An Anniversary

Today is our ten month anniversary of moving to Essex--time enough for a woman to have a baby, but I haven't even finished unpacking. Oh well. I wish I had done more, but there really isn't a rush. Moving is a lot of work; I definitely underestimated the difficulty. In addition, I want to have some bookshelves installed in the dining room to make it a combo dining room/library. I need to get working on that. 

Today was an important day for another reason. Jeff and I signed our wills and health care directives. We also agreed to a investment plan with our financial advisors. This is a big thing to cross off our to-do list.

We can be proud of ourselves. 

Thankful Thursday Thoughts

This post is inspired by Thankful Thursdays on The Frugal Girl. It's an especially good exercise today, because I felt lousy all day. 

As I told a neighbor the other day, I'm thankful every day that we moved here. After 37 years in Norwalk, I was sick of Prospect Ridge and sick of Norwalk. I wanted to go south, but not too far south. (Okay, maybe the warmer weather we wanted didn't pan out so far.)  We wanted to be able to get a bigger--more reasonably priced home.

This place had all the must-haves: two full baths, washer and dryer, balcony, over 1000 feet. Plus so much more. We have a dining room. a laundry room, and a sitting area as part of our primary bedroom. We have extra kitchen cabinets, drawers, and counters personally built by the previous owner. We even have a boat slip.

We have a wonderful trail and boardwalk down by the water. It makes me happy to see the Middle River and wildlife every day. 

We have good neighbors. 

I'm so glad we moved. 

Six Months

Today is the sixth month anniversary of our moving day. I still remember the details of that day and the days around it. They were intense. So many boxes. So much confusion. 

We didn't have to do anything with the condo itself. But we didn't bring a lot of furniture--we've slowly been taking care of that. Just Thursday, two dressers were delivered. The best thing about the dressers is that we can better use our closet. Now, we have piles of clothes on the shelves, and it gets messy. 

Then there are the little things. I'm surprisingly happy about my blue tablecloth with lemons (an Aldi find.) Another find in the Fuquay-Varina Aldi was matching dishtowels. I also bought some yellow tulips. Looking at the kitchen table makes me happy.

By the end of the month, we'll have a dining room set and a coffee table. I also found a nice end table online.

We're getting there. 

A Catch-Up Post

It's been a busy ten days. Deep snow in Maryland and Connecticut complicated our lives. The highways were great driving to and from Connecticut (Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.) Getting out of the condo here and parking in Norwalk were our biggest challenges, thanks to ubiquitous snow piles and icy patches. 

We are no longer Norwalk property owners. I had a few things to do before we met with our attorney on Thursday. Despite a few glitches, everything worked out. After we signed the papers, I ran errands. Then, I got takeout from Little Kitchen, our favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. We enjoyed our favorites: Sauteed Sliced Chicken with Hot Peppers and Crispy Spinach and Dry Sauteed Shredded Beef Szechuan Style, as well a Bean Curd with Vegetables Country Style for Jen who graciously hosted us again. We already miss Little Kitchen.

We vegged on Friday, and I finished Badlands. On Saturday, we drove back. There had been talk of more snow, plus I couldn't wait to get home. 

This week has been a blur of medical appointments and paperwork. Today, I stocked up on food in case the predicted snow amounts to more than an inch. I also picked up a welcome mat and some baskets we've needed. Now, I can really focus on our new home.

2025: Real Estate Edition

As I've been thinking about the past year, our biggest accomplishment was our move to Essex. I hadn't listed it as as a written goal, but Jeff and I agreed that we wanted to move by October. Moving day was October 3rd. 

Of course, I can't say that we've finished moving. Most of our clothes are still in boxes in our closet (thank God for a walk-in bedroom closet.) Boxes took over our dining room/library on day one and show few signs of retreating. We'll get there someday Our next focus is bureaus/drawers in the bedroom.

I've been thinking a lot about the whole moving process, our options, and the choice we made. First, I'm glad we didn't select Delaware. We would have been settling. The first place we really liked wasn't dog friendly and didn't have a good neighborhood to walk in. We didn't like the ownership/condominium status in the Milford condos we visited. We also looked into having a single family home built for us, but the builder was the defendant in a class action lawsuit. The allegations were disturbing.

We decided to look in Maryland. We seriously considered a unit we saw in Perryville, Maryland. It had three bedrooms, two baths, two balconies, a wonderful soaking tub, a walk-in shower, covered parking, indoor mailboxes, and a view of the Susquehanna River.

It was the town itself that was the problem. It was a little too isolated--about a half hour from medical facilities. After Jeff had been hospitalized in October, he said "Imagine if we were in Perryville." I would never have been able to rely on Annette and George. 

