Firearms Friday: I Am The 90%

It is interesting to think about the changes in my life especially over the past year. This is especially true when considering the places where my wife and I have lived in the past compared to the community in which we live now. Well beyond the considerations of considerably reduced congestion and the open space which we now enjoy, there is a different reality which we are now a part of which I have welcomed opening into our life.

It comes down to simple percentages… for the most part, criminals know that in the suburbs of Philadelphia 90% of the houses will not have a firearm inside. This has been the reality that we lived with for many years. However, for the most part, the opposite is true where we live now. Criminals know that there is about a 90% chance that there will be a firearm in the house. When they reach this realization they tend to head toward the more populated areas around the city. This isn’t to say that we live in rural utopia but it does lend some peace of mind… I feel safer knowing that this is our reality.  

The other difference was concisely surmised a few months ago when I had the pleasure of speaking with many of our new neighbors at a party. When the conversation turned to one of those not in attendance shooting their rifle in the back yard the response was a little different than what I have heard on the main line in the past but one that I completely agree with… well, it is there property and as long as they a shooting in a safe direction I have no problem with it. This is exactly the reaction that we should hear everywhere but, for me, it took loving to a different county before I heard those words coming from someone else.

Bear in mind that these observations are from a county that (tri county area actually) that still has a majority of registered voters aligned with the Democrats while, at the same time, with an active voter base that heavily favors Republicans. Of course, the subject at hand is about individual rights which should be supported by all people regardless of party affiliation. It is rather unfortunate that there are so few pockets of the population where rights still have value and personal responsibility is expected such as where we live now.

In this interesting dichotomy I am both part of the minority and a part of a significant majority. It is this interplay between affiliation and beliefs that will make politics where I live particularly interesting this year and, while I am fairly certain as to what the results will be, I am curious to see how the percentages settle. Something else that I have to get used to… people actually voting based on the candidate rather than party affiliation. Hopefully the 90% come through!

Mortgage Monday: No More Shredding

 

Over the years, my wife and I have amassed hundreds of pounds of paper that we have taken the time to shred or have paid to have destroyed. It is part of how we set up our offices. In addition to the usual pieces that you find like a desk, chair, bookshelves, and a trash can we also set aside a shred both for those pieces of paper that contain sensitive information. No matter where we have lived, this has been the basic suit of items that could be found in our work spaces.

Things are a little different now as we are no longer setting aside documents to be fed through the shredder. In fact we don’t even own a shredder anymore. Now we have burn boxes that we fill and set aside in the closet to be torched at a later date. This is the first time that we have had this option as all the other places where we have lived don’t allow for burn pits or piles in the back yard. We are in a different place now and now we have a concrete lined, grate covered pit designated for this task. Should make for some warm, interesting, and productive fires.

This is just one of the many new experiences that we are enjoying in our home. We are also using well water and septic for the first times and we are having to post no hunting signs on the far end of the property. A different experience but also one that allows for greater freedom and a more relaxed way to spend our days. The burn pit is actually the only such new way of life that we have yet to experience and I am looking forward to it.

Not only does it ensure the information we wish to destroy is indeed destroyed but it is also interesting to see the work and words that we create be enveloped by the flames. Depending on the document, it might make the flames dance a different way or one kind of paper may burn hotter than some others. And what words will float up and hover with the smoke and ash just above eye level? Sometimes what we create we must also destroy… some words can be silenced with fire.

And as we burn the old files and past lease agreements, it is nice to know that we now have a home and land that we can enjoy now and in the future while we forget the details of those things and places not worth remembering from our past. All those lingering moments enveloped by the flames sustained on our land… our home… not just made into confetti that will never be used for celebration. Quite the different from the life we once lived.

New Year, New Life

It is always interesting spending time at the lodge for the first time in a new year. The turn from one meeting in the previous year to the next is something that can’t really be explained but there seems to be a new life that is breathed into the lodge as the page turns on the calendar. I guess it is something about working for the better part of a year to put a plan together and now that the time has come we are finally able to put it into action. And it is also a time to catch up on some of the things that I have missed over the last couple of months.

Last night in particular, I spent much of the night jumping from conversation to conversation either trying to figure out the next steps on a project already started or looking for some way to get things off the ground. The lodge office, the contents of which was moved last month, is something that we still have to figure out and it is pretty astounding how much stuff was in that space which was now staring me in the face. Needless to say, the pile in the upstairs room was bigger than I expected.

