My least favorite chore

I snagged this graph off Callie's blog. I can totally relate...for my whole house actually. I'm so glad I've got a husband that will spare my poor eczemic hands and do the dishes for me. Love you Taylor!

Settling In

We've had possession of our condo for a week now, and I thought I'd post a few pictures of our new home. Our moving truck still won't be here for another week, so we have no beds, dishes, furniture, etc. We've been staying at Clint's house in Stone Mountain, but last night we bought some air mattresses and hunkered down in our empty place. And now the virtual tour!

Rosie is leading us down the stairs to the back of the building where our unit is...

And Voila! Our new place. This is the sunroom that will function as our music/exercise room. I got a nice keyboard for Christmas to brush up on my my piano skills, and we got an elliptical machine on order to help fulfill our New Years Resolutions.

This is part of our living room and dining room. It'll be fun to have a gas fireplace. Unfortunately, the layout of the room is a little wonky, and we don't have anywhere to put our 15 year old partially-functioning tv (no room for an entertainment center) After much pleading, Taylor purchased a flat-screen tv that will be mounted on top of the mantle of the fireplace. Now we can watch our Yule Log DVD in style!
Here's Rosie again in the sunroom. She's excited about her gift from Santa this year. He delivered the bike to Georgia, so Rosie had to wait VERY patiently to get her gift.

Here's the kitchen. It's a bit on the small side, and there isn't a lot of storage. Thankfully, the dining room is large enough to get some armoires and shelving to take care of what the cupboards don't. Some trips to IKEA are in our future.

This is the Utility/Laundry room. I can't tell you how excited I am to have my own washer and dryer again! No more laborious trips to the laundromat!

And this is the master bedroom. Rosie's room is identical on the opposite side, except our room has a little walk-out porch. There's adequate closet space, but I was disappointed that it didn't have the huge walk-in closets that I mistakenly remembered from another place we viewed. We'll make it work.

After a lot of hassle and paperwork, Rosie starts school today at her new school. So far I'm REALLY enjoying my job (Yes, it's true...those of you coworkers who've found my blog) Everyone is so friendly, and I feel my skills will be much better utilized. My commute to Emory is about 20 minutes when traffic is bad. I'm currently working in a really nice office building off campus. Once we move back to campus in 6 months, I'll be doing the park and ride. It picks up a few blocks away from home, and drops off two buildings away from the health sciences building.

Taylor flies off to Michigan for one last time this morning. He'll be packing the rest of our belongings into boxes, cleaning, and disassembling furniture today. Tomorrow morning he'll load up the moving truck, turn in the keys, and fly back to Georgia for good.

Two homes for sale

My parents have finished the packing, cleaning and repairs on their house in Murray, and it's on the market now. It's sad to think that this house may be in someone else's name the next time I'm in Salt Lake. They have lived there for 15 years.
Also, my Grandma Watson has decided to sell her house in Tualatin, OR and to move to Salt Lake. She wants to spend the time at the Family History Library and live two blocks from Temple Square. If she sells her house quick enough, she might be living in the same apartment building as my parents. She's lived there almost 20 years.

So many memories in both of these homes. It's hard to believe that they'll be out of the family soon.

Update on my Dad

Several of you have been asking for updates on my dad's progress. He's improving steadily, he's on the final fittings for his C-leg (computerized prosthetic), and he'll be done with his rehab at Aspen Ridge within the next few weeks. You can read up on him at his blog with lots more pictures.

The most shocking news in a while came this week, when Assist Utah came to do an assessment on my parents' house. It's 3 stories, with a steep driveway and curved staircases. To renovate the home, add chair lifts, and make it wheelchair accesible...the potential bid was $40-80 thousand! And this estimate would not include renovations to their steep driveway, which he can't get up on his own in the wheelchair. The planning, contracting, bidding, and construction could take upwards of 4 months, and he'll be ready to leave Aspen Ridge by the end of May. With this info, it appears that finding a new house is a better option long term.

It needs to meet quite a bit of criteria. The driveway must be flat or very slightly inclined. There must be an accessible door to build a wheelchair ramp. There must be doorframes at least 30" wide, which is wider than the standard 28". The toilet area and shower must be wide enough to allow wheelchair access. The list goes on and on.

We'll have more info within the next week or two what will happen with their housing situation. It'll be sad to have to give up the Green Oaks home. It's been 15 years of traditions and memories for my family.

Disturbing!

I just got a letter today from the La Verne Police Department. It was notifying us that a HIGH RISK SEX PREDATOR has moved into the house behind us, across the alley, one house over. He has served sentences for three felony sex crimes, two for children under 14, and was released from parole last month. This is making me sick to my stomach. I have seen this man before, and his car has driven by my house. He lives within 100 feet of us, and Rosie's bedroom window faces the alley he drives on. I'll definitely be keeping the blinds closed. Now, to get William to close that blasted gate....