace and pretending we knew what we were looking at, then giving up and calling a heating guy. Again, no super. Sigh. We miss you, Fabian.
3. Turns out the fabulous clothes dryer that came with the house doesn’t work. At all. It turns on and pretends to work, but really it just tumbles the wet clothes around for a half hour and leaves them just as wet at the end of the cycle. We’re buying a new one today. And a new stove. The old stove is frightening. You have to light the burners with a match because the pilot lights are shot, and the handle for the oven is broken off. Oh yeah–and roaches were nesting in it until very recently. Ditto for the thermostat. The heating guy opened up the ancient thermostat and found a nest of dead roaches. We had him install a new one. Shudder.
Good stuff, you ask? Oh, plenty of that. Sunlight streams through at least half the big windows at any given time all day. The dogs follow the sunbeams and nap in them. I sit in my office and look out at the backyard. Yesterday I saw a pair of cardinals who apparently didn’t notice that they were in the middle of NYC and flitted about just as happily as the cardinals in my mother’s yard in the burbs. The house is gorgeous even it its current state, and is beginning to feel more like home every day.
Knitting? No. No knitting at all. Maybe there’ll be time next week. Rosedale is on hold because the first sleeve, which I finished the day before the move, was packed and carted away by the movers. That’s right. I left it lying around on my DO NOT PACK pile and they packed it. Sigh. And I can’t start Kyoto unless I rebuy that yarn, which I don’t really have to cash to do at the moment… Ok. I’m complaining. I’ll stop now.
Oh, I can’t wait to see pictures, darlin. I want to see both the bad AND the good. Roach nests and the dogs in the sun. So happy you’re home!
Posted by: Rachael
Oooo, yeah; all of that good stuff seems to be standard… No heat? Yup, that happened the first frigid week here. The dryer? Ours is still running off of a lovely *very* old extension cord, so I’m sure we’ll burn the whole block down shortly. I keep forgetting that we even *have* a washer and dryer (I still collect quarters obsessively), not to mention that I have to maintain them… And we’ve been here three months and still haven’t figured out the odd algorithm of when cardboard gets picked up, and when cans. Plus the poor garbage guys have to deal with a serious amount of incredibly stank dog mess each week… I’m surprised they even stop for us.
But cardinals and sunbeams and dogs napping on warm inlaid floors… That makes it all worth it : )
Posted by: Andrea
Oh, Darlin’, I feel for you. My ex bought a house this time last year, and we had similar adventures the first couple of months. The biggest pain was the unannounced co-tenants: a pack of squirrels that lived in the attic. One of them sounded like it weighed about eighty pounds as it dragged itself around in the crawlspaces, and it drove the dogs absolutely nuts.
Posted by: David
Ah yes !
The cooker that blew up last week ,and cost almost as much to fix as it cost to buy…18 months ago.
The leaky water pipe that stops leaking for a couple of weeks,then starts up again. ?
The dodgy sounding central heating pump.
You’ll never have any money !
BUT it’s YOUR home,and you’ll love it.
I still gaze adoringly at our leaded lights.The colours of the glass are gorgeous.Sigh.
Posted by: Emma
Yay, you’re back! I want to buy a house someday, too, and party poopers like my parents warn me about things like that. I always say, Yes, but I can also take out a wall if I don’t like it! I can also stop painting OTHER PEOPLE’s walls! Show us photos soon, OK? I want to see that sunlight streaming in over the napping dogs. 🙂 Oh, and do you really have an office? Like, a room that’s JUST your office, not also the guestroom/ironing room/storage room? Soooo lucky.
Posted by: alison
Have you bought a new dryer yet? The problem may be with the big tubey thingy that comes out of the back, like a hole or something. I had a similar problem when I moved into a (rented) house and was able to fix it by getting a new tubey thingy. Then again, it could be a totally different problem. Might be worth the smaller bucks to see, though.
Posted by: Em
I love thinking about the dogs following the sunbeams for maximum sun-snoozing. I hope all kinks work out with the home ownership very soon.
Happy holidays, hugs and woofs to the pups!
Posted by: Lisa, Mike, Jack, Della
Merry Christmas, doll!
Posted by: Rachael
Oh, I can’t wait to see pictures, darlin. I want to see both the bad AND the good. Roach nests and the dogs in the sun. So happy you’re home!
Posted by: Rachael
Oooo, yeah; all of that good stuff seems to be standard… No heat? Yup, that happened the first frigid week here. The dryer? Ours is still running off of a lovely *very* old extension cord, so I’m sure we’ll burn the whole block down shortly. I keep forgetting that we even *have* a washer and dryer (I still collect quarters obsessively), not to mention that I have to maintain them… And we’ve been here three months and still haven’t figured out the odd algorithm of when cardboard gets picked up, and when cans. Plus the poor garbage guys have to deal with a serious amount of incredibly stank dog mess each week… I’m surprised they even stop for us.
But cardinals and sunbeams and dogs napping on warm inlaid floors… That makes it all worth it : )
Posted by: Andrea
Oh, Darlin’, I feel for you. My ex bought a house this time last year, and we had similar adventures the first couple of months. The biggest pain was the unannounced co-tenants: a pack of squirrels that lived in the attic. One of them sounded like it weighed about eighty pounds as it dragged itself around in the crawlspaces, and it drove the dogs absolutely nuts.
Posted by: David
Ah yes !
The cooker that blew up last week ,and cost almost as much to fix as it cost to buy…18 months ago.
The leaky water pipe that stops leaking for a couple of weeks,then starts up again. ?
The dodgy sounding central heating pump.
You’ll never have any money !
BUT it’s YOUR home,and you’ll love it.
I still gaze adoringly at our leaded lights.The colours of the glass are gorgeous.Sigh.
Posted by: Emma
Yay, you’re back! I want to buy a house someday, too, and party poopers like my parents warn me about things like that. I always say, Yes, but I can also take out a wall if I don’t like it! I can also stop painting OTHER PEOPLE’s walls! Show us photos soon, OK? I want to see that sunlight streaming in over the napping dogs. 🙂 Oh, and do you really have an office? Like, a room that’s JUST your office, not also the guestroom/ironing room/storage room? Soooo lucky.
Posted by: alison
Have you bought a new dryer yet? The problem may be with the big tubey thingy that comes out of the back, like a hole or something. I had a similar problem when I moved into a (rented) house and was able to fix it by getting a new tubey thingy. Then again, it could be a totally different problem. Might be worth the smaller bucks to see, though.
Posted by: Em
I love thinking about the dogs following the sunbeams for maximum sun-snoozing. I hope all kinks work out with the home ownership very soon.
Happy holidays, hugs and woofs to the pups!
Posted by: Lisa, Mike, Jack, Della
Merry Christmas, doll!
Posted by: Rachael