Seeing this mountain of masonic ephemera and memorabilia, I immediately started trying to figure out a way to configure the room. What did we need to keep? What could we possibly get rid of? Was there a way to have the space serve multiple functions? Was there enough room in the closet for storage? These were just some of the questions that initially came to mind which became more detailed as I explored more options and more closely assessed what we had to work with. There is tremendous potential that I am excited to see realized in the coming months.

Toward the end of the evening it was time to try and get another project off the ground… raising dues. Obviously a topic that isn’t really going to be very popular but we have gotten to a point that it is a necessity to have the discussion (and debate if necessary). We are the smallest lodge in our district (by a good margin) and we have, by far, the lowest dues in the district (maybe in the entire commonwealth). That combination is obviously not going to work in the short or the long term. While I don’t know quite yet what this little journey will entail, we have at least gotten things started and the conversation moving in the right direction. We will have to see what happens.

While this past year was trying and draining in about every way possible hopefully this year I can maintain the energy that we all have seemed to found in this new year. There is a lot of work to be done, much more than the few things I have mentioned and alluded to here and there, and the right people in place and participating in the success of the lodge on a weekly basis. There are enough sturdy shoulders to lift this lodge to the next level and I am definitely not the only who has noticed this and we are all excited about where we are heading.

A New Batch Of Solicitors

When my wife and I first discussed buying our first home we agreed that it would be nice to finally have a landline again. For the past several years, with the impermanence of renting, it was simply easier just using our cell phones for everything that we needed. Having that simple luxury was hugely representative of the permanence that we have both been seeking for some time. When we bought our home it was one of the first things that we had set up and while it did give us that feeling that we have been looking for there have also been brief moment of regret for doing so.

Throughout our first month in our new home, the phone would ring at least a couple of times a day. Many times, fortunately, the calls came in when we were both at work but there have also been plenty of other calls, usually right after we put our son to bed, from various companies trying to sell us one thing or another. This also included many companies wanting us to switch our newly connected services or ADT resellers with whom the fact that we already had ADT installed didn’t quite register. One conversation went something like this:

“Hi, my name is Joe with [insert reseller] and we have some great deals on ADT home security systems…”

“You’re wasting your time… we already took care of this.”

“Congratulations on your new home… are you and your family protected by ADT?”

“We had ADT installed last weekend.”

“But ADT provides a superior product and service…”

“It is an ADT system.”

“But ADT is the leader in the security industry…”

“We had an ADT system installed last weekend”

“Are you sure it was ADT because there are knockoffs?”

“Okay, you got me, I just have a stray dog chained outside the front door with a GoPro streaming to my laptop. Please don’t tell PETA.”

“What?”

“Do you think that qualifies as animal cruelty?”

“I… I…”

“I feed him regularly and clean up after him. Heck, I even took him to the vet. I figured I would make it easy on everyone so I decided to name him ADT.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about sir. I’m Joe from ADT.”

“I know. And now that you’re listening I will reiterate. We had ADT installed last weekend. Please add this number to your do not call list.”

However, those were not the most exhausting calls. We also received a few interesting calls from service providers that don’t even offer service to our area… someone at Verizon needs to get a clue as we would have kept our service had it been offered at our new place. Can’t say I was quite as jovial as I was with the ADT guy but the conversation ended the same way… “Please add this number to your do not call list.”

While I understand and appreciate the fact that many of these people are just trying to make a living, the sheer volume of these calls has become ridiculous. Having the same company call four or five times a day for weeks on end is harassment. And, of course, they don’t leave a message nor do they even know what they are talking about when they call. Case in point being an electric provider that was “concerned to see that our electric bill from [insert name of power provider that we don’t use here] had increased so much over the previous month.” First of all, I call BS. Second, put me on your do not call list, goodbye!

Mortgage Monday: Directions

We have yet to find the roads like the ones we found exploring in Virginia. 

Every time that my wife and I have moved it has taken us a while to get our bearings. Generally speaking, when we have moved to a new place we have known one or two ways to get to certain places while there were other destinations that remained a complete mystery as to what roads we needed to take. This inevitably led to studying various maps of the area just to figure out a few roads that took us to places where we could figure things out from there. Having been looking in our current area for the past two years and driving around on the roads from time to time since our first visit, this map studying was less of a factor than it had been in the past.

However, there are still plenty of places where we drive that it is nearly essential to pull up the directions on the cell phone and, as we proved this past week, we are still not confident in our navigation to simply just get in the car and drive. When driving to my sister’s house last week, I knew how to get there but having never taken this particular way in the past, the landmarks were unfamiliar and some of the route numbers weren’t as clearly marked as I would have liked. Driving back was an entirely different story altogether as the way with which I was familiar was nearly unmarked and we found ourselves pulling over and pulling out the cell phone.