Then we headed down to the Baltimore area. We liked a a unit in this complex--Hopewell Pointe. We took a return trip to see it and the Perryville unit. We saw another four or five condos in the Baltimore area. 

This place was by far the best for us. I liked Essex from the first time we saw it September 2024. I like our location. Our street consists of two condominium complexes. The buildings are 20-25 years old--a far cry from Sheffield Ridge. 

We are half a mile from Old Eastern Road, near the pool, the boat slips, and the trails. Jace and I have been on all the trails and walked around the neighborhood as well. When it gets warmer, we'll walk down Old Eastern to a nearby park. We'll also get a chance to enjoy the pool; it closed in mid-September. It will be nicer to explore, in general. 

Here's to 2026.

Two Months in Essex

Last Wednesday was the two-month anniversary of our moving day. 

We've done a lot of things in those two months.

• We bought new furniture: kitchen table and chairs, living room couch and chairs, bedside tables, Sleep Number bed. 
• We found a primary care physician and other doctors. 
• I got my Maryland driver's license and registration, including a Maryland Safety Inspection.
• We got a new TV and cellphones when old ones broke.

We did that even with a five day break to return to Connecticut and five days for Jeff in the hospital when I did virtually nothing.

Of course, there's a lot more to do. I am trying my best not to get overwhelmed. I need to focus and stick to my plans.

I underestimated  how long it would take me to acclimate myself to a new area. I'm still using GPS to get around, but less often. I've been frustrated with the various grocery stores. It's been hard to find things/brands I like. It's getting easier; having kandykakes readily available helps. 

We were here at Halloween and the neighborhood is into decorating. Even a part of the trail/boardwalk was decorated. Unfortunately, Jeff was in the hospital, so we weren't up for celebrating. 

Christmas decorations are pretty big too. I did our Christmas decorating on Sunday. It's pretty sparse. We decided not to buy a tree this year. In January, we trashed our old shedding artificial tree and don't want to deal with getting a new one. Hey, we need furniture. But if there are good post-Christmas sales, we'll keep our options open. 

Looking ahead to ringing in the New Year in our new home.

Done!

I'm happy to report that I crossed a big to-do off my list yesterday yesterday. I got Jeff enrolled in a Medigap policy. Bonus: we got a policy for about $200 less than I expected. 

I'm relieved that, to quote my law school professor Bernard Schwartz and Rocky from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that particular sword of Damocles is no longer hanging over my head. 

In other news, our freshly-painted Norwalk condo is officially on the market. It's listed as "coming soon," and the pictures look good. Here's hoping people agree. 

In Other News

The packing and decluttering continues. I hired two people to pack up dishes, glasswork, and miscellaneous including our Mets paraphernalia (how sad, that reminds me of the Mets.)

My brother Jim also came; he was a big help. Much more in the next few days.

What's Going On?

Yesterday was Jeff's birthday. It was low-key; we went to O'Neill's in Sono for lunch. We were too full for a regular dinner. We had a salad and chocolate mousse cake. More cake tonight and more left.

I spent the morning setting up an electric/gas account and condominium payments. I had to go to the physical bank to change my address to buy checks because one organization required a voided check.

Then I started packing.

We also had visits with our nephew Matt yesterday and our friend/neighbor Cynthia today.

It's scary, having so much to do. One week left. 

Now, back to work. 

There and Back Again

Back from what I hope was our visit to Maryland. I hope our next trip will be a permanent relocation (though I doubt it.)

We had a decent ride back...that is, until we left the Garden State Parkway for the Tappan Zee Bridge. The Bridge itself was fine.

Okay. I'm writing several days later. It's been a blur of packing and making appointments. Worrying about the Mets. 

It's too much.

Update: Moving, Stress, Another Walk-Thru, and An Anniversary

Jeff and I have been married 37 years today. With all of the moving to-dos, expenses, and stress, we're not up to a big celebration. We were going to go out to dinner, but I was leaning to getting takeout. Then Jeff suggested lunch. It was a late one. We had a new mattress and box spring delivered and were the last of the jobs. 

In the middle of the mattress delivery, I quickly vacuumed the floor--years of dog hair and dust. Hmm, dog hair and dust. Could be a cologne on Wednesday. 

Anyway, it was drizzly when we finally headed out around 2:45, and we wanted to take Jace.  As we were waiting for the mattress, I researched dog friendly Norwalk restaurants that had covered outdoor dining areas. I selected Tavern on 7. It's basically a sports bar, but had some interesting specials. Unfortunately, they were out of the special I really wanted, shrimp bisque. A good lunch, but loud being right on Route 7. Our take-out dinner entree (I didn't want to cook today) and dessert were mediocre. 

People are telling me I'm going to miss Norwalk when we go. Right now, I'm pretty jaded with/by Norwalk Of course, it's more the people I'll miss. I've spent over half of my life here in Norwalk, in this condo. I hope I will find some fond memories.

We're driving down to Maryland tomorrow. Friday will be our second walk-thru of our condo. I'm packing some basic supplies in my car--what I can fit. It will be our first time seeing it empty.

We changed our moving date from September 25th to October 2. That gives us another week;  I hope it will be enough. 

First Week in September

Has it only been a week?

Jeff and I bought a Sleep Number king bed on Monday. It's a splurge, but I think it will be well worth it. 

Tuesday, I drove Jeff to the dentist. It had been a while, but he had a good check-up. I took the opportunity to take Jace to Bruce Park for the last time. We also got our favorite crab cakes from  Bon Ton for the last time and a steak sandwich from Greenwich Prime, yes for the last time.

We went out to lunch with friends Elaine and Marti, not for the last time. At least, we'll try for another lunch.

The rest of the week was spent on shopping, cleaning, and not enough packing. 

There's so much more to do. 

Has It Been a Week?

Sometimes time can mess with you. 

It's been a week since we closed on our condo in Maryland.

But here we are in Connecticut. Everyone asks if I'm packing. Yeah, but I also have the daily chores and errands. Most recently, I've been reviewing moving companies and contracts. I think we're okay in that area. 

So much work to do. I alternate between being overwhelmed and being confident. 

Thursday I gave myself two to-dos. I did them and felt good about it. I need to be more ambitious. 

No Jury Duty for Me

Last month I was summoned for jury duty. I filled out the juror questionnaire and prepared to appear today at Stamford Superior Court. 

Between the time I submitted the questionnaire and today, Jeff and I bought our new condo. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around a courtroom even if it were for just one day. Plus, I had to go to Stamford by 8:30.

Luckily, last night I got a text that my jury service is cancelled. Works for me. 

Happy Anniversary Jace!

Yesterday was our third anniversary with Jace. I'll never forget the date; it's also my mother's birthday. 

We celebrated with a filet mignon dinner (yay, filet was on sale.)

We can't wait to show Jace our new place. He'll love it. 

Two Condos!

As of Friday, August 22nd, Jeff and I are owners of two condominiums. It won't be for long. At least we hope not. 

We're figuring out what we have to do when. It won't be fun, but I can't wait till it's over. Jeff's mother once said something like it's an escalator, take it, and you'll get there. 

Closing Postponed

The closing of our new condo in Essex, Maryland is postponed from next Tuesday to next Friday. It's not a big deal--actually it gives us a little breathing room. 

The most disappointing thing is that the sellers will be staying in the condo an additional week. We had agreed to this to make the most attractive offer and because we are in no rush to move, but I'm disappointed. I had planned to start taking a few things down. Oh well. We'll get there.

Last Day at New Canaan Nature Center

I've been volunteering with the birds of prey at the New Canaan Nature Center (NCNC) for three years. Today was my last day. Our closing for the Maryland condo is next Tuesday. I'll be spending most of my time after that packing.

I took particular care cleaning the aviaries and said goodbye to all the birds. 

Maybe I visit them one more time before I relocate. 

Back Again

I don't know why I haven't posted. I've been busy, but that doesn't cut it. 

We have big news. We bought a condo in Essex, Maryland! It wasn't either of the two we had already seen. It's in the same complex as one that we were considering, but it's so much nicer than the first. 

We close next Tuesday. We're nowhere near ready to move yet. I haven't done as much packing as I would have liked. I've been dealing with banks and other financial institutions and reading condominium documents.  

My work is cut out for me. 

Update

Once again, I've neglected this blog for too long. I wish I understood why.

We've been back from Delaware and Maryland for a week. We finally had a little luck. We found two places that we liked. We've been doing research since then, trying to get a better sense of both areas, considering what work we would want to do to the bathroom in one condo, etc. I've been going back and forth on which place I prefer. Our Baltimore realtor sent us listings of six other places. There's one that will work for us and I hope we can see it next week. I think we'll be returning Sunday or Monday.

We finally caught up with a friend we hadn't seen in months. We talked, listened to music, ate some munchies, and drank some wine. It was a relaxing afternoon.

I had volunteered to work at the Merwinsville Hotel last Sunday. Unfortunately, I had a bout of colitis and had to cancel. I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. My sleeping patterns have been a mess lately. I'm waking up in the early mornings and having trouble falling asleep again. It's been frustrating, but I'll muddle through it.