At long last – after what feels like an entire lifetime – we are oh so close to tangible progress! We got a surprise from our builder yesterday in the form of an email telling us that our demo permits have been approved by the City. We were told when they were submitted that it was possible to have them turned around that quickly, but nobody really believed it would actually happen. I mean, how often does a government entity even come close to delivering on a their own timeline? So apparently miracles do actually happen, and our timelines have aligned almost perfectly.
What was the other timeline that almost aligned perfectly? Well Larry (the previous owner) officially finished moving all of his belongings out of the house on Tuesday. With Larry out and the demo permits back, we wants to go explore our “house”, before it comes crashing down sometime early next week. As we drove over to Brookhaven last night, for the first time ever we both felt like we are real, bona fide, homeowners. I think the prospect of actually seeing the yard, without feeling like we were intruding on someone else’s home was really what was doing it. Because let’s face it, absolutely nothing about what is there currently will be there in 6 months.
Allison and Branden at Haven told us that they would go by and put up the Haven construction sign and the permit box, so it was no surprise when we saw there, but that didn’t make it any less exciting to us.
We probably lingered in the street far longer than we should have, but eventually we decided to make our way up our actual property. First thing to do was check out the back yard, and the . Unfortunately it’s not much to look at just yet, but we are determined to change that. Eventually. But that dream back yard, well it’s probably a couple of years off. For now, this is what we are working with (and of course, you can’t forget the “garage” that’s back there now).
The most important part, however, was that Radar would finally have a yard. Which of course is a very bittersweet thought, as this was really Marble’s yard and she will definitely have her place in the back yard, but Radar was super excited to start exploring. He obviously doesn’t fully grasp it yet, other than it being some new place to pee on everything, but he will. And if yesterday is any indication, he’s going to love it.
And of course, we got in on the backyard fun too!
After exhausting ourselves in the backyard (and getting eaten by a million mosquitos), we decided to venture into the house. Honestly, there’s not much to look at on the inside. Afterall, we did decide to buy the house without ever stepping foot in it. But since people have asked, this is what we would have to look forward to if we weren’t building a new one:
There are a few more photos in the Family Gallery if you are interested. But better days are ahead of us, and they are so close we can taste them. Sometime early next week we should have photos of the house and garage actually coming down. And from that point forward, it’s all looking up.