Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Happy Monday!

I closed yesterday on the house, and all went swimmingly! We've been busily buying furnishings for the place. We went to Indiana on Wednesday, and stayed with Annette and Steve. We went to every furniture store in the area, I believe, and I've been collecting some cool furniture, with Jack and Annette's help! So far, I've gotten 2 queen-sized mattresses, which will sit on the floor till I get bedframes, a dining table and 6 chairs, a leather couch, 2 Ekornes recliners, a little console table with 2 small benches, 2 barstools for the kitchen counter, and a fabulous game table with 4 massive chairs for the lower level. I also chose a few accessory pieces, including a metal bird sculpture and a Mission-style Tiffany lamp.

I have yet to get a bed frame and headboard for the #1 guest room, twin beds, a nightstand, and some sort of dresser for the #2 guest room, a ping pong table, a little bar for the lower level, bookcases for the library/music room, an end table for the living room, a chair and two nightstands for the master bedroom, and a chair for the piano room.

Jack's going to build us a bed for the Master bedroom, and we're both excited about that. He's always wanted to make some furniture, and so I'm giving him a chance! It'll have 4 big drawers on the sides, and a door at the foot, which will give us access to underneath. We can keep suitcases in there. :)

We will also be building an outbuilding-shop for him, and probably a carport structure to protect the Navion when we're here. Those will be 2010 projects. We're going to build an access to the river, which is 25' lower than where our property meets the river line. This access will include an arrangement to bring our boats up out of the river.


Oh! And we're going to get boats! These will actually be hybrid kayak/canoe boats which you can see here. We just now got off the phone with the guy from Clare who sells these. He's holding 2 for us, and we can go and get them later today. Of course, this means that we have to figure out a way to carry them! LOL! I'm getting mine in yellow, and Jack's will be blue. I'm so happy, and so ready to settle into this new life!

8 comments:

  1. Cool. Now the Navion needs boat racks. I have a friend down here who actually runs canoe trips here. He even runs some several day camping canoe trips. So I guess you can come and canoe here when you get your fill of canoing there.

    ray kb9lgs

    ReplyDelete
  2. you just sound so happy---I'm glad for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Are you and Jack getting married?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so happy that things turned out well. Your new place sounds like a vacation retreat, so I guess that means which ever home your at, you'll be on vacation.
    It is said life is what you make it and it appears you have made your life one that is fun.
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  5. Janee all sounds so great! Happy for you two (pun intended). The kayak/canoe looks fascinating. If someday you take it on a lake on a windy day please post how it handled. Reason for asking. We used to own a 17' canoe and we would get blown all over the lake when it was windy out. Not a fun experience.

    Am jealous of your ping-pong table (insert green envy smiley)!

    25 feet above the river. You must have had a great chuckle about concerns regarding flooding. Sounds like we will be swimming before you get your feet damp in the house.

    Have a Great Day,
    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jim, we took the boats out today on the Muskegon River, and they handled great! Maneuverable and easy to get in and out of. Oh.. and did I mention comfortable? Zow. What a difference those fine seats make!

    Yes, I did chuckle about the idea of being flooded out. Many along the river struggle with flooding and ice dams in the winter, but.. that won't be a problem for us!

    For you who wonder if Jack and I are going to get married, I'll say that we hope to someday, if we live long enough. Circumstances are such that we cannot consider this right now. It would be disastrous financially for me to remarry before I turn 60, because of the way they calculate Social Security. For now, we're in a committed relationship, and this has to be enough. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Donna and Ray, thank you for your comments! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Janee:

    I hope you have noted this to your Congressman. It is time some of this was fixed. I always have said that the fix would be to simply say "for any government program in any given year married couples are allowed to ignore the fact that they are married in calculating taxes/elegibility/beneifts". Might be a few cases where this doesn't work, but it sure would be a logical start.

    ray kb9lgs

    ReplyDelete