TheBanyanTree: Five Windows

[Margaret R. Kramer]

We went from temperatures in the 50s to having almost two feet of snow on
the ground in less than week.  Our wimpy winter was punctuated by two heavy
snowstorms with two days of each other.  But this is good for us.  The
moisture in the snow will soak into the ground and fill the lakes as it
melts quickly in the March sun.

In spite of winter’s brief return, we got a good chunk of the house packed
and we’ll get more done this weekend.  The sewer thing turned out to be
nothing, so it’s full steam ahead on our new house.  I met with the mortgage
people yesterday and they copied my check stubs, our bank statements, our
assets (which there are very few!), and my W-2.  I signed a bunch of papers,
locked in an interest rate, and now have an idea of how much I will need for
each closing.  I also have an idea of how much my new mortgage payment will
be and learned I will still have a few extra dollars to buy groceries with
each month.

Next week is one of those busy weeks with the movers scheduled to come in
and give us an estimate, our furnace will be tuned up and certified, our
current house will be appraised, and I have two dental appointments.  It’s
going to be a wild week.

I’ll start contacting the phone company, cable, magazines, newspapers,
garbage, and etc. next week with our new address.  The pieces are coming
together slowly, but surely, and it’s a good feeling.

I spent most of last night dreaming about our new house.  Where will I put
this?  Where will I put that?  I even dreamed about where the Christmas tree
will go and how we’ll utilize our backyard to celebrate the 4th of July.
The new house’s layout is so different than what we have now, it will be
challenge to navigate it as we go about our daily routines.

The house’s biggest selling point (besides the two story, oversized double
garage) was the kitchen.  The current owner took a small kitchen and merged
it into a new addition, so it became humongous.  He replaced all the
cabinets with new maple cabinets, granite countertops, plus a pergo floor.
He created a breakfast nook opposite a patio door leading to a new deck.
Our current house’s kitchen is large, but this one is much larger, truly the
heart of this home.

Our current kitchen is set in the middle of our house and is the heart of
our home as well.  But because it is in the middle of the house, it has no
windows to the outside.  It has a large window and door going into the
dining room, and from the dining room, there is natural light coming in, but
the kitchen is still a dark and at times, a gloomy room.  My new kitchen
has, count them, five windows!  One large window is right next to the back
door.  Another window is over the sink.  There is a large bay window in the
breakfast nook, plus the patio door (which counts as a window), and finally,
last, but not least, a small octagon window also in the breakfast nook.  We’
ll really have a nice connection to the outside world as we cook and eat in
our new kitchen.  Even though we haven’t even moved in yet, it’s obvious we’
ll be spending a lot of time in our kitchen – the heart of our house.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

Be careful of your thoughts, they may become words at any moment.
~Iara Gassen