While we can manage to get to most places without much forethought, they are still the rudimentary ways of getting from point A to point B. The next step for us (and my wife is well ahead of me on this one) is to find the back roads that cut out the truck traffic and long lights. For me, that has always been the best sign regarding my comfort level with a particular place and how well we know the area. That being said, I still stink with giving directions as I am more of just knowing where to turn rather than recalling the specific street names.

There are a lot of pleasant roads around where we live and there are countless little shortcuts that we have yet to discover. For me, this is one of the fun parts about moving is being able to explore without ever being too far from home. The difference this time around is that the vast majority of these routes are nearly empty with the exception of the occasional car or buggy compared to the previous places we have lived when we would spend more time waiting at lights, pausing at stop signs, and following the slowly moving out of state cars. Now I can keep a steady pace and relax as the landscape rolls by the windows.

Sometimes fog hinders our ability to explore.

Reindeer Down!

The Christmas decorations around town are quite festive and are pretty understated compared to those that I am used to encountering around the Main Line. And while there are houses here and there that have light displays a few bulbs shy of Clark Griswold, there actually isn’t much in the way of individual decorations up and down the streets. It seems as though we all agree that being out here, away from the densely populated areas, the night provides more of a light show than anyone could ever string along their eaves.

We are also in an area where people are incredibly kind and welcoming in the course of our weekly encounters. We have rarely come across someone who wasn’t pleasant and, more often than not, there have been kind words and wishes shared and reciprocated. However, given the occasional sounds in the distance and across the street, Rudolph might want to consider investing in some Kevlar. Who knows, someone around here might hold him personally responsible for Grandma’s death.

I can see it now. After their usual tales from NORAD telling watchers and listeners that Santa was crossing the Atlantic on his way to the East Coast, millions of children lay their heads town struggling to fall asleep. Then, all of the sudden…

from down in the den there arose such a clatter

that they sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

When what to their wondering eyes should appear

but a special report saying there’s nothing to fear.

As the reports pour in the news conveyed by the third string anchormen seemed grim…

they showed little emotion and went straight to their work,

the search teams were deployed and the kids when berserk.

And laying the report just off the screen,

they echoed the outcome which lead to a scream.

They cut to the authorities at the scene of the crash,

who didn’t hold back not fearing the backlash.

And they heard them proclaim at they signed off from the sight,

Rudolph was dead and Santa was grounded for the night.

As it turns out, as was reported the following day,

Rudolph isn’t bullet proof and pulled down the sleigh.

A 12 gauge took him out and with dead weight dragging them down,

the other reindeer couldn’t support Santa and they crashed in a small town.

The fire took Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen

but only singed Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

The presents were gone and Santa was pissed

because all that was left was a double checked list.

Mortgage Monday: Finding Our New Stores

All of the other places that my wife and I have lived had immediate access to a variety of both small shops and national chain stores. Now, where we have decided to make our home, there are a number of stores nearby but not as many as we have grown accustom. For many of the places that we once frequented, we have to drive a little further than before which, we are finding, is actually a welcomed change from the places where we once rested.

Just down the road we have many of the essentials just by different names than those that we are used to seeing. There are local eateries, small gas stations, and other stores that line the main thoroughfare just down the street. And, while it seems further than it really is, there are a few of the national retailers just a little further down the road including the local Wal-Mart. On a side note, this is the first Wal-Mart, or any large store for that matter, that I have ever seen which has separate buggy parking.

All of the other stores are either the same distance that we are used to driving or are a little closer than they once were. Ollie’s is a perfect example of this as it is now about 20 minutes away when there were a couple of others that we used to go to that were a 25-30 minute drive from our previous rentals. But there are replacements that are much closer to us including BB’s and some other local stores that offer the same if not better prices.

The only stores that could be seen as inconvenient are the ones that we don’t use regularly. If we need to go to Staples, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, or Babies R Us they are no longer 10 minutes down the road. However, at least a couple of them, Staples for certain, are near my office and usually those trips can be done quickly in the middle of the day. But, again, many of the things that we once purchased there can be found elsewhere and, at the moment, we are still in the process of exploring the local area including the towns immediately around us as well as the Reading area.

We have everything that we need at a convenient distance from our home. There are plenty of options out there some of which we have already fond while others are, as of yet, undiscovered. However, when compared to our previous houses and apartments, we are the most comfortable and relaxed being ever so slightly removed from the retail commotion. We have space, we have room to breathe, and we still have access to everything we need.

It’s Official, We’re Exotic Now!

Maybe this is what we will put on the doors next year...

One of the interesting things that we are finding in the new area where we have chosen to live is the fact that there are very few Jews around us. It actually made finding the house during Hanukkah really easy because all someone had to do was look for the only house on the street with a Menorah (Hanukiah technically) in the window. Although, you might be a little confused if you walk up to our door as there is a wreath decorated with mini Magen David on it (thanks mom). Of course, we knew what we were getting into when we decided to move out here so the fact that we are clearly in the minority really doesn’t bother us.

It is actually kind of interesting when I think about the different places we have lived. In Jerusalem it was assumed that we were Jewish and, most of the time, the same can be said about our time in Brooklyn. In Bala Cynwyd we were members of a clear majority in the area and in Metuchen and Chesterbrook we were part of a pretty even mix. Even in Chester Springs there were a number of Hanukkah houses around us but, at that point, the percentage was pretty low. Now, we are one of very few families in the area with a Mezuzah on the doorpost.

We are so far removed from the Jewish communities that our son’s daycare asked us to come in and talk about Hanukkah. Being such a small minority it is pretty safe to say that we are no longer seen as simply Jewish but as some exotic family… and we are fine, and entertained, by that fact. So far, those with whom I have spoken to in the area, especially this time of year, have sincere questions about our faith and hang on to every word in our responses. And this is without us talking about the fact that we are Israeli too.

Obviously, there are other Jews in the area but it has been entertaining thus far being the token Jews in the neighborhood. And as we try to find a local synagogue in the area (local meaning 20+ minutes away) I am curious to see if others have had the same experience. But, what has been important to us here is that our beliefs are ancillary to people getting to know us… the only reason the subject came up was because of the time of year. While being a Jew is an important part of us it is not the only thing that defines us and here we are finding that to be how people look at us.

Email Surprise

I got a bit of a surprise when I checked my lodge email yesterday afternoon. What I thought was going to be a simple message making an appeal to the brethren to attend the fellowship night was something that caught me off guard. The first half of the email stated almost exactly what I expected to read but the second half changed things up a bit notifying those in receipt of the email that all furniture and files were being moved out of the Secretary’s office that night. This was clearly the first time that I was hearing about this clean out.

While this is something that we have discussed many times over the past couple of years, I was not aware of this tasking being scheduled so soon. In my position I hear about a lot of the things happening at the lodge but every once in a while I hear something either right before it happens or immediately after the fact. The problem isn’t necessarily in what is taking place but in being prepared when someone comes to me with questions. At the office and at the lodge, my job requires me to know what is going on and when there is a break in communication, issues like we have had over the past year begin popping up and, as a result, my phone begins to ring regularly.

It seems as though we have gone from one extreme to the other. While there were many plans and little action in the past, now there is plenty of action but few plans to be found now. This is obviously not the entire picture but there is no reason why this should have happened so abruptly and why the first time many of us are hearing about these plans is a mere few hours before we were all to converge on the lodge.

When I read the email the second time I was both happy that something was being done but also annoyed that this could cause more issues and work for me in the near future. And while I don’t like to miss moments like this and evenings at the lodge in general I am actually glad that I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and that I opened the email with the intent of informing the brother who sent it that I would not be in attendance. After an uncomfortable night it is now time to wait and try to put the pieces together through a variety of phone calls and conversations. Hopefully, this goes smoother than similar situations in the past.

I Didn’t Like Working From Home…

Every year, I am given ten work from home days to use as I see fit. However, even though I have been given the option to do so I have rarely used more than a couple out of necessity. I have never been a fan of working from home. This has not been a secret and there are a multitude of reasons for my dislike of this arrangement. What it really comes down to is the simple fact that I am not as productive at home as I am at the office. And that is all about the focus that I lack when there are so many distractions around the house.

However, in the few weeks that we have been in our new home, that stance is beginning to waver and, with the office arrangement that I have, I seem to be maintaining my focus better than I have been in the past. On some days it is even better than at the office. While I don’t believe it is one specific thing that has helped me I do know that it is a much more comfortable arrangement.

In the past, my office has either been upstairs or in the basement far removed from anything else in the house. Theoretically, this seems like a good arrangement but in reality it created, over time, an atmosphere that wasn’t conducive to getting work done. Over time I would use these spaces less and less until they eventually remained relatively unused and my laptop and work documents overtook the kitchen table. It proved to be quite the vicious cycle.

The only time that I had an office on the main floor was in our apartment in Bala Cynwyd. It actually worked well for a little while but because of the odd hours I kept, the close proximity to the bedroom which prevented me from typing too loud, and the maintenance issues that proceeded to drip all over the carpet, this too was a short lived arrangement. Of course, it also didn’t help that my wife and I shared the office space and we have completely different ways of working.

Now we have separate spaces on the main floor of the house. While there is still some work that needs to be done so that I can use the space on a more regular basis (i.e. doors put in so the sound doesn’t travel up the stairs at night and wake up our son), it is already proving to be an excellent place to get things done. I think I have completed more projects in this office over the past month than I did sitting in the basement in our last rental. So, now working from home might not be so bad which is a good thing because the roads might not be as friendly in our current location.

Mortgage Monday: No More Rent

Since we’ve been together, my wife and I have always written a rent check every month. The amounts may have varied over the years but the one thing that remained constant was the fact that we didn’t own the place in which we lived. It is a rather disconcerting notion when, at the end of the year, you look back and see all of the money that you gave to someone else without having anything really to show for it. It is primarily because of this that we have been wanting to buy a place of our own for years.

While it has taken longer than expected and it had happened under circumstances that we both wish could have been different, we are no longer writing rent checks. Now we find ourselves flipping through the payment book sent to us from our bank knowing that with each page that we turn we own a little bit more of our home. And with each month we add just a little extra, as much as we can, in order to shorten that three decade commitment a little bit at a time.

It really is a different experience when writing these checks (actually, setting up the automatic payment and watching the funds evaporate from our account). There is a goal in mind with a clearly defined payment period. There is certainty and stability in the payments we are now making and, to a certain extent, we look forward to making these payments as each check or transfer is one less that we have to make in order to own our home in its entirety.

Owning our own house also allows for the freedom to change or keep things the same as we see fit. There are few limitations especially without the presence of a homeowner’s dictatorship/association. It is true that we have to maintain everything ourselves but we can also fix things ourselves without the potential repercussions from a landlord and we can chose who we want to do the work if we find it is beyond our limited knowledge and experience. We are able to make things right in our own way in our own time.

We also have the peace of mind knowing that we are staying in the same place. There is no lease and we don’t have to worry about our rent going up next year or the owner deciding that they no longer want to have tenants. We have a place that offers us permanence and stability for the two of us and, more importantly, for our son. This is the home where our son is going to grow up and that is an amazing feeling.

Mortgage Monday: Taking A Chance

This was the first attempt... really glad it fell through!

I am going to take a step back for a moment in this series and actually talk about a few months prior to us moving into the house. By the time the summer was coming to an end, my wife and I had a big decision that we had to make. Our lease was set to end today and while we had been looking at houses for some time, and we were under agreement on a property, there were no guarantees. While we usually take a more careful approach to situations, we decided to take a chance and give our notice that we will be not renewing our lease. So, when we sent our rent check in late August for the month of September, we included a note that, in accordance with our lease, we were not going to be renewing.

Technically, we had a place that, at the time, we thought we would be living but, as September slowly trudged on, that reality quickly dissolved and we soon found ourselves without a place to live come December. It was an interesting feeling of uncertainty and one that had us contemplating whether we should try to extend our lease but it was also freeing in the fact that it was one less thing to think about as we continued to search for a home. If anything, it certainly served as a motivator to get things done and step up our efforts to find a home.

Things do happen for a reason and our house hunt definitely proved that point. Within a week of terminating the agreement on the first house (based on inspections), we reached an agreement on a second, far superior, home. After talking with the bank the following week and shortening the escrow to 45 days, we knew that we would be moving and would be making the transition from a house to a home by the end of November. As it turns out, taking that chance in late August was going to pay off.

Contrary to the first ordeal which was rife with misleading statements and answers that didn’t match up with the facts and documents from the county, the process for the second house went as smooth as we could have hoped for and now that second house is now our home. No more renting, no more moving, and no more uncertainty about where we are going to be living this time next year or the year after. We are home.

A Different Thanksgiving

There is a lot to be thankful for this year. Seems to be quite the clichéd way to begin this post but sometimes the truth is in the cliché. There have been a lot of great things that have happened over the past year for which I am incredibly grateful for even in light of our usual annual routine being completely different than what we have become accustomed to over the years. Not all changes have been good ones but that doesn’t mean that this past year hasn’t been good or that we are less thankful for what we have. If anything, we are even more grateful for the things that we have now.

With everything that has happened this year and especially over the past month my wife and I decided to really change things up for Thanksgiving this year and do absolutely nothing. Well, more accurately, we decided not to go anywhere and stay home to both enjoy the holiday as a family and get a few things done around the house. Remember, we haven’t even been here for a week at this point and there are still plenty of things to do and organization that needs to be done.

It was actually a really nice break and while we didn’t accomplish all that we had planned, we were able to spend the extra time together and take a few moments to catch our breath. And, for our son, it was an extra day to catch up on his sleep and recover from the lack of routine offered by the daycare… thankfully we have found a solution for that as well. However, the most important part of thanksgiving this year was to step back and allow ourselves to try and transition from our previous annual routine and prepare for what the future holds for this day.

We are going to have to find a new holiday routine now that so many things have changed and we are now settled into a home with our son. And while we didn’t do much today we really experienced a lot over the past year so taking the day off was very much needed. We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot of memories to cherish. It is a different holiday at this point in our lives and one that has taken on an entirely new meaning. We are thankful for many of the things that have happen this year and, at the same time, we are thankful that the year is almost over.

TMI Tuesday: Getting Used To New Surroundings

Our son was a little thrown off on Friday when he got home from daycare. He woke up in the townhouse and my wife brought him home to our house that same afternoon. Honestly, it was a bit of an odd experience for my wife as well. While there was a bit of an uncertain look in his eyes as my wife carried him through the door, it slowly subsided as we walked him around the house showing him all the rooms (including his bedroom and two playrooms), the variety of windows and views, and the bounty of grass that he will be able to enjoy when the weather gets warmer.

It was an abrupt change for him that first night but one that has gotten easier over the past several days. When we got him up the following morning he was more interested in exploring and less overwhelmed by everything around him. Slowly he became more comfortable and he seemed to come to the realization that we were now home. This is clearest when he is sitting the playroom downstairs. Every once in a while he will stop playing with his toys, flipping through his books, or trying to pry up the foam letters on the floor and look out the window at the grass and woods behind the property.

Overall, our son seems to have followed in our lead and becoming much more relaxed at home. While there is still a clear adjustment taking place, he is much more active and happier overall. Actually, he seems to enjoy it when we take him around the house now that things are still new yet also familiar.

He is also getting used to the extra space in his room. There is a greater freedom in not having the walls so close and there is less interruptions to his sleep now that mommy and daddy no longer have to sneak by his room to go to bed. Just this simple fact has made a huge difference and, in a certain regard, has proven to be the biggest change to which we have had to adjust.

The important thing is that our son seems to be happy with his new home and my wife and I are happy to have found a home for our son. This is the place where he is going to grow up… but, right now, he is still getting used to it. Of course, what he doesn’t know is that there are more changes coming his way next week.

Mortgage Monday: The Beginning

It is time for a new series… having purchased and moved into our new home last week I thought it appropriate to write a post every Monday about being a new homeowner. While the topics may vary these blogs will all be rooted in our recent purchase, the process, and some of the things that happen along the way. I will be writing about the services we use, experiences we have had, or simply how much things have changed in comparison to our years (and year) or renting. It is certainly a change for us but a great one that I want to share with all of you that continue to read these posts.

The process of finding a home was a long one to say the least. As I have written about numerous times before, this has been a dream of ours for years (certainly preceding the formation of this blog) and a search that has taken us to numerous places throughout the area, into other states, and even to a foreign country. While our criteria has changed since our first discussion about what we wanted our home to be, we currently find ourselves in the perfect place at the perfect time. Finally, we have a place to set our roots and a place where we can raise our son.

Looking back there are certainly things that we would have liked to have changed along the way. Even recently, it took a deal falling through on inspections in order for us to find our perfect home but, as we have been told many times before and as we keep telling ourselves, things happen for a reason. However, while we are happy with this wonderful change and becoming homeowners, my wife and I definitely agree and wish that this whole process had gone differently. Our ability to find a home came at a price that we were forced to pay and we know that we would give this all back if a refund were offered.

Look for more posts in the future that will get into some of the additional details about the process and some of the experiences that we have along the way both good and bad (hopefully there will be an absence of content for the latter). But, for now, we are going to enjoy this new way of living and the additional comfort and security that owning a home has to offer to us. And, of course, some stories about the adjustments that we are all making to this new reality.

Sunday Search: Moving Our Archives

As we are slowly getting settled into our new house, all the boxes that I spent packing long into the night are starting to get cut open and the contents roughly organized. Not only are we having to put clothes away, line the books neatly on the shelves, organize the boxes of toys, and get the kitchen put together, we are also having to get all of our binder and boxes of photos and figuring out a system for storing as well as a place to put all of them. Of course, now that we have a home and we are not anticipating any further moves, we are taking things a bit slower this time around and really figuring out a system that works for each of us.

Thankfully, we have enough room in our house that we each have an office to go along with an abundance of storage options. However, with options and wanting to take things slowly this time around, we are falling a bit behind in getting things to a place where we can readily pull out images or information. And with things previously so scattered it was a bit overwhelming when we realized just how much we have… we knew we had a lot but we didn’t fully grasp the sheer volume of research and images that we have collected over the past several years.

With a few more storage options, and more boxes, my wife has figured out her own system. While I have a few less places where I can hide the disarray, I have figured out a way to get organized and have started putting thing in an order that will allow me to pull out information I want fairly easily. Of course, this is only half of it as much of my information is still in a digital format. While there are certain advantages to this I still prefer to have hard copies and many times find it easier to pull up information rather than rummaging through files on my computer.

While there have been many attempts in the past to get all the family information and history organized, we are finally in a place when we can get it done and not worry about what would happen if we had to pack it all up and move it into a completely different space. So, for now, we are going to take a quick break from researching and focusing on the archiving of our legacies. In the end, this can be just as important as finding that next new piece of information.

Moving Day Recovery

As soon as we got out of bed yesterday the long and hectic day started. We had a lot of appointments scheduled and, needless to say, a lot of work ahead of us. Yesterday was moving day and that was not the only task that needed to be accomplished… we also had an ADT consultation in the morning, Raymour & Flanigan delivering furniture by noon, and the cable company coming out to the house to get our phone, internet, and cable up and running by the end of the day. While I was taking care of those tasks, my wife was at work, our son was at daycare, and my parents were supervising the sluggish movers.

With all of these things set to a certain schedule, my wife and I got up a little earlier than usual, got our son ready for ‘school’ and were about to head out the door when my parents arrived. Actually, while my wife was changing, feeding, and generally getting our son ready, I was busy finishing up the remaining packing around the house and making sure that every box we purchased was being used. By the time I stopped to take a breath we must have had over 100 boxes stacked in the various rooms all labeled with their new locations at our home.

By the time I finished putting things aside, closing off all the rooms that the movers didn’t need to address, and coordinating the day with my parents I was already behind schedule and ADT was calling just as I was about to get in the car and head over to the house. Fortunately, the woman with whom I was working was very understanding of the situation and had the patience to wait for me until I arrived about 15 minutes after our originally agreed upon appointment time. Just before we completed the walk through of the house for the quote, the furniture arrived and we officially began the transformation from house to home.

ADT left shortly thereafter and, just like it was planned, the cable company arrived and began work immediately. Thankfully, I remembered to bring a television, my laptop, and a phone with me that morning to test. By mid afternoon, all the furniture was in place, the cable, internet, and phone were up and running, and I already had the quote from ADT in hand. All that was left was waiting for the lackadaisical movers to arrive.

Needless to say, we were not happy with how long it took the moving company to get things done. While I did get them to move a bit faster upon arrival it still took them until 8:30 to get things done, close up the truck, and leave all of their trash behind (I will be checking for damage over the next few days). Today was largely spend cleaning up after them and moving many of the clearly labeled boxes into the correct rooms. But, the important thing, regardless of the issues that we encountered, is the fact that we are now home! Let the recovery begin.

Firearms Friday: Finding Local Stores And Ranges

No matter where we have lived in recent years one of the first things that I have done is try to find the local gun shops and ranges in the area. While this was a rather fruitless endeavor in the past when we lived in Bala Cynwyd, the ease with which I am able to find these places has drastically improved in subsequent moves. Our last rental did provide me with some hope as there were a few places within an easy 20 minute drive but I quickly found that either prices were exorbitant at the local chain store or the selection was lacking and the, hole in the wall, mom and pop shop.

Now that we have finally been able to settle into our new home, this task has been rather easy as there is a bounty of options within about a 20 minute drive from our house. Of course, I have yet to visit these places so I cannot speak to the quality of selection or the prices that can be found in the area but given the sheer number of shops I don’t expect this to be an issue. Given my experiences at one of the shops just beyond this search area, in Elizabethtown, the search should provide an interesting mix of both large and small stores with both prices and selection varying across the area.

And that is just the buying side of things… finding a range is even easier. Put it this way, we are not on the Main Line anymore. I haven’t even started looking for a place to practice and I already know of about a half dozen places where I can enjoy this relaxing hobby. I was able to spot all of these places during our explorations of the area over the past couple of years. Literally, no effort in finding these places.

So, in addition to reporting on some of the discoveries and experiences in the local shops and at the ranges in the area, I will be able to compile a list of the good spots to go and the ones where the first visit will likely be my last. With that said, when it comes to price, these places still have a lot to live up to having been spoiled over the years by the deals found at Tanner’s Sports Center. Local is easier but, in the end, sometime you want to go where everybody knows your name… at least until that is the case at the local shop.

Moving Quotes And Changing Plans

For the past week I have been busy not only prepping for settlement day (which has been pretty smooth thanks to those at the bank and our realtor) but also preparing for moving day which has been a little move involved. Having received quotes from about a half dozen companies in the area, it is amazing to see the difference in how the prices are calculated. While not as expensive as I had originally expected, it is still not a cheap proposition especially when you ask them how much it would cost to have the company pack up your belongings as well.

The range of prices that I received was rather staggering starting at the low end at $700 all the way up to a ten times multiple of that initial figure. Surprisingly the economic company that we used for our last transition, Two Men and a Truck, was the most expensive (by a wide margin) because of the fact that we are moving just outside of their ‘service area’. In the end, we didn’t go with the least expensive but rather the company that seemed the most inclusive, had the appointment available for tomorrow, and was reasonably priced (still on the much lower end of the range).

However, nothing ever goes as smoothly as it should and that was definitely proven about a week and a half ago when I got a call in the early evening which changed our plans. Who called? The realtor representing our current landlord… he wanted to start showing the townhouse in a couple of days. Keep in mind that we gave notice with our September rent check so he could have coordinated this whole process months ago.

Having not packed much of anything at that point I quickly rejected his proposal pushing the earliest possible day to this past Sunday also adding the reminder that we have a 9 month old and he will have to be flexible in scheduling appointments. What realtor in their right mind calls a tenant and asks to begin showing the apartment in a couple of days?

So, since then I have been packing the house deep into the night and making friends with the sales people at Staples, Home Depot, and Lowes. With an evening to go there are only a few more boxes left that need to be packed, the bathrooms and kitchen have been cleaned, and we are, for the most part, ready to move on down the road in the morning. One more night with the preamble coming to an end and the real story beginning tomorrow.

One Keurig At A Time

Lately there have been a lot of things that we have looked to move around at the lodge. Some are simply plans that we hope to follow through on in the future while other projects are well underway and will hopefully be completed by the end of the year. Of course, one space where a lot of moving around needs to be done is in the office… this is something that falls under both the former and, time permitting, will soon be a part of the latter. Frankly, I am not concerned with the space itself, although there have been talks regarding the moving of the office itself, it is more of a matter of all the stuff that has accumulated in that half of the basement.

Know in the middle of my own packing and sifting at home, I am really not looking forward to the monumental undertaking that will be required at the lodge. It really isn’t about how much stuff that needs to be moved as the room isn’t all that big. It all comes down to the fact that we have to go through each and every item, ever sheet of paper, and basically get approval to dispose of all the items that are unnecessary. At least at home I can, for the most part, take care of this pretty quickly as I know almost immediately what stays and what goes… the lodge is another story altogether.

I guess a bonus for my own move is the fact that there are a number of things that we have either replaced, plan to replace, or simply don’t need any more at the new house. While many of these things have been donated over the last couple of months (primarily shoes and clothes) there are a few other items that I am happy to donate to the lodge and some of the brethren. I always enjoy this part because it is a means for me to bring a little comfort to the lodge for all of us that use the space. While computers are completely practical and do a lot to accomplish this, having a Keurig in the new kitchen should be that little extra for some of us that makes it that much more comfortable.

I am sure that there are other things that would be beneficial to the lodge (there are definitely more important and pressing needs) but sometimes it is nice to satisfy that need for creature comforts. After all, we want the brethren to feel comfortable in the space. We want our families to feel comfortable in the space. And we want all of our guests to feel welcomed in our space. The lodge consists of the men who are members of the community with a common meeting place, the building is not just a home for those brethren but also a part of the community as a whole. By providing a welcoming lodge, we support a welcoming